A day over to Bar Haven

We crawled into the sleeping bags around 10:30 Saturday night.  It was cold; frost was starting to form on the tents.

We awoke in the morning to a coating of frost on everything including ...

... the kayak and all our gear.  I got out of the tent and got moving to get the blood circulating and some heat built up.

The water at low tide looked to have dropped 2 meters.  The water flowing out of the channel was like a river.  An exit out of the pond would be a nice little ride to get the day started.

The plan for the day was to leave the tents standing and only take supplies for a day trip over to Bar Haven Island.  A short crossing of three kilometers put us in Back Cove.

It was a sunny cool fall day.  A perfect day to paddle along some pretty impressive scenery.

Paddling up the eastern side of the island we came to an indent of the sea that sheltered the former communities established on the island.  Check out the map at the end of this post.

We paddled down to check out Western Cove first.  It was established in 1884 when the population was 46.  It was abandonded by 1966 when the last of a population of 31 left but ...

... not for good.  Former residents and family have come back and built summer cabin.  We stopped here for lunch in the shelter of one of the cabins.

After lunch we put-in again and made our way towards the north side of the arm and the former community of Bar Haven.  Known as Barren Island until 1911, it was settled by 1800.  The population reached its maximum in 1911 when 248 souls called it home, some of whom are interred in this old cemetery with broken headstones.  At the time of resettlement in 1966 the population was 188.  A sizable population but isolation and lack of services drove the last residents out.

It is also now the site of well maintained summer cabins and grounds.

This is all that remains of where the community church once stood.  I had a grand chat with some of the people who were there for the holiday weekend.  They were, in fact, relatives of my first steady girlfriend so we had somewhat of a connection.

After a visit to check out a possible campsite on Ship Island we returned to Gulch Pond for supper.  We wind had come up so we moved the kitchen area to a more sheltered spot and everyone got busy cooking supper.

The setting sun was part of a spectacular evening view of the pond itself.

Pete arranged a circle of rocks which implied that it would be the limit of the evening's fire  It was a small one at first which meant we had to stand close.  But ...

... once Pete went to bed things took a more familiar turn.  The fire grew under the watchful eye of the Man in the Moon.

The previous night the temperature had dropped to -4 C.  Only my feet were chilled so on tis night, Sunday, I was determined to go to bed warm.  I positioned a flat rock near the fire to warm and put in the bottom of my sleeping bag.  It was pure heaven as I got into a cold tent and the prelude to a most comfortable night in sub-zero temperatures and the end of our second day in Gulch Pond.

Here are the breadcrumbs for the day's paddle:

Entertainment in Gulch Pond

After we had the tents set up at Gulch Pond we got ready for the evening festivities.  We had a BBQ planned and we needed wood for heat too because it was going to get cold.

We picked up wood along the beach and piled it up and we ...

.... harvested wood from dead wind falls in the area.

We had a good pile of wood gathered and used the small stuff to build up a bed of coals for the BBQ.  Dean prepares the mushroom and onions using instructions from his wife.

It was only a matter of patience waiting for the potatoes to bake before we could put the steaks on the grill.

The water was flowing like a river out of the pond into the sea beside our kitchen area.  It was a clear, calm evening.  We all guessed as to the strength of the current.

After we finished the BBQ we put the bigger wood on the fire for heat and sat around the fire within reach of its warming effects.  There were no clouds in the sky so what heat the sun provided during the day was going to escape skywards.  It was going to get cold.  The thermometer was going to go under 0 C.

As the evening turned into night it really got cold and it was time for a Tony fire.  We needed the heat.  We got into the sleeping bags warm as frost started to form on the tents.

It was the end of our most pleasant first day at Gulch Pond for the Thanksgiving day weekend.

Giving thanks at Gulch Pond

Thanksgiving weekend in Canada.  A good excuse to get away.  Six of us decided we would be giving thanks at Gulch Pond in Placentia Bay.

Dean picked me up at 6:30 am, in the dark, and then we met Brian, Hazen, Neville and Pete at the TCH Irving.  The sun came out but it was cool.  The roofs at Garden Cove still had frost on them as we loaded our kayaks on the slipway.

All packed up we gingerly got off of the slipway because there was a drop off to the water.  For some it was more of an adventure and a chance to show off a roll in a loaded kayak.

Just before 10:00 we were underway heading northwest to the top of Sound Island in the cool breeze.

At the north end of Sound Island we were almost in the channel going south with the Burin Peninsula on starboard and a chain of islands on port.

Neville and I had a look at Rattling Brook Falls, a sweet place to grab a swim but on a warmer day.

Continuing south we passed by Sound Island and reached the south end of Woody Island where we could look east between Woody Island on the left, Little Woody Island in the center and the north end of Bar Haven Island.

The leaves on the trees were starting to show the first tinges of yellow .

We made very good progress riding on the small waves that pushed us along.  La Plante Cove was a fine looking place to stop for lunch, so we did.  Neville and I got the stoves out.  The rest of the guys had a less work intensive lunch.

We didn't have far to go after lunch.  The sun warmed us when it came out and sparkled on the water on our trek south.

Dean and Brian reach the entrance to Gulch Pond after 21 kms.  Gulch Pond is a sizable pond accessed by a narrow channel from the sea, the entrance to which is best timed for slack water at high tide.  A falling tide will make for a workout to get up the tidal current flowing out of the pond.

We got out of the kayaks and tramped around looking for the best place to pitch the tents.  While it was sunny, it remained cool though once the tents were up they warmed quickly absorbing the warming rays of the sun.

We were at our home for the weekend and it felt good.

And, the breadcrumbs:

Sun sets on Thursday practices

Last evening was our last Thursday evening practicing at St. Philips for the year.  The sun sets early now making it hardly worth while time wise.  We were on the water at 5:00 and off at 6:30.

Its been a great year with an average of 8 people taking part weekly.  One evening we had 15, an all time record.

A semi-submersible oil rig was back in the bay.  I took a run out and surfed back.  We had another spectacular sunset.  An appropriate ending for this year's sessions.

Half a dozen of one and two of another

A paddle started to form for Sunday in Bay Bulls.  An early start was proposed.  Too early for me given its only a 30 minute drive and not that long of a paddle.  It was also too early for Clyde so six of our paddle buddies put-in at 8:30 and Clyde and I put-in at 10:00.  We left with the rain falling and overcast skies.

We didn't know where the others were.  There was no plan so we made decisions on the fly.  We paddled out along the north side ducking into this channel that's not always accessible.

Five kilometers later we were at North Head.  We paddled out a bit to have a look down the coast and the lighthouse at the head.

At North Head we decided to cross the mouth of the harbour towards, oddly enough, South Head.  Looking south with Gull Island off of South Head it seemed the sun was trying to break out.

The ocean wave model predicted swell coming from the north.  At South Head it could go no further and crashed on the rocks.

When Clyde and I reached South Head I spotted the early crew coming up from Witless Bay.  We stopped for a while and rafted up for a chat.  I observed I couldn't get an early start as I needed my beauty sleep.  Someone remarked I should have stayed in bed longer.  Point taken.

Clyde and I carried on towards Witless Bay where we would stop for lunch.  The rain made all the greenery really green which contrasted nicely with the red sandstones.

Clyde checks out a cave.

We stopped on this little beach for lunch as it was secluded and out of sight of the community of Witless Bay.  It was still raining and turning colder so we only stayed long enough to eat our lunch before ...

... heading back to Bay Bulls.

Earlier when we met our friends the swell was moderate at South Head at about a meter.  The wind had come up while we ate which had a dramatic effect on the sea state.  The larger swell was near two meters which in combination with the rebounding waves made for interesting paddling.

We got around the head without incident.  There's always a chance for an "incident" when taking pictures in choppy seas.  Anyway, the swell though smaller in the harbour, followed us down the south side making for a good push and some mini surf rides.

The take-out in Bay Bulls.  The rain continued and the northwest winds had dropped the temperature to 7C.  No matter, we were pleased with our day's activity.  Ticked off another 21 kms towards the annual target, now clearly in sight with the best part of three months left.

I'm sure the six early risers had a good paddle.  I know the two of us did.  Next time we'll all be together again.

Blowing in the wind

Yesterday the wind was blowing westerly at 32 knots with gusts to 39.  I looked over the bay with binoculars.  I was awash with whitecaps.  I wondered if I should check it out.  Wondering solved, Brian mailed and we met at St. Philips at 2:30 to test the waters.

Paddling out through the harbour channel the wind hit us smack in the faces.  As I exited the wind caught my bow and pushed me broadside to the wind and waves and threatened to push me up on shore.  Some fully extended paddle sweeps got the bow pointed into the wind and I escaped.

 The huge waves beyond the point beckoned.  Keeping to the south side of the cove the wind was manageable but paddling out past the point was not possible.  Near the point the wind threatened blow the paddle out of my hands and blow me over as well.  It was a no-go zone.

The wind and waves cornered around the point and thus the waves were smaller.  We contented ourselves with some short surf rides inside the cove for just over half an hour before calling it quits.  It was a short spell but we were glad we put-in.

I shot some video and have it posted on YouTube.

Thursday evening surf

Nine of us got together Thursday evening to catch some surf rides.  The wind was gradually building all day and when we got there we were greeted by a fully developed sea.  It wasn't as big as I've seen it at St. Philips but it set up for some decent surf rides.  I caught Derrick on top of one.

We paddled out into the wind and waves until we were satisfied we were far enough out and then turned to catch surf rides back into the cove.  Here, Dean and Neville climb over one wave.

To the north the sky was indigo blue whereas, as the evening wore on, to the west the sun ...

... was setting on another fun evening at St. Philips.  One more week left because after next week it will get dark too early to make it practical.