Fog

Sunday morning: thick fog, like every other day lately. Brighid paddles over from Old Quarry and meets us at Colwell Ramp. We discuss options, finally deciding to just go "out there". We start across the Thorofare, but there's the sound of a motor, getting closer. We back up to the red nun and watch a lobster boat speed past the spot where we'd just been. When it's gone we decide to point toward 180. We paddle with no sign of land. At first, I'm convinced that my compass is wrong, but of course it's just me: fog is disorienting. And sort of fun. We hit island after island, finally crossing Merchant's Row and hitting pretty much the spot we'd hoped.



The nice thing about circumnavigating, is the navigating part; you just keep the island on your left and keep paddling. Around Merchants, then Bills. Before hitting Bills, we thought maybe we'd missed it and were crossing Merchants Row, but then, there it was.


Aside from those two lobster boats early on, we had the archipelago to ourselves: a good Sunday morning.

Smoked Eggs

Launching

Sometimes I wonder why I bother blogging . I suppose I like the process of trying to find one or two acceptable photos from an excursion, and then I like trying to find something to say about it, even when it may have been similar to the last paddle, and nothing really extraordinary happened. The good news, despite the lack of posts lately, is that I've been paddling more than I've been blogging, which I'd say is a healthy priority.


Last Sunday's excursion turned out to be more eventful than we'd hoped. It started as a relaxed paddle, checking out the schooner Victory Chimes, which was anchored in the harbor. We meandered through the inner archipelago, and eventually decided to head for Fog Island. After a couple hours of paddling, we were just arriving at Fog, both of us ready for a snack. Todd thought "those hard-boiled eggs are going to be good."

Unfortunately, those eggs were still back home, in the pot, on the stove... with the flame still on.

Todd has a tense moment

We pulled up on the island. I dug-out the cell phone and discovered it had a dead battery. VHF: the same. Todd finally managed to get someone at Old Quarry Ocean Adventures on his. "I'm not in trouble," he told the person who responded, "but I think I may be burning my house down." They called Rebecca, and, as it turned out, Todd's neighbor Aimee had recently started working at Old Quarry. So a couple of people were soon rushing to the scene. We climbed back into our kayaks and headed toward Stonington, but we had five or six miles to go.

Smoked Eggs

As we paddled, Todd monitored the VHF, waiting for news. We tried to imagine what would happen to a pot left on a flame for two or three hours after the water boiled away. It might not be that bad. After all, we couldn't see any smoke in the direction of Stonington. Finally, the news came through that his house was "a bit smoky," but otherwise okay. The eggs didn't make it.

There's a few obvious lessons here, which I won't belabor, but I can assure you that it's a bad feeling when you finally need that cell phone and the VHF, and discover that having it doesn't count for much if you don't check the batteries. The story has a happy ending after all. Todd took us all out for dinner: a small price to pay for people on shore who can help you out when you need it.

A Good Week In April

After a couple of not-so-good kayaking months, we've had a pretty decent week. After- wow- about two months of no paddling, that first excursion felt like a re-introduction. We went out around McGlathery, and it felt good. The next day, Sparrow Island. You head out into the wind and waves thinking 'okay, let's take it easy', but once you're out there, those waves start feeling familiar and maybe even gentle. "Should we go to John Island?" Well why not? And then Farrel and then you're at Sparrow.


On Friday, we did another tour of the western outer ledges, half-way to Vinalhaven. It was calm in Stonington, so it seemed like a good time to investigate out there. From a mile away, it appeared that small waves broke near the ledge. As we approached, we realized those waves were much larger than us. Yep, that's Todd.


And that's on a calm day. Wonder what it's like when the weather picks up.



Those were all after-work paddles. Yesterday, we had a little more time, so we went out past Fog Island and did an Eastern Ledges tour: the Popplestones, back past Southern Mark Island on our way to Enchanted. A fifteen-mile afternoon, working our way back up to more epic voyages.

Isle au Haut Thorofare

After such a great series of excursions in January, we went nearly three weeks without going out. Oddly, we don't have the weather to blame; there were a number of good days, but other things interfered, like work, travel, illness, etc. Fortunately, yesterday we got out again, and it was gorgeous, flat-ass calm, and we had all afternoon.



We were warm before we started paddling, so we decided to take it easy and avoid heating-up too much. It had snowed Friday night, and the islands were frosted. This is the idyllic winter day we look forward to all summer.


We ate lunch in Isle au Haut Thorofare. Isle au Haut looks pretty quiet this time of year- only about 40 people live there year-round. Kids played in the snow, pulling toboggans with their bicycles or screeching around on ATV's. Some fishermen did a double-take when they saw us and waved.


As we paddled back, we both remarked that the water felt a little heavy. Well, that's what it's like paddling in calm water after three weeks off.

Todd Hits A Rock

Thursday afternoon we got out for a couple of hours. We found some nice waves breaking just north of Rock Island, within sight of Stonington.


Of course, the waves are breaking because they're hitting a shallow spot, which is largely sandy, but has a few big... rocks.


Todd landed right on top of some boulders. He's having difficulty rolling because his bow is stuck on a rock. Good thing I was there to take pictures. He got it on video on the helmet cam, but this video process still needs tweaking; there's either water on the lens or the camera gets pointed the wrong way or something. We paddled through some nice waves over to George's Head, but... up and down, up and down... yeah, the video is a bit vomit-inducing.

In Training

Sea kayaking: it's not just an adventure, it's a workout. Here's Todd, towing a lobster boat, just for kicks.



Of course, afterward, it's important to do some kayak yoga in the cockpit.



Here we are yesterday, rounding Sparrow Island. It was fairly calm in Stonington Harbor, but we headed out to the ledges where we found some nice waves. Air temps were in the high 40's, water temps maybe 10 degrees less. Todd's helmet cam caught some of it, but it induces seasickness. Soon we'll have video.

Paddling into the Sunset... at 3:45

Yeah, about friggin' time. You'd think we'd have plenty of time, but there' always something - work, the sun going down at four in the afternoon, laziness. Today we went out. Air temps in the 20's, water temps... well, cold. Of course, we were bundled-up and hot. Only a couple of fishing boats out there today, although lately I've been watching them wait in line to take out huge stacks of traps at the fishing pier.
Knowing we had limited time, we paddled nonstop, going out around McGlathery. We paused by the big rock and looked over at Spruce Island- one hour down and one to go. Hey, let's go around Spruce too. Nice. Nice sunset. And then coming home is such luxury: a hot bath, black bean soup that I started before we left, whiskey. We have a good life here.