CR and I met at Ned’s Point in Mattapoisett on a day with the clouds clearing, the tide rising, and a steady breeze from the north. From Mattapoisett you can go west towards Fairhaven but I had paddled off west Island in January. So we chose to go east towards Marion which was also slightly into the wind which would make the return paddle a little easier (and warmer if that happened to be an issue).
The combination of tide and wind was liberating slabs of ice from the shoreline and floating them out to sea. We were very quickly paddling amongst this ice. Of course (with apologies to my Alaskan friend) I was describing this as paddling amongst icebergs. It was an excitement we thankfully don’t get in summer!
As we rounded Angelica point we could see Bird Island lighthouse in the distance. We were both dressed comfortably warm for the conditions so we just paddled generally in that direction. I think the good conversation and the thrill of being out on a nice Feb day made us a bit oblivious that the land was drifting away from us on our left. We ended up making a 2+ mile beeline crossing to the lighthouse. The conditions were fine and not at all challenging but in hindsight we probably should have stayed a bit closer to shore in the name of safety given the cold water. (Did I mention ice floating around?)
At the lighthouse we made an assessment that we wouldn’t be disturbing any nesting birds so we landed on the beach. Pulling the boats up was easy over the 15 feet of slush along the shore. We ate our lunch and sipped on warm green and ginseng tea soaking up the sun and in my case at least warming my feet. Neoprene boots over my dry suit booties and one pair of hiking socks is not enough to keep your feet warm when they are sitting on 3/16ths of an inch of fiberglass and 38 degree water.
On the paddle back we headed toward Converse Point to stay closer to land. We stopped a few times to hear what we think were matting pairs of Eiders. I was determined to see a seal so attempted to turn every dark lobster pot into a “Bouy”seal.
I usually don’t like returning on the same course as I went out on but I was so mesmerized by Bird Island light on the way out that the shore was unfamiliar to me on the return. As we passed back over Angelica point the tide had receded enough that I could scrape over with the round bottom hull of my Ellesmere but CR couldn’t get the V of her Sirius over. In the next cove I finally spotted my seal. He was a lone Harbor Seal and not particularly curious.
With the put-in in view and our boats back amongst the drifting ice I started discussing the photo opportunity of doing a roll amongst the ice. CR looked at me as if I had two heads although the more appropriate conclusion would have been that I had less than a full scull. A little bit of sense and a lot of doubt about my roll success percentage kept me pointing upright. As it turns out we were still a mile away and I would have been awful cold had I popped out of my boat.
Back at the launch I went for my usual test swim. I had been wearing a full neoprene hood all day long. (I have funny tan lines on my face to prove it.) My body was sufficiently comfortable in the water but my bare hands which had been so comfortable all day in poggies were numb within 15 seconds in the water. Again a reminder to me that you can’t be too cautious in cold water. The day had been comfortable, in every way as enjoyable as a July paddle if not more so because of the lack of power boats and activity. But we were paddling with the ever present danger that if something went wrong the cold water would quickly become a major contributor to the difficulty of recovery. 11.2 miles Feb 21, 2007
1 comment:
Icebergs. You New Englanders are so darn cute!
--anonymous Alaskan
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