At this time of the year I hope for cooler days (like last week’s
paddle from Gooseberry) because it is hard to dress for both the water and the
air. This week I chose my dry suit with
just a thin layer of poly-pro under it. I
jumped in the water (55 degrees) before getting in the boat. It was clear that I’d be OK but cold if I had
to swim. But with a bright sun I knew I’d
be able to warm back up.
We (CC, RB, BH, TG, TM, JS, CM, PB, Cam) headed out into
still air and very calm water. In the
open water there was the beginnings of a light breeze which make it very
comfortable and the 1 foot seas were perfect for a little rock gardening along
the Jamestown shore. We all started
without our helmets but quickly realized they would be prudent. Of course the addition of a helmet only makes
us more bold in the rocks that we take on.
Bob and I predictably ended up temporarily grounded but things were
generally pretty calm.
There is one little rock passage at the end of Southwest
Point just before you make the turn into Mackerel Cove. It appears as if it is well protected behind
a large rock but there are guard rocks and the granite behind the rock slopes
up gradually so the wash wants to run you up.
Rick and Jon seemed to be thinking about it. Tim, the last to engage in the rock
gardening, went in. He washed up the
rock a bit but maintained composure and remained in the sweet spot. Then he attempted to cross the shallow necked
down rock passage and got hung up. The
water washed out from under him and it looked like he was sitting at about a 45
degree angle pointing up. The return of
water is always a mixed blessing. It
came back in and floated him but he ended up upside down. Somehow, I think a paddle on the rock roll,
he righted himself. With a little
re-organization and a bit of a thrashing he made his way back out. The body was fine but a think the adrenalin
level was a bit high.
We slipped into the first cove and regained our
composure. It was a bit too early for
lunch in Mackerel Cove so we continued on towards Beavertail Point. I was not as warm as I would have liked so I
added my neoprene hat under my helmet.
By the time we got to Short Point, the first point as you start to head
towards Beavertail, it was clear that the wind was picking up. A command decision was made to have lunch in
Hull Cove. There were some tempting
waves along this shore but they would have washed you into the rocks if you
couldn’t get off them. No one pushed
their luck. I caught a nice one by the
sandy section that people were landing on.
Unfortunately it pushed me right towards the landing party. I managed to keep from wiping them out and
headed back for just one more ride.
Lunch was a relaxing
affair and we were all comfortable in the bright sun. After lunch we continued on to
Beavertail. The wind was now approaching
15 from the south west. We knew we’d
have an easy downwind ride home. Back in
the open water it was a bit of a slog.
We got strung out a bit. At one
point we stopped to gather up. I checked
the GPS, the wind was pushing us back at about 100 feet per minute.
We got to within striking distance of Beavertail coast guard
station and turned around. Down wind was
fun and without seeing the cresting waves we all allowed ourselves to get a
little closer to the shore. At one point
a wave grabbed my stern and rotated me about 60 degrees instantly. I started thinking about how quickly the wind
was pushing us and began to prepare my tow rope in case something
happened. It was lively enough that I
couldn’t manage to swing it around my waist to grab the carabineer. I abandoned that plan so I wouldn’t be the
one going over.
There was some great down wind surfing across the mouth of
Mackerel Cove. The shore along Jamestown
was exciting. There was calopitis and
waves were peaking up momentarily all over the place. The wind was strong enough that turning back
away from the shore was a challenge. I
never felt unsteady but my waist got quite a workout as the boat twisted and
jerked about under me.
By this point we could even surf into the Fort Wetherill
Cove! Once in the cove Rick, Cam, Jon
and I did a little rolling. Others did
well. I blew my first. Managed my second. Then blew a third. Once on shore I realized just how tired I
was. And also how windy it was. The Newport weather station listed it as 17
gusting to 25. The Buzzards Bay buoy had
a steady 30!
