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Paddling in the lun
Sunday the forecast was windy; 17 knots west gusting to 23 knots. We are blessed with outstanding ocean scenery but cursed by topography. The prevailing winds are SW and W and with many of the bays...
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Covid-19 social distancing
I'm baack! Unbelievable, I finally dusted off the Nordkapp and got out for a paddle. I haven't done much paddling the last couple of winters; just got sidetracked with winter fatbiking. Most of my...
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All alone, almost
Today I got off my bike and into my kayak for a solo trip to Kellys Island. Putting in at Long Pond I surmised it was a good thing the pilot wasn't around because I wasn't in need of a pilot. I left...
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Blogger issue
Seems like there's a Blogger issue with pictures in posts are disappearing. Mine are among those that have disappeared in my last post. Blogger is aware of the issue and I hope they have a fix soon.
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Physical distancing = 1 paddle length
One of the issues for people who are adhering to the health measures to flatten the Covid-19 curve is not being able to see friends. The five of us that paddled have been good. Today was also the...
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Cape Broyle
Hazen organized the trip to Cape Broyle. There were two groups to comply with health directives: one group of five and one group of one, me *lol*. Cape Broyle is a scenic paddle destination. It is...
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Way down upon the Rocky River
Now for something different. A paddle down the Hodge and Rocky Rivers in my Pyranha Micro 240 creek boat. It was an event organized by Hazen and enjoyed by the fours of us including Brian, Neville...
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Just exercise, pure and simple
With an expedition of indeterminate length in sight we felt we should at least try to get a bit of paddling in to get in shape or assess our conditioning. Access to the slipway was limited so we...
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Staycation 2020 - Little Bay Islands; getting in position
In 2010 Ralph, Stan and I were on hand for the funeral of Grand Bruit on the South Coast. The community was being resettled and we were there to witness it. On December 31, 2019 the community of...
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Staycation 2020 - Little Bay Islands; Arriving
Wednesday, July 15th, we had gotten ourselves in position to paddle to Little Bay Island from Paddocks Bight on Sunday Cove Island. We took advantage of a picnic table where we had camped. The day...
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Staycation 2020 - Little Bay Islands; On walkabout
The welcome sign as you got off the ferry at Suly Ann Cove notifies the traveler in the last days that services would be discontinued as a result of the resettlement of the community of Little Bay...
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Staycation 2020 - Little Bay Islands; Going round
On the third day of our kayak camp trip at Little Bay Island we awoke to another beautiful day with light winds. We left our tents up and decided on a circumnavigation of the island. The only...
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Staycation 2020 - Little Bay Islands; Early wrap
On day four of our trip to Little Bay Island and area we had a decision to make. What was the plan for the day? One suggestion was to leave the tents up for another day and head west to explore...
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Hummel sets sail
 Somewhere about 55 years ago my friend Louis and I decided we were going to build a raft. We cut down some trees and pitched the logs down over the 30 meter cliff at Middle Cove Beach and lashed them...
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Finding my sea legs again
 Well, I've finally managed to get my ass off the bike and into my kayak. Sad to say it took three months. Nevertheless, I'm back and intend to do things with a bit more balance.Today Brian, Cathy,...
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Christmas Eve paddle revival
The first Christmas Eve paddle happened in 2009. There were five of us: Dean, Derrick, Sean, Stan and myself. As is evident in the picture, it was also a green Christmas year. Since then they...
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Livin' in a fog
Spring is here and after a winter of fatbiking in the snow it was time to get some paddling in. At home is was pea soup thick fog but at water level the fog wasn't an issue. Higher up on Bell Island...
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Practice revival
 In August 2009 Graham O posted a message on the then kayak message board inviting paddlers to practice skills in St. Philips. He opened it to Paddle Canada level II certified paddlers. I had no...
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Arr ... be there pirates?
Sunday was a perfect day for a paddle over to Kellys Island. Its a 3 km crossing from Long Pond were we assembled for the put-in.Once we were all on the water we paddled out through the pond and made...
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Looking for my MoJo
This has the feel of a confession. The last time I paddled was May 30th! I can't explain it but I've lost my mojo. I lost my enthusiasm for paddling. Maybe yesterday's paddle is the start of the way...
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Looking at the sea from two sides
Hard to believe but I might be back to some kind of regular paddling; twice inside of two weeks! Dean mailed the usual suspects and I was the only positive reply. We met at Long Pond in Conception...
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Baptism by Fire
I haven't paddled much of late. So, when Shane proposed a paddle I jumped at the chance. It looked a good day for it; it was sunny and very little wind. When we left the harbour we got a bit of a...
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Woody Island one night stand
No kayak camp trip last so when Clyde mailed about a one night trip to Carroll Point on Bar Haven Island Brian, Hazen and I accepted the invitation from him and Dean. We met at 8:00 for the two hour...
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Woody Island; what a difference a day makes
 Here's the track to our camp site on Saturday, July16. We had a look out at the top of Woody Island and opted the route on the outside and had a peek again when we reached Little Woody Island. We...
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Ice, ice baby!
First paddle of 2023! Pack ice drifted into Conception Bay for the first time in years so it was a have to paddle.The ice was close to shore but further up along the coast. I passed the first piece...
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