Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Low Down on the Assabet

Quite a contrast between last Saturday's paddling in the choppy ocean waters off of Cape Ann and today's paddling along a tranquil Assabet River in Concord.

The inscription at Egg Rock was found to be high and dry.  In fact finding water deep enough to paddle in the Assabet was challenging in places.


These Cardinal flowers served as a reminder of how our summer is getting long in the tooth...

 The day's hot temperatures brought this white-tailed deer to the river's edge...
...who was joined by an associate...

More real estate than usual at Willow Island...

Trash recovered along the way...

Sunday, July 26, 2015

A "Challenging" Blackburn

Upon waking in my tent early yesterday morning an occasional whooshing sound caught my ear.  It was the wind blowing through the trees and sounded a little stronger than what had been mentioned in the weather forecast.  However, it being the day of the Cape Ann Rowing Club's annual Blackburn Challenge, I needed to get my boat into the Jones River and paddle over to registration/check-in at Gloucester High School on the Annisquam River.  The trip over was made even quicker by having the aforementioned wind at my back, and my passage to and under the A. Piatt Andrew Bridge (at left) was a swift one.   Only problem was that the course of the race would have us going in the opposite direction and into that same wind.  One benefit, however, was unseasonably cool temperatures which would keep folks from overheating.

Prior to the event I'd run into several rowers and paddlers who'd traveled from afar to participate in this year's Blackburn.  Chris, who'd completed the tough Yukon River Quest, came down from Canada (Ottawa) to tackle his first Blackburn in a Clipper hybrid canoe/kayak.  Also from Canada (Nova Scotia) were Fenton and Russell who would be, once again, rowing the approximately 20 mile course in a banks dory (photo in previous post).  On the small beach by the High School I parked my boat next to this sleek Rapier by Valley Kayaks and its owner Marshall from New York State...
...who previously paddled sea kayaks a little wider in the Blackburn.

At the start line there were a few peaks of sun as racers awaited their respective heats...

Just before my class got underway, the organizers mentioned there being reports of 4 foot seas outside of Lanes Cove...and we were off, heading up the Annisquam River towards Ipswich Bay.  The first indication of trouble was the Gloucester Harbormaster's boat heading fast towards the mouth of the Annisquam. There, the outgoing tide was being countered by the wind from the north at a shallow sand bar and had capsized several boats.  Not an encouraging sight.

Further along, off of Lanes Cove, I came upon a rower struggling to re-enter his rowing scull.  He was being helped by a couple in a tandem sea kayak and, after several failed attempts, was able to re-enter his boat.  The couple in the sea kayak had put themselves broadside to the waves, despite not having spray skirts for their respective cockpits.  Fortunately they had a pump aboard.

For me the toughest section was off Halibut Point in Rockport where one particularly nasty wave gave me a horizontal deluge that felt like a hit upside the head and persuaded me not to turn my back to the seas until safely past Milk Island. 

Reaching the finish line more than 4 hours after starting I noticed a lot fewer boats on the beach than usual.  I'd later hear that out of 230 boats some 57 or so elected to pull out of the event somewhere along the course.  It's been a long time since conditions at a Blackburn Challenge were that challenging...possibly 2000.

This video of the event was shot by Marty Luster and posted on Good Morning Gloucester.


This errant gang of refuse found along the Annisquam got to accompany me 'round Cape Ann...
  ...and provided just the right amount of ballast.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Two Men and a Dory

The type of boat most in keeping with the Blackburn saga.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Blackburn Inches Closer

With two days to go before this year's Blackburn Challenge, I had the start line all to myself this morning.  The Annisquam River was at a similar tide stage and provided a nice ride up to Annisquam Light.

This just about says it all...


Monday, July 20, 2015

Work Zone on the Sudbury

Today was the kind of day I dreamed about during this past winter's long and frigid siege: warm, perhaps even hot, close to ninety degrees, with a dry and refreshing breeze out of the south.  Brought to mind that song from the 70s, "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Croft.  Beats the bejesus out of winter!


Things were looking good right from the git go.  The boat launch at Route 20 in Wayland was very tidy...
...thanks to the group Big Heart/Little Feet who maintain these receptacles for trash and recyclables.

I headed downriver en route to Sherman's Bridge and, just as motorists encounter road work, I encountered river work being done along the way.  Water chestnut plants were being harvested by  crews working from both canoes and mechanical harvesters.

The canoe crews...

One of two mechanical harvesters...

Water chestnuts meeting their fate...

Once full the harvesters would head downriver to Sherman's Bridge where they would unload into this conveyor and dump-trailer...

The object of all this work...the water chestnut plant itself...


Today's teeney-tiny trash haul...
Seems like it's always the left shoe.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Giddy Up on the Concord

I don't often paddle fast these days but when I do I prefer it be while paddling in the Blackburn Challenge.  Since one week from today my plan is to be paddling the event's approximately 20 mile course around Cape Ann, I used this past week for trying to find my fastest sustainable boat speed over 10 miles.

Fortunately, the Concord River was agreeable to playing the part of Cape Ann's  Annisquam River and provided me with two days practice, each having vastly different weather conditions.

This morning cloudy and cool conditions were encountered on the river (opening photo) whereas this past Wednesday things were hot and sticky...

On both days I launched at the Bedford Boat Launch off of Route 225 and followed a training course which had me paddling downriver 2 miles to Route 4 then  4.5 miles upriver to Sawmill Brook and then 3.5 miles downriver to Two Brothers Rocks.

Each year I toy with the idea of improving my forward stroke and each year it seems I end up resorting to the same old stroke that, for me, is time-tested and somehow manages to get me from Point A to Point B.  This year is no different.  Regardless of which stroke I used my time after 10 miles was the same.

So with that matter resolved I continued (at a little slower rate) downriver to Bug Island...
...and rounded it before heading back to the Bedford Boat Launch giving me 15 miles overall.

Didn't see much trash on the water but did manage to get these few pieces "on the fly"...


Sunday, July 12, 2015

A Buttoned-Up Sudbury

The sun was just beginning to illuminate the inscription at Egg Rock when I began paddling up the Sudbury River early this morning.  With a 20 mile paddling event now less than 2 weeks ahead it was time to get in some distance training.  For me that means getting to the point where I can forget that I'm actually paddling.  Still work to do on that front.

Thanks to recent rains the river is sporting plenty of water and high- summer conditions reign.

The stretch of the Sudbury in Concord was smooth as glass...
The Route 2 bridge...
Lee's Bridge...

Pantry Brook was making a fair contribution...


In most places the riversides were decorated with the white blossoms of the buttonbush...
...which drew me in for a closer look...
...and then closer still...
Not sure but I suspect this is their peak time.

The white water lily blossoms are also looking fine...

Adding a splash of color are the pickerelweed blossoms...

One rare encounter this morning was finding trash at the small boat landing on Fairhaven Bay's Brooke Island...
This spot is only accessible by boat and is usually found to be clean as a whistle.

Still, all in all, the river between Egg Rock and Sherman's Bridge was relatively trash free.  What was recovered...

...had a shore-fishing theme.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Deposit or Withdrawal?

That was the question at the start of yesterday's paddle on the Concord River when, upon exiting my car, I saw the cam-lock hose cap someone had left atop a guard-rail post by the Lowell Road Bridge in Concord.  Most tank-truck vehicles use this type of cap on the hoses they carry for loading or unloading their tanks.  So was a hose lowered to the river below for withdrawing water from the river, or for depositing a liquid into the river.  Hopefully, the fact the driver left the cap behind doesn't indicate he was in a hurry and rather that it was only river water being used to refill the tank on a street-sweeper.   A closer look at the hose-cap...

At any rate, the river looked fine...
...down to the Route 225 bridge in Bedford/Carlisle...

Very little trash was recovered...
...and one piece served in acquainting me with a new beverage and Wampanoag place name...

Monday, July 6, 2015

Needle in a Haystack

Like most boaters I've lost a thing or two overboard and had to reluctantly come to terms with accepting the loss and moving on.  Early this morning I found myself in that position once again.
 
After launching from the Bedford Boat Launch at Route 225, perfect conditions were enjoyed as I blissfully paddled down the Concord River.

It was when this squadron of ducks pulled out in front of me that things began to go south...

Seeing them on my camera's screen was only possible after removing my magnetic clip-on sunglasses and briefly placing them on my pant leg (within my boat's cockpit)....and then forgetting about them.
 
I paddled further downriver passing under Route 3 to the remnants of the old Middlesex Turnpike bridge location before turning about and heading back upriver.  Before once again passing under the Route 3 overpass I snapped this photo...
...and realized that my clip-on sunglasses were not attached to my glasses.  Checking all my pockets and the boat's cockpit turned up nada, and I began to hear an inner voice telling me "the sunglasses are gone...accept the $150+ loss and move on...salvage what you can of this beautiful day despite the loss as finding them would be like finding a needle in a haystack".

Another inner voice wondered if clip-on glasses would have floated or sank and asked "where have you been since snapping the duck photo?"  So, I began re-tracing my paddle strokes back to the Middlesex Turnpike, then to a couple of spots where I'd briefly exited the boat.  This process eventually brought me back to the duck family who were now enjoying some beach time...
That's when I saw the fish nest in the shallows and remembered having seen one just like it upon exiting my boat earlier.  Two slow passes were made with eyes anxiously scanning the bottom, never expecting they'd be there.  On the second pass I saw the outline of the glasses laying on the bottom in about 5" of water and upon retrieving them my spirits went from the depths of despair to utopia.

From now on these will be relegated to shore duty only...
To be honest I never dreamed I'd actually find them.  Must have been my lucky day!

Some rounded-up trash got lucky too...
...and was deposited in the Big Belly receptacles back at the boat launch.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

New Eyes Scan Fairhaven Bay

My granddaughter joined me this morning for another early morning paddle.  I got to show her the Sudbury River's Fairhaven Bay where two white-tailed deer were seen on the eastern shore, and Martha's Point (opening photo) where the melodic song of several wood thrush was heard.

In addition to eastern kingbirds, red-winged blackbirds, Canada geese, a lone duck, and possible baby beaver, was this great blue heron...

So little trash was encountered, it wasn't worth a snapshot.  Nice!