Bird Island Challenge 2012

Things didn't look very promising for the Gleason Family YMCA's Tenth Annual Bird Island Challenge early this morning.  The day opened with low dark clouds and intermittant downpours of a tropical nature.  This combined with a busy breeze out of the south left the event's organizers little choice but to have a one hour delay and shorten the longer of three scheduled races from thirteen miles down to six.  The fact that Bird Island would not be circumnavigated disappointed many participants.  Most, however, were happy to have any course available (rather than a cancellation) and all participants completed either the six or three mile courses.

According to event organizers "The Bird Island Challenge has grown each year and this year is no exception.  This event benefits the financial aid program at the YMCA.  The Gleason Family YMCA's mission is to provide memberships, camp and programs to those who simply cannot pay for the YMCA experience.  The Bird Island Challenge is a big part of that mission."

Shortly after 9 am racers in a variety of human powered vessels began heading off from the start line at Zecco Marine, Wareham, MA into a sloppy chop being pushed into their bows by the southerly wind.  The trip out to the respective turnaround points was a bit of a slog.  Once around their marker buoys however, paddlers and rowers now enjoyed having that same wind at their back and the same sloppy chop now afforded some brief bursts of speed on the way back in.  I guess you could say Buzzards Bay was stern but forgiving today.

Once back on solid ground, all particpants were presented the coveted golden scallop shell before enjoying a fine meal and awards ceremony inside the boat hanger at Zecco Marine.

Sudbury River - Lee's Bridge to Sudbury Rd. Bridge

As I launched into the Sudbury River at the Lincoln Canoe Launch this afternoon, I was thinking about a message I'd received yesterday from Gordon, an Aussie (Rubbish) Paddler.  Gordon informed me that Trash Paddlers in his country are called "Rubbish Paddlers" as that word is used the way we use "trash". 
He's lobbying for floating waste traps and for the implementation of a Container Deposit Scheme. He sent along a slide show outlining his goals.  Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to post it here.
One area he recently "rubbish" patrolled was Breakfast Creek in Brisbane. His rubbish hauls look very familar to what we see around here.  Quite a few PET containers.  Same problem, different hemisphere!

At any rate, it was a pleasant afternoon to be out on the river and I never get tired of entering Fairhaven Bay (photo above).
Heading downriver I was joined briefly by this tightly formed squadron of ducks...

Just below Martha's Point, this Hobie Cat rig looked abandoned...

Passengers on this pontoon boat were being returned from an excursion to Fairhaven Bay...

The excursions operate from Concord's South Bridge Boathouse.

Most of today's haul was recovered from the river's shore at the Sudbury Road bridge (Heath's Bridge) in Concord and had been left there by folks fishing.

There were 22 recyclable containers (9 redeemable) and 33 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish that included quite a few styrofoam bait tubs.  YTD = 4641
  

Assabet River - Whitman's Xing to Russell's Bridge

The heat and humidity relaxed a bit this afternoon and the Assabet River in Stow was close at hand.  I launched at the Sudbury Road bridge at Whitman's Crossing and headed downriver towards a bright blue sky painted with wispy white clouds.  Before getting launched though, another bit of white caught my eye in the bushes.  At first, I thought someone had dumped the ice from their cooler...

Rather than ice, I believe it's calcium chloride (aka ice melt) perhaps from the trunk of someones car.  Suppose they'll come back for it when the weather gets colder?

Several belted kingfishers and herons were seen on the way to Russell's Bridge as well as this osprey...

Once back at Sudbury Road my small haul assembled hullside...

There were 9 recyclable containers (5 redeemable) and 12 pieces of misc. rubbish.  YTD = 4586

As I was leaving these folks were just heading out for some fishin'...



Mining the Assabet's Archives

The Egg Rock inscription stands high and dry these days.  Therefore, I decided to take advantage of these low levels and mid-day sunshine in hopes of finding a hatch cover I'd lost into the Assabet River last year.  The riverbottom was completely visible in my search area, but alas no hatch cover was found and the case is now closed.  While searching, however, I did find quite a few glass bottles.  Here are a few of the older ones...

The amber one is an Old Molineaux wine pint bottle.  The small clear bottle once contained Old Quaker whiskey, and the bottle on the left was Sawyers Crystal Blueing which was a kind of laundry product, and may be the oldest, possibly pre-1905 according to one online bottle site.

This blue heron was taking advantage of the low water levels as well...

His prey have far fewer places to hide.

Cardinal flowers are now in full bloom...

At the takeout, my day's catch was almost 50% glass...

 There were 17 recyclable containers (1 redeemable) and 21 pieces of misc. rubbish such as nip bottles, fishing product containers, and some plastic bags.  YTD = 4565

All in all, a better day for drifting than for paddling!
  

Two Sides of Gloucester's Eastern Point

Another work week wrapped-up in Gloucester, leaving me with the tide rising, sun shining, and a need to find relief from the heat.  At Pavilion Beach there was one parking spot left and within a very short time I'd paddled over to little Ten Pound Island and paused for lunch while enjoying this vista of Gloucester's Boulevard...

Here's the view from the island's other side showing the diminutive Ten Pound Island Lighthouse.

According to the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce 2012 guidebook, Winslow Homer lived here during the summer of 1880 when he was the light's keeper.

I next paddled over to the Southeast Harbor and followed its wealthy shoreline to the sheltered cove behind Eastern Point and the Dog Bar breakwater...

This side of Eastern Point is fairly tame due to the approximately 600 yard long breakwater.  I landed in a small cove before following the breakwater out to where it ends with the small Dog Bar light and horn...

This is where the traffic leaving and entering the harbor becomes a factor...

After rounding the breakwater's end, I headed to Eastern Point's ocean facing side...

The air conditioning was working great here as the wind was coming in off the water, and my boat was bobbing happily about in the lumpiness that always seems to be present here.

Trash was on the light side with small amounts being found at Ten Pound Island and the small cove at Eastern Point.  Also a plastic bag holding 4 containers was floating in the middle of the harbor.

On the way back a brief stop was made at Ten Pound Island to let everyone enjoy a refreshing swim at the top of the tide...

There were 9 recyclable containers (4 redeemable) and 19 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags, styrofoam cups, and an empty chip bag that found its way to the wrong Cape. 

YTD = 4527

As boat names go, this one is age subjective...

Paddling Quascacunquen Waters in Newbury

After finishing up my work responsibilities this morning, I took refuge behind a 6-mile long plum of a barrier island and tried to make sense of the strange dream I awoke from earlier:  In the dream there was a big bus, like the ones that take folks down to the casinos in Connecticut.  The bus was carrying all of our esteemed Massachusetts legislators, and they appeared to be racing to a large "Legislative Year Finish Line" banner that was stretched across the roadway.  There were folks lining both sides of the road cheering them on.  It was exciting!  I saw one legislator trying to open one of the bus's windows but having difficulty.  Other legislators tried to help until finally, after forming a committee, they realized the window opened down rather than up.  We thought they were going to wave to us before crossing the finish line.  However, at that point the bus slowed a bit and out of the open window were tossed a bunch of empty plastic Gatorade, iced tea, and "spring" water bottles.  The bottles hit the pavement, then bounced into the shrubbery.  The window was closed, the bus downshifted (emitting a cloud of diesel fumes), and accelerated through the banner with all those aboard high-fiving each other.  Needless to say, we in the crowd were dumbfounded.  We looked at each other, shrugged, and then began picking up the mess they left alongside the roadway.
I thought about my strange dream for awhile before realizing that it just didn't make any sense, anyway, anyhow and that I better stop thinking about it lest a nightmare turn into a daymare.  Oh well.

Back in the real world, it was 2 hours before high tide and I was approaching 2 rivers I've yet to paddle.  Enroute along Rt. 1A there was this nice old cast-iron sign from the Massachusetts Bay Colony's tercentenary in 1930...

Apparently, Quascacunquen was the Native American word for the waterfall in the river presently known as the Parker River.  This area was previously part of Masconomo's realm as he was the sagamore of Agawam (Ipswich).

Arriving at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island, I launched from the canoe and kayak ramp there after paying a $ 5 dollar fee...

I paddled the Plum Island River in a southernly direction passing the inlets to 3 creeks: Little Pine Island Creek, Pine Island Creek, and Jericho Creek.

Floating in the water were numerous seemingly dead horseshoe crabs like this one...

Terns were plentiful in the same area...

Just before entering Plum Island Sound, I veered to the west and began ascending the Parker River with the last hour of the rising tide.  A little ways above the Rt. 1A, near Newbury Old Town was this nice spot to enjoy lunch...

From my vantage point I could see another bridge a little further upriver with no apparent traffic...

After lunch I relaunched and began my return trip.  Sea heather was plentiful in the Parker River...

..as were lay-about cormorants...

...and committees of great egrets...

Back at Plum Island my modest trash haul paused at the boat ramp...

As I wheeled my boat back to the parking area, I encountered this little guy who seemed to use only one leg...

These are busy times for the plovers as the closed off boardwalk to the ocean attests...

An Assabet Afternoon in Hudson

Finished up work in Hudson today and decided to launch into the Assabet River at the municipal parking lot near the Washington Street Dam.   I headed upriver in a southwesterly direction and found it to be a beautiful day to be on the water...any water...anywhere.

There was quite of bit of trash at the pedestrian bridge in Riverside Park.  However, this was nothing compared to the large floating trash bag containing several day's worth of some family's rubbish...

It was apparent that the family who generated this bag doesn't recycle.  The bag contained plastic containers, a milk jug, plastic bags, garbage, and a Rite-Aid Wellness Card.

End result was similar to a scheduled 15-round fight that ends in the 2nd round with a knockout...

My boat was pretty much full to the gills and I'd only traveled about 1 mile from the put-in.
There were 56 recyclable containers (19 redeemable) and 126 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish. 
YTD = 4485.  This photo shows the need for expanding the Massachusetts bottle bill better than anything I could say.

For the remainder of my short journey to just downstream of Route 495, I enjoyed some of the forget-me-not flowers on the riverbank...

...and this watchful hawk...

...and for my return trip I had the company of this dragonfly who seems to be staring at me from behind his cool shades...

He stayed in that spot all the way to the takeout.