Newfoundland Sea Kayaking

Lucky

2011-11-14T19:54:00.006-03:30

While taking our daughter for her first swim, I discovered that my waterproof camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TSC1, had leaked water into the battery compartment and had died. Just Great. A $400 camera thats supposedly "waterproof" is ruined from being in the water. Just F'n great!

Anger stewing in my brain, we left to drive back home. Not 5 minutes from our house, all I can see is the ass and hind legs of a large animal. MOOSE!!!! I slam on the brakes and cut the wheel to the left to hopefully avoid the huge animal. The sound of smashing glass and my wife screaming. I can't believe what just happened, we hit a moose. I manage to pull the car off to the side and we scramble out the check on Heidi. Angie is covered in glass, but otherwise is ok. Heidi is awake in her rear-facing carseat. She is fine. We got lucky.

The car, nor the moose wasn't so lucky. The moose was dead on the road and cars were swerving to avoid it, and some people stopped to see if we were ok. Me and a few guys managed to drag the large animal off the road so one else would hit it.

The police show up, write up the report, determine the car is ok to drive back to our house, as its just up the road, but Angie had to sit in the back due to all the glass in the front. We covered Heidi with a blanket to make sure no glass got on her from the wind blowing on what was left of the windsheild.

We get home and make some phone calls. We are a little shaken, our appetite for supper was gone, but we are ok.

Our camera is busted, our car is most likley a write-off...........but who gives a shit, its just material stuff, it can all be replaced. Before long Heidi was asleep in her crib, and Angie and I were relaxing on the couch watching Sopranos and snacking on chips. We are lucky.

Ocean Pond

2011-09-27T11:52:00.019-02:30

On September 17 my wife and I dropped Heidi off with the grandparents so we could get out for an afternoon paddle. Hurricane Maria had come through the day before, and they were warning of a storm surge, so we decided to stay off the ocean and go to the next best thing, a pond named after the ocean. Its only a 10 minute drive or so from our house, so the location was perfect as well.

The biggest issue I've found with these ponds and lakes in cottage country is finding a place to launch, as most of the land around the ponds are privately owned, with little or no public access. We found a short path down to the pond at the entrance to Ocean Pond so we pulled over. The gentlemen who owned the cabin across the road from the path came down to check us out, so I asked if it was ok for us to launch our boats there and if our car would be in the way parked where it was. He said it should be fine, and for us to be careful around his wharf. I told him not to worry, that we wouldn't be using his wharf, just launching from the bank. We didn't drive anywhere else, so I don't know if there are any other public accesses but from what we saw from the water, weren't any.

Launch spot marked X

It was a great paddle, nice warm September day. We paddled to the far end of the pond, where there is a cabin and small beach area, where we stopped to have our lunch. The return trip was 15kms. This could have been made much longer if we followed the perimeter of the pond and poked around the islands and inlets. We were a bit limited with time, so we did pretty much a straight route.

One of the few launch spots

There is a lot of boat traffic here, seadoos, speed boats, paddleboats, canoes, etc.. Its a very popular cottage area, so it can be pretty busy. Even for a September day it there was a lot of activity. If you are planning on doing this paddle, I'd recommend you take a map. Not that you'll get lost on a pond, but it can be confusing with the low lying land and all the islands and inlets. A map makes it much easier to navigate.

Looking down the pond

Angie making her way

Our lunch spot, not bad

A happy couple on a happy day

Summer's Gone

2011-09-13T11:40:00.007-02:30

Summer, or what there was of it, is pretty much gone now. The temperatures are starting to get pretty low in the evenings. There was even a frost warning last week! Ouch!

For the past 2 weeks, my sister and family were home from Winnipeg for a visit, so I took my brother-in-law, Rob, out for a short paddle in Spread Eagle. It was his first time in a sea kayak, and the first time I'd been on the ocean in 3 weeks, so I was more than happy to take him out.

The stretch of coast from Spread Eagle to Marley's Cove is pretty nice, with lots of little nooks and crannies to poke into. I even got to practice a few rolls and self rescues...but just to show off mostly :-)

Squeezing between the rocks

Rob posing at Wigwam Rock

I've been getting in a bit of pond practice behind my house lately, which is great. Trying to nail down my offside roll, sculling brace, etc.. But daylight is getting less and less every day, so my time for this is getting short. Summer's gone :-(

Gander River Canoe Trip '11

2011-08-01T07:54:00.025-02:30

July 14-18, 2011. It was time for the annual Gander River Canoe Trip. This was my third year of what I hope will be many, many more for this trip. This year we had 16 friends, lots of food and lots of beer. The only thing missing was great weather, but we certainly made the best of it. The week before a few of us saw KISS in concert, and it poured the whole show, and they rocked. So we figured if KISS can rock it up in the rain, so could we.

Packing up and getting ready to leave Glenwood. We pretty much have it down to a science now. Its amazing how much gear you can fit in a canoe versus a kayak.

Hitting the first few rapids. The worst of the rapids on this river are all within the first half hour of paddling, with the exception of a few rattles at the very end. We usually get dressed to get wet for the first bit, then change into something warmer if the weather is chilly, which it was this year.

For the first time in 11 years, not one canoe ran Big Chute, the biggest rapid on this river. We just couldn't find a sensible line on it, and with the canoes loaded down, and about 25kms left to paddle before our campsite, swamping a few canoes and having to retrieve all the gear, get dry, etc. would not have been good. Wise decision I think.

While waiting for everybody to lower their canoes down the rapids, Mark (Gilly) and Paul went up to play around in the rapids.

Colin and Taylor did the same

Phil and Dion, and Timmy G and Derrick making good time

Andrew sizing up Shawn's hydration options, Gatorade and Beer.

Stopping for a lunch. Mark had a few flicks of the rod, with no luck

Andrew and Mark Murphy. Mark was one of two rookies this year. A fine job for the first time on the river.

Gilly and Paul. Paul was another rookie this year, who also did an awesome job.

Rafting up

With about an hour or so of daylight left, we arrived at our campsite at Lou's Pool only to find that someone else was already there. There aren't a whole lot of places to camp on this river, so we were kind of bummed. But our fearless leader, Gilly said, "no problem boys, we'll make a spot about a 150 feet down the river". So our small army went ashore and before dark we had a spot cleared, all the tents pitched, tarps ready for rain, a fire going and even a salmon fresh out of the river on the grill, courtesy of Gilly. The guys camped next door coulded believe it, said it was like watching a bunch of army ants going to work. We got a great group of guys on this trip, I must say, and everybody knows what to do, and helps everyone out getting all set up.

Gilly with the first salmon of the trip, caught within 30 minutes of getting ashore. They don't get any fresher than that.

Around the fire on the first night. As you can see, it wasn't the warmest weather. But never to cold to have the guitars out.

The next day was supposed to be set aside for fishing, but it poured all through the night and all the next day, plus it was blowing sideways, so we spent the day under the tarps, drinking and eating. Couldn't really complain about that!

Lunch time. Wings, steak, ribs and JiffyPop. Awesome job on the wings Paul!

Supper time, fresh corn and huge pork chops

Night #2 was a bit bitter in terms of the weather, and we had another awesome night of singing and guitar playing. Great job from Stricko on the harmonica and bongos. Murph came out of his shell and did a great job singing some tunes too.

We left the next day by dinner time to head to our next camp site. A couple big ponds to cross along the way, and we usually have a nice southwest wind at our backs along the way. Not today, we had the wind in our face, but luckily a riverboat came along, and they knew Gilly and offered to tow us down the pond. How awesome to sit back, relax, drink beer and watch the world go by.

8 canoes towed end to end. We were very pleased.

Another lunch break. Nap time for some folks :-)

We finally made it to Kevin and Roseanne's cabin, got all set up and had another great night of drinking, eating and laughs. I neglected to take any pics while we were there, but as usual it was a great time.

The next morning, sadly, we had to pack up and make our way to Gander Bay. Its only a short 2 hr paddle, but its a great section of the river, with a couple nice rapids along the way.

Packing up to leave Gander Bay. Paul from Riverfront Chalets met us there to pick up the canoes we had rented.

Sad to see another trip over, but so happy to have done it again for another year.

See you guys again in 2012!

Cottle's Island, Bay of Exploits

2011-06-28T11:09:00.022-02:30

On Saturday past, Angie and I, along with our friends Chad and Kathy went for a day trip around Cottle's Island in the Bay of Exploits. And what a day it was, considering how miserable the weather has been here in NL for the past month or so. We finally saw the sun and temps above 15C. It was also flat calm, a perfect day on the water.

Chad and Kathy rented 2 singles from Lindy Rideout of Seaknife Kayaks . Lindy as always was a great host and had everything all ready for us to go when we got to his boathouse in Intricate Harbour.

We got on the water at about 1:30pm, having made the 346km drive from Whitbourne. It was Kathy's first paddle, and Chad's second, so we were super pleased that the weather was so nice. We paddled out of Intricate Hbr and headed north around Cottles Island, then into Lukes arm and back for a total distance of 15.5kms according to my GPS. Days like this are few and far between here in NL, so you gotta love it when it all works out.

Departure beach in Intricate Hbr

Angie's first day away from our daughter. Happy to be on the water, but missing our little girl :-)

Kathy getting the feel of things

Not much swell to worry about for rock hopping

There is an osprey nest on these rocks, and there were 3 ospreys flying around, not happy with us being there, so we didn't get any closer

Fine conditions

Paddling over a mussel bed with Cottlesville in the background

Huge seas in the Bay of Exploits

Stopping for lunch on the north side of Cottle's Island. There are a few decent beaches on Cottle's Island, but no freshwater.

The sea was like a mirror

Stopping for supper in Luke's Arm. There are a few freshwater sources in Lukes Arm, but not on this beach. It was fine for our purposes.

Along the way, I got out of my boat to collect a pot full of mussels to steam for supper. It was awesome! Can't get them any fresher than that!

While eating, I found two pearls in one mussel. Thats the first time thats ever happened to me, and I've eaten a lot of mussels over the years. They were pretty small, but I was super happy to find one, and glad I didn't crack off one of my teeth on it.

There were some interesting deposits in the rocks. if you look closely, you can see small brown spots within the rocks. They look like eggs.......dinosaur eggs maybe?

Lindy's dog, Buddy hitching a ride with Angie

On our way back, we ran into Lindy taking a couple out for a tour. They were from Home and Cabin Magazine, and were doing a story on Lindy and Seaknife Kayaks. maybe we'll be in the next issue!

Back at home base after another beautiful day on the water.

Finally!

2011-06-01T21:25:00.005-02:30

Finally! After 9 months, I finally got out for a paddle this evening. Trent and I went out around Frenchs Cove, near Bay Roberts for a few hours, and it felt so good to be on the water again. We went around Fergus Island, then up to Jugglers Cove and looped back around to Mercers Cove. Trent calls it "Pretzeling". Basically staying in one area and looping back and forth and all around, so your GPS track looks like a Pretzel. I like it.

Frenchs Cove

Fergus Island

It wasn't about the odometer, it wasn't about the locaton, it wasn't about practice or skill development. It was about being out there soaking in every moment.

Until the next time.

April 15th 2011

2011-04-23T20:47:00.003-02:30

April 15th, 1452 - Leonardo Da Vinci was born

April 15th, 1912 - The Titanic sinks off coast of Newfoundland

April 15th, 2011 at 9:52pm, my daughter, Heidi Jessie Newhook was born

Angie and I are proud first time parents to a health baby girl. And now a whole new adventure has begun.......

The Non-Paddler

2011-03-02T11:52:00.007-03:30

Yep, I haven't been in my boat since September :-(

Working 6 and 7 days a week, horrible weather, and a wife thats 8 months pregnant has kept me off the water, and indoors more than I would like, but hey, life is about more than paddling sometimes, and you have to take care of whats most important. And I'm looking forward to the adventure of fatherhood more than anything, I hear its really easy :-)

I have gotten outside a couple times for a bit of cross country skiing and snowmobiling. Take what you can and go with it!

Looking out over Placentia Bay

My brother and the results of a broken ski

Looking out over Conception Bay

Trent heading up a hill

Nice day for a ski

Another Hike, Bellevue to Chance Cove

2010-10-25T11:39:00.016-02:30

No paddling again this weekend, but I did get outside for a few hours. Yesterday, Trent, Ringo the dog, and I hiked from Bellevue Beach Park to Chance Cove and back. It was an interesting hike, and took about 4 hours. I'd say we walked at least 11kms, but probably more due to amount of detours around felled trees and losing the trail, finding our way back onto some sort of trail. Hurricane Igor laid a beating on this area. and there wasn't much of a trail along the way.

There is a short trail leaving the park, heading towards Chance Cove, and there is a short coastal trail in Chance Cove, and the idea was to bushwack our way from one to the other. Almost the whole way turned out to be a bushwack, thanks to Igor.

The "trail" basically follows the coastline, most of which are high cliffs that lead you down to some really nice beaches along the way.

The starting point is the lookout in the Park.

This is what the trail looked like most of the way. Thanks Igor

This culvert used to below to the road not far from here. Igor completely washed away the road in this area, but has since been repaired.

The first beach we encountered. Very nice.

Ah, the wonderful signs of nature. About 20 car wrecks strewn in a row near the pole line. Hurray for mankind.

A cow moose checking us out. She was lying on the middle of the trail, having a snack. She didn't pay much attention to us, so we watched for 5 minutes or so, then made a detour around here. Below is a short video of the encounter:

A picture of a picture being taken

To get down into one of the coves, someone put a rope to help you out. Nice touch.

A view from on top of the cliffs

What a cool spot

Nice secluded beach

Pretty impressive sea stack

And to cap it off, a rainbow.

East Coast Trail: Cape Broyle to Calvert

2010-10-15T12:06:00.015-02:30

The past weekend, Trent and I hiked another section of the East Coast Trail. Of the developed 254kms of trail, I think I have now completed about 138kms. I used to hike a lot, until I discovered kayaking, which really put a damper on the amount of hiking I did. I'll continue to pick away at this trail over the years, but my primary hobby will remain kayaking.

This section of the ECT is 18.3km and rated as Difficult/Strenuous. It also took a beating from Igor with the website classing the damage as "Very Heavy" and clean up status as "Uncleared". This made for an interesting hike, with a lot of detouring and climbing over and under a lot of fallen trees.

This was the most unprepared I'd ever been for a trip. I basically threw all my gear in my trunk, and drove to the trail head in Cape Broyle. I met Trent in the parking lot of the Ultramar and we just jammed as much crap into our bags as they would take. So much for the lightweight backpacking philosophy I used to follow so strictly. Thats one way kayaking has ruined me. I'm so used to just throwing everything in my hatches and paddling off, that to go back to being concerned about ounces was a pain in the butt.

This was also my first hike with my new backpack the MEC IBex 80. Pretty nice bag. By the end of the trip I had finally figured out most of the features of it. But again, I was very unprepared and rushed, so I kinda figured it out as I went.

To top off our loads, we brought a half dozen beer each. I put a pack of frozen bacon on top of my beers which kept them nice and cold by the time we got to our campsite, at about the 7km mark on the trail.

So we hit the trail at about 2pm. Didn't take me long to realize how far out of shape I was. Whew, it was going to be a long 18km.

Only 30mins in.....sweating already

No where else to put the rain gear....so hang it on the back.

Won't get mistaken for a moose or bear that way!

Stopping for a beer at the Lance Cove Campsite

All set up, including our windbreak.

Trent's patented "3 Hour HotDogs" in progress.

That evening, we drank a few beers, shot the shit, and had some good snacks, including the 3 hour hot dogs shown above. All night coyotes were howling in the distance, something I've never heard before. Very cool, but also unnerving.

We were up around 5am, got our breakfast, packed up and started walking. Right away I noticed my right knee was feeling strange. As soon as I started walking down hill, it felt like it was going to pop. Oh well, only 11kms to go.

Big sea stack in Lance Cove. We paddled around that one back in July.

Trent at a view point

Shag Rock Cove

Me at Shag Rock Cove.

After a while I was really feeling it, and had to basically limp down each hill. Climbing over all the deadfall was not that much fun either. The map showed a short cut, that basically cuts overland about 2-3kms to come down into Calvert, basically cutting off the 5 km or so of Cape Broyle Head. We decided this was our best option, due to my bum knee.

As soon as we turned off the main trail and on to the side path, it started to rain, and the path quickly went from a well developed ATV path to a marsh. Staying on any sort of path was difficult, and it kept disappearing and criss crossing other paths and ATV trails. We were often up to our knees in mud and were soaked from the driving rain. We also got turned about a few times, but eventually found our way down over the hill and into Calvert. By the end of it my knee was really bad and I was limping.

Awesome trail conditions

Soaking wet, but having fun

A typical section of the shortcut path

If you are planning to do this hike, stick to the main trail and don't be tempted by the shortcut shown on the map.

Despite the weather and my knee, overall it was a great trip. I was very happy just to be outside.

My knee is better now, 4 days later, but it concerns me a lot, as I plan to do many, many more hikes over the years, longer and tougher than this one, so I hope its not a reoccuring thing. If it happens again, I'm gonna have to see a doctor.

Centre Hill Trail

2010-10-13T11:59:00.008-02:30

As we move into the fall, I find myself paddling less and hiking more. Back in September me and Trent hiked the Centre Hill Trail, in Sunnyside. The trail is approx. 10kms return, and took us about 3 hrs, including a stop to boil the kettle and have a cuppa tea.

The trail is well marked and maintained, and very easy except for the last bit, which is climbing the 1153ft to the top of Centre Hill. Its the highest point by far in the area, and was used as a fire tower from the 1930's to the mid 1960's.

The panaramic view from the top is amazing, and well worth the hike.

Centre Hill from a distance

Me from the summit, with Trinity Bay in the background

Facing South, with Sunnyside off in the distance

Don't See This Too Often

2010-09-24T09:33:00.003-02:30

Taken outside my house a few weeks ago after a rain storm.

Big Swells in Bay Bulls

2010-09-15T11:46:00.010-02:30

Big for me anyway :-)

Yesterday evening I took my colleague, Jean-Nil, (who is visiting from Quebec), kayaking in Bay Bulls. It was a very nice evening, with no wind, but lots of swell. I'm terrible at judging wave heights, and I'm not out in these type of swells very often, but one of the tour boat operators in Bay Bulls told me that there were 3 metre swells outside, and I think we saw a few of those at the mouth of the Bay. One set of 3 in particular were huge. I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few.

As always, the pictures never do wave heights justice, but a couple of the waves were like walls of water coming at us. They were massive!

Jean-Nil heading out of Bay Bulls

Peek-a-boo

Here we are in the trough of a wave. It looks like the horizon behind Jean-Nil, but its actually the front of the wave coming toward us

The same in the above image. I didn't get any pictures of the biggest set :-(

Checking out some caves on the south side of Bay Bulls. The swells made it too dangerous to get near them.

Another shallow cave

This one was mostly protected from the swells, so we could get a little closer

I think he had a good time :-)

Marble Zipline

2010-08-30T10:27:00.006-02:30

Last weekend, me and a few friends did the Zipline tour at Marble Mountain in Steady Brook, Newfoundland.

What a rush! There were 8 zips, which took us about 1.5hrs altogether. The highest zip is over 300ft high, and the longest one is 1800ft, where you hit speeds up to 80 km/hr.

The third zip takes you right over a 200ft waterfall. It was amazing!

Isle Aux Morts

2010-08-25T07:43:00.020-02:30

During our visit to my home, we got on the water for a few hours around Isle Aux Morts, about 8kms up the coast from Burnt Islands. Even though I grew up very near here, I had never been around here by boat, so I was really looking forward to finally exploring all the nooks and crannies in the area.

Isle Aux Morts translates to "Island of the Dead" and was so named because of all the shipwrecks that have happened over the years around here. The Harvey Trail, in the community describes some of these wrecks, and if you click the link above, you can see what it can look like around here on a bad day. Today we could hear the constant roar of the swells breaking on the rocks and sunkers outside, but it was flat calm inside.

The coastline around Isle Aux Morts. Islands, rocks and sunkers everywhere

There aren't too many great spots on launch around here, although there is a government wharf with a concrete slipway on the other side of the community. We chose the old slipway, where everyone hauls up their boats, and if I'm not mistaken, its the only place that has a TravelLift (for lifting boats out of the water) on this coast. Right after I took the above pic I manged to drive a rusty nail through my foot. Nice way to start the trip. Luckily for me, I had a tetanus shot less than a year ago. I was just glad I didn't have my drysuit on at that point.

So with a new hole in my foot we headed out past the old fish plant. I remember the lovely smell of fish meal that used to come from that place when I was a kid. What a stink!

Heading out through the eastern passage. I didn't take long before we could feel the swells from outside.

Going around Potato Island. We were able to catch a few waves along the way, where Potato Island was closest to Little White Island. We could have stayed there surfing all day, but we wanted to explore, so off we went.

Potato Island to the left, Little White Island to the right

Facing towards Margaree

Poking about all the small islands

One of the very few beaches between Rose Blanche and Port Aux Basques. I didn't even know this one existed. If you look VERY VERY closely to the right above Angie's shoulder, the Caribou is passing by, arriving from Nova Scotia. Even from that far off, we could still hear its engines.

It looked like a great place to camp, but I don't think there's much beach left at high tide. We stopped here for a short break and a lunch.

There is a certain smell attached to this type of landscape in the summer time. I can't put my finger on it, but I wish I could bottle it up and take it back to the east coast with me.

A small channel between two islands

The water was absolutely still

Reflections

Where Isle Aux Morts River meets the sea. Someone has a really nice cabin built in the perfect location. I'm jealous.

Me with slipway and TravelLift in the background.

Another short but very nice paddle.

The West Coast Rocks!

2010-08-24T12:58:00.004-02:30

I won't deny that the East Coast of the island has a better coastline for kayaking, especially the Avalon peninsula.........but you can't beat the West Coast for the landscape.

Me and Ang hiked the Starlite trail on the Table Top Mountains in Codroy Valley while we were back home........the view just can't be beat.

An Evening Paddle in Burnt Islands

2010-08-18T12:12:00.012-02:30

With the Come Home Year festivities in full swing in my hometown, Burnt Islands, waaaaaay down on the SW Coast of Newfoundland, my wife and I squeezed in an evening paddle from behind my dad's house, in God Bay........seriously, its called God Bay, look on the map.

Anyway, the coast down there is pretty exposed, and there have been an awful lot of shipwrecks over the years in this area. There are sunkers EVERYWHERE. Inside the Colombier Islands (called Glumsy Islands back home) its usually pretty sheltered, but you can always hear the roar of the swells breaking up outside.

On this particular evening, we paddled around the community for a few hours, out around the Island and back. It was real nice.

The SW Coast of Newfoundland, between Isle Aux Mortes and Burnt Islands

One of the few sensible places to launch along Route 470

Heading out of God Bay

Angie paddling past "The Island", which was connected to the mainland by a causeway in 1969

The site of the old fishplant, it was here in the 1950's

These are called the Colombier Islands on the map, but everyone home calls the Glumsy Islands, I guess "Colombier" slowly got bastardized to "Glumsy" over the years, haha.

Happy to be home

Flat calm inside God Bay

Under the bridge. I spent a lot of time down here as a kid, it was nice to see it again.

Bay Bulls

2010-07-20T11:22:00.020-02:30

On Sunday afternoon my wife and I got out for a few hours in Bay Bulls. Nothing serious, just a lazy afternoon on the water. We paddled the south shore of Bay Bulls out to the Big Cove Point and back, stopping into the caves and small nooks and crannies along the way. The total distance was around 10kms. We were hoping to see whales, but had no luck. Maybe next time.

Departing Bay Bulls

Heading for the south side

Interesting side by side slot caves

Lots of caves on the south side

The cliffs are awesome in Island Cove

This small cave went in pretty deep

Heading in around Spoon Island

Going inside Spoon Island

I've always seen this area from the cliffs of the East Coast Trail, never from the water. Its very nice down here.

Angie facing the massive cave in what I think is Long Harry Cove

Me and Ang

A rare photo of me on my own blog :-)

Big Cove

Big cave in Big Cove

More small caves

Captain Orlebars Cairn stands high over Bay Bulls

This one really looks like an open mouth

More small caves

Gander River Canoe Trip - Year X

2010-07-19T11:24:00.028-02:30

So this is year number 10 for the annual Gander River Canoe Trip. I attended once before in 2008 (see http://newfoundlandseakayaking.blogspot.com/2008/07/gander-river-canoe-trip.html)

I was lucky enough to attend again this year, it of course it was a blast. We caught 7 salmon and a beauty 1.5lb trout. Instead of the usual 4 day trip, this year being year X, it was stretched out to 5 days, with the extra day being spent fishing at Lou's pool.

The weather was great except for the rain on the last day. It was really warm, almost too warm, but compared to my last trip in 2008 when the temperature never went into double digits, being too warm was very welcome.

One of the boys, Colin Power, set up a website that has a lot of info and pics on the annual trip, it can be viewed here http://canoetrip.weebly.com/

Great friends, great food and lots of cold beer made for a great trip.

Departing Glenwood

Shawn showing off our custom paddles. On the blade it says "Gander River Canoe Trip" with the X standing for year 10. We each had our names engraved in the handle as well. Pretty sweet.

Bailing out after big chute. This year nobody went in. Good job guys, I think we are getting better at this canoe stuff.

Bailing out after big chute

Gilly and Batti are going ashore to try a few casts here

Checking to see if Bill is home........he wasn't

Camp #1 at Joe Batts - what a day to relax, drink and enjoy the sun

Camp #2 at Lou's Pool, we spend 2 nights here.

Gilly giving the boys a lesson in knot tying

Leon showing off his 1.5lb trout. It was delicious!

Proof that we actually did more than drink and laze around. Nice one Batti!

More proof, this one by D-man......Phil looks rotted, LOL

Packing up to leave Lou's Pool

Stopping to get more ice and beer. What a setup, a wind powered freezer. Cold beer anyone?

License plate on a canoe? Too funny

Sailing across the pond makes for a relaxing paddle

Maybe too relaxing for some people

Our last camp at Kevin's Cabin

Bullwinkle ready to charge

"We love thee smiling land"

Tents in the sunset

Campfires and guitars go hand in hand

Rain on the last day??? Booo! But it did clear up in the afternoon

Finished in Gander Bay

A Fine Crowd - Here's to Year X

Chance Cove to Rantem

2010-06-30T11:45:00.012-02:30

On Monday evening Trent and I did a short evening paddle from Chance Cove to Rantem and back, a total distance of about 10kms. It was a beautiful evening, not a breath of wind and just a minor swell. With the high tide it made for a bit of fun rock hopping.There were a lot of eagles around, more than I've seen in any other part of the island. At one point we counted 7 on the cliffs and trees around us.

Anyhow, here are some pics. I had an old 3MP camera with me, so they aren't the best.

Spectacular coastline

Heading for a keyhole to the other side

Trent timed this one just right.....I didn't when it was my turn

Blow hole. Some video of it here

Pretty neat

Cliffs near Chance Cove

Secluded beach

On the way to Rantem

Some big overhangs

Going through one of the doors

Cape Broyle

2010-06-28T11:40:00.030-02:30

I know Cape Broyle is old hat to most paddlers in the Newfoundland Kayak community, but no matter how many times I paddle there, it always amazes me. As far as sea caves go, I don't think there is a better place on the island (that's as easily accessible anyways). It was Chad's first paddle, so I don't think we could have had a better day, or a better location for that matter.

We came across a family of otters too, which was really cool.

A family of otters checking us out

This otter was looking right at Trent

As you can see, lots of caves and waterfalls. Another awesome day on the water.

Paradise Sound

2010-06-21T11:37:00.028-02:30

This past weekend Trent, Les and I did a 2 day trip in Paradise Sound, on the Burin Peninsula.

What a trip it was, perfect weather, perfect conditions, with lots of good food, beer and wildlife.
Monkstown, where we departed from, is about 160kms from Whitbourne. We loaded up three boats and all our gear into Trent's truck, and arrived at Monkstown at about 10:00am, and were ready to go about 11:00am. Just outside of Monkstown, a huge black bear crossed the road in front of us, but I had my camera packed away in the back :(

Loaded down with food, beer and paddling gear, we headed across the sound to get under the wind. The forecast was for NW winds 20km/h gusting to 40 km/hr, so we knew if we got on the western side we'd be sheltered by the hills and cliffs. The western side of the sound looked a lot more appealing anyways, and our planned campsite, in Darby Harbour was on that side as well. Crossing the sound we definitly felt a few of those "gusting to 40" breezes, and I would not have to paddle into that for any length of time.

We paddled about 19kms down the sound to Darby Harbour, and were dismayed to see 4 or 5 cabins in the prime camping locations, but there was a nice beach on the far side, out of view of the cabins, so we opted to camp there, the only issue was the lack of fresh water on the beach, but there was a brook just around the point, so we paddled there to fill up our water bottles. Trent spotted 2 caribou at this brook while he was filling the water bottles. Nice touch. The black flies were raging, so we had to get a fire going right away, burn a few green alders to get the smoke going for some relief from those buggers.

We ate like kings, ribs, steak, baked potato, stir fried veggies.......mmmm. And lots of cold beer to wash it down.

Up at 5am for the sunrise and a breakfast of bacon, toutons and scrambled eggs. We were on the water again by about 7:30am. The forecast was for winds SW 20km/h gusting to 40km/h, which was perfect for a fast surf back to the beach in Monkstown. What a great ride! We hardly had to paddle, just keep the kayaks pointed in the right direction and let the wind and the waves do the rest. I managed to hit a few good surf rides along the way.

We were back to Monkstown before dinner. The only hiccup we had was a flat tire just outside of Swift Current. A quick patch job, and we were back on the road again. We also spotted 2 caribou on the Burin highway.

Overall an amazing weekend.

Loading up the boats

Departure beach, Monkstown

Lots of huge cliffs along the western side of Paradise Sound

Facing SW down the sound

What a day on the water!

Trent filling up our water bottles. There were lots of small streams along the way.

Another massive cliff

Les peeking out of a small cave

Trent passes by a cliff

Trent poking inside another small cave

We are almost to our campsite, Cheers!

Nice waterfall, complete with some lobster traps

Our campsite, Darby's Harbour

Ribs and veggies. mmmmm

Slow roasting sausages

Sunrise on Paradise Sound. Worth getting up at 5am for.

Fog and SW winds as soon as we hit the water. The fog lifted after an hour, but the winds got stronger as the day passed on. Some great surfing on the way back, it was a blast.

Les taking a nap during a lunch break on our way back. Les is new to kayaking, and this was his first overnight trip, so I think he was pretty beat out :-)

Back in Monkstown. What a trip!

Chapel Arm - Colliers Point

2010-06-15T11:44:00.014-02:30

This past weekend my brother Michael and I got out for a paddle for a few hours. It was a beautiful day, the water was like a mirror. We left the slipway at the old government wharf in Chapel Arm and paddled north to Chapel Head, then crossed over to Colliers Point and made our way back along the shoreline, stopping for a fire and lunch along the way, a total distance of about 17kms. Another awesome day on the water.

Portugal Cove to Bauline and Back

2010-06-09T11:47:00.004-02:30

Last week me and Trent went out for a short evening paddle from Portugal Cove to Bauline. Nice backdrop for a paddle, high cliffs with a few nice waterfalls. Can't complain about that.

Progress Can Be A Bummer

2010-06-08T11:42:00.002-02:30

This was my favorite beach when I was a kid. Its just down the road from my grandparents house in Norman's Cove. I'd spend hours skipping rocks, catching conners, sculpins and flatties, having boil ups.....all the fun stuff us Newfie kids did to pass away the summer days. Last week I got out for a quick paddle in Chapel Arm, and I thought I'd paddle down to my old stomping ground, and when I rounded the point I was shocked to see a huge breakwater bulldozed down through the middle of it and the grassy field above the beach now graded over with crushed stone. Bummer.

Ketchikan, Alaska

2010-05-28T11:34:00.019-02:30

My wife and I just got back from an Alaskan Cruise, and during our trip, we got to take in a short paddle in Ketchikan with Southeast Seakayaks . There were so many eagles I lost count. We have a lot of eagles here in Newfoundland, but nothing like this is in Alaska. There is a 20 ft tidal range, and we paddled at low tide, so there were lots of underwater sealife visible: starfish, sun stars, and sea cucumber, sea urchins, anemones, etc... We also saw a harbour seal, but no orcas, although we did see some Orcas later from the cruise ship. It was a great paddle, just too short.

What a backdrop for a paddle

Our guide, Greg getting a starfish

Underside of the starfish

Inside the Tongass Narrows

Eagle Island in front of Angie, with an active eagle nest, not visible in this picture.

An eagle keeps watch over his domain

Notice how the tide runs right to the trees

An example of saltwater pruning. The high tide keeps the tree branches from growing any lower

Me soaking in the scenery

A happy couple

Sea cucumber

Greg plucks a sea cucumber out of the water

Trees are a bit bigger here than back home

Underside of a sun star

Heading back to the launch

All smiles

Clarkes Beach to Hibb's Cove

2010-05-04T11:56:00.011-02:30

On Sunday afternoon Trent and I got out for a short paddle from Clarkes Beach to Hibb's Cove. The weather started out crappy, but it got pretty nice as the afternoon went on. Pretty nice coastline, very rocky and rugged, with lots of small beaches to stop for lunch or a break. The total distance was about 10kms, about 2 hours of leisurely paddling. It was very sheltered most of the way, but once we got past Blow Me Down, we could really feel the swell from the Northeast and had to move off from the shore a bit to avoid the rebounding waves and crashing surf. Too bad, because there were some spots that it would have been nice to get in among for a poke around.

The put-in at Clarkes Beach

Some nice Christmas trees right there

Rugged rocky shores

Interesting rock outside Ship Cove

Threadin' the needle

You can see the tide was pretty low

Cliffs at Blow Me Down

Slipway at Hibb's Cove

Avondale

2010-05-01T14:28:00.011-02:30

Last week, Trent and I hit the water in Avondale for a short evening paddle. My work schedule has gotten very crazy, and it looks like I will be working 6 days a week for the rest of the summer. This really hurts my paddling plans, but I will just have to make hay while the sun shines......and paddle when my schedule (and the weather) allows.

Working for the Weekend

2010-04-10T08:55:00.006-02:30

With my weekend blocked with work, both at the office and at home, I made sure we got on the water for a short paddle yesterday evening. Angie and I paddled from Spread Eagle out to one of the Dildo Islands and back. And what a beautiful evening it was!

Departure beach

Dildo Islands, with the Hopeall Peninsula off in the distance

What an evening

The town of Dildo

New Harbour

2010-04-06T07:09:00.011-02:30

On Good Friday, Angie and I got out for an afternoon paddle in New Harbour. It was very foggy, but the air was warm, and there was literally no wind. We left the slipway near the fish plant, and paddled along the north side of New Harbour for about 5kms, until we were pretty close to Hopeall Head, before we turned around. And of course, on the way back we stopped for a lunch of hot chocolate and ravioli.

Another great day on the water. We also saw a seal on the way back, it popped up about 15 feet from Angie's kayak, checked us over, and dove under again.

Not a bad way to start off our Easter break.

Leaving the slipway

A layer of fog hugged the coastline

Normally, you would see the Bellevue Peninsula off in the distance, but not this day

Cliffs of the Hopeall Peninsula

Angie underneath Crow's Nest Cliff (I think thats what its called)

A seagull hanging out

On the way back

Lunch time

Angie in her new drysuit, warming up lunch

Hodge's Hill

2010-03-30T06:49:00.003-02:30

This past weekend my wife and I, along with our friends Shawn & Carmen, and Colin & Diane did a weekend ski-doo trip in central Newfoundland in the Hodges Hill area. This weekend coming up is Easter, and so far, the forecast calls for +9C for Saturday......I will be on the water for sure.

Wigwam Rock

2010-03-24T07:11:00.002-02:30

This landmark never gets old for me. No matter how many times I paddle around it, I always have to take a picture. This was from a short solo paddle on Friday from Spread Eagle to Marley's Cove.

The Harvey Trail, Isle Aux Morts

2010-03-13T15:25:00.016-03:30

Isle Aux Morts, on the southwest corner of Newfoundland, is a small fishing village, just 8kms from where I grew up. The French named the town Deadman's Island (Isle aux Morts): we always said it was 'island of the Dead'. Its got this name from the treacherous coastline that caused many, many shipwrecks over the years.

The Harvey Trail is named after George Harvey, a local hero. He was famous for saving people from shipwrecks along this coast. Two of the most famous, are the Despatch (163 lives) and the Rankin (25 lives). There are interpretative signs on the trail, detailing these events, making it a nice informative walk.

I've walked this trail during the summer, when the seas were calm and there was not a breath of wind.

From Mild.....

And I've also walked this trail during winter, after a big southeaster battered the coast and it looked like this:

......To Wild

I could have stayed there all day watching the waves breaking. This coastline is brutal, and the seas can be very scary at times. I would not want to be bobbing around in my kayak on one of those days. Huge breakers were shooting up everywhere, and its hard to get a scale of how big some of the waves were, but here are some pics.

I took a few photos of some of the signs along the way, if anyone would like to read more about the Harvey family and the shipwrecks along the coast:

Information on George Harvey

Information on shipwrecks in the area

The wreck of the Despatch

The wreck of the Rankin

Kayaking in Croatia: 3 Islands - Ruda, Šipan and Lopud

2010-03-10T12:05:00.028-03:30

On our final day of kayaking in Croatia, we did a tour that took us to 3 different islands: Ruda, Sipan and Lopud. It was a full day paddle, departing around 10am and returning at about 6pm. Altogether we paddled 12kms for the day and we joined by another couple, Matt from the UK and Melissa from Australia.

Angie on the departure beach

This day the weather was a little different. The day before it had been very windy, and the skies looked a little dark and foreboding. The winds were blowing offshore, so I knew the paddle back might be a bit of a struggle, so we opted to take a double instead of 2 singles. First we paddled to Ruda island to visit a small cave.

Marko heading into the cave

Then we paddled to Lopud, to a small village for a short lunch. Lopud is another island that has no roads or cars and is one of the few islands around that have sandy beaches. Apparantly, once a week a policeman visit there on a ferry, and asks the mayor "is everything ok?" Upon hearing there is no news, he returns back to the mainland.

Angie with an old church in the background

Heading into Lopud village

To the beach!

Looking for a lunch spot

A fine crowd! Matt, Mel, Marko and Me

What a place!

Where I want to be

After our lunch we paddled over to Šipan. The paddle over is a bit more open to the Adriatic Sea, and it was easy to tell that the wind had been blowing a lot the day before from the swell. Not enough for any concerns, but enough to have a bit of fun. The Aussies we were paddling with had only paddled once before, so I think they may have been a bit nervous........but not that nervous, as I looked over once and Matt had his snorkel on, and was leaning over the side to look into the water! His girlfriend had no idea that he was doing so and it almost tipped them over! LOL. It was pretty funny. Not a smart thing to do when there is a 1 to 2 metre swell. On the other island there was a really cool sea arch.

Marko under the sea arch

Then things got interesting. The closer we got to the island, the more the waves were banging up against the rocks. Our guide wanted to show us another sea cave that we could snorkel into, but warned us it might be a bit "dodgey" to land and get in there. So we landed on the rocks one at a time and as you can see from the pics it was not easy. But Marko did a great job of getting us out safely. Due to the high water and breaking waves, the entrance to the cave was barely visible. (pic 5435) and in that pic you can see the waves being pushed back out through the narrow opening. Marko explained that we would have to swim about 3ft under water and swim about 10ft in before surfacing inside the cave, or we'd risk getting slammed against the jagged rocks on the roof of the cave. So one by one we jumped into the water and swam into the cave. Matt cut his head on the roof of the cave, but nothing too serious. Angie wouldn't go in and stayed outside treading water. Inside was amazing, it opened up into 2 large rooms, with the water appearing all blue from the sand and sun. Once we got back out of the cave, we had to climb onto the rocks where our boats were in the crashing waves, which managed to knock Angie around like a pinball, suffering some minor scraps and bruises. It was then that Marko informed us that it was too rough to enter our kayaks the normal way, and we'd have to jump back into the water, and swim away from the shoreline and he would launch our kayaks out through the waves to us and we'd have to climb in from out there. Me and Ang have done this before, so it wasn't too bad, but for beginners like Matt and Melissa it was a bit of a struggle, and they almost capsized once, but managed ok in the end. Me and Ang were laughing wondering how the Newfoundland Kayak Club and the coast guard back home would feel about this, lol.

Marko goes in to land

Marko climbing out

Dragging his kayak away from the swell

We are going to snorkel in there???!!

Angie looks eager to land

Team Oz/UK going in to land

Marko gets them to shore safely

After all that excitement, we went to another village on Šipan from another lunch, and then headed back to the beach we departed from for a little snorkeling to finish our last day of paddling in Croatia.

Angie with Ruda in the background

All smiles

Back to the departure beach

Gotta hit the water one more time before we leave

Taking Advantage of Winter

2010-03-02T10:19:00.003-03:30

Sometimes, you just have to take what mother nature gives you and get out in the snow and enjoy it. On Saturday my wife and I, along with Trent and Andrea, hit the trails just outside of St John's for a few hours. There is very little snow in Newfoundland this winter compared to most winters, but some parts still have enough to get out and have some fun.

To the top of 'Tolt'

2010-02-25T07:09:00.007-03:30

As a kid, I would hear people refer to the hill behind my grandfathers house in Norman's Cove, but I never quite got what they were actually saying. Was it "Tote" or "Toat" or "Toqe" or "Tope"??? I could never tell. But due to the wonders of the Internets, and the online Dictionary of Newfoundland English (thanks to my sister, Mandy, for telling me about it) . I was able to look it up, and low and behold, its "Tolt: A prominent rounded hill rising above the surrounding terrain"

About a month ago, on a Sunday afternoon, my wife and I went for short hike to the top of Tolt. We parked our car across from the "Dark Zone" and followed the ATV path into the base and climbed our way to the top. It was a bit icy on the rocks, but there were enough small trees and shrubs to get a hold of to pull our way to the top. What a beautiful view!

Looking south toward Chapel Arm

Looking north toward Long Cove, you can see the Bonavista peninsula far in the distance

Looking west down at Norman's Cove Pond

Spread Eagle Peak

2010-02-24T07:33:00.004-03:30

A few weeks ago, Trent and I snowshoe'd to the top of Spread Eagle Peak, a whopping 693 ft above sea level. Its a wonder I didn't get pulmonary edema, haha! It was a great walk, about 3.5 hours round trip from the highway. It was my first time ever on snowshoes, as I usually ski, but I must say it was a lot of fun, and a great way to get over a hangover on a Sunday morning.

Dildo Island

2010-02-15T12:16:00.015-03:30

Managed to get out on Saturday in the rain and drizzle for a few hours. Me and Trent paddled out around Dildo Island. We saw lots of eagles and a few seals. Total distance paddled was about 9 kms.

Dildo Island has some interesting history. From Wikipedia:

An archaeological excavation in 1995 discovered Dorset artifacts dated to between AD 150 and AD 750. It is believed that these people camped on Dildo Island for the purpose of seal hunting. From 1996 to 1999, archaeologist Silve Leblanc uncovered two Dorset houses and over 5500 artifacts from the same period.

In 2001 excavations were begun on a recently-discovered Indian site that radiocarbon dated to between AD 720 and AD 960. Evidence of a camp was found with the remnants of a wigwam and hearth. Almost all of the tools were made from purple and blue royalties that came from a source in Bonavista Bay roughly 145 km (90 miles) to the north.

John Guy's journal of 1612 suggested evidence of a Beothuk Indian camp on Dildo Island. An English fort was established in the early 1700s to defend the south side of Trinity Bay from the French during Queen Anne's War.

In 1889 a cod fish hatchery was constructed which was the largest in the world and the first in North America. The hatchery was created by Adolphus Nielson, a Norwegian.

For more information on Dildo Island, visit http://www.baccalieudigs.ca/dildo_island.asp

Anyways, we had a good paddle, it’s funny that in February I’m using my kayak more than my ski-doo.

On the beach in Dildo

Heading towards Dildo Head

Making the 1.35km crossing to Dildo Island

Looking at Dildo Island

On the beach on Dildo Island

Dildo Arm

Cliffs of Dildo Island

A seal, swimming on its back

Icefall on Dildo Head

Dildo Head

Old Shop

2010-02-15T07:07:00.011-03:30

On Friday afternoon I managed to get out for a short paddle in Old Shop, Trinity Bay. It has been so mild for the past week, temps have been hovering around 0 and +1C. The winds were forecast to drop off in the afternoon so I hit the water at 3pm and paddled north towards Dildo Island, hugging the side of the peninsula. I don't often paddle solo, but given the right conditions and location, I get out from time to time. I paddled about 5 kms altogether and it was great to get on the water again after a month off. It was raining with drizzle, so most of my pictures were blurry, but here are a few. It sure was nice to get on the water again.

Lots of small stages along the way

Once past the houses, the coastline gets a little more interesting

Dildo Head, buried in the fog

Some icicles

Mini glacier

Heading back

Back to civilization

Kayaking in Croatia: Kolocep Island

2010-02-11T08:04:00.035-03:30

On our second day of paddling in Croatia, myself, Angie, 2 Aussies and our guide Marko paddled around Kolocep Island, about 18kms in total. The conditions were perfect, 32C and no wind at all. After about an hour on the water you could have made coffee from the water in my water bottle. All along this island are many cliffs and caves. One cave, called the blue cave, we got out of our kayaks and snorkeled into. Once inside all the water is very blue, from the reflection of the sun off the sandy bottom. It was amazing to say the least. On our way out of the water Angie stepped near a sea urchin and got some of it stuck in her toes, but we managed to get them out with tweezers, so there wasn't too much damage done.

When we got to the other side of the island, we stopped at a small village for lunch. The little villages are awesome, no roads, no cars....very quiet, and people live as they did for generations. After lunch we snorkeled in the cove for about 30 minutes, then paddled back to our started point, completing the circumnavigation of the island, which took about 5 or 6 hours altogether.

Lesson learned......put your bottle of water in the freezer the night before, then you have nice cold water all the next day.

Another amazing day in Croatia.

Bryan Smith's "The Season"

2010-02-10T11:58:00.002-03:30

Bryan Smith has launched a new webtv show called "The Season" for free online.

www.theseasontv.com

The first two episodes are already up. It looks amazing.

from the website:

The Season. Five lives. A world of possibility.

From the creators of The Dirtbag Diaries and 49 Megawatts comes a new web television project following five athletes through the course of a single season in the Pacific Northwest. A veteran climber invents a new piece of gear. A pro snowboarder searches for a way to return to the roots of his sport. A boulderer returns from a series of injuries with new perspective. A family man goes to Whistler to test himself against mountain biking’s elite. A young sea kayaker with a troubled past sets out to reinvent his sport.

Shot entirely in HD, this 22-episode series is available to you for free at a number of locations. Every episode premieres on the Arc’teryx web site. You can have the HD version delivered right to your computer and find all the old episodes by subscribing on iTunes. Expect new episodes once or twice a week.

I'll be watching this for sure!!!

Brian

Kayaking in Croatia: Lokrum Island

2010-02-08T15:17:00.026-03:30

On our first day in Dubrovnik, we did an afternoon paddle around the city walls and circumnavigated Lokrum island, about 1/2km offshore from Dubrovnik. It was spectacular to say the least. The day was absolutely beautiful, except for a massive thundercloud that came in and rained on us for about a half hour.

Our guide Marko, from Adriatic Kayak Tours (www.adriatickayaktours.com) was really good, we started in the cove near our apartment. After leaving there, we paddled around the city walls, high up on cliffs and then into the harbour. We then scooted across to paddle around Lokrum Island Lokrum Island is pretty interesting. It has a 11th century monestary on it, as well as a nude beach. The monastery is not occupied now, and is currently being restored. There are also wild peacocks on the island. Just as we landed on the island it really started to pour, so we decided to take a quick dip in the ocean. After the rain slacked off we explored the island. When Napleoan conquered Dubrovnik in 1806, he built a fort on the island that we hiked up to. It must have been a real pain to build, because its on top of this steep road all the way to the top of the hill. I realize the pic doesn't look that steep, but trust me, it was a pain to walk up with wet sandals on.

Apparently Richard the Lionheart was shipwrecked on this island in 1192 after returning from the crusades, and the monks there helped him and his men, so to give thanks he built a church in their honor in Dubrovnik.

There is also a small salt water lake there. After exploring the island (minus the nude beach) we finished our paddled around and went into a few sea caves along the way before returning to the old city about 6:30 in the evening.

All and all a great taste of the paddling in Dubrovnik.

Next, kayaking around Kolocep island.

Marko setting Angie's foot pegs

Dubrovnik's City Walls, high on the cliffs

"Hole in the Wall" restaurant and bar

Lokrum Island in the background

Inside Dubrovnik's Harbour

The quarantine building

Lokrum Island

Cliffs of Lokrum Island

The "Dead Sea" swimming hole

Peacock on monastery ruins

Napoleon's Fort

Old Town Dubrovnik

The monastery

Huge cave

Lovely evening

Barachois Falls

2010-01-28T08:04:00.005-03:30

Just before you reach Rose Blanche, on Route 470 on the southwest coast of Newfoundland, there is a beautiful waterfall only a 5-10 minute walk from the road. During Christmas, my brother and I walked in there after a 40mm rainfall the day before, so it was roaring pretty good.

Hiking in the Wreckhouse

2010-01-25T13:00:00.012-03:30

During Christmas holidays my brother and I hiked to the top of the Table Mountains in Codroy Valley, in the famous Wreckhouse Area of the Southwest Coast of Newfoundland. Winds here have been known to blow trains off the track, and trucks off the highway. Round trip it can be done in 2 or 3 hrs, with plenty of time to take in the view at the top.

Departing in a snow squall

Looking down on the Codroy River Estuary

Ice crystals on the tree branches

You can really see how windy it must be here

The Wreckhouse in a snow squall

On the Summit!

Two brothers

What a view!

Heading back

Kayaking in Croatia Slideshow

2010-01-20T12:12:00.002-03:30

At 7:30pm tonight at the Guv'nor Pub in St John's, I am giving a presentation on our kayaking trip in Croatia. Neil Burgess is also doing a presentation on his paddling trip in Venice.

This is an event for the Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador Club http://www.kayakers.nf.ca/

If you live in this neck of the woods, drop in. For those who don't, I'll be uploading the slideshow here soon.

Brian

Angie gets the Roll

2010-01-20T12:09:00.002-03:30

Last night was a huge night for my wife, Angie. At the pool, she finally got her first roll. I am so proud and happy for her. Now she just gotta keep on practicing until it becomes automatic.

Brian

Afternoon Hike

2010-01-19T17:31:00.004-03:30

On Saturday my wife and I went for a hike to the Rocky River. It sure is nice to have a fire and a warm cup of hot chocolate on a cold winters day.

Enjoying the warmth of the fire and the hot chocolate

As nimble as a cat :-)

Thornlea, Trinity Bay

2010-01-11T12:24:00.012-03:30

On Friday, Trent and I got out for our first paddle of the decade. The weather was suitable, +1C with very little wind coming from the southwest (less than 20 km/h). So we headed to Trinity Bay to Thornlea and paddled north along the peninsula for a few hours. Its a very interesting coastline, with lots of beaches, small caves and a few waterfalls. We also spotted a seal along the way, basking on the rocks. As soon as we started getting close, he started moving towards the water, so we backed off and left him alone to continue sun bathing.

I was experimenting with my new camera setup, which is a headstrap mount for my GoPro Hero, which basically lets me wear the camera like a headlamp, so some of the pics and video came out a little rough, I'm still trying to figure out the best positioning for it.

Anyways, here are some pics. Once I get some editing done, I'll post some of the video I took. Its pretty rough, and shakey, but I think there are some decent shots in there.

Rounding the point of Thornlea's cove

Try and spot the seal in this picture

Me hanging out under the ledge

Me doing a really bad low brace turn :-)

Small Cave along the way

Trent shot the next few from above the waterfall

Lunch stop

Pics from Christmas Eve Paddle

2010-01-04T07:12:00.012-03:30

Here are a few pics from my paddle around Dildo Head on Christmas Eve. I only had time enough to get on the water for an hour or so, but it was still so nice to get out on such a busy day. I haven't had a chance to get on the water yet in 2010, but hopefully it will happen soon.

Departure beach

This stage has seen better days

Small beach on western side of dildo head

Watching a boat heading out

Looking south at Old Shop

The town of Dildo

Don't think i'll have any problems there :-)

Boats in the marina

Dildo head obscured by flurries

Christmas Eve Paddle

2009-12-24T14:40:00.003-03:30

This morning I managed to get away from all the hustle and bustle of Christmas and sneak off for a few hours for a paddle around Dildo Head. Yes, you read that right, Dildo Head.

I don't have enough time now to post more pics or info about my paddle, that will have to wait until the New Year.

See you in 2010!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Brian

Portugal Cove to St Philips

2009-12-21T11:42:00.018-03:30

Yesterday Trent and I paddled from Portugal Cove to St Philips and back. It was my first ever December paddle, as well as my first paddle in that area. I usually don't drive into "town" to paddle, and stick to my area, Trinity Bay. Great coastline, I think I'll have to return to that area during the summer.

It was very, very foggy and rainy, but it was mild, with no wind, so it made for a decent day to paddle. We departed near the Bell Island ferry terminal and headed south for St Philips. There was a bit of swell coming from the northwest, but once we got into the protection of Bell Island, conditions were pretty benign. The paddle was roughly 10kms return and took us a little less than 2 hours. A good day on the water for December.

Happy first day of Winter. Hopefully I can get out to do a few more of these winter paddles, if conditions allow. I'm a VERY cautious paddler, so I don't take this stuff lightly. Things can get very bad in a hurry in these waters during the summer, let alone the winter. So I always proceed with caution.

Merry Christmas
Brian

Heading south

Very short clip of a sea cave

Sea cave

Sea Cave - beware of falling ice!

St Philips in the background

St Philips

Heading North

Can't see Bell Island for the fog

Back in Portugal Cove

Finding the Outdoor Paradise Close to Home

2009-12-11T13:52:00.010-03:30

Given the recent introduction of winter, as I'm sure the other Newfoundland paddlers/bloggers are doing, I find myself looking back at pictures of the paddling trips I did this past summer. I stumbled across a few that I did not blog about.

Living outside the city, I feel lucky to have the solitude of nature right at my doorstep. Back in June, the first weekend after we returned from our honeymoon, Angie and I, along with Trent and Andrea had a spur of the moment overnight paddling trip. Making this decision a few hours before dark meant that we had few options. How about on the far end of the second pond in Whitbourne? There is a small beach, on the far end of this pond, with a small clearing in the woods behind just big enough for 2 tents. Perfect.

With the put-in less than a kilometre from my house we launched, made the short 2.75km paddle to the camping spot and got set up just before dark. It was a great night under the stars, with drinks, laughs and of course, marshmellows and weiners. It was paradise to me.

No matter where you live, always try to find the outdoor paradise close to home. Sometimes its right under your nose.

How many months until spring??

Brian

Starting on Junction Pond

Second Pond

Rooster uses one of our tarp poles for a chew toy

Hopeall Bay

2009-12-01T07:48:00.020-03:30

I can't remember the last weekend it wasn't windy and raining. This past weekend was no exception. Gale Warnings in effect all over eastern Newfoundland. This makes it tough to get out on the ocean for a paddle. In fact, I think the last time I had my kayak on salt water was back at the end of August. The wind has always pushed me inland to rivers.

With gales forecast somewhere in the vicinity of 35 knots from the SW on Sunday, Trent and I headed to Hopeall, in Trinity Bay, which is very sheltered from SW winds, for a couple hours of paddling in the morning. Altogether it was around 9-10kms. We paddled out as far as Hopeall Head, poked our heads out into the gale and turned around and headed back.

One thing of interest we saw was a recently deceased dolphin on the beach. Would have been nice to see it alive in the water.

With any luck I'll get on the water again this weekend.

Rock over London, Rock on Chicago
Brian

Hopeall Bay, Trinity Bay

Setting forth

Trent framed in by the wharf

Something dead on the beach

Poor dolphin, would have been nice to see it alive and swimming next to our boats

Trent with Hopeall Island in the background

Hopeall Head

Getting ready to poke our heads out into the gale

Looks pretty nasty out there, SW gales 35 knots

Lunch break

On the Hodge River

2009-11-12T12:32:00.012-03:30

I had been looking at this river on google earth, that starts near Ocean Pond and flows to Whitbourne, coming out near the pump house not too far from my house, for a long time. This past weekend, I was finally able to check it out. The forecast was terrible for Saturday, rain and/or snow, with winds NW 50 gusting to 70 gusting to 90 km/h. So again, not much of a day to paddle on the ocean, so we decided to try out this river route. Its been constantly raining for weeks, so we figured the small river would have enough water for us to paddle in.

It started off kinda rough, and we contemplated turning around, as the river was too shallow and rocky. But after the first km, it opened up a bit to more of a boggy/marshy river. It took us about 4 hrs altogether, and only had to get out of our boats once or twice because it was too shallow.

We saw 2 grouse, and 4 Canada geese. And a lot of wind and rain. Most of my pics came out very blurry, but here are a few.

Trent setting up the pontoons to carry his dog

Rooster enjoying the ride

The start of the Hodge River

Road block along the way

There were a lot of beaver lodges and dams along the way

Remembrance Day

2009-11-12T07:37:00.011-03:30

Yesterday was Remembrance Day here in Canada. Its very important to never forget the sacrifices made by our soldiers during both world wars, as well other conflicts. I hope everyone took a minute out of their holiday to think about this and be grateful for all they have done.

This past May, my wife and I visited Buchenwald Concentration Camp, near Weimar, Germany. Its hard to put into words what we saw there, and even harder to imagine what the people there went through.

Lest we forget.

A Newfoundland Tradition

2009-11-09T09:49:00.003-03:30

November 5, Guy Fawkes Night, aka Bonfire Night, is a long standing tradition in Newfoundland that seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. When I was a kid, my friends and I would spend weeks preparing for Bonfire Night, collecting tires, trees, and if we were lucky, and old dory or speedboat.....anything that would burn, for Bonfire Night. Nowadays it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal, but me and my neighbours are trying to keep the tradition alive. Although we don't burn tires anymore :-)

Dark Evenings

2009-11-03T14:40:00.003-03:30

Day light savings time has come and gone, so now when I get home from work in the evening at 5pm, darkness has set in. So this past friday, to celebrate my last evening of daylight I went for a short paddle around the pond behind my house. Now I'm left to paddling on the weekends, and given the Newfoundland weather, those will probably be few and far between until spring, especially given my limited skill set.

Two Rivers, One Day

2009-10-26T11:54:00.017-02:30

On Saturday myself, Trent and his black Lab, Rooster paddled two small rivers on the Avalon. In the morning we paddled part of the Salmonier River and in the afternoon we paddled part of the Hodge River, near Whitbourne. Its been constantly raining for the past 3 weeks, so these small rivers, which are normally too shallow to go down in a canoe, had plenty of water for a fun ride.

On the Salmonier River, we departed from behind The Wilds golf course, and paddled as far as the first bridge in St Catherines, about 7-8kms. This took us about 2 hrs, with a short break to stretch our legs and play fetch with Rooster.

Class "-1" rapids :-)

Rooster play fetch

Condemned bridge in St Catherines

On the Hodge River, we left from the bridge in Markland and paddled to the second bridge that crosses the river, about 5.5 kms, which took us about 2.5 hrs, including a lunch stop and a 1/2 km portage back to the car from the bridge.

Its amazing what dogs can haul out of a river

Me and Rooster

Rooster fetches a big stick

Juniper looks beautiful in the fall

Getting ready to portage

En Route to the Jeep

White Water Rafting, Exploits River

2009-10-23T09:32:00.027-02:30

Back in August, my wife and I did a whitewater rafting trip on the Exploits River in central Newfoundland. Joining us were two other couples Steve and Tara, and Chad and Kathy.

We spent the weekend at Riverfront Chalets owned by Paul and Joy Rose (www.riverfrontchalets.com), who also run the rafting tours (www.raftingnewfoundland.com) The chalets are beautiful, and also have an outdoor hot tub. What an amazing time we had! Below are some of the pictures, and there are also some videos on my youtube channel, if anyone is interested in taking a look.

Our group

Swimming in the Badger Chute. You can jump in the rapid, and let the eddy give you a free right right back to where you jumped in. It was a lot of fun

Me jumping in

Angie goes for a ride

Big Splash!!!!

Almost tipping over

Whoops, looks like we lost Steve

Angie and Chad loving it

Angie and Tara riding the bull

"which way should we go?"

A great healthy lunch!

Team Blue-Young

When we tipped our raft over, I think I got Chad's shoulder in the face!

Badger Chute

Paul and Mike size up the chute

One of our guides, Mike did a great fire-spinning performance that night

Riverfront Chalets

Moose in Gros Morne National Park

2009-09-29T08:17:00.008-02:30

A few pics of a cow and a calf on the side of the highway in Gros Morne a few weeks ago. The little guy seemed to be very annoyed from the flies and was splashing around in the water.

Avalon Wilderness Reserve

2009-09-08T12:20:00.003-02:30

On Saturday I hiked from the TCH overland to the edge of the wilderness reserve, had a lunch, picked some blue berries and partridge berries, then hiked back. Altogether it was about 5.5 hrs of walking. I saw two moose, but before I could get my camera out, they were gone out of sight. The landscape reminds me of where I grew up, on the southwest coast of the island.

Here is a pic of me looking out from the top of Inside Hawkes Hill, overlooking the Avalon Wilderness Reserve. You can really see how the glaciers carved out Newfoundland in this area.

Rock over London, Rock on Chicago

Paddling in Venice, Italy

2009-08-31T11:42:00.026-02:30

(Rialto Bridge and gondola. Photo: René Seindal)

Ok, so it took me a while to get these pics up, but here they are.

During our honeymoon, we visited Venice, Italy, where we took a kayaking tour of the canals with René Seindal of Venice Kayak (www.venicekayak.com).

René was a fantastic guide, that really knows the history of the region, and hearing these stories was fascinating. It was also nice to know that he knew the rules of the "road" in the busy waterways. I was amazed at the amount of boat traffic. Coming from a small fishing village in Newfoundland, where there is next to no boat traffic, only the scatter fishing boat, it was crazy to see all these ferries, gondolas, personal boats, water taxis, etc.... It seemed like chaos, but when i thought about it, they were much like any city street; busy with traffic, but somewhat organized if the drivers know what they are doing.

If you ever end up in this part of the world, it is well worth your while to do this. It is truly a unique way to see the city. It gets you away from the crowded piazza's and streets, and is something different than the traditional gondolas.

Piazza San Marco, Campanile (bell tower) and Doges Palace. (photo: René Seindal)

This one really shows the amount of traffic (photo: René Seindal)

Parking in Venice :-)

Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal

On the Grand Canal

"It was a fine day for hanging clothes"

Me and Rene

Parking the kayaks for a coffee break

The shade here was really nice

Behind Angie is the Venice Cemetary. We learned that even the hearses are boats here!

It was an interesting setup to get into and out of our kayaks, but Rene came up with a workable solution, a floating beach and a ladder. It seemed a bit dodgy at first, but it works quite effectively.

Rock over London, Rock on Chicago

Dolphins Video

2009-08-18T14:17:00.003-02:30

My first Video Post! A short clip of the dolphins I saw on Saturday:

Whales and Dolphins

2009-08-16T16:15:00.014-02:30

Yesterday was my first ever solo paddle on the ocean. I have paddled solo on ponds and lakes by myself, but never on salt water. Well yesterday was a banner day, or as we'd say here a "large" day, 27C with no wind. I couldn't have asked for any better.

As I left Spreadeagle, I paddled past the eagles nest, where I saw two adult eagles and one young eagle. I kept seeing these 3 all day.

Once I got over into Chapel Arm I saw 2 humpbacks and while I was watching them I noticed on the other side of the arm there were 50+ dolphins making their way out of the arm. So I paddled like hell until I was over among them. WOW, it was crazy, dolphins were jumping about everywhere. It was hard to get a sensible picture, and every time I got near they'd dive and circle around me.

After they left the arm, I went back to where I saw the humpbacks. I got to within 100ft of one, and sat there and watched him for about 20 minutes. It was lying around on the surface of the water, and every now and then it would dive. Very amazing experience and when it dove, I got pretty nervous about where it was going to come up. You can see in one of the pictures the big splash from it thrashing its tail on the surface

After a lunch on the beach at Little Ridge, I made my way back to Spreadeagle, and saw 2 more humpbacks and at least 3 pothead whales.

It was a large day indeed!

Rock over London, Rock on Chicago
Brian

Blaketown (Dildo) Pond

2009-07-21T11:38:00.009-02:30

A few weeks ago, me and Trent went for an evening paddle in Blaketown Pond (Dildo Pond on the map). The pond is about 5kms long with a few small islands on it. It has some interesting history:

From http://www.baccalieutourism.com/baccalieu/blake.htm

"The town is best known for the Beothuk site that has been excavated at Russell's Point which has produced one half of the Beothuk arrow heads that have been found in the province.The Russell's Point site in Blaketown was discovered in 1988 by William Gilbert and Ken Reynolds during an archaeological survey which was carried out to locate a Beothuk camp described in the journals of John Guy and Henry Crout of the Cupers Cove (Cupids Colony) which was founded in 1610. In their journals, Guy and Crout recounted finding three Beothuk dwellings and a canoe on 26 October, 1612.From excavations, the archaeologists determined that Russell's Point had been a fall and winter camp used by the Beothuk and their ancesters from about AD 1000 to AD 1650. The Beothuk came to the site because was on a migration route for caribou and provided them with good hunting grounds.

Trent brought along his dog, Rooster to join him on his kayak. He has a pretty neat set of pontoons rigged up to help him carry the dog.

Anyway, it was a great way to pass a few hours.

Rock over London, Rock on Chicago
Brian