Cottle's Island, Bay of Exploits

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.