Iceberg near Cavendish

Yesterday evening me and Trent went to Cavendish, Trinity Bay to have a look at a huge iceberg grounded about 2 kms offshore. It was a beautiful evening, but a bit windy once we got outside the cove. We saw 2 seals, and 2 whales and had a bit of fun in the surf outside the cove. We didn't get up real close but here are some pics that I took.

Rock Over London, Rock on Chicago
Brian

Torbay

Yesterday evening me and Trent headed out of Torbay for a few hours. It was a cold evening, about -4C and the winds were forecast for 30 gusting to 50km/hr, however, the winds had been from the west for the past few days, so we knew this area would be sheltered and there would be little swell from the east. It was my first time paddling in this area and I was very impressed with the coastline, with its caves, cliffs and waterfalls. The only problem was the snow was causing my camera lens to blur so a lot of my pictures didn't come out right. But anyways here are a few.

Rock Over London, Rock On Chicago
Brian

To Pedal or To Paddle

This was the choice I was faced with Friday morning. Alas, my paddling partner (my lovely wife, Angie) had to work, so rather than risk a solo paddle (something I'm building up to, when I feel comfortable enough with my skill level), I decided to pull out my $100 Canadian Tire "Supercycle" mountain bike, pump up the tires and grease the chain and head out on the T'railway for a few hours. The T'railway is the railway bed that runs across the island, from Port Aux Basques to St. John's. The railway was decomissioned in 1988, and later made a part of the Trans Canada Trail. Its 883 kms long and runs right through my community. I left my house at 12pm and rode to Ocean Pond and back on the T'railway, a distance of 16.2kms, which took me about 1hr45min. Not much snow left on the trail, although I did wipeout on some ice at one point :-)

It rained the entire time, and I got soaking wet, but I did get good workout.

The one thing I'd like to note when comparing pedaling vs paddling, pedaling sure is a lot harder on the butt!


Rock over London, Rock on Chicago
Brian

First Paddle of the Season

Although the forecast was far from perfect, (the usual spring time RDF: rain, drizzle and fog), the air temperature was 8 degrees and there was absolutely no wind. Sounds like a perfect day to get out on the water and get my sea legs back.

Me, Ang, Trent and Andrea left Spread Eagle, Trinity Bay and paddled over to Little Ridge and back. A great way to pass away a few hours on a Sunday afternoon. All the ice had gone out of the bay, but there were a few bits of sea ice around here and there. We also saw a few eagles and ducks along the way. This is a very interesting stretch of coastline, and is quickly becoming one of my favourite places to paddle. The fact that its 10 minutes from my house helps :-)

Here are a few shots of the day.

Rock Over London, Rock on Chicago
Brian

Where it all began

The place: Cape Broyle, Newfoundland
The year: yesteryear.....ok, it wasn't that long ago, Summer 2002

Over the weekend I came across these pictures of our first time kayaking. We did a tour with Stan Cook Sea Kayak Tours in Cape Broyle, and oh yes, we were hooked. Every year after that we vowed to buy our own kayaks and have our own adventures, and in the summer of 2005 we finally made that dream come true, and we haven't looked back since.

Unfortunately, given the latest weather trends here in the tropical north Atlantic, summer paddling seems as far away as ever. Snow, freezing rain and wind are all we see in the forecast, with no end in sight. During these times, its fun to look back on old pictures and think about how it all started. I think I was about 20lbs lighter back then, and Angie about 20lbs heavier :-)

Rock Over London, Rock on Chicago
Brian

New Paddle

For Christmas I got a new paddle, the Werner "Corryvrecken". I've only got to try it out once so far, and that was in the pool, so I couldn't get a real feel of how its going to be for touring, but I must say, it feels awesome so far. My previous paddle was the one that came with my kayak, a 230cm aluminum shaft/plastic blade made by Aquabound. So to make this switch to a 220 cm carbon fibre, bent shaft Werner is quite the step up for me and its easy to feel the difference.

Maybe I'll get to use it soon, so I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep waiting for spring. I think its just around the corner.........

Rock over London, Rock on Chicago
Brian

Ponds Still Frozen........

No problem, we'll just have to use the water in other ways and go skating.

While I'm itching to throw my kayak in the water and do a lap around Little Goose Pond (about 4kms), every evening when I get home from work I find that its still frozen. So yesterday evening it was time to dust off the old skates and do the Canadian thing and go skating.

Hopefully I'll be adding posts about paddling here again soon!

Rock over London, Rock on Chicago