Tony's theory of everything

Theory of movement

2009-06-12T04:56:00.001-07:00

Stan moving along the red rocks of Bay Bulls

Well, I'm moving too! I've decided to move this weblog to a new weblog and blog only about kayaking. That's what this is all about anyway so I might as well call it what it is.

I've moved all my posts over there and I'll continue from there. The new link is www.mynewfoundlandkayakexperience.blobspot.com

I hope you'll visit me there and update your links etc.

Tony :-)

Theory of codes

2009-06-06T13:55:00.001-07:00

Kayakers to the rescue. Looks like the fisher- man is helping us but looks are deceiving in this case.

There are codes for everything. Building codes, code of ethics for professionals and, aptly today a code for conduct at sea. As we paddled out of Bay Bulls this morning we came upon two fishermen whose boat was disabled by rope around the propeller. We stopped to ask if we could help but they only asked us to ask a zodiac, out by the berg we were going to, to come in and give him a tow. When we got out to the berg the guy in the zodiac took off so we had to double back to see what we could do again. Stan tried a call on the VHF radio and then a try with the cell phone. Eventually, someone did come out from Bay Bulls to give a tow and we went on our way.

Stan and myself were amazed that these guys weren't wearing PFDs and didn't have anyway to communicate with land if they had to. Not even a spare set of oars. We were in much smaller boats but much better prepared.

In any case, we did what we could and there's always something that can be done to help. Stan wondered if we could have towed him ourselves. I didn't think so but we lived up to the code of conduct at sea and we resumed our paddle.

Tony :-)

Stan paddling past the iceberg in Bay Bulls. He's further away from the berg than he looks. The berg has been around for a while and has been melting so its a candidate to roll. This was our third berg for the year, will we bag anymore?

Stan in happy salute to being on the water.

Making our way along the south side of Bay Bulls with the iceberg in the distance.

Stan exploring the south side of Bay Bulls. There were a lot of sea gulls perched on the cliffs behind him.

Stan paddling at South Head, the headland between Bay Bulls and Witless Bay. The rocks here are mainly red sandstones of the Signal Hill Formation. These rocks outcrop at Signal Hill (couldn't see that coming huh?) the type location for the Formation.

Stan at South Head with numerous sea stacks that makes it very scenic and a great place to paddle through.

Sea stack at South Head, a safe refuge always for birds of any species.

Theory of the present

2009-06-05T04:42:00.001-07:00

Washing up in fresh water after an evening of kayak practice at St. Phillips (Doug Adams picture)

The day before yesterday I learned a relative had passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. Every time there's a death I hear people say that you have to take advantage of the time while you have it. I couldn't agree more, except that I try to remember that every day and not just at times like this.

Last evening was one of those moments to live in the present. A group of 10 were on hand at St. Phillips to practice self-rescuse, assisted rescues or just paddle stroks. After, we paddled up the river to wash the salt off our gear and motorcyle rider Doug Adams stopped on the bridge to snap this picture of 8 of us. Yes, there are 8 in the picture. Stan is in all black and just in front of the overturned yellow and his visibility was the subject of a chuckle earlier. All good fun.

We had a great time and motorcycle rider Doug also took advantage of the day. Its not so much sieze the moment as it is to enjoy the moment. I enjoy this "present" of life and I live it in the present.

Tony :-)

Theory of guerrilla gardening

2009-06-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

Flowers blooming in a forgotten garden in Tickles

Guerrilla gardening is a form of environmental activism where activists take over a piece of abandoned land and grow crops on it, usually under cover of night. I think it can also be loosely applied to taking plants out of abandoned gardens and replant in ones own garden.

Last year near the end of June a group of us were kayak camping at Tickles in St. Mary's Bay, Newfoundland. Its an old resettled community and these flowers were growing there wild now that there was no one there to attend to it. I don't know what the name of the flowers is but obviously someone had taken care to grow them as a source of enjoyment because they aren't wildflowers, at least not here.

I liked them and even though I didn't know what they were I took a clump, put them in my kayak and planted them in my garden. A winter passed and when spring came I wondered if they would come back. Well, they did and judging by how early they're blooming, we must be almost a month ahead of the season compared to last year.

Tony :-)

And here it is growing almost a year later in my garden at home.

Theory of first love

2009-05-30T15:12:00.001-07:00

In my Necky Looksha IV at Great Island (photo by Derrick B.)

I've had my Nordkapp for a month now and I'm just reflecting back on my first love - my Necky Looksha IV. Its something like first love or your first car. I'll never forget the first paddle, I was pretty green. I've had some great paddles in the Necky since and learned a lot.

Somehow, when I got the Nordkapp I didn't know if I was doing the right thing. Did I really need to buy this boat? Was I deserving given that I'm not a skilled paddler? A month later and the answer is in. I'm still not the paddler that a lot of Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador members are but I've grown into the Nordkapp. I feel really comfortable and I'm ready to continue learning.

I still have my Necky and I won't abandon her; I'll still take her out for a spin from time to time. Little does she know that it'll be to rockhop or paddle in ice. I figure I owe her that given she was the first love of my paddling addiction.

Tony :-)

Three weeks later and I'm in my Nordkapp on Fair and False Bay on the way to St. Brendans. Thanks Derrick for the picture; it was a memorable day.

Theory of seasons

2009-05-26T15:40:00.001-07:00

Tulip Princess Irene finding it rather cool for this time of year

There are of course, nominally, 4 seasons.

Today I'm reminded of a Crowded House tune "Four seasons in one day". There can't be too many places on the planet where you could literally have 4 seasons in one day. But, one place is Newfoundland.

They say here that if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change. This morning started out with snow falling. It snowed for about 5 hours (winter), then it started to warm and the snow turned to light rain (spring), then the sun made a feeble effort to shine (summer) and this evening it cooled (fall).

The snow didn't last but it was a bit of a shock to the system, especially as I hadn't started Christmas shopping yet.

Tony :-)

Theory of go west young man

2009-05-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Stan at Cape Spear

John Soule first coined the phrase "Go west young man, and grow up with the country" in 1851. It was used in an editorial to urge young men to head west in the USA to forge a trail through the wild west and settle the states of California, Washington and Oregon. That period was imortalized in countless western movies where wagon trains were attacked by Apache indians and rescued by the U.S. cavalry.

Stan and myself paddled, kinda unplanned, from Quidi Vidi to Cape Spear this morning. Cape Spear is the most easterly point of North America and as such the only way to go was west. To go east would have meant a long, long paddle to Ireland. It would have essentially been the same as throwing a message in a bottle, only a couple of skeletons in kayaks would have wash up on the shores of Europe instead.

We stayed at the Cape for a few minutes, content we had made our first trip to Malcolm's Cape. No cavalry rode back west with us but we did have a following sea which was pretty sweet.

Tony :-)

We came out of Quidi Vidi and paddled along the Southside Hills down into Freshwater Bay. Though the picture doesn't show it, the water was pretty confused until we got deeper into Freshwater Bay and behind Sprigg's Point.

Stan making his way down into Freshwater Bay.

Stan paddling into Freshwater Bay. The red Signal Hill sandstones form the shoreline here.

Stan on the Deadman's Bay side of Sprigg's Point. An oil industry supply boat had come out of St. John's harbour and laid to for a while.

Theory of the chicken or the egg

2009-05-23T03:32:00.001-07:00

Beothuck stone quarry at Bloody Point

So, what came first? The chicken or the egg? We know with certainty that the native Newfoundland Beothuck were here before the English arrived to settle Newfoundland. There's no doubt about that. There's plenty of archaeological evidence for that, and previous occupiers of the land.

This was a stone quarry of the Beothuck where they came to collect rock for arrow heads and stone cutting tools. Its not a natural talus slope where natural processes weathered the rock from the cliff face. These rocks were discarded by the Beothuck quarriers as unsuitable for their needs.

Standing on this spot is a little awe inspiring. First they had to collect the rough rock, carry it back to camp and then fashion it into arrowheads and tools. No Wal-Mart then. We maybe should have appreciated the culture more when it still existed. We're still struggling with how to treat first nations. I'm not directly involved with that but I hope that those who are do remember who came first and treat their culture with the respect it deserves.

Tony :-)

View towards Rocky Bay, Bloody Reach in the foreground from the top of Bloody Point. A friend has a cabin on the small island tucked in behind the larger island right of center. We visited there 20 years ago and it was interesting seeing it again from this vantage point. I wonder if the Beothuck also identified points of interest from here hundreds of years ago?

Theory of wooden ships

2009-05-22T03:42:00.001-07:00

A fleet of wooden kayaks

How many different materials do we make kayaks out of? Skin-on-frame, fibreglass, kevlar, plastic, wood. And, there are as many people who prefer one over the other. The Inuit didn't have these choices.

On Sunday past Paul remarked that the group of 8 had a majority of wooden kayaks - 3 strippers and 2 stitch and glue. That doesn't happen very often. It think it was Paul also who noted that if we got stranded we wouldn't have far to look for fire wood. *lol*

This picture also reminds me of a Crosby, Stills and Nash song "Wooden Ships". Here's the chorus (if you're not as old as I am!)

Wooden ship on the water, very free, and easy
Easy, the you know its supposed to be
Silver people on the shoreline, let us be
Talkin' 'bout very free, and easy.

Tony :-)

Theory of love thy neighbour

2009-05-21T03:47:00.000-07:00

Put-in at Burnside

We all know that Jesus Christ taught that we should "love thy neighbour". For me its still a theory because the fact that mankind follows this commandment is still unproven.

Probably not moreso than in the 1800's in Newfoundland. As English settlers spread across the island of Newfoundland they came into contact with the native Beothuck who were living here when the English arrived. The English expansion started to crowd the Beothucks out of their traditional hunting and harvesting territory. The Beothuck reaction was to cause a nuisance to the settlers by stealing fishing equipment, cutting the mooring of boats and similar acts.

That resulted in numerous skirmishes where Beothucks were killed and occasionally settlers. We were paddling in an area where a massacre occured in the mid 1800's - Bloody Point and on the other side Bloody Reach. Pete thought English settlers were enticed to a Beothuck camp and slaughtered. A friend tells me the English slaughtered the Beothuck and an ancestor of his wife was involved. It doesn't much matter who is right, one group of people killed another group.

We haven't learned much either in the time since.

On Sunday a group of eight paddled from Burnside to Bloody Point and then on to St. Brendan's to catch the ferry back. We stopped at Bloddy Point and reflected. I wondered when we would get around to living peacefully together and "love thy neighbour".

Tony :-)

Fishing stage at Burnside. This is a typical scene in most fishing communities in Newfoundland.

Here we are leaving Burnside. A group of four turned left and handrailed along the coast down to St. Chads and the eight in our group paddled towards Bloody Point.

After we left Burnside we crossed the open waters of Fair and False Bay on our way to Bloody Point. The view of islands floating in the bay, still waters and a little breeze make for a pleasurable crossing.

Here's the group on top of Bloody Point, about 100 metres above the water. We had a great view about 270 degrees around. Its kind of sobering knowing without question the Beothuck stood on this site 200 years or so ago and had the same thoughts about the great view. People aren't so different based either on ethnic background or time.

After we walked up to the top of Bloody Point we returned and had lunch, fuel for the run up to St. Brendan's.

Wharf at the archaeological Bloody Point site, getting underway again to meet the ferry at St. Brendan's.

Theory of J. L. Seagull

2009-05-20T03:27:00.000-07:00

Ralph in his Valley Auqa- naut. Ralph is living the good life like myself in the Freedom 55 Club.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull was one in a flock of seagulls in that wonderful book by Richard Bach in 1970. As there's safety in a flock of birds, so is there safety in group kayaking. But, as the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull told us, you can be an individual within the flock and explore your own horizons.

My camera caught a number of paddlers individually on our paddle on Saturday and they have their own stories. Its what makes paddling also a social event where you can chat it up and get to know your fellow adventurers. As the foreleaf in the book stated "To the Jonathan Livingston Seagull in all of us".

Tony :-)

Tony, as comfortable in a kayak as he is on his motorcycle. Did I mention he's got a great kayak website with lots of great shots at www.kayaktherock.com ?

Paul is our weatherman. People on his mailing list know what I mean. Here he is out on his first paddle for the year.

Alex, what can I say? Alex is Alex and loved by all. Alex is the current President of Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador. An accomplished paddler himself, he'll do anything to share his knowledge and assist novices by sharing his paddles. Alex is also known to be involved in many interesting paddles and because of that, has towing down to a science.

Neil putting his self-built stitch and glue kayak on edge. Neil is a kayaking instructor, thats why he looks like he knows what he's doing. Working in the environmental field, Neil is great to paddle with if you yourself don't know much about wildlife.

Paul is from Marystown area and was a competitive runner and represented the Province at the Canada Summer Games. He's still pretty competitive as I would find out on Sunday.

Craig is from Twillingate on the Northeast coast of Newfoundland. Craig, in one of his own boats, builds kayaks as Eastern Island Kayaks. They have five models to choose from and you can contact Craig for more information at "craigeik@hotmail.com"

Julie in her Necky Elaho. Julie is a former municipal and provincial politician and most notably a cancer survivor. She's also a scuba diver and involved in dragon boat racing.

Theory of flocking - more pics

2009-05-19T03:48:00.000-07:00

Black bear hunters

Craig saw a black bear close to where we stopped for lunch so a few of us went to have a look. As we got close to where Craig said he saw the bear Neil said if we met the bear he was going to pull someone's dry suit down around their ankles and run. Notice, I'm safely taking up the rear!

A few more pictures from our paddle on Saturday in Newman's Sound, Terra Nova National Park during Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador's annual Retreat.

Tony :-)

Theory of flocking

2009-05-18T13:29:00.002-07:00

Kayakers exhibit flocking behaviour, what a great sight.

Flocking refers to the collective motion of a large number of individuals and is a collective animal behaviour exhibited by many living things like birds and fish. Birds flock together for a number of reasons. I think one reason is to confuse preditors - so many targets that its hard to focus on one.

On Friday past, 89 paddlers from all over Newfoundland flocked to Splash -N- Putt waterpark cabins for our annual kayakers Retreat. The Retreat kicked off with registration from 7:30 to 10:30 and icebreaker social hosted by The Outfitters. Volunteer Phyllis and myself were busy with registration and missed out on the icebreaker but there's always overhead to a successful event.

Saturday there were 2 groups of paddlers. One group of about 50 paddlers had a shorter paddle to ease themselves into the paddling season. I was in the second group of 22 paddlers who wanted a bit more of a workout. We had a great day on the water and after cleaning up we had a dance (music by DJ Justice Malcolm) but not a lot got up to dance. No big deal, we were here to paddle anyway.

There's a saying "birds of the feather flock together". One a year its great to get the flock together, meet new paddlers and start new friendships based on a common interest.

Tony :-)

Here we were putting in at Salton's Wharf in Terra Nova Park in Newfoundland.

Paddler Tony Lee. Tony has one of the best Newfoundland paddling websites at www.kayaktherock.com and has taken pictures of me on many occasions. But, of course, very few pictures of himself. I hadn't paddled with Tony since I bought my Olympus waterproof camera so this time I told him I was turning the table on him and putting him on my blog. Obviously having a good time.

We left Salton's Brook and paddled west down Newman's Sound with a bit of a breeze blowing from the southwest. There was a small inlet here where we found we were protected from the wind.

Derrick with his "stick" (Greenland paddle). Derrick seems to be using his GP exclusively now and says that he thinks he gets more purchase with the GP than the Euro blade.

More flocking paddlers *lol*

We stopped for lunch at South Broad Cove. There's a back-country trail that goes by here with something like 6 wilderness campsites. There are structures to tie camp food up high out of the reach of bears. Craig went looking for a restroom that Neil said was nearby but found instead a black bear. He came back unflustered so we went back to where he saw the bear but it was gone.

Here the paddling got pretty tough as the paddlers had to paddle through the rocks!

The group got spread out a bit and stopped here to re-flock.

We encountered an immature seal on our paddle back to Salton's. I stopped paddling and the seal approached my kayak. It was as curious about what I was and I was pleased to have it stay around for a couple of minutes. At one point it swam under the kayak and I could feel it bump the hull of my boat.

Theory of retreat

2009-05-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

Steve and Stan on a recent paddle

Retreat could mean going back the way you came. It also could mean "get outta here". In this case its like a religious retreat only the religion is seakayaking. I'm off tomorrow to Terra Nova National Park for Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador's annual kayak Retreat. There are almost 80 people registered and I expect there will be another 30 of so late registrations.

Saturday there's a ocean paddle, Sunday a day at a pond for various clinics. The Retreat guest is Doug Alderson. Doug has written a number of books on the subject and should provide everyone with some new insights. And a chance to get some pictures in another area of the province.

I might be going to a Retreat but I'm already a convert.

Tony :-)

Theory of antidotes

2009-05-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

Sue and Derrick paddle thru the Pillers of Hercules

It was a frustrating day dealing with registrations for Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador's annual Retreat coming up this weekend. There's always last minute things to take care of and often things happen beyond one's control.

Derrick called. "Are you interested in a paddle?" he asked. Absolutely I said. We arranged to meet at 6:00. I figured a paddle would be the perfect antidote for what ailed me. Brian and Sue made it a foursome.

An antidote is something that counteracts an unwanted effect. We paddled up to Topsail from St. Philips and when we got back the antidote had taken full effect, proof medicine doesn't always come in a pill bottle.

Tony :-)

Sue "rescues" Brian as Derrick is ready to assist. Brian jumped out of his boat before we came around some rocks and had to be rescued. Sue sprang into action and after Brain was back in his boat she said it wasn't very realistic. I asked why not and she said "he practically got back in the boat himself". All good fun.

Theory of plan B

2009-05-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

Stan taking his Nordkapp for its first saltwater spin

The weather forecast the day before was 10 kms easterly wind. Plan A was to meet at Donovan's Irving and paddle in Chapel Arm.

I checked the forecast this morning and we were now promised easterly 30 kms gusting to 60 and rain. Lovely! On to plan B.

Stan, Steve and I decided plan B was a put-in in St. Philips and paddle north towards Bauline. Its not an exciting paddle at the best of times but it was a paddle. The first of the season for Steve and the first taste of saltwater for Stan's new Nordkapp. It blew hard at times, it rained, it was cold. It didn't feel like we went anywhere but we still paddled about 20 kms all told. Plan B turned out to be OK, ya gotta take what ya can get.

Tony :-)

Steve having his first paddle of 2009.

Steve enjoying the paddle today in spite of the rain. Neither of us complained and when we got back to the pit-in in St. Philips we enjoyed paddling in the rain so much we carried on down towards Topsail for another 3 kms or so before deciding to call it a day.

Over the shoulder shot of Stan, and the heavens opened up.

The dark rocks and the swollen sky with the paddler just looked like a nice composition.

An along the hull shot at water level makes Steve look farther away than he was. It was raining which made keeping the lens free of water difficult.

Theory of C

2009-05-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

Derrick B took this picture of me on a recent paddle in Long Pond

The shortest theory yet!

The roman numeral for 100 is C. C is also the constant for the speed of light in Einstein's Theory of Relativity - E = MC2.

I had my first paddle of 2008 on the 10th of May last year. Today, on the 9th, I had my 100th paddle since then. It was a couple of hours paddling around in St. Philips cove in the wind and waves but I was determined to get the boat wet to reach that mark.

I know there are people who paddle more but still I consider it a decent milestone. Some were long ocean paddles, some were practice sessions in conditions and some were just practice sessions in fresh water. They all count towards time in the boat and learning.

So, C stands for 100 and it also stands for the speed of light, which seems to be how fast time has passed since May 10 of last year. Its all a blur!

Tony :-)

Theory of halite

2009-05-07T03:31:00.000-07:00

St. Philips harbour at low tide

Halite is the mineral form of sodium chloride (NaCl) commonly known as salt. Salt is sold as unrefined (sea salt), refined (table salt) and iodized salt. I don't know why we don't just call it halite as in "pass the halite, please".

Yesterday, I gave my new Nordkapp its first taste of salt. I'd spent a few hours in fresh water getting the feel of the boat. There was no wind and calm water, a perfect day to make another baby step. Maybe all this care is unnecessary but it was a great feeling let her stretch her legs.

Personally, I'm on a low sodium diet in an effort to control my blood pressure. The best thing for a kayak - a steady diet of salt.

Tony :-)

While my kayak is not as stealthy as Stan's all black Nordkapp, I was able to creep up and catch these seagulls before they took off.

Pocket beach between St. Philips and Topsail. The Topsail fault runs through here and you can see the rocks have been mangled in the fault zone. It appears there's been some remelting of rocks.

Theory of faults

2009-05-06T03:44:00.001-07:00

Stan, Neil and Ysabelle paddling out of Flatrock

We all know what faults are; Lord I have many. But the English language is quirky in that the same word describes different ideas. Geologically, a fault is a break in the earth's crust along which there has been movement parallel with the fault surface. There are different types of faults, which I won't explain here. On our paddle last Friday from Flatrock to Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, I got a picture of two types.

Here, the older grey siltstones of the Conception Group are overthrust (thrust fault) upon the younger red Signal Hill Formation sandstones and conglomerates. You can see the edges of the red beds were bend upwards as the siltstones were overthrust. The fault runs at about 45 degrees from the right top corner down towards the lower left.

Here Neil, Stan and Ysabelle paddle past Red Head north of Flatrock. In the foreground are the red beds of the Signal Hill Formation and behind them, the grey siltstones of the Conception Group. When we rounded Red Head I expected to see the darker rocks of the St. John's slate which lie stratigraphically above the red sandstones and conglomerates. Once I got a closer look I recognized the Conception rocks and realized that a fault (strike - slip) had displaced the correct sequence of rocks and positioned the older Conception rocks against the younger Signal hill rocks.

I must have rocks in my head because I find this stuff interesting. All the more interesting when you add a few kayakers in the pictures.

Tony :-)

Theory of nordkapping

2009-05-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

"Stealthy" Stan in all black Nordkapp and gear

If you're going skiing you need skiis. If you're going bowling, you need ... bad example. If you're going nordkapping you'll definately need a Nordkapp.

I feel like I've graduated from some kind of school now that I own a Nordkapp. Stan was buying one and that planted the seed and got me to thinking. For me it was a leap of faith moving from the semi-hard chined Necky Looksha IV to the soft chined Nordkapp. Stan had tried Malcolm's twice last fall but I didn't ask to try because at the time it hadn't entered my mind. I trusted Malcolm to do the research and if Malcolm had a Nordkapp then that was good enough for me.

A couple of times in fresh water and my choice was vindicated. I am so going to enjoy paddling this boat over the summer. I'll miss seal launches though and running the boat up on the beach to land. You just can't do that to a clutured lady like the Nordkapp.

Tony :-)

Here I is, picture snapped by Stan. Just after Stan and I picked up our boats we had them "christened" in Long Pond. The wind was blowing at 45 kms with gusts close to 70. Not a problem paddling into the wind but after paddling downwind, its was a challenge (I don't mind saying) to get turned back into that kind of wind. Some more time on Sunday at Topsail Pond and I feel comfortable and ready to resume ocean paddling. Looking at the picture, maybe I should have saved the money and used it for a hair transplant *lol*!!!

Theory of dice

2009-05-03T11:38:00.001-07:00

Iceberg off of Pouch Cove

OK, I know the dangers of paddling too close to an iceberg. But Friday I rolled the dice and got away with it.

The way I see it, rolling the dice is gambling and so is buying tickets on lotteries. The odds of winning the Lotto 649 Canadian lottery is 1 in 14,000,000. That's about the same as being struck by lightening.

Now, I've bought Lotto tickets occasionally when the prize has gotten obscene. I figured a quick paddle close to this berg would be a chance worth taking because I haven't won the lottery and I assumed the chances of something bad happening were about the same.

The berg could have rolled or the iceshelf that extended from the berg could have let go and come up under my boat. I could have been hit by lightening too. In hindsight I should have bought a lottery ticket on the way home because I was obviously lucky today!

Tony :-)

Neil with the berg. Here the ice ledge sticking out from the berg turns the water turquoise in colour.

Stan having a close encounter with a gigantic ice cube.

Theory of Good Friday (2)

2009-05-02T04:23:00.001-07:00

And, we're ready to go after putting in in Flatrock

A few more pictures to add to yesterday's blog entry of our paddle from Flatrock to Pouch Cove. Today its windy and wet so its nice to reflect in the afterglow of a great paddle. I can't say enough about this paddle destination but if you put it on your paddle calendar this year, be careful to get the right forecast - light winds from the west and swell 1 metre or less. Other conditions can make this a risky paddle for all but the most experienced.

Tony :-)

Neil leads Stan around Red Head and into Red Head Cove around the point.

Stan, Neil and Ysabelle (ltr) paddle into Styles Cove where we stopped for a break. Neil told us that local fishermen had fixed a ladder to the cliffs here in case they were forced to seek shelter here from bad weather while they tended to their cod traps in the area.

Neil, and Stan ahead of him, venture into one of the sea caves. The salt water has leached the rocks hot pink.

Stan and Neil after exiting the sea cave.

Neil, Ysabelle and Stan (in order) prepare to paddle inside of some offshore rocks. There was a little sea action so we had to time our run through in some places.

Neil, Stan and Ysabelle check out one of the waterfalls along our route.

Flatrock to Pouch Cove is a very scenic paddle but you have to pick your day. There are massive cliffs and isolated sea-stacks. Add in a blend of sunshine, blue seas and skies, good paddling mates and I got an unforgetable day. Here, a seagull soars overhead as Neil and Ysabelle paddle past one sea-stack.

Theory of Good Friday

2009-05-01T11:27:00.001-07:00

Neil, Ysabelle and Stan (ltr) paddling to Red Head NW of Flatrock, Newfoundland

In the Christian world, Good Friday is the day Jesus Christ was crucified. I've never been able to figure out what was good about that, but it was always a holiday. Because it was a holiday I always called it "Best Friday". Every Friday is good and when you have it off then its "Best Friday" for me.

Lucky me, I'm retired. Neil and Ysabelle were on the last days of their holidays and suggested a paddle from Flatrock to Pouch Cove (pronounced pooch). Stan couldn't resist and took a vacation day too.

This coast is very exposed and can be dangerous if the conditions are not right. Today they were and we took advantage. The cliffs were massive in places, starting out as red conglomerates and sandstones and then grey siltstones. There's more info on this paddle destination in a trip report on the Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador website at www.kayakers.nf.ca

All Fridays are best Fridays for me now but this was a particularly good one. Thanks to my paddling companions today. It was hard to choose from the pictures I took today but I'll post more later.

Tony :-)

The almost right angle jointing in the sandstones of the Signal Hill formation here resulted in this Egyptian looking cave. At least it reminds me of Egyptian temples.

Neil (and partner Ysabelle) was just back from a holiday that included paddling in Venice. Today's paddle was a little bit different but I can imagine seeing Venice from the seat of a kayak must be pretty sweet too.

Stan decided to use a day of his vacation time; it was a wise decision!

Ysabelle enjoying a good Friday.

In the Cathedral of St. Conception Siltstone. It was calm enough to get through the opening and back into the vestibule. There was very little light but the camera flash hit off of the reflective tape on paddles and Stan's dry suit. As awe-inspiring as any man-made cathedral I've been in.

Neil and Stan in the turquoise waters, in the shadow of the berg. Another gift from Greenland. This was my second berg of the year and because its only May 1, there's a good chance I'll bag a few more yet.

Theory of the grassy knoll

2009-04-30T03:28:00.001-07:00

Stan on the "grassy knoll" of Ship Island getting his "shot" of our lunch stop

Most people who were 10 or so on 22 November 1963 or who have an interest in the JFK assassination would be familiar with the term "grassy knoll". Its a small grassy raised area on Elm Street in Dallas where its alleged a second or third shot was fired at JFK.

I look upon the JFK assassination as one of those life mysteries I likely will never know the answer to. Something like what happened to the pack of Dad's cigarettes I took to smoke with a couple of friends when I was about 10. I stashed them under a rock and when I went back they were gone. Maybe one of the friends got there before me?

But that's only small stuff. Take for example, the meaning of life. What's it all about? I don't have the answer but I do know that I won't worry about it now. Its something that will be revealed (or unrevealed) in due course. For now, I'll take advantage of beautiful days, like on this day, and live in the moment. Maybe its best not to know the answers to some mysteries anyway.

Tony :-)

Theory of the panic button

2009-04-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

Corey leading the way to Great Island

Here, Corey looks like he's out for a paddle by himself but there were 9 other paddling companions nearby. But, just because you have paddling companions doesn't mean you're not alone.

After lunch break on Ship Island on Saturday, I misread what the plan was and paddled ahead of the group and after some time looked behind to see where everyone was. Oops, stupid me, the rest were just specks on the horizon going the other way. I had a momentary sense of panic because I knew that if I got into a pickle I'd be on my own to figure it out.

I turned and gave chase and quickly realized that this presented a learning opportunity. I wouldn't be out here by myself by choice but given that this was what it was, I calmed myself and actually reveled in the circumstance. Hitting the panic button would only have caused me to tense up where it was necessary to stay loose.

Its a mental game and there is no such thing as a panic button. If you think there is, you better leave it on the beach.

Tony :-)

Stan and myself were talking about how hard it is sometimes to capture the feeling of the sea state in bigger water. The paddler either disappears behind the wave, as in this shot, or the size of the wave is difficult to see without a point of reference. On top of that, concentrating on staying upright.

This picture comes close to the sea state off of Southern Head on Great Island.

Brian paddling in active water off of Ship Island. Its is said that elite athletes see things in slow motion. That's why people like Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan dominated their respective games. While spectators and team mates see a flurry of activity, Gretzky and Jordan make it look easy. So does Brian. Paddling into wind, surf or big water, Brian looks like he's hardly working - another day at the office. I watch and hope to learn.

Theory of happenstance

2009-04-27T03:29:00.000-07:00

Paddling out to the iceberg grounded in Mobile, New- foundland

We get icebergs that calve from the Greenland icesheet along the east coast of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland every year. They can be seen sometimes far out at sea from the tops of cliffs. It takes wind from the right direction at the right time to blow an occasional berg into the small coves and bays along the coast. An act of randomness, otherwise the bergs would just continue on their drift south.

While bergs can be seen from vantage points on land, seeing them from the seat of kayak at water level is awe-inspiring. They seem to have their own micro-environment, say nothing of the danger. This one was grounded but we still kept our distance.

Stan and I took advantage of a chance to paddle to this berg on Saturday because not all bergs are accessible and then on top of that, there's the randomness of the weather cooperating to allow us to get on the water. Hopefully there will be more happenstance yet this spring.

Tony :-)

There was a small cove in the berg on this side. It was noticeably cooler around the berg and I just had a different sense of the swell washing onto the berg here than against a rocky shoreline. It seemed more threatening.

Another angle. I found it amazing how different this one berg looked from different vantage points.

Take-out was through a rock garden.

Theory of love me two times

2009-04-25T13:06:00.001-07:00

Stan in the foam created by waves crashing on Great Island

Right out of the science department - the Theory of love me two times! Really.

OK, so I've borrowed this "Theory" from Jim Morrison. But it does apply to my paddle today. I had two put-ins today, first in Tors Cove to paddle out to Great Island, one of the islands in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve and a second put-in in Mobile to check out a grounded iceberg.

A group of 10 of us put-in in Tors Cove, Newfoundland to do a paddle out to and around Great Island in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, a seabird sanctuary. A swell of 2 - 3 metres with a period of 11 seconds was predicted but with no wind. I don't know about the 11 second thing but we did get up to 3 metres of swell. The swell rebounding off the cliffs made for mildly confused seas but nothing to be concerned with.

After taking out and stowing away or grear and loading the kayaks we headed for home. Stan and I detoured down into the small community of Mobile to check out a grounded berg. What the hell we said, we'll put-in again and go have a look. There'll be more bergs to check out (fingers crossed) but ya never know so we did it while we could.

It was a great paddle today being out with a larger group and I loved both times I got on the water. But I'm not going away, more pictures from today's paddle to post later!

Tony :-)

Derrick and Pam on the seaward side of Great Island. Above Pam's head is throughway in the cliffs but not for today with the 2 - 3 metre swell. Derrick had his "stick" ( OK, Greenland paddle) with him again today and this was the day to test it out at the next level. I'll leave mine home for a while yet until I feel comfortable with it in calm water.

Here's most of the group after rounding Southern Head on Great Island. The swell was predicted to be 2 - 3 metres and we got that but with no wind it was a great day to be out in some bigger water after the calm waters of our winter paddles.

Stopped for lunch on Ship Island (?). There was a bit of talk about all the pictures kayakers take of lunch stops, so, here's mine for this paddle.

Alison and Brian in close to the action on (I think) Ship Island.

Pete was motoring after his lunch of beer and cigarellos!

This was our second stop. Stan with the iceberg grounded in Mobile, Newfoundland.

Theory of continental drift (2)

2009-04-24T04:17:00.000-07:00

Stan in front of the Ordovician rocks of Bell Island

Its hard to believe that the solid rocks beneath our feet , under the right pressure and temperature, become plastic enough to flow. But that's a fact, at least its pretty much universally accepted by geologists today.

I find it interesting to consider where the rocks we paddle along were formed millions of years ago. The rocks of Bell Island are sandstones and shales that are interbedded which indicates the water fluctuated between shallow (sandstone deposited) and deeper (shale deposited). The sandstones show ripple marks and I've split them apart to reveal worm borrows preserved in the rocks. I find it a particularly moving experience to be able to see where worms burrowed 450 million years ago. E.R. Rose in his geological memoir even reports evidence of "rain-drop impressions".

All of this continental drift would have been oblivious to the grains of sand and worms just like it is to us today. But, I like to keep in mind that the world underneath my feet is moving. The earth is dynamic and there are lots of things in it to be enjoyed, whether in a kayak or not.

Tony :-)

Paleo maps by C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP project at www.scotese.com

This is where "Avalonia" has drifted to in about the 60 million years since the Cambrian. This would be the approximate location where we were when the Ordovician rocks of Bell Island were deposited.

This is where "Avalonia" was when the Cambrian rocks of the Avalon Peninsula were deposited over 500 million years ago. This is where we were on my last entry on the topic in March.

Theory of in my backyard

2009-04-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Checking out the yachts in Long Pond

NIMBY refers to unwanted development " not in my backyard". But when a sudden paddle develops then a paddle "in my backyard" just fits the bill. Today Derrick called unexpectedly that there was a paddle on. Ralph picked me up (my car is undergoing an operation) on the way to Long Pond where Dean, Derrick, Pam, Ralph and I put-in for a paddle up the shore.

Its familiar territory but like a favorite sweater, it feels comfortable. We paddled up Long Pond before we paddled onto Conception Bay and then past Foxtrap marina and down as far as Kelligrews. We paddled approximately 17 kms which wasn't bad for the backyard on a beautiful day. Thanks guys for an enjoyable paddle and thanks again Ralph for the ride.

Tony :-)

Dean, Derrick and Ralph in the "long pond" at Long Pond

Derrick and Pam, husband and wife team. They both paddle identical strip build kayaks by Derrick and Pam is still getting the feel of the boat. It was a great day for it.

Dean and Ralph

Theory of the quickie

2009-04-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

I was surprised there are still icicles to be shot. I liked the sunlight on the ice

OK, get yer mind out of the gutter!

It was a beautiful day, sunny and cool. After a visit to Derrick's to get him to look at how my greenland paddle was progressing and to get advice on finishing, duties in the garden called. I said to myself, I should be paddling. But, I can't paddle all the time and expect the garden to take care of itself.

Duties done, after supper I took advantage of the longer evenings now and had a quickie paddle from St. Philips to Portugal Cove. Its only 5 minutes from home so it was convenient and it was on the water. It can't always be a full day paddling, and when it can't a quickie fits the bill.

Tony :-)

The sun was behind me and low in the sky that made for nice lighting and shadows

Inside passage

Sun going down over Bell Island

Theory of anticlines

2009-04-15T04:37:00.001-07:00

Stan checking "did I get that last shot?"

An anticline is a term used in structural geology to describe a fold in rocks that has an apex with the beds dipping down on either side. That is like an upside down "U". That's the opposite of a syncline which would be rocks folded like a right side up "U".

On our recent paddle out to the Iona Islands in Placentia Bay I captured Stan in front of an anticline in rocks of the Trinny Cove Formation. The Trinny Cove Formation is made up of red and greenish sandstones known as an "arkose". Arkose is a sandstone where 25% or more of the sand grains making up the sandstone are the mineral "feldspar". When you think about it, its hard to believe that something like stone would be plastic enough to bend like this.

Terms like arkose are a bit technical but the small anticline is clear to see in the rocks and you don't have to be a geologist to notice these kinds of structures on you paddles. Its all part of the environment we paddle in and adds to the interest of being out there.

Tony :-)

Theory of liberation

2009-04-13T04:04:00.001-07:00

Stan in the middle of nowhere

On Friday past Stan and myself paddled to the Iona Islands in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland from Mount Arlington Heights. Its almost a 7 kms crossing excluding Shag Rocks which we paddled past on the way. Its effectively a full 7 kms crossing as there's nowhere to land on Shag Rocks.

Its not a long crossing by any stretch of the imagination as the furthest you can be from land is 3.5 kms. But out in the middle of the bay I just felt totally liberated. No noise, only the sounds of silence.

I enjoy paddling along shore but paddling there is something like walking with crutches. Doing a crossing of any length I feel is akin to throwing away the crutches and setting myself free. Its another aspect of kayaking like paddling in big waterthat deserves checking out and this coming year I expect I will. I see a 20 - 25 kms crossing in my future and I shall slip the surly bonds of the land.

Tony :-)

Theory of go for it

2009-04-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Route of our paddle to the Iona Islands

This past week Stan came down with a stomach flu and only started to feel better yesterday. We spoke this morning and decided on a paddle to the Iona Islands in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. We put-in in Mount Arlington Heights.

The Town of Long Harbour - Mount Arlington Heights had a population of 211 in the 2006 census. It was the former site of the Albright Wilson phosphorus plant. Things are looking up thought as a new hydrometalurgical plant to process Voisey's Bay nickel is scheduled to begin construction shortly. This should boost the population.

Anyway, back to the paddle. We took our time as Stan wasn't feeling on top of his game. We weren't in a hurry as we had no wind and just a gentle swell at times. At times we stopped in the middle of the bay, drifted and listened to the sounds of silence. After stopping for lunch and snapping some pictures we paddled back to the put-in and saw a couple of minke whales.

Sometimes ya just have to go for it. We paddled about 20 kms, you're a trooper Stan! Pictures hereunder.

Tony :-)

Stan stoked for a paddle to the Iona Islands in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland.

Slalom course of bouys that we "slalomed" thru.

Stan lookin' good paddling along in Long Harbour on our way to the Iona Islands.

Stan with Long Island Head in the distance.

Stopped for lunch looking back towards Mount Arlington Heights.

This "homestead" has seen better days. This was shot on the Little Island where we stopped for lunch looking south.

Stan coming back to the put-in.

Theory of mental imagery

2009-04-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

A seal on the ice

My last entry was about the theory of "seeing" versus "looking". I wanted to follow that up with the theory of mental imagery, in the sense that sometimes we see what we want to see.

A couple of weeks ago I went for a paddle in Torbay, Newfoundland that had some ice in it but wasn't ice choked. As I was getting ready to put in a couple of municipal workers drove up and said that there was a seal out on the ice pans. I hurried to get on the water and after a few minutes I spotted the seal. I was very stealthy as I paddled up to try and get a picture. I didn't want it to slip away into the water before I caught it on camera. As I paddled up to the ice pan it didn't move so I took some pictures and as I got really close it still didn't move. Puzzled, I paddled to the other side of the ice pan to find .....

...... a rock!

*lol*
Tony :-)

Theory of seeing

2009-04-08T04:35:00.001-07:00

Cliffs in Outer Cove

There's a big difference between looking and seeing. I often have to "look" for things I need when I don't know exactly where I left them. But, I often don't "see" them even though I'm looking straight where I should be. Haste may be a factor.

So it was on a recent paddle I did in Outer Cove, Newfoundland. I snapped this picture because I wanted to capture the ice along the coast. After I got home and downloaded the pictures from my camera I saw something I missed as I was looking more so at the ice.

I've paddled here once before and also missed it. If you enlarge the picture you'll see ripple marks on the rocks in the cliff. I totally missed this before.

These rocks are black slates of the St. John's formation that underlie the red sandstones and conglomerates at Signal Hill and along the coast north. They were deposited in waters that were getting shallower and the action of the water made these ripple marks. More material was deposited on top, formed into rock, uplifted, tilted and eroded. I'm not sure about the age but these rocks would be older than 543 million years.

Its interesting what can be found when you "see" versus "look".

Tony :-)

Theory of craftsmanship

2009-04-06T04:38:00.001-07:00

Brian Duffett's skin on frame kayak on display at the Rooms

I think the concept of "craftsman- ship" is becoming lost today. Often times I think the term "craftsmanship" is being replaced with "good enough". Solid wood is being replaced by pressed board, plastics replace metal and robots mass produce consumer goods.

There was a "Slicing the waves" exhibit yesterday at the Rooms in St. John's, Newfoundland. Prominent in the exhibit was the kayak. BrianDuffett brought in his skin-on-frame kayak which he constructed. I consider myself pretty handy with tools so I can appreciate the craftsmanship that went into its construction. The work is meticulous right from the way the structure is tied together, the wood is all sanded smooth and the skin is tight to the frame. Beautiful job Brian.

Its nice to see that craftsmanship is alive.

Tony :-)

Inside Brian's Skin-on-frame kayak. You can see there's a tremendous amount of work gone into it. Everything is tied together.

Theory of power

2009-04-05T03:36:00.001-07:00

The skyline of St. John's as you enter the harbour

Last Sunday Stan and myself had a beautiful day to have a paddle into and around St. John's harbour. This is the skyline sailors see as they enter the harbour. If you enlarge the picture you'll see two large structures on the skyline, the Rooms on the left and the Basilica on the right.

For many years fishermen from Spain and Portugal fished cod on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. These countries are predominantly Roman Catholic. The Basilica was a beacon for them, a place to worship that was easy to find. The Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is a gothic style Roman Catholic church that was consecrated on 3 September 1855.

The Rooms (name taken from "fishing rooms" where local fishermen process their fish and store their fishing gear) house the Province of Newfoundland's museum and art galleries. Its a legacy building of Brian Tobin. Brian Tobin was Premier of the Province and was determined to leave a lasting remembrance of that fact.

The Rooms sit on the ruins of what was Fort Townshend 250 years ago. The private citizen of Newfoundland is prohibited from digging, collecting or altering any historically signifiant site. If it was my land I woudn't be allowed to build a shed but because Brain Tobin had the power, he decreed it be built and no one should stand in the way of his vision.

I think its a monstrosity on the skyline of St. John's and a local joke has it that the Rooms are the box that the Basilica came in. Its a beautiful building, just in the wrong place. You know what they say about power corrupting.

Tony :-)

Theory of beauty

2009-04-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

The old and new bridges over the Colinet River above the falls

Most people would be familiar with the expression "beauty is only skin deep". That sort of applies to this area of St. Mary's Bay in Newfoundland. Newfoundland has many scenic paddling destinations where you can paddle with sea stacks, rocks and cliffs of all kinds of formations and caves and beaches. This area of St. Mary's Bay doesn't have any of that but still has something to offer the paddler.

Paddling out of Colinet and all the way up to and in Pinchgut Tickle the water is low and clear. If you take the time to look into the water you can see fields of eel grass, seaweed (sorry, don't know the name) growing up from the bottom and mussel beds. If you care to look you can find something of beauty anywhere.

Today Brian Duffett, Dan Miller and Ralph Smith and I started with a paddle to the falls on the Colinet River, saw a moose crossing Pinchgut Tickle and enjoyed the first hints of spring. Beauty they also say is in the eye of the beholder.

Tony :-)

After having a look at the falls on the Colinet River we paddled back out of the river mouth and made for Pinchgut Tickle. I decided to snap a few shots here because I knew I wouldn't get a chance once we got into the wind. These 3 guys are strong paddlers and they would have been over the horizon before I'd be able to get the camera out! OK, that's a stretch but I'd have a slog to catch up after.

And, yes, I was out with 3 paddlers today other than Stan! I started my blog after I bought an Olympus Stylus 850 SW late last year and since then, if you've been visiting, it seems it was only Stan and myself paddling. There'll be more paddlers out as the season warms; we have a very active club of kayakers with almost 200 paddlers.

Stopped for lunch and a break. We had a good paddle into what I estimate at 30 kms/hr winds with gusts to 40. Brian said we were making 4 knts into the wind so I guess we needed to fuel up and deserved a break.

Paddling out of Pinchgut Tickle back to Colinet. We had the wind at our backs and got in some mini-surfs.

Theory of the wild goose chase

2009-04-02T12:47:00.001-07:00

The rock in Middle Cove

A wild goose chase is an expression that means "a hopeless quest". Its a phrase that was introduced by that great bard of the English language - William Shapespeare.

Today I started out on a wild goose chase, sort of. By the time I got myself organized it was a bit late to go far afield for a paddle. I can see Conception Bay from my home and it was almost completely full of ice. I knew St. Philips had some open water so I drove by there to have a look and it was but not a lot. I decided to go to Middle Cove not knowing what to expect there but considered it worth checking out.

There was very little ice in the cove so my little wild goose chase wasn't so hopeless today after all and I put-in. Here are a few pictures from my paddle there and around Outer Cove.

Tony :-)

Here a piece of ice was left high and dry on a rock until the tide comes in again.

Its starting to warm up (above 0 C) but there are still a few icicles around. The ice in the water is keeping things cool.

There was a little ice left in the cove and a bit of swell that made for and interesting paddle.

Theory of random acts of kindness

2009-04-01T03:48:00.000-07:00

Stan and myself were spotted paddling out of "the Gut" in Quidi Vidi (Barry Wight photo)

On Sunday past Stan and myself paddled from Quidi Vidi to St. John's harbour and, unknown to us, were were captured on camera heading out. When we got back to the cars Stan found a note on his windshield from Barry Wight who took the photo and offered to send him copies.

When Stan sent me the pictures, the Louis Armstrong song "What a wonderful world" came to mind. Sometimes in the run of a day someone cuts ya off in traffic, doesn't hold a door or does some other kind of unkind act. But there is lots of good in the world and Barry's thoughtful act is one example. He could have just gone on his way but shared a few pictures that neither Stan nor myself could take. Thanks Barry.

"I see skies of blue ........ clouds of white
Bright blessed days ....... dark sacred nights
And I think to myself .... what a wonderful world"

The funny thing about random acts of kindness is that it feels as good to do a random act of kindness as it does to recieve one. Pass it on!

Tony :-)

Don't you feel small? Stan and myself in "the Gut"at Quidi Vidi on our way to the harbour in St. John's. We're hard to see but if the picture is enlarged we can be spotted. This looks massive from this vantage point and a bit intimidating but not at all from the vantage point of the cockpit. There was a bit of swell and crossing seas in the Gut as swell rebounds off of both sides.

Theory of rear view mirrors

2009-03-31T03:35:00.000-07:00

An oil industry supply boat arrives in port

This past Sunday Stan and I put-in in a small fishing village on the outskirts of St. John's and paddled into the harbour of St. John's. It was a short 20 minute paddle. I was more concerned with the wind and swell than with shipping traffic. Once we got into the Narrows (the narrow entrance to the harbour) we took our time and took photos.

We were in the harbour about 10 minutes or so when I noticed an oil production supply boat coming in as well. I wondered if it would have noticed us had we still been in the Narrows or how I would have reacted with it suddenly on my backdeck?

I could say I was looking for traffic but that wouldn't be true. I was stupid and forgot where I was. I should have been scanning the horizon to my left looking for traffic; if I had I would have been aware of it.

Kayaks don't come with rear view mirrors like cars so the next time I paddle there, or anyplace where boat traffic is possible, I'll be sure to keep my head on a pivot and use my eyes.

Tony :-)

Theory of cornerstones

2009-03-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

This is the spot, the corner- stone of the British Empire

A cornerstone is the first stone set in a masonry foundation. The cornerstone is important as all other stones will be set in reference to it and therefore determining the position of the entire structure.

Fishermen from Europe had been coming to Newfoundland since it was rediscovered by John Cabot in 1497. Therefore, the name - newly found land. In 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert stepped ashore at this spot and claimed Newfoundland for England. Why it wasn't claimed before Sir Humphrey Gilbert made that bold step is anyone's guess. Maybe empire building wasn't the top of everyone's agenda until then. With that claim Newfoundland became the first British overseas possession and therefore the cornerstone of the British Empire.

When England had her finest hour in the words of Sir Winston Churchill we know it started here.

Newfoundland maintained Dominion status in the British Empire until it joined Canada in 1949. At that time Newfoundland gained a lot but also lost a lot. Instead of being master in her own house, she became one of 10 provinces and in the eyes of most Canadians, the province on the lowest end of the totem pole.

Today, Stan and myself put-in in Quidi Vidi, a small fishing village on the edge of St. John's and made for the harbour. A 20 minute paddle in lumpy seas and gusting winds and we were in with the big boys. Its an interesting perspective seeing the city from the water.

Oh, and there was no wharf in the harbour when Sir Humphrey Gilbert landed, nor did we need one today.

Tony :-)

The entrance to St. John's harbour known locally as "the Narrows". St. John's harbour is one of the most protected harbours on the east coast of North America. The entrance is very narrow which is what gives it its protection from the North Atlantic.

Stan and I were in the harbour with the big boys.

Stan with the monstrosity of Atlantic Place in the background. Buildings along the harbour used to be 3 or 4 stories high at the most. It was quaint. Its gone and you can't ever get it back. Out of the blue and into the black!

This is how St. John's looked before the massive buildings in the next picture were built. Everyone had a view of the harbour and it looks a bit more "old world". I prefer this view. People pushing development may say that development is progress. Well, so is the furniture you can buy today but why are antiques more expensive than new. Because they're not made anymore and there's limited availabilty. Once this view is gone, it'll be gone forever.

This side of the harbour is what you might call the cosmopolitan side of St. John's harbour. It looks like so many other cities of North America, all developed. Some people may say this is progress. I don't think so. It think it looks monsterous and it will be difficult to undo. This type of development is more suitable outside of the city core (downtown) because downtown can't cope with parking.

Theory of livin' in a fog

2009-03-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

The village of Torbay in Nfld, hidden in a veil of fog, with a bit of ice to boot!

It was going to be a foggy day and I had a plan to paddle in Middle Cove to try for some pictures in what I thought might have been interesting light. I got to Middle Cove, Newfoundland but couldn't put-in as the cove was choked with ice. I tried at the nearby Torbay and the ice there wasn't pushed right up to the beach so after having a chat with a lady called Cathy, I put-in there.

The Avalon Peninsula gets the most fog of any region in Canada. The reason we're blessed with this "gift" *lol* is our proximity to both the warm Gulf Stream that flows up the eastern seaboard of North America and the cold Labrador Current that flows down from the Arctic past Labrador. When the warm and cold waters meet - fog.

We are used to it. One benefit of fog is that the winds are then usually calm. And so it was today. I was going to paddle close to the cliffs but for safety I had my compass just in case. I didn't need it because the ice was too thick to get thru further out the cove. So I contented myself with manoeuvering around the ice floes and through open leads. While I didn't paddle any great distance, it was great fun using hanging draws and bow rudders etc to get around. Good practice for rock hopping later this year.

Tony :-)

The ice was pretty thick towards where the wharf is in Torbay and also out in the bay

Pretty primordial, rock and ice

There was a lot of small ice but a few larger pans. This is ice that has drifted down the coast from northern Newfoundland where it had frozen over the past winter. A lot of the ice was not more than a metre thick.

Along one side of the shore the ice wasn't as bad. The water was glassy calm.

I ran the boat onto an ice pan to grab a bite to eat

Theory of stress junkies

2009-03-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

Ice breaking

The wind had come up slightly after I left the put-in and it had blown what ice there was in the harbour into the entrance. My first thought was to try and get thru it and into open water just beyond. I poked into it and thought the better of it.

Usually I'd have to prove to myself that I could get thru it if I wanted to but there was a boat offloading at the wharf and I considered how stupid I'd look to people working there if I got ice bound. And, why take a chance on spoiling what was a beautiful day on the water. I backed out and found less congested water until there was fully open water.

I have what is called a Type A personality. I don't have all the traits but I am impatient, time conscious, somewhat competitive and often incapable of relaxation. Type B personailites on the other hand are patient, relaxed and easygoing. Type A individuals are described as stress junkies.

I'm trying to hybridize myself to be a Type AB personality because stress is not good. Its hard though to break old habits. Kayaking should be a stress reliever, why get into situations where it causes stress? OK, so I'm learning, ever so slowly.

Tony :-)

The "industrial complex" at Long Pond in Conception Bay, Newfoundland. Whereas the harbour entrance was full of ice, the wind had freed the waters inside of ice. I'm not fond of scenes like this but the sun behind me made for pleasing light and tones of white and blue.

Theory of erratics

2009-03-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

Erratics along the shoreline in Conception Bay, Newfound- land

Erratics are rocks that are foreign to the area where they rest. They are foreign because they have been transported by glaciers and dropped when the glaciers melted some 12,000 years ago. The Avalon Peninsula was heavily glaciated during the last ice age in the Pleistocene epoch. In the area of the Northeast Avalon the glaciers moved from the land radially out to the sea.

I don't know how far this erratic was moved but it wouldn't have been more than a few 10s of kilometers.

Its not only the rocks that are erratic. The weather is also somewhat erratic because this was my first spring paddle but felt more like winter. Two days ago, on the first full day of spring, we had somewhere about 25 cms of snow. Not that I was surprised as we can get snow here into May. It was a beautiful day but cool. On the way back to the put-in at Long Pond the wind came up a little out of the north-northeast. Not bad but enough to make my eyes water.

The calendar says its spring and I'll be damned, its going to be spring and I'm going to paddle, erratic or not.

Tony :-)

New icebreaker design by Necky Kayaks. Leaving Long Pond where fresh water running into the harbour has frozen over.

Still too cold for these guys to hit the water. They're still sitting home with their slippers on in front of the fireplace.

Seagulls, I'll let Newfoundland poet E.J. Pratt do the description:

"For one carved instant as they flew
The language had no simile -
Silver, crystal, ivory
Were tarnished. Etched upon the horizon blue"

Interesting paddling amoung erratics with Kelly's Island in the background.

Erratic strewn shoreline in Conception Bay, Newfoundland. This is typical shoreline in the places where houses haven't been built out to the shoreline.

Theory of consolation

2009-03-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

Picking up trash at Trinny Cove, 7 June 2008 (Graham Openshaw photo)

I read Alison's blog post earlier, on the abstraction of nature. That is, as a society, we disconnect ourselves from and sacrifice nature for the almighty buck.

Yesterday, the first full day of spring, dropped a present of ~25 cms snow, freezing rain and wind on us.

I thought, hey, I can console myself on two fronts with a picture Graham took of the pile of trash we collected in Trinny Cove in June of last year.

Trinny Cove is a small cove open to the south in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, and because of its exposure, the prevailing southwesterly winds blow a lot of flotsam and jetsam onto the beach. Some of the garbage is innocent enough but a lot of it was just discarded without concern for where it would wash up. Four of us (and another group at another location) spent a day putting the garbage in bags for later pick up by the Department of Fisheries. I can't control what everyone else does but I can be responsible for myself and make a small contribution as I did that day. That's one down.

As far as the snow goes, the weather is oblivious to the calendar. We've decided spring begins when the sun crosses the vernal equinox but that's only an indication of the trend the weather will take. For me its more a day when I can start thinking about doing other non-winter things. The day we were at Trinny Cove was a beautiful day and I know more days like it are on the way this year. That's two!

I don't know if that's rationalization or consolation - take your pick. Either way I feel better.

Tony :-)

Theory of perversion

2009-03-19T04:40:00.000-07:00

Stan enjoying a winter paddle in Holyrood, Newfound- land

Well, tomorrow spring starts and with it warmer weather and the start of paddling season proper. I look forward to it and the chance to build on paddling skills learned last year.

But, in a perverse kind of way, I'll miss paddling in the cold of winter. Its the only time of year when you can dress the same for both air and water temperature. This winter was my first time paddling in winter and I managed 7 outings over the season. I'll miss paddling in the cold but I'm content with moving on.

Like anything new, there's a learning curve until you get the hang of it. Here's what I learned about winter paddling that made it quite enjoyable:

The hardest part is getting over the feeling of looking outside and thinking burrrrr.... Its not as bad as it looks once ya get out.
Wear gloves and keep them on when getting ready for put-in or take-out. Ya don't want to start your paddle with cold hands.
Wear neoprene mitts. The water that gets in them warms and keeps you hands warm.
Stuff your neoprene mitts under your PFD when stopping for lunch to keep them warm for after the break
Paddle where its possible to wash the salt off your gear "in the field" so you don't need to get out the hose at home.

Now, while spring starts tomorrow, there'll still be cool conditions for us into June. Oh yes, and the promise of icebergs.

Thanks Stan for the excellent company and winter paddles we did.

Tony :-)

Theory of balance

2009-03-17T04:40:00.000-07:00

The Balance
Graeme Edge / Ray Thomas
A Question of Balance LP
The Moody Blues

After he had journeyed
And his feet were sore, he was tired
He came upon an orange grove and he rested
And he lay in the cool and while he rested,
he took to himself an orange and tasted it and it was good
And he felt the earth to his spine
and he asked
and he saw the tree above him and the stars and the veins in the leaf
and the light and the balance
and he saw magnificent perfection
Whereon, he thought of himself in balance and he knew he was

He thought of those he angered for he was not a violent man
And, he thought of those he hurt for he was not a cruel man
He thought of those he frightenedfor he was not an evil man
And he understood
He understood himself on this
He saw that when he was of anger or knew hurt or felt fear
it was because he was not understanding
And he learned compassion
and with his eye of compassion he saw his enemies like onto himself
He learned love
Then he was answered

Tony :-)

Theory of rose coloured glasses

2009-03-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Calvert's parlour? There was no one on site to ask but based on maps on the Colony of Avalon website, I think it is.

One thing the settlers who started the Colony of Avalon didn't have to bring with them from England was stone for building purposes. There's an abundance of it anywhere on the island of Newfoundland. A recreative painting of the waterfront shows a massive stone warehouse made of locally procured rocks.

Captain Wynne wrote very favourably of local conditions to Calvert in 1622. He described woods and plains in the thousands of acres well furnished with ponds, rivers, fish and caribou. Oats, wheat, barley and beans were planted and doing well as were vegetables growing in the kitchen garden. They had a meadow of 3 acres from which they harvested hay to feed the cattle.

The climate in the summertime was warm and winter lasted from mid-January to the end of March.

Today the winter starts usually well before the middle of January and summers are short. While the land does support agriculture, most people I think would agree with me in saying that the Ferryland and surroundings is not a choice area for farming.

Maybe 1622 was an unusual year or maybe he was seeing the world through rose coloured glasses. Or, maybe things weren't all that great in England at the time. I would have trouble comparing our weather as favourable to the climate of England. Certainly, in England they are able to football all year round but not here. The weather is a constant source of conversation and most involves complaining about it. I think its what you make of it and it doesn't hurt to see the world through rose coloured glasses, just like the colonists of Avalon almost 400 years ago.

Tony :-)

Newfoundland is affectionately known as "The Rock". It comes by this name honestly.

Theory of settlement

2009-03-11T15:38:00.001-07:00

Looking into Ferryland from beyond the rocks at the entrance to the harbour

Today I had an enjoyable paddle from Calvert to Ferryland with the plan to visit the archaeoligic dig there. Always intended to visit the site and today I took the chance to visit it by boat.

Ferryland is the site of a colony founded by George Calvert in 1621. He picked a site on the eastern most edge of Newfoundland that is for all intents, open to the North Atlantic. Next stop, Ireland.

The colonists set about constructing buildings to settle in. It was thought there was a potential for a fishery plus production of other goods such as timber, salt, hemp, tar and iron. Reports from the colony spoke favourably of the climate as "being better and not so cold as England". By the middle of the decade there were about 100 people in the colony. But life was not easy for the colonists and in 1626 Arthur Aston, Gouvernor of Avalon at the time, returned to England with all the colonists.

In 1828 Calvert, then Lord Baltimore, sailed to Newfoundland with his wife and family and 40 more colonists. But he became disenchanted with the woeful conditions in the colony and in 1632 obtained a new charter form the king for a colony in Chesapeake Bay, the site of the modern City of Balitmore, which was named for him.

So, Lord Baltimore's association with the Colony of Avalon was over. But, there are maps of Ferryland dating from 1693 indicating settlement continued and there was in fact a French raid on the colony in 1696 when the archaeological history ends. The original colony was forgotten and lay undisturbed for centuries until Dr. James Tuck started digging there in the 1970's.

I got out to take some pictures and thought that visiting the site by kayak was fitting. The Colony of Avalon was settled by people who came in boats so today I have that in common with those 17th century adventurers.

Tony :-)

Excavations at the Colony of Avalon. I found it interesting that the original colonists set up shop here in this location when you can see that modern day inhabitants of Ferryland have decided to build further back. There was no one on duty today to charge me admission. Understandable as who would expect visitors in March?

The excavation goes right down to the water. This must be where the colonists constructed a sea-flushed privey.

Stop for lunch. The wind was forecast to be light from the west but on the way back from Ferryland it seemed to come from an easterly direction, which made for a bit of surf.

What's a winter paddle without a picture of icicles? There's been lots of rain this year that seems to have fed a lot of icicles.

End of the paddle, wash up in fresh water. At this time of year I look for take-outs where there's fresh water nearby so that I can wash up "in the field". I find it a lot easier than having to get the hose out home.

Theory of deception

2009-03-08T08:40:00.001-07:00

Well, where are we today? At the beach?

Yes, we would be if we were here sometime around 1.0 billion years ago. This is a close-up of a bed of conglomerate of the Signal Hill formation which outcrops along the eastern edge of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland.

There are a couple of things these rocks tell us. First the red staining is from the mineral hematite, an oxide of iron. This means the rocks were deposited in a shallow water environment because when sediments are deposited in deep water they cannot oxidize as there's no oxygen. Second, the larger cobbles and pebbles indicate that there must have been fast moving water because slow meandering water doesn't have the energy to transport rocks of this size. Third the cobbles and pebbles appear to be well rounded, therefore they have been worked a bit in transportation as the sharp edges have been worn off.

As it turns out, in sandstone (finer grained rocks) above and below this conglomerate show signs of crossbedding so we can determine that they were laid down in flowing water and we can tell the direction the water was moving in. It is likely that these rocks were deposited in a delta type area with rivers flowing into it. Something like the Mississippi River delta today.

You can't see this type of detail of course from a kayak but I still like to do a little research and know something about the geology of where I paddle. I find the geology just as interesting as the wildlife. And, you don't need to be a geologist to appreciate the geology. Just the few things I've noted in this blog entry may help you identify interesting things in the rocks where you stop for lunch etc.

Tony :-)

Theory of car making

2009-03-06T04:21:00.000-08:00

On the ferry to Bell Island for a paddle with my current mode of automobile

I remember the woes of the oil embargo in the early 1970's (I think 1973) that forced Detroit to make smaller cars. After those difficulties passed they started making big vehicles again. They made large vehicles because that's what people wanted. Fast forward to 2008 when gasoline prices spiked in Newfoundland at around $1.50 / litre. Sales of big gas guzzlers tanked again and now the Big 3 of Detroit find themselves in trouble again.

I think the car manufacturing sector and government should have said to the populace, small cars are better for you and therefore big vehicles won't be available for purchase anymore. No fair? Well, government legislates all sorts of things for our own good don't they?

The drop in demand for big vehicles coupled with a downturn in the economy has put me in a position where, as a taxpayer, I'm going to become hopefully a shareholder in GM. Shareholder hopefully in the sense I hope they don't just give away the money.

But I have to assume some responsibility for the Big 3's problems. I did a quick calculation of what I've contributed to their demise. Since 1973, when I bought my first (used) vehicle, I've spent approximately $19,000 on automotive transportation. That doesn't include purchase of vehicles for my wife but strictly what I drove myself. That works out to a whopping $525 per year.

If you don't make it at a reasonable price, I won't buy it.

Tony :-)

Theory of continental drift

2009-03-04T09:45:00.001-08:00

Plate tectonic map by C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP project www.sco- tese.com

This is how the earth is thought to have looked like 514 million years ago. The Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland is positioned on the globe between "New England and Nova Scotia" and "England and Wales" where indicated on the map. Its more legible if you click to enlarge.

The Avalon Peninsula was part of what is known as "Avalonia". Its clear we've have drifted a considerable distance. In relation to todays world we were somewhere in the vicinity of South Africa. So, the rocks in the unconformity I posted in a blog entry last week were laid down in the southern ocean and through continental drift ended up in the North Atlantic.

The Avalon was part of Avalonia along with England, parts of Holland, Belgium and the Spanish peninsula and Morocco.

What is interesting to note is that Avalonia was part of a volcanic island arc something like Japan is today. The evidence for that is in the rocks of the Avalon Peninsula as the oldest rocks are of volcanic origin. The magma that fed those volcanoes is exposed on the surface now and is known as the Holyrood granite. Anyone driving along the Trans-Canada Highway between Butterpot Park and Holyrood can see the granite as pinkish outcrops.

Its hard to believe what interesting stories the rocks we paddle by can tell. I find it as interesting as the wildlife, scenery etc. Its all part of the same picture.

Tony :-)

Theory of light at the end of the tunnel

2009-03-02T04:30:00.001-08:00

Pedestrian underpass under the 4 lane Outer Ring Road in St. John's, Newfound- land

Well, yesterday was March 1. For people who loath the winter, its the light at the end of the tunnel. A glimpse of spring on the horizon.

For me, I don't care if winter comes or goes. I'll take advantage of what it gives me. If it snows lots, I'll cross-country ski or snowshoe. If it gives no snow I'll skate on the frozen lakes or kayak.

How many people wish time away and live for the arrival of spring? Life is too short for that; I take it as it comes.

Tony :-)

Theory of unconformaties

2009-03-01T05:13:00.000-08:00

Angular unconformity at Bacon Cove, Newfoundland between Precambrian and Cambrian sedimentary rocks representing a time gap of 10's of millions of year

An unconformity represents a time gap between two sets of geological formations. An angular unconformity occurs when the underlying beds are tilted from the horizontal, eroded for a period of time and new rocks are deposited on the eroded surface.

The beds underlying the conglomerate (coarse cobbles, pebbles and sand) layer are Conception group rocks that were laid down in the Precambrian. An exact age hasn't been determined because they do not contain fossils necessary to date them. They were laid down in a deep marine environment over a considerable period to reach a thickness of 7,000 feet. Uplifted, tilted, laid bare and eroded for 10's of millions of years, the sea eventually overtook the land and the Cambrian conglomerate was deposited. The Cambrian period began about 542 million years ago so that all happenned a considerable time ago.

What I find interesting is that over 542 million years ago there was sun shining on these rocks and what the would the world have looked like if I was able to stand here. There wouldn't have been any land vegetation or animals, just land and sea, waiting 542 million years for my visit.

Come to think of it, I have an unconformity in my life too. I completed a degree in geology in 1973, went on to make my living at something completely different and now have returned to something that was an interest many years ago.

Tony :-)

Close up of the Cambrian conglomerate. It looks like poorly poured cement. The large cobbles and pebbles indicates they were deposited rapidly in a shallow water or river estuary environment. I can surmise that because big rocks don't transport that far to deep water and because some are angular non-rounded. Rounding happens when the pebbles are worked by rolling so that the edges are worn off, and that takes time.

Theory of time travel

2009-02-26T13:40:00.001-08:00

Today my kayak was a time machine. I've paddled here before with a group but today I was on my own with a plan to have a look for a geological feature known as an angular unconformity in Bacon Cove. I had been there on a geology class field trip almost 40 years ago and I wanted to check out if could find it again.

The first time, in 1971, was with fellow geology classmates. I can't remember a lot about the trip so it was going to be a challenge. I knew that if I saw it I would recognize the location. Question was, where exactly. I stopped in Bacon Cove on the first beach for lunch and looked around but nothing looked familiar. A couple of hunderd metres further another beach and this looked vaguely familiar. I landed and sure enough, there it was. I sat and took some pictures; it was really weird. So much water under the bridge and yet the mind recognized the location after just one visit almost 40 years ago.

After a while, back to the present. OK Scotty, beam me up and I was back at the take-out after a great day paddling. You'll see from some of the pictures following what I mean.

Tony :-)

Two churches. One traditional, the other on the water in my Necky Looksha IV. The church wasn't open for business today as it was Thursday but I had a spiritual day anyway.

Wharves done up in Conception Harbour. Looks like a nice place to socialize in the summer but not so inviting at this time of year.

Some rugged coastline along the way. Here some big rocks have tumbled down from the cliff face to land in the water. Glad I wasn't going by here when that happenned.

Small sea-stack after leaving Conception Harbour.

The reason for my trip to Bacon Cove. What is represented here is an angular unconformity where a lens of basal Cambrian conglomerate lies unconformably on Conception group siltstone. More on this in a subsequent post - its very interesting stuff, honest!

Theory of gargoyles

2009-02-25T04:58:00.000-08:00

A natural formation that looks like a sculptured - by - man gargoyle

Gargoyles are carved stone grotesques with a spout used to convey water away from a roof and away from the side of a building. I connect gargoyles mainly with churches, maybe there's a bit of unnatural erieness connected to both?

I think kayaking has a gargoyle quality to it, not the grotesque part but the part about diverting water away from buildings. Instead of water, kayaking gargoyles divert worries and everyday concerns. Being on the water on sunny peaceful day has that same ability to take me away from things that may be on my mind and everything is good with the world.

Tony :-)

There something serene about paddling a kayak when you have time to stop, look and take it all in.

Theory of park

2009-02-22T13:05:00.001-08:00

Contem- plative bench at a lookout in Pippy Park in the City of St. John's, Newfound- land

In the late 1960's local entrepreneur Chesley A. Pippy donated a big piece of land towards the creation of a park within the city limits of St. John's. The park has hiking trails, a botanic garden, lakes to kayak in and a trailer park. Its a jewel. Within minutes you feel as if you're in the middle of a wilderness. We need parks today as a society because its often the only space where we can be free of civilization and we need to protect their integrity.

There has been some erosion of land in the park recently. A piece of ground was used for a french only school and recently land was given to the YMCA for a new building. Its worisome because its like a slippery slope. Once the people who make these decisions start to justify use of the land for other than park land, it gets easier every time after that to nibble away at the boundary. Like Joni Mitchell sang "they paved paradise, put up a parking lot". A little bit of that going on here.

Today, I planned on a short paddle but opted for a short cross-country outing in Pippy Park. The snow won't be around much longer so I took advantage of the snow and beautiful day. Why? Because you don't know what you got till its gone!

Tony :-)

View from the bench. Oxen Pond and the OP Botanic Garden in the foreground with O'Leary's Indusrial Park of St. John's in the distance.

Theory of wealth

2009-02-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

Looking down into Marysvale

There's a fault that runs through Marysvale, it runs directly down the center between the two hills. The fault is an area of weakness that has allowed the rocks on either side to erode faster than rocks farther from the fault, therefore the valley formed.

Marysvale also has been explored for manganese. An exploratory pit was sunk in the hill to the left. The rocks were found to contain between 5 and 10% manganese; apparently either not rich enough or not enough mineralization in the host rock that it could be mined for profit.

Wealth is from an old English word "weal" which was originally an adjective used to describe possession of great qualities. Today of course its meaning is not related to quality but to quantity. The more the better, especially if its money. But how much is enough? Enough to buy food and shelter? Enough to buy a 30 foot cabin cruiser versus a 17 foot kayak? Who would have a better view of Marysvale?

Like the manganese in Marysvale, for me, wealth is not measured in quantity but in quality. And, like the fault that runs through Marysvale, is it a fault of society that we place such high value in quantity? There are some things money can't buy and I had one of those things out with Stan for a paddle in Colliers Bay this past week.

Tony :-)

Theory of better days

2009-02-18T06:12:00.001-08:00

The rusty bucket Baffin Run has seen better days

Well, today we're getting the snow (15-25 cms & 100 kms.hr) and wind we were promised yesterday so I'm glad we got out to enjoy Colliers Bay, Newfoundland in benign conditions.

On the way back to the put-in in Colliers, we paddled alongside two rust buckets that have seen better days: the Baffin Run and behind it the Baffin Bay. So today, weatherwise we have something in common with these "boats" - we've seen better days.

But today is also good if you like raw weather. I like walks in the woods (i.e. forests) in this kind of weather and I don't even mind shovelling the snow that falls in my driveway. If I didn't like it I'd move. Move and give up the secenery we paddled in yesterday, I don't think so. You have to take the "bad" with the good, realizing that there's no day better than the one you're given.

Tony :-)

5 degrees warmer and this mass of icicles will melt. Climate change in a century may mean an increase in the average global temperature of as much as 5 degrees. Its a fine line as 5 degrees isn't much.

Stan sizeing up a picture opportunity. Stan has a real eye for some great kayak phototaking. The picture he took here is on his blog

When Stan gets his black Nordkapp he'll blend into the landscape.

Theory of opportunity

2009-02-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

Stan seizing the opportunity.

We all know that opportuniy only knocks once. Winter is so unpredictable here on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland that when the opportunity presents itself you just have to take advantage of it. The forecast for tomorrow, Wednesday, was 15 - 25 cms of snow and 100 NE winds. Today the window of opportunity was open for a short time.

So, Stan took a vacation day and we decided on a paddle from Colliers to Marysvale, which we managed to turn into about a 20 km paddle. I brought a lunch but my neoprene hatch covers were frozen solid to the boat so I had to put it in the cockpit. It didn't get eaten until the drive home.

We started off in some crusty ice on the surface and a few flurries falling. Just right to keep ya cool. Picked our way along the coast taking pictures of icicles where water flowing out of the cliffs had frozen. Crossed over to the Colliers side and had a liesurely paddle back to the take-out. Conveniently, there's a river running out so we washed out the boats and splashed around to wash the salt off our gear. It wasn't a challenging paddle but a very worthwhile thing to do today.

Stan and I didn't wait to see if a second knock would come, we were happy we didn't. Thanks again Stan for your excellent company on the water. I expect it was a good use of your vacation day!

Tony :-)

Looking out the bay. Marysvale is around the headland on the left. It was glassy calm in close to the put-in but lots of ice forming on top of the salt water.

Stan making his way into Marysvale. I stopped here and took a drink out of a natural spring that was running out of the hillside. The water was much warmer than the water we paddled in.

There was a bit of swell that made for a bit of splish - splash!

Stan cruising along the ice and snow covered cliffs on the way into Colliers.

The rock is an erratic, that is it was transported from somewhere else by the glaciers that retreated here 12,000 years ago.

Theory of patience

2009-02-15T15:22:00.000-08:00

Cover of LP "Recall the beginning ... a journey from Eden" by the Steve Miller Band

I bought this record back in, I think, 1972. I can't be certain as you'll understand, 1972 was a long time ago. I bought the record before the hit single "the Joker", in other words I didn't get turned on to Steve Miller Band because he got on Top-40 radio. I bought the record after working with friend Scott Stoyles who had seen him perform in San Francisco.

Its one of my favourite LPs. It just hit a chord (pardon the pun) with me. Today, I still have my turntable but I thought wouldn't it be great to have this on CD. Fast forward to today's technology that lets me rip it to CD. Fantastic, still has a little crackle and pop and that warm feeling but the convenience of slipping it into the CD player.

Out of curiosity, I googled Steve Miller and I read that he's the godson of the father of the Les Paul electric guitar - Les Paul (!). Les Paul taught him his first chords at the age of 5 in 1948. That was 24 years before he recorded said LP at age 29.

I've been trying to learn the guitar for about 4 years now and progress is slow but I put time in every day. At the age of Freedom 55 +, I don't expect to become a guitar god but I thought I'd be able to play a few more tunes than I do now. But 24 years is a long time and if I have patience, I just might get there.

Tony :-)

Theory of boomerangs

2009-02-14T04:33:00.001-08:00

Rusting reminders of Bell Islands mining history

Boomerangs are curved pieces of wood that were used for hunting and recreation. I always thought of boomerangs as the ones that when thrown come back to you but there are also non-returning boomerangs that are primarily used for hunting.

I happened upon this pile of rusting "stuff" while out for a recent paddle by Bell Island. How it got here I have no idea, maybe thrown over the cliff but probaly related to Bell Island's mining history. I wondered if the iron in it was mined on Bell Island, shipped to some industrial complex to be made into machinery and returned to Bell Island to be used in mining more iron ore.

In that sense, it represents typical use of Newfoundland's resources - extract the raw materials and use them in other places to create good paying jobs and then sell it back. Sort of like a boomerang!

Tony :-)

Theory of unbridled joy

2009-02-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

Self-
portrait!

Sometimes patience pays off and you get a bonus day. On those days ya just got to pinch yourself and ya fill up with glee.

Today the weather cooperated. It was -7C and we were promissed west winds of 20 kms/hr with gusts of 40. Its been windy here on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland. Cold, well ya - off and on. Minus minus one day, tropical the next.

I headed back over to Bell Island as the shoreline from the Beach to Lance Cove looked protected from the wind. And it was for the most part.

I had a liesurely paddle southwest from the Beach where the ferry docks. There were occasional pocket beaches and longish stretches of beach but not much distance between water and cliff face. Not far from where the ferry docks is where iron ore was loaded onto freighters. Numerous places along the way were bits and pieces of machinery and pieces of god-knows-what rusting and returning to nature. A short visit at Lance Cove speaking to an old gent feeding ducks in the little harbour and then a speedy, wind and tide assisted ride back to catch the ferry.

Overall, what a day it was. Just to be on the water, taking my time, drinking it in, contemplating things you contemplate on days like this.

Tony :-)

Theory of unbridled joy - pictures

2009-02-11T13:07:00.001-08:00

Much of Bell Island from the Beach to Lance Cove is sheer cliff so without a kayaker to throw in, its a challenge. The first picture, I'm not sure what these sheds are used for but I thought - people will do anything for beach front property.

The next looked like a sea of posts. Its an old wharf that has seen better days.

Next, take out for lunch and the pocket beach where I had lunch. The ice and rocks were falling so I didn't stay long.

Last, must have been some kind of loading wharf? Nothing lasts forever!

Theory of teamwork

2009-02-10T04:10:00.000-08:00

Everyone doing their share of work

Kayak Newfound- land and Labrador is a small and active club of seakayakers and whitewater kayakers. There are approximately 175 members currently but its estimated there could be as many as 5,300 kayakers in the Province of Newfoundland & Labrador.

We have a full calendar of events for both cold and warm seasons. During the winter we have presentations on kayak safety, navigation and other topics of interest to kayakers. The spring and summertime calendar is full of paddling events. This is all possible through the efforts of volunteers. including past volunteers who have grown the club to what it is today.

Check out our website, especially for the trip reports, at www.kayakers.nf.ca (Can't get a clicable link)

I had a Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador Board of Directors meeting last night. I had a look around the table and the picture of the dog team I saw last week while cross-country skiing in Butterpot Provincial Park came to mind. Just like in a dog team, if only one is pulling nothing gets done. It takes all hands pulling together to make a successful club.

Unlike a dog team, that doesn't mean everyone has to have the same opinion or decisions have to be unanimous. Progress is made by consensus. I disagreed with a decision made last night but I accept it as the majority ruled. That's teamwork without going to the dogs!

Tony :-)

Theory of Byrds

2009-02-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

Playground in Butterpot Provincial Park, dead of winter

The Byrds sang in Turn, Turn, Turn "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose, under heaven".

That's sometimes hard to accept, like today. I was itching to get out for a paddle, even a short paddle. I looked out the window, saw the whitecaps on the water, thought I could just put-in the harbour at St. Philips and paddle around there. I hem'd and haw'd. I asked Sherry - I feel uncomfortable with you going by yourself she said.

I looked out the window some more. Thought what would people who saw me paddling alone think. What's that idiot doing out there in this. It wouldn't be a problem if Stan was with me ... they'd probably say what are those idiots (plural) doing out there. Its easier with company.

I didn't go. Was I chicken? Maybe I wasn't committed enough or maybe just listenned to the voice of reason. Paddling by yourself in cold weather and water with whitecaps isn't rational. OK, I can accept that. There'll be times yet this winter when I'll have company or the water will not pose such a risk.

Like a playground in winter doesn't draw kids ... there is a time to every purpose. Turn, turn, turn.

Tony :-)

Theory of geologic periods

2009-02-04T04:38:00.001-08:00

Stan in front of the Ordovician rocks of Bell Island

The Ordovician rocks of Bell Island represent the only rocks of that period on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland. They date from a time of 490 to 445 million years ago.

The established geologic periods were not just arbitrarily set but represent distinct events in earth's past. Most of the time period boundaries are set based on the appearance or disappearance of various life forms. The Ordivician began after a major extinction event that ended the Cambrian period (trilobites predominate) and ended with another mass extinction when 60% of marine life was wiped out.

You can see in the picture the typical layering common to sedimentary rocks. These rocks are made up of fine grained shales and somewhat coarser sandstones. If you imagine the layers as a deck of cards, the deck would be tilted from left to right and dip slightly away as if you were looking under the deck to see what the last card was. The whole sequense of rocks are estimated to be some 1,200 metres thick.

Oolitic hematite (don't ya like that word!) beds were laid down higher up in the sequence but they can't be seen here because the rocks dip away from this view. They outcrop several miles inland where they were mined for iron ore over a period of 70 years.

The most interesting thing about these rocks are the wormcastings that can be seen on some of the rock surfaces when they break apart. The wormcastings show up as trails in the rocks where worms burrowed 100's of millions of years ago. That really puts time in perspective if you think time flies now. In the grand scheme of things though its only the blink of a geologic eye!

Tony :-)

Theory of prudence

2009-01-31T13:10:00.001-08:00

The picturesque village of Quidi Vidi

It was a rocking outside of the protected harbour

Heading back to the put-in to revise our plan

Today Stan and myself finally got some decent weather, decent in that the wind calmed down. We decided that Quidi Vidi might be an option and went to look. What looked calm in the inner harbour hid what lurked outside in the open ocean.

This is where the theory of prudence came in. The wind of the last few days had died but there was still lots of swell coming in from the open ocean. Open in the sense, next stop Ireland. Probably on a summer day with warmer water temps we would have gone but cold water and just the two of us, we decided against it. Our paddling colleague Malcolm Rowe had cautioned us to back off if in doubt. He would have been proud of our decision today.

We paddled back and forth in the confused waters that were reflecting off both sides of the entrance to the harbour for a while and headed back into the protected harbour.

No sweat, change of plan. We put the boats back on the vehicles and drove to Portugal Cove about 30 minutes away and got on the ferry to Bell Island. Those pictures follow.

We weren't foolish, there's no need for bravado between Stan and myself and, we had a great paddle anyway.

Tony :-)

Theory of prudence - off to Bell Island

2009-01-31T13:07:00.001-08:00

So, Stan and myself cheated and got on the ferry to get over to Bell Island. A crossing was doable today but the ferry ride added to the "adventure". And, it gave us a chance to wolf down some lunch.

Theory of prudence - Bell Island pictures

2009-01-31T12:53:00.000-08:00

A few pictures of Stan paddling along the massive cliffs of Bell Island

Theroy of navigation

2009-01-28T04:49:00.000-08:00

A butterfly from the Insectarium display in the greenhouse at Bowring Park

What do butterflies have to do with navigation? The same as whales, birds and other creatures that migrate great distances to overwinter. I don't know which butterfly this is, it'll be a standin for the Monarch.

I watched a show called Nova last night about the annual migration of Monarch butterflies. Another one of nature's miracles.

They overwinter in Mexico in an area only 60 square miles. When the weather warms up they begin their flight north ending up in southern Canada. The first leg of the journey takes them to Texas gulfcoast where they mate and the adults die off. This second generation flies farther north and produce a third generation. They reach their summer habitat where fourth generation is born.

It is the fourth generation that makes the return migration to Mexico for the winter. Where previous generations live about a month, the fourth generation makes a 2,000 mile, two month journey and lives seven months until its time to start the journey north again.

The $64,000 question is, how can a fourth generation butterfly find its way back to the same place year after year? And, how come the fourth generation lives about nine months rather than a month? There is much to bewonder a person.

Tony :-)

Theory of time travel

2009-01-24T12:15:00.001-08:00

A classic rock album from Deep Purple

According to Einstein's General theory of Relativity, both space and time are curved near massive bodies. The greater the mass of the body the greater the curvature of space-time near it. There's some speculation whether space curves back on itself, and therefore time also. If time does curve back on itself, would time travel be possible?

So far time travel is the stuff of science fiction. Its interesting stuff especially with things like string theory being developed. Imagine 11 different dimensions, boggles the mind. I think its sometimes difficult enough getting my bearings upside - down in a kayak.

I know I won't see time travel in my lifetime but I can still take trips back in time. I got out some old albums (yes, albums) last night and had a listen to Deep Purple's "In Rock". Its been a long time since I've listened to that one and it certainly did take me back. It was like meeting a long-lost friend again and isn't that a great feeling?

I can't go back in time physically but I can between my ears and I wondered what happenned and how did I land here.

Tony :-)

Theory of floccipaucinihilipilification

2009-01-22T04:00:00.000-08:00

In Holyrood Bay, Newfound- land looking towards Kelly's Island (center), Little Bell Island (right) and Bell Island in the further distance

I'm told "floccipaucinihilipilification" is the longest word in the Oxford English Dictionary. I can't dispute that without leafing thru the entire thing and I'm not that desperate - yet. Its meaning is that the action of estimating is worthless.

Looking at Kelly's Island in the center, it doesn't look that far away and a tempting target for a crossing. In actual fact its close to 15 kms and a 2 hour crossing in these waters. But, if you didn't know the actual distance you could be tempted to have a go only to find out its much further than it looks. Not so bad on a day like this but it could be a disheartening exercise in heavy winds.

The ability to estimate distances is a good ability to have if you don't have charts with you. I practice it usually when I'm on the highway. I pick out a far landmark and estimate the distance, drive there and note the distance travelled on the odometer. Like anything, it takes practice.

Making an estimate is worthless without any basis for making an estimate, so practice. And, floccipaucinihilipilification is a mouthful!

Tony :-)

Theory of guts

2009-01-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

Mount Everest in all her majesty (photo Dave Schell, a friend who recently trekked to Everest basecamp)

My blog entry today is inspired by Kayak Newfoundland and Labrdaor member T. A. Loeffler. T. A. is an outdoor educator at Memorial University of Newfoundland. I don't know T. A. personally but I've just finished reading her book "More than a Mountain, One Woman's Everest". Its a story of her climbing exploits and training for an Everest summit attempt.

T.A. didn't reach her goal on this attempt as she was felled by giardia that caused constant vomiting and sapped her of the strength necessary to reach the summit.

But that's probably not the story anyway, at least, that's not the story I took away. I don't think I'll ever complain about an inconvenience or hangnail again. I was totally blown away by the intense training program she followed and the tenacity with which she persued her goal. She vomitted for days, went down to lower altitude to recover, back to base camp and continued to vomit. All the while trying to hide that from her male climbing team members for fear they would percieve her as weak. Far from it.

Everyone has an "Everest" whether its a mountain or not. Whether its learning to roll your kayak, run a race at any distance or sometimes just dealing with a life's complications, the goals or problems must be faced and overcome. It depends how much we want it and how much intestinal fortitude we have at our disposal.

T.A.'s book is a good primer and very inspirational. She has a website www.taloeffler.com for anyone interested in her story.

Tony :-)

Theory of perspective

2009-01-16T04:38:00.000-08:00

Looking down on Holyrood Bay from Butterpot Mountain

Butterpot Mountain just above Stan from the waters of Holyrood Bay

There's a saying "you can't tell where you're going unless you know where you've been". Sometimes I wonder about how I ended up where I am today. The answer of course is I am the product of everything that has happenned to me in the past. I've made mistakes and I've done a lot of things right. They weren't big mistakes mind you or else I'd be blogging from a prison cell! Just things I might have done differently. I can't change those things now but I can make sure that I don't repeat them. Maybe its a function of age; as you get older you (hopefully) get wiser.

A few years ago my daughter Lana and I hiked to the top of Butterpot Mountain where you get a bird's-eye view of Conception Bay, Newfoundland. This past Sunday Stan and myself did a paddle along the far side of Holyrood Bay and as we were coming back I got a shot of Stan with Butterpot Mountain in the background. On top of the mountain, it looks like a big drop to the water but sitting at water level in a kayak, the Mountain doesn't look so intimidating.

What looked like mountains to me many years ago now looks like no big deal. A difference in perspective. Like the spider said as he walked across the mirror "that's one way of looking at it!"

Tony :-)

Theory of diversion

2009-01-13T04:33:00.000-08:00

Stan getting his shot of the rare Ivory Gull

Where the Ivory Gull lives and where we saw it

On Sunday past Stan and myself were out for a leisurely paddle out of Holyrood, Newfoundland. On the return into Holyrood we happenned upon a biologist who was out photographing a rare visitor to our area - the Ivory Gull. We probably passed it on the way out but without the eyes of a biologist, maybe mistook it for the ordinary common gull.

It breeds in the high arctic and only migrates short distances south in the autumn. It spends the winter in northern latitudes along the edge of the pack ice. In 1998 the breeding population of Ivory Gulls was estimated at 500 - 700 birds and thought to be in decline. So, we were indeed treated to a special occasion of sorts. We sat floating in our boats watching until it flew out of sight.

I wonder how it got here and I think there's a metaphor in it for me. Sometimes I get myself caught with too many irons in the fire and I'm scrambling to attend to each of them. Enjoying neither as I put pressure on myself to deal with the overload. I do have my eyes on the prize, on what I want to be occupied with, but like the Ivory Gull, I sometimes get diverted. Its times like this that bring things back into focus and the need to drop the distractions. Thank you wayward traveller and god-speed.

Tony :-)

Theory of convenience - pictures

2009-01-11T11:57:00.001-08:00

A few pictures from Stan and my paddle in Holyrood, Newfound- land today. Cold water, icicles but great company!

Theory of convenience

2009-01-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

Boats lined up and ready to go, we're destined for the headland in the distance.

One definition of convenience relates to personal comfort. The flip side of that is inconvenience. There's no question about it, I'd prefer to do something that's convenient. But, this time of year if ya want to paddle in Newfoundland there's going to be an element of inconvenience. The inconvenience of paddling this time of year is cleaning the salt off of the boat and the equipment. Burr!

I hadn't been able to paddle in almost 2 weeks so the need to paddle outweighted the inconvenience. Today Stan and myself paddled from Holyrood to Chapel Cove and turned around at the entrance to Harbour Main harbour. Stan was on call and this was as far as we could venture. The air temp was right at 0 C and the water temp is still at 1 C. Calm water with little wind, a perfect day to be on the water in January.

We did a little rock hopping and at one point I got surprised by a few waves that came out of nowhere. A sideways surf, a hard brace onto a second wave, still going sideways laying full out on the water and seal landed on a ledge. I managed to get the boat pointed into the direction of the next incoming wave, pushed off and escaped. Wished I could have read Stan's mind as he looked on!

A few pictures which will post above this entry as I should have posted those first. Learn for next time. Overall another great day on the water thanks to Stan.

Tony :-)

Theory of greener grass (Part 2)

2009-01-09T04:50:00.001-08:00

Last house standing in the resettled community of Ticklets in St. Mary's Bay, Newfound- land

My last blog entry was about the depopulation of rural Newfoundland through a resettlement program started by the government. People were given incentives to give up their communities as government wanted to centralize the population in order to provide modern services. This is one of 24 houses that existed in Tickles at one time. The census of 1921 listed 122 individuals in 24 households. Family names were Upshall, Marshall, Hollett, Gilbert, Crann, Best, Masters, Gregory and Dicks. Scattered now to where? Who knows?

In 1992 the cod fishery collapsed in Newfoundland and the federal government of Canada provided income to fisherpeople for a period of 2 years. Then, realizing the fishery would not recover soon, they provided money to train former fisherpeople to do other things. That was really moronic because the unemployment rate was an already national high of about 17%. Where did they think the new plumbers, computer programmers and other skilled workers were going to be able to find work? Thus began the depopulation of Newfoundland proper.

The resettlement program for the most part only moved people around within the province. Now, people began leaving Newfoundland in droves, bound for the provinces of Alberta, Ontario or wherever they could find work. The highest population figure I can remember was 568,000. The current population stands at about 500,000 give or take a thousand. That's a drop of 12%.

The people that left didn't because they saw the grass greener on the other side of the fence. They were forced to leave due to the missmanagement of the northern cod fishery by the government of Canada. A fishery that had sustained Newfoundland and fed Europe for 500 years. Now, we're reduced to a few days each year when we can fit out our kayaks to catch cod in a "recreational" fishery.

When Newfoundland joined Canada it was forced to give up control of its fishery. We were pretty "green", too green to burn they say.

Tony :-)

Theory of greener grass (Part 1)

2009-01-06T04:50:00.001-08:00

Abandoned house in the resettled community of Tickles in St. Mary's Bay, Newfound- land

There's an expression "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence". That applies to not only the grass but also the other worldly possessions of our neighbours. I guess I should say the grass "appears" to be greener.

Newfoundland was settled by people who came here to fish. In the early years it was a summer fishery and the fishermen went home after the season was over. After a while fishermen decided to overwinter and they built settlements in isolated and hard-to-find nooks and crannies along the coast. They did so to hide as it was against the law to live in the newly-found-lande.

Communities sprang up and there was always the next bay or cove around the point where the fishing was better or access to the fish was more convenient. People moved on to greener pastures so to speak. Life was hard and people essentially subsisted.

In modern times the isolated communities didn't have basic services like access to timely medical care, electricity etc. It was too expensive for government to provide services to more than a 1,000 isolated communities so consolidation in larger centralized communities became the greener pastures. People resisted resettlement, as it became known, but government offered cash incentives and communities became divided between those who wanted to stay and those who wanted to leave. Teachers became difficult to recruit to isolated communities and for other reasons, slowly the depopulation of rural communities began.

In the end some 307 communities were abandoned between 1946 and 1975 affecting over 28,000 individuals. The community of Tickles pictured above was one of them. There were things gained and lost. The gains were tangible, the losses more intangible. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence, its just a different shade.

Tony :-)

Theory of detachment

2009-01-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

Destruction of a bog by all terrain vehicles

The Concise Oxford Dictionary gives one definition of "detachment" as selfish isolation. I believe that's what this senseless destruction of a bog represents. This bog is just off of an abandoned road that leads to the sea on the east coast of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland. There's absolutely no need for the all terrain vehicles to access the bog as the road is passable and perfectly suited to those vehicles.

I think it just represents an attitude that some people have towards the environment. They don't see it as belonging to them, they don't have a stake in it so there's no need to protect it and to hell with everyone else.

What got me going on this was watching "An Inconvenient Truth" last night. I'm aware of all the science and discussion on the subject of climate change but never saw it presented all in one place so nicely bundled.

The attitude of society in general is the same as the yahoos who caused the destruction in the bog. The developed world is too dependant on non-renewable energy and too selfish to make a sacrifice to try an correct the upward trend of greenhouse gases. They think it won't be our problem. It will have an impact on future generations but selfishly we carry on as normal and pass the buck.

Sometimes I feel powerless to effect change because the government of the country must make the macro decisions and government just doesn't listen to its citizens anymore. But I can make a difference at my, micro personal level. I can carpool to get my boat to the put-in, I can drive slower, I can take the boat out at the same place I put-in so I don't need to shuttle the car etc. etc.

As kayakers we have a sensitivity towards the environment. Lets do our part and paddle with a clear conscience.

Tony :-)

Theory of retrospection

2008-12-31T04:46:00.000-08:00

Life is good and don't forget it!

End of the year and tomorrow is a new year. Its only another day but I guess at some point we have to take stock and see where we are and where we're going. December 31 is inventory day, a day of retrospection.

Retrospection can be pleasant survey of the past years events or it can instill a melancholy feeling if you live in the past, the loss of another year. I like to live in the present with a hopeful eye on the future. But, I am going to look back and for one reason - 2008 was such a fantastic year that making a list makes me think of what I have to look forward to in 2009.

Here are my 2008 paddling highlights:
1. Paddling with Stan generally - a good friend with the same mindset.
2. First overnight kayak camping trip to Tickles - see www.kayakers.nf.ca for outdoor sauna instructions.
3. Kayaking with whales in Mobile Bay - got to get you some whales next year Stan.
4. Practice sessions in conditions started by Graham Openshaw.
5. Rounding my first cape - Cape St. Francis.
6. Rolling in the middle of Conception Bay in the shadow of a tanker.
7. Surfing at Chance Cove - need to do this more often.
8. Crossing from St. Philips to Bell Island.
9. Beach cleanup at Trinny Cove, Placentia Bay.
10. Volunteering at Kids Day at Long Pond.

It can only get better.

Happy New Year to everyone in the paddling community all over the world and paddle safely in 2009.

Tony :-)

Theory of the scratchable itch

2008-12-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

Daggers of ice

Water falls frozen over at pocket beach Beachy Cove

Rinsing off the salt in the fresh river water in St. Philips

Is there anything worse than an itch you can't scratch? I remember my Dad broke his leg many years ago and often complained about the itch in his full length cast. That wasn't easy for him as he couldn't get at the itchy spot.

I had an itch today too, to get out paddling. It was 2 weeks since I was able to get out for a paddle. No one around to paddle with and a temperature of -1 C. But there was no wind.

I waffled and decided to go to the gym. Coming out of the gym I decided to scratch my itch and hurried home to put the boat on the car. I paddled 5 kms from St. Philips to Portugal Cove. It wasn't a long paddle but its close to home and 10 kms wasn't too bad a way to scratch an itch to paddle.

The snow is almost all gone but there were lots of icicles where the run-off water had frozen. At -1 C it wasn't too cold and after a few minutes I warmed up to a point where I could have shed clothes if I was on land. I had a nice low following swell to push me back to St. Philips and did the obligatory rolls before washing up in the river. The water temp was +1 C but felt warmer because of the heat I had built up.

I ran into paddler Ralph Smith who lives in St. Philips on the way home and he offered to wash my gear out for $10.00. Maybe after the river freezes over Ralph!

So, I scratched my itch and rounded my paddles off to 75 for this year.

Tony :-)

Theory of breadmaking

2008-12-28T05:37:00.000-08:00

My new Cuisinart bread-
maker's first day on the job

My daughters Lana, Lisa and Aimee gave me a new Cuisinart breadmaker for Christmas. I started making bread last year in an effort to cut as much salt and saturated fats from my diet as possible. I had been using Lisa's.

I was very surprised and felt a little awkward because I just don't want my children to spend their hard earned money on me. They want to give a present of course but I always stress that I don't want anything big. Lana said it wasn't much after everything I've done for them.

Yes, I suppose I've done a lot for them but it was always for them, to help them start their own lives and give them a head-start. Never the thought that anything other than love would come back. Apparently, while I was taking them to swimming, hockey, waiting for them at the university after classes, scraping ice and snow off their cars and the other little things over the years, I was making bread.

My reward for what I have done (and your Mother) is to see you grow to be beautiful, responsible and caring young ladies. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I love you
Dad

Theory of the first Christmas

2008-12-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

Ornaments from the first Christmas in Canada

In 1953 my parents came to Canada from the Netherlands. I was 1 year old and while I don't remember that first Christmas, I have a picture of myself and my next born sister sitting by a very small tree. That little tree had the round ornaments on the left hanging on it. They look a little knarled and they are after 55 years of use.

This is the first Christmas for me where neither parent is alive as Dad passed away in October. Its a milestone. But its not a melancholy Christmas, life goes on.

This evening my children, my wife and I decorated the tree and hung the heirloom ornaments on the tree. I am thankful for another Christmas where we're all still able to be together. It won't last forever. As I hung the small old ornaments on the tree I was reminded again that its the small things I have to be thankful for. Family, friends, a sunset, snow that sparkles in the sunshine....

So, that's my wish for everyone. Have a Merry Christmas filled with the small things that mean the most. And to all a good night!

Tony :-)

Theory of destination

2008-12-23T04:14:00.000-08:00

Stan heading for .....?

This is a picture of Stan paddling towards Bauline on a paddle we did back in November. If we had blinkers on and this is all we could see, in a couple of seconds Stan would be out of the picture, destination somewhere left.

Destination is somewhere I suppose we're all going. Sometimes we know the destination because we've gotten in a boat, car etc and purposely gone there. Sometimes, we don't know, like what's the plan for tomorrow.

Sometimes we think we're already there. I have a friend who has been playing guitar for years and years. I've been learning to play for 4 years. I can only get better; he can't because he thinks he's already there (no disrespect to him), an accomplished player.

In kayaking, thinking that you have all the skills mastered can be dangerous. The sea can throw things at you that are totally unexpected and there's always a need to be on top of your game. I try to be honest with myself and when I don't handle a situation very well, I plan to practice for better future execution. Learning to be a skilled kayaker is a journey, there is no destination.

In that sense, kayaking is like life.

Tony :-)

Theory of Sustenance

2008-12-20T04:36:00.000-08:00

Salvia and Monarda are all that's left of our flower garden sticking thru the snow

Sustenance is the word we use to describe our need for food to survive.

Over the last 2 days we've had our first substantive taste of winter and it appears that the season for homo sapiens kayakerious newfoundlandus is drawing to a close for this year. I'd like to get out today, even Topsail Pond, but it doesn't look good. Temps last night -12 C with wind chill of -27 C; temp today -7 C.

Reflecting on that, I think about the people who gave us the kayak in the first place, the Inuit. They didn't have the luxury of deciding "Ah, I won't go kayaking today". They had no choice. If they wanted to eat they had to get out. One image I have is of a show on the tube I've seen, of an Inuit sitting silently for hours in his kayak, in a polynia waiting for a narwhal to surface. The slightest of sound and the prey that surfaces is gone. Hours of waiting wasted and no prospect for another chance.

Things have changed today but I respect those people of days gone by and count myself lucky to be able to make a choice. Today, I'll still venture out but in search of the perfect Christmas tree. But, I will promise myself to get out some bitter cold day this winter just for the experience and sustenance of my soul.

Tony :-)

Theory of Gadgets

2008-12-19T04:33:00.000-08:00

Gadgets are little devices that we all come up with to serve a particular function or to do something that we can't buy off of a store shelf. Its improvization on the fly.

A little while ago I bought an Olympus Stylus 850 SW to take pictures while out kayaking. Its the perfect camera for that, light weight and waterproof. On calm days its just as easy to stash it under you deck bungees when not in use but in more challenging conditions it can be intimidating to take pictures. There's a need to grab the camera, hold the paddle and stay upright in wind and waves and all the while try to get your picture.

I got some info from one of Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador's Central Chapter members on how to attach the camera to the paddle. Good idea Colin but I thought there might be a better way.

Here's what I did:
- cut a small piece out of a bicycle inner tube and slip over the paddle shaft
- cut a piece of plastic slightly wider that the camera out of any plastic container
- fold over sharply on one end and wrap around the paddle shaft
- tuck the sharply folded end tight and drill 2 small holes on both ends, secure with small screws
- make a template out of cardstock to get the location of the hole under the camera for mounting to tripod
- transfer to your gizmo
- drill hole and attach camera as if on a tripod.

Here's the camera attached to the paddle shaft. Slightly out of focus but hey, you get the picture.

The bicycle inner tube keeps the gadget from slipping around on the shaft. The plastic has to be a little wider than the camera so the screws on both ends don't interfere with the camera mounting. If you have a 2 piece paddle, slip the wrist strap over the paddle before putting the paddle together.

All the controls are readily at hand so that's convenient. There is a drawback as I recently found out. To take a picture you have to take the paddle out of the water and in very strong wind both paddle blades are open to the wind. A sudden gust while taking a picture to the side and broadside to the wind can knock you over. You'll have to play with your set-up to safely take pictures under those conditions.

The proto type is white, I'll made a final version in black so that it all blends in with the paddle. Hope you make one for yourself too. Finally, a little "theory" that's practical!

Tony :-)

Theory of sugar-plums

2008-12-17T04:14:00.001-08:00

The kayaks were nestled all snug in their racks ...

while visions of sugar-plums danced in my head. Please allow a little poetic licence!

Its a week before Christmas and a good time to check your list of kayak related toys for Santa to leave under the tree. Kayaking is not a cheap hobby and Christmas is a good time when gifts can do double duty. Well, you're going to buy the stuff anyway, right? There's always more stuff to buy and gear to replace. A throw bag, paddle leash, tow rope, deck compass and on and on.

With the current economic turmoil it seems a little extravagant to be thinking about expensive toys like this. There's a big up-front cost but when I consider the number of times I've been in my boat this year alone, the cost is less than the cost of going to a movie. Say nothing of the need to be outfitted for safety either for yourself or to help another paddler in trouble.

I have to confess, I'm thinking out loud a little here and on-line, justifying my need to buy a Nordkapp for next years paddling season. I'm 99% certain that I'll place my order after Christmas and while I throw it back and forth in my mind, I'll have visions of sugar-plums dancing in my head.

Tony :-)

Theory of the unscripted swim

2008-12-13T09:21:00.001-08:00

Ride'em cowboy Stan

Stan's kayak has after burners?

Jim Price is one of the best kayakers in Newfoundland and Jim says "there are 2 kinds of paddlers: swimmers and those who are going to be swimmers". Before Stan and myself put in today at St. Phillips (again!) I was in the category of "going to be swimmer". Now, I've joined the ranks of the swimmers.

It was blowing at 55 kms/hr with wind gusts of 70. It wasn't ideal but with air temps on December 13 at 15 degrees C, Stan seconded the motion of carpe diem - sieze the day. The wind was very brisk and the gusts threatened to rip the paddle out of my hands.

Then, there was a picture op of Stan. I have my camera attached to the paddle but it means presenting the whole paddle to the wind when taking a picture. I turned broadside to the wind, raised the paddle to snap the picture, a gust of wind caught both paddle blades and over I went. I made one attempt to roll unsuccessfully and bailed. No panic, we've practiced assisted rescues and before long I was back in the boat. I decided not to pump the boat out so I paddled into the beach with the cockpit full of water, 50 kms wind and 1 metre wind waves. A good exercise in balance control.

We hung around for about an hour after and I had to do one roll before calling it a day. I had to reassure myself because I was disappointed that my roll failed just when I needed it.

Anyway, I learned something today - exercise caution taking pictures in challenging conditions and a friend in need is a friend indeed. Thanks Stan!

Tony :-)

Theory of landlubbers

2008-12-10T12:38:00.001-08:00

Waves crashing at Laurie's Beach in Paradise, Nfld.

A landlubber is defined as someone who lives and works on land. I don't know the origin of the word but my guess is it would be derived from "land lover".

Technically, by the definition, I'm a landlubber as I live on land. But I'm not a landlubber in the sense I love the land and avoid the sea.

Today we have southwest winds gusting to 100 kms/hr at the coast. I remember an article on kayak paddling techniques (Technical Nuances for Cruising in Wind; Seakayaker Magazine, June 1995) by Nigel Foster wherein he says "The following techniques ... work in strong winds ... up to 65 knots". (100 kms/hr). I don't know what planet he hails from but I'm skeptical. I've been out in some strong wind much less than 100 and found forward progress to be quite a challenge.

In any case, I had to go down to the shore and see for myself what it would be like on the water. Yup, based on what I saw, today I lubbs the land!

Tony :-)

Theory of smiling kayak gods

2008-12-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

The pleasure boats are done for the season! (A)

Glacial till NE of Long Pond (B)

Houses perched on Conception Bay (C)

Well, the kayak gods did smile on me today. It didn't look good early this morning as my paddling buddy Stan was tied up with house chores. My better half doesn't like for me to paddle alone but today she had faith. So, I was off for my first solo paddle on the briney sea.

I put in in Topsail in Conception Bay, Newfoundland, and paddled some 5kms southwest to the community of Long Pond. It was blowing only about 15 kms from the WSW, 3 degrees C and small wind waves. Had I gotten in trouble I'd have blown up on the shore all along the way.

Its not an exciting paddle but it was a day out. This part of the shore of Conception Bay is either houses spilling out down to the edge of the sea (picture C) or unoccupied cobble beaches (picture B).

On the way to Long Pond the sun was directly in my eyes but I found the marina at Long Pond. Got out and stretched my legs and found it funny that I was still out on the water but all the pleasure boats were hauled up for the winter (picture A). Isn't it ironic?

The hills backing cobble beaches consist of glacial till (B) that was dumped when the glaciers retreated here some 12,000 years ago. The houses are somewhat newer and look like clumps of habitation dumped unwittingly here too.

While it was liberating to be out alone, I did miss Stan. I hope there'll be other days when the kayaking gods smile on me yet this year. Either way I've no reason to complain if I was able to be out on December 6!!!

Tony :-)

Theory of discretion

2008-12-06T04:41:00.000-08:00

Dumping surf at Middle Cove, Nfld.

One of the meanings of discretion is the ability to make responsible decisions.

Earlier this summer, in August, three of us had a practice session here at Middle Cove that I feel now was pivotal in my progression as a kayaker. It was the first time I was in substantial water. The sea wasn't as angry as on the day I took this picture but there were occasional 2 metre waves and a dumping surf. I launched through the surf safely and the three of us just paddled back and forth in the cove. For me, it was just being in the boat and being in the bigger water. After a while I felt comfortable and thought, its no biggie.

There in lies some danger. There's a risk of being overconfident to the point of being cocky. There are people who could get out thru the surf on this day but I'm not there yet. Make a responsible decision, leave the boat on the car and wait till I'm ready. Know my ability and my limits.

Sometimes you want to get out for a paddle but sometimes the gods are against you. When they are, its probably for a reason.

Tony :-)

Theory of hardness

2008-12-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

Bucket and float set-up

Bucket and float out for a tow!

The theory of hardness, more accurately, Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness, is a system which characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals. Its on a scale of 1 to 10 with talc as 1 and diamond as 10. There's another definition of course where hardness is based on relative difficulty.

Paddling on calm water is easy whereas paddling into a strong wind is more difficult. Taking someone in distress under tow also adds to the degree of difficulty.

Recently I've rigged up a float and a bucket to add to the difficulty of paddling practice. The float keeps the bucket close to the surface and the bucket adds resistance. I find that the addition of resistance allows me to concentrate more on form and is good towing practice.

Practice easy and you end up with talc; add some difficulty and you end up with diamonds. And you'll know you have diamonds when you take the resistance off because the boat just glides effortlessly across the water. I guess its like life, you have to have some difficulty in your life to know how good the "good times" are. That last part was an afterthought, WOW!

Tony :-)

Theory of waves

2008-11-30T10:41:00.000-08:00

View from St. Philips towards Bell Island

Wave rolling under Stan

Stan scampering up a wave

Waves can be measured in terms of height, wavelength and period. They all depend on wind speed, distance over open water which the wind blows and length of time the wind has been blowing over the area. So, as the wind begins to blow over the sea, waves start to form and the longer the wind blows the bigger the waves become. Waves max out at any given wind speed with enough duration. At that wind speed the sea can be said to be fully developed. They won't grow any further unless the wind increases in strength.

Stan and myself knew the forecast called for wind speeds of 40 kms/hr with gusts to 70 from the west. We thought that we'd take the ferry to Bell Island and paddle the west side of the island and be sheltered from the wind. When we got to Portugal Cove to catch the ferry it didn't look any better on the other side of the Tickle. We decided on St. Philips and were content to paddle squares, diagonals etc.

It didn't look too bad before we put in but after 2 hours the wind had whipped the sea up into some impressive waves. Paddling into the wind was at snail's pace, paddle so far, turn broadside to the waves, paddle some more and turn downwind. Communication in the wind was difficult but wasn't necessary. There were some excellent surf rides to be had down what felt like mountains of water.

I wouldn't do this without someone else along to help if needed. Stan made it possible today, thanks as usual Stan.

It was a great day of practice paddling in wind and waves. Why? So that we'll be able to handle it if the wind comes up on a day that starts out calm. Some people suggest that when the wind blows, it sucks. It only sucks if you're not prepared!

Tony :-)

Theory of lightening

2008-11-28T15:02:00.001-08:00

This is the original picture of Stan at Topsail Beach

This is the "lightened" picture

This post doesn't have anything to do with lightening as in a bolt of electricity. This is about being able to doctor a picture that turned out too dark because the taker (me) wasn't familiar with the new camera.

I came across a freeware program called "GIMP" that I think works the same as Photoshop. I tried it out on the picture of Stan at Topsail Beach. In the first picture you can't see his face but after brightening the picture by 50% Stan is easy to identify. And, it looks more like the rainy dreary day it was!

Probably I should learn to use the camera but technology shows that lightening can indeed strike the same spot twice.

Tony :-)

Theory of acceptance

2008-11-25T11:36:00.001-08:00

That would be me out for a paddle recently in Brigus South (Malcolm Rowe photo)

The theory goes that you should change the things you can and accept the things you can't. Today was one of those days when I just had to accept that I wasn't getting out for my almost ususal Tuesday paddle. I haven't missed many.

Today's burden was a job that just had to be done before the snow comes. It wasn't that bad as I made a first - my first success at cutting glass. Its one of those things that I've always looked upon as a bit of witchcraft. Cutting glass without breaking it up I thought was beyond me.

There were a number of kayak skills that I thought were beyond me at the start of the year, like the sculling balance brace. Its a bit like cutting glass, you just have to commit to it and trust yourself.

No paddle today but a wistful look back at an enjoyable day in Brigus South, Newfoundland with Malcolm and Stan. And, the prospect of more paddles yet this year.

Tony :-)

Theory of the early bird

2008-11-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

Topsail on a dull, windy, rainy morning

Stan arriving in front of Topsail Head

The theory is that the early bird catches the worm. On today, the early bird caught the rain and wind. What the pictures of course don't tell tell you that the day turned sunny and the wind dropped.

Stan MacKenzie and myself (seems to be a recurring theme) decided on a paddle this morning as Stan had plans for the pm. Stan was sitting in his Toyota at St. Philips, Newfoundland when I arrived and it was raining hard. We sat for awhile until the hardest rain passed and then we put-in and headed for Topsail. A paddle of about 6.5 kms into the wind and waves that took us an hour and a half (another recurring theme for Stan and myself).

A few landlubbers on shore must have shaken ther heads as we hung around checking out some fine sheds build along the beach. We headed back to St. Philips in a quartering sea and as we zipped along the wind dropped. After 45 minutes we were back in St. Philips and agreed we'd done enough for the day.

As we paddled into the harbour we saw paddling mates Malcolm and Des. They had come looking for conditions to paddle in but had missed it. It goes to show that, while the day turned nice and maybe to most, the early bird missed the worm, it depends on the worm you're after.

Tony :-)

Theory of juggling

2008-11-19T14:51:00.001-08:00

Stan and myself paddling towards Brigus Head (Malcolm Rowe photo)

Normally I think of juggling as a skill where more than one object is tossed into the air and kept in motion without hitting the ground. In my mind, I see clowns as jugglers.

I've recently come to realize that while I'm not a juggler in that sense, I do juggle tasks. I've realized that its incomprehensible that a retired person like myself has to juggle tasks. There just aren't enough hours in a day for me to do everything I want. Weather is closing in and unfinished tasks remain.

There's a good reason for that; I've been in my kayak 66 times so far this summer. That might explain why I didn't get as much done as I hoped. But ya can't be all work and no play either.

What's the point if ya can't find some time to play? So I did, I insisted on time in my kayak and loved every minute. If I couldn't find time for that then I'd really be a clown!

Tony :-)