Well folks it has been almost two years since I last wrote to you about the Hull to Falmouth paddling odyssey.  Last year was a busy year for Tom and I, but; that is not the story I want to tell you.

             On July 15th of this year we picked up our paddles, dusted off our kayaks and added another segment to the odyssey.  We traveled from Duxbury to Plymouth.  Actually; we did this segment backwards for logistical reasons.  We traveled from Plymouth to Duxbury.  It was a trip of nine miles.

             Before I tell you my story I would like to add that Tom and I have a new member to our team.  We have a person who has been very thoughtful to make the offer to drop us off at the beginning of our paddling for the day and pick us up at the end of the day.  Her name is Sue and she is a fantastic person who is curious about kayaks and we may convince her to join us in this paddling adventure.

             Let us begin the story.  Well, as people say no good deed goes unpunished.  Tom called the Pilgrim Power Plant and asked permission for us to start our trip at the power plant and the Security Officer he spoke to on the phone said that it would be OK.  Well, we arrived at the power plant at approximately 10:00 AM and started to unload the kayaks.  A security guard came running over and told us that we could not launch from there.  Tom explain to him once that we had permission and the guard said we could not launch from there.  Tom repeated himself that we had permission and the guard repeated himself that we could not launch from there.  Well, it appeared that we could not launch from there! 

           As for me, that was OK because earlier in the morning Tom told me about the phone conversation between the Security Officer and himself and the Officer told him that we had to stay away from the plant’s seawater intake port.  All I could imagine of this intake port was a huge vortex that loved nothing better than to suck in unsuspecting kayaks.  We did get a look at the intake and the water in the area is fairly turbulent but if we had to we could give it a wide berth.      

The Security Guard did give us a tip that if we traveled north for a couple of miles we could probably launch our kayaks from Plymouth beach.  That is what we did.  We launched from the beach near a restaurant called Burt’s.  This spot also had public restrooms which was good because not only do I have stomach butterflies just before we leave but I also always have a powerful need to wiz. The launch was successful and we settled in to paddling along Plymouth beach which is quite long.  We traveled for three miles alongside it.

Tom and Tom flying over the Intrepid Voyagers

Bob surveying the beach

Bob looking for lunch

Bob and the two kayaks

Tom's kayak waiting to move

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             Well now for a little technical stuff:  It was a sunny day.  The wind was from the east and it was moderate.  We had a gentle swell when we started because it was caused by natural forces.  Later on things would change.  The temperature was about 75 degrees Fahrenheit

             The first part of the trip was quite uneventful which was fine because we were so rusty as far as kayaking goes that I am sure the people on the beach could hear us squeak.  We were about a quarter of a mile out on the water.

            You can always spot a true Ham.  Whatever she or he is doing there is sure to be an HT close by.  At the beginning of the trip I would hear voices (no I was not delirious).  It was Tom stopped and yakking away on his HT with Owen KB1CGP via the Kingston repeater.  You might ask how does an HT survive out on the water.  We thought of that also; our HTs are snug and safe as babies wrapped in a blanket.  They are inside of waterproof pouches bought at West Marine

             We stopped for lunch at the northern tip of Plymouth beach.  We had traveled for about 1 ½ hours and we had covered a distance of three miles.  The trip at this point was changing.  The boat traffic had increased two-fold.  We were now in the confluence of three harbors:  Plymouth, Kingston and Duxbury.  Oh by the way;  the Capt. John whale watching boats ply back and forth in these waters.  We had lunch watching the boat traffic.  One of our friends who is a pilot and Amateur Radio Operator  flew over us and we talked to him via Ham radio.  Tom and I are both Hams.

             Tom was excited about what we had to do next.  We would have to cross the Plymouth channel to get to where we wanted to go which eventually would be Duxbury bay.  I had major trepidation about this part of the trip.

             Lunch was done and we set off to cross Plymouth channel at a point near one of its buoys and the entrance to Plymouth harbor.  We stopped and paddled in place watching the boat traffic into and out of the harbor.  The water was so agitated at one point that a 30 foot sail boat leaped the wake of a 20 foot pleasure craft that had just passed in front of us, and we waited some more.  Well at this time my intrepid friend had enough waiting, and as the traffic subsided a bit and the next Capt. John boat was not near, we decided to go.  Did I say it wasn’t near; well maybe it was nearer than we thought.  As we were in the middle of the channel I got a view of the Capt. John’s bow which at any other time would have been a great photo opportunity; not now.  I was told later that my mouth dropped and my arms and paddle became like a windmill.  Well, I can tell you I wasn’t the only one!!!  It was quite a surf from that boat!

             The rest of our trip was more of the beautiful scenery as we passed between moored boats and rested on sandbars.  We entered Duxbury Bay from the Kingston side, a part of the bay that I had not paddled.  Take a look at the pictures. 

             We finished this segment of our adventure at about 4:00 PM at the beach next to the west end of Powder Point bridge in Duxbury.  We had covered nine miles averaging 1.7 mph (Sloth’s pace).

             The next segment of our trip will be from Plymouth to the Cape Cod canal approximately 13 miles.  The trip promises to be the best scenery yet because we will be along side the White Cliffs.

             Please stay tuned.  I will be back.

 

July 15, 2001

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