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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