Hello, my name is Bob Jesus.  My friend Tom Sullivan and I recently began an adventure to circumnavigate Cape Cod in our kayaks a distance of 185 miles.  We are planning to do this in 10 to 20 mile segments and it is going to take place on a weekends only.  We are beginning in Hull and we are going to finish in Falmouth.  We won't be doing it every weekend, as much as we would like to, because there are other important things in life that we need to attend to.  We know it will be exciting and we want you to accompany us through this web page.

 You might ask why we are doing this;  we are doing this because it is exhilarating out there.  The sound and the smell of the ocean is wonderful.  The feel of the ocean as a kayak flows through it is soothing, calming and exciting all at once.  A person in a sea kayak is as close to the ocean as a swimmer but in a kayak you can travel father than a swimmer can.  Those are the reasons we are doing this.  Oh by the way, I have one more reason; my friend Tom asked me to accompany him.

 The first segment took place on Sunday July 11, 1999.  It was a 10.5 mile trip.  It began in Hull at Nantasket beach and ended at the lighthouse in Scituate.  The day was sunny.  The wind was SSE at 5 to 10 knots.  The seas along the coast of New England were running at 0.5 to 1.5  feet.  We arrived at Nantasket beach at 11:00 AM.  The surf was not bad but I was in a mild panic because I had never paddled in the open ocean before.

 We unloaded our kayaks from Tom's truck and placed them on the beach as quickly as possible because life guards get very nervous when they see kayakers about to embark on a journey from their beach.  We were not quick enough.  A life guard came to talk to us tried to convince us not to do it from his beach but we convinced him that we would be cool about the whole thing and leave as quickly as possible.  We did leave quickly.  We left so quick that I never got the spray skirt on.  We rounded a bend, stopped at a beach and I struggled with my spray skirt for some time because my nerves on starting the adventure were on overdrive.  The whole time I fought with the skirt the sea was buffeting my kayak around like a toy.  It is a grand sea, a powerful sea.

 Once we were off the whole impression of chaos changed to one of regular cadance and powerful paddle strokes.  The sea was cool blue and clear enough that we could see 20 to 30 feet below us.  I could see at times lobster traps and the lines that attached them to their  bouys.  We could see rocks with algae and the fauna of the sea.  We could see fish swimming below us some going in our direction and some in other directions.  We could see the world of the sea below us.  Tom believed he saw the back of a seal  in the distance but we were not close enough for him to be sure.  I never had the good fortune to see it, maybe next time.

 We saw two kayakers going in the other direction half way through our trip.  We exchanged hellos as we passed.  The kayakers were a man and a woman.  Toward the end of our trip we went between a large rock rising out of the water and a rock promontory that jutted out of a beach in Scituate.  A woman was crouching on the furthest part of the promontory watching us approach.  She inquired if we saw any seals in our travel and Tom informed her that he may have seen one.  She smiled and seemed pleased to hear that.  We passed through the opening and went on our way.

 As our trip came to an end we approached one of Scituate's beaches.  The surf was high.  Tom made the approach first and landed fine.  I came in next.  I landed on the beach pulled hard and removed the spray skirt, started to get out of the kayak and the surf sucked me and kayak back in.  I floundered in the water, got my footing and pulled my kayak out, along with half the Atlantic in her cockpit.  Oh well, so much for elegant landings!!  I guess I have to practice kayak surfing!

 The trip came to an end at the lighthouse at Scituate.  We were both tired but extremely elated that we had done the first segment of our trip around Cape Cod.  Stay tuned for the other segments of our adventure.  I promise the other trips will have pictures.  My humble words cannot begin to do justice to what we see when we are out there.

 So long for now!
 
 

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