Well folks we did it again.  On Sunday July 29^th we did another segment of our Hull to Falmouth odyssey.  We paddled from Scusset beach next to the east end of the Cape Cod canal to White Horse beach in Plymouth.  We traveled a distance of 12.5 miles.  Yes; I know, we did it backwards again!  Again; it was logistically easier for us to do it that way.

Scusset Beach State Reservation is quite beautiful.  It has the cape feel to it.  We; Tom, Sue and I arrived at the Reservation at about 10:00 AM, parked at this huge parking area and unloaded the kayaks and gear in a hurry because as usual we had caused a commotion with the local life guards about us launching from their beach.  They would let us do only if we did fast and did not return!  I always get the feeling we are not wanted!!!

 Alas; I am digressing from my description of the beach.  To approach the beach you have to walk up a small hill for approximately 200 yards on soft sand and beach grass.  When you crest the hill you are greeted by the vast ocean.  To your right you see the rock jetty that is the entrance to the canal, to your left for quite a distance you see Sagamore Beach and the white cliffs of Plymouth.  There is a gentle surf on the beach and the scent of the ocean permeates the air.  When I know I am about to embark on that water; the sights I see, the sounds I hear, the smell I sense, and the wind I feel, will always get my heart pounding, the stomach butterflies fluttering, and oh yes; I need to wiz!

 We portaged the two kayaks and the gear from the truck to the beach.  We loaded the kayaks, climbed in and left with Sue watching us from the hill and a family, whose little girl was fascinated by the whole process, watched us from the beach.

 I was in charge of the underwater camera and I was determined to get pictures while we were underway.  We were traveling for no more than four minutes and I decided to photograph Tom and Scusset beach.  Let me tell you about this process.  First; the camera is in its bag lashed to my kayak deck in front of me, the zipper of the bag facing me.  To take a photograph I need to retrieve the camera from the bag, and make sure that none of the contents of the bag spill into the ocean.  I lost an empty film canister.  While holding the paddle in my left hand, the camera in my right I find my photo subject and snap a shot while the kayak gleefully bounces up and down beneath me.  I beg you not to be too critical of the photos!

 The morning was absolutely beautiful and the ocean was calm, later it would pick with swells up to 2 feet, the wind was predominately from the SE at 5 mph.  We turned north and paddled with Lookout Point at our bow approximately 3 miles away.  At about a mile or two into the trip we entered a lobster boat’s working field.  We were about a ½ to 1 mile out from shore so we had the lobster boat on our port between shore and us.  It appeared that it had a crew of two and they were intent on hauling up the traps, while all the while the boat was in motion.  It appeared that was locked on a course and going its own way as the men worked the traps.   We were in their working field; there were traps all around us.  At this point Tom mentioned that these are the boats to stay clear of because the crew works and the boat is unattended as they haul up the traps.  We were not far from them when they decided to move to a different location.  They picked up speed and I must say that boat creates an impressive wake.  Tom and I had different ideas on the wake.  He decided to take them broadside and get through them quickly.  I went surfing.  I pointed my kayak to open sea and went surfing!!!  That lobster boat threw up quite the wake.  Later I could see the wake a fair distance away.

We made our first stop just past Nameloc Heights among the rocks.  These rocks as all the rest we would encounter on this segment were covered with seaweed, which is nice because if the kayak goes over one and grounds on top of it we just slide off.  This is easy said but it is quite disconcerting to the heart as you wobble on top of the rock in deep water until you free yourself.

 The water off the shore of Plymouth is very clear.  We could see Strippers and lobster traps and all sorts of other things on the bottom.  It was at about this time that we looked for Ellisville harbor.  We never saw it.  It wasn’t because boat traffic was nonexistent we just could not see the entrance!

 We stopped for lunch on the south end of Surfside beach.  This was a good time to stop because I had been plagued by an odd physical feeling.  It was not nausea, it was just odd.  We had been and would continue to experience 2 foot swells coming in on our starboard stern that at times would swing the kayaks to port and would make them do some interesting gyrations.  Also; the sun was quite bright off the water.  I wear a wide brimmed white hat and dark sunglasses but they enough at certain times.  I may have been seasick.

 I would like to add here that all along the shore that we paddled for the day there were some beautiful homes that came down to the water.  The beaches in front of these homes are private and Tom and I had to pick our rest stops very careful not to upset some of these homeowners.

 We paddled on after lunch with increasing boat traffic.  We were now very close to Manomet Point.  We were parallel to Manomet Beach where many boaters come to stop and swim.  We landed on the beach ourselves and Tom went for a swim.  I was still not quite well.

 We passed Churchill Landing, Fishermans Landing, and then we came to Manomet Bluffs.  This is where we encountered those spectacular rocks you see in the pictures.  Yes those pictures were taken off of Plymouth’s shore not the Caribbean!  We stopped at the beach north of Manomet Bluffs that has no name and spoke to two very nice ladies who were quite interested in our odyssey.

 We paddled the last mile around Stage point and Manomet Point upsetting many birds perched on the rocks at the two points.  We rounded Manomet Point to the sight of White Horse beach our destination and in the distance we could see the Pilgrim Power Plant, which was at the beginning of our last segment.  It was a good day to paddle!!!

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