Lanes Cove to Rockport - Saturday April 18, 2015

[prudenceb]

Lanes Cove to Rockport, April 18, 2015

So I posted for this early season mellow rust-busting trip, and a number of people expressed a desire to join but couldn't (work, out-of-town, out of commission - Andy!, other commitments...), and so it was just four of us - Peter, Rob, Mike and I - that met at Lanes Cove on a calm sunny morning with temperatures forecast for the 60s. What ensued was an enjoyable day on the water - nothing more, nothing less - where conditions switched out enough over the course of the paddle that by the end we felt we'd had an interesting time.

When it's only four people, and four prompt people at that, we launched a half hour before we'd planned as the tide was still coming in.



The plan was to hug the shoreline



no point-to-point crossings across coves when the rocks along the way are what are nicest about this paddle.



But it was so calm in the morning that going into the rocks



and out



didn't present much of a challenge.

Cormorants stood sentinel.



Its always nice to have Peter on a trip because he can identify so many different birds. He called out names as floating birds burst into the air, or dove into the water, or otherwise avoided us.

We headed into Folly Cove



where the rock faces on the southern side are very impressive.



There were several groups of divers, two in the water and one on land. Even keeping distance from their flags, we could see their bubbles rising to the surface, and look down through the clear and still water and see the tanks they were wearing.

It stayed calm as we approached Halibut Point. Look up and see the tiny people on top!



It was easy to stay right up against the rocks.



We paddled and chatted our way around Halibut Point and the approach to Rockport Harbor. Bearskin Neck has been under reconstruction since last year, and they were at work on Saturday.



Yikes! Howdya like this baby to pluck you right up out of the water?



Rockport Harbor was April empty.



There wasn't much room to land as it was high tide, but we were happy to have the requisite dogs providing a greeting



and then helping with the landing.



We pulled the boats up



and proceeded to spend an hour basking in the sun, eating lunch and talking about various mysteries of life, none of which we were able to solve.

But it ultimately got a little chilly even with the sun, and so we prepared to go. Have I mentioned that this was Mr. Sand Covered Albino Formerly Green Peeps second voyage? Well, it was to be his last because

I'm melting..!...



So involved had we been trying to make sense of the mysteries of life that we didn't notice that conditions had changed over the course of our lunch hour. The seas had really picked up.



Beamish seas and then confused ones with refraction off the rocks as we rounded Andrews Point.

But then we had the wind more at our backs, and following seas swept us past Halibut Point



and then it got calm again.



Clouds had come out, and the water turned momentarily steely.



And then home.



Nothing not to like about the day, and if we had only been more successful at solving life's mysteries, it would have been a perfect one - well, but for the untimely death of the Peeps formerly known as Mr. Green Peeps. As it was, I think I speak for the four of us in saying that we were all glad that we'd put aside whatever other obligations we might have had to spend this lovely day on the water. Thanks to all.


pru

[rfolster]

A beautiful day on the New England coast. Thanks for the posting and prodding Pru.

[Inverseyourself]

Beautiful trip. Great report by Pru, as usual!

[Philip Anderson]

Looks like a great day on the water, really makes me wish I could have made it!