"Circumnavigating" Great Bay, NH, April 13, 2014

[Jonathan Z]

Saturday (April 12) was sunny and warm for shorts and T-shirts, and the forecast showed a temperature of 60s on the second day. It added enthusiasm to our Gang of Four, planning a trip to circumnavigate Great Bay, NH. We had a detailed float plan, and an onshore participant for emergency contact. Our enemy could be the flood current at the Furber Strait, the ebb current at the entrance of the Squamscott river, a gust of 15 mile/hour, and inexperience around this area.

Mother Nature gave us another lesson that she is not that predictable. A shower started in the morning as we were on the way to the launching point at the Adams Point. The Water temperature was lower 40s, and the air temperature was about upper 40s. Chilled and soaked with the rain and wind, we heisted to put the kayaks into the gloomy water. While everyone has their wetsuits, one of us took flip-flops to fight against the weather (he then solved the problem by wrapping two garbage bags on his feet!).

We waited until the rain ceased, and the wind dropped to 5 mile/hour, form my unseasoned evaluation. It was 11:40 AM, one hour before the Furber Start we were facing reached its slack water at 12:49 PM.

We paddled south 1000 feet to the South of the Adams Point, then crossed the Furber Straight to the Thomas Point at the Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge (0.5 mile). The rocks are pretty squared and sharp along the Point. We continued to the south for another 0.8 mile, and landed at the Woodman Point. We spent an hour here for a lunch to get some energy to the cold and damp.

Then we circled the Nannie Island—just a few trees above the bushes on a patch of rocks and earth. As we paddled closer, a snowy owl took off silently heading to the west. It could be the last time we saw a snowy owl in this season, as it will migrate up north as weather getting warmer.

The next one mile on open water was from the Nannie Island to the Fabyan Point. Then we traveled along the bay shore to the Pierce Point. Many cormorants were resting with a few nests on the rocks. The breeding season was coming soon. On the trees on the shore, we spotted a few bald eagles, and some birds of prey looked like ospreys. The Winnecut River at the Southeast point of the bay was crossed calmly. Flocks of grants and Canada geese were observed here.

After a two-mile paddling from the Pierce Point, we reached the entrance of the Squamscott River at 3: 30 PM. The ca. 1.5-mile-wide river entrance is needed to be paid a lot attention to. The ebb current would reach its highest speed at Great Bay entrance at 3:50 PM, indicating a strong current may push us to the direction of the Furber Straight two miles away from here. The confluence of the Squamscott River and Lamprey River could make the current more complicated at the middle of the entrance. Our plan was to paddle along the river bank to observe the current before making a decision to cross the river. During the crossing, we would paddle close and act as a team.

As we were back to the water and paddled into the river, one of our members at the sweep position did feel a current pushing him to the open water. Then he decided to follow the current without notifying us. When the rest of us noticed, he was about 800 feet away from us. Three of us found the current was not strong and controllable, then we carefully followed him. It took us about 25 minutes to cross the entrance of the two rivers.

The rest of trip was a 3-mile trip along the west coast. As we were a little tired on the cold water, the ebb current made the paddling back north much easier. A clear sky and a late-afternoon sun added a happy ending for the 5-hour and 12-mile adventure on Great Bay.

Edited April 15, 2014 by Jonathan Zhang

[...]

Jonathan,

Thank you for a great trip report. Although I drive by Great Bay on my way to work each day, I have never paddled those waters. Knowing there could be a bald eagle sighting, makes me want to recreate your journey.

Warren

[Jonathan Z]

Jonathan,

Thank you for a great trip report. Although I drive by Great Bay on my way to work each day, I have never paddled those waters. Knowing there could be a bald eagle sighting, makes me want to recreate your journey.

Warren

Thanks, Warren! There were a few bald eagles hovering around at the southeast corner of the bay. There were also a few birds of prey looks like ospreys there. After the trip, we met a lady who has heard about the snowy owl but never had a chance to spot it.

Jonathan