Joseph Berkovitz Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 (edited) Route: West Beach, Beverly -> Ram I. -> House I. -> Little Misery I. -> Bowditch Ledge -> West Beach Conditions: air 48 F, water 50 F, wind E 10-15 kt, seas 4-5' @ 11 s Manchester Harbor tides: LT - 9.07a; HT - 2.51p People: Jeff Charette, Jim Snyder, Bob Levine, Joe Berkovitz (Thanks to Sue Morin for showing up and sending us off!) Planning: The initial idea of the group was to head east towards a potential lunch spot on Black Beach or Kettle Island, enjoying the cliffs and rock gardens along the way. 10.40a: We launched from West Beach in a light N wind that died out and immediately was replaced by a stiff E breeze. There were occasional bigger sets breaking in the surf zone but also many lulls, so not a difficult launch esp. with the long period between the waves. We crossed Manchester Bay in light wind shop to a protected pocket beach behind Ram Island for a quick bio and sunscreen break. Arriving at the mini-beach, we could see that the bay was protected by the Ram ledges at the present lower water level, and conditions outside were much bigger. 11.20a: Setting out from the little beach, we headed through one of the protected tidal channels to near the front of the ledges, to get a view of what was happening in the sound itself. We could see a lot of large waves breaking on the outermost ledges. Bob took a quick foray around to the front and came back, reporting that there were a lot of 4-footers out there plus substantial wind chop. At 11 seconds, these big waves were packing a huge punch. Heading east would be a sustained "conditions paddle" in substantial seas, perhaps with few or no nice landing opportunities. Relaxed rock gardening would not be on the menu. We decided to forego this, and head west to the Miseries as our Plan B lunch spot, knowing that we could probably land either in the Misery Gut or in Cocktail Cove on the inside of Great Miz. 11.30a: Crossing to House Island through the basin behind the outermost group of ledges between House and Ram. Occasional large swells were moving through this area, but we did not observe them breaking. Regrouping in a windbreak in back of House, we headed for the SE corner of Great Misery. Approaching Misery the swells picked up again; this area is always a kind of wave magnet, but they still weren't breaking so we kept on. More and more of a ferry angle was needed to counteract the wind and flood current as we approached the island. Eventually we arrived at the gut between Little and Great Misery, and a path down the middle seemed reasonably far from either rocks or breakers, so we took it as opposed to circling around both islands. Once through the gut, conditions all but vanished and by 12.00p we landed on Little Misery for lunch in a nicely sheltered spot: While on the island, we hiked to the amazing viewpoint on the other side to look around and think about what our next move might be. Bob suggested we find our way to the location of the now-destroyed Bowditch Ledge stone tower, to see if there was still a temporary marker there, or any sign of the ledge. The group liked this idea and we figured out back-bearings from the point to the nearest buoys, G "11" (50º M) and R "12" (340º M). The plan would be to paddle to G "11" and then continue for a few minutes on a 230º heading (50 + 180) until R "12" was at the proper angle. 1.00p: We paddled for about 15 minutes to G "11" where we stopped. Either the wind or current or both was drifting us pretty strongly. We backpaddled to the buoy to let a boat go by, then headed out on 230º. After only a minute or so we spotted a temporary white buoy in the place where Bowditch should be, and began just visually making our way to it. The buoy is remarkably modest in size for what amounts to a major underwater hazard to boats; at low tide, the ledge and the remains of the tower are right under the surface! We can only hope that some authority puts something more prominent in place before the season really gets going. Here's a blurry photo of the ledge trying to send us all to the bottom of Salem Sound: 1.30p: Headed home along the outside of both Miseries, plying the areas near the rocks but staying outside any breaking waves. The wind and the sea conditions had diminished compared to the morning. Lots of bumpy reflection-ridden water, and one or two nice deepwater surf rides. Finally back to Manchester Bay, and an easy landing in West Beach about 2.30p in pretty mild surf. What a nice Wednesday Lunch Paddle! Thanks to everyone who came out!!! Edited May 9, 2019 by Joseph Berkovitz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Snyder Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Great report, Joe. I especially liked our lunch spot and want to add these pictures of Misery Gut and the magnificent view from the south bluff of Little Misery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverseyourself Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Nice trip, guys. Wish I could've come. The pictures show the energy in the water, especially the last one. As usual, how pictures turn large waves into ripples!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Charette Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 It really was a fantastic day. Thanks to Joe for organizing, and thanks to Bob and Jim for contributing to a great outing. Andy, you're right about the true size of the waves being diminished in the pictures. With the exception of some occasion wind chop, it was mostly 4 -5 footers at 11 seconds. Lots of fun in deep water, but packing a big punch when the wave starts to break. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 And nobody searched for sea glass at your lunch spot! Well, that leaves more for the next time I’m there, so I guess a thank you is in order. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Berkovitz Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 Some unwarranted assumptions are being made here. Actually, I looked for glass. And there wasn’t much ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 11 hours ago, Joseph Berkovitz said: Some unwarranted assumptions are being made here. Actually, I looked for glass. And there wasn’t much ? You just needed a woman’s sharp eye to find ?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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