Joseph Berkovitz Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 (edited) Route: Pebble Beach/Rockport -> Loblolly Cove -> Thacher Island -> Milk Island -> returnPeople: Joe Berkovitz, Robert Levine, Beth Sangree, Prudence Baxter, Jane Cobb, Sue A. Hriciga, michael hazeltine, Elizabeth NeumeierLaunch: 10.20a; Land: 2.00pTides (Rockport Harbor): 8:17 AM Low -0.24 ft 2:33 PM High 8.54 ftDistance: 7 nmConditions: wind SSW 5-8 kt; humid; overcast becoming sunny; air 65-70 F, water 66 F, seas 2 ft @ 8 secGPS Track: https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/def494880cc1c93f1b9a98b09d12af24/?layer=gaianoaarnc Before this trip out of Pebble Beach began, the forecast was all over the place. The previous day had seen SSW winds in the 15-18 kt range and 4 foot seas off Cape Ann which were predicted to continue into today. So we had some expectations of changing the venue to Lanes Cove with its lack of southerly wind fetch; dumping 4-footers coming straight into Pebble Beach might have made for a nasty surf launch situation. But I stuck to the plan of at least meeting up at Pebble, so we could see what was actually going on before making the decision. Wise or not, this worked out well: conditions turned out to be very subdued, and continued that way all day. Pebble Beach is a very nice spot for a trip this size. We had 8 cars which maybe used about 70% of the non-resident parking. The beach is mostly small cobbles and steep in some parts, but there is a flatter sandy area that can also be used in less forgiving surf conditions. At launch time the picture was thus: At 10.20, with the water still pretty low but rising, we launched in small wind waves of about 1 ft. There was quite a bit of red seaweed in the water (although later there was to be much more). Our plan was to head north up the coast as far as Straitsmouth to check out an area which most of us had visited rarely, and in my case not at all. Then we expected to get out to Thacher for lunch. We headed up first along granite ledges into Loblolly Cove, which has a beach, and then up past Flat Point to Whale Cove which is just south of Straitsmouth. Along the way there were a couple of nice surfable ledge breaks plied by some of us. We arrived at Whale around 11.10; the sun had come out, the wind had dropped and it was looking like a really nice day. We decided we should use the benign conditions to get over to Thacher and enjoy it with a circumnav followed by a lunch stop. We headed back down the coast with a bit of a headwind, then crossed on an ESE course to Thacher via the channel markers. We arrived at 11.30 and Mike and Beth stopped for a quick break: From 11.40 to 12.10 we did a circumnav of Thacher, with a secondary mission of hunting down all landing spots no matter how sketchy. On the outside there was a lot of big, rough lumpy water and we found a couple of crazy tiny slot beaches that looked landable with the right conditions and water levels (neither of which applied at this particular moment). We continued around Thacher, where we were greeted by a posse of large seals (grays, perhaps) that cast a very dubious eye on our plan to visit the island: Arriving again at the ramp, we found it occupied by various humans, and a sign requesting that the ramp be kept clear. We opted to land at Milk Island instead to avoid both the company and the need to lug 8 kayaks around the ledges on Thacher. Across to Milk we went, landing around 12.30. Along the way our course followed an area of shoals that connects Thacher and Milk and there were a few good rides to be had in there. When I arrived in the small bay outside of Milk's beach, I noticed a strange, stationary rock-colored object sticking out of the water. I don't know why I didn't recognize it as a seal snout, but when I drifted up to it, it metamorphosed into a smallish harbor seal that was not at all happy at my proximity. It hooted three times and took off, but kept watching us for the next 45 minutes through lunch. We all then landed in some very scuzzy seaweed soup. Prudence tried to hail a taxi to get her off the beach and out of the slime: Post lunch, back to the ledges north of Pebble Beach to watch Bob exercise his haulout prowess and try to bang up his boat some more -- on this occasion, he may have failed to injure it further. Then we landed on Pebble around 2 pm in rather light surf but high water, putting us onto the steep cobbles. Some more seaweed soup immersion ensued except for Liz and me who elected to land a bit beyond the algae zone. A lovely day! Edited July 9, 2020 by Joseph Berkovitz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaneC Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 Great day, Great pictures, thanks Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 It was a wonderful day! Socially distanced boats...and a small cluster of masked but not so socially distanced NSPNers. The whole group passing Thatcher in the distance. Along the coastline after our turnaround point near Straitsmouth. Folks on the rocks envied us, I'm sure. Their little yippy dog...not so much. Starting the Thatcher circumnav. You can see the water was getting lively as Joe heads up a wave. Bob. Sue in the sporty distance. No good place for lunch on Thatcher, so we crossed over to Milk Island. Nasty red West-Beach-ish chopped up seaweed to get through before a nice socially distanced lunch. Seagulls at the spit at end of Milk. We crosssed back to the ledges along the short. It had gotten sportier since we passed that way in the other direction shortly after launching. Bob being Bob couldn't resist the opportunity to practice hauling himself out on the rocks. It wasn't easy but of course he succeeded. And then it was back to the seaweed soup beach, where a lot of work cleaning boats awaited us when we got home. I am really appreciating how even mostly trapped in MA as we are now, the lunch paddles have brought at least some of us to new stretches of the coast. Thanks to Bob and Joe for arranging! Prudence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mforti Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 (edited) Great write up and great pics! Prudence, your pics are always the highlight of any trip report you’re a part of. May I ask what you’re shooting with these days? Edited July 27, 2020 by Mforti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 On 7/26/2020 at 8:35 PM, Mforti said: Great write up and great pics! Prudence, your pics are always the highlight of any trip report you’re a part of. May I ask what you’re shooting with these days? What a nice comment! My old Olympus Tough TG 5 just bit the dust so this paddle was the first, I think, with my new TG6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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