Wed Lunch Paddle 5/26/21

[Joseph Berkovitz]

People: Karen Gladstone, David Mercer, Ben Rechel, Dana Sigall, Sandy Bouchard, Prudence Baxter, Sue Hriciga, Jane Cobb, Bob Levine, Joe Berkovitz
Route: Cedar Point (Great Bay, NH) -> General Sherman Bridge -> Goat Island -> Adams Point -> Cedar Point
Distance: 8+ nm
Launch: 11:00; Land: 14:40
Weather: air 80-85 F, winds 5 kt SW, sunny with cumulus clouds
Tides: HW around 14:00; max flood around 11:00 with currents 1-2 kt in most parts of the main channel but 5 kt near Dover Point

This was a summertime estuary paddle on the upper reaches of the Piscataqua/Great Bay system.

We started off from Cedar Point Parking Area which had more room to accommodate us than we expected. Right away we were greeted by the sight of a few breeding horseshoe crabs (see this post), excited by a spring full moon:

 

There is both a trail and a set of stairs down to a gravelly launch area. At low tide this may expose some nasty mud but at midtide around 11:00 it was fine. We had some back and forth about whether to take the flood straight down into Great Bay, or to first work the eddies up-current (downriver) and go towards the bridge to observe some big current. I had my doubts about these eddies but I turned out to be wrong, it was an easy and current-assisted paddle up to the bridge.

Once there, everyone had a chance to sit in the eddy and get right up to the swiftly moving water coming under the bridge. For some, it was an opportunity to experiment with getting out into current in a relatively safe environment.  Boat traffic was near-nonexistent and the current slows down considerably as the water moves away from the bridge into a broader channel.

From here we got out into the current and rode it swiftly back to Goat Island. The GPS track shows our course speed at about 7 knots at some points. The water did not appear rough, but the landscape was moving by abnormally fast! We stopped on Goat which makes for a serene and shady spot to take a nice break. Nearby are a couple of great spots for current practice which Bob and I hope to use for a future Skills Practice session.

Then we continued riding the current down to Adams Point Wildlife Management Area, a spot that Bob and I had scouted earlier in the day before coming to the put-in. A more perfect shady lunch spot would be hard to imagine.

Near Adams Point the breeding horseshoe crabs were especially numerous. There was one shady spot where you could just sit in your boat and watch the animals swim by in great numbers. After a great hangout session (during which a bee developed a friendly relationship with Jane that suddenly went bad) the tide turned and we rode the current back up to our put-in again.

Thanks everyone for making this such a lovely afternoon. Please add more pix and words!

[prudenceb]

Jie wants more pix.  Here's a few from our lovely day!

Heading to General Sullivan (not Sherman, Joe!) Bridge.

 

 

Joe looking a wee bit goofy in the hat department on Goat Island.

 

Jane chilling in her boat...

Adams Point lunch spot.  One of the nicest yet!

 

 

Prudence

Edited May 28, 2021 by prudenceb

[Joseph Berkovitz]

THANKS PRUDENCE ?