4th Annual Boston Inner Harbor New Year's Day Paddle - January 1, 2024

[prudenceb]

Fifteen of us celebrated the New Year with the now traditional paddle in Boston Inner Harbor.  We gathered at the Little Mystic all season boat ramp in Charlestown, posed for a photo, then launched under cloudier-than-forecast skies 

 

We paddled out under the Tobin Bridge,

then paddled along the many piers lining the harbor.  Seems every time I've done this paddle, there's been the same very large catamaran boat docked.  Always thought…What would it be like to paddle under it….but never did.  Until this time, where the likelihood of an unexpected launch seemed pretty low. 
 

The view from inside…

We then had the opportunity to address, if not ultimately answer, the burning question: How many kayaks long is the USS Cassin Young?

 

After a cold stop for a quick lunch in Fort Point Channel, where most of us stayed in our boats  in a largely futile attempt to stay at least marginally warmer, we kept on to the Institute of Contemporary Arts, where we gathered up for a two pod crossing of the harbor over to the Nantucket Lightship in East Boston.

 

Finally, we paddled along the increasingly gentrified shore of East Boston, which does feature the best views of downtown Boston across the water

until we crossed over again and headed back down the Little Mystic to where we'd started.

It was a beautiful, if colder than a number of us had anticipated, day.  But the sky finally cleared after lunch and those of us who'd been cold warmed up and probably could have continued on longer than we did.

Many thanks to David, Joe, Bill, Mike, Janet, Stephanie, Jeff, Nick, Ali, John, Barb, Diane, Jane, Eran, and Ricardo for a really fun start to 2024!

 

Prudence

Edited January 2 by prudenceb

[Ricardo Caivano]

It was a beautiful day and a great paddle. Thank you Prudence for organizing. Nice pics too.