Little Orange Copter

Sceptical of the forecasted 4-6 foot waves from a westerly wind so close to shore, I did paddle out to Great Misery the day after Thanksgiving expecting to find a few club stalwarts there swapping leftovers. It was a beautiful sunny day with seas one-to-two feet and a steady 15 knot wind (occasional 25+ knot gusts forced me to dig in that paddle . . .). I landed at North Cove a little after 1pm and, with an apple pie in hand and a tuperware of sliced turkey in the other, I walked around the island looking for other NSPN paddlers. No takers at Wild Cove. No takers at South Beach. So much for the power of club traditions . . . .

By 2:30 pm I was preparing to leave when a small orange, unmarked helicopter (similar to the scout copters in the movie Apocalypse Now) arrived from Salem and circled three times. The helmeted pilot and passenger -- each pressed to the glass of their respective windows -- were apparently unimpressed by my casual "thumbs up" and "Ok" signs -- perhaps they didn't read well against the rocky beach background. Not until I threw open my arms in a great big "WHAT THE F**K DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" gesture did they finally wave and turn away to the north.

The paddle back was uneventful; the wind had dropped but the seas were up.

Anyone know the story of that little orange, mystery copter? It had no Coast Guard or commercial markings.

Scott Bruce

sof - yellow snow