Solo Circumnavigation of Salem Sound

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

Well, I had to stay close to home today and Gillian was in a paddle/beach mood, so she went on the Brackenbury Cove trip, which from her description was thoroughly enjoyable. As for me, I'm not much for staying in one place too long, so I paddled with the group until they reached the cove and then struck out on my own. With no real plan, I headed down the coast towards Gloucester hoping to find rocks, etc. Perhaps I didn't wait long enough, but I didn't find anything of great interest and instead headed over to Great Misery for lunch. At that point, I was indecisive as to whether I wanted to cross back over or continue along with an island hop. I realzed I had never tested my Avocet's capacity for distance so I opted to circumnavigate Salem Sound. Hopping from one island to the next and avoiding the ridiculous amount of traffic on the water today, I found islands and some small rock gardens, but the conditions were not too exciting by the by. It was peaceful to be out there alone, accompanied at times only by silent sail boats and resting birds. Overall, except for seeing the normal amount of less-than-bright boaters, including kayakers without pfds, and a dory unmoored floating in the channel as the owner tries to see if the boat would be a good camper craft while motorboats power by at full throttle (I pointed out he was in the channel when I went to check on him and his response was "Really?"). I finally stopped to stretch my legs at the Willows and tried to find the Brackenbury Cove trip; however, in hindsight it looks like I missed them while they were stopping for ice cream at Lynch Park (lucky buggers . Since I couldn't find them, I retraced my steps back to the Obear put in. Great paddling overall. Estimate of route and mileage:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=284685