brwells Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 This was a paddle I have been looking forward to since taking up kayaking in August. I lived in Newburyport for over 20 years and just bought a house near Rock's Village, so it seemed a bit symbolic to paddle (ok, a bit of a stretch to look for some "meaning" behind this paddle, but this was one of the things I most wanted to do in a kayak since I lived a block from the Merrimack all these years without ever having been on the water.) So, for once, I woke up with no worries, no trepidation regarding a paddle. A river! I've seen it for half my life, looks like a nice calm paddle; very different than those ocean paddles, what with the waves, current, tides, and occasional boats. Four of us (Joan, Kevin, Gillian, me) met at the Black Cow at 10. We noted that high tide is two hours away and that should give us enough time to go most of the way to Rock's Village. Nice easy paddle. Or so it seemed for the first 50 yards... The tidal range in Newburyport is almost 10 feet; moving that amount of water in a river makes for a very quick current. Leaving the launch and entering the current just past the Black Cow was, to me, what it must be like when the handler in a rodeo lets go of the bull you have strapped yourself onto: calm and then all hell breaks loose. Kevin calmly explained that we must paddle very hard to avoid being swept into the docks, but try to avoid the large pleasure craft coming our way. Let's see: dock or just miss the boat?? And if that goes well, you immediately have to go under the two bridges (eddies, more docks, more boats). Well, it was clear what to do (no, not turn around and then put the kayak up for sale, but that did cross my mind once or twice) and before one knew it, the bridges, traffic and docks were behind us. However, at this point "us" was Gillian and me. Kevin and Joan were back at the docks into which Joan did get swept. Joan decided that the conditions were a bit too much (if I was able to paddle back I might have joined you Joan!) We missed your company the rest of the day... We explored the marshes north of Carr Island (never even knew these existed) and then hugged the shore as best as possible to avoid the heavy current, chop, and boat traffic in the main channel. Near Point Shore in Amesbury, Doug paddled out and joined us. The eddies around the numerous rocks and bridges was quite "interesting". Now understanding how to control the kayak in waves and some current I felt more comfortable than two weeks ago (when will I ever stop saying that?) But then something new would occur - heavy changes in current, wind, boat wake, etc. that told me the bull still had some fight left. We made it to the East River in West Newbury where we got out to stretch and eat. During this time the tides switched and it was fascinating to see the current change under the small bridge we stood on to eat. The current formed whirlpools and was quite fast directly under the bridge. So, of course, Kevin started salivating at the opportunity to play. The three of them did so, while I watched (I know SOME of my limits.) Lots of yippees. The way back had the tidal current with us but the wind against us. Hence higher chop, and the bull was back and really angry now. We crossed the channel twice, once near the Rt 95 bridge where the currents were very confused (or was that me?), the eddy line was extremely pronounced yet not obvious (!?) and the boats travelled fairly quickly. It was here that I almost capsized except for my heroic (my word, not anyone else's) hand brace. (yeah, look it up...) We still had to cross the river to get back to the launch site, but it was not clear that we would be able to cross the river, avoid the numerous docks and boats, and then be able to make a quick right turn into the launch with the strong current. Accroding to my GPS, we were moving at 6 MPH at this point. Kevin was ready to have us just float down to Joppa Flats for an easy landing (yeah, but the half mile walk back would have been fun.) This was enough motivation to get it right, which we all did. A most challenging paddle to this newcomer (am I the only one in NSPN?), but again have learned much from experiencing new conditions. What bothered me weeks ago are no longer a worry, and someday the currents, tides, and boats in the river will hopefully be simply challenges. As many have said, just get out there and paddle. Gillian looked and did great in her new Explorer (while even admitting a bit of anxiety with current, but you would not know it from her paddling), Kevin was very impressive with his knowledge of the river and his boat control. Doug left at Amesbury, but did whet my appetite for a paddle down the Powwow River. I can't wait to get back into the calmer ocean and avoid all the tides, waves, currents, and boats. See the four photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/brian_wells/ And the rumors regarding Kevin's new skirt were all wrong. It was not pink. It is not clear, however, whether there is or is not a goat in the apartment. Brian P&H Capella 163 Red/White/Black trim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin B (RPS Coach) Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Brian, Wonderful trip report, complete with tales of self discovery. You and Gilly, both relatively new to current, did fabulously. I'm still quite impressed with your hand brace and her paddling against the 3 knot current. The both of you have that wonderful "oh let 's give a try" attitude that making paddling with the both of you such a delight. The Merrimack is not a river to take lightly, as your mph calculation shows, but she's a beautiful place to paddle and try out techniques to use with current. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brwells Posted October 9, 2006 Author Share Posted October 9, 2006 Thanks, Kevin. Today I hiked over to the bridge where we stopped. I hit it around 2 PM so the tide was going out, and boy was the current strong. I had no way to measure it, but it certainly looked at least twice as fast as when you played in it yesterday. It did not look easy or maybe even possible to paddle into the lagoon under the bridge. It looked as though the lagoon would be drained in a few minutes, but I bushwacked around it, found the feeder stream and made a nice discovery: the pond I call my "personal pond" for practicing (Mill Pond in West Newbury) is the source of the water. Another connection made that defined for me a great paddle. Brian P&H Capella 163 Red/White/Black trim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillian Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Brian, by the way, thank you for your kindness in calling my response to the big MAC "anxiety" - let's be honest this river makes me weep every time I'm on it - literally. Current is the scariest thing out there to me because you simply don't have control . . . . my first time in a sea kayak (the eclipse!) was almost a year ago to the day and Kevin had to tow me, ummmm kev was it 4 times?? across the god forsaken river . . . I'm always apprehensive on the Mac but this was my first time since that trip on the river with the current. The difference this time is that even though I was still weeping, I stuck with it, had control of my boat, had enough strength to keep paddling, and once we crossed the first time, relaxed and had a great time. Kayaking always reveals something personal about yourself that you didn't realize . . . swells, wind, slop, rocks are all fun (for the most part) but current has made me face what happens when I don't have control anymore . . . what I hope I will eventually learn is to live with letting go, letting the river have the power and using my skills to work with it . . .this is a lesson that is evident in kayaking but also in my life as well . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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