Great Bay 4/23

[cathyfoley]

Two of us launched from Chapman's Landing in the evening of 4/23. The weather was perfect..high 70's air temp, almost no wind and water temps well into the 50's in the river and the bay. We had the bay nearly to ourselves, passing only another rec paddler in his sit-on-top, and a small jon boat near the wildlife refuge.

With the advantage of an outgoing tide to start the trip, we did a very leisurely but quick 4.1 miles to Nannie Island. There were no signs of horseshoe crabs on the island, but we did see a large dead one in the water near it. It's probably still 4 weeks before the onslaught of the crabs in the bay.

After a brief stop on the island for a quick snack of energy bars and water, we made a beeline for the far shore as the sun was fading fairly fast. The paddle back was a bit more work as we we now going against the ebb. We stayed out of the main current and hugged the shoreline, observing a multitude of birds and one deer grazing on the banks just above the highwater mark. The sunset was a spectacular orange and dipped below the horizon just before we approached the Swamscott River RR bridge. Of course, neither of us brought a camera.

We finished the last 1.2 miles back in the twilight and darkness, guided by the lights of the bridge.