Lbeale Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Wind, Wind, Wind--Ice, Ice, Ice--paddling with current (smart move), nine paddlers seasoned (in more ways than one) dressed for immersion (another smart move)--Good company, funny stories, Freshettes Rock (ask Bettie)-- Thank you Sal for organizing this trip--and my thanks to everyone else on the water with me yesterday--I had a blast--next time, let's find some eagles-- les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatbossbsb Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 The sound of the wind woke me at 4:30am yesterday morning and I thought that the trip would not happen. The initial stretch from Salisbury (which is an awesome winter put in) into the river was choppy with a strong head wind but once in the narrower part, the wind dropped off to a light breeze which felt almost tropical. I giggled with delight at having the river completely free of boat traffic and the joy felt paddling in and around the floating ice. A large sheet of ice halted us short of the last island before the chain bridge and the ice pack under the 95 bridge. During our lunch break the tide turned and we watched a steady flow of large ice chunks race toward the ocean. I want a bumper sticker that says I break for floating ice chunks! The trip back was FAST being pushed out with the ebb tide and the last stretch over to the launch site was a rock and roll weather cocking ride with crashing waves over my beam and occasional surfing. Some girls want diamonds, others of us have simpler needs, lol! A day full of good memories. Thanks for posting the paddle Sal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 The sound of the wind woke me at 4:30am yesterday morning and I thought that the trip would not happen. The initial stretch from Salisbury (which is an awesome winter put in) into the river was choppy with a strong head wind but once in the narrower part, the wind dropped off to a light breeze which felt almost tropical. I giggled with delight at having the river completely free of boat traffic and the joy felt paddling in and around the floating ice. A large sheet of ice halted us short of the last island before the chain bridge and the ice pack under the 95 bridge. During our lunch break the tide turned and we watched a steady flow of large ice chunks race toward the ocean. I want a bumper sticker that says I break for floating ice chunks! The trip back was FAST being pushed out with the ebb tide and the last stretch over to the launch site was a rock and roll weather cocking ride with crashing waves over my beam and occasional surfing. Some girls want diamonds, others of us have simpler needs, lol! A day full of good memories. Thanks for posting the paddle Sal. I was curious how your paddle went. I wanted to join you but had paddled that area the day before and was in the mood for some open ocean. Our Portsmouth paddle (Pierces Island out to Wallis Sands and back) was interesting in that it was a struggle paddling the protected waters of Little Harbor: beam /front quarter winds, choppy wind waves & some tidal current made for a weathercocky ride , tiresome correcting strokes, edges, skegs, etc , but once we were outside the jetty, instead of the expected compounding difficulties, paddling actually became easier, and the swells & surf aided our progress. Also, winds seemed to diminish and temperatures rose as the afternoon progressed. By the late afternoon while we headed back we were purring with pleasure. I don’t recall that we saw another boat all day. Since we had a harder time in protected waters than exposed, I was thinking about you guys , wondering if conditions on the Mack were similar to Little Harbor. Glad things went well and that you had a good time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spuglisi Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 You're welcome Les and Betty. (Cheers! to girls with simple needs.) Thanks to everyone who showed up for making it a great day on the water. Thanks for thinking of us Peter. The lower Merrimack does get churned up on days like that and the ocean itself did look quite a bit calmer. But a good time was had by all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 It felt great to be back on the water after landlubbing it for 3 weeks. I posted some shots at the site below. Sorry I wasn't able to capture the rougher conditions but both hands were busy. Thank's Sal for the well planned trip. Doug http://pixel8er.shutterfly.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Yes it was a great day on the water. More Photos Bill H http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome...=2Act2jdmzbsmE8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spider Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Yes, nice to be out and about with friendly folks. Water was indeed a bit "bouncy" on the return. "...if not for the courage of the fearless crew(s)...the Minnow would be lost...." Interestingly after I left The boat ramp I went over to the main parking area where you can watch one of the Green Cans there in the channel. The current was swift when we took out, then I noticed it wasn't till about 4:30 that the ebb tide was burying the can underwater. That made the strongest current aprrox some 5 hrs after the tide turned, give ot take a little here and there. That might come in handy at a later date. Even at full ebb the river was running out to flat seas that day... kind of the opposite to what I first expected. Happy New Year! !...spdr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spuglisi Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Yes, nice to be out and about with friendly folks. Water was indeed a bit "bouncy" on the return. "...if not for the courage of the fearless crew(s)...the Minnow would be lost...." Interestingly after I left The boat ramp I went over to the main parking area where you can watch one of the Green Cans there in the channel. The current was swift when we took out, then I noticed it wasn't till about 4:30 that the ebb tide was burying the can underwater. That made the strongest current aprrox some 5 hrs after the tide turned, give ot take a little here and there. That might come in handy at a later date. Even at full ebb the river was running out to flat seas that day... kind of the opposite to what I first expected. Happy New Year! !...spdr Of course!!! that was you I saw sitting in the parking lot when I drove through to check what it looked like outside the mouth. I didn't recognize the vehicle and I couldn't see inside. The fact that the tide would be strongest 5 hours into the ebb would seem to defy the rule of twelfths....but that is just a rule of thumb. Having the river rougher than the open ocean was certainly opposite of what I would expect too. Possibly the wind, working against the broad (relatively) shallow bowl that is the lower Merrimack, coupled with the confused currents in that area? Does anyone have some insight to offer? Happy New Year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spider Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 We were very fortunate last week with the put in and beautiful weather. Here it is barely a week later and it was all iced in (1-4-09) even at high tide. Made me apppreciate last weeks good fortune all the more.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.