Now that you're all (the 3 of you who actually read this) probably getting bored of my posts, I've invited a guest blogger! I now present you with Jeff Buchman, kayaking partner for the weekend of 7/9-7/11 on our visit to Boothbay Harbor in Maine... Saturday morning we awoke to the sound of rain drops on the tent, but it turns out it was only large amounts of fog dripping off of the trees. Since it was predicted to thunderstorm, I was more than willing to deal with heavy fog since last time I checked no one was ever electrocuted by fog. When we arrived at the beach at Gray Homestead Oceanfront Camping (where we were camping), the fog was so thick that we couldn't see Squirrel Island, which is only about 1 mile offshore. As we were launching, the fog began to lift and a little bit of sun shined through the the clouds. The first part of the trip was against the tide toward the open Atlantic Ocean. While paddling against the tide is a bit more challenging, it is somewhat reassuring to know that if something goes wrong you won't be swept into the ocean. The wave height was probably 3-4 feet but... |
The paddle back to the campground at low tide was rather uneventful until we reached the take-out and decided to get out on the small floating dock. The combination of two sea kayaks, a steeply angled ramp, and a moving platform made getting the boat up to the beach a bit tricky so after maneuvering Nena’s boat up the ramp we decided it would be best if I paddled back to the beach. Our first day of paddling covered 13 miles and about 100 feet of swimming off the dock once we got back to the campground.
After paddling, we visited the lovely little town of Boothbay Harbor. In order to cure her headache (most likely caused by dehydration), Nena had some espresso and double chocolate gelato. I decided to go local and try the sea salt gelato; it was surprisingly good. We spent a few hours exploring the town before going back to camp to get ready for Sunday’s paddle. (see previous post)
~ Jeff
Distance: 13 miles
Time: ~4.5 hours (incl. lunch)