An unplanned paddle. Totally unplanned. I met Alison at the Kayak Centre (I had to pick up my boat, because I had some work done on it), and we hung around waiting for Ray to show up. When he showed up, we decided to paddle out of the Bay Campus at the University of Rhode Island. Nothing more specific than that.
So, we launched about 11:00 AM, and headed southeast across the west passage towards Beavertail Point. No big deal this day. Some big swells, and some breakers close in, but nothing major. We continued around the point, and found that the swells did not subside as we went into the east passage of the bay. We surfed along the shore to a small cove, where we stopped for a break and lunch. Well, I didn't bring anything, so water would have to do.
We launched again, and headed further up the east passage. Ray mentioned going into Mackerel Cove, and portaging across back to the west passage if anyone was tired. Well, we considered it, except for the fact that the lifeguards at the beach there make a federal case out of it. Nobody felt like arguing with a college age kid with a big ego, so we headed towards Fort Wetherill, because Alison's boat was starting taking on a little water, and she needed to pump out, and put some duct tape over where the water was coming in. Minor problem, but one that needed to be addressed.
Once we got to Fort Wetherill, Alison suggested we go to a dockside deli in the center of Jamestown. Great idea! I could use some food by this point. We had a sandwich, and went back to the beach and launched again. Decision time: It's roughly 22 miles to circumnavigate the island, we're already halfway around, and we still have to cross the west passage on top of it. Do we A) continue on around B) go back the way we came, or C) deal with portaging Mackerel Cove. Hmmmmm........I added that if we went all the way around, we could conserve energy for a while by surfing all the way to the northern tip of the island, and avoid the building seas around Beavertail. We decided to go for it. Besides, none of us had ever done the whole thing in one day before. I'm not sure why, it just never came up.
Now imagine this: You're happily surfing along in open water amongst the sailboats, when a squadron of F-18's buzz you, and then do a loop right over your head. The annual Air show at Quonset point was going on, and we were paddling right under part of the Blue Angels show. Very cool stuff. They went on for about a half hour, and we watched them as we paddled. By the time we got to the north end of the island, the show was over, and an armada of private boats was descending on our location. There was a small tide rip off the point that was being amplified by all the boat wakes. I just had to do it; I headed into the surf zone for a little fun. I paddled the length of the point parallel to the waves, and got washed over several times. At least I didn't capsize. Too rocky there to consider going over.
Once we rounded the point, we were 2/3 of the way. Now comes the hard part; we're just slightly tired, and we have an onshore breeze and an incoming tide to paddle against the rest of the way. Actually, it wasn't all that bad if you kept a steady cadence. We crossed the passage at an angle, and came to the Jamestown bridge on the mainland end. Now we could see the launch, only 2 miles away. We all took different angles of attack; Alison tried to take advantage of shore eddies, and paddled right on shore. I took a direct bearing on the launch, and Ray went into the middle of the bay, and swept in. Funny thing was, we all got there about the same time. My longest paddle of the season so far. I'll definitely do this one again.
We ended the day with a dock-side beer in Wickford, watching the sailboats come in for the night.
This paddle has become a yearly event for both ConnYak and RICKA as a joint trip. It always seems to be eventful: