Today's Paddle

Anyone who's ever tied into a tarpon knows how impressive this is

http://www.grindtv.com/fishing/tarpon-catch-from-paddleboard-verified-in-photos/#JvDBFq3bgKZMZS3g.97

The vacation house we rented for the week here on Cape Cod comes with a canoe.  I guess you could just wheel it down to the beach (we're a couple houses back from one of the bay beaches) and paddle out into Cape Cod bay, but I think it's far more interesting to paddle one of the nearby inlets.  



This is the put-in on the Pamet River.  At this spot^^ it's just a narrow channel through high sea grass, but it soon opens up into a broad salt marsh.



It's about a two mile paddle out to Pamet Harbor, which opens to Cape Cod bay.  We launched an hour or so after high tide, so we got a nice boost as the tide started to run back out.  A 15' canoe can be a bit tight for a family of 4, so we pulled up on the beach part way out to stretch our legs.



I've paddled plenty of aluminum canoes over the years, and this one's particularly sweet.  It's a vintage Sears model, I'm guessing from the 70's, and with our full load it paddled like a tub.  SBR must be jealous.



After paddling across the harbor, we pulled up on a sand spit along a deserted stretch of beach to look for shells and take a quick dip.



We could have taken out at launch site in the harbor, but we decided to paddle back to our put-in spot.  This time we were fighting the outgoing tide.  The water level had dropped a good foot and a half, so you had to keep an eye out for shoals.  

Heading to one of the Atlantic beaches for the afternoon...

Adk Jeff wrote

I've paddled plenty of aluminum canoes over the years, and this one's particularly sweet.  It's a vintage Sears model, I'm guessing from the 70's, and with our full load it paddled like a tub.  SBR must be jealous.

Sometimes the best paddling experiences happen in whatever random watercraft you have available, looks like you had one of those days.

Aluminum canoes have a special place in my heart. They will outlast us all.

Nice photos from the adventure family, from the Cape, every year.

I too have the love (hate?) relationship with Aluminums. I grew up on Grumman, never saw a Sears.  Learned to paddle, became an instructor and a gunnel jumping champ on those beasts.  After owning a ultralight though I feel like a bit prisoned in any kind of canoe.

Jeff ...great report and pics ,we too love the Cape , its an annual trip we alao do some kayaking there on the Bass River and Herring River.......great place great seafood n chowdah too !!

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Aluminum canoes have a special place in my heart. They will outlast us all.

I learned to paddle in aluminum Grummans as a kid at Scout camp back in the 70s.  Nearly 40 years later those very same canoes are still in use.  A few replaced thwarts and some added seats, but the very same boats.

Merry Christmas from the Great not-so-white North.  45F here today, yesterday it was 55... WTF?    (Rhetorical WTF)

So TD reverted to SUPahD....

Look what's going to be under my feet come May... 17'-4" of double carbon beauty.. Stoked and frothing, I am...
With the Canadian Peso$ bottoming out, I though it best to invest in something material while I still can...looks like I'll be doing "staycations" for a while...

That's a beautiful bateau.

ml242 wrote

That's a beautiful bateau.

Lol, yeah 17 feet of SUP sure is not what some people think when you mention a SUP board.. It's a SIC downwind/open water board, with steering. That's key to success of long distance open water touring.. Same set up as a surf ski or outrigger canoe, it has a foot controlled fin (rudder?).

Do you need a captains license to sail that?...

Well that's certainly not a totally tongue in cheek rhetorical question.  
I guess a good analogy would be the bicycle one..this type of SUP board is to the standard surf/yoga/paddle off your dock board as a full suspension carbon fibre trail MTB is to a Utilitarian Mary Poppins Walmart city bike.

I'm even thinking of naming it.  Hana ka hoe, pa'a ka waha.   Hawaiian for "STFU and paddle".

No to be a dweeb TD, but what is the purpose of such a finely crafted vessel being made from carbon fiber?

I'm only a lowly canoe nerd, of which many of your Canadian brethren share the same affliction, and we tend to only be concerned with weight for portage (or carries as we call them in the Adirondacks).

I honestly love the feel of a nice heavy, finely built, fiberglass or wood canoe out on the water but refuse to lug one in between lakes and ponds when I am doing multi-day trips.

I also refuse to use carbon fiber boats for tripping because I don't feel they have the durability I desire.  I've settled on carbon/Kevlar/S glass composite because it gives the best of everything (carbon stiffness, Kevlar toughness, and S glass scuff resistance).

Weight (or lack thereof) stiffness, etc etc.   Actually this particular layup combines linear cf and biaxial cf, along with some s-glass and Innegra.  

SUPs are not really practical for tripping. That's what canoes are for.  Anyway, think along the lines of whitewater paddling park and play / shuttling.  It's a one day, or one hour, or anything in between, one body of water paddling craft.  This one is specifically designed for downwinding.  SUPs have evolved into niche functionality.
There are flat water race boards, surf boards, whitewater boards, yoga boards (wtf?) downwind boards,... Just like bicycles.  

Are you slightly confused or baffled or perhaps even ambivalent now?  Thought so.

Got out for a paddle the other day and convinced my drone owning son to buzz me and snap some pics... They turned out pretty nice, IMHO.  

I went for a paddle just north of Jay yesterday. It was like being in a long green bathtub for hours. The missiquoi is not the most mighty river but there aren't many better ways to spend a day with family.

Telemark Dave wrote

 It's a one day, or one hour, or anything in between, one body of water paddling craft.  

On one of the bays on Lake George that we anchor in, there's a SUP rental shop. They do well with the wind but returning against a good wind is tricky especially if it's any distance.  Some will sit down and paddle to cut the wind resistance.

Something I notice there, it seems there are far more girls SUP-ing than guys.

Any thoughts TD ?

Snowballs wrote

Telemark Dave wrote

 It's a one day, or one hour, or anything in between, one body of water paddling craft.  

Something I notice there, it seems there are far more girls SUP-ing than guys.

Any thoughts TD ?

Yeah I noticed that phenomenon.

i'm looking to kayak either Kayaderosseras Creek or Fish creek and head towards saratoga lake. does anyone know where i can put in with out time restrictions?

thanks