Plymouth Beach Circumnavigation, August 8, 2010

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norm
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Plymouth Beach Circumnavigation, August 8, 2010

Post by norm »

This trip was organized by Deb but I offered to write up a trip report so I could share a bunch of photos. Thanks Deb.

Deb proposed this Sunday trip on Wednesday morning and got a few tentative responses because many people had plans for strenuous paddling on Saturday. Deb really wanted to go on the Weepecket Island trip Saturday but had to work. It turned out that 3 from the Saturday trip still had the energy to join Deb on the Sunday trip. And a few others joined at the last minute for a total of seven of us...a good number for an open water trip. The plan was to head out from Stephens Field, around Plymouth Beach and straight across Plymouth Bay around the point to White Horse Beach, then return with the wind at our backs.

The forecast I saw in the morning made it sound like the first half would be fairly easy and then the wind would pick up in the afternoon and help us on the return trip. It didn't turn out that way but we still had a great time. We met a new member at the Stephens Field put-in, Jim, and each made our introductions. We all got our boats ready to launch pretty close to the target launch time of 9:30.

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Looking north across Plymouth Harbor to the Myles Standish monument in Duxbury. The water seemed fairly calm in the harbor but the breeze was a little stronger than I expected for the beginning of the trip.

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We headed straight out from Stephens Field to the inside of Plymouth Beach and hugged the shore to stay out of the boat traffic in the main channel. The wind was pushing us directly from behind at first and Jim decided to try out his new sailing rig just as we were about to turn. He used it for a few minutes but I didn't have time to get out my camera to get a picture before he had to take it down. It seemed to work pretty well for him.

At the end of Plymouth Beach we got a little respite from the wind as we turned out into Plymouth Bay. It had been a mile across Plymouth Harbor with the wind directly from behind and then a mile out to the end of the beach with the wind over the rear port quarter. As we rounded the the end of the beach, we were shaded from the wind for a moment and there was an opportunity to grab a sip of water and take a few pictures of Bug Light with Clark Island in the background.

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The end of the the beach doesn't get much 4x4 or foot traffic but it gets plenty of bird traffic. This picture doesn't do justice for how many birds there are out there or how loud they are as they buzz around. Its interesting to watch the terns dive bomb straight down into the water for fish and then seemingly come back out flying. Much different than the sea birds that we get used to seeing swim around and then dive for fish.

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We turned east southeast to head across Plymouth Bay for the long, 4 mile leg of the trip toward Rocky Point. Beyond that, it would be another 2 miles to reach the center of White Horse Beach.

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The wind seemed to pick up more and more as we got further offshore. It was now pushing us out to sea. The waves were not too bad at first but progress was difficult. Deb was wearing her marine radio and I believe she checked the weather forecast and heard that it had changed for the worse. We had spread out a little and couldn't communicate easily but eventually we all realized that the trip plan was going to have to change. Before we even passed the word around to everyone, the group had instinctively turned directly into the wind and headed for shore. Our target was a blue wall. Originally we thought it was a tent from a mile and a half out, but eventually we found out it was the restroom walls beside Sandy's Snack Bar on Plymouth Beach. It seemed to take forever to cover that mile and a half, but Lora took the lead and chose a section of beach away from the swimmers and lifeguards.

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We pulled the boats up on the beach and sat and ate our lunches and snacks. We had covered 5.6 miles but in our looping circle, we were only 1.4 miles from our starting point according to the GPS.

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After some relaxation, I started scheming for a way to avoid the long paddle back the way we had just come from. Looking north across 4 miles of Plymouth Bay to Gurnet Light,, it didn't look all that bad.

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Looking east across Warren Cove to Rocky Point it looked even calmer.

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But I was tired after a month layoff from long ocean trips and from doing a 12 mile trip to the Weepeckets the day before, so I wanted an easy way out. It's not like we were out in the boonies. Looking down the sea wall toward Sandy's, there was obviously a parking lot nearby.

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Looking up the road toward the end of the Plymouth Beach peninsula, there was a steady flow of 4x4 traffic. It also looked like there might be a break in the "restricted" beach grass areas, where a portage could be made to cross to the bay side of the beach. So, before everybody started thinking about getting back into the boats, I took a quick scouting trip across the sea wall and up the road a few hundred yards and found there was a clear opening we could use.

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I went back and found that everyone was still relaxing. I shared my plan to portage across to the bay and found that Lora and Deb wanted to join me. Bea, Bob, Jim and Barb would head back around the beach, hugging the shore this time to stay out of the wind as long as possible.

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The hardest part of the portage was getting the boats over the sea wall. I emptied all the junk I carry in my boat to lighten the load and then with Bea's help, Lora, Deb and I got our boats and gear over the wall. Bea had to go back and join the others that were now ready to head back into the water, while Deb, Lora and I helped each other carry the boats up the sandy road a few hundred yards to the opening to the bay. We found a nice sandy spot to slip our boats back into the water.

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On the way back in the bay, Lora and I hugged the shore and took pictures of birds.

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We saw this Great Egret in the tall grass and worked our way closer for better pictures.

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When we got back to Stephens Field, Deb had already arrived and was out of her boat chatting with Alice who had spent the day at the beach. Lora and I had noticed how close we were to the Mayflower and asked if they minded if we headed over there for the annual look at the boats and Plymouth Rock. Deb was not interested in joining us so we said goodbye. I had noticed a person in a yellow kayak had just left Stephens Field headed toward the Mayflower and she looked familiar. We eventually chased her down and found that it was Cindy.

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We went over and took some pictures of the Mayflower and the other Pilgrim boats.

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Cindy joined us for the rest of the day's adventures.

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When paddling in this harbor, you gotta take a picture of The Rock.

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When Lora Cindy and I returned to Stephens Field, Deb had already left. The tide had gone out quite a bit so we drove our vehicles out onto the beach to load our boats onto them. By the time they were loaded, we looked out into the bay and could see Bea, Bob, Barb and Jim returning. We got our vehicles off the beach and helped the other four load up their boats.

Since our paddle had been cut short by the heavy winds, there was plenty of time for PPR! And we had a "local", Cindy, to help us pick out a place to go. Cindy gave us plenty of choices. Our decision was made easier when we learned that Bea had lost her eye-glasses on the beach at lunch time when her hat had blown off her boat with her glasses inside while she was out swimming. Cindy told us that Sandy's Snack Bar was right near where we needed to go and was only a couple mile's drive. Bob had other things to do, so we said good-bye to him. The rest of us got into our cars and followed Cindy to Plymouth Beach. We managed to enter the parking lot without paying the $10 parking fee by telling the guard that we were just going to Sandy's Snack Bar for a little while. Before we had PPR, we went back to the beach and found the spot where we had been for lunch. We searched for Bea's glasses and had just about given up when she found them near some sea-weed. We shared lost and found stories while walking back to Sandy's. When we got there, we found a very good selection of food, drinks and ice cream. I think most of us chose ice cream. We hung around for quite a while and had a good time chatting. Lora had some giant sunglasses and got some of us to try them on while she took pictures. I had forgotten to grab my camera when I parked, so you'll have to "friend" Lora on Facebook to see all the evidence of the PPR good times. But since the camera was in Lora's hands, nobody got a picture of her interesting T-shirt. I'm sure she'll wear it again and I'll get a shot next time.

Here is a topo map that includes a wide view of the area and our route highlighted in the middle.

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Thanks Deb for proposing this trip and letting me write up a trip report. We all had a good time. Sorry you missed the PPR fun.

If anybody else wants to show their pictures on the WTP website, just shrink them to 800 x 600 resolution and then zip them up into a file and send them to Pat in an email with a note on what they are. Pat will make them into a gallery and then I can go back and add a link to the gallery from this trip report.

Thanks for a fun Sunday everyone!

Norm
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Birdseye
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Re: Plymouth Beach Circumnavigation, August 8, 2010

Post by Birdseye »

Great report Norm. If I had known you liked doing trip reports so much I would have let you do mine :wink:
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Re: Plymouth Beach Circumnavigation, August 8, 2010

Post by ddempesy »

Thanks Norm !!!!
Love your pix !
Deb
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Re: Plymouth Beach Circumnavigation, August 8, 2010

Post by kayakerjnj »

Great report, and another great album of photos!

Thanks for sharing!
Paddle with a big smile, its contagious 8)


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Re: Plymouth Beach Circumnavigation, August 8, 2010

Post by Beanboy »

Good stuff!
-B
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Re: Plymouth Beach Circumnavigation, August 8, 2010

Post by Kayak widow »

Thanks to Norm for another beautifully written and illustrated trip report, and to Deb for planning this trip. Other "kayak widows" may enjoy this wonderful location as much as I did if they wish to accompany their paddlers for an adventure on dry land, and here's why:

Some locations where I tag along are "no day at the beach", but this was a prime example of one that most definitely was a very nice day at the beach, and more! As soon as the kayakers paddled away, I set out to check out my surroundings. I had a wonderful time chatting with the owner of the small (but exceptional) snack shack at Stephens Field, and a dog walker who had just returned from a nearby historic grist mill with her canine friend (they stopped for a bowl of water at the snack shack). So at the recommendation of both Deb, and again in my conversation with these other interesting locals, my parasol and I headed out for our morning walk to Plymouth, which was the perfect distance away. They had all recommended the Blue Blinds Bakery, which is certainly an interesting place on many levels, including offerings of whole grain products with ingredients I don't find many places, like spelt flour. I wasn't hungry yet, but from the descriptions I had heard, I had to stop and check this bakery out, and will definitely go again to make a purchase on another day.

I continued walking around Plymouth for a total of nearly an hour (my usual walk is about 1/2 hour, so this was great!), finding myself waaaay up on a hill directly behind Plymouth Rock. If I had a camera with me, I could have gotten the reverse of Norm's picture of the rock, from far above. To get back down the hill I went down a small street to a lovely park at the herring run, where guests seemed to be gathering for a wedding. It was tempting to sit on one of the many benches off to the side to watch, but more tempting to get back to the beach for a swim.

The water was refreshingly cool, just the way I like it, and this location had all that I needed: a shady spot for my chair, a bathroom, and the snack shack that is called "side dish", according to the card the owner gave me. (There were also tennis courts and grassy areas/sports fields, for the more athletically inclined.) Though I had brought a sandwich on ice for lunch, I wanted to support this snack shack at Stephens Field when lunchtime came, especially since the owner had told me the lobsters she would use in that day's lobster rolls were harvested from the bay that morning! They had other interesting items such as a "Edamame Dearest Salad Plate" which includes hummus, and a "nut bag" made from a great assortment of nuts and seeds (bound together with local organic maple syrup and a bit of spicy seasoning to give it an interesting kick, but not so much as to be overpowering). If I had a child with me, I'm sure s/he would have enjoyed the Fenway Frank that came with chips and a drink for $3, or some other interesting offering, as there were several. This was a clever place that has only been there for a few months, but whose offerings have been available at the local farmer's market for several years. The snack shack's menu makes full use of other vegetarian, local, and organic ingredients as well, and the prices are quite fair. I chose the extremely fresh lobster roll, and when I saw (smelled) the lobster bisque I had to get one to go for the next day's lunch, and a nut bag for later. Previously, there was only ONE place in Seabrook, N.H. whose lobster bisque I like. They now have competition, as the "side dish" lobster bisque was as good or perhaps better.

Of course, just as I got my food, Lora and Norm pulled onto the beach, so I thought my timing was off. But they headed over to the Mayflower on their side trip, so I had another swim and my lobster roll (which came with chips) and enjoyed the shady beach spot for awhile longer. I had brought my Sunday paper and a few lottery tickets I had purchased with the paper (I even won $100 on one of the lottery tickets; truly this was "a day at the beach", as the saying goes! : -)

I highly recommend tagging along to this spot if/when the Turkeys paddle there again, and I may just have to go back again even without them! There was one family enjoying the area, too, and plenty of interesting boaters and fishermen to watch. It was a great place, and I would welcome other "kayak widows" to join me next time, though I had a great time on my own as well. :D
Like a "football widow", I lose my spouse to kayaking for some part of pretty much every weekend :-)
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