Powder Point to Gurnet Light - 7/2/11

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norm
Posts: 2126
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:13 pm
Location: Stoughton, MA

Powder Point to Gurnet Light - 7/2/11

Post by norm »

This trip was posted with just a couple days notice, but 3 people saw it in time and decided to join me. Audrey, Bob and Skip all arrived on time to the Powder Point Bridge. There were enough parking spaces for everybody, but things were filling up quickly as thousands of people streamed to the beaches by car and boat.

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We followed the bridge across as planned and paddled along the back of Duxbury Beach. I had expected more boat traffic in the channel but there was none yet. There was a steady stream of cars over the Powder Point Bridge with many heading out Gurnet Road.

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There were so many vehicles on the dirt road that they were stirring up a dust cloud.

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The cloud formations were a joy to look at all day.

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Clarks Island

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A house on Clarks Island with a copula shaped like a light house.

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We headed ashore at Saquish Head amongst the power boats to stretch our legs for a few minutes.

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Skip coasting ashore.

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Audrey

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For the dog lovers - an 8 year old dog digging in the soft, wet sand.

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As we left, more boats were arriving.

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Cottages amongst the dunes at Saquish Head.

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This one has a roof deck with comfy lounge chairs.

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Our first good look at our destination for the day as we round Saquish Head.

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Once we got around Saquish Head, we decided we could head straight across to Gurnet Point without having to hug the beach.

Bob and Skip.

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Audrey and Skip

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Houses on higher ground in the Fort Standish area.

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There were plenty of flags at the cottages along Saquish Neck.

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Audrey and Skip

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A power boat speeds by Gurnet Light.

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From a distance, you can see that Gurnet Lighthouse is up on a little hill.

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As you get closer, the houses on Gurnet Point start blocking the full view of the lighthouse.

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We gathered up for a moment and discussed whether to continue or stop now for lunch. We decided to head out around Gurnet Point while the conditions were good.

Skip and Bob.

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Only the top of the lighthouse was visible from this close to shore.

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The collapsing cliff at Gurnet Point. It looks like there are some old, round, brick pilings at the top of the cliff near the siren tower. I wonder if this is where the lighthouse was located before they moved it further inland.

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Audrey and Bob rounding the point.

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Audrey and Bob.

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Skip, Audrey and Bob.

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We went around the point far enough to look all the way down Duxbury Beach.

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We had reached our goal and surpassed my expectations for the day, making it this far out and around the point. We had earned our lunch and everyone was hungry by now.

As we headed back and looked for a nice beach to stop on, I noticed this house on the neck, just before the point, that looked like it had a 360 degree view from it's tower.

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We probably should have stopped sooner, but this nice house had a lot of empty beach space around it.

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Our chosen patch of empty white sand beach.

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Looking further down Saquish Neck, there were tons of people and 4 x 4's on the beach.

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Looking up the beach in the other direction, it seemed they wanted to stop vehicles from going further, but plenty went past the barriers today.

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Our lunchtime view.

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We could see many miles across to the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant.

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As we got back in our boats, this bird was not intimidated by us.

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Skip, with Saquish Neck in the background.

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Audrey, with Saquish Neck in the background.

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The clouds looked a little intimidating now and then.

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As we got back to Saquish Head, I tried to get a good picture of Bug Light, but it was too far away.

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The beach at Saquish Head was now packed with people.

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And a lot more boats.

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We gathered up again and decided to go back via the west side of Clarks Island. Everybody who has been out to Saquish Head will recognize this house on the south end of Clarks Island.

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Eider Ducks? Near the shore of Clarks Island.

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We headed straight back towards Powder Point. The power boat traffic seemed busy now in the channel near the back of Duxbury Beach and there was a little traffic in the main channel that heads to the yacht club in Duxbury. So, we split the difference and made our way directly to the take-out. The water was a little choppy and confused at times, but nothing seriously rough.

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I tried to get a shot of this passing bird and it came out pretty well. I think it is a Little Gull or Sabines Gull.

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I looked in towards the sailboats in Duxbury and wondered if Nelson was out in his sailboat today.

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Bob was the first one to get to the take-out. There was still traffic on the bridge, but not as heavy as it was in the morning. The tide had come and gone while we were paddling, so we drove our vehicles onto the beach to load our gear and boats.

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Here is a topo map of the route we covered.

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We paddled about 13.3 miles. We launched at 10:00am. We stopped for a stretch at about 11:20am and then stopped for lunch at about 1:10pm. Our lunch break was about 45 minutes. It was 6.8 miles by the route we took to reach the outside of Gurnet Point and then 6.5 miles to get back. We landed at the take-out at 3:50pm.

I failed to plan ahead for PPR, but it had been a long day, so I think everyone was just happy we had a good day and were ready to make the drive home for some well deserved rest. Personally, I took a nap when I got home.

Thanks Audrey, Bob and Skip for joining me on this trip. I had a great time. I did not think we'd be able to get out that far so I was very happy with our results.

Norm
NorwayLady
Posts: 1338
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:03 pm
Location: Marshfield, MA

Re: Powder Point to Gurnet Light - 7/2/11

Post by NorwayLady »

Looks like you had a great day on the water, guys! Thank you Norm for sharing it all with us! Keep the trip reports coming!
Bea
Proud foster mother of Athena (P&H Cetus LV turquoise-white)
Aquaholic
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:52 pm
Location: Norton

Re: Powder Point to Gurnet Light - 7/2/11

Post by Aquaholic »

Norm,

Good company, great weather and a picturesque route! Thanks for picking a near-perfect day for this trip. I enjoyed meeting Skip and paddling with you and Bob again.

Audrey
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