Westport River - 7/4/11

Trip reports that don't have a page dedicated to them.

Moderator: Chip

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

Westport River - 7/4/11

Post by norm »

This was another short notice trip that I posted with just a couple days notice. I needed to get 3 things repaired on my fiberglass boat and I've heard that Carl Ladd of Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures is very good, so I figured I'd drop off the boat and take a trip on the Westport River in my plastic boat. I didn't want to make the 40 mile drive just to drop off the boat when there's such a nice river to paddle right behind their shop.

Carl had the day off, but Brendan got started working on my boat between customers renting boats. It looked like it was going to another busy day for the rental business.

IMGP1302.JPG
IMGP1302.JPG (142.01 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


Jack Z. responded soon after I posted that he'd like to join me, so I waited for him to arrive and watched rental groups take off in tandems and singles.

We launched at about 10:15am. High tide would reach the top of the river where we were launching at about 1:00pm, so it was a little muddy at the put-in.

IMGP1305.JPG
IMGP1305.JPG (164.08 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


When the river started widening, we saw a lot of swans in a cove to our right. We didn't venture too close since they looked like they were resting. I counted more than twenty of them.

IMGP1310.JPG
IMGP1310.JPG (189.28 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


As we moved further down river, the wind seemed stronger and stronger. I expected less wind from the forecast, but at least we'd have a push on the way back. We weren't going to get any help from the tide - we went against it all day. The only place the tide seemed noticably against us was under Hix Bridge.

IMGP1323.JPG
IMGP1323.JPG (80.44 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


There is a boat ramp just below Hix Bridge but it is for residents only. There was plenty of traffic there today.

IMGP1327.JPG
IMGP1327.JPG (147.94 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


The island we had stopped at last fall with a group of nine paddlers was occupied by some day visitors.

IMGP1333.JPG
IMGP1333.JPG (112.94 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


There wasn't much beach room on any of the islands since it was now close to high tide. We found a little spot big enough for the two of us to stop for a quick lunch without bothering any of the others that looked like they were planning to spend the day.

IMGP1334_IMG_8612.JPG
IMGP1334_IMG_8612.JPG (143.45 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


After lunch we headed further south into a stiffening breeze that was starting to kick up little white-caps. I wanted to at least get down-river far enough to see the route 88 bridge and the huge island size boulders just before the bridge. I knew before we started it wasn't likely we'd make it all the way to the harbor since we were fighting both the tide and the wind.

We came across these confusing signs. Jack's interpretation was that you can shellfish anywhere except between the two signs.

IMGP1342.JPG
IMGP1342.JPG (118.37 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


I had to take a picture of this little cottage up on the hill.

IMGP1345.JPG
IMGP1345.JPG (72.65 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


According to the chart, the rock in this picture is Speaking Rock.

IMGP1359.JPG
IMGP1359.JPG (101.55 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


As we rounded the end of Gunning Island, Jack pointed to some birds. There were oyster catchers behind the gulls and cormorant.

IMGP1364.JPG
IMGP1364.JPG (138.46 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


I couldn't get in a good position to get a good shot of the oyster catchers before they took off.

IMGP1366.JPG
IMGP1366.JPG (73.89 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


Of course you can always spot some osprey on this river.

IMGP1374.JPG
IMGP1374.JPG (110.49 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


There was plenty of power boat traffic with a few towing tubes and water skiers.

IMGP1376.JPG
IMGP1376.JPG (121.86 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


When we got back and finished loading up our boats and gear, we headed across the street and had an ice cream cone for PPR.

Here is a topo map of the area with the track of our paddling trip highlighted on the East Branch of the Westport River.

Z_2011_0704_Kayak_Westport_River.JPG
Z_2011_0704_Kayak_Westport_River.JPG (191.22 KiB) Viewed 6206 times


A few stats from the trip:
We launched at about 10:15am and stopped for lunch at about 12:10pm after traveling 5.3 miles.
Our stop for lunch was about 20 minutes and we were on Upper Spectacle Island.
After lunch we continued south another 1.5 miles around Gunning Island before heading back up river non-stop.
Our total distance traveled was 13.1 miles.

Thanks for joining me Jack. It was a great day of paddling.

Norm
Jack Z
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:06 pm
Location: Scituate

Re: Westport River - 7/4/11

Post by Jack Z »

It was a very good trip with good weather and a fortunate wind to help disguise the heat and humidity level! First time I paddled this river in an area I wouldn't have normally thought to trek to. As some pictures show - the conditions weren't always "river-like" which was a plus. Although I'm not a bird-watcher, it was fun to see such a variety during one trip.

Thanks for initiating the trip Norm!
User avatar
kayakerjnj
Posts: 2720
Joined: Tue Apr 18, 2006 12:12 pm
Location: Randolph MA

Re: Westport River - 7/4/11

Post by kayakerjnj »

Always loved this trip! Thanks for sharing and taking great pictures!
Paddle with a big smile, its contagious 8)


Jordan
Post Reply