The original plan was to paddle from Sesuit harbor in Dennis to the Sandwich end of the Cape Cod Canal, a distance of around 18 miles, to complete the Bay side of the big Cape Cod trip. The weather forecast kept changing a little but it was generally light winds. Norm, Bea, Jordan, Sue and I decided to ignore the end of daylight savings so we would not lose the hour, in case the paddle took longer than expected. we transferred all the kayaks to my truck and drove to Dennis.
We finally launched at 10am and paddled out of the harbor and into the bay. It was a beautiful sunny day but the wind was more from the W than the forecast SW, in other words we were heading straight into it. At the mouth of Barnstable Harbor, the current was flowing out and the waves were beginning to build a little. The further along we got, the larger the waves got and the more the wind seemed to pick up. We got past the harbor entrance and were quite aways offshore so we started to head in. We were a little spread out at this point but everyone seemed to get the idea that it was time for a break. It took forever to finally make it to the beach on Sandy Neck and when we landed we decided to make it a lunch stop. I checked my GPS and found that our average speed was only 2.6kts and we had only travelled 7 miles or so and still had 11 to go. The smokestack at the Power Plant at the end of the canal looked like a toothpick on the horizon. The wind was still blowing and if we were going to continue it was going to be a long hard slog.
A decision was made and we agreed to head back to Sesuit harbor and try again another day. The plus side was that the waves we had slogged against now provided some fab surfing all the way back to the launch. I was definitely having a lot more fun heading back!!
Back in Sandwich we had PPR at Seafood Sams on the canal.
Unfortunately I have no pictures but someone else probably has!
We still managed 15 miles paddling. Good to still be out in November enjoying the water.
Thanks to everyone for making the trip down.
Briggsy
Defeat at Sandy Neck. Sun 6th Nov 2011
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Re: Defeat at Sandy Neck. Sun 6th Nov 2011
Loading up the Briggsy-mobile before heading from Sandwich to Sesuit harbor:
All boats lined up nicely at the put in
All of us dressed in cold water gear. The calendar says Nov 6!
Norm, Jordan and Briggsy heading out Sesuit Harbor
Cape Cod Bay straight ahead after the breakwater
We got spread out due to wind and current. You can barely see Jordan and Sue in the glare from the sun
Jordan all powered up, but Sue manage to keep up with him!
The view from Sandy Neck looking back towards Sesuit harbor. Looks pretty tame to me, but it is not!!!
Dog walkers enjoying the beautiful day on Sandy Neck
Getting ready to turn around after brainstorming wind conditions and GPS stats
This section of Sandy Neck surprisingly rocky at low tide so we help eachother with the boats
Briggys and Norm with wind and waves at their backs
Sue being new to seakayaking is managing the conditions really well
Heading back to the put in at low tide
Back at Sesuit Harbor.
Awesome day of the water. A huge thank you to Briggsy for good decission making skills. We got the best of both worlds, solid paddling out the Sandy Neck and a joyride back!
Bea
All boats lined up nicely at the put in
All of us dressed in cold water gear. The calendar says Nov 6!
Norm, Jordan and Briggsy heading out Sesuit Harbor
Cape Cod Bay straight ahead after the breakwater
We got spread out due to wind and current. You can barely see Jordan and Sue in the glare from the sun
Jordan all powered up, but Sue manage to keep up with him!
The view from Sandy Neck looking back towards Sesuit harbor. Looks pretty tame to me, but it is not!!!
Dog walkers enjoying the beautiful day on Sandy Neck
Getting ready to turn around after brainstorming wind conditions and GPS stats
This section of Sandy Neck surprisingly rocky at low tide so we help eachother with the boats
Briggys and Norm with wind and waves at their backs
Sue being new to seakayaking is managing the conditions really well
Heading back to the put in at low tide
Back at Sesuit Harbor.
Awesome day of the water. A huge thank you to Briggsy for good decission making skills. We got the best of both worlds, solid paddling out the Sandy Neck and a joyride back!
Bea
Bea
Proud foster mother of Athena (P&H Cetus LV turquoise-white)
Proud foster mother of Athena (P&H Cetus LV turquoise-white)
Re: Defeat at Sandy Neck. Sun 6th Nov 2011
A good day, even with the plan change due to conditions. Thanks for taking me along! Nice pics, Bea. (Oh, and the only way I could stay up with Jordan was to keep asking him newbie questions, he was nice enough to slow down to answer them!);)
Sue
Sue
- kayakerjnj
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Re: Defeat at Sandy Neck. Sun 6th Nov 2011
centered wrote:A good day, even with the plan change due to conditions. Thanks for taking me along! Nice pics, Bea. (Oh, and the only way I could stay up with Jordan was to keep asking him newbie questions, he was nice enough to slow down to answer them!);)
Sue
Sue, I think you are already voted as next year's person most likely to be leaving a wake for the rest of us to surf No more newbie title for you
Paddle with a big smile, its contagious
Jordan
Jordan
Re: Defeat at Sandy Neck. Sun 6th Nov 2011
I have pretty much the same pictures from this trip that Bea already posted, but I'll add them so that she's included. We were so far offshore this whole day and fighting or riding wind and waves that we really didn't have many picture opportunities.
A couple shots of preparing to launch at Sesuit Harbor.
Bea was the first to get on the water.
I was second to launch and then Sue, Jordan and Briggsy got onto the water.
After eating lunch, Bea got comfortable on the beach, Jordan reclined a little in his chair and Sue tried to get warm.
A calm spot in some shallow water on the trip back to Sesuit. The tide was going out and there were lots of sand bars to cross. You can see a bit of a sand bar to the left of Jordan.
As we headed back into Sesuit Harbor, Bea got a phone call and went into her one-handed paddling routine which she has really perfected this summer.
A lot less water in the harbor at take-out time.
Unloading the boats from Briggsy's truck back in Sandwich.
Norm
A couple shots of preparing to launch at Sesuit Harbor.
Bea was the first to get on the water.
I was second to launch and then Sue, Jordan and Briggsy got onto the water.
After eating lunch, Bea got comfortable on the beach, Jordan reclined a little in his chair and Sue tried to get warm.
A calm spot in some shallow water on the trip back to Sesuit. The tide was going out and there were lots of sand bars to cross. You can see a bit of a sand bar to the left of Jordan.
As we headed back into Sesuit Harbor, Bea got a phone call and went into her one-handed paddling routine which she has really perfected this summer.
A lot less water in the harbor at take-out time.
Unloading the boats from Briggsy's truck back in Sandwich.
Norm