I was so happy to see this trip posted because I had been too busy to plan one out myself. I've been on this trip before and paddled this area a couple times last year, so I knew pretty much what to expect...the wind always seems to pick up for the return west-bound leg. At least this year we had the tide with us rather than against us for getting back into Popponesset Bay. And there wasn't much wave action on the return leg either, just plenty of wind.
But, back to the start of the trip. Everybody arrived on-time and found the Ockway Bay Landing successfully. It is a bit of a walk from the parking lot down the hilly boat ramp to the water. A few people used their kayak cart wheels and a few drove closer and used the trailer turn-around cutout to park and unload their boats closer to the water. The ramp area is a little tight for 10 people to launch all at once, so getting on the water was a bit staggered. I was the last one to launch and I took a look at my watch to see that we were ahead of schedule and gathered up, ready to go by 8:52am.
Nelson shared some of his pictures with me to include in this report, so these first 5 are his.
Gif, Josko and Mark ready to launch.
Sue was one of the first in the water.
Gif in his silly hat...is that Kermit the frog?
Jordan has his kayaking smile on.
Bea is ready to wash the rust off after 3 weeks without paddling.
Nelson facing back toward the ramp to see if everyone is ready to go.
Mark, Jordan and Linda are ready.
Bea, Josko, Gif, Sue and Sandy are ready too.
Off we go in the nice, bright sunshine.
Heading out into Popponesset Bay from Ockway Bay, the plan was to head around to the west side of Popponesset Island. With all the chatter that goes on at the start of a trip, Nelson thought he missed a turn, but Gif pointed us in the right direction. I guess none of us bothered to take any pictures of the million dollar homes we paddled around. I think everyone was just getting into their stride and ready to head out into the open water of Nantucket Sound.
The Sound was pretty calm. There were a few fishing boats out, buzzing around, looking for the hot spot, but no big push from the wind to help us across this early in the morning. The group splintered into three or four clusters, but everybody was paired up with a partner and everybody was within whistling distance. We headed across toward the entrance to West Bay, rather than entering the closer Popponesset Bay. The group I ended up with was a little closer to shore and ended up with a much easier entry into West Bay with a sharp left turn around the breakwater right into a calm eddy. I was the first in and spun around to watch everyone else battle their way in against the outgoing rush of water.
I had a little company watching everyone make their way in.
Everyone that had taken the more offshore track had a lot more work getting into West Bay.
The last three in were Jordan, Bea and Sandy.
We took a break on the beach to the left, just inside the inlet, on Dead Neck. There were a few people inspecting the Piping Plover nests and a woman came over to have a chat with our group. I missed the conversation, but I assume she was warning us to stay out of the fenced-off nesting area. I got a quick picture of her just as she was leaving.
I don't think anyone sat during this 20 minute break, everyone just stood around and chatted.
Between the Island of Dead Neck and Osterville Grand Island is the Seapuit River, a nice, calm, fairly straight stretch of water. There was a local resident enjoying the lack of boat traffic in his rowing shell.
The air temperature was rising and very comfortable. All of us were properly dressed for the water temperatures. We'd soon be wishing for a little more breeze to keep cool, but be careful what you wish for.
The traffic in the channel picked up a little as we got back on the water. I had a quick chat with the man in the rowing shell and was pleasantly surprised at how friendly he was, suggesting there were some nice coves to explore in the area. Much nicer than the rowers on the Charles River that seem to hate us slow kayakers getting in their way.
Heading across West Bay.
A couple of swans kept their distance from Gif.
There were quite a few clam diggers around throughout the day as well as many fishermen.
Heading into the marina area, Bea and Gif took the left side.
Everyone else stayed to the right.
Nelson took this picture of Jordan...I guess they went right up the middle of the channel.
I noticed this over-the-top treatment of a tree house - they shrink-wrapped it for the winter with the same material they use on yachts.
Just beyond the bridge, the marina is on both shores.
Nelson takes a shot over his stern.
Bea and Linda with a modest Osterville Grand Island cottage in the background.
After rounding the top of Osterville Grand Island, we headed into Cotuit Bay and the increasing southwest wind.
Lunch time was right at noon on Sampson Island before heading back out into Nantucket Sound. Jordan was way out in front of everyone and rounded the corner toward the outlet as everyone else was stopping on the beach. We kept waiting for Jordan to come back but he pulled ashore on the outer beach and fell asleep sitting in his kayak.
Sue noticed a big crab trying to make it's way around my boat during the lunch stop.
A few power boats made their way into the bay and stuck to the channels while we sat and ate lunch.
There was no boat traffic as we left Cotuit Bay. Gif took off before the rest of us to get a little head start and ended up waking Jordan on his way past him.
The southwest wind was pretty stiff, but not as bad as previous trips and the waves were non-existent. It was just going to be a slog all the way back.
We hugged the shore while we were in the sound this time. The tide was just about dead low, so getting back into Popponesset Bay should have been easy. The only issue was the sand bars. It looked like we might need to swing way out a couple hundred yards offshore to get into the channel until Mark found a sneak route close to shore that was just deep enough to comfortably paddle through without running aground.
The trip back to Ockway Bay was uneventful and it felt like the paddle was coming to an end too soon.
Back at the boat ramp everybody chipped in and helped each other load the boats back on the cars.
Here is a topo map of the area with our track highlighted.
A few specs from the trip:
Launch time: 8:52am
First stop: 10:24am 5.65 miles
Back on water: 10:50am
Lunch time: 11:59am 9.71 miles
Back on water: 12:35pm
Take-out time: 1:57pm
Total Distance Paddled: 13.27 miles
The weather was so nice, most people didn't want to go home, so seven of us decided to go to Mashpee Commons for ice cream. Bea took a few pictures while paddling and a couple at Mashpee Commons. You can view Bea's pictures on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.414835288549251.104201.100000683501288&type=1&l=ddb2b05509
Thanks Nelson for organizing the trip and arranging for fantastic weather, even if the last leg was a bit of a slog into the wind.
Norm
Thanks for organizing, Nelson, and Norm, for the report. See everybody soon,