Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

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norm
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Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

Post by norm »

Trying to take advantage of the weather before it turns too cold and also trying to maybe slowly get accustomed to wearing more clothing while paddling. Columbus Day was not a holiday for me but I knew Sue wanted to go paddling, so I proposed that she meet me in Boston for a quick evening trip. I decided to post the trip so I wouldn't be accused by Tracey of going out on "secret" paddles. Ken W. saw the post and decided to join us.

The news of the day was that there was a very large dead whale spotted out near Long Island, so that is what we chose to seek out in the little time we had. There were no details about where the whale was drifting around, so with our limited timeframe, we chose to head toward Camp Harborview on Long Island. The plan was to hopefully find the whale somewhere between Spectacle and Long Islands, but if not there, land at the Camp Harborview and walk to the other side to look out on that side. That didn't work out too well...

Heading out from the gas tank there was a huge cruise ship whose stack was visible over South Boston.

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On the beach at Spectacle Island there was no whale, but there was a different odd animal trotting along the beach.

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Still no whales as we got out to Camp Harborwiew on Long Island, so we got out to stretch our legs and walk across the field to the other side of the island with binoculars in hand.

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There was a new signpost on the beach that wasn't here in the spring, so I took a picture of it and then scanned the waters beyond to see if the whale was on that side.

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A pair of security guards pulled up behind us and got out to inform us that this is private property and we had to leave immediately. They didn't want to hear anything about just stretching our legs and looking for the whale. Apparently they had been dealing with press people all day. They seemed to know what happened to the whale carcass, but weren't going to tell us. They said they were actually supposed to delete any pictures that we had taken. I think they would have seen a great deal of resistance if they tried anything like that!

I thought this property was owned by the City of Boston. If it's private property, they need to put up some signage on the beaches.

After we had gone back to our boats, they drove up again and came over and asked us for our names for their log. Sue gave her name as Tracey and I said I was Jordan. The security guard questioning Ken actually asked to see his I.D., so he couldn't get away with saying his name was Nelson.

As we got into our boats to leave, the cruise ship we had seen earlier was headed out the channel so we paused to take some pictures. I tried one with Sue in the foreground, for scale....

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...but using Sue for scale didn't do justice for the size of this ship. A commuter boat catamaran that we're all familiar with came into the channel in the opposite direction of the cruise ship and that gave a much better comparison to represent the size of this thing.

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Heading back, there was still a little daylight left. The clouds over Boston looked like a fluffy blanket.

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The sunset was not very dramatic, but there was one little glimpse of color that I used to frame an airplane coming in for a landing.

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The total distance we traveled was 10 miles. Pretty good for a Monday night.

Thanks for coming out to paddle Sue and Ken W.
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Chip
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Re: Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

Post by Chip »

Good use of a Monday night, Norm or should I say Jordan.
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Re: Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

Post by KAYAK KEN »

I was in a fishing derby years ago on Long Island. Felt more like a fishing derby in a prison camp with all the security.
That took most of the fun out of the event. I think they must be hiding alien life forms there or something. Nice to paddle around though. Glad you guys got out! Ken H.
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kayakerjnj
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Re: Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

Post by kayakerjnj »

Great pictures Norm.

Looks like you had a fun night out :D
Paddle with a big smile, its contagious 8)


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Birdseye
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Re: Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

Post by Birdseye »

If Nelson had been with you, you would have been all set. That land is owned by the place I work for. I might have even known the security guards. So you might have benefited from using my name. :)
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cgr
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Re: Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

Post by cgr »

The whale has washed up on Rainsford
http://boston.com/metrodesk/2012/10/09/ ... story.html
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norm
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Re: Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

Post by norm »

Thanks Chris. I was wondering where it was. In the article's picture, I can see Long Island and Camp Harborview in the background. It would have been nice if the security guards could have just pointed us in the right direction so we could at least try to see the whale through binoculars.

Why couldn't they tie a line to the whale and tow it somewhere sensible like the dock near the lighthouse on Long Island if they're going to cut it up and dispose of it on land? There's nobody using that dock right now and it's much more accessible than letting it float over to Rainsford.
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Birdseye
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Re: Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

Post by Birdseye »

Why didn't they just tow it out to sea and dispose of it there?
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pat
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Re: Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

Post by pat »

Birdseye wrote:So you might have benefited from using my name. :)

That usually lands us in jail. :D :D
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Birdseye
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Re: Boston - Monday Evening - 10/8 - 4:00pm Launch

Post by Birdseye »

pat wrote:
Birdseye wrote:So you might have benefited from using my name. :)

That usually lands us in jail. :D :D


Or at the minimum... a bad meal. :)
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