Cape Cod part 11, Weds 12th Oct 2011

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Briggsy
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Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:59 pm
Location: Sarasota, Florida

Cape Cod part 11, Weds 12th Oct 2011

Post by Briggsy »

The weather forecast for Wednesday looked OK so Norm and I met at Rock Harbor in Orleans at 8.30 am and we loaded his gear into my truck. My wife, Deb,drove us up to Corn Hill Beach in Truro, just north of Pamet Harbor where we finished our last leg of the trip. The parking lot was empty and only a few people on the beach walking their dogs. It was a clear morning and Provincetown was easily visible to the north.
Corn Hill Beach
Corn Hill Beach
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The weather forecast was for an East wind so we figured we'd be sheltered from it as we headed south. The end of the sand cliffs in Wellfleet were just visible 6 miles away. The beaches of course were deserted and some of the houses were shuttered up for the season. We paddled past the Edward Hopper House on the Truro cliffs and next to it the multi million dollar mansion that has been built within the last few years and caused quite a controversy, plenty of articles in the Cape Cod Times about this house....
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs. ... 337/0/NEWS
Edward Hopper House
Edward Hopper House
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We seemed to get a little help from the wind and made good time. On the way we saw many seals, they followed us for a while but as usual dived down at the sight of a camera!
As we got down to the unsheltered Jeremy Point we could now feel the wind and hear the waves on the other side of the sand bar. We stopped for a quick break and check of the map.
Jeremy Point
Jeremy Point
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We noticed a lot of black and white ducks , many of them dead from no apparant cause. We later found they were Eider ducks and that a few years ago a similar thing happened and it was thought maybe a virus was killing them.
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Rounding Jeremy Point
Rounding Jeremy Point
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We decided to head across Wellfleet Harbor to Lieutenant Island and Blackfish Creek. It was about 2 miles and directly into the wind, quite a slog. A couple of boats were circling in the harbor, maybe dragging for scallops. As we approached Lieutenant Island we could see some nice beach fortification work had been done to protect the homes. We ducked into Loagy Bay behind the island to see if we could get under the roadway. It was just after high tide and the bridge was high enough for us to get under. The water level was so high Norm actually paddled on the road!
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Just south is the Wellfleet Audubon Sanctuary and a small beach which looked like a good spot for lunch. There were even a couple of benches. A few folks were hiking the trails and birdwatching, they told us about the Eider Ducks.
Neat clouds
Neat clouds
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By the time we had our lunch, the tide had dropped considerably but we made it back out OK and covered the last few miles to Rock Harbor easily. The entrance to the Harbor is well known locally for the "tree lined" channel markers. From the land side all you can see is the tree branches but from the oceanside someone had a sense of humor when they attached roadsigns to the trees.
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We covered 19.2 miles (16.7 nautical miles).
Thanks again Norm for coming down to the Cape. A great paddle despite the weather.I know Norm has plenty of pics to add.
Briggsy
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norm
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Location: Stoughton, MA

Re: Cape Cod part 11, Weds 12th Oct 2011

Post by norm »

It was a tough picture taking day. The sun seemed to be behind the subject most of the time and the wildlife seemed to all put their back to us or run away. But I caught a few decent shots to add to Briggsy's report.

Scenery first thing in the morning at Rock Harbor.

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A tern on a channel marker outside Pamet Harbor.

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One of the first seals of the day.

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On the whole trip down the coast, the coastline was all sandy beach, almost no rocks. Of course the one rock we did see was covered with cormorants.

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These see gulls all seemed to be "mooning" us.

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A couple shots looking back north from where we landed for a break on Jeremy Point. Notice how calm it is on the left where we just covered 7 miles and how rough it is on the right where we're going next.

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A close-up of one of the many dead eider ducks we came across on Jeremy Point. I "googled" for a reason to why they die off but couldn't find any conclusive answer. They looked pretty healthy.

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Looking across Wellfleet Harbor to Lieutenant Island, our next destination.

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Many birds seemed to be trying to get out of the wind.

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A whole bunch of seals were checking us out as we left Jeremy Point. They seemed to prefer the leeward side of the sandbar just like the birds.

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More eider ducks and sea gulls putting their backs to us.

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Didn't take any pictures while crossing Wellfleet harbor...too rough...not worth losing momentum. It was a good workout but not too difficult since we were headed directly into the wind. It's fun smashing directly into the occasional 2 foot waves, burying the bow, and having the water roll up the deck.

By the time we got to the channel leading into Blackfish Creek, the water had calmed down so I took a picture of the nice stonework sea wall protecting Lieutenant Island.

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It was fun trying to paddle onto the flooded roadway, but glad I couldn't get too far when this pickup truck came over the bridge. I've worried about getting run over by a power-boat while paddling. Never thought about getting run over by a pickup.

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After 12.8 miles of paddling, we finally stopped for lunch at the Wellfleet Audobon Sanctuary.

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On the shore of Eastham, there was a house with a vertical windmill. I'd heard about these but had not seen one in action.

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I don't remember what the name of the church is at Rock Harbor, but their steeple is a handy navigational landmark.

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A few of the channel marker trees with their humorous street signs.

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The little sandy beach near the breakwater at Rock Harbor is easier on the gel-coat than the boat ramp.

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Looking out at the tree-lined channel.

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