Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

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norm
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Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by norm »

Cohasset has a very nice boat ramp and parking area that is restricted to "residents only" after Memorial Day, so I thought it would be nice to take advantage on the last weekend before the restrictions take effect. I posted the trip proposal fairly early in the week (for me) on Wednesday and a few people expressed interest but in the end it was just Sue and I for the sea kayaking portion. I had tried to figure out the timing of the tide to first go into the Gulf River and then go over to Little Harbor and possibly out to Minot Light, so my planned launch time was a little late, at 11:00am. Finn McCool wanted to join us part-way through the trip, as he was not free till after noon.

Lora had replied that she would be at Cohasset early to play on the wave in her whitewater boat and invited me to join her. Josko mentioned that an AMC Boston group would be doing a trip from the Cohasset ramp at 9:00am and I had heard the names of a few of the participants frequently last year. So, being the type of person that doesn't want to miss any opportunities to paddle and meet more paddlers, I planned to arrive in time to say hello to the AMC paddlers and to play on the wave with Lora.

When I arrived at about 8:45am, I found that Lora was already in the water waiting for the tide to turn and the wave to develop. Alice was also there watching Lora from the shore so I stopped and said hello. Then I went over to the boat ramp area, said hello to Josko and the AMC paddlers before launching in my whitewater boat to go over and join Lora. I didn't bring my camera over to the wave because I needed to concentrate on staying upright and trying to remember the differences in managing a whitewater boat in moving water. It was nice to be there just after the tide turned and watch the wave develop. I stayed for about an hour and then carried my boat back to the ramp to switch to sea kayaking.

Sue was waiting for me at the boat ramp and was already ready to go. She liked the Cohasset ramp area also and found their nice restrooms even though I had forgotten to tell her about them in advance. It was a little hard to decide what to wear. The air was warm but the water still cool. Sue was sporting a new shorty wetsuit with lightweight long sleeves for sun protection that she found very comfortable. I think I went with the splash jacket and shorts.

As we were getting into our sea kayaks, Alice and Lora stopped by to say hello.

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The turning of the tide at the Gulf River was much later than I had expected, so my original plan did not seem like it would work. I was afraid that if we went into the Gulf first, we'd be stuck in there for many hours rather than just the one hour it takes to see everything. So, with the likelihood that the wind would be stronger later, we decided to head out to Minot Light first. This messed up our chance to meet up with Finn later on.

On the way out, the size of the swells was visible on the rocks.

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There were no thoughts of getting close enough to touch the ladder or stone work, the water was rising and falling 4 to 5 feet near the lighthouse. The Boston - Provincetown catamaran commuter boat had just gone by too, enhancing the wave height.

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The wind and swells were running towards Little Harbor, so we headed there next.

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Heading to the right there was a picturesque sailboat and colorful trees.

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A nearby bridge had something on the other side.

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I took a closer look to find that it is an adjustable dam and later I looked on-line to find out that this is Little Harbor Reservoir.

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Last year this house on a peninsula in the middle of the harbor was under construction. From this angle it looked finished.

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But a closer look revealed that they are still working on it.

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Going around the corner we came across a woman in a rowboat.

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I believe Sue made a comment about the trees growing amongst the rocks.

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At the back of the harbor is Central Cemetery.

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I noticed on this visit that this house seems to be right within the cemetery grounds.

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A view of the back side of that new house on the peninsula. Right about this time, I got a phone call and tried to answer it but the cell service in this neighborhood was very weak. I could see that it was Finn calling, but I couldn't hear him and he couldn't hear me. We never did get a good enough signal to talk to each other. Sorry we couldn't get together.

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On our way out of the harbor we came across a man and a woman on paddle boards. The man stopped in the shallow water near an island and started fishing. The woman continued on looking for her own fishing spot.

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We stopped for a lunch break outside the harbor on some concrete steps near an old tennis court with a view out to Minot Light.

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The Boston AMC group was heading into Little Harbor as we got out of our boats so we said hello again. They didn't stay in there long and we watched them leave as we were still sitting around. We spent part of our break trying to figure out what they're doing for renovations on the house on the other side.

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Sue had mentioned being in a triathlon here a few years ago and on the way in from Minot Light, we saw the beach where the swimming event was held but it didn't look familiar to her so we headed there after lunch for a closer look. Once we were directly offshore, it was more recognizable as the right place. There were quite a few people on the beach considering it was still the month of May.

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We continued heading northwest. The sky was very clear and Boston looked so close, we were wishing we could just keep going along offshore and have somebody pick us up further up the coast somewhere. But after venturing a mile beyond Little Harbor, it was time to turn around and head back into the wind. I don't recall it feeling like a slog into the wind, it just felt like a good workout as we headed southwest for an hour straight at a 3mph pace. This brought us to the eastern end of Bassings Beach where we ran out of water as the tide was going out. We tried to go into the Glades Salt Marsh a little but there wasn't enough water for it to be worthwhile so we headed back to the boat ramp.

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On the way back to the ramp, we swung by the entrance to the Gulf River. The building at the bridge that has been under renovation for a while looks great. I'm not sure what the big deck is for, but it looks really nice.

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The rocks where the wave develops looks a lot different at low tide.

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The beach across from the ramp had plenty of activity in the beautiful weather even though the tide was falling.

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Here is a topo map of the area with our track highlighted.

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A few specs from the trip:

Launch time: 11:03am
Take-out time: 4:00pm
Total Distance Paddled: 13.46 miles

Thanks for joining me for another great day on the water Sue. Sorry my plan didn't work out so you could see the Gulf River also. I guess we should have just started earlier and gotten more time on the water.

Norm
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kayakerjnj
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by kayakerjnj »

Looked like another fun day in Cohasset!
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by centered »

Thanks, Norm! It was a blast. It was nice getting off shore a bit and seeing Minot up close.
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by Birdseye »

Hmmm.... maybe I'll take up paddle boarding.

Nice report Norm.
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Finn McCool
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by Finn McCool »

For what it's worth...The Gulf was Striped Bass paradise right after high tide that afternoon. The anglers were hauling them in from shore, docks, boats, rafts, inner tubes. Lots of keepers too. I could see them swimming under and around me....and there I was without my gear. Lesson learned.
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by Ron »

I notice there were two paddleboarders, but only one got their picture taken.
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by cgr »

Ron wrote:I notice there were two paddleboarders, but only one got their picture taken.


The other one was wearing a drysuit & pfd
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norm
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by norm »

Ron wrote:I notice there were two paddleboarders, but only one got their picture taken.

Well, it's good to know that one person is reading the text and not just looking at the pictures!
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by Finn McCool »

I only visit here for the articles.
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by Birdseye »

Ron wrote:I notice there were two paddleboarders, but only one got their picture taken.


Ron, I think it may have been the perfect posture that is a required paddle boarding technique that he wanted to share with all of us. Well, that's what I got out of it anyway.
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by pat »

norm wrote:Well, it's good to know that one person is reading the text and not just looking at the pictures!

There was text? There were other pictures?
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Chip
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by Chip »

You are all a bunch of P. I. G. pigs
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Re: Cohasset, Minot Light, Little Harbor - May 20, 2012

Post by KAYAK KEN »

Great, Thanks Norm, now I have a new picture for my screen saver. Ken
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