Sunday, March 02, 2008

Perkins Pier

Perkin's Pier is a waterfront access roughly aligned with the south end of the Burlington breakwater.



Starting time was pegged at 9:30. We usually start later in the winter so it's a little warmer. An early start generally means the instigator has some sports event to watch in the afternoon. There was also only about an hour's notice on the starting place.. this based on what isn't too iced up.

The big thing this trip was chunks of ice everywhere. Mostly around fist size, but ranging up to a few 20 foot sheets. So there was frequent noise from things bumping against your kayak hull or the paddle. There were also a couple of loosely packed fields to push through. It reminded me of those explorers getting frozen in for the winter while trying to find the North West passage. Someone pointed out that rolling might be difficult in this situation. Something new to try, but not today. We did find somewhat open water for rolls.

Anywhere there was some obstruction like a point of land or breakwater, the chunks would accumulate and blow off the downwind side in a plume of icefield. If you click the picture above (which zooms to full size) you can see a thin white line coming off to the left of the lighthouse. That is about a 10 foot wide concentration of chunks.

The inlets that were solidly frozen comprised these pieces stuck together, It looked like a plate of nachos made from ice. Not too good for skating.