Albion to Manville – June 26, 2018

I arrived late and parked in Manville thinking I would paddle down to meet the rest of the crew. As I carried my boat down the steps, I could see them paddling upstream. It was a perfect night for a paddle, but the river was low – 1 foot, 150 cfs on the Woonsocket gage. A few people were able to paddle up through the narrow shoot but nobody carried up to the dam itself. Nice night with a full moon as we arrived back at the take out.

Links:

My Pictures

Fife Book section of the Deerfield – June 23, 2018

It has been a while since it took a trip out to the Deerfield, so I decided to join the River Diva’s group organized by Robin. At is turned out, there were more “dudes” than “divas”. The release was low but OK - 3 feet, 800 cfs. on the Charlemont gage.  

We put-in at around 11:00 and worked our way downstream. As we approached Zoar Gap, I decided that I was going to try to catch the eddy at the top, and then go right. I caught the eddy fine, but as usual bounced off the big rock in the middle. After a long brace, I got myself back upright, but I missed the eddy on the right and banged into the rocks instead. Fortunately, I was able to work my way off without too much difficulty. My 50/50 record running the Gap stands secure – 14 attempts - 7 successful, 5 swims and 2 walks.

Another great poem from canoeswithduckheads on p.net:

The mouse that Zoared

must pick its lion,

before pulling out

in thorny paws,

for in some lions

be rocky roads,

to turn you over

in toothy maws.

Somedays, you eat the lion. Somedays, the lion...

Keep Zoaring, Sir Erik de Dagger!
TW

Links: 

My Pictures

Charlemont Gage
Fife Brook from American Whitewater

Fife Brook Release Schedule

RICKA Meeting - Paddling a Tandem Canoe - June 18, 2018

I did my last RICKA meeting for a while last night on Paddling a Tandem Canoe. We paddled at the Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone Environmental Center - ten paddlers in five boats all provided by the watershed council.  No one flipped over or went in the water all night...

A Little Rock Gardening at Fort Wetherill - June 16, 2018

West Cove at Fort Wetherill

I have often thought it was silly that I live a half-hour from the ocean, but I usually drive two or three hours to paddle at some far off river. Don’t get me wrong; I love river paddling (especially whitewater), but it seems like I am missing out on some great paddling close to home. 

With that in mind, I spoke to Tony at one of our planning meetings about going out with him on one of the RICKA Sea Kayak trips in his tandem Tsunami sea kayak. I love tandem canoeing, so why would tandem kayaking be any different. I knew I wanted to do something with a little action, so we decided to do the trip at Fort Wetherill on the rocky Jamestown coast.

Heading out

Fort Wetherill is a former coastal defense battery and training camp located on 100-foot high granite cliffs across the East Passage from Newport and Fort Adams State Park. Shortly after the Revolutionary War, Fort Dumpling was built on this site to protect this strategic access to Newport and Narragansett Bay. The site would eventually become Fort Wetherill - part of an extensive coastal defense battery that included Camp Cronin on Point Judith, Fort Greble on Dutch Island, Fort Hamilton on Rose Island, and Fort Adams in Newport that protected Narragansett Bay during World War II.

I met Tony early so we could get our gear together and set up the boat. Fort Wetherill is a popular spot for scuba diving and fishing, and the divers and fisherman were out early as well. Eventually the rest of our crew arrived – 14 paddlers in 13 boats. The day was beautiful with sunny skies and light winds. We put in just after high tide with easy 1 to 2 foot waves.

Around the rocks

The trip was led by the two Tims (Tim 1 and Tim 3), and was intended to be an introductory rock gardening trip to give newer paddlers experience around rocks in mild conditions. I strapped on my helmet and we headed out.

Rock gardening is the “whitewater” paddling of the sea kayak world. In rock gardening, you ride ocean swells over and around the rocky coast. Timing is everything as you ride the swells over rocks, and efficient paddling helps to keep you from getting bashed by waves. 

Over the waves

We paddled out of West Cove and headed west under the huge granite cliffs. The Tims provided coaching as we paddled in and around the rocks, and practiced running pour-overs. When we weren’t playing, it was great just to sit back and enjoy the scenery. We paddled around Southwest Point and into Mackerel Cove for lunch.

After lunch, we headed back to West Cove. Tony and I tried to run a gap at the end of Southwest Point against the waves. Unfortunately, our timing was slightly off, and the water receded before we could get our 20-foot boat completely over the rock. We were stuck high and dry, and there was nothing to do but wait for the next wave.

Running the gap at Horsehead

That wave came, and pushed us back into a hole with a cross current that made it difficult to paddle back up and out through the shoot.  We got bounced around by a couple of waves, but eventually got ourselves lined up and powered out over the rock – it was cool.

We paddled in and around the rocks and enjoyed the views on the paddle back to Fort Wetherill. Hopefully Tony will paddle with me again, or I may need to find myself a sea kayak.

Fort Wetherill from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:

My Pictures
Tony's Video

Back to River Bend Farm - June 12, 2018

We had a good turn out for the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club trip at River Bend Farm. We had 13 boats on the canal/river loop, and probably the same on Rice City Pond. The river was 3 feet, and everyone seemed to be bottoming out. 

Links:
My Pictures
Trip Description from BRVNHC 
Northbridge Gage

River Bend Farm - June 9, 2018

Rice City Pond

I’m leading the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club trip at River Bend Farm this week, so I went up to scout it out. The river was just over 3’ on the Northbridge gage.

I paddled up into Rice City Pond as far as Lookout Rock. It was low, but OK if you stayed in the main channels. The river was low, but with good current, including the usual tricky side currents. The water in the canal was covered with pollen, but as you move upstream it clears up. No greed duckweed yet.

I brought my camera, but I forgot to put the memory card in. Guess how many pictures my camera will hold without the memory card - just two, so here they are.

Stone Arch Bridge at Hartford Avenue

Upper Wood River - June 3, 2018

We had a fun trip today with RICKA on the Upper Wood River.  We put in on Rt. 165 (Ten Rod Road) in Exeter and padded 7.5 miles to Wyoming Pond in Richmond, with a break for lunch at Barberville. The river was low but runnable - 100 cfs, 2.5 feet on the Hope Valley gage and 75 cfs, 3 ft. on the Arcadia gage. I did portage left and paddle the short rapid below the Barberville Dam, but it was boney. 

Links:

My Pictures

River Description from Rhode Island Blueways

Hope Valley Gage

Arcadia Gage