Paddling with the Seals

The day before New Years Eve I wanted to paddle from Jones Beach State Park and see if I could find some seals in the bay. Not one to paddle alone in extremely water, I enlisted the company of my dad who is always ready and willing.

We were a bit concerned while heading down the Robert Moses Causeway when we realized there was hardly any open water to be seen. Ice was everywhere. Luckily, the further west we drove down Ocean Parkway the less ice we saw. Finally, pulling into the parking lot for the Jones Beach Boat Basin we were able to see nothing but open water. And, to our surprise it was completely flat and calm! What a great day for a paddle!!!

Once on the water we headed west towards Lido Beach and the Jones Inlet. I've never paddled the inlet during the summer, but imagine it to be an amazingly busy and potentially dangerous place to be. But, this day it was glass calm, quiet, and totally ours. Well, there were an insane number of Brants enjoying the scenery with us.

And then seals! We almost didn't realize what we were seeing at first. "Was that a bird?" "Is that a buoy?" They seemed to be checking us out as much as we were them. Some swam towards us. Some circled around us to watch from behind. A few were never seen, just heard snorting or splashing in the water.

Of course it is incredibly hard to get a good picture of a seal in the water, especially from the seat of a kayak. But, I did the best I could. Finally, we turned north and headed out of the inlet, paddling a bit deeper into the marshes north of Jones Beach. A thermos full of hot chocolate and a few miles later we rounded Jones Island and turned west towards our put-in. By this time the wind and tide had both turned against us and my dad and I fought for every forward inch. So, cold, wet, and tired I pulled with everything I had to get back to my Jeep fast and get the heat on for us both.


Of course my old trusty truck chose that exact moment to let me down and not start, well, not without a lot of coaxing. But, she finally turned over and began cranking out heat for our frozen bodies.


All in all, it was an awesome paddle on an awesome day!

Soggy GPS

Hoping my GPS is not a lost cause after going for a swim in the Atlantic Ocean, I am trying some electronics first-aid. I removed the batteries, took the unit apart, and rinsed it with filtered fresh water. Now, I have it sealed in a zip-loc bag with some desiccant to hopefully absorb any moisture that may be left in it. Going to give it a few days, then put the batteries back in and see what happens. Wish me luck!!!

Valuable Lessons Learned

Since today is my birthday, I figured I'd treat myself and paddle someplace that I've always wanted to check out... Mecox Bay in Southampton. So, with my boat on the roof, gear in the trunk, and coffee in the travel mug, I headed out east.

The wind had picked up a bit by the time I launched on the northern end of the bay, but it was not too gusty to make the paddle uncomfortable. In fact, despite wearing a long-sleeved shirt, I was dressed as if it was still summer and the water was warm. I didn't even put on my spray skirt. The bay was beautiful, the waterfront homes were amazing to look at, and the water was quiet and enjoyable.

Before long, I reached the "cut", where a break to the ocean had been created (by the town?) to allow the salt and fresh water to mix. A quick glance down the channel showed nothing but calm water and a glassy ocean, so off I went. Very quickly the water picked up speed, though, hurtling me towards the Atlantic. I was still under control, that is until I hit the first of the many standing waves at the interface of the bay's and ocean's waters. The first wave hit me in the chest and pushed me backwards. The second swamped my boat and washed my dry bag (contents: digital camera, cell phone, wallet, and car keys) out of my boat and whisked it away. I survived the third, fourth, and fifth waves, but finally succumbed to the sea on the sixth. Amazingly, I rolled the boat and performed a wet exit in heavy surf, all without losing the sunglasses hat were sitting on top of my head!

Long story made short, I retrieved my dry bag (thankfully still dry), pumped out my boat and climbed back in, and paddled back to shore to take stock of my situation. Items lost: my faithful Nalgene bottle, a pencil for note-taking, and my GPS. Things could have been a lot worse... which got me thinking about my safety and what had gone wrong. As the adrenaline and fear left, and I could regain composure, I thought about what lessons I had learned form this boneheaded move.

Obviously, scouting the inlet before plunging down it would have been the smart thing to do.

Donning my spray skirt would have helped as well.

Double dry bags to protect my electronics will also become a fixture on my future paddles.

I always bring a spare paddle with me. Today, this one almost washed off my boat... Checking and tightening all deck lines and bungees will be done tomorrow!

I was wearing my PFD (as always) but had forgotten to buckle the waist strap. This allowed the vest to rise up over my head while in the water... Checking all buckles and straps will become part of my pre-paddle ritual.

My trusty SPOT Messenger was in the pocket of my PFD, powered up and ready to go. But, I had not sent any "OK" messages to anyone. Nor had I let anyone know where I was. Had I really needed help from a friend, how would they know where to find me? And, if they did receive my SPOT's "Help" message, would they know what to do?... After I finish typing this I am going to update my SPOT's contacts and write up an "action plan" for everyone on it, so they will all know what to do in any circumstance.

Scary mishap? Absolutely! Fun trip otherwise? Definitely! Good birthday despite the adventure? You bet!

Fathers' Day

How did I spend my Fathers' Day? On the water with my kids! Gotta love it!!!

Paddling the Nissequogue

I have been wanting to map the Nissequoge River for my new book for some time. So, despite the threat of thunderstorms in the afternoon and a rapidly ebbing tide, my father, brother-in-law, and I hatched a last-minute plan to paddle it last weekend. By the time we finished setting up our shuttle, and were ready to launch, the river was quite low. In fact, many paddlers were already on their way back from the mouth of the river, having already completed it that morning. Nevertheless, we launched our boats in the last remaining inches of water and headed north.

My father and brother-in-law launching from Paul T. Given County Park

Thankfully, the depth of the river did increase as we headed downstream, making paddling easier. I always take too long when paddling narrow rivers like this, taking pictures and identifying flowers and plants along the way. Thus, my dad and b-in-l left me behind with only a family of Canada Geese to keep me company.

Turn around little guy, you're heading the wrong way!

We did catch up to each other again, and had a great time floating along with both the tide and wind in our favor. In fact, the wind kept increasing as we progressed, giving a sign of the bad weather to come, though at the time we were still blessed with clear, sunny skies.

A river like the Nissequogue is a treasure because of its varying habitats. It flows from a fresh water pond and empties into the Long Island Sound, becoming increasingly saline along the way. As a result, you get to see a wide variety of plant and animal life throughout your paddle. Anything from snapping turtles, muskrats, ospreys, red-winged blackbirds, trout, striped bass, bluefish, horseshoe crabs, etc can be seen. It truly is a remarkable place to paddle

Snapping Turtle

Egrets on the river

We soon made our way to the spot where the river widens quite a bit into a vast salt marsh-like area. Thankfully, the thunderstorms had yet to come upon us, although the skies were growing increasingly overcast and the wind continued to pick up. Upon reaching the take-out (the Smithtown boat ramp), Eric decided to get out and stretch his legs while my dad and I headed out into the Sound to poke around a bit. It always amazes me how shallow the mouth of the river gets during low tide. People were walking in water about one half-mile out and were not even getting their shorts wet. Water that makes for good wading does not make for good paddling, though, so we quickly turned around and fought the last bit of the outgoing tide and the wind back to the ramp.

All in all, it was a great paddle, highly recommended to anyone with a boat and a paddle!!!