Over There.

It was a leisurely paddle across Conception bay to Bell island from the cove in St. Philip's. Alex and Bob figured the trip to be an hour. Not a breath of wind, the sea state was flat while playing with a minke whale and then the wake from the car ferry. This past Saturday, the sun was so hot that day, that I rolled often just to stay cool.
Once over to the other side, we tucked up in under the shadow of Bell Island's massive ore rich cliffs. The unique layering of the hillside, arches and the numerous caves added to the awe of the spectacle.We finally made it to below the light house at Redmans Head. A sub surface shelf a few hundred meters out from the vertical cliff allowed the northern sea swell to form impressive waves.

Just the right size and period for leisurely surfing...and best yet....once you finished a run, the reflecting wave from the rock walls gave you something to ride back out on....that's the life. Yes, there was some clapitus, but just enough to keep you loose in the hips until you ventured into the next in coming swell. Another km up the coast and yet another even greater shelf, forming large barrels that looked beautiful in the evening light. To far for a point n'shoot camera...and to far to paddle for fun....we had already stayed much to long.

As forecast, an evening wind came up. We now had to push on back from the north head, 5km to the mainland, in a force five wind in the open tickle. What was an hour long trip, turned into a two hour struggle against the head wind and chasing the last of the light. Once at the launch sight, I'm off to explain my tardiness to friends, meanwhile my cohorts went off for some well deserved fish n'chips. Needless to say, later Saturday night, the wine went down really well.

Photos by Bob, Jamie and next Alex.