The first part of this morning was so foggy and cool in St.John's we almost thought twice about taking the 45 minute drive out to Spaniard's Bay. As soon as we swung into the mini park where we launched, the weather changed incredibly. Conditions couldn't be better. A brisk wind of 20 km from the west with otherwise good sea conditions.
A short 40 minute paddle out and we were amazed to find two quite large icebergs - a good distance from shore and apparently grounded. A local boater estimated from his onboard gear that the depth where we found the first iceberg to be 250 feet. The second one was grounded at 150 feet. It is common knowledge that only a small proportion of the iceberg is above water but the thought was still staggering. We could see the mass below the surface extending at least 50 feet away from the main structure, so it made sense - but it was still quite a phenomenom.
Icebergs make a unique sound especially the smaller bits almost like someone stepping on small bits of bubble wrap on and off. We were able to pick up a few pieces, destined to a slow melt but tranporting them back proved tricky. The spray deck served as a good sling for one that was too large for the day hatch.
At the end of the day and in preparation for the Canada Day celebration, what better way to make a toast? Use a glass of iceberg ice.
No comments:
Post a Comment