East Coast Trail - Fundraiser and Birthday Bash

Today we hid away the kayak gear for the day and took time out to support the East Coast Trail Association. Today was their annual fundraiser and 14th anniversary of their founding. What a day to celebrate!! Volunteers have done an incredible job not only on this section but all of the kms of trails around this part of Newfoundland. The ECTA organized a double decker bus early this am,drove us to Logy Bay and we hiked from the Ocean Sciences Centre to Quidi Vidi.
It happened to be a brilliant day - sun shining, no fog, no rain; so the event was really enjoyable. Despite two breaks to enjoy the scenery while sipping a coffee and numerous stops for photos, we made quite good time coming in around 3.5 hrs.

Conception Bay

Today was an extraordinary day - warm and very calm.
We launched from a beach in Foxtrap and paddled over and around Kelly's Island.
A fair bit of traffic on the water with sailboats and all types of power boats launched - many for a chance of hooking some cod.

the End of the Season

The season of baseball,at least in the St.John's region is drawing to a close.
Today, though windy was a perfect baseball day for watching the senior semifinals Shamrocks vs Holy Cross.

Jelly fish

I was intrigued this past summer to find an exhibit at the Metro Zoo that featured moon jelly fish. Who would have thought they would warrant their own section/aquarium with a special viewing glass? They seem a bit common place here and folks paddle over and around them without much thought. They are however, quite amazing creatures and no doubt we will be seeing more of them. A number of us came across a "bloom" of them a while ago just a short distance off shore in Trinity that was quite incredible. Not just a half a dozen but hundreds - extending out in a semi-circular shape about 8m long but more interesting layered upon each other 4-5 m deep. One of the members of our KNL newsgroup reminded me of these photos when he provided a link to Dave Gallo's talk, this is a video worth reviewing.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/david_gallo_on_life_in_the_deep_oceans.html

Fatal Tide

I found this book to be quite an extraordinary investigation of a tragedy we read about, but hadn't experienced.
David Leach makes you feel you were part of the race. His descriptions of the location, race and the main characters gives you a sense that you actually knew them.
Fatal Tide may have even more meaning if you have paddled in the Bay of Fundy area or have ever volunteered to cover an adventure race.
David also deals with a number of practical issues such as:hypothermia, cold shock and attempts to explain how these physiological events impacted racers.
If you get a chance give this book a read.

The Swell

One of my favourite shots - Paul H took this one. Usually the sea flattens out somewhat when you are taking these shots - but not when you are at the bottom looking up.

Avalon Dragon Boat launch

I witnessed an incredible event this afternoon - the launch of two dragon boats. One of them hand made by women who have survived breast cancer. This project started 18 months ago.
It is hoped that dragon boat racing will be a regular event.
Congratulations to the Avalon Dragon boat racers. It looks like the permanent home will be in the town of Paradise on Octagon Pond. It is positive to see that kind of support in the community.