Brigus to Cupids-My New Fav!

I spent a good hour yesterday on good earth trying to find a spot I had never been that looked like a fun place to paddle.  Around the head of Brigus looked interesting so thats what I picked. 

I sent out an email yesterday to see if anyone was interested in paddling from Brigus to Cupids.  Most had other plans,  few were a maybe, Terry was good to go.  We met at the TCH Irving at 9 and headed off to Brigus.

Hell of a view from the beach!  Off to a good start.

Terry posing for Newfoundland Tourism.

Just heading out of Brigus to have a look at the town.

Old church looks pretty nice from the water.

As always we took our time heading out, squeezing through wherever our boats would fit.

Picturesque lighthouse at the end of Brigus Head.

Things began to pick up a bit as we rounded the headland.

This is one of the more beautiful places I've paddled.  

It was a slow go out because myself and Terry kept stopping to play or take in the view.

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The swell made for a great bit of fun!

Came across this little cove with a few larger islands close together, so we spent some time playing around here and meandering our way around it all.

Good shot of Terry!

We saw some waves crashing offshore a bit, so naturally we went to take a closer look.

Fun little spot!  We both made our way through after mucking around for a bit.

I dropped the camera to brace on the crashing wave.

After we passed here there was a little cove we headed into.  We paddled close to the rock garden seeing what fun we could find.  Terry noticed a narrow passage through the rocks we could make our way through between sets.  I had a plastic boat so I went first and got a good push through.  I turned around an Terry had already started coming through.  I saw one wave pass under him, then I saw a much larger wave coming behind him.  My first thought was "oh shit". LOL  Next thing Terry was on the face of this wave getting pushed through this narrow channel.  The further he got through, the steeper his boat became.  I remember thinking just before Terry threw his paddle into the water/rocks "holy shit, he's gonna get pitch-poled".  His boat started to broach but the passage was so narrow his bow and stern hit the rocks at the same time. He threw out a brace and the wave passed under him.  What a rush...more so for him, but I was pretty nervous myself lol.  We assessed the damage and found a large chunk of gelcoat and trim broken off the nose of Terrry's boat and a few small nicks in the stern.  Could have been much worse, and all are easily fixed, so we had a few laughs about it and carried on.

This place is 10/10 for paddling, but if you decide to do it be prepared.  There are no outs from Brigus to Cupids, and the conditions around the headland were a decent size.

Making our way into Cupid's for some lunch.

Again, what a beautiful spot!

Not trip would be complete without our post game coffee.

What an incredible place to paddle!!!

Rock gardens, passageways, large conditions, and its beautiful the whole way!

This is my new favourite place to paddle.  I said to Terry the last time I enjoyed a trip this much was two summers ago around the headland at Cape Broyle.

I won't forget this one anytime soon.

Thanks for joining Terry!

2018 Kick Off!

I get two weeks off for Christmas break and I had planned to do a lot of paddling and maybe throw in a camping trip, but the weather refused to cooperate.  The days I had some free time it was windy or stormy so I wasn't able to get on the water.

Today is my last day of holidays and it was sunny with light winds so I took advantage.

I made a quick run to the Outfitters then came home, grabbed my gear, and took off to Witless Bay.

After two weeks of poor weather, I couldn't have asked for a better day to get out.

Beautiful day with temps at -1, -5 with the windchill.  Made for excellent paddling weather.

Making my way down to Mobile.

Not much to say, just a few nice pictures on my way down.

Getting close to the entrance to Mobile and if you look right at the point you can see there was big swell rolling out there.

Made it up to the entrance to Mobile but the swell was large and I just didn't feel like staying out in that by myself.  My plan was to go into Mobile for a tea and a snack.  This is completely open exposed coastline here, which is beautiful, but can also produce some large conditions.

I ended up paddling about 6km before turning around.

Neat little cabin someone has built on the waterfront.

I stopped a Gallows Cove for my tea and snack.

Nice little pond that runs down the beach.

This has got to be the most beautiful lunch break I've ever had lol... Awesome!

I ordered a new pot set but it hasn't arrived yet and I already gave my old one to a friend so I had to run down to the Outfitters to get a small pot to boil some water.

Excellent little GSI pot.  Only $15.  Ill make a lid for it at work in the next few days.

This is my first time trying out my new ALOCS Alcohol Stove and it works perfect!

I made the little aluminum table.  I got the idea because I was tired of trying to balance my cooking on rocks and uneven ground... problem solved.

Perfect!

Shot of the beach.

I thought this was a nice picture of Gull Island.  There were a lot of whales out here this past summer and they stayed for a long time.  I really enjoy paddling here, and going around the island can be pretty exciting at times.

This was and excellent little paddle!

What a great way to start 2018!

Looking forward to the paddling adventures to come.