Walking Day 27: Surf's up!

Surf at Point Judith - check out the wind driven spray!

Small Craft Advisory still in effect.  Hurricane Cristobal passed by off shore, but sent high seas along the southern New England coast.

It was a glorious sunny day inland and folks were commenting about the great weather they were having, which seemed odd as I was having a hurricane day!

Because it was too rough to paddle, I walked the coast from Narragansett Pier where I took out the day before to Point Judith.  The surf was up.  The surfers were so numerous they looked like a swarm of black ants crawling up and down, and then through, the waves.  The larger waves right at the point were surfer free.  Maybe it was the extra height or maybe the numerous rocks.  I was so glad I was not out on the ocean!

The surf is predicted to remain high for a little longer, but should be low enough to remove the Small Craft Advisory by Saturday when I paddle to Westerly.  This is an exposed coastline with continuous beaches and surf too high to safely land a fully loaded kayak.  I checked out the local navigation information for the Weekapaug Point breachway which is the only possible landing spot.  "There are numerous shoals and sandbars. Southerly winds cause breakers at the ends of the jetties; extreme caution is advised."  And that is for power boaters who have motors!  I checked the marine forecast.  Southerly winds are predicted.   Once again I am in the situation where I would just wait it out if I was doing this expedition alone.  But with fixed commitments to give presentations, meet the press and stay with generous hosts, I need to keep to the schedule as much as possible.  That means I will have to skip the paddle from Point Judith the Westerly.  Sigh.  Too bad, as I was looking forward to paddling into Weekapaug Pond!

Deb, Karen and Russ

Having a great time with my hosts Karen and Russ.  Constant laughter and some pretty weird ideas for new travel clothing.  A super Rotary meeting with the Wakefield club where a Rotary Youth Leadership Award winner talked about how Rotary support has changed the direction of her life and her career decisions.  From the other end of the career lifetime, a Rotarian talked about the fulfillment of adult learning after retirement.

Deb and Francine

The walk along the coast was special because I was joined by my childhood friend, Francine Johnston.  She had been out to Cape Cod for a vacation and stopped for a visit on her way back to our hometown of Waynesboro, Virginia.  It's great to have a friend who fits right in with the wonderful hosts here in Wakefield.  People are wonderful.

Walk Day: 27                                                     Date: August 28, 2014
Start: Narragansett                                            End: Point Judith
Distance: 6.0 miles                                            Total distance: 293.31 miles
Max speed:  walking pace                                   Moving ave.: walking pace
Kayak storage:   Russell Bertrand                        Host: Russell and Karen Bertrand