[Paddlewise] a breezy paddle.

Last Sunday we met at 11:00 at our usual launch spot at the mouth of the
river in Beverly Massachusetts.

It was a bit breezy, so I suggested to the Mike C. and Bill K. that we
shuttle a car to Manchester-by-the-Sea and do a downwind run.  Bill
called Mike M. who was still en route.  Mike's response was "I don't
want to mess with a shuttle, let just paddle".  Five minutes later Mike
showed up, pulled his boat off the roof and announced we should do a
shuttle.  ;-)

The breeze was 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 (according to the boston
harbor buoy).

With the boats stored in the wind shadow of the jetty, so they wouldn't
blow away, we shuttled a couple of cars down to Manchester.  We first
tried to park at Tucks point but the "non residents will be towed" sign
with no mention of off season rules, convinced us to continue on to the
inner harbor.

We dropped 2 cars off and returned to the put in.

With the wind at our backs and the whitecaps around us we started toward
Manchester.  For the first little bit the waves in the channel were nice
as the wind was against the current so the waves were stacking up
nicely.

Mike M.'s Huki S1-X special is wonderfully fast on downwind runs.  It
wasn't long before he and I were 100 yards up on Bill K and Mike C.  I
turned back to see how they were doing.  Mike M's still a little tender
on his special so he opted to continue, slower, in the same direction. 
I looped back and got some nice spray as the boat punched through the
waves, feeling the back deck oilcan on a few of the waves.  Mike C and
Bill were fine so I linked up a few waves and caught back up with Mike
M.  On one wave I managed to bury the bow to within a foot of my foot
pegs, all while staying in control and headed in the same direction.  We
had a couple of choppy sections as the waves reflected off of the
various points of land on the way but nothing unusual.   

I was surprised the waves weren't bigger, or less well behaved.  I would
have liked more entertainment but the others were happy to be in well
behaved conditions (the water temp was 51 degrees).

When we got to Manchester harbor a sailboat was motoring out of the
harbor.  I switched boats with Mike M to try out his S-1X special.  It's
tippier than my S1X, but the single footwell feels nicer.  Ahead of me
the sailboat rounded the last channel buoy and turned right toward
Beverly.  10 seconds later the sailboat turned right again and headed
back into the harbor, a little too rough for their likes.  I turned
around and surfed a few waves back toward the others.  The S1X special
has a little more rocker than the S1X and turns easier on the waves.  I
also thought it was noisier.  There was a lot of "swooshing" sound from
the stern while surfing the waves as the whitecaps break around the
hull.

Mike and I traded boats and I caught up to the sailboat.  They were
rather surprised to have paddlers catch up to them while motoring.  They
also thought we were a bit nuts to have been out playing in the breeze.

As we packed up we noticed it was a HIGH tide.  The water was all the
way up the ramp and pouring into the storm drains in the parking lot.  
Checking later it was an 11.3 foot tide.  There's an 11.4 foot tide once
in December and we don't have another 11+ foot tide until spring.   It
was also getting chilly - the air temp had dropped 7 degrees while we
were on the water.

Overall, a lovely day for a paddle.  It was only a half hour for the car
shuttle.  I have a feeling we'll be doing a few more downwind runs now
that people realize how easy the shuttle is....  Great sprint workouts
on those waves.  Surfing wasn't all that much faster than a flatwater
day and a fast pace - but it's a whole lot more fun.

Kirk
-- 
  Kirk Olsen
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