On 13/07/2010 6:54 AM, PeterO wrote: > Glenn wrote: - >> I've read several stories of kayakers getting in trouble with the winds >> off of Newfoundland ................. >> I was up there kayaking in '99 and remember driving past spots early >> in the day thinking that they'd be a great place to paddle >> and then, a few hours later, looking at white caps and wind that >> seemed to come from nowhere and deciding that it wasn't for >> me. > Chuck wrote: >> About 3 decades back, three highly trained paddlers went out somewhere along the south coast of Newfoundland early one morning. Not early enough! How high are the coastal mountains there? I don't remember exactly, but they could be 1-2000 ft. In the morning, the winds roll off the high uplands and fall down onto the ocean at great speed. That happened to >> us once along the Gaspe peninsular where the sea cliffs are only about 500 ft. You could see the wind puffs hit the water- cats paws! They were strong enough to stop some of us in our tracks. > > G'Day Glenn and Chuck. > > Hard for me to imagine cliffs that high and what the wind rolling down them > must be like. But your stories reminded me of one that Wayne Langmaid used > to tell. Here's a web page that describes the "Wreckhouse Winds", which is what they are called in that particular corner of Newfoundland. http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2005/alm05dec.htm When I was last there, having caught the ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia, to Port au Basques, Newfoundland, the wind was a mere 40-50 kilometres per hour, but we motored on up the coast to a safer place to paddle. When we arrived at St. Anthony's, up on the tip of the northern peninsula, the wind had picked up to a steady 90kph, and even the local fishermen weren't going out. We we sorely tempted, since there were a number of largish icebergs offshore (the whole reason we had made this particular trip), but since the wind was strong enough that we were staggering around out on the point looking at the bergs, we decided that if we launched, we were going to end up in Greenland or Ireland, and we didn't think that was a good idea. Nice visit to the Viking settlement though, and, it being very early in the season (some exhibits not even open yet), we had a great long chat with some locals who remembered playing in the "Indian mounds" when they were younger. -- Darryl *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Jul 13 2010 - 08:46:10 PDT
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