AMC Paddle - Squannacook Groton

A relaxed paddle close to home.  What a joy for a mid-September Saturday!

The Squannacook is a tributary of the Nashua, and information about paddling it can be found in the paddle guide from the Nashua River Watershed Association. I have paddled this river before, but it was way back in 2003.  It was April, and I was in the only boat I owned at the time, my 15'6" Cape Horn, which is actually a little too big to be paddling in this river, especially for a novice paddler.  Back then, we launched from West Townsend and during the course of the day I overturned into the river twice.  That was the day I decided I needed a smaller boat and better cold weather clothing (Geeez, that water was cold!).

Today we are launching from the West Groton Water Supply District, heading upstream to the rapids and back.

I'm paddling the Pungo today, along with 5 other kayaks and 1 canoe. 
The day is starting out a little cool and foggy, but the water is still pretty warm.

Right near the start, we see a great blue heron, who stands for a long time before flying off.

In this short stretch of river, we had quite a few blow-down's to navigate around.

Some were more difficult than others.  Fortunately, someone with a chain saw had been through here earlier.
Nonetheless, we still had to go through one at a time.

We reach our lunch spot near the rapids at around 11:15am.  It would be difficult coming the other direction.  There was not an easy path through.  Despite the recent rains, there were still many exposed rocks near the surface.

Walking up along the shoreline, I got a much better view of the rushing water.  The overall drop was probably about 3 feet.

The sun peeked out a bit on the way back.  Of course, we still had to maneuver under trees from time to time.

We got a little push from the current on the way back.

As I said, it was a leisurely paddle.  We covered 5.36 miles in about 3:19.  We were off the river by around 2pm.  Plenty to time to get to the 6th Annual Holy Family International Food Festival in this busy September.

AMC Paddle - George's Island

The last time we attempted a trip to George's Island, we would up just looping Long Island, so I was anxious to join this trip.  Today I joined up with 6 other intrepid paddlers from the Boston AMC, several of whom I had paddled with in the past.  We had a newly certified leader who was anxious to demonstrate his navigational skills, taking into consideration the tides, winds, and forecasts.

We put in at City Point in South Boston, and we got started early because the parking in the area fills up fast.

First stop is Spectacle Island.  A very long concrete dock reaches out into the harbor.

The view to downtown Boston here is great.  It's about 4 miles to those tall buildings as the crow flies.

The visitor center is open and has restrooms.

Lunch stop on George's Island.  It's only 11:00, but we're hungry because we've been working hard.  We don jackets before snagging the plastic Adirondack chairs facing the harbor.

Ferry boats from Boston and Hull arrive and depart regularly.

I had to take a peek inside the fort before leaving.  It's a nice place to visit any time of year.

We head back down to the water to get back in the water around noon.

My phone ran out of power at the south end of Long Island, so I had to reconstruct the map for the last quarter of the trip.  While on the water, we changed plans to go around the north end of the island, and instead traveled down the east side to come around the southern tip.  The waves coming at us as we traveled southeast were 2-3" following waves that really pushed my boat around a bit.  It was quite a workout.

From there we passed by the old Long Island Bridge abutments and headed toward the Dorchester Gas Tanks coming around the south end of Thompson Island.  We had to pass through a standing wave that extends from the south tip of the Island down to Quincy.  Then we turned north to head back to City Point, passing the JFK library.  Ultimately, we paddled 13.04 miles.  We were on the water by 8:35am and were back at our starting point around 2:25pm.  With only an our for lunch and exploring the island, that means we were paddling for a long time.  All things considered, one of our leaders said this was a solid Level 3 paddle adventure.  I'll be due for a soak in the hot tub later.

On the way back to City Point, we could see the Anthem of the Seas (RCCL) rising about the Black Falcon terminal.  Boston is the first stop on an 11 night cruise out of Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ).