We started paddling to downtown Portsmouth, which is about three miles from the anchorage and on the opposite side of the harbor. The wind was blowing about twenty knots against us, but we could have dealt with that. What we couldn't deal with was the powerful outgoing tide. We fought it about halfway to Portsmouth and then gave up and turned back.
Roy turned back first. He went across to Seavey Island, so he'd be on the north side of the harbor and wouldn't get swept out to sea when he crossed the harbor entrance. I tried to keep going, but as soon as I passed the next point, I got caught by tidal currents that were twice as strong as the ones we'd been in. No matter how hard I paddled, I kept going backwards. After five or ten minutes of paddling with all my strength, I gave up and let the wind carry me across to Seavey Island.
Going back was a cinch. All I had to do was steer. I went around the east end of Seavey and then crossed the channel to Kittery Point. I thought Roy would already be on the Jofian, but I didn't see his Royak, so I paddled to the dinghy dock to see if he was there. No sign of his Royak, so I continued following the shore into the next cove. When I didn't see him there, I turned back to the dinghy dock. I was going to go to the grocery store, but a man on the dock told me he had seen another yellow kayak out among the boats, so I paddled back to the Jofian. This time, Roy was there. It turned out Roy had paddled halfway around Seavey Island, expecting to meet me coming the other way, which was what I had originally intended to do. He spent half an hour or so waiting for me over there, so he was actually in back of me instead of ahead of me. Anyway, we finally found each other.
After lunch and a rest, we set out again. By then, the tide was coming in and the wind wasn't quite as strong. Instead of going to Portsmouth, we went to the ramp at Kittery Point, which was very easy to get to. When we got to the grocery store, it was closed, so we crossed the street and made a couple of phone calls. I talked with my daughter Kathy, and Roy left a message on his son Steve's answering machine.
Then we walked a short distance to Fort McClary, which is right on the point, with a commanding view of both the harbor and the river. There have been fortifications there since 1720, but none of the original buildings are still standing. There are a few structures that were built in the 1800's, including a blockhouse, which was already obsolete at the time they built it. It was interesting and had a great view, but couldn't compare with the fortifications we had seen near Portland.
When we got back to the boat, we found a note from Randall, saying he would pick us up at seven for dinner at his place. He's been renting a house on the point for a couple of weeks. We got dressed and were waiting for him when he arrived. This time, he drove his boat at a more moderate pace.
We were introduced to his wife, Bonnie, and a Russian guest, Igor. Natasha showed us around the house, which was built in 1740! It was lovely. Most of the original house has been preserved, but it has modern plumbing, heating, electricity, etc. The Gibsons have two parrots, Banjo and Boomerang, and a cute little dog. Supper was delicious and conversation lively. By the time we were ready to leave, it was ten o'clock and the wind was blowing like crazy. Randall hesitated to take us back in the motorboat, since it was pitch dark and he was afraid of running into lobster-pot lines, so he drove us to the yacht club to see if we could get a ride out to the boat in the club launch. On Sundays, the launch stops running at nine, but there was a couple there who were about to return to their boat and said they'd drop us off. We assumed they had a motorboat, but it turned out they just had a little rubber dinghy with oars. Fortunately, the wind was no longer blowing very hard, but it was still quite a long ways to row. The man didn't seem to have a problem, however. He rowed us out to the Jofian in fifteen or twenty minutes. It was certainly nice of him. We were very glad our masthead light had come on automatically. It was the only lighted masthead light in the cove, so that made finding the Jofian easy.
No comments:
Post a Comment