Paddling to Prudence, Again

After a long day on the water Sat. H and I, against H's better judgment, dragged our slightly achey bodies out of bed and headed down to Bristol, RI for another visit to Prudence Island. It may seem silly to paddle to the same spot two days in a row, but I figured we'd get a different perspective given the different put in. Besides, I wanted to get some more time in the new kayak....
The weather forecast was for HOT--like Africa HOT and the weather lived up to the forecast. It was so hot that the water felt like bath water. Rolling to cool off didn't even offer much relief. A few minutes after coming back up, your clothes were dry and hot again. If there had been a wind, it too would probably have been hot too. However, the air was still and the water, at least in Bristol Harbor, was as smooth as 12 year old scotch.
H and I were not the only repeat paddlers on the trip. Carole, Mike K., and the other Mike also showed up ready to paddle. I can only hope that when I get into my 3rd childhood that I'm half as spry.
There were some late arrivals, but Frank took it all in stride. We took our time getting ready and catching up with people we hadn't seen in a while like George, also an owner of a Q-Boat, and Brian. Tim used the time to give the Q-Boat a quick test drive. I was a little worried that I might have to spend the day paddling the Aquilla(the "A kill ya" as I like to call it.)
We paddled out of Bristol Harbor and around the end of Poppasquash Point. From there we crossed over to Prudence in an impressively tight formation. In response to Frank's comment that the water was flat, the ocean got lumpy as we crossed the channel. There wasn't much power boat traffic, but there was enough to confuse the waters.
We landed near the entrance to the tidal estuary on Prudence Island and portaged into the tidal river. Tim gave a brief explanation of the estuary's basic properties and the different types of fauna before we set back out for the ocean. It was cool to paddle in a small, windy river in the middle of the bay. We even had a boat capsize on one turn. Apparently, Ed used too much edge to make one of the turns...
Lunch at the beach was very pleasant. The river was a nice place to wade and escape form the heat. There was a cute family on the beach whose children were using their tube as a raft. There was also a puppy who was intent on checking out everything that moved.
Brian took the opportunity to share his mole joke with me. All I can say is that if you get a chance, ask him to tell it. It's not dirty...really....
From the beach on the far side of Prudence, we turned north to return to Bristol by way of the North point. At this point the group started spreading out. A few people in the group were starting to get tired and H was not feeling great. The head of the group was good about not getting too far ahead of the tail and Frank did a great job of keeping an eye on the whole group. He was very good about making sure we were all safe and enjoying ourselves.
Before making the crossing back to Bristol, we took another quick break. The spot where we took out has a nice little nearby, so Tim and I took the opportunity to play a little. The break was very welcome--except for the biting bugs--as it breathed new life into H before the big crossing.
The return crossing was also bumpy. There was more boat traffic, but the bigger boats steered clear of out tight pod of kayaks. Once at Poppasquash Point, Frank decided to split the group. The faster paddlers went ahead and he stayed back with the slower paddlers. It was a nice gesture. Paddling too slow can be just as tiring as paddling too fast. Everyone has got a certain rhythm range and paddling outside of that for too long can be arduous.
By the time we got back to OSA, H was back to her cheery self and ready for dinner. We ate at J.G. Goff's Pub. The heat of the day had abated and the view of the harbor at sunset, combined with the excellent nachos, made for a great ending to a nice paddle.