Making Hay
Making Hay
September 21 , 2022
Baie de Chaleuer has a reputation as an unforgiving and nasty piece of work. You would never know it from this picture.
What one might not glean as well is that there was a Category 4 hurricane due in these parts within a few days. Needless to say, I was making hay while the sun shone.
Not wanting to run further afoul of the stake-hole police, I left Cambellton at first light figuring I had 6 hours of favourable weather before a shift in the wind announced the first of the rain and wind bands that would announce the arrival of Hurricane Fiona. The plan was to paddle flat out for Dalhousie before the shift and walk the canoe the rest of the way to Bathurst over the next two or three days.
As always, the last hour into Dalhousie was against the wind. The wind wasn’t the worst of it. The worst was a confused sea and swell that was running abeam of the canoe. Kai Nani was rolling miserably and making me work far harder than I wanted after 5 plus continuous hours of paddling. Dalhousie Harbour was less than 1 kilometer away but unreachable. The rising wind, worsening chop, and tide against were reason enough to call it quits.
Tomorrow would bring new opportunities. Tomorrow the wind was forecast to blow westerly and therefore offshore. Another day, and with a bit of luck, more hay.
Baie de Chaleuer has a reputation as an unforgiving and nasty piece of work. You would never know it from this picture.
What one might not glean as well is that there was a Category 4 hurricane due in these parts within a few days. Needless to say, I was making hay while the sun shone.
Not wanting to run further afoul of the stake-hole police, I left Cambellton at first light figuring I had 6 hours of favourable weather before a shift in the wind announced the first of the rain and wind bands that would announce the arrival of Hurricane Fiona. The plan was to paddle flat out for Dalhousie before the shift and walk the canoe the rest of the way to Bathurst over the next two or three days.
As always, the last hour into Dalhousie was against the wind. The wind wasn’t the worst of it. The worst was a confused sea and swell that was running abeam of the canoe. Kai Nani was rolling miserably and making me work far harder than I wanted after 5 plus continuous hours of paddling. Dalhousie Harbour was less than 1 kilometer away but unreachable. The rising wind, worsening chop, and tide against were reason enough to call it quits.
Tomorrow would bring new opportunities. Tomorrow the wind was forecast to blow westerly and therefore offshore. Another day, and with a bit of luck, more hay.