Camelot Island Neighbors

Valley Sea Kayaks on Camelot Island, 1000 Islands, Ontario. Canada

Here's a little exploration of neighbors. Having neighbors and being a neighbor. Don't you just love it . . . ?

Camelot Island Neighbors is a story from the perspective of a sea kayaker (me) on an island in the 1000 Islands off Gananoque, Ontario, Canada, kayak camping for the first time with the Boreal Baffin sea kayak last August with a group of paddlers from Ottawa, Ontario.

This trip really made me start to think about neighbors and the neighborhood. You can relate I'm sure. You have neighbors and you are a neighbor too.

My next story about kayak camping on Camelot Island in the 1000 Islands is up on The Great Waterway, a cool new Ontario Tourism website where I'm a regular blogger.

You can check it out if you like:
Camelot Island Neighbors: My first kayak camping trip with the Boreal Baffin. Awesome!

For more about the Camelot Island neighborhood visit:

Setting up Camp on Camelot

What's this all about?
Read about the BaffinPaddler on The Great Waterway

It's spring thaw around here in the National Capital Region of Canada (Ottawa, Ontario/Gatineau, Quebec). Time to get out and paddle soon and plan a few trips to somewhere new!

Enjoy your trip planning.
Happy paddles!
(C) The BaffinPaddler

Maine Events: Giving Berth

“OK, you go first. I’ll wait.” I give wide berth to the tall ships.

Sometimes I find this a tricky call in wide open spaces when a big boat looks far away, and I can’t judge its speed or set path.

“Can we make it?”

When paddle buddies and guides respond, “I think so . . .”, it gives me an adrenalin rush of the worst kind!

Crossing boat channels and wide open spaces when you’re the littlest guy makes me feel better when we travel in bright coloured pods.

When in doubt, we wait and take a pic instead. Notice all the pics? There's a lot of waiting and wondering what to do sometimes.

Sitting still isn't always the best option either. You're harder to see. The movement of the paddle blade is often the first thing people spot on a moving kayak in the distance.

But a barrage of fast moving lobster boats going this way and that are another story. How do you figure out this crossing now?

Look at all the lobster buoys scattered everywhere in the Deer Isle Archipelago off Stonington, Maine.

Last August while on an ocean front camping trip at Old Quarry Adventures to paddle with Maine paddle buddies, I bumped into so many lobster buoys in spots where they were unreasonably dense. They litter the water in so many places.

Sounds funny not to be able to avoid lobster buoys easily when you have good boat control and know strokes. I couldn't believe it myself. Add a little wind and waves, and you may misjudge how to dodge them too. "Geez! I hit another one!"

It doesn't cause any harm or damage if you gently bump into them with a kayak, yet I became annoyed with the exercise and the bumps. But, I noticed I got better at dodging them on my second day out. How do the big boats navigate through all that clutter?

A parked boat is a happy boat! I love it when they aren’t moving!

What’s this all about?
See the first Maine Events

Or check out the series of Maine Events in the February 2012 Archive of this blog. Find the Archive in the right column.

Happy and safe paddles!
(c) The BaffinPaddler
http://baffinpaddler.blogspot.com

Maine Events: Beautiful Crossroads

 Spending time at a beautiful crossroads on the way to Stonington, Maine, USA in August with the Maelstrom Vital 166 and Maelstrom Vaag 174 sea kayaks. Have you ever been there?

Ever wonder how you get where you’re going sometimes . . .

Paddle Partner:  “Now what? Which way is the right way?”

Me: “Left is right.”

Paddle Partner: “What!”

Me: “The right way is left.”

Paddle Partner: “Are you sure?”

Me: “Yes.”

Paddle Partner: “How do you know?”

Me: “I’m navigator! I’m looking at a MAP! Turn LEFT!”

Paddle Partner: “Yeah, but . . . what if you’re wrong?”

Me: “Then go any way you wish. We’ll end up somewhere, just maybe not STONINGTON!”

Paddle Partner: “I think I’ll go left.”

When you spend a lot of time in the same place, there must be a reason

This was a beautiful crossroads en route to Stonington, Maine to paddle the Deer Isle Archipelago last summer with Maine paddle buddies.

Worth spending a little extra time to linger there using whatever excuse you need to savour it longer.

If you find yourself at this beautiful crossroads with two awesome sea kayaks strapped on top of the car – you’re going the RIGHT way.

The right way is LEFT! You’re on your way to Stonington!

What’s this all about?
See the first Maine Events

Or check out the series of Maine Events in the February 2012 Archive of this blog. Find the Archive in the right column. And more to come in March. I "ain't" done yet!

After Maine Events are finished, I may start having a few "Dack Attacks". What are they? Stick around to find out sooner than later.

Enjoy the ride!
The BaffinPaddler

Greetings from the Great White North! Awesome X-Country Skiing in Gatineau Park, Quebec, Canada

It's that time of year once again. To beg forgiveness of our diehard "must paddle winter" paddle buddies for parking our awesome sea kayaks and GPs (Greenland paddles) and picking up the ski poles instead.

I say, this is a better idea in winter! But hey, whatever floats your boat.

Good news! It's still not too late to convert from the "stick" (Greenland paddle) to the ski pole this winter. The sales are on and the snow is back! At least around here in the National Capital Region of Canada (Ottawa, Ontario/Gatineau, Quebec).

For last year's tempting plea for more diehard winter paddlers to convert to the slopes see:  Paddlers who don't know they love cross-country skiing yet . . . but will!

Or check out what you're missing again this year. Join us! Hit the slopes! I'm just sayin' Let's Ski! We'll paddle again when stuff thaws out.

Ski to a day cabin in Gatineau Park. Pretty awesome.

Gatineau Park cabins are cute from any angle.

Inside a cabin. Get comfy.

Heat up lunch in some Aluminium foil on top of the wood stove. Don't bring anything drippy! Grilled cheese sandwiches are great.

I love woodpeckers!

Here's another woodpecker at a Gatineau Park bird feeder.

Gatineau Park red squirrels love to play peek-a-boo. They dig tunnels under the deep snow to the bird feeders in Gatineau Park. So cool! And so cute! Do you see a hole to the tunnel at the left of this picture? It leads to the bird feeder. One squirrel keeps watch, while the others eat. There were 5 at the bird feeder today. A family? Yep, they squabble at times. And watch out for each other. So must be!

I'll admit. I love the red squirrels in Gatineau Park. So beautiful!

Happy ski and paddle trails! Stay warm.
The BaffinPaddler

Maine Events: Lobster Industry Litter

Rusting lobster traps and broken lobster buoys washed ashore on an island in the Deer Isle Archipelago, off Stonington, Maine, USA

Well, this probably isn’t going to be a very popular post. But it is important.

As paddlers, we see things from a different perspective sometimes. At a slower pace. We tend to spend more time wherever we are. It takes us longer to get there in a kayak! Maybe that's why some of us become sea kayakers. We take a deeper look. Like it or not.

The words, “Lobster Industry Litter” ran through my head so many times while paddling the Deer Isle Archipelago off Stonington, Maine last August that I became confused about eating seafood, and especially lobster.

When I looked at how much effort and resources are expended and how much industry litter lobster harvesting causes, I wondered how I could justify looking at a bright red lobster that was brown before it was boiled alive – now sitting on my plate.

And the answer was. I couldn’t.

But then, you could say the same thing about many other industries as well. It’s just that I don’t always stop to think about it.

Traveling and paddling have made me stop and think and see differently sometimes.  I’m just sayin’!

As paddlers, we can show you a lot of pretty pictures, but there is also another side to what we see.

While visiting islands like Gooseberry, Russ, Sand, and Green, in the Deer Isle Archipelago, I wondered if as much effort to harvest and sell lobsters was being spent to also clean up the mess the lobster industry leaves behind?

Rusting lobster traps on an island in the Deer Isle Archipelago, off Stonington, Maine, USA.

Who is responsible for cleaning up all this Lobster Industry Litter on land and in the sea?

Apparently your tax dollars, if you pay U.S. taxes, and volunteers who didn’t create the mess in the first place, along with the lobster industry.

Hmmm, that doesn’t sound fair or right to me. But, maybe like me, you weren’t aware.

Guess what? There’s a lot more of this Lobster Industry Litter causing all kinds of problems underwater.

What you see washed up on islands and on the mainland is just the tip of the iceberg. There is much more Lobster Industry Litter down below, rusting, rotting, and destroying ocean habitat for other species. Or roaming around loose causing navigational hazards for boats and whales.

There are efforts to retrieve some of the lost Lobster Industry Litter. They like to call it “gear”.

What is salvaged each year is nothing compared to what is still left behind, and more is lost each year than is ever recovered.

Lobster Industry Litter keeps accumulating at an alarming rate.

Even if you don't eat lobster, it is costing more and more money to fund lobster harvesting clean up. And it costs the environment a whole lot more.

Now, how much is that red lobster sitting on your plate really costing you and the rest of the planet?

For more information see Bangor Daily News in Maine, USA and related articles within these stories:

$2.3M eyed to retrieve lost lobster traps
Lobster Trap Clean Up
Lobster Traps Adrift

What's this all about?
See the first Maine Events

Happy paddles!
The BaffinPaddler

Maine Events: The Forbidden Fruit . . .

Maine lobster buoy on Gooseberry Island granite, Deer Isle Archipelago, Stonington, Maine, USA, August

Paddle partner: “Look at this one. So perfect! I’m taking it home with me!”

Me: “Are you nuts! You aren’t supposed to touch those things. Not even if they are abandoned on an island.”

Paddle partner: “I wonder if it will fit in one of my kayak hatches?”

Me: “No way. Not in a Maelstrom Vaag 174 sea kayak.”

Paddle partner: “I’ll strap it on the back deck.”

Maelstrom Vital 166, Maelstrom Vaag 174, Gooseberry Island, Deer Isle Archipelago, off Stoninton, Maine, USA

Me: “What! Not if you paddle with us. You’ll be target practice . . . what if they miss!”

Maine paddle buddies: Standing there in complete silence.

Everyone knows, you don’t mess with the lobstermen’s buoys or traps, on land or sea.

But we were in a minefield of “Forbidden Fruit”. It was everywhere. So tempting!

“Maybe just one, just once?”

Then it hit me too . . . I picked up a lost lobster buoy on Russ Island.

“Look at this one. It’s so nice. A real Maine lobster buoy. Maybe it will fit in the hatch of my Maelstrom Vital 166 sea kayak.”

Maine paddle buddies: Still standing there in complete silence, smiling quietly. Wondering what disease had suddenly befallen their Canadian paddle mates and destroyed their common sense.

We were in the heart of Maine lobster territory in the Deer Isle Archipelago, just off Stonington on the Atlantic Ocean during the busy harvesting season in August.

We were not prepared for the temptation.

Paddle partner: “Wouldn’t this one look nice hanging up in our living room . . . ?”

Suddenly the fog in my head cleared.

What! Hanging up somewhere in our house . . . ! This big Styrofoam thing! It’s cute now, but . . .

Me: “How about we just take a picture of you with it instead and leave it here?"

"It doesn’t belong to us. Someone may come to fetch it. Like the lobster boat that owns it!”

Maine paddle buddies: “Now, that’s a fine idea.”

I’ve named this disease “The Maine lobster buoy forbidden fruit virus”.

It’s a deadly and highly contagious disease.

But, there is a cure! Here it comes!!!

What’s this all about?
See the first Maine Events

Happy Paddles
(c) The BaffinPaddler

Maine Events: A Beautiful Thing

Gooseberry Island, Deer Isle Archipelago, near Stonington, Maine USA paddling with Penobscotpaddles

The oneness of each, makes the paddle pod a beautiful thing.

Sharing . . .

Discovering . . .

Finding . . .

Together. It’s a beautiful thing.

I love how a kayak can take you there. Time and time again!

What’s this all about? 
See the first Maine Events

Happy paddles!
The BaffinPaddler

Maine Events: Happy Valentine’s Day!

Ahhhh, those passionate moments, the ones you love to remember, and can’t seem to forget.

I love those impromptu moments of discovery, like this special moment I was lucky to steal last August while paddling the Deer Isle Archipelago, off Stonington, Maine, USA.

This hidden little beach on Sand Island, shows up during low tide.
If your timing is right . . . you might just get lucky and meet up with it too.

A fleeting moment. I wish I could have stayed longer.

If your one true love, or best love, is secretly your awesome sea kayak and favorite Greenland paddle, you probably aren’t alone! And it's probably not a secret! I’m just sayin’: HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!  

BaffinPaddler in the awesome Maelstrom Vital 166 sea kayak with favorite Greenland paddle.

What’s this all about?
See the first Maine Events

Happy paddle trails!
The BaffinPaddler