Colinet to Pinchgut Island to Harricott
by Dan Miller, Pat O’Neill, Peter Noel and Malcolm Rowe
Nautical Chart #4817 (Bay Bulls to St. Mary’s Bay)
Map by Dan Miller
(click to enlarge)
Dan, Pat, Peter and Malcolm decided to take advantage of our warmer than normal fall weather and undertook a one night camping trip to Pinchgut Island in St. Mary’s Bay near the community of Colinet.
We arrived in Colinet about 11:30AM on November 3 and scouted out the shoreline for a suitable launch site finally settling on a small beach just to the immediate west of the bridge over the Colinet River. We unloaded and packed up our four kayaks and then ferried one of our vehicles to Harricott about 3 miles to the southeast on Route 93 where we planned on ending our trip. We departed the beach in Colinet at about 1:00 PM with a brisk southwest wind blowing 20-25 knots with 2 foot waves and threatening looking skies and a temperature of about 10C. We had only a 2 nautical mile paddle to our planned campsite on the northwestern end of Pinchgut Island (see attached map) and our chosen route up the eastern shore of Colinet Harbour afforded numerous sheltered coves where we could have sought shelter so we were less concerned about the sea conditions than on a longer and more exposed paddle. As we made headway to the SW, we came more into the lee of Pinchgut Island and the sea conditions lessened. We scouted out several possible campsites finally settling on a perfect sheltered spot with numerous good tent sites (see map). By the time we had unloaded our kayaks, the sun was coming out and the wind was abating.
There is no source of fresh water at this location but we had brought along an ample supply with us so there was no problem. The campsite encompasses quite a large grassy/fine gravel area which had lots of room to pitch 10 or more tents if a large party was involved. There is good shelter from southerly winds but the campsite is quite exposed to northerly winds. After setting up tents and cooking area, we set about getting a good supply of firewood for the long evening ahead, sunset is about 4:50PM this time of year. By 6:00PM, the wind had completely died out and the sea was glassy smooth. We had a very comfortable evening with a roaring fire in our sheltered camp with a fine meal of caribou stew washed down with wine, rum and strong tea.
We awoke the next morning to the rattle of pots from our cooking area only to discover that a fox had helped himself to the last of the caribou stew and had absconded with the lid of the pot. After a leisurely breakfast, we packed up and proceeded down the tickle between Pinchgut Island and the eastern shore. Wind conditions were absolutely still with the water surface like a mirror. We were serenaded by a loon and spooked up a large bald eagle. There is a lot of mussel aquaculture activity in the tickle with long chains of 100 or more buoys to navigate through. At the south eastern end of the tickle, there is a beautiful abandoned farm house and barn which was built and occupied by a German couple according to a local fellow we met there. He informed us that it had been badly vandalized fairly recently. This area is part of the resettled community of Tickles which had houses both on Pinchgut Island and Tickle Point. We had lunch in front of the barn and then proceeded west along the bar and out through the relatively narrow channel on the west side. From there it was out around Tickle Point with the weather and sea conditions still absolutely calm. Tickle Point can have large breaking seas with moderate to strong southerlies and has to be treated with respect. From there it was a three mile paddle into Harricott where our trip ended.
This is an ideal trip for anyone who wants to get away for a short and easy kayaking/camping trip close to St. John’s in a beautiful setting with a ideal wilderness campsite. However, strong southerlies or northerlies could cause some problems for inexperienced paddlers .
Photos
Photos by Dan Miller
Photos by Pat O'Neill