Trip from Garden Cove to Woody Island, May 1999
By Alex McGruer, St.John’s, Newfoundland
Reprinted with permission from Sea Kayaker. April 2000, pp.8-9
I loved Eric Soares’ Sea Conditions Rating System (SK, Dec.’99). In my region, almost any time we leave shore, we have Class III conditions. The Labrador current brings icy Arctic waters around the coast of Newfoundland, and the water can go below 32 deg. F, as it is salt and moving. The waves are about three feet - often more, rarely less. Fog routinely poses a threat, so a GPS or a compass is required. My paddling partners and I do a lot of paddling; we’ve all been sea kayaking for four years, and two of us have some whitewater time.
On one of our outings, 35 paddlers left Garden Cove for Woody Island, a 13 km run in 20 km/hour winds and 1.5- to 2-foot seas. The water temperature would have been about 39 deg. F. We were all supposed to be experienced kayakers. We broke up into three groups. The first off were the stronger paddlers. Two guides joined that group and off they went. The second group was well-grounded paddlers, but not so fast. I have a good marriage and aim to keep it, so I joined my wife, Cecilia, in this group. We had two guides. This was my second time in my new boat, which happened to be a tippy little beast.
Not ten minutes out, I felt the wind swing around and the waves then grew to 3 feet. Shortly after that, the stern of my kayak was lifted by a wave and off I went: I tried to turn and miss the kayak ahead of me but in spite of a wicked high brace, I clipped his boat.
The forecast called for diminishing winds from the northwest. The winds came up to about 70 km per hour, blowing streamers from the wavetops. A couple of doubles from the first group made it to the destination on Woody Island. The wind got very bad before we got to the crossing from Sound Island to Woody Island. We passed most of the first group about this time. One of their people took a dip once, then twice, and was now on shore with a group trying to warm him up, while waiting for the safety launch that was on the way.
Half the group, including one of the guides, capsized at one time or another. Our group broke up: Two or three stronger paddlers went ahead as we crossed the one kilometer from Sound Island to Woody Island. It was only then that I realized we were in too deep. One lady got blown into Placentia Bay, and the guides went back to get her. Cecilia and I made for Leibs Beach. The two paddlers who had gone ahead were just past the beach, and held up in the lee of a small rock island. I told them and Cecilia to follow me in. We tried three times: Each time the double got well out, they turned broadside to the wind, rather than ferry across. They slid back faster than you would think possible. On the third shot, Cecilia ran out of energy and patience. She declared she had to go to the lee of the island.
She found a rock garden to park in. The women in the double followed, as did one other single. Once they were ashore, I paddled on in toward the rock garden. Waves were up to four feet. I braced against a big wave that was due to break. It went under me, hit the rock wall behind me and flipped me before I could draw a breath. I did the ugliest roll attempt I could imagine, and was surprised I stayed up. Any energy I had left was gone after that dunking. The women helped get my boat up on the shore as I got out and could barely walk. Cold water can draw energy faster than I imagined.
Many things went wrong on this trip, but we had two power safety boats, six good guides and some exceptional paddlers in the group. All people had thermal protection. I carried a spare paddle, bilge pump and a paddle float. I now carry a paraflare, hand flares and a marine VHF radio. Let’s do the SCRS math:
Water Temp: About 38 deg. F - 34
Wind Speed: 37 miles per hour - 37
Wave Height: 4 feet - 8
Swim Distance at Crossing: 200 meters - 2
Breaking Waves - 30
Rock Garden - 20
Total - 131
131 divided by 20 = 6.55 or Class VI
Since the worst of the wind and the rock garden didn’t coincide, I’d drop the rating 20 points for the crossing. That’s still Class VI: nearly impossible conditions, suitable for a team of experts only. The conditions at the beginning of the outing rated at Class II, intermediate. Then the wind shifted, the wave height increased, and I’d presume a breaking wave caused Alex’s first capsize. The rating had jumped to a Class IV: extreme conditions, advanced techniques required. It would have been a good time to recalculate the SCRS and reassess the plan for the crossing. The capsizes and difficulty some paddlers were having in controlling their boats were indications that paddlers were paddling in conditions beyond their capabilities. Sea Kayaker Editor.