Stange Sights - part two.

So I'm out in the lake, weaving through stretches of clear water and fog, having to trust my GPS sa to exactly what direction shore is. A funny thing often happens to me at times like these - my rational mind assures me that all is OK - I have the technology I need to keep me safe. Unfortunately, some deep, intuative and primitive part of my mind that seems uninformed about my GPS is throbbing with panic.

As I look to what my GPS is telling me is out in the like, I begin to see what seems to be an apparation floating some distance away. What ever it is it seems to emit an orange glow that reflects in the fog that surrounds it.

Stange Sights

Several years ago, I found myself kayaking about 7 kilometers off of Port Dalhousie. The night had begun innocently enough... a quiet lake entry off a rocky beach in Niagara on the Lake. Waves were small as I glided away from land and pointed my boat toward the CN Tower. Two hours later I gasped as the tower vanished before my eyes - a patchy fog bank had settled over the lake. Her and there I could see lights piercing the fog, but no Toronto skyline.

I thought it prudent to turn myself around and get closer to shore, only to find the my return route was shrouded in cloudy mist. There was no reason to panic- I had a campass and a GPS and there was no fog immediately around me. As a kayked closer to the shore, I found the the fog had made a moving maze on the water. I could thread my way, left and right through clear areas. The fog itself was thick... you could barely see ahead of your boat.

Fog like this does stange things with sound... it seems to absorb it like a big thick blanket over a cell phone. There just is no sound and your voice seems to die as it leaves your mouth.

To be continued...

The sun has been down for a few hours now and it is brisk at the water's edge. There is no one on the beach as I pull my boat into the water. No waves tonight, just small ripples. The moon is full; my kayak almost casts a shadow. This beach in Burlington is very shallow... I have to pull the boat out quite a way before I can actually get in. The water is like glass as I paddle out a few hundred metres then turn to face the shore. The lists of the shore bounce of the water; the low rumble of the steel mills cannot be escaped even out here. Turning the boat to the darkness expanse of the lake, I slowing paddle, trying to make as little noise as possible. Five kilometres out the lake almost always changes; Im now lifted by one metres swells. There is only one light on the lake and it if far out in the blue.. I am alone.

I've always been attracted to big water. I think someone read a story book to me when I was small... there was a picture of a boat sailing away at night... both the sky and water differing shades of dark blue framed by a large shining moon.

Its funny about man's odd relationship with sea...

Map of route from Erie, Penn to Long Point

The route begins at a State Park within the city of Erie, Penn, crosses an international border, skirts the tip of Long point then ends at Port Dover Ontario.

Weather at the crossing site can be viewed below:

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=45132