Date: August 11, 2006
Mission: Kayak from America to Martha's Vineyard, Targeting landfall at State Beach/Oak Bluffs
Kayakers: John Piekos, Scott Spence

Our goal this year was kayak the Elizabethan Islands and make landfall close to Tashmoo.  But the tides were not with us.  Plan B took came into play and we set our sites on an Oak Bluffs Harbor or a State Beach landing.  On Friday, August 11, 2006, at approximately 11AM, we began our journey. 

Here's the summary: We survived! This  topo map, taken from my GPS, shows our actual route.  The journey was 9.79 miles long and included a stretch of extremely choppy water which we had to kayak around (you can notice the bow in our path below).

At 11AM that day, the weather was pleasant and the water extremely calm at Falmouth.  Little did  we know at the time that the wind and water was much rougher several miles out.  As with last year's effort, we had PFDs, GPS, a marine radio, plenty of water, an extra paddle and hopefully everything we'd need in case we ran into trouble.

The traditional "good luck, hope we make it" handshake to start our journey.

The official start.  Flat water, "piece of cake", I said.

With an outgoing tide pushing us approximately 2 miles and hour, our paddle began quickly.  Note that a rock got lodged in Scott's skeg and he had to beach his kayak to fix the issue.  While I floated, waiting, I was pushed further and further away from land.

No photos of the middle of our journey. The wind picked up and created large patches of standing/choppy water, lots of whitecaps.  We found ourselves in the middle of some rather tough water and had to paddle eastward, vs landward, to get to safer water.

During the crossing, Scott paddled next to a large school of blitzing bluefish.  We contemplated taking a fishing rod out, but the seas were not favorable to land the numerous fish we undoubtedly would have caught.

We made landfall in just over 2 hours.  We landed at "Little Bridge" on State Beach in Oak Bluffs, beaching our kayaks at Sengekontaket Pond, as shown in the photo below.

Another tradition - after the sometimes harrowing paddle, I kiss the ground, thankful to be alive. :-)

Here's the detailed topo map of our actual journey.  Next year - the Elizabethans.