Six Chowderheads met at Bradford Point in Friendship for a two-day sea kayak expedition to Eastern Egg Rock to visit the recently arrived puffins. Paddling to a campsite on Black Island was the immediate goal. The weather forecast for day two had deteriorated overnight with fog and strong onshore winds predicted. The four mile paddle to Black Island with sunny skies and light winds was a delight. Two remaining trip participants, outliers if you will, were met at the large Maine Coastal Heritage campsite on the north end of the island. After a group discussion regarding concerns about the worsening second day weather forecast, a change of plans was made: We would attempt to complete the nine mile roundtrip to Eastern Egg Rock during the afternoon. Excellent conditions were encountered traversing south through the narrow channel between Harbor and Hall Islands and passing Franklin Island Light, the last island before a couple of miles of open water to Eastern Egg. Light winds and gentle seas continued to Eastern Egg where we were greeted with scores of colorful puffins. We also had the opportunity to exchange greetings with club member Olivia Ridley who was working on the island as a member of the Audubon staff. After completing a circumnavigation of the rock in rolling swells, we returned to Black Island with a tailwind and an ingoing tide. A sunny end of the day with a cool sea breeze made for a very pleasant evening camping on Black Island. The following morning, we awoke to patchy fog and a strong onshore wind. Three in the group decided to return to Friendship while the remaining Chowderheads outwaited the fog and paddled to a beach on Harbor Island to hike Cliff Trail. The trek across the island led to spectacular cliffs with a panoramic view of Muscongus Bay on the west side. Afterwards, the hiking contingent returned to the mainland assisted by a strong tailwind and a cooperative ingoing tide. Jean Miller and Ken Gordon took some exceptional pictures of the wonderful little puffins. Special thanks to Troad for organizing overnight parking even though she was unable to participate.
Participants: Helen Hess, Rick Farnsworth, Adam Chase, Brent Elwell, Deb Harris, Jean Miller, Ken Gordon, and TC