One of the reasons that I purchased my Perception Avatar kayak was so that I could take longer trips. Anything over 10 miles in my 11 foot Necky and I was done. One trip in particular that I was looking forward to is the trip from Schruender Park in Methuen to Cashman Park in Newburyport. I have paddled this stretch of river in two separate trips but it had been my goal to paddle the entire stretch as a day trip. Total mileage of this trip is just about 23 miles so it is a trip that takes a bit of planning including leaving a car in Neburyport or having someone who will pick you up. For me the one good thing about having a wife that doesn't really like to kayak is she is always available to pick me up at the end of my trips.
Due to the increasing boat traffic after Haverhill I didn't want to attempt this trip during the summer. I have been warned that things can get pretty crazy downstream with all of the marinas. You also need to time the tide right so you are not paddling against and incoming tide. The rule of thumb is to hit Haverhill just about at high tide.
This past Sunday everything seemed to line up perfectly for my trip with a high tide at about 10:30am. I put in in Methuen around 9:00am, weather was cool with no wind and forecast to warm up to the mid 80s later in the day. The first 10 or so miles of my trip went great I was making good time but I did notice that my kayak seemed to be pulling to the left a little. I assumed I must have bent the skeg a little at put in, something I could straighten out when I stop for lunch. Once I got past Haverhill the boar traffic started to pick up significantly no doubt because of the unseasonably warm weather. A bad omen was the three large and extremely loud powerboats like the one below that screamed past me.
At about the 15 mile mark my left arm was really starting to get sore from correcting strokes needed due to the bent skeg so I decided to stop for lunch and see what I could do about it. I was able to straighten it out a bit but it was still pulling a little but I decided to power on. Boat traffic continued to increase as I headed downstream making crossing the river a bit precarious. I wanted to be on the left side of the river when I got to the Route 95 bridge so I could paddle north around the islands in Newburyport / Salisbury, The last time I paddled this section I was on the right side of the river and wasn't able to get across due to the strong current and tide.
This time around I was able to stay north of the islands and was treated to less boat traffic and some really nice scenery along Deer, Eagle, Carr and Ram Islands. Quite a contrast to the marinas and the hundreds of boats on the other side of the islands. I planned to paddle north around Ram island but was pretty tired at this point so I cut between Carr and Ram Island headed across the Mariana and into the boat Launch at Cashman Park to finish up my day.
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| Eagle Island |
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| Carr Island |
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| Between Carr and Ram Island heading toward Cashman Park |
Total mileage of my trip was just under 23 miles and I was on the water for just over 5 hours. I have some pretty sore arms and shoulders today but I am glad to have completed the trip at least just to say that I did it. The area around the islands in Newburyport is really nice. If I wasn't so tired at the end of my trip it would have been nice to explore a little. I guess that will have to be a trip for next season.
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