MBCKC Paddle Reports

Bay Minette Basis (Moan, eh!)
Sunday, December 19, 2004
by Gary Worob

MOAN, EH! (A CANADIAN VERSION OF THE MONET PADDLE)


The first rule of writing is to never start out a sentence with "well".

Well, there were eight of us who showed up, but four were immediately MIA and we never saw them again.

It took me two tries to paddle through the bridge at Buzbee's, which should give you a clue as to how strong the wind was. I watched the ospreys soaring overhead and wished it would be that easy to use the wind for movement. But, the only movements were many strokes forward. I tried to not look at the side bank, to see I was barely moving. Somehow, the four of us (Matt, his lovely mom, Nancy and I) made it to the first turn off, where Matt took his monthly photos.

When we came back out of the inlet, the Canadian Arctic blast (hence the Moan, EH!) had picked up even more, and we aimed at little reed islands or stands of grasses to target for the next respite. I had just left a wonderful x-mas party and couldn't believe I gave that up to go into survival mode once more, but we pushed on. I detoured to the fallen oak tree part way up Bay Minette Basin, to try to find some more ancient pottery. None was to be found and so then it was back to the "workout". Matt tied Nancy's bowline to the stern of his tandem kayak, probably out of fear the wind would pick her up and deposit her somewhere south of the bridge. I was relieved to finally make it to the standing oak, where Matt made hot mulled cider and had lots of goodies for all. We celebrated the tough paddle and the upcoming blast home, and toasted the x-mas holiday. We then packed up, and in seconds, were back at Buzbee's to see the setting sun, as well as the temperature.

Our four missing in action probably went up the right channel, the smart way to go. But, we were all pleased we had the experience and look forward to the next Monet, without the Moan. This was the first time in over 40 years, I ever got a blister from paddling. Maybe it was from holding on so tight on the way back, for fear of flying!

Happy holidays to all and, oh yes, all of us won the prize for costume and creations, Matt's mom's homemade pralines, yeah!