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senorbim · #1 06-26-2002, 10:55 AM

hey sorry to intrude upon the yak forum but you guys maybe able to help answer my question

I don't own a kayak but I am the proud new owner of a 14' Grumman. I am just wondering about good places to put in and harass a few stripers in my area (Newburyport MA)

I know about the following likely spots:
- Joppa flats
- Parker River (put in at Perleys?)
- Essex River (put in at Woodmans)

Never canoed in tidal water before, but I have some experience in class III rivers, lots of lakes, etc. I guess I am worried about current + wind, and of course motor boat traffic

Any caveats, suggestions for a humble sub-paddler like myself? (like, get lost, you jerk! go buy a kayak

)??

Wes · #2 06-26-2002, 11:33 AM

Your last staement is correct. I used canoes in the salt for a while. The Grumman got replaced by a faster tandem. That tandem got replaced by a fast solo canoe. And that got replaced by a sea kayak. And, that sea kayak is getting bumped abt half the time now in favor of an SOT. It's tougher to paddle a canoe against tides, and it doesn't take much wind to make it a complete bear. 30 kn headwind you could be paddling yr butt off and making zero progress, you'll learn to find the lee and back eddied. You should be fine in boat wakes however.

senorbim · #3 06-26-2002, 12:16 PM

yah in a 30kt NW wind I expect I would be making tracks for Bermuda no matter what - I would go out on a calm day for sure. Wait for smaller tides too, at least until I get the hang of the area

kayaker · #4 06-26-2002, 01:29 PM

There are glassy-calm days in Gloucester when you can safely canoe the Ipswich Bay shoreline, with potentially good fishing available between Annisquam Light and Folly Point. With a light southeast breeze, you have all of Cape Ann as a windscreen, but heed any shift in the weather. Put-ins include Hodgkin's Cove (near the UMass Marine Station), Lane's Cove in Lanesville, and, if you don't mind rock-hopping, Folly Cove (near the Rockport line). More protected waters would be Little River (for a $5 fee, put in at the new ramp behind Gloucester High School or simply park and launch near the stone pier on Route 128 north)and Jones River (put in at the free state ramp on Atlantic Street, just before Wingaersheek Beach). Little and Jones are branches of the Annisquam River, so boat traffic can be annoying during peak summer hours. At first light, the Jones is a paddling jewel.