The need for a quality forecast makes planning a sea kayak trip to distant Eastern Egg Rock a challenge. That was especially true this year as strong winds and high seas (due at least in part to Tropical Storm Bill) resulted in four postponements. We finally got a good wind and weather forecast but 2 to 4 foot seas were predicted. It seemed like every aspect of the trip was formidable. Round Pond Landing was crowded and chaotic. I estimate the seas were in the 4 to 5 foot range approaching Western Egg Rock where we initially thought we’d had a close shark encounter. Turns out it was probably a sunfish. It was unsafe to land on Western Egg, a first for me. That meant remaining in our boats for an extended time. We decided on a short visit with the puffins with a stop at western on our return. The seas were still big leaving Western but mellowed as we neared Eastern Egg Rock. Usually, most of the puffins are located on the west side of the rock but only a few were present this year. Since a tour boat was circumnavigating the island, we reluctantly decided to extend our trip and do the same. Our efforts were rewarded as scores of the delightful seabirds were swimming and feeding in large swells on the south side. Numerous more sightings were made as we continued around the rock. Hurrying back to Western Egg, it was still unsafe to land. After about 5 hours in our boats, we found relief at Noyes Preserve on the southern end of Loud’s Island. Whitecaps were building when we finally returned to Round Pond Harbor. Despite a multitude of obstacles, we had another successful puffin endeavor.
Participants: Ellen Nelson, Mark Nelson, Jean Miller, Randy Berube, Laurie Wunder, Tom Meredith, and TC