Submarine Day

I needed to change it up bit and I got as far as the Thames before getting bored with driving. Fortunately, the series of turns to get to the put-in are well signed. I start under two very tall highway bridges.

It's a good day with a light wind coming up the river. I haven't been here for two years or more. For another change, I cross the river directly and then head up river towards the sub base. I have to recross the river a few hundred yards before I get to the USS Nautilus, which is a floating museum piece, but a well guarded floating museum piece. The Nautilus is famous for reaching the North Pole under the ice pack 64 years and 12 days ago - 1958. 

As I start to check the river for boat traffic, so that I can make a easy crossing without dealing with the amateur mai-tai navy, I spot a big black void moving in my direction. I continue up the shoreline as the big void approaches, it is a submarine coming down the river and I prefer to pass well behind it. It is well guarded by a couple patrol boats, and the patrol boats and me have an unspoken mutual agreement to not speak to each other... they don't want to bother with me, and I don't want them to bother with me.  Once the sub has passed, I make the half mile crossing over to the west side.

One thing that I notice today as I paddle up past the base is that the patrol boats are not shadowing civilian boat traffic like they have in the past. It's just something that gets me wondering, and I imagine that they have other methods at play.

I follow the west shore up past the sub base. Much of this is a rocky and forested shoreline. However, the wind is building and I decide to turn around a mile or so before usual. The return is against the wind land the water has developed a good chop. But, I figure out why the patrol boats are less than enthusiastic. I notice a small civilian fishing boat motor past for the third time. If you sped by in a motorboat, you wouldn't notice, but at canoe speed, it's a little obvious. Three people are on board, one at the helm, one sitting on the foredeck, and one standing in the stern. The person on the foredeck is dressed something like Tom Sawyer with a wide brim floppy hat, and hasn't left that position for about an hour. Looking carefully, I notice that they are wearing an inflatable pfd under their clothing. The person in the stern has been standing there the whole time as well. That person also has a hidden pfd and what looks like a large shoulder bag partially hidden under their clothing...with a pistol grip sticking out of the rear.  And they turn around and head back, fishermen that never quite get to the fishing.

There are a couple sunken wood vessels