I was glad to get a relatively early start this morning since the forecast called for strong south winds in the afternoon. For the most part, it was a nice day for paddling. In order to go around Caissie Cape, I would have to go east, then north, then east, then south, then southwest, then south. So strong winds out of pretty much any direction could have been a problem for at least a while.
Immediately after getting past the broken Cocagne bridge, I was overwhelmed by the number of homes lined up along the shores. I don’t know if any of the Bouctouche or Shediac churches have made any impact on these areas. After making my turn to the north, I had hoped to take a break at a wharf, but it turned out to be a private club. Continuing around the north side, there were some interesting rock formations but I didn’t see any places for public access, just lots and lots of cottages. There were a few people out enjoying the small beaches, and I did finally find a public wharf with nice beach access on the northeast side. Even though they had a big parking lot, I was surprised that there were no public restrooms. I talked to a couple people, but missed opportunities to share the Gospel.
Going southward from Cap-de-Caissie, I started to get some wind and could see Shediac Island. My plan was to go between the island and the mainland, and then along the shore to Shediac Bridge. As I ran into very shallow water and strong southwest winds near the sandspit that juts out toward Shediac Island, I decided to take a break and reevaluate what was the best strategy. I didn’t pull the kayak very far up since there were only a few inches of water and I figured the tide was going out anyway. While walking around in a strong wind gust, it occurred to me that I should make sure the kayak was still OK. When I looked, I saw it starting to float away! After I caught it, I rechecked my notes and saw that I had remembered the tides wrong: the tide was rising.
Instead of paddling across more open shallow water, I opted to go south to Shediac Island first, along its northwest shore, and then cross over to the west (about a mile). Unlike most islands I’ve seen, there was a nice bluff on the northeast tip and lots of tall trees in the middle. The western edges were marshy though. I wanted to go up to a picnic site at Shediac Bridge, but didn’t see anything once I got close and decided to go ahead down toward Shediac. The homes seemed to get fancier in general. So many people, so much lostness. I know many might say that most of the homes are only occupied seasonally and therefore don’t represent viable population for building a church, but they are still associated with people who need Jesus and this is an ideal time of year to try to reach them. Unfortunately, the times that people flock to resort communities like this seem to be the same times that the few churches cut back their ministries due to pastors and members going on vacation.
Although there was some wind, the rest of the paddle was fairly uneventful. I got in to the campground earlier than usual, so that I didn’t just get cold leftovers for supper. Having wireless in the campground also made a good opportunity to catch up on email and blogging.
I was disappointed at not being to make contact with any local pastors. It was also an emotional day since I had to miss my wife’s birthday. And there are just so many people in the area with so little evangelical witness.
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