Melissa Waage's Blog
Guest blogger: Margo Pellegrino's message in a bottle for healthy oceans--Day 11
July 11, 2008
Posted by Melissa Waage in Reviving the World's Oceans
Margo Pellegrino is paddling her canoe 500 miles from New Jersey to Washington, DC in support of healthy oceans legislation. She's now a few days away from Washington, in Solomons, Maryland.
Margo's Blog: July 10
Whew. What a day. The paddle from Chesapeake Beach to Solomons is a straight run down a very long spit of land. The wind was out of the North-East which made it a fast although slightly uncomfortable and nerve-wracking ride. It was fun to ride the swells where I could, but it was awfully lonely out there. Last year it seemed there was always someone on the water. This year has been a different story, partly because of the route I chose, and probably because of gas prices, too. It definitely gets lonlier when the waves kick up and it's just you and the bay and rocky swells. Speaking of swells, the Chesapeake has its own variety-they're fairly sizeable for a bay. At least, though, unlike Sapelo Sound in Georgia, they come at you from one general direction.
There was an exceptionally ugly little stretch by what I found out later was a power plant. Apparently where I paddled is by the outflow pipe, and it pushes out massive amounts of water. Today wasn't even that bad, wind-wise. I can't imagine how bad that spot gets when it's really windy.
Things calmed down when I got to the LNG terminal. What a hideous thing that is. It's kind of crazy how it's marked off, too. For that big thing, there are only four markers. And if you drift into the "restricted area" or happen not to see one of the markers which are about a mile apart, a Coast Guard boat will come and escort you out. There's cameras on those bouys, and you get a ticket if you drift in more than twice, or so I've heard.
The whole time I was paddling I kept thinking about my thumb. A guy I met this morning told me about a guy he knew who had a cut on the back of his hand. He got a serious infection from the bay and ended up having his arm amputated. Now the guys that make their living from the bay have to worry about more than the gnarly weather that kicks up here--they have to worry about getting infections from the water.
Just a brief mention-paddling from Baltimore to Annapolis I saw a bunch of skates gliding by. Then I saw three just hanging out. I stopped and stared at them, and they gazed back at me--I guess... Yesterday the geese tried to eat my boat, today I saw a ground hog in a tree.
Just a reminder- check out RozSavage.com and take the pledge to make one change in your life for the planet. Wearing a Hawaiian shirt is optional.
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