We just returned home from a 5-day trip exploring Vinalhaven Island with H2Outfitters.
My wife and I were looking at lodge-based kayak trips as a goal to help her recover from some medical issues. This trip fit the bill perfectly.
Our base was the Libby House Inn on Vinalhaven Island right in town, it was a great location and Phil was a fantastic host.
Cathy was our guide, cook, and trip planner, and she was extraordinary! With a list of kayaking credentials second to none, we knew we were in good hands.
She worked up a meal plan for my wife who has a very special needs diet, and Fran was happy with every meal. And I don’t know how she did it but lunches on the water were just like a restaurant, and the dinner meals were better, I did a pretty good number on her pan of Low Tide Brownies. So much for losing weight on this holiday… I wonder if she caters?
On the water, Cathy’s experience really showed, safety was her first goal, having fun came close second, she made some on the fly trip changes to keep us safe, and turned it into a downwind run all the way back to the harbor. During this I noticed that she’s giving everyone tips on paddle strokes, form, how to handle swells and wind, during which I was half-heartedly between a bow rudder and stern draw and heard her say “keep both hands over the water, unless you’re just fooling around…”, she does not miss a thing. We had 4 great paddles with varying wind speeds of 5 to 20 knots with higher gusts, and with different wind directions during our stay, it allowed us 4 very different day trips.
Did I mention how beautiful the scenery is around Vinalhaven, the islands, coves, bays and harbors are like paddling in a national geographic, stunning, never a bad view. Add in the wildlife, seals, guillemots, eagles, osprey, eiders, loons and even a racoon, I’m sure I missed more than I saw.
We will definitely be looking into other trips and/or training with the Head Honcho at H2Outfitters, it was the best trip we’ve ever taken, thank you Cathy and H2Outfitters!
