B

Alas, I second Mr. Pintail. ?

Ah, definitely not a new subject that the board has had to wrangle with. I would prefer to keep my efforts and this issue transparent. To answer your questions: Never a cost, of course Paid NSPN members only, of course My motivation is MY usual "pay it forward" effort to help members and the club grow as I instilled in its membership in 1998. I see little in the way of follow up after the "learn to paddle" efforts you and others put forward in the spring, so I'm stepping up to help continue your efforts. It takes a village to keep the fires burning. If you really get to know me, you'll know that I teach for the love of teaching and I have thousands of hours of free teaching behind me and thousands more ahead of me. Having to charge for commercial classes outside of NSPN simply covers the cost of travel (3 hrs each way) and time lost from other sources of income that I'm taking time off from to lead/teach to NSPN for free. In short, for me to GIVE a Sunday or two a month to NSPN, I need to defray my losses from other income sources by commercially teaching one or two other Sundays of the month. I will be posting in the "commercial" section of the NSPN message board. I won't be handing out flyers or other types of proactive efforts to garner business, but I'm sure it will come up in conversation and my boat will be marked in some fashion. In closing, I'm not here for the politics or bureaucracy that became the club I poured thousands of hours of my blood sweat and tears into. Two or three trips/classes and a Chabaco Lake skills session a week for three years. Hell, I almost lost my marriage over it. I'm here for the fun of paddling and learning with friends old and new as it was before I left in 2001. B

Funny man.... my ass is paddling at 10am. Just like the old days. Be on it or get left behind.

It's been 17 years since I led an NSPN trip. I led over 100 trips between 98/99/2000. Since then I've earned my BCU 4* Sea (California 2002) BCU 4* WW BCU Coach L2 ACA L4 (again), first time was 1999(?) with Carl Ladd. Moving to California in 01, I joined B.A.S.K. and helped teach their basic class for 2 years before moving to Seattle and immersing myself into the SK community through the Washington Kayak Club and The Mountaineers SK program. I've spent 2 months wandering Southeast Alaska in 2003 After returning from a stint working overseas, I worked as the Senior Instructor/coach for Seattle Raft & Kayak, and The Kayak Academy working along side George Gronseth & Dubside. I started my own teaching operation in 2010, Rogue Wave Adventures (www.kayakthesea.com), where I teach advanced ocean skills, advanced stroke work, and incident management. I'm a past team paddler for Kokatat, Tiderace, LendalNA, and Seakayaker Magazine. I'm planning on calling a trip or two a month locally if the powers that be are ok with it. I'm not sure what the protocol is anymore, so if someone would enlighten me it would be appreciated. I would also like to join in on some play sessions with the other kids. I'm not interested in long crossings since my back is not all that happy on long slogs. Besides, I tend to stir up trouble when I get bored. Many thanks, Bob Burnett

Omg, Crangle lives!!! It'll be good to see you again.

Thank you for the kind words Christopher. It'll be good to see you again my friend.

Funny thing is I saw Roger a couple of years ago in traffic on Rt 128(93) in Lexington and tried to get his attention. I was beeping and waving aggressively, he wouldn't make eye contact and went into flight mode. He probably thought I was a road rage nut.. Marjorie, last I heard, was teaching school in Belmont CA. Chris got married and had a family. Adam is around somewhere, and Keith retired from Lotus and is working with Newbury Kayak.

Wow, 20 years. In May of 1998 I posted the first Show & Go for Pierce Island in Portsmouth.....and no one showed up. Not to be deterred, I posted another the next week in Marblehead, my home waters. This time Roger Wilkerson showed up. Yep, just me and Roger went paddling that day. That was the beginning of NSPN. In the weeks and months to come my little email list grew and grew. Sometimes as many as 30 paddlers would Show & Go on any given weekend. In celebration of that first successful Show & Go, I will be paddling out of the base of Marblehead Harbor (Riverhead Beach) on Sunday May 13 @ 10am (shove off). Yes, of course there are requirements. Drysuits, yes drysuits are proper attire for this time of year. Longboats are best, but if your ass has the skill to paddle a shorty and keep up, more power to you. It better be fitted with a skirt though. We'll head out of the harbor, around Brown's and Childrens Islands and possibly around the Neck depending on the participants and conditions. My back is not overly happy these days, so the mileage will be short with a few stops.

Spent a week up there in 1999 exploring the area with a couple of the NSPN old guard, great choice. The old Sow and reversing falls should be worth a visit. I'll be in touch as the trip draws near, I'd love to go up again. I miss the currents of the Northwest. B

Cool

I agree with Christopher. A backband inhibits rotation. A block will give you support and allow your pelvis to pivot freely. B

The rubber is toast. Buy a new skirt. You're experiencing chemical contamination. Drysuit gaskets stored near a gas water heater have the same issue.

The 3M xlear stuff comes of with a little heat from a hair dryer or heat gun.

You can apply a decent amount of pressure with an orbital sander. You don't have to worry about "burning" as you do with rotary sanders. 3M compounds are what we use on motorcycles at the shop. There's 4 steps in professional applications. 1. Heavy compound 2. Swirl remover 3. Polish 4. Wax Good auto detail shops actually offer a Teflon clearcoat process that lasts 10X longer than wax. As for the scratches, fill them in with gelcoat before you start compounding. Color matching is another subject, but at least you add strength before you begin subtracting. The old NDK Explorer hull has undergone 7 major repairs and 4 or 5 shades of white gelcoat on the hull. Have at it, and good luck. B

Don't know if you noticed the guy in bright green motercycle rainwear and helmet walking around Walter's Basin, but that was me trying to stop in to say hi. I work at the Harley shop in Meredith and Walter's is on my route home.

I just threw this out to a Bob from Amesbury.

It's great to see healthy discussion is still a mainstay of NSPN activities. Y'all should be proud of the service you provide to the membership and paddling community at large. BB

Looks like the NW in the winter.