paulariegel

Hi Ralph - Was away from home for period of time w/out access to home email. Your check is being returned. Thanks, Paula NDK Exp-LV VCP-Anas Acuta

NPSN is holding an Advanced Ocean Skills class in August w/ CRCK. Check out the calendar posting on Aug 19th for more info. Paula NDK Exp-LV VCP-Anas Acuta

Hi Renee - That bug does bite pretty hard! We do have a spot I put you on the list but you need to send me a check ASAP to confirm your spot. I sent an e-mail to you this eve with the information. (Was away this weekend, so just catching up on emails now. ) Cheers, Paula NDK Exp-LV VCP-Anas Acuta

Hi All - There's still some spots left in the Women's Sea Kayaking Workshop taught by Karen Knight and the Boating Adventures/Misadventures class being taught by Bob Foote. Locations for the classes have now been determined. The Women's Workshop will be at Chebacco Lake; Boating Adventures/Misadventures at Gloucester Harbor. These are two internationally known instructors and a great opportunity to learn/refine skills. Check out the calendar for more information. Paula NDK Exp-LV VCP-Anas Acuta

Please check out the calendar posting for this class! Paula NDK Exp-LV VCP-Anas Acuta

Please check out the calendar posting for this class! Paula NDK Exp-LV VCP-Anas Acuta

NSPN is pleased to sponsor a British Canoe Union (BCU) 2/3 Star Training on Sunday June 4th at Chebacco Lake. The course will be taught by Jed Luby who is a certified BCU Coach Level 3 Sea, A1 and ACA Coastal Kayak Instructor. More information will be posted to the calendar soon. In the meantime, however, please contact Paula at fatcat@metrocast.net for more information or to register for the class. Paula NDK Exp-LV VCP-Anas Acuta

NPSN is pleased to sponsor a Boating Adventures/Misadventures class with Bob Foote on June 17th. Water is dynamic. In a blink of an eye, it can change from being a placid, inviting, and relaxing environment to one that is unfamiliar, unpredictable, and threatening. Bob Foote knows this first hand. For over twenty-five years he has been leading canoe and kayak trips to some of the more remote and not-so-remote regions of South America, Central America and North America. He’s had to deal with everything from minor injuries and capsize recoveries to flash floods and large waves breaking apart his boat. In this class Bob will go over some of these real life paddling-related scenarios. Student’s will work together to come up with strategies and techniques to avoid or handle such situations. Through drills and role-playing, students will also spend time on the water developing the necessary rescue skills and awareness that is needed when out kayaking (whether it be on a lake, river, or on the ocean). This class will be a mixture of dry-land and on-water (some lecture, but mostly on water scenarios and drills). More information will be posted to the NPSN calendar soon, so please check back. Paula NDK Exp-LV VCP-Anas Acuta

NSPN is pleased to sponsor a Woman’s Sea Kayaking Workshop on June 17th & 18th which will be taught by Karen Knight. This 2 day course will focus on developing and refining strokes/skills and is geared towards women who are fairly new to kayaking and those in need of some refinement and additional skill development. More information will be posted to the NPSN calendar soon, so please check back. Paula NDK Exp-LV VCP-Anas Acuta

Date: Thursday March 30th Time: 6:30-9:00pm Location: Gould Barn, Topsfield MA If you love the great outdoors – this workshop is for you. Share a fun, informative, and social evening with fellow paddlers. This workshop will cover trip planning; camping equipment (gotta love gear!!), the 3 F’s, cooking (good food really adds to the camping experience) , site selection/set up/ethics, boat packing and a few other things. If you’ve never done kayak camping before, this is a great way to learn the basics. If you have done kayak camping, bring your favorite piece of gear, i.e. what you wouldn’t dream of camping without, to shared with the group. And feel free to bring a ‘brown-bag’ with dinner. No RSVP necessary. See you there! Directions: From the south, take Rt. 1 north exit off of Route I-95. Follow that to Rt. 97 west into Topsfield. At the stop sign, the library will be on your left and a small side street immediately before the stop sign is on your right - that is East Common Street. Take a right onto this street and park in the lot on the right that is for the Emerson Center/Congregational Church. From the north, take I-95 south to the Topsfield Rt. 97 exit. Proceed to Congregational Church on the right and Town Common on the left. Make a left turn onto Route 97 East, for 1/2 a second and then take a SHARP left onto East Common St and park in the lot on the right that is for the Emerson Center/Congregational Church.

I've done overnights with the Anas. Not much room in the rear hatch and the small front hatch makes packing tricky. My sleeping bag is bulky so that takes up much room. If you go very minimalist, it works, but I like some camp comforts, so much prefer taking the explorer camping.

Hi Jason - In March there will be a kayak camping workshop. One of the topics was kayak packing. If you cover it during the Feb workshop, that's cool. For the March workshop, we can either just lightly touch on the subject or go into more detail - whatever the group wants. But if you don't cover it in Feb, we'll definitely cover in detail in March. Just a thought... Cheers,

Great report - thanks very much for sharing your experiences and how tough situations where handled. Hopefully that shark didn't follow you to the east coast!

Reserve these dates and come take a surf class with the coach who wrote the book on surf kayaking! More information regarding the classes and how to sign will be posted soon. PS - check this link out. http://www.starling.com/nigel_surf_wmv.html

WOW!!! Amazing scenary. I'm with Carl - it's on my list now! Did you see any whales?

I have tried one. For about 5 minutes and all the while issueing a string of expletives. Plus I had trouble with the rudder concept;-))I don't see how you guys stay on those things.

A big congrats to Alex taking 1st, yet again, but in a different class this year. If you put that woman in a bathtub and gave her a canoe paddle, she'd still come in first! Way to go!

Never less than 3 on the sea... and that's what we were. Three of us launched, late morn (about 11am), from York Harbor. After the short trip through the harbor, we decided to head north towards Nubble Light. (About a 7 1/2 mile round trip - not including the gunkholeing). Conditions were very mild(winds 5-10 seas 2-4) so rock play provided the thrills and practice of boat handling skills. And from time to time we would stop and gaze down through the crystal clear waters at the underwater kelp gardens. After moseying (sp?) along the shoreline, we made a bee-line from Roaring Rock Point to Cape Neddick Nubble. Once there, we decided to paddle clock-wise around Nubble. On the eastern side, steam rose from rocks drying in the sun giving it a sauna-like appearance. The southeastern tip of the tiny island provided fun with larger swells breaking over/around rocks. With stomachs grumbling, we landed on the slippery rocks beneath where tourists congregate to view the lighthouse. Walter provided yet another sandwich feast. We finished our respite by dozing in the sun on the hot rocks. At 2pm we packed up for the trip back. Thick haze was over the waters. After a roll to cool off, we headed southwest approx 240. About 1/3 way across Long Sands, a rumble was heard. Then another. And another. We kicked the pace up (which wasn’t easy after those sandwiches), and made for Cow Beach Point. There wasn't much chatting on the way back as each of us concentrated on forward strokes. Once along the shoreline again we relaxed. If the t-storm hit, we could easily land and take shelter amongst the rocks. We proceeded to have a leisurely paddle back into the harbor with the current (high at York Harbor was 3:36pm). At the take out we saw Alex. She had been paddling south of York Harbor and was in Brave Boat Harbor when she too heard the rumble of thunder. After chatting and packing away gear/boats, the thunder grew more louder/frequent and a lightening streak was seen. A good time to be off the water and for a stop at KTP. A fun day and good company and excellent sandwiches. (Bill, you missed out!).

I'd be interested in a wfa course that would include fixing shoulder dislocations. Other courses: Greenland rolling, Mr. Hutchinson for anything, and rocks/surfing.

Good job you guys!

This trip has been cancelled but will be rescheduled for later this summer.

Hi Folks, There's been a delay in getting the details regarding this trip posted to the calendar. If you are interested, please post your interest here and send me an e-mail with requested information below. The trip is scheduled for the afternoon to take advantage of the flood/ebb. Below are more details. Salmon Falls River Trip June 26, 2005 1:30pm Launch This is a level 3 trip that will take us from Dover Point up the Piscataqua and Salmon Falls Rivers. Salmon Falls is a lovely, rural river. North of the RT 101 bridge, homes along the side of the river give way to pastures and forests. There will be a planned stop at the RT101 Bridge Launch site and potential stop at Hamilton House/Vaughn Woods State Park. Hamilton House is a historic New England property. More information can be found at http://www.spnea.org/visit/homes/hamilton.htm. Mileage could exceed 10nm, plus current at put-in/take out classifies as a level 3. Trip duration about 5.5-6 hours. Group size limited to 8. Leader: Paula Riegel, Assistant TBD. RSVP to Paula Riegel at fatcat@metrocast.net and include the following info: 1) Your Name; 2) Your ACA/NSPN member # and expiration date. If you have not yet received your ACA/NSPN card, forward a copy of the email acknowledging receipt of your application. If you are participating as a guest, state that you will be bringing the two waiver forms will be paying the required ACA fee specified on the waiver form. 3) a description of your boat (color, length, make); 4) an emergency contact for the day of the trip (name and phone#); 5) a way for the Trip Leader to contact you in the 36 hours before the trip (email and telephone) 6) if the Trip Leader does not already know you, include your "paddling resume", i.e., a brief description of your paddling experience. This can include recent NSPN trips you have been on, members or Leaders you regularly paddle with, classes taken, practice sessions attended, assessments completed, etc. It need not be more than a few sentences

Just made a quick stop at Shaws and grabbed a few things. No cooking involved! Thank god they weren't picky!

I'm surprised it doesn't come with fake wood side paneling. That is one butt ugly boat.

What's that saying about always make sure you wear protection?? Ha, ha, yeah it does look pretty silly in those pancake conditions but after a surf roll in shallow water without it, I thought it might be a good idea to slap it on. I got a new helmet too and wanted to try it out.