PeterB

That was a great presentation; very well prepared and delivered. : thanks for organizing this. I especially valued the focus on the role & influence of group dynamics and personal issues (" expert halo" etc) when risk management goes wrong. That is perhaps covered a bit less in watersports, where theres so much to manage in the area of practical skills and methods ( assessing weather, conditions, gear, planning, etc)

P&H Cetus LV or NDK Explorer LV might work for you. Both @ 17'6", pretty fast, pretty stable, with skegs .

If Rose Eden is already booked that underscores the point that this may be a busy year in Bar Harbor, people vacationing with a vengeance after being shutdown this past year, so securing accommodations soon would be a good idea! Hadley Point Campground is right next door to LLangolan, so if camping works for you, you'd be about as close as you could get to Llangolan. The Eden Village cottages are nearby , and you could look into cottages just off the island , in Trenton, towards Ellsworth.

Seventh Annual NSPN Downeast Retreat, Bar Harbor, ME September 10-13, 2021 Initiator: Peter Brady NSPN’s traditional paddling Retreat in Bar Harbor is happening again this year! This 4 day event will be from Friday Sept. 10th to Monday Sept.13th with group paddles each day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday is a travel day, with options for a shorter trip winding down midday or early afternoon. Since this retreat has been a success for for six years years running - it's a perfect location to paddle at a perfect time of year (and with a perfect group of paddlers!) - it will be run on a roughly similar schedule as in past years. Most people travel & arrive on Thursday afternoon or evening and depart on Monday afternoon. Some arrive sooner and leave later, so there will be paddlers around and about though you are of course free to arrive and leave earlier or later. There will likely be some options for biking the Acadia National Park carriage trails and day hikes in the area. Our base of operations will be at Llangolan Inn and Cottages Rte 3, Bar Harbor We have established a relationship with LLangolan over the years , The 8 bungalows and rooms are already reserved by NSPNers, who have been yearly attendees. LLangolan will be our meeting area . We can gather there for car caravans to launch sites, and in the evening to plan next days trips, and there will be a traditional potluck here on Saturday evening. Accommodations are on your own. Make your own arrangements (including reservations, cancellation deposits whatever) for your entire stay during this event. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP (" I’m going") in the calendar posting on Sept.10th A Group PM with all of participants will get going in the coming months , for information sharing, planning and communication in advance of the event. Each day there will be organized paddles (likely two or three) around Mount Desert Island, based on weather and conditions that day. We have a menu of trips suited to this area, and experienced participants familiar with the area to lead trips . We can meet at Llangolan every morning and around dinner time to create and confirm paddling plans for each day. Some favorite destinations are: the Porcupine Islands off of Bar Harbor in Frenchmans Bay, the Cranberry Islands on the south side of MDI, Bartlett Island and Sound on the West Side, and the dramatic eastern shore of the island between Bar Harbor and Seal Harbor In the last couple of years our variety of trips expanded further into Blue Hill Bay and Somes Sound, and new trip ideas are always welcome. Note: There is a possibility that 20121 will see a surge of travel to places like this; it is past Labor Day but still tourist season in the area, so it would be advised to make reservations well in advance! Some recommended lodging: Llangolan Inn & Cottages : Our base of operations and gathering spot. Hadley Point Campground: this campground is adjacent to Llangolan on Hadley Point Road. With a laundry room and hot showers. Robbins Motel: not far from Llangolan on Rte 3 for those looking for the most economical no-frills lodging on the island. Eden Village: A cottage resort similar to Llangolan, a short ways away on Rte 3. Rose Eden Cottages: a resort with small cottages right across the street from LLangolan. Trenton & (off the Island): Just across the bridge to Mount Desert Island, between Ellsworth and Bar Harbor there are cottages and motels that are probably less pricey than on Mt. Desert Island.  There are many other options for lodging in the area, including fine (but less conveniently located) campgrounds and cheaper motels off of MDI between General Schedule Thursday evening: many folks arrive in Bar Harbor,and we will have a meet & greet gathering at LLangolan with some potluck food snacks or pizza, discuss and plan the first day's padding options. Friday: Paddles all day , evening on your own: there will likely be a an outing to Thurstons lobster pound in Bernards. And some BYO hanging out at LLangolan, and Saturday: our traditional potluck dinner in the barn (made available by our gracious hosts) behind LLangolan. Sunday: meals on your own: Monday is a travel day with a possible a shorter session at Long Pond, where we can paddle, practice skills or rolling, wash off gear, and people can come and go as they please. There are also options for ocean paddles as well for those staying longer. This is a rain or shine event! This event has been a success because there is fine paddling to be had somewhere around the island in all but very harsh conditions, and if the weather is too crummy to paddle anywhere on the ocean we can paddle the inland ponds and lakes like Long Pond or Eagle Lake, or explore & hike Acadia National Park, or play tourist around Bar Harbor. Some people have taken a day off from paddling to explore Mount Desert Island and there might well be an organized hike , bike safari or two mixed into the festivities. If you have any questions: contact Peter Brady (PeterB on the message board ) or by PM

Very impressive! I've been along that coastline, and if seas are severe anywhere in that whole area, which they often are.they're likely to be severe right there. Point Reyes is like a magnet for conditions, especially this time of year. How cool that you have gone and paddled there.

Unfortunately , I just saw " The Lighthouse", so I'm not too keen on being an investor at this moment. Give me a little time.

Gary, I thought that was Joyce but wasn't sure.

Is this a " We're moving" notice?

Barry, Doug, Roger, _______, Bob _________, Rene, Dan, Cathy, _______, Pablo, Rob ?, Jane, Mike, Kyle, Prudence, Nancy . (one of mystery figures is possibly Evie?)

What can be better than poring over poured over charts?

Dehydrated hummus was one of the prepared foods (prepared by others)) that I benefitted from on a kayak trip.The beauty of dehydrated hummus is that it can be rehydrated in a number of forms: less water makes it the consistency of , say, oatmeal or mashed potatoes , more water and it can be very creamy, and anything in between. It stores and travels well , and rehydrating is easy.

I heard some bad things about the boat design from experienced paddlers who demo' d it at Sullivan Falls.The boat's pronounced rocker seems to have been achieved by bending the boat at midpoint: it sweeps up to the bow and to the stern from some midpoint close to the cockpit. No real analysis on how this affects maneuverability or performance. Build quality is reported to be okay but not outstanding. The biggest issue with the boat is that the day hatch is on center, and with drainage trough and slots this results in an extreme low point , a larger than normal depressed area just behind the cockpit. In rough water, the boat does not shed water here, and waves can pile up on the back deck, destabilizing the boat. Experienced BCU 5* type paddlers were capsizing a lot at Sullivan falls due to this. That said , this could be a quirk which the paddler just gets used to and overcomes in that normal course of breaking in a new boat , and the boat was popular for a time - I saw quite a few of them at Popham Beach, maybe part of a Canadian group that visited there regularly.

What a great trip report and photos: thank you! I've been on the sidelines this paddling season, so I especially enjoyed seeing this continuation of what now might be considered an established yearly NSPN event. I attended the past two years and aspire to attend in 2021. Very impressive that a trip of this level and quality has been so well planned and executed.

This is their definition of self quarantine. I take this to mean that a trip to Bar Harbor can be done without a test in advance . If I : travel to Maine, stay in a single cabin, bring my own food and supplies, never enter any building (eg, restaurant, bar, supermarket, retail store, museum, restroom, convenience store etc) kayak alone or with my travel party , hike or bike while maintaining considerable (well over 6 feet) social distance from others, , order food for pickup ( I would define as: pay in advance & it's brought out and put on my car hood ) I am within the guidelines of self quarantine, with or without a test in advance. I think that I could manage a trip to Bar Harbor under those conditions. Q. What does quarantine mean? A: During quarantine, a visitor may not interact with others outside their travel party or go into public spaces like shops and restaurants. They may go outside for recreation in uncrowded areas provided they abide by physical distancing guidelines and avoid contact with other people. For example, if you can do the following a safe distance away from other people, you may: go for walks in uncrowded areas canoe and kayak Bike on uncrowded trails swim in lakes ,ponds, and rivers Take a scenic drive relax and take in the views get takeout and delivered meals

Feeling of stability in a kayak is often a personal thing. Paddlers in one boat may just not feel comfortable in another, though being secure and stable in a kayak is a muscle memory thing, and feeling unstable is often overcome with time in a boat. I've seen an experienced paddler feeling initially shaky in an Explorer after switching from a Tiderace , where one is not objectively more stable than the other. Each boat has its own stability profile. But to generalize, yes , more beam likely means more intitial stability, with the tradeoff that a wider boat is often slower and less "performance" for paddlers looking for that sort of thing . So your 24" Chebeague is likely to be more stable , but as you paddle more and become more comfortable with the ocean and all its dynamics (waves, current, and so on) you may find yourself looking for a boat that can do more. As a general rule, most of the kayaks that experienced paddlers use are 21-22" wide : below 21", more skill and experience is needed to handle the kayak competently, above 23" most kayaks start to reveal limitations in speed and "performance ". The P & H Cetus is a big boat but famously stable with alot of handling & performance qualities, (but with some tradeoffs) so that boat would worth at least a look.

I have been told by local sages that on the ebb , The current from the Kennebec wraps around and creates an eddy (purple on the diagram) that affords an easy ride from Cape Small to Popham Beach. I am not aware of experiencing this myself though I did paddle that route on the ebb once (arriving at Pond Island on the last of the ebb) and may have been enjoying a bit of a free ride but didn't realize it at the time. Your route looks like it was done on the flood ,so I don't now if this eddy would have been in reverse during your trip, would be inclined to doubt it . A trip from Cape Small out to Seguin Island ( typically timed to be done on the ebb & returning on the flood ) can encounter slow going because of this eddy: perhaps wiser to follow the shore and than peel towards Seguin once near White and Pond Islands. Returning to Fort Popham from Seguin ( again. usually done at the beginning of the flood after riding the ebb to Seguin,) can be a bit tricky if encountering the remnants of the ebb from the Kennebec, so peeling off towards Popham Beach on the return can be a a good idea.

I would speculate that a tried- and- true T Rescue would pose relatively small risk to the participants, and in the overall scheme of things should command less attention and re-thinking in planning ones CV-19 paddling. The new methods shown here suggest to me that they would, like any new thing on the water, best be achieved after practice ( I certainly would want to practice these before "taking them to the bank" ) , which in turns means... more time spent with people in some contact with each other. I'm inclined to think that having a water- friendly mask of one kind (maybe a buff or neck warmer or a balaclava around ones neck ) at the ready., and deploying it in the event of a rescue, would provide an adequate barrier between paddlers for such a relatively short period of contact . Beyond that, my personal approach would be to paddle very conservatively (eg leave the rock play or paddling likely to result in a capsize for another time) to forestall the need for a rescue in the first place, and, most importantly , emphasize protocol during the loading/ carrying/ launching /landing phases of a trip where the contact between paddlers is inevitably closer.

This from Bill Baker , Old Quarry Ocean Adventures Date: 5-5-20 From: Captain Bill To: All my wonderful campers, kayakers, sailors, etc. Dear Friends, I have retired to Greenville Maine. The campground and facility are now closed. The virus was part of the reason for the decision for this season. Mostly it is due to the fact I got completely burnt out last season. I had a headache EVERY single day until we closed in October. Apparently we can’t deal with stress as well as we age. I tried to find a management team but that did not work. Last fall I reached out to different agencies including the State of Maine, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Island Heritage Trust, Maine Island Trail, Chewonki Foundation and several other agencies. We had a sit down meeting at Old Quarry to discuss the possibilities. Everyone at the table knew and vocalized about the importance of Old Quarry to allow access and parking to the many islands that they all owned or had easements on. That is about 32 islands out of 60 in the Stonington archipelago. After the meeting the attendees went back to their offices to ruminate about it and to speak with their board of directors or supervisors. Simply, the result was again acknowledgement of the importance of the property and business to the public. None of them could however muster the effort and resources to make the purchase. That decision was devastating to me because I know firsthand how important this property and decision was. Through my 22 years of building the business I have seen and heard people’s appreciation of being able to enjoy the beauty of the property and the archipelago. I believe that something great and wonderful is about to be lost. This access will now be gone forever. I am so sorry that I could not pass this place on in perpetuity to the general public. If you know someone who knows someone who could perhaps do something to save Old Quarry please pass this message on. Thanks for reading this, Bill Baker Owner, Old Quarry Ocean Adventure

Yes I've read that a zipped- up 4 season tent may add 3-5 degrees to your sleeping environment so that's worth something on a cold night but probably only your 3rd priority, after your sleeping bag and air mattress. It partly comes down to how much you're willing to spend. If money is no object, and you go with (from cheapest to most expensive) a Thermarest Neoair X Therm pad , a Western Mountaineering 20 degree sleeping bag , you cant go wrong. The X therm has a R rating of 5.7 probably higher with new rating system, in an R-value class by itself and the benefits of a sleeping pad like that (just a few are built to actually radiate body heat back upward) cannot be overemphasized. With sleeping bags : most brands ratings are inaccurate: your 32 degree bag will keep you comfy maybe to 40 degrees, probably not even that. A few smaller high end brands like Western Mountaineering have accurate ratings. In their 20 degree bag you'll be comfortable right down to 20 degrees. I'd recommend a Western Mountaineering 20 degree bag if you didnt freak out over the price. Also, Janice , you have to pack everything in a small boat (Avocet LV) so packability is also a bigger factor with you : a 20 degree 850-fill down degree mummy bag will pack down smaller than your current 32 degree synthetic bag. (keep it in a dry bag) So , for fall where you might get 30 degree nights, a 20 degree bag would be the minimum for most brands (like REI, Mountain Hardware etc) 15 degree probably better. If you're a sound sleeper who doesn't toss and turn (Im not): a mummy bag is more compact and more efficient than rectangular or a semi or rectangular bag.

I should think that sea kayaking would pose roughly the same risks or lack thereof as other adventure sports or outdoor recreational activities so it would be worth keeping abreast of whats being practiced in other adventure sports. In other words, if group hiking and mountaineering and bicycling activities are largely suspended that would be good information on which to base decisions. Very good point about the of possibility of contact in up-close-and personal activities such as rescues or incident management on the ocean: otherwise with the normal suspension of kayak activities such as potluck meals, group hugs , post paddling group foodfests , I would think that the risks attached to handling boats together would be less than virtually any indoor activity., but would be worth getting more information about. In general, outdoor activities pose a relatively lower risk than virtually anything indoors, especially on outings with the kind of group communication and pre -trip planning thats encouraged to begin with. That said, I have read that much of the Appalachian Trial through- hike "community" has disbanded (right around now is the starting time for many northbound through hikers) though that may be more due to the inevitable congregation of hikers in shelters, group campsites and resupply towns.

I'll see you there. I don't see any problem with leaving Boston (Charlestown ) @ 3:45 today. Peter

I can't attend this week: back in action next week, Tuesday or Wednesday. Peter

Patricia, Thanks for sharing your info: The Mount Desert Island area is a great for paddling at a wide variety of levels . There are four sides to the island, almost always an area protected from the weather and conditions, and we can select the paddling areas each day best suited to participants. In addition , there are some very protected bays, sounds, and also lovely inland ponds to paddle on. With20 + people, there will almost certainly be several trips per day so that people of all comfort levels may be accommodated, even on days with not-so=good weather and conditions. Monday, the last day we'll have a Long Pond practice , skills and fun session, designed for people to hit the road in the afternoon, wash off, or just chill after 3 days of paddling. Peter