Gillian

Prudence, we store ours in the freezer when not using to prevent any bacteria growth and that seems to have done the trick

that is so cool!!! did they give you free samples of dry suits??

Hola! All great suggestions above! You can also work with me (Gillian) at Salem Kayak located in Salem MA. My email is kayaksalem@gmail.com. If you prefer the "pay it forward" learning method rather than a paid coach, North Shore paddlers network is a great group of folks to learn with, at no charge, other than the membership fee, and there are frequently held practice sessions at forest river park, salem; chebacco lake, essex and i know there are a couple others that's i'm forgetting! good luck!

omg congrats! post pics!!!!

you guys this is a great idea!!! +1 for me too! scott i'll email you at your address listed and see if we can't get enough folks for a mothership out to the shoals and back! wohoo! i was kind of kidding at first but now this sounds like a lot of fun

Hey Hey, We will be at Forest River Park this Friday evening from 5-7 for our practice session! Come on down and join us! There are some good PPPO places too if folks are interested in beer + food afterwards!

Gene, I will fully admit that I have no desire to paddle straight out into the ocean to the Isle of Shoals just to say I did it. I say you and I hop on the ferry that goes out there with our boats, explore the island by boat and then share some margaritas together on the ferry ride back!

Kevin and I will be there to help lead some pods!

LOL oh good I can't wait to see an OLD chop suey sandwich that's been sitting in a day hatch for a few hours! This is going to be awesome!

totally! i traded a dvd for david's chota's a few years ago and still wear them every winter!

Rob don't forget to tell folks about the famous Salem Willows Chop Suey Sandwich for a "snack" before the pppo If you don't know what that horror of a sandwich is ask Peter!

Level 2 Trip: Brian Wells: Initiator Al Coons, Gillian Kirstel, Bill Gwynn and Kevin Beckwith will be ready to lead a pod. Beach briefing is at 11:00 am LEVEL 2 IS THE PLACE TO BE!!!!!!! Wohoo, can't wait for the weekend!

Kevin, Brian and I spent a fun filled PACKED 2 Hours in the Haverhill Pool with 9 or 10? new to kayaking participants from the workshop (hmm I guess I really should know if it was 9 or 10 - maybe I should have attended the CAM training instead lol!) Kevin and I brought our extra Neckys, pfd's and paddles for those that didn't have them and we started with some quick introductions and then right into the pool to get wet exits out of the way so we could move on to some fun moves. I was impressed and surprised that folks successfully did their wet exits with little trepidation - some of our guest had never kayaked before but everyone was over and wet within the first 20minutes. After the wet exit we partnered everyone up and tasked them with getting back into their boats with no hints or tips - surprisingly and not without a few bruises everyone made it back in, and all those new to kayaking got their first taste of kayaker butt in the face At this point with everyone excited and heart rates up, we split the group into 2 pods in a very crowded pool, with Kevin leading one, me leading the other, and Brian working with *&%^& (that's code for the person's name that I've forgotten sorry) on his roll. Within the two hours we worked on sweep strokes, edging, loose paddle grips, tandem rescues, cowboy entries and as much as we could on forward and backward strokes even though that resulted in bumper boats more than anything. By the end of the session everyone had successfully performed a t rescue and been rescues, most a few times, everyone could go sideways using a draw to the hip, elbows were down and secure, grips were open, and a few folks even had some really nice graceful strokes! The highlight for *&^$%* and Brian was that *&^%* got his roll! I saw him do at least 6 myself and I've never seen a bigger smile. It brought me back to the day I finally got my roll after all that hard work. Speaking of smiles, we all had them - I think based on comments after the class that everyone had a blast and learned more than they were expecting. From a coaching standpoint the class reminded me of how much I love introducing folks to proper paddling technique and having fun. One thing I'll continue to work on is being able to coach folks who learn differently. Kevin and Brian do a great job with folks who like to understand the biomechanics and the "why's" of certain paddle and hand positions, while I like to tell folks to "just do it and see what happens" - both are valuable ways to coach, but the best coaches are the ones who can recognize how a person tends to learn, and tailors his or her style to the person. Thanks again to our kayakers and to Kevin and Brian for their coaching! I hope to see everyone on the water soon!

lol has anyone yet posted an l2 trip after 3 pages???? i think gene did but even 8-10 miles might be a bit much for an l2 paddler .. .

In case anyone has been watching the forecast it's going to be in the 70's on Sunday! Ohhh Hurrah! We'll leave out of Deveraux Beach, MBHead at 10:30am (at least it won't be dead low) and paddle to tinkers, around the neck, Dolliber - where ever the group wants to go - pray for rock play and that the forecast will hold! Plan around 4ish hours on the water and bring some lunch - we'll stop somewhere, maybe one of the islands . . .