bazzert

Sounds great. See you sunday. Barry

How did the trip go ? I was sailing in this area today and saw a group of kayaks leaving Misery at about 2pm; which I assume was you guys. It was a great day for sailing with plenty of wind but I imagine it was a fairly challenging paddle. If we didnt have a sea sick youngster onboard I would have swung by to get a better picture. Misery Island kayaks Barry

I would be interested. Either day works for me. Barry.

Lower and Upper Wilson ponds would be perfect with kids. Much calmer waters than Moosehead. The norther shore of lower wilson is mostly undeveloped and you can paddle through to upper wilson which is completely undeveloped.

Hi Laura, I would be up for a trip on that day. I'm a relative newbie but keen to put some miles under the hull of my new (to me) kayak. Barry NDK Explorer HV

on the islands

I was really impreseed with the HV Explorer; finally a boat I can get my lanky legs into. It was interesting that Tom explained that most of his boats are customized by NDK to reduce the legroom down to about 34". Does anyone know if the model has changed much over the years ie. if I was to buy a 2003 year model is it essentially the same boat ? thanks, Barry.

Many thanks to David for both the loan of his kayak and the great instruction last night. I really enjoyed the session and learned a lot of new things. It was also great to see some advanced techniques demonstrated; particularly the different forms of rescue. Barry.

Thanks David/Heidi, See you tomorrow, Barry.

Thanks Kevin/David, I have a pfd, but no spray skirt. I can pick one up by tomorrow evening. (REI or EMS close by); any suggestions on brand/sizing ? Barry.

Good point! Tall & Thin :-) 6'5" ~200#

Hi, I'm a new member who is still trying out boats (yeah, analysis paralysis). Would anyone have an extra boat for tomorrows session on the upper lake ? I took the guided tour out to Thacher island yesterday and am totally hooked. many thanks, Barry.

“Quirky people get drawn to it. It draws a very eccentric crowd, so it’s tough to get them together on anything.” Harsh!

It's not quite the same thing, but you can download free charts and a chart viewer at this MapTech site. http://www.freeboatingcharts.com/ Once downloaded the interface is probably more responsive than an online web interface. Barry.

Interesting video showing what can go wrong when river kayaking ... CBSNEWS

Boston Globe Story I wonder if they were actual "canoeists" or kayakers.

This article was in todays Globe. http://tinyurl.com/e7kvd I live close to the lower mystic lake and have definitely noticed that in the last couple of years there have been many more jet skiers making it up to the lake. The speed around the lake and I have also seen them going pretty fast on the river to the lake; throwing out large wakes. Apart from the safety issue (which I think is serious) I cant imagine the wake they throw off is good for the river banks and the various wildlife that inhabits them. Not to mention the noise which is considerable. If they are banned from the upper lake, is there also a case to ban them from the lower lake and even the river ? Can you make a distinction between them and other motorized boats ? Baz.

Yes, it's a great guide and I am glad the state is publishing something like this. I wonder if they plan to cover the rest of the coast. There seems to be renewed interest in public access to the coast. Steve Bailey in his recent column (http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/06/30/take_back_our_beaches/) described the law granting private ownership of the shoreline as the "greatest land give away in history", which is an interesting way to think of it.

Interesting article in todays Globe about access to the shore. http://tinyurl.com/mqsod You can order the guide mentioned here http://www.mass.gov/czm/coastguide/order/order.htm

Michael: Thanks for the response on this. $1200 would definitely be in my budget ($3500 would not!). I contacted the person selling the Kajak-Sport so will see where that goes. Any other suggestions on where to find listings ? Also, in terms of evaluating a used fiberglass boat what are the things to look out for ? Finally, are there any outfitters who stock these types of boats that I could take a trip on or rent to try them out ? thanks again for all the information; it has been very helpful. (I promise as soon as I have a boat my membership form will be on its way!). Barry.

I must admit I was dreading the 'wet exit'; the idea of being upside down, under water and still in the boat. But it really was not bad at all; the instructor had me pound on the upturned hull and this really helped me squelch the panic, collect my thoughts and recall the sequence of the steps. The water temp on the westport river was a bit shocking; but I guess that will get better as the summer progresses. Barry.

Michael,Kevin & Gillian, Thanks for all the advice. I'll definitely try out some other boats in different conditions and see if I can figure this out. Joining NSPN is a no-brainer; I live about a mile from the boat launch at Mystic lakes. Barry.

Michael, thanks for the list and the link. very useful! On the topic of rudders I rented an eclipse on the Charles on sunday and initially went out without the rudder deployed. It may have been a factor of the current (which was quite strong sunday after the heavy rain) and/or wind and it may have been my inexperience, but I found that I would paddle for a bit and then it would skew to the left mostly and then no matter how hard I swept on the left it would skew around almost broadside. This was really frustrating. Only when I deployed the rudder could I get it to track straight. I would appreciate your thougths/advice on this. I plan to take another class or two and go on some guided tours. thanks, Barry.

D'oh! .. just discovered the section on skill levels (awesome site btw) ... would appreciate advice on kayaks though. thanks, Barry.

Hi I'm a total newbie; just took a class at Osprey kayak in Westport saturday; and then tooled around on a rented kayak on sunday at Charles river canoe. Totally hooked! I would appreciate some suggestions on boats for a tall person (I'm 6'5", 250lbs). On sunday I had a perception eclipse 17 which seemed very comfortable (although difficult to track without the rudder, but I'll put that down to inexperience). thanks, Barry.