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Sue H.

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    Workshop is now full, register for wait list at end of this post. Joe's message regarding the workshop: It's easy to pick a date and announce a paddling trip. However, it's more of a challenge to gather and interpret all the information you need, and then turn it into a trip that's truly fun, rewarding and safe. This interactive 2-session winter workshop (for NSPN members) will help us all plan great paddles, from day trips to longer outings. This presentation is open to all levels, as we can all aspire to deepen our trip planning skills! I have organized many sea kayaking trips, from short day paddles to week-plus expeditions. In collaboration with others in the sea kayak community, I have developed a set of learning materials and tools that cover the essentials of planning paddling trips. The workshop will include: - Understanding nautical charts and their relationship to the real world - Understanding and gathering weather and sea conditions - Working with tide and current predictions - Bringing it all together by actually planning some paddles and reviewing each others’ plans. - There will be homework between the two sessions, and both sessions will include breakouts into groups with real-world planning exercises. A lot of the subject matter is covered in the NSPN Trip Planning Workbook [ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uY8i2L7OdBwiPnkAHmg8nguez-INWV6twn5kXLqKZ3k/edit?usp=drive_link ] which we’ll use freely in these sessions.. Much of the material will make use of my free paddle planning website, Floating Trails (https://floatingtrails.com) and we’ll check out how to make the most of it. Registration information : Workshop is now full, register for wait list below ! To register for wait list, click this link ( https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdNUh9Fvs3EESI6yfsf9gBvYcGefPX1lsCsiSZC7X0OOHk2QQ/viewform?usp=sf_link ) and complete the form. Please follow this event for any updates.
  2. This is a community event to educate and welcome those interested in becoming a sea kayaker. Sign-ups are not yet available and more detail will follow in the coming months.
  3. Thanks Mike for all your back & forth with HHS to make this happen. As with many things NSPN, there is often a lot going on behind the scenes ! Sue
  4. Hi Folks, Just your friendly prez here... with an agenda of course ! We have one member who has responded to the call for new board members and one considering signing up. Do you have ideas about club programming, or a kayaking related project you would like to promote? Are you a hands-on type of person who likes to get things done ? Do you see other kayak clubs posting events and gathering on a regular basis and wonder why NSPN doesn't do the same? We need some foot soldier like you to enrich our club and engage members in club activities ! Feel free to PM (private message) me with questions or to sign up ! I look forward to hearing from you ! Sue Hriciga (SueH.)
  5. Hi Everyone, Every year NSPN hosts a community event to provide an overview of what it entails to be a sea kayaker. Seasoned NSPN members give presentations and few additional members attend to help set-up and break down the event, as well as mingle with the attendees. Over the winter months we will be developing the agenda and working out the particulars. One thing is set though, I have reserved Winter Island Park's Function Hall for the lectures, kayak and related equipment displays and a community gathering for a luncheon. So save the date ! As we get a bit closer to the event, I'll be calling for volunteers. Cheers, Sue
  6. Hello to All who were in attendance , First, I would like to give a special shout-out to Joe, Janet, Bob and David for leading the brave souls who to took to the water on such a rainy day. Thanks to everyone who attended, both paddlers and revelers. And another special thanks to those who stayed behind to help break down the event set-up. The day's community effort was priceless ! All my best, Sue
  7. As I said, I'll be the first to sign up !
  8. Hi Everyone, First, let me say thank you to Bob and Joe for conceiving and implementing WLPs. These paddles have been well attended by members and often there has been a wait list.! It is important that this highly successful series continue in 2024 and beyond. I am looking for a band of NSPN compatriots to organize and facilitate these paddles over the course of warm weather months in 2024. Let me be the first one to sign up! If you are free to help out, I trust you will join me in this effort! Please respond with your interest or questions here. I can not do this alone... nor should anyone else ! A pool of facilitators should allow us to have consistent (weather dependent) WLPs going forward. So what do you say...will you come out and join the facilitator pool ? Cheers, SueH
  9. Hi Joyce, Do you still intend to participate in the dinner party ? I hope so ! Sue
  10. Hi Folks, We are monitoring the weather and although the forecast has it's challenges, the current plan is to paddle, (unless the forecast deteriorates). Please be sure your settings are marked to follow this post in case we have to cancel the paddling portion of this event. Sea kayakers do not need favorable summer weather to have an enjoyable journey. The area around Winter Island has lots of options for protected paddling, when accompanied by experienced paddlers. As noted in the original post for this event, the launch is from Winter Island Park (50 Island Road, Salem, MA 01970), as well as the afterparty. There will be no parking fee at the time of this event. Please note the change in where to park: go to the side of the parking lot near the boat ramp, as you will be launching there. Paddling pods will be organized by the assigned experienced paddlers according to paddling experience and interests at the pre-launch beach briefing. Arrival time set for 10:30 am, with a launch by 11:15 am. If the weather is too inclement for one's taste, or if you don't have a cold weather/cold water kit (for example a dry suit), please come by for the party portion of the event! It's always fun to talk about paddling, share stories about our adventures and generate ideas for future trips, both local and afar ! The Board of Directors have rented the Winter Island Function Hall for the afterparty, which will likely start around 4:00 and end by 7:30 pm. Hot tea and coffee will be available in the Function Hall when you return from your paddle. Food provided by the club as follows: lasagna, eggplant parmesan (these 2 main dishes are meatless to include the sauce), salad, artisan rolls, coffee, tea and sparkling water. Participants are requested to bring one of the following: a bag of chips, 6 ounce container of either blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, a small batch of grapes (all fruits pre-washed at home) or cookies and the like, (no cakes please). Participants are allowed to bring adult beverages of choice into the Function Hall. As there may be leftovers, please bring an empty take-home container. Remember to have your settings indicate you are "following" this event in order to get automatic updates directly to your email. Registration is now closed, as I needed to place the food order one week in advance. I hope to see you there! Cheers, Sue Traffic considerations provided by Ricardo Caivano, Salem resident: Downtown Salem can be difficult in October, in particular during the last two weeks. We get a lot of visitors. An email from the Salem Police says in part: " Visitors to Salem in October should not plan to drive into downtown Salem, especially on weekends...there is a high likelihood that some closures will be made on Saturday October 28 and/or Sunday October 29...For real-time traffic and road closure notices, visit www.twitter.com/SalemMAPolice (@SalemMAPolice on Twitter), and www.twitter.com/CityofSalemMA (@CityofSalemMA on Twitter)." Well, that was the warning. The good news is that you don't need to drive through downtown Salem to get to Winter Island Park. An easy way to get to Winter Island from all points north is via Beverly, taking the beautiful Beverly-Salem Bridge, continuing on Bridge Street, left on Web St., continuing on Fort Ave, left on Winter Island Road and on to the park. If coming from the south, perhaps it is better to avoid taking Route 114E (or the prior Lowell Street exit). Instead follow I-95 N and MA-128 N to MA-62 E/Elliott St in Danvers. Take exit 43 from MA-128 N, head towards Salem via the Beverly-Salem bridge and follow the directions above to Winter Island. If coming from Marblehead, Swampscott, Lynn, etc. you could just paddle over ?, but if you insist on driving, take 114W, Lafayette Street, turn right on Leavitt St, left on Congress St, right on Derby St. and continue to Winter Island via Fort Ave. The corner of Congress and Derby will be busy. "On October 21, the Devil’s Chase road race starts at 8 a.m. at the Salem Willows soccer field on Fort Avenue. No road closures are planned, however, expect traffic impacts until 10:30 a.m. along the route."
  11. Hi Everyone! Do you talk with yourself, friends or family about how NSPN could better serve its members? Do you have a kayak related pet project in mind ? Are you someone who enjoys supporting others along their life long learning goals as they relate to kayaking ? Are you interested in contributing to the vitality of our club? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the Board of Directors is eager to hear from you. Please PM me at SueH and we can discuss your interests ! The Board is accepting inquiries until the end of November 2023. I look forward to hearing from you ! Cheers, Sue
  12. Hi Bill, sorry to hear of your struggles and will be missed. I had added Karen already if you want to come just for the party portion. Best, Sue
  13. Folks are certainly welcome to bring there own dinnerware, but we still have a significant stock of all items you mentioned. My plan for the near future is to deplete what we have and do as you suggested going forward. I agree with you and others who prefer not to use disposable plastic & paper products.
  14. Hi Everyone, Due to some newfound info, I have slightly changed the start times of the paddle and party by delaying both by 1/2 hour. in the postings. I have also added the food items to be provided by the club and a request to attendees. Please consult the updated posts for clarifications and then if you have questions, please respond here...other folks are likely to have similar questions. I realize the details of this event have come in dribs and drabs. It's all a learning process for me and I'm thankful for the patience you all have given. Best, Sue
  15. Hi Folks, Do you have a large party size coffee maker or an 8-10 cup electric tea pot that could be borrowed for 10/21/23 club party? If you don't, maybe there is one at your workplace or church that could be borrowed ? Respond here if you have one, or have confirmed one to borrow from others. Thanks, Sue
  16. Hi Folks, Do you have a large party size coffee maker or an 8-10 cup electric tea pot that could be borrowed for 10/21/23 club party? If you don't, maybe there is one at your workplace or church that could be borrowed ? Respond here if you have one, or have confirmed one to borrow from others. Thanks, Sue
  17. Hi Folks, At the bottom of this post find a map of Winter Island Park. Folks will gather in the central parking lot and will all likely launch from Pebble Beach just off the lot. You will see the Function Hall clearly labeled on the map. I asked Ricardo, one of our members and a Salem resident, for his advice regarding traffic patterns in Salem. He finds the routes below to be the best approaches into Salem. "Downtown Salem can be difficult in October, in particular during the last two weeks. We get a lot of visitors. An email from the Salem Police says in part: " Visitors to Salem in October should not plan to drive into downtown Salem, especially on weekends...there is a high likelihood that some closures will be made on Saturday October 28 and/or Sunday October 29...For real-time traffic and road closure notices, visit www.twitter.com/SalemMAPolice (@SalemMAPolice on Twitter), and www.twitter.com/CityofSalemMA (@CityofSalemMA on Twitter)." Well, that was the warning. The good news is that you don't need to drive through downtown Salem to get to Winter Island Park. An easy way to get to Winter Island from all points north is via Beverly, taking the beautiful Beverly-Salem Bridge, continuing on Bridge Street, left on Web St., continuing on Fort Ave, left on Winter Island Road and on to the park. If coming from the south, perhaps it is better to avoid taking Route 114E (or the prior Lowell Street exit). Instead follow I-95 N and MA-128 N to MA-62 E/Elliott St in Danvers. Take exit 43 from MA-128 N, head towards Salem via the Beverly-Salem bridge and follow the directions above to Winter Island. If coming from Marblehead, Swampscott, Lynn, etc. you could just paddle over ?, but if you insist on driving, take 114W, Lafayette Street, turn right on Leavitt St, left on Congress St, right on Derby St. and continue to Winter Island via Fort Ave. The corner of Congress and Derby will be busy. " Sue wi-map_y18m04d26.pdf
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