Jump to content

billvoss

Paid Member
  • Posts

    684
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by billvoss

  1. Quote

    https://www.sailing.ca/rocm/

    ROC stands for Restricted Radiotelephone Operator’s Certificate and is required by
    Anyone using a marine VHF radio or other marine radios (each person on the boat who will use the radio needs their own card). There are significant fines if you are found using a VHF or marine radio without your card.

    In addition, if you received your ROC card before the new Digital Selective Calling was introduced, then you are encouraged to return and get your DSC endorsement for your ROC card.

    It looks like unlike in the USA, in Canada you need a license to operate a VHF radio.

    As I understand it, besides the possibility of fines for breaking the rules, the main safety issues seem to be that using a USA domestic only MMSI would not show up as a Handheld, and when used to match vessel information would either not have any information, or worse would match some MMSI that was domestic only in the foreign country.   I don't know how Canada SAR would handle that situation.

    Quote

    https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/maritime-mobile/ship-radio-stations/maritime-mobile

    International Handheld VHF MMSI

    All Handheld VHF-formatted MMSI numbers supplied by the Commission will be in constructed in the following format in accordance with ITU regulations:

    81M2I3D4X5X6X7X8X9

    Here a distinctive 8 precedes digits 2, 3, and 4 (MID) and the trailing Xs may be any figure from 0 to 9. This unique MMSI format for handheld VHF radios assist maritime emergency personnel in making better informed decisions based on the more limited coverage area and battery life of these radios versus hard-mounted VHF vessel radios.

    Good luck.

  2. Hi Jim,

    This could be my first Sea Kayak trip of 2024.

    It will take me months to recover from the hour of sleep the government stole from me last night, and York is one of the most distant day trip launch sites I ever attend.  However, if you plan to milk the cows, feed the chickens, sheer the sheep, and groom all the horses, dogs, and barn cats before you leave that morning, and I get up extra early and eat breakfast in the car, I think I would enjoy joining your paddle.

    Bill Voss

  3. Fund Pool Sessions! :roll:

    Actually, I think you should put the bare minimum of legal constraints possible on how NSPN spends your gift.  Instead include a non-binding letter of hopes and suggestions, which you can easily revise over the years.  Just trust the club's volunteers to try their best.  NSPN board members won't always do the right thing, or what you would have wanted.  However, if you cannot trust future NSPN boards to try their best, you shouldn't donate the money to NSPN.

    If it is a very large amount of money, then arranging for it to be disbursed over multiple years, and to the extent possible protecting it from lawsuits against NSPN is indicated.  Right now, the main thing protecting NSPN from lawsuits isn't the waivers we sign, it is the fact that all of NSPN's assets wouldn't cover the cost of hiring a lawyer to sue the club.

  4. When I stand next to someone before their first wet exit, besides telling them to bang on the bottom of the kayak if they want me to rescue them, I usually tell them this story.  Which somewhat resembles Joe's story above.

    A long time ago now, I took an AMC Boston White Water course intended for paddlers who had a pool roll, but not a reliable combat roll. The course finished with us spending a few hours at a wave train "play spot." Basically a bunch of standing waves extending into a calm pool of water. The students went into the waves and intentionally capsized, then tried to roll up. There were a bunch of safety boaters present to rescue your kayak and gear if you wet exited instead.

    Towards the end of the day I stubbornly tried, and tried, and tried many times to roll up until I was very low on air despite having lifted my head many times. When I finally gave up, I bent forward to reach my grab loop and instead hit my helmet on the bottom! During my attempts I had floated through the pool, and over a sandbar down stream of the pool. So instead I pulled the skirt off on the side, and then used my hands to push out of the kayak. I was surprised my feet were a bit tangled, but managed to flutter kick free and make it up to the glorious air.

    When a safety boater flipped my kayak up, they found the skirt was still on! The skirt had only come undone on the starboard side, it was still attached on the front, port side, and rear. Clearly spending time pulling the skirt off on the side had been wasted effort. Who needs a grab loop?

    At that time the white water skirt I had been wearing did not have suspenders, but my sea kayak skirt DID have suspenders. After that event, I removed the suspenders and have never again used a skirt with suspenders.

    I have never had a skirt with a secondary release, but one of these might also solve your issue @Barbara Ryan.  You can normally grab the "knee" strap with your hands, or sometimes raise your knee to trigger it.  Just do NOT put a RAND skirt on a composite kayak, or wear suspenders!

    https://www.nauticexpo.com/prod/paddle-people-gmbh/product-195468-534552.html

    https://zetkayak.com/products/baller-87-sprayskirt

    https://palmequipmenteurope.com/gb/whitewater-spraydecks/2262-11679-enduro-deck-2023#/21-colour-jet_grey/93-deck-r4/94-waist-xs_s

    -Bill

     

     

     

  5. I received emails for two invoices #4145 and #4152 during the process of paying my annual membership dues on December 27th.  The first nagging me to pay, the second after I did pay.  However, PayPal activity shows only one debit to NSPN in December.  So feel free to ignore this information if it is not useful @mhabich

  6. 9 hours ago, prudenceb said:

    What?!  Does this mean we won't have the rolling master with us in Haverhill ??

    I am still (impatiently) waiting for NSPN, AMC NH Paddlers, and AMC Boston WW paddlers to formally announce what if any pool rolling they will be offering.

    I certainly hope to attend more than six pool sessions this season @prudenceb.  However, I did not make the same mistake this year, and let all of Kevin's January and February sessions fill up before I registered.  That will limit how many NSPN pool sessions I attend compared to last year.

    So if you want to be sure of getting my tutoring, you should sign up for Kevin's November, December, January, and/or February sessions!  The Lowell YMCA sessions do have some advantages compared to Haverhill.

    • The Lowell YMCA has adjustable temperature showers (Men's side personally confirmed) unlike Haverhill.
    • The start time is comfortably after lunch, but the finish is early enough that my wife doesn't gripe about delaying dinner.
    • We have historically not been stepping on another group's session when we start, nor had another group crowding us as we leave.
    • In my own case the one way drives are very different in time and distance
      • (AMC NH) Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua 7,2 miles, typically 14-18 minutes
      • (Kevin) Lowell YMCA 23.4 miles, typically 26-35 minutes.
      • (NSPN) Haverhill High School 39.2 miles, typically 40-55 minutes.
      • (AMC Boston) Arlington Boys & Girls Club 41.8 miles, typically 45 minutes to 1 hour.

    Since White Water paddling usually starts in March, I probably won't attend many if any late season NSPN pool sessions.

  7. Since the suit is already in Kokatat's hands, I personally would have them go ahead and replace all the gaskets.

    There is a bit of a trade-off between more durable thicker gaskets, and thinner gaskets most but not all individuals find more comfortable. If you go with the "thick" also known as "Coast Guard" gaskets, 303 them whenever they are not shiny, and keep them from ever touching suntan lotion or any petroleum products, you can maximize your gasket life.  However, this summer Kokatat told me they were having supply issues getting "thick" gaskets.

    I have anecdotally heard from two individuals that the Kokatat "standard gaskets" of today seem thinner and are failing earlier than "standard gaskets" did in the past.  Hardly a scientific study, but it might be true.  It is certainly easy to believe that Kokatat may have changed suppliers, or that their suppliers might have made manufacturing changes to save a penny or two on each gasket. 

    If your suit was NOT in Kokatat's hands, most New England scuba diving shops have heavier duty gaskets in a wider variety of sizes in stock.  A gasket failure while scuba diving is a much more serious matter than most gasket failures while kayaking.  The shops generally have you test the fit of the bare gaskets, then optionally have the dive shop install the gasket.  This is also generally the fastest approach to replacing a gasket on a rush basis if you don't do it yourself with a spare gasket already on hand.

    Back in the days when a Kokatat representative routinely held drysuit information sessions for NSPN, the representative used to advise letting the experts at Kokatat replace every other generation of gasket.  The reasoning was that Kokatat would fully remove the old gasket, and apply the replacement to bare fabric.  Most home replacements instead trim off the portion of the failed gasket that is not glued to the suit, then attach the replacement gasket directly to the remnant of the old gasket.  That approach being easier to implement, and far less likely to damage the drysuit than fully removing the old gasket.

    I've replaced gaskets at home, but I find it stressful, and my work has never been as attractive as Kokatat's work.  Now I normally just send in my suit for a warranty evaluation, and if they don't give me a new suit have Kokatat replace all the gaskets with fresh "thick" gaskets.

  8. The plan is to MEET at 10:00 AM at Fort Stark ( https://goo.gl/maps/5na2U28B6q3pEy1AA ) head out of Little Harbor, and have some fun.

    The trip is being run as an AMC trip.  So please register soon at https://activities.outdoors.org/ as we have limited capacity.  Personally, I usually change the Activity Search field to Paddling - Sea Kayaking then hit the Search button leaving everything else at the default settings.  If you do that, you should quickly find PORTSMOUTH OPEN OCEAN SEA KAYAK PADDLE - CIVILIZED START TIME on August 24th, 2023.  Then click the Register Now button, and fill out the float plan and liability waiver information.

    I hope to see mostly NSPN paddlers there.

  9. On 6/28/2023 at 7:04 PM, Sue H. said:

    Registration:  Register by signing up at https://forms.gle/dEZdvjZ3DBocvow59.  You'll need your ACA member number.

    Please remember to make your parking reservation at the link below.

    www.nhstateparks.org&client=ABOUT_THIS_Rhttps://www.nhstateparks.org/fees-reservations/make-an-online-reservation

    For those like me who use "All Activity" to see what has changed.  Registration is now open for Skills Session #3.

×
×
  • Create New...