billvoss
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Posts posted by billvoss
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I am in for Thursday 8/10/2023 arriving at 10 AM.
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Buyers of used suits remember that the wonderful Gore-Tex and Kokatat warranties only apply to the ORIGINAL owner.
40 minutes ago, Frederick Goodman said: -
Have fun. Unfortunately, Google Maps wants me to allow two and a half hours to get there by 9 AM on Wednesday.
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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.
https://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.
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This is just an FYI for anyone who fondly remembers the previous generation of Kokatat drysuits, before the change to the stiffer Gore Tex Pro fabric. Kokatat is currently selling "Retro" suits made with left over fabric. Once the left over fabric is gone, the Retro line will also be gone. So if you miss the old fabric, and are thinking about getting a drysuit, you should check out the https://kokatat.com website promptly.
I never would have noticed the Retro offerings, except I just won the Gore Tex lottery again. Yes, my replacement will be a Retro suit. Though I gave up selecting custom safety colors, I prefer older fabric.
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2 hours ago, Joseph Berkovitz said:
@billvosssee the end of part 2 for some upside-down celebrating kayakers. At no point did anyone capsize, nor did any of us practice rolling in the cold water. Most of us had a bad cold throughout the trip.
@Joseph BerkovitzI'm happy to see that @JanetL and @Lallenare each still my kind of kayaker.
I'm even in such a good vicarious mood after reading your reports, that I'll accept everyone's "bad cold" doctors note as a valid excuse for not rolling in the "cold water." Since I must admit that while I do still roll when there is ice floating in the water, I do NOT go kayaking when I have a "bad cold." I'm glad you all had fun despite your infections.
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Wow! I'm looking forward to part 2. (I guess that experience might have been worth missing the Wednesday Lunch Paddles.)
1 hour ago, Joseph Berkovitz said:The air temperature was about 60 F. The ocean, on the other hand, was somewhere in the neighborhood of 42-45 F.
...
Now that we were paddling in it, we could see that not only is this water very cold (it hurt to trail my hand in it), but it is very, very transparent and has an intense greenish blue jewel-like hue very different from our home waters.
You know I have to ask. How many paddlers practiced rolling their kayak during the trip, and did anyone need a combat roll?
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Interested.
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3 hours ago, EEL said:
Is the issue of creating daily track files while on a multi day tour or creating daily track files of day paddles? If the former I can understand there is no easy solution even if process is simple. If the latter, wouldn't deleting the log after downloading the data after each paddle suffice?
Ed, the real issue is converting a track file into a pretty picture to post as part of a trip report. Ideally cheaply and easily, without a big learning curve.
I wonder if @Joseph Berkovitzwould be interested in adding GPX or KLM support to Floating Trails?
A minor secondary issue is breaking up a multi-day file into single day files easily. However, I know I can do that manually with a text editor if needed, so that is a minor issue. Sometimes it is a self inflicted minor issue when I don't bother to download/erase the log after local trips. Sometimes it is an unavoidable issue when traveling without a computer if I insist on using my VHF radio instead of a smart phone to create the log.
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3 hours ago, Jim Snyder said:
The tracking available in phone apps is a lot more flexible and sophisticated than the radio.
I expected modern phone apps would be much more flexible. Though then I would need to kayak with my not very waterproof phone, as well as remember to start and stop the app. In contrast, my waterproof VHF radio, in its nominally waterproof carrying case, is almost always riding on my chest monitoring channel 16 whenever I am paddling on the ocean. I just need to download the data to my computer before the radio runs out of log storage space.
I read some of the manual for OpenCPN. It looks complex, but would probably do what I wanted.
I also figured out how to open a KML file in Google Earth. As suspected Google Earth shows as the bird flies lines between each time I turn the radio on and off, and did not offer an obvious simple way to prune the track.
I then edited a copy of the KML file in an XML aware editor. The original file included 1270 position fixes from five paddles. Pruning it down to just my recent Wednesday paddle required deleting 747 "when" tag lines before my paddle, and 240 "when" lines after. Then doing the same prune for the "gx:coord" lines. Lastly pruning the corresponding "Placemark" multiple line elements before and after my paddle.
I could load the resulting file into Google Earth and see my NSPN/AMC Lunch Paddle track. However, I did not figure out how to share that result. I could take a screen shot, which also captured a copyright statement making me reluctant to post the image publicly. I could create a new empty Google Earth Project on Google Drive that I could share, but I couldn't figure out how to import a KML file into that project. I could create a new Google Earth project that loaded my KML file, but then Google Earth didn't offer the option of sharing the project.
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3 hours ago, Jim Snyder said:
Bill, wouldn't any system work if you started a new track each day?
While I can turn the radio on and off, and while the radio is on enable or pause GPS logging, the radio itself does not give me any tools to see, organize, or name what I have logged. The Standard Horizon support for GPS logging is barely adequate, but not elegant. If you set it to log once a minute, the manual says it will log about 100 hours of data. I'm not certain if it will overwrite, or stop logging when it is full of data. Regardless, I tend to bring the VHF to the computer after a fair number of trips to download my GPS log. The Windows 7 software (also runs on Windows 8 and 10) provided downloads the entire radio log as one file. For now I have been downloading and saving the log once for each format, then I erase the radio's GPS log.
So far I've just been saving the files, occasionally pulling out a coordinate to use when creating a waypoint. However occasionally, such as when writing a trip report, it would be nice to have a shareable track showing where and how far we went.
I'm technical enough to manually edit some of the saved file formats to separate whatever paddles I have done into separate files if necessary. Though doing so might be tedious and error prone. So software that handled such details for me would be nice to have.
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My Standard Horizon HX890 VHF radio supports GPS logging. I can download the log data in GPX, KML, or NMEA format to my Windows Computer.
Does anyone know of any apps or websites that support plotting the data on a chart?
Bonus points if the app or website allows separating by date a log that contains multiple days of paddling into separate dates.
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22 hours ago, Joyce Carpenter said:
There was wind coming back?
@Joyce Carpenter that breeze in our face was obviously mostly from our rapid paddling. I'm not surprised you didn't even notice mother nature's modest contribution. However, the NWS had predicted "variable winds 5 kt or less." A little bit of breeze was still present when I paused to adjust my sunscreen, and it was coming from the general direction of my bow. So I stand by my trip report. ?
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1 hour ago, Dan Foster said:
I think you're thinking of Fort Folster. Fort Foster was where NSPN miscreants were exiled to work on bettering their forward strokes and their attitudes.
Well @Dan Foster you could say this all started because I needed my optometrist appointment today.
You might also say I never let spelling get in the way of a good joke.
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13 minutes ago, Joyce Carpenter said:
I wonder if we could contact Fort Stark and ask if a volunteer there would open the parking lot for us, perhaps if we paid them or made a contribution?
@billvossi know you spoke to a volunteer who opens the gates early. Do you know how to get in contact?
Actually @Joyce Carpentermy information source was the state employee working the Fort Stark museum desk the weekend of the NSPN kickoff paddle. That state employee told me the 10:00 AM official opening time was because the state didn't want to pay someone to open the gate earlier, but that the volunteers had decided they could open the gate at 8:00 AM. I don't have a contact among the volunteers.
However, https://www.nhstateparks.org/find-parks-trails/fort-stark-state-historic-site the webpage for Fort Stark has a link to the Facebook page for the Fort Stark Brigade and Friends which might be useful.
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This AMC trip consisted of three paid NSPN members, myself, @Joyce Carpenter, and @Frederick Goodman.
You could say this all started in 2019 when I foolishly proposed moving Walden Wednesdays to Tuesdays, and thus @Joseph Berkovitz started the Wednesday Lunch paddles instead of the Tuesday Lunch paddles.
Fast forward to Monday June 19th, 2023 when my optometrist unexpectedly changed my appointment date to this Friday, forcing me to withdraw from the only paddle on my schedule for the week. Let me repeat that, I now had NO PADDLES ON MY SCHEDULE THIS WEEK!
Desperate times call for desperate measures, I would just have to get up 8 hours early and drive through at least 10 hours of Greater Boston's stop-and-(occasionally)-go traffic to attend Joe's Wednesday Lunch paddle. So I went to NSPN.org for this week's details, where I discovered there was NO Wednesday paddle on the NSPN Calendar for June 21st!
I'm not proud of it, but I must admit I panicked. After paddling twice last week, I couldn't contemplate a week without paddling. Especially with such gorgeous weather in the forecast. So I caved, and submitted an AMC sea kayak trip for approval.
I did retain some sanity. I didn't want to lead a bunch of recreational kayak paddlers who get their rolls at a bakery or Chinese restaurant. I wanted experienced companions who do their own due diligence, like checking the weather forecast before signing up for a trip. Basically NSPNers used to the CAM trip model. So I carefully crafted my AMC trip listing and submitted it for AMC approval. Then in accordance with my memory of discussions dating back to @PeterB's reign as NSPN president, I started a thread about my AMC trip listing under "Commercial Classifieds and Events Sponsored Externally to NSPN." The official AMC listing read:
QuoteShort notice ocean paddle for experienced sea kayakers.
We will launch in the late morning from a location near Portsmouth, NH. We will immediately head out to the open water regardless of sea state. Pack a lunch, we will stop somewhere to eat.
On this trip you MAY paddle in high winds and large waves while crossing a busy shipping channel. If conditions permit we may spend some time surfing and/or engaged in rock play. The leader will encourage everyone to practice their roll.
Besides a sea kayak with appropriate flotation, paddlers should have a water sport helmet, rough water spray skirt, PFD, paddles, and thermal protection for water temperatures in the high 50's or low 60's. The leader will be wearing a dry suit.
This AMC trip will also cooperate with NSPN.org
The plan was to launch around 11:00 AM from Fort Stark. All three of us arrived by 10:15 AM. Nobody had encountered any rush hour traffic. Parking was free. There were two porta-pottys on site. The sandy rocky beach was free of silty muck, and launching just inside the Little Harbor breakwater gave a protected launch site with immediate access to the ocean. With railroad if not military precision, the first of us launched just after 11:00 AM and 3 seconds, and the last of us had launched before 11:00 AM and 25 seconds. All of us were wearing dry suits and helmets. Fred and Joyce were also wearing tow belts in case they had to tow me home.
Despite my AMC disclaimer "you MAY paddle in high winds and large waves," if one had checked the NWS forecast Monday or Tuesday, they would have expected that the water and air temperatures would be around 60 degrees, with "Variable winds 5 kt or less. Mostly sunny. Seas 1 to 2 ft" all of which proved true. We would eventually encounter what recreational boaters consider very large waves. NSPNers call them boat wakes. Sadly, conditions were too calm for surfing or rock play.
Immediately after leaving Little Harbor, with no discussion needed, we crossed the busy shipping channel between Jaffrey Point and Whaleback Light. However, it was a Wednesday with light winds and very little boat traffic. So we didn't see a single vessel that could plausibly intersect our course to the light house. During the crossing we shared our "how we got into kayaking" stories. (My first time in a sit-inside kayak was September 7th, 2009. My first roll was two days later. See my NSPN profile for more details.)
After the light house we turned toward Fort Foster, named after a recent NSPN president, seeking a lunch spot. The first sites were too crowded for our tastes, but just before the private houses start we found a nearly deserted spot which featured our choice of a bench in the shade, or a picnic table in the sun, both with a beautiful view of a gorgeous day. We ate lunch sharing the bench while enjoying the view, and the clear blue skies. We discussed at lunch where else we wanted to paddle. Fred suggested going to Brave Boat Harbor which received unanimous consent.
After lunch we headed up the coast. I floated the idea that we could circumnavigate Gerrish if we wanted, since we would probably arrive at Brave Boat Harbor near high tide. Both other participants warmed my heart by indicating they would rather return via the exposed coast.
We continued along the coast, when suddenly, with no prompting from me, Fred declared that he wanted to roll to cool off. As LEADER, I immediately declared a brief roll practice, after which we continued on seeking Brave Boat Harbor.
Shortly after passing the statue of a whale tail, we came upon and entered Brave Boat Harbor itself. Before landing there was another roll practice, making this the paddle where everyone capsized, albeit intentionally.
We landed briefly for stretching, and other necessities. I discovered a toy Yellow Submarine. Then we carried on a conversation with a passing paddle boarder who urged us to circumnavigate Gerrish. We indicated that all of us had previously done the circumnavigation, but preferred heading back via the coast this time.
Refreshed and stretched, we launched and retraced our steps, though this time into the wind. Admittedly, it was a less than 5 knot variable wind. Around the time we reached Fort Foster, we were overtaken by a kayaker wearing a cotton shirt paddling a long plastic kayak with a rudder. We exchanged pleasantries and went our separate ways.
From Fort Foster we continued to Wood Island were workers were installing or adjusting a door handle when we arrived. After a brief stop we continued to red buoy number 2. We checked traffic in both directions, and headed across. This time a distant sailboat might perhaps theoretically have intersected our path had it maintained its original heading. However, it soon altered course, probably before even seeing us on the water.
For variety, we tried landing on the outside of Fort Stark, instead of going into Little Harbor. Doing so saved us a little bit of paddling, and the walk to the cars was a little shorter. However, that boulder strewn walk was definitely more challenging than the beach and lawn walk from Little Harbor to the parking lot.
We landed at 3:54 PM, for a total of four hours and fifty four minutes from start to finish.
After playing around a little bit with FloatingTrails, I calculate we paddled a bit more than nine nautical miles. It was a long but very enjoyable day with great companions and great weather.
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The beautiful weather Wednesday trip now has three-to-sea and is a GO! Thank you for signing up @Frederick Goodman. @Joyce Carpentersigned up yesterday. We have room for more, but I will run the trip with just the three of us.
Fred, @Jim Snyderhas posted questions about the parking, but has not (yet?) signed up.
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I need one more paddler to run this trip as of 10:45 PM on Monday night.
Three to sea.
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Here are the details I have @Jim Snyder
Fort Stark State Historic Site
- Free Parking (State might start charging in 2024)
- Dirt parking lot (Being expanded starting October 2023)
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Free Kayak Launching
- Longish carry to beach for kayak launching
- Beach is just inside the Little Harbor breakwater.
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Seasonal Porta-Potties
- Nominally Memorial Day to Labor Day, but reportedly installed a few weeks late in 2023.
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On June 10th, 2023 had one standard porta-potty installed.
- Staff expecting a handicapped porta-potty to join it soon.
- Staff member said in past years they had three porta-potties, and the staff member was not confident that two would be sufficient during the peak season.
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Gate officially open daily from 10:00am-6:00pm
- However, staff said volunteers currently opening the gate around 8:00am.
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Visitor Center is only open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 10:00am-3:00pm.
- Kayak parking likely to be tight when visitor center is open.
- Might also be tight parking on good "Beach Days."
https://www.nhstateparks.org/find-parks-trails/fort-stark-state-historic-site
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3 hours ago, Jim Snyder said:
Bill, what's the parking situation at Fort Stark?
Free, dirt lot. On a cool Wednesday, I don't expect a group of at most 8 kayakers to have any issues. Though the carry to launch is definitely longer than Odiorne. It is a beach launch, not a boat ramp. They had one porta-potty the kickoff paddle weekend, and the state employee said they were getting a second soon.
Weather point forecast on the water is SE 10kt wind, 1-2ft seas, sunny, high 66 degrees.
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The WcaLP is now AMC approved, and available for registration at https://activities.outdoors.org/search/index.cfm/action/details/id/145223
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FYI, since there is no NSPN Lunch Paddle on the calendar for this week, I am seeking AMC approval for a sea kayak trip out of Portsmouth on June 21, 2023. I am tentatively planning to launch around 11am from Fort Stark. Registration on the AMC website will be required, which means you will need to electronically sign the AMC waiver, but you do NOT need to be a paid AMC member.
There are no parking or membership fees for this trip. I've told the AMC computer to have a wait-list if more than seven individuals register.
You can register for the trip as soon as it is listed on https://activities.outdoors.org
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I would be interested in a one-off special event Walden rolling/practice session, perhaps followed by dinner.
However, because MA has significantly raised the effective non-resident parking fees for attending regularly, I will get my rolling fixes elsewhere.
For 2023 the Walden parking options are:
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Daily parking fees are waived for vehicles with a:
- Handicapped license plate or placard
- Purple Heart Recipient license plate
- Disabled veteran license plate
- MA Resident Senior Parking Pass (age 62 and over) $10
- MA Resident 2023 Annual Parking Pass $60
- MA Resident Day Pass Walden $8
- Non-MA Resident Day Pass Walden $30
Source: https://www.mass.gov/guides/parking-at-massachusetts-state-parks
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Daily parking fees are waived for vehicles with a:
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On May 21st, 2023, I paddled out of Granite Pier with two Rockport Residents. I got there first, and unloaded near the power boat ramp. When the residents arrived, they informed me that they had been recently scolded for not using the small ramp near the stairs to the upper parking area. It was deserted when we launched, so we didn't get scolded. However, we made a point to land at the small ramp when we returned.
Carrying a kayak up and down those stairs would be very challenging. Having someone directing traffic, and only letting about three cars down past the porta-potty might work.
I don't remember what they were charging for non-resident parking.
Thursday Lunch Paddle, Fort Stark, 8/10
in Past Trips
Posted
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tk7pQwnYmig8sNse9
"Fort Stark" or
"Fort Stark Historic Site" also work.
There is no parking fee this year. There are porta-potties.