prudenceb

Yay!

No problem. It hadn't yet been posted bc unclear until now that Llangolan - our meeting place - would be open. It will be. Peter brady will be posting the MDI retreat later today.

For what it's worth, this event is coinciding with NSPN's annual Bar Harbor Retreat, which is traditionally held the wknd after Labor Day. While it has not yet been posted on the website, I know that many of the NSPN Bar Harbor attendees have already made reservations at Llangolin Inn for that wknd. So there are two options for paddling to consider the wknd of September 9-13! Prudence

I have been very irregular at Walden since paddleboards took over the pond a few years ago bc parking can be very difficult late afternoon. Also, Wednesday is not a good day because of Joe and Bob's weekly Wednesday lunch paddles that will hopefully resume in May. HOWEVER, I would be interested in doing MORNING Walden sessions with folks who have the flexibility to go then. If anyone is interested in that, please weigh in here. (A few years ago I was actually meeting regularly with two other people before six am and I'd happily do that again!) Prudence

The Xth Not Exactly Annual NSPN Cold Water Workshop went off without a hitch in Marblehead on Saturday. Well, except that it was sunny with air temperature in the 60's. Not exactly the cold we wanted, but the water was still in the low 40's. Sixteen of us gathered at Riverhead Beach before splitting into covid-compliant pods for a short journey to Dolliber Cove, where we pretended it was cold and sought out spots protected from the wind, both on the water and on land. Some of us sweated through this exercise, because it really was quite toasty out. Before and after lunch, some of us tested out gear, dipping into the cold water, or maybe worked on winter-rusty skills...rolling and performing self and assisted rescues. Thanks to Bob Levine and Jim Snyder for organizing it and the preceding zoom session, and Bob for herding cats and keeping us focused and on topic for the cold water paddle itself. Here's some or the crew prior. Janice Cotton. Sue Hrciga and Sarah Enright Sherry Smith Cathy Folster and Joe Berkovitz socially distancing in a silly way. Sarah Enright braving the chilly water to test out her drysuit under Joe Berkovitz's guidance. It was Sarah's first cold water paddle. Bravo! Dana Sigall and Fred Goodman find warm and sheltered spots for lunch break. Dana practicing a self rescue and learning a valuable lesson: burp your dry suit or it will be much harder to do anything once you're in the water with buoyancy making it hard to maneuver. Cathy Folster photographing me photographing her... And here we were layered up and wearing drysuits to keep us safe from the 43 degree water, when along comes this paddleboarder...showing us how it SHOULDN'T be done! Thanks to everyone for a fun, instructive and educational day. Prudence

I'd love to do it but NSPN has cold water workshop on Sat...alas...

Wow! Impressive piece of work. Thanks for sharing. I'll look forward to digesting it bit by bit.

Jane, the link you gave for signing up leads to Rob's 2019 posting about the EBP.

Live free or die. NH allows MA residents and has for some time... And now MA allows us to return within 24 hrs without quarantining. Although if fully vaccinated, you're good to go without any further requirements.

Jim, what is Odiorne status?

MA just announced fully vaccinated people can come into MA from anywhere without test or quarantine, so for those folks, trips to and from ME, NH etc totally legal.

Alan left out one recommendation: paddle with friends...especially in the winter. Especially if you don't have a pretty bombproof self rescue, especially if it's not a straightforward calm day...although stuff can happen even then.

Get a Covid test on return. Not a lot of competition for them right now and MA actually wishes more people were getting tested. This is a perfect excuse. I would also predict MA will relax rules. Frankly I've always been more worried about how ME reacts to us Massholes than how MA reacts to anyone entering the state from anywhere - given that MA has apparently never enforced their own rules.

Gov Mills has announced that effective immediately MA residents can travel to ME without negative test or quarantine. Also, fully vaccinated people from any state can now travel north! https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/news/governor-mills-unveils-plan-protect-public-health-support-maines-economy-during-upcoming Prudence

You do get around, Gary!