casousa81

Now that I live locally (Salem), I'm planning to join in on these!

Great read! I saw all of your cars in the parking lot as I rode by yesterday at the end of a Salem/Essex/Gloucester/Salem bike ride. Makes me realize I need to unwrap the kayaks, but I have a feeling that these water temps will be too cold for my farmer john for at least another month or so. Looks like it was a great day on water!

I'd love to, but will be paddling up in Lake Champlain that weekend. Have fun!

I measured 56 degrees in Gloucester Harbor yesterday... and a ton of pollen floating on the surface

Gloucester Harbor (Smith's Cove, to be precise) was 59 degrees last weekend according to my father's dive computer. We launched our Boston Whaler and I was perfectly comfortable wading at the boat ramp in only my 3mm farmer john. The outer harbor was a bit cooler...

Al and I got together this morning to paddle the Concord River. We launched at the Bedford site, and paddled a conversational pace upstream toward Concord under a bright blue sky with light winds and temps in the low 50's. Stopped for lunch at the Old North Bridge, and then turned around at Lowell Rd for the down-current paddle back to Bedford. It was a great 9+ mile paddle to shake out the early-season kinks (my first time out in 2013). Saw a bunch of the usual river wildlife: herons, Canadian geese, turtles, and a jumping fish or two. I'm not sure the geese are too happy with their river being taken over by boats, as we survived two attempted 'bombings.' Fortunately their aim was quite bad. ~Chris

Just purchased on Amazon. Very timely that I saw this post today! My students are finishing a unit today on why we have seasons and the position of Earth in space. I Just got done showing them my sextant and explaining how it works... :-)

Al, the Bedford side has a gently sloped launch, so water height wouldn't be an issue. Does the 10:30 launch work for you, or would you prefer later? Lisa, If you are ever looking for an after-work paddling buddy for some Concord River workouts, by all means let me know. Considering the design of your new boat, i'd probably be a bit slower though! ~Chris

I haven't been out in the boat yet this season, and am thinking of a freshwater shake-down paddle on a stretch of the Concord River. Launch at the rt. 4/225 landing in Bedford/Carlisle, paddle down to Great Meadows Sanctuary (or farther), have some lunch, and back. 10:30am or so BIB to allow for a leisurely pace to enjoy the scenery and get the paddling 'legs' back. Water temperatures will of course make this at least a wet-suit required paddle, with drysuits recommended. Any interest??

Pru, If you're worried about lifting the boat up to the fence, what about a couple block and tackles? Yes, it would add to the cost of the set-up, but you could attach the upper block to the fence with an eye-bolt, clip the lower blocks into the straps while the boat sits on the ground, then simply hoist it up to the desired height. Probably similar to the way you had it set up in your garage...

Pru, I had good luck on the walls of my garage with Phil's technique. I screwed a few eye bolts into the wall with large 'beaners attached to them, cinched up a few wide straps a few feet fore and aft of the cockpit, and then just lifted my boat up to the eye-bolts and clips into the straps. I screwed some minicell foam into the wall so that the hull wouldn't rub. Also make sure that whatever you do, you tie it down to the fence. ;-) ~Chris

Thank you all for the responses! Pintail: I'm 5'11", 38 in chest. So probably a M/L drysuit?? John, as you mentioned, water temps are definitely more a factor then dates. Last April I was paddling the Concord river with just a farmer john, and fully immersed in complete comfort. That being said, it was so warm last year that the river was already up to late May/early June temps at that point. Ocean temps, as we know, are not impacted by local climate like inland waters. Since writing the original post, I found out that a friend of mine has a spare dry-top with a blown neck gasket that she's giving me. I'll repair that, and at least for this spring I'll use that in combo with the farmer john. I'm really hoping to learn to roll this summer so I can keep my lower body out of the water. In the meantime, I have a very generous REI dividend to play with this year, so I think I'm going to pick up the NRS 2mm wetsuit jacket as well.

I haven't been on here in a while, and still have yet to do a paddle with the group (seriously hoping to change that this spring), but am looking for some opinions on gear for extending my season a bit. Last season I started wearing a farmer john wetsuit for paddling in late spring/early summer, and then later in the fall. It certainly took a bit of chill out of the water, but I know its not enough. I'm planning on picking up a 2mm jacket to go with it for this spring, with the hope of being able to start paddling a bit sooner. I know the best bet would be a drysuit, but I simply can't shell out the cash at this point in time. That being said, what type of conditions would we consider safe for a 3mm farmer john/2mm top arrangement? I would assume Cape Ann up until mid/late May (at a minimum) is still out of the question... What are some thoughts on this? ~Chris

Ahh, I for some reason I thought this was a Saturday paddle! Its going to conflict with my father's day plans for Sunday, so I'm going to need to bail on this one. ~Chris

Based on having not paddled in a month or so, my preference would be Eagle Hill due to distance. That being said, 7 vs. 11 miles isn't a huge deal either way. As of right now it looks like winds from the NE at 10-15, which could make for a bit of a headwind starting out (but a nice extra push on the return paddle). ~Chris