Inverseyourself

MsFit is also a MrFit, I had it in the past.

Are Kevin's sessions in Lowell now, not Beverly or Ipswich? Aw, I guess I have to continue rolling in the ocean over the winter :-(.

Kokatat MsFit is great for a short upper body. I have the Astral blue (former green) jacket and like it but it's quite pricy and maybe overkill. Also, a lot of people find the Kokatat easier to get into with its midline zipper.

Beverly Y, Kevin?

Interested.

Great day with great people! Thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Thanks Jim for organizing!!!

Meet 9:30 but not BIB 9:30, correcto?

Surf!

Will decide last minute. I love how that Bread&Roses Bakery is practically on the way to the launch! ?

Launching Cape Neddick may be the better option.

Unfortunately not a day for current play on the Ogunquit River on 10/19 due to unfavorable tide cycle that day (if there ever is enough current there).

Very interested, keep me posted, please. Wide open C-Day weekend! Andy

Since Joe gave permission for hijacking: Had a similar experience in the pool. Ran out of air after several futile attempts to get the skirt off, banged at the sides of my kayak, then made one more desperate attempt and somehow just pulled the spray skirt off the rim with sheer panic-fueled force. People in the pool looked at me curiously :-) and I just pretended that I did it on purpose. I practiced alternative sprayskirt removal techniques after that, including with thick winter gloves. I have since then also tightly wrapped my grab loops with yellow electrical tape. This makes it very stiff, easy to feel under water and hard to accidentally tuck in. Testosterone-driven dudes will be testosterone-driven dudes! The guys in this video....doomed!

Josko: Congrats upon your transition to the dark side :-) You are an experienced sea kayaker with the seamanship that comes with that. That's already a great asset. No doubt surfskiers have a different approach to safety compared to seakayakers. By the time we have finished schlepping tons of safety equipment, stowing it in various compartments and donning all our gear and then go through a beef breaching, most surfskiers are already 2-3 miles out to sea. That's the beauty of surfskiing: go light, be fast. I thinks that's where its main strength lies, speed. Trying to even remotely reproduce the safety equipment of a fully loaded sea kayak in a surfski annihilates the advantages (and fun) of a surfski. That is not to say that surfskiers aren't safety conscious or don't possess good seamanship. For daytrips beyond 3-4 hours, I carry a storm cag in a drybag under the bungees behind the bucket ("cockpit" :-)). If I go further out or if it's colder, I wear my sea kayaking PFD with all its attached safety gear and reservoir rather than just my much lighter surfski PFD. I don't eat much even during longer trips and just carry 2-3 Cliff Shot Block bars in my PFD. I see no good way to store a spare paddle. Spare paddles in my personal experience are for medium consequence-low probability cases. You can always paddle canoe-style. If I'm not close to sore I wear a paddle leash (paddle to boat) AND belt leash (me to boat). At my level of surfski expertise, which I consider at the low end of intermediate at this time, planning in regards to sea state and weather is key. Whereas I would go out in 25 kn winds and higher sea states in my sea kayak, I would not in my surfski, not yet (downwind runs in > 25+ Kn wind are what surfskiing is ultimately all about). Therefore, stable seas and wind are a must before committing to a longer run like yours, much more so than in your sea kayak with everything including the kitchen sink in it. Of course, your stability on the ski ties directly into all this. Whereas an expert is faster in an expert ski (21' L, 14-15" W), someone like me will be relatively faster in a wider, more stable ski (e.g. 19"L, 20" W). Relative to myself in a narrower ski that is. With a little bit of training in an "early intermediate ski" you can cruise at 5.9-6.3 mph (statute) without too much effort for the distance you mentioned, especially if you go fitness-oriented. If you get significant help from the tide, you could make it around in under 3 hours (of course you may have to wait for tide reversal). Do make sure that you have a reliable remount in the conditions you paddle in. A very fast remount in shark territory (one major disadvantage of surfskis without compartments: one bite and you flood. I went out to 1/2-Way Rock out of Manchester in early April and splashed on the way back near the seals. That was a couple of months before I heard about increasing great white sightings in Salem Bay). If there's a stable weather window, go for it. Of course, dry suit and gloves w spares and head gear in November, which goes without saying. I don't think you're missing much relative to "surfski dudes in winter without PFD or wetsuit". Just my 2 cents. There are some much more experienced surfskiers on this forum who could give you advice. Andy

Surf is for bigger/taller folks. If you need a Surf for those reasons, Explorer will probably be tight unless HV. I'm 6'5", 210 and would not fit in an Explorer. I have an HV. By the same token, if you are not very tall or heavy/circumferential :-), the Surf may be too much boat for you. Are you a pleasure or fitness kayaker (not that fitness kayaking is not utmost pleasure)? Do you camp? Either boat has plenty room, Surf even more than regular Explorer. For distance, the Explorer has some advantages. I love my current Explorer HV and I loved my Surf before I switched to an Aries 155. If you're mainly fitness-oriented w only 2 ocean paddles per year, consider a fitness oriented boat (i.e. surfski).

Saturday is Blackburn race day. Cape Ann will be a little crowded!

Woods Hole has been on my list, just have not had a chance/time/injury-freedom in last 2 years. I’d be interested in a conditions paddle and/or distance paddle.

Nice trip, guys. Wish I could've come. The pictures show the energy in the water, especially the last one. As usual, how pictures turn large waves into ripples!!!

Please put me on the waiting list. It seems I only found out about this now ?

Will CG let you test from home or only close to/on water?

Purely out of interest, is anyone routinely carrying a PLB? I've had one sitting at home for 5 years after initially thinking it would be good to have one in case VHF and cell phone fail. Never brought it along, not even on a crazy solo winter outing in conditions. I just read an article about a surfski paddler and sea kayaker who got in trouble last November and couldn't get his VHF to work for some reason. Interestingly, a lifeboat and helicopter were dispatched within 1/2 an hour (Northern GB) of the PLB being activated. I have been under the impression that the PLB-activated response is by far not as immediate as a VHF or cell phone call but this may be country-specific. Made me think to maybe have some backup again. There is a very small PLB, the RescueMe PBP1 that looks interesting: https://www.westmarine.com/buy/ocean-signal--rescueme-plb1-personal-locator-beacon--17112913?recordNum=3. It's tiny. That company also makes an electronic distress flare: https://www.westmarine.com/buy/ocean-signal--rescueme-edf1-electronic-distress-flare--16749269?recordNum=4 Opinions? Andy

I did fix it and, as you said, it was easy! Thanks for checking in.

I’m working that day. Will you publish written material, Mike? Very interested!

Curious. What’s the gist of it? Are we expecting a worldwide hatch cover production stop? Or is it something even more fundamental? I’m going to 303 mine right now!

Call me sticker-Vandal, or sticker-Hun if you must !