Wayne Smith Posted August 23, 2005 Share Posted August 23, 2005 Event Multi-Club Paddle ConnYak will be hosting a multi-club event in Fisher's Island Sound Saturday, August 27, 2005 Novice Launch at Barn Island at 10:30 AM Intermediate Launch at Isham Street in Mystic at 10:00 AM Advanced Launch at Esker Point Park at 10:00 AM If needed, postponement will be announced on the ConnYak bulletin board before 7:00 PM Friday night. Contact Information ConnYak Wayne Smith connyak@connyak.org Descriptions NOVICE: 7 miles paddle south across Little Naragansett Bay to Napatree Point. Return route will be east towards Watch Hill, and then north back to Barn Island. INTERMEDIATE: 12 miles paddle out the mouth of the Mystic River, and then head east to the outer breakwater off Stonington, continue to southeast to Sandy Point and Napatree Point. Return via Latimer Light and cross the Sound to Ram Island, taking advantage of the incoming tide. ADVANCED: 18 miles paddle south southeast to Fishers Island, continue east along the north shore of the island and cross Wicopesset Passage to Napatree Point. Return via Latimer Light and cross the Sound to Ram Island, taking advantage of the incoming tide. The intermediate group will paddle with the advanced group on this leg. Important Notices Visiting clubs should be aware that ConnYak has a leaderless format, and all decisions are made by consensus of those who speak up. If your club requires a leader, please have them contact me for specifics of the plan ahead of time. For those of you who have not paddled in this area before, it is a fun place to navigate with a chart and compass. There are reefs and considerable currents throughout Fishers Island Sound. The islands and shoals in Little Narragansett Bay move year to year and the area between Fishers and Napatree can be very rough. Drawing on the lessons learned from the last time we did this paddle, there are several points to raise now: 1). Each group will launch from the Lunch Stop separately. The next group will not launch until all of the prior group are in the water and under way. Novice paddlers will launch first, then Intermediate paddlers, then Advanced Paddlers. The Intermdiate paddlers will wait offshore for the advanced group to oin them. 2). In the case of an unforecasted change in the weather, injury, or whatever, anyone who wishes to bail will return to Barn Island with the novice group and get a ride back to their car, or do the same at Mystic with the Intermediate group if it is closer. 3) ConnYak will designate a resource person for each group, who will know the plan, and be there for local knowledge in the case of the need to change the plan. They are not leaders, and assume no responsibility for decision making or running the paddle. 4) All three groups will monitor channel 68 on the VHF, and keep in touch hourly, or as needed. This will be handled by ConnYak resource people. 5) Rain, or predicted winds in excess of 15 knots in eastern Long Island Sound will postpone to Sunday the 28th. Directions Driving Directions to the launch sites can be found on the ConnYak website on the "Paddlers Info" page. NOVICE Launch site, Barn Island: Please remember we have to share this launch with power boaters who pay fees to the state for ramp access --- we do not pay fees, so use only the canoe & kayak launch area, and yield to power boaters launching or landing. Please also carpool, and double or triple park in parking spaces to minimize our footprint in the parking lot. Remember, money talks. INTERMEDIATE launch site, Isham St, Mystic: All paddlers at this paddle MUST park at Mystic Seaport, which is about 100 yards away on Rt 27. The police in Mystic now consider cartoppers to be the same as trailers, and trailers are prohibited from parking on the street at this ramp, so it is possible that you may get towed if you park on the street. Therefore, drop your boat and your gear in the park next to the launch, and immediately take your car to the seaport parking lot. Please also have your boat and all your gear ready to load before you bring your car back to leave, load up quickly, and move away from the park so that other paddlers may load up. ADVANCED Launch site: This is a cartop-only launch site. The launch and parking are across the street from Esker Point Park, behind the Fisherman Restaurant. There is plenty of parking, and no political issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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