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MITA GATHERING STILL ON, SUNDAY! (but pre-meeting paddle cancelled for wind)


djlewis

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Forecast: 25-30 marine and 15-25 land... too windy to be much fun for me. So I'm not showing, even though I called it. Anybody else is certainly still welcome to paddle.

THE MITA GATHERING IS STILL ON! This is just the pre-meeting paddle that I'm giving up on.

The MITA meeting is at 1:00 Sunday at Joppa Flats. I encourage everybody to go and support this fantastic organization that labors mightily -- and often unsung -- on behalf of paddlers and others who love the Maine Coast.

By the way, did you know that MITA has fewer than 4000 members? That's ridiculuous! It should be 10 times that, considering how many people use and enjoy the Maine Coast. Is there anyone in this club who hasn't at least paddled the islands in Casco Bay or intends to someday? And that's just the beginning.

I encourage everybody to take a look at http://www.mita.org/ and join today.

--David

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In case anybody still wants to paddle, here are/were the details...

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Meet at Joppa Flats at 9:00 AM for a 9:30-9:45 launch. We'll get off the water by about 12:15-12:30 to make the MITA meeting nearby at 1:00.

We'll have several options for paddling routes and challenges, which we can decide when we get there and see what's up.

This is definitely a cold-water, cold-air paddle, requiring dry suit (or maybe full wet suit, but water temps are now under 50), hood, gloves, extra clothing in a dry bag, warm drink, etc. It's an unofficial trip, and everybody is responsible for their own decisions and safety.

Directions: From I-95, take EXIT 57 to ROUTE 113 (West Newbury/Newburyport). Follow 113 EAST (it's also route 1A) for 3.8 miles through Newburyport until you cross the town line into Newbury.

At the traffic lights, turn LEFT into ROLFE'S LANE. Proceed 0.6 to the end and turn RIGHT, where you'll find the Visitor Centre (and the Visitor Center) 0.1 on the LHS. The launch point is near there... look for boats.

If there isn't enough water at the Flats to launch comfortably, we'll move to the bridge over the PI river, about 1.5 miles further east on Plum Island Turnpike (pull off to the right just before the bridge). But check the Flats first.

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Given the forecast, we will certainly want to stay in the two rivers and not go out the mouth of the Merrimack to greet the 5-8-footers. But even so, anybody not comfortable with this wind, including chop in the rivers, should ponder carefully.

Marine -- N winds 20-25, becoming NW 15-20 in the afternoon. Seas 5 to 8 ft.

Land -- NW winds 15-20, which is probably more relevant inshore.

--David.

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