Suz

Here is the facebook post explaining the December 22 plans: https://www.facebook.com/newburykayak/ Or from their events page: Gifts n’ Gab Social December 22 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Come to Newbury Kayak and Canoe for some last minute shopping and well deserved social refreshment. Door Prizes, gift ideas, special discounts, free food! Bring canned goods or non-perishables for our local food pantry and receive extra rewards!!! Bring a friend (or two) and your shopping list!

Hi Franca, Surely it is too early to plan for a Friday in May but I would imagine if you visit back here again in April and revisit this, you will have some takers. I would recommend bringing your drysuit for the paddle as our waters are cold in May. Best, Suz

I would go one further.... Skip the J's and if you are using either Thule/squares or Yakima bars (they are both stronger than the Subaru cross bars), then simply buy the padding for the bar and secure to the roof. The J's are what is making the job so hard... You have to lift up and over and it is tough. The J's require a lift up higher than your shoulders and then while up, you have to move the boat away from your body... Things to do - use a very sturdy step stool strategically placed against the car and walk up the step stool so that the boat is now above the J hooks so you are dropping the boat down onto the hooks. If you don't mind buying something that would make your life much easier, get a load bar - I have Yakima round bars and if you pull the load bar out, it gives you a place to rest the bow and then you can do what Mike suggest above, place the stern in the J, then the bow in the other.

Whoo Hoo! Congrats to all three of you! Suz

And Kate's homemade COOKIES are the best! They are a favorite "warming up" technique. Even better than Rick's hot tang although surely he will bring some of that...

If you are interested in giving a drysuit a try, learning about hypothermia, the gasp reflex, how your body loses heat, and the all important how to warm back up, I encourage you to attend this. Due to a family death, I am unable to make this event this year. Also why I didn't have the opportunity to promote and gather interested paddlers to attend. For those that may not know, Keith Attenborough is one of the "old timers" of the club. A very experienced paddler who was one of the original founders along with also being a founder of http://www.qajaqusa.org/ So, if you are new to paddling and want to understand all about cold water paddling and how to do it safely, this is the event for you. If you are experienced and have attended one before, this is great to do to help provide YOUR insight and experience to those new to paddling. The format of the day for this will be similar to those previously held by NSPN. It will be hands on learning! If you need to borrow a drysuit for the day, just let Newbury Kayak know and I will get them my loaners in advance. http://newburykayak.com/ Event info: http://newburykayak.com/event/cold-water-workshop/ Suz

On my agenda too Andy! I suspect this will be super interesting!

I've been using them for 10 years. I don't trim them and they are more comfortable for me. I will bring them to the Newbury Kayak Sept 25 - 2-5 event (listed in events/commercial) and you can try the CG "thick" gaskets on. Maybe you will be the lucky one that wins the replacement gasket! Suz

If you have any gasket repairs needed, we will also be raffling off one free gasket change to anyone who brings in their drysuit.

Great job well done to all! Kudos Bob, Kevin and Tim!

Really - read it... it doesn't appear to require much at all.

Nancy - I too love Armenian muhammara! As I live where it isn't available locally, I found a few recipes and made it until it tasted like the one that I was given at a party. Muhammara 3 /4 cup walnuts – chopped fine and then toasted – watch carefully as they burn because they are small 3 /4 cup breadcrumbs – toast these too 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, freshly toasted and ground with a mortar/pestle Put above in a bowl In food processor or blender puree the following ingredients: 2 roasted red peppers (drained and rinsed if using jarred) 2 cloves garlic - quarted and peeled wedge of red onion about 2” 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses cayenne pepper to taste Mix the puree into the toasted ingredients. Serve with toasted pita bread triangles. 1. Directions to make Pomegranate Molasses as that is also impossible to find here unless you have a lebanese or armenian grocery store near by. 2. Bring to boil 1 quart Pomegranate Juice (such as Pom Wonderful), 2/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup lemon juice and simmer on low until reduced to 1-1/3 cups. It lasts a long time in the fridge so you can just keep it in the back of the fridge in a jelly jar.

Spied this on Sea Kayak Cornwall's facebook post. Looks like one of the great NSPN writers (hint PRU), should write up a grant request. The sea kayak portion will be 1000 euros. http://www.hobkey.com/grant/

Nav workshop is always a good idea and will surely generate interest. I would also point out that April 1,2,3 is the New England Paddlesports Show - so between that and the WFA, it would be better to switch weekends.

I will make a vegan dish in the crockpot that would make a great camping dish. I will bring a few extra Crazy Creek chairs - low camp chairs. Suz

As these things go, this discussion is staying pretty manageable. Here are things that I know: Fast paddlers can't seem to slow down except when there is love and caring between the two paddlers. Even then it is sometimes difficult for the fast ones to slow down. Slower paddlers are just that - slower. Even when the group speeds up, they do speed up but they still can't match the fast paddlers pace. At faster speeds, their top speed is still less than the faster paddlers... Sometimes fast paddlers think they can demonstrate how easy it is to "show" others how to speed up and give them incentive by going faster. This doesn't help the slower paddlers. I find that when paddling gets tougher, paddlers tend to get into their own heads and just focus on their strokes. The fitter amongst us have an easier time dong this and then they go faster... big sigh here.... then the distance between the fast and slow becomes even greater. Here is something else I know... the fast paddlers could in fact come back to the slower paddlers and begin again or they could simply wait. Problem is that when it is cold, and they wait, they get cold. Easier then is for them to loop back. Get some extra miles in,,, The only solution is to assist by towing the person so that the group can remain together. In this case, there wasn't any real need to "hurry" other than the group was getting separated. If the only way to maintain the group is to slow the fast and speed up the slow, then have the fast tow the slower... Always easy to say but in practice hard to do and hard to accept...

Been thinking about this since it happened. I believe that the group of experienced outdoorsmen began kayaking at a time when drysuits were not the norm. They were hitting class 5 rivers, paddling wearing whatever they scrounged up from their other pursuits - perhaps, wool, synthetics and neoprene. They did loads of risky activities, probably regarded their 5 day trip on the lake as being pretty low on the scale of these activities. Sure they all had access to gear, either they probably owned it or could have owned it. Surely could have purchased on a wholesale basis directly through any of the companies that make dry suits. The choice was made by all of them to not wear drysuits. We can only wonder why but my thought is that they perceived the "lake" as the equivalent of a walk compared to their climbing activities and just didn't. Perhaps the trip was organized on the spur of the moment, perhaps they owned drysuits but just didn't have them nearby.... loads of those ideas, but either way, they didn't use them. Then I am wondering how much a drysuit would have changed the situation. That length of time in cold water is really just too much for any person. As anyone knows who has done a "cold water workshop', even 50 degree water is super cold when you are submerged in the water in a drysuit. The layers we wear which are just a bit too warm to paddle with are really insufficient for being submerged in the water for ANY length of time, especially if your head and hands are also getting wet. You know how it is when you are testing the waters in the cold water workshop by wading in and floating.... you strategically hold your hands high, you float with your head and ears out of the water, if your hands are in the water, you tuck them between your life jacket and your body. Now just imagine instead the water coming over your head, the wind blowing and trying to hold on to a toggle. I think the greatest value of the drysuit is that once you are OUT of the water, you body is dry and can immediately begin to try and recover. It will hasten the warming process because you are dry. A sad tragedy for sure. My thoughts go out to the group who were friends for such a long time. Must be very difficult.

For the last 11 years National Geographic searches the globe to find the adventurer of the year. Take a look and see what the adventures are: http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/adventurers-of-the-year/2016/ There are climbers, mountaineers and biologists in the dugout canoes along with the first descent of the “Grand Canyon Pacific,” the Beriman River in Papua New Guinea. The river has a reputation as one of the South Pacific’s most challenging, which was photographed by Bryan Smith who produced a few sea kayaking videos early on in his career. Here is the link for that adventure directly: http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/adventurers-of-the-year/2016/vote/stookesberry Take a look and globe trot with the adventurers. Feel free to vote for the adventure that takes you away from your computer and into their adventure! ps - It was an easy vote and didn't require any specific log in or sharing on facebook or anything!

Dump neck is like this: http://kokatat.com/products/jackets/gore-texr-paddling-jacket-men.html It is a velcro closure that has a reverse pleat to open wide - no neoprene or latex gasket. It is named dump neck as it dumps heat quickly. The Passage Anorak will replace this jacket which paddlers have been mating to a bib or wearing with the tempest pant for years: http://kokatat.com/products/jackets/gore-texr-tectour-anorak-men.html I wrote a longer response but my cat walked across the keyboard and deleted! Off to the cold water clinic! Suz

No. The Passage Anorak - dump neck with hood and switch zip has been requested by paddlers. It isn't something I would choose to wear but is a garment combination that many paddlers have chosen to wear - whirlpool bib with a anorak.

All good questions from Brian: The knob makes a pretty large lump that could potentially cause discomfort, depending on one's body shape. That could be the case, especially with LARGE bellies that protrude greater than the hip. Most people find that it falls below the skirt but above your lap. Most people find that they prefer that over the stiffness of the chest zipper in a front opening drysuit.Is the suit still waterproof and will it stay zipped if the cover or knob are lost or damaged? Although that's probably unlikely, stranger things have happened on paddling trips... The zipper cover is integral to maintaining a dry zipper. Without the cover, the zipper start and end would be uncovered and not waterproof. This is true even if there but you FORGET to tighten the cover. Any drysuit is only dry if the zipper is closed. A broken tooth or zipper open a hair will let in a lot of water. The extra thickness around the hips might require some adjustment to any hip padding in the boat. If the cheek plates on the seat are a close fit, this could create an issue. There is no extra thickness around the hips where the zipper is. It sits above the hip but below the belly button area. The video says you can wear the top separately, but it doesn't say that the bottoms can be. It would be worth clarifying that, if it's a concern for you. The top is recommended to be worn separately. When the two pieces are separated, the zipper cover remains attached to the pant zipper. It should be screwed onto the post to cover and protect the post and protect your material from the post. The bottom half of the zipper is uncovered on the pant. The bottom is OK to be worn around camp but isn't meant to be a pant for on the water. The bottoms stay up as their is a neo waistband with a draw cord above where the zipper is. Some people like to use the shoulder zip on a traditional dry suit to ventilate when off the water (at lunch breaks, etc.). While you can take the top off of the Idol, will the pants stay up? With the top off, the pants stay up due to the neo waistband with the draw cord. Also, for 2016, Kokatat has come out with a great anorak with a dump neck that can attach to the IDOL pants. Also for 2016 is a Radius suit which is geared to sea kayakers as there is a detachable hood and pockets on both arms and one of the thighs. For 2016, there will be three suits with the switch zip technology and an anorak that can be bought separately and mated with any of the same size pants from a switch zip suit. Radius - "expedition" suit, Icon, Surge (which replaces the lightweight paddling suit). The 2016 suits can be ordered now but not delivered until mid Jan.

Lucky you Karen - I have e-mailed you separately!

Update - we have 24 people attending with a great ratio of repeat attendees who will be on hand to help. If you have reserved a drysuit, there is an x next to your name below. If you need a drysuit and there isn't an x next to your name, e-mail me right away so I bring enough suits. suz at kayakne dot com If you have not RSVP'd via the calendar or an e-mail to me but would still like to attend, it is still possible, just e-mail me. It is also possible to attend the "dry" portion of the day without participating in the "wet" portion. Just let me know via e-mail. The plan will be to wrap up the day between 3 - 3:30 with a debrief session inside the shop. Suz Hutchinson Peter Brady Phil Allen Lorrie Allen Rob Folster Cathy Folster Beth Sangree Jeff Charette Bob Levine David Burgess Elaine Evans x David Carroll George Samuels John Monroe Phil Anderson Phil Anderson Wife Tonia Chase Chuck Palson x Samuel Duffield Mike Duffield x Nate Philbrick x Skylar Valger x Andrew Gibson x Brennan Young x

Try a surf shop - they have tons of wax by the front counter. Pick one appropriate to the temperature you will use it in.

My take on it is that she has become a quietly competent paddler without striving for stars. Good job Cathy!