Suz

Quick synopsis... One in the group will be writing a trip report. He hasn't yet done so. I'm not a very good writer so I avoid it whenever possible.

Best news is that the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland (Quirpon Island is the most northern tip), seems not to have ANY black flies at the beginning of June. All the locals told us that but we were skeptical but really had none. Mosquitoes were barely existent, but perhaps just that it was so COLD that they weren't out yet.

I will write a quick report on our trip and post it on the message board shortly. Suffice to say - on the Northern Peninsula there will be more trips by our group of paddlers! We really loved it and especially so because there were NO bugs!

Should have mentioned that this service is offered to anyone who buys their drysuit through a New England retail store.

Also rentals are available through Newbury Kayak and Canoe. They have a wide assortment and might just have one with a relief zipper!

Haven't left yet. If you would like a loaner, e-mail me and I can put it outside in a place you can pick up. You would need to rinse and dry before bringing back.

E-mail me and we can make arrangements.

I love going out to the Puffins. They are so lovely and clown like. Last year I heard a rumor that the Puffins were scare and NOT abundant as usual. Had anyone else heard this?

All good points. What I do to get ready on time is to first find out what the launch time is! BIB time as said prior. I know that I always have a lot to do in the morning so as soon as I wake up, my first thing even before getting out of my bag is to open my sleeping bag. Prevents dawdling in bed!

- before even leaving my tent, I pack my gear inside my tent.

- get dressed in my paddling clothes first thing. If a drysuit day, I put my longs on right away and then if raining - get dress in drysuit, if not, walk around in my longs.

- pack up my bedding

- pack up everything I took out overnight.

I work really quickly on the above because I HAVE TO PEE! It makes for a quick pack up.

- put ALL my dry bags that are repacked into the vestibule and ready to go.

Then I PEE. Then off to make breakfast and drink my tea.

Drop the tent and pack that up while the oatmeal is cooking or soaking.

Start carrying all my bags down to the staging area for loading the boats.

Just been struggling with the sleeping bag issue myself. I will be kayak camping in Newfoundland at the beginning of June. The high for the day will be mid 50's with the nights averaging about 30. BUT it will be for a long period and cold during the day means I know that I will be sleeping cold during the night. The last trip up there the rainy days and the cold nights were difficult to manage. After much deliberation, I decided on a new down bag for a few reasons. 1 - the new down has been treated to stay dry (longer, probably not permanently!), 2 - the shell is made with Pertex which will help to shed water. 3 - the down bags pack SO much smaller than a synthetic bag rated same warmth rating.

My bag of choice for a hot summer night is a fleece bag from REI - really all fleece with a zipper. A fleece blanket would work just as well.

Mountain Hardwear Ultra Lamina 55 degree bag - can be combined with the above.

North Face Cats Meow - this one is my 20 degree bag. Bought it at the Outlet and I have never been happy with it as it is a right hand zipper instead of a left. I find when I read in my sleeping bag it always annoys me because it doesn't open the right way for me. This can also be combined with the fleece bag but the VOLUME really gets big (pack them separately, not in the same dry bag).

Marmot Plasma 15 - this bag is the one I am bringing to NFLD. It should hit the sweet spot for the night time temps. Packs smaller than my TNF Cat's Meow.

LLBean -20 Down bag - don't know the model. This bag is the one that I use when I sleep in the car (coldest place on earth in the late Fall. I can be warm and cozy after a tiring day and my body doesn't need to work hard to stay warm. Or outdoors in the winter when I needed to make space in the house for company. Really super warm but BIG! Certainly couldn't fit in my kayak.

Anyone else ever wake up in the middle of the night when it is cold and be super hungry? Enough that you need to grab an energy bar or something? That is because you are burning too many calories just to stay warm.

Another trick you can do - this one is from Rick Stoehrer - super easy and quick, make yourself a hot water bottle. Heat up water and put in a nalgene and drop that inside your sleeping bag (CLOSE THE TOP TIGHTLY - wrap in a fleece to keep from burning if too hot). Warms up cold toes super quick. No need to bring to a boil - just pretty hot. You can use sea water for this and not waste a drop of your fresh water. It does waste a bit of fuel so you may need to way that up...

I’m confused (as usual?). Cathy is asking about a low brace turn, not just a low brace. After picking up speed in flat water I was taught to hold the paddle way back in a low brace position (blade back facing down) while edging and then bring the paddle to the perpendicular position for support as I slowed down. Essentially like shown in this video. Perhaps it’s a nomenclature thing.

-Leon

Most of the paddlers in the video are using a stern rudder into a low brace to accomplish the turns. Some of them were on a wave which is a much more likely place to move from a stern rudder to a low brace. Still, try the perpendicular position and see what it does for you, try it as I suggested to Cathy - in quiet water, no current, now wind to see the difference positioning makes. Don't get the paddle wet and see what happens to the boat. Then try it same conditions but now with the paddle wet - bracing into the water in the 90 degree position and then also 45. THEN report in what you find.

Suz

I have been cogitating on this and while I agree with what Ed has explained in his eloquent manner, I think there might be more too it.

In general, I think most people feel awkward in a low brace position where the paddle is 90 degrees as you need to have elbows upward to achieve.

I think that sloppiness makes you go for the 45 degree angle as you can do it with the wet arm as opposed to both arms. Also I have found that depending on where I put my blade (regardless of whether it is in the water or not), it changes my weight distribution. So what happens when you are more stern weighted than mid boat or with a slight forward lean? Try them all and see how it changes how quickly the boat comes around.

So, for kicks, try this without getting the blade wet - do a low brace turn in quiet water - no wind, no current - isolate out what the body is doing. See what happens when your blade is perpendicular versus at a 45. Generally your weight distribution is different which of course causes your boat to do different things. (not saying what so it doesn't give you a preconceived notion of what is or should be happening).

Strokes are learned in isolation but the goal is to combine them and link all your strokes to best achieve whatever the required action is. You certainly would have a harder time teaching a maneuver that is a combination of three strokes to someone who doesn't know the three strokes... hence - teaching individual strokes in isolation but in practice linking them.

90 degree perpendicular to the boat is the most support. Anywhere else it is not a low brace but ends up being somewhat of a turning stroke or somewhat of a rudder type stroke.

You go girl!

Alec who just posted brings up the point about spread... it really is the spread (or rather the lack of it) that creates the need for the bow/stern lines. I would hazard that on Rick's Escalade, the spread is greater than on his previous Jetta reference. Hence less need for bow/stern....

On my previous Honda Odyssey (now that was the best boat hauler)...I had a drilled rough and super spread. I still used a bow line - simply to notify me what was going on up on the roof. (When the line tightens or loosens of changes location, it is an indication that the load has shifter on the roof.).

Ended up getting the Sea to Summit as I was at KTP and they had in stock. Tried on the medium and I think it will work. Bought the L for my husband and Jason bought the XL. Hoping that it will be too cold for the black fly to come out.

I can't believe I said that! Definitely decided i would rather be cold than bitten alive. Just can't stand black fly as I am definitely one of the people that reacts to their bites.

Liz - don't think I could handle the headaches from cigar smoking to ascertain if the cigar method works!

I am looking for some good soup recipes to make now and dehydrate for lunches while kayak camping. Anyone give this a try? If you have dehydrated canned soups instead, I will take those suggestions and see if I can make a similar recipe from scratch.

I will be feeding 7 people lunch and would like to try dehydrated soups for two reasons - warmth on cold, rainy days and the fact that it packs so small.

Any tried and true recipes here?

First advice is to check your load limits!

If within limits for the boats you are carrying, stackers work really well when there is a good spread between the bars AND you use at minimum a bowline. The problem with a short spread/long boats and wind shear should be obvious! But if not, I will explain to the uninitiated - the boats can blow and twist sideways and could end up pulling the rack off. Just slightly off parallel to the car can do it too. Bowline may not prevent this from happening on it's own but it can alert you to what is going on above your head on the roof.

These are the replacements for the ones you are babying.

If you look at the pictures carefully, you can see a zipper up the inside of the foot. I think it would be because the old ones were hard to pull on when dry so a zipper would make it easier. Of course, I'm not sold on zippers on water shoes - they always seem to corrode or get caked up with sand. Give them a try though and report back to us!

http://www.keenfootwear.com/product/shoes/men/gorgeous

Julie found this one http://www.buzzoffoutdoorwear.com/products.htm#hunting_clothesAnyone have any experience with them?

Unfortunately they have such a terrible website that you can't even see the images of the jacket. I did a little google search to find a review of the product and found this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhDGvVtWndw

Why don't you try this for a temporary solution:

http://www.maloneautoracks.com/handirack.php

So - I wrote the above then checked out your link.... It is one and the same. Ben Lawrey used to use one for when he was flying and had to use a rental car.

Julie - that is one of the ones I had found online. not quite what I had in mind though.

This is another idea:

http://bugbaffler.com/collections/insect-protection/products/bugbaffler-insect-protective-hooded-shirt

and this one:
http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/piragis/piragis-bug-shirt-105552

Neither is like Lorrie's.

John - I agree - thick wool works but not around the edges - a head net works except it always seems to lift and let them in the back.

I do a lot of cooking where I am bent over and stirring pots and such - they seem to sneak in under the shirt and inside the clothes and around the hands where they are exposed. The hot stoves seem to attract them too.

I am really hoping that someone has a miracle shirt that I can buy!

I have always brought a head net camping and rarely need it EXCEPT on a trip to Newfoundland where it lived at the top of my day hatch and was brought out as soon as land was close- 1/2 a mile or so. The black flies were terrible and I the head net was always on or in my pocket. I will bring it again this trip.

Question - can anyone recommend a bug shirt that would go over clothes that perhaps zipped on an off? Something that the head allowed for easy on/off or perhaps has a flap for eating?

Lorrie, you had a great one that seemed to fit the bill but I can't find a similar one online.

I do use the permethrin soak for my camp clothes but those sneaky black fly don't really appear to be deterred by it and like to sneak in any opening and under a head net.

I wouldn't recommend camping on Cape Ann commando style. It just isn't that kind of place. Way too many people to tuck in somewhere unobtrusively. Save Cape Ann for the day trips and head a bit further north for an overnight.

Oh No! You got it all the way to there! Hope you got it on the car after all that! Of course it now needs to go back to where it came from which will probably be equally difficult.

Our barn is almost inaccessible. The sliding doors have snow up to the handles to slide open the door. Of course with all the snow, the doors won't slide - would have had to keep the ground clear through the last month in order to slide them open. Even if they slid, you would then place the boat on top of the 4' bank of snow and give it a slide down hill to the driveway. MUCH easier to take out the boat than put it away. Never mind what happens when you get to a launch spot - surely that would be very difficult too.

Definitely not a winter for kayaking!

My journey began in 1999 while eyeing the kayakers on the Kennebec river while I was white water rafting with a group. I figured that because they were alone in their boat, I could do that by myself. So then one day a bit later, when my daughter was at some sort of soccer thing that required a drop off and pick up near to Essex, it seemed easier to just find something to do for the day nearby. I took a day trip with ERBA. Although I went over twice, I had so much fun that I decided to buy one. Next day I bought a book on kayaking - A Women's Guide by Shelley Johnson and read up a bit. Decided that a "touring" kayak with two hatches was the way to go. Planned to use it on lakes as I realized that rivers were scary and ocean was totally crazy.

Paddled alone for a year and then joined NSPN the next year. It was a Crangle that showed me how to load and unload my boat by myself (it seemed daunting at the time). It was Jed Luby that taught me how to roll (I was probably his slowest learning student!) and how to tie a knot.

Funny how a single day can impact your life so much.

Really enjoyed both presentations. Kate continues to amaze with her independent solo trips - truly inspiring. Always says "anyone" can do but it takes a really strong person to do such a committing independent trip.

Melissa and Josko's Labrador presentation was great but not quite as "doable"! From the 6 day travel to/from to the logistics and preparation for a 6 week trip without re-provisioning. I was super jealous of their ability to make the time to do the trip! I am a bit leery of the black flies and mosquitoes though. They appeared to be worse (if it's even possible) than summer in Newfoundland. Although, I would go back to Newfoundland in a heartbeat and the bugs didn't seem to phase Melissa and Josko.

I did think of one question to ask on the way home - What is the purpose of the "food tent"? I understand the food was stored there. Was it stored in bear proof containers? Was it also a cooking tent rather than using a tarp for cooking under?

Thanks again for Newbury Canoe and Kayak for hosting. Awfully nice of them to get the room set up and make snacks amidst the big renovation project!

Suz

Such sad news. I remember the first class I took with him out in Boston Harbor.

I third the Sea to Summit - Big River dry bags. I use mainly the 8's and do use a bigger one for the sleeping bag and as it is too big, I put my sleeping clothes in it (long undies).

I have made dry bags in the past but found that the cost of the material and time just wasn't worthwhile for me. I now use those as sacrificial "POOP KITS". Those will carry my wag bags out when I am camping.