Dee Hall

In deference to the safety of others on the roads, bow and stern lines are insurance against not only the failure of your straps, but of failure of your rack system too. Lines that aren't overly snug could save a human life without endangering the shape of your boat unnecessarily. -Dee

Please join us in congratulating this years batch of new NSPN Trip Leaders: Bryan Auday Mary Bennett Peter Brady Bob Budd Bill Gwynn Gay Houghton Jason Kates Alex Landrum Roger Pollock Jackie Slivko

We all have the right to express ourselves in this country, however, this message board, provided as a free resource to the paddling community is not a right, it is a privilege. As Bethany has put so well, we have provided this forum, not as a place for people to vent, but as a place for people to share paddling knowledge. Messages laced with angry language and personal issues intimidate the paddlers that need the message board the most, new paddlers with lots of questions. Again, let's try acting like civilized adults. It's unusual that the same point can't be made without using such harsh language. -Dee

Thanks, Nick, for a very good response on risk, judgement, and skill without making it personal attack on anybody's capabilities or actions. The conditions on Sunday were extremely variable from spot to spot. There was a surf session scheduled that didn't happen because there were no waves at an exposed beach facing the same direction as Plum Island. However, the rescue pictures show some whitewater. The news reports mention rip currents, evidence of which can be difficult to see sitting low in a kayak. I would certainly like to have much more experience in spotting them myself as I don't have much confidence at this point. I look forward to Keith's reports which are always well written. -Dee

It appears that there has been some confusion among our leaders about which e-mail address to send a float plan to for approval. Hopefully, this has been cleared up. -Dee

Like Suz, I have a MsFit and love it. Very comfortable, very adjustable, gobs of pockets, and lots of reflectors. -Dee Impex Currituck Royal Blue/Smokey Ivory CLC Yare Forest Green hull

If the gaskets failed right away, that is probably the fault of the retailer. The shelf life of the gaskets is short if they aren't stored correctly and cared for with 303 or an equivalent. I don't have any experience with their drysuits or customer service. I use a Ravenspring suit, but it is not a particularly durable suit because the fabric is a two layer WPB, not three layer. Some people have been very happy with Stohlquist. -Dee

Salem Sound does not have any major rivers emptying into it. Also, the communities which empty treated sewerage into it don't have storm drains connected to their sewer systems overloading them during heavy rains. Gloucester Harbor is another issue.

For those that had signed up for the Wilderness First Aid class that got cancelled, there is another class being held in the area that has spots left. SOLO is holding a class at Camp Mitchman in Beverly on June 3-4. It is $150 and you can ask for more details by calling (978)927-6582. -Dee

What about other small craft? If you were to do research on coastal casualties in the last five years you will find that those is sea kayaks pale in comparison to rowboats and probably canoes too. So why the legislation for kayaks? I believe it's because the highly publicized deaths involved young women instead of men who were fishing or drinking. If this legislation were to target rowboats and canoes too, you can be sure it would have never passed. Too many people in those craft don't want to be wearing their PFD's all of the time, and many of them are in the chambers and voting. -Dee

Several people have mentioned interest in the Marine Weater Course that the National Weather Service occassionally offers. It's being offered again on June 14th in Manchester-by-the-Sea. For more information: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/announcement/m...essRelease.html -Dee

That broadcaster was me. I pressed the '16' button before making the call, but noticed partway through that the radio was still on 73. I repeated the call on 16. -Dee

>With re-enter and roll and putting on the sprayskirt-where's >your paddle while this is happening? Since I'm wearing >contacts,I have a bit of a disadvantage(no visuals)and >running the blade into the forward deck lines by feel would >be a bit much,and still have time for the sprayskirt. >Hey..I'm no David Blane! I also wear contacts and do everything underwater with my eyes closed. Tuck the paddle under your arm. There's another important part. The first time I tried the re-enter and roll putting the sprayskirt on, I had the paddle backwards. As I turned the paddle around underwater, I thought, "Note to self: make sure paddle in right direction." (No, I don't use particularly good grammar when talking to myself while underwater.) -Dee

>...that a cowboy re-entry is much more of a parlor trick >than a useful skill. It's more or less impossible on >anything other than dead-flat-calm water. While it can be >fun to play with, it's not something that you're likely to >actually use in a rescue scenario. While practicing for trip leader training this year, Rick, Alex, and I found a nasty place behind a large boomer to practice self rescues. When Rick pulled off his first cowboy without a hitch. I tried mine. No problem. I don't think of this as a parlor trick. Preceded by a pump-and-dump it's a very fast self rescue that results in a dry boat. -Dee

We are requiring drysuits during trip leader training this year, so the answer is yes. -Dee

>recently, windmill designs use high >frequency switching power inverters and DC bridges to match >with line frequency of the local power grid, instead of a >governer on the blades - this allows the windmills to run at >any speed (i.e. whatever is optimum for the windspeed) and >cuts way back on the 60 Hz hum. This should also be a lot more efficient.

>Some things are attracted to humming noises, for example. Properly designed, there's no reason why the generators should hum. The one at windmill point is whipser quiet. >I also wasn't sure how much ocean life >was studied, or the impact on the area oyster fishing etc. >(I *think* that's what the lines of buoys I saw in those >shallow areas were?) I don't have a chart, but does that area get shallow enough for oyster farming? -Dee

The official word from the Audubon society was that preliminary research shows that area is not part of the bird migratory patterns, so they are ok for now with the location. -Dee

I'm all for it. If it were of off Cape Ann I would be even more for it. Then I would be benefiting from the electricity it produces. Actually, I might still since I have chosen to use electricity from non-fossil fuel sources only. It's unfortunate that in the short run, there will be some damage to the local underwater sea life while they are building them, but the long term benefits to the sea and land life are worth it. Every time I drive home from the west, I see the smoke stacks of the Salem power station and the soot coming from them. This station is less than three miles from my home. I have no sympathy for those worried about their view on the Cape. -Dee

As Bob mentioned I had good results. My drytop is made by Immersion Research which uses very stretchy neoprene on the inside tunnel. I think that this had a lot to do with it. It held the roll together nice and snug. Since I already owned the drytop, when winter came, all I needed to buy was the bib. It was a really good deal for a drysuit, and it never leaked. Even during trip leader training. Also, to make rolling it together easier, I sewed velcro to both halves. Helped a lot. Also, not having a zipper for entry makes the combo much more comfortable than a drysuit, although you do eventually get used to the zipper. As others mentioned the lack of relief zipper was a real bummer. However, it did take me two years of practicing before I got the hang of using the men's style relief zipper on my drysuit, but getting out of my drysuit is easier than undoing the combo was. -Dee

You should be able to find it in the stores, it starts out with one part blue but mixes to off-white. It's less brittle than other epoxies. -Dee

One would definitely not want to be holding onto the boat in question while lightning was flying around, in which case one would be trying to maintain a position in high, irregular winds and waves while the same boat is swiveling on it's mooring. This storm should NOT take the paddler by surprise. There are forecasts, thunderheads, and warnings over channel 16. The paddler should not find themselves so far from a proper landing under such conditions that they are better off putting their lives in the hands of a sailboat owner. (Insurance companies do not generally come to check on the condition and maintenance of boats except when they change owners.) Know your location, possible take outs, and how long it would take you to get there. Paddle in a motivated manner. If it seems like it is getting close when you arrive, get out of your boat quickly, don't worry about grace and style. Fall out if you have to; you are going to get wet anyway. Drag that boat onto the rocks. A little gelcoat is worth nothing in comparison to your future. Drop your paddle, and trot away from the water to a sheltered location. About 20 years ago, a bunch of people were killed together up in Hampton, NH in a thunderstorm, not by lightning, but by wind shear. I'm pretty sure that's more than have been killed in this area since that time by lightning. -Dee

>My concerns with an aluminum mast with a groundstrap to an >electrode in the hull would be two-fold: First: transient >(very fast) currents can take erratic paths, and might jump >from the mast, directly to something else, depending on the >"inductance" (tendency to resist fast current changes) of >the path through the hull This would also concern me greatly. I once saw lightning bolts repeatedly skipping across the surface of the water at Salisbury beach. There is no such thing as a simple, perfect conductor. >Second: I'd worry about the >reliability of the connection - the electrodes are subjected >to a lot of oxidation and could lose conntection to the mast >over time. On the other hand, a pointy, lightning rod >structure might provide a continuous discharge and relieve >the charge build up before it became an issue of a strike. > In theory, the heavy copper cable with well-crimped ring terminal, connected to stainless bolts and nuts through the mast and underwater electrode should have minimal corrosion problems. However, the difference between theory and reality are often huge due to implementation and maintenance. >Even armed with the knowlege that most boats with aluminum >masts have a ground strap, I wouldn't seek them out in a >thunderstorm as safe against lightning. In part this is my >own internal risk-evaluation. The odds of something going >wrong is small, but the consequences are huge. I agree completely. -Dee

>The problem, as I see it, is that any random large boat will >be a larger target for a lightning bolt unless it has >something to dissapate the charge, like a system like this. > So, if you knew a vessel had a system like this, it would >likely be safer, but if you had no idea, the vessel, in all >likelihood wouldn't, and then you'd be more likely to get >hit from an arc skipping off the mast. I can't speak for other boats, but if it is a sailboat with an aluminum mast, it almost certainly will have this. It is a very big cable and a large conductor at the keel. -Dee

Even if the parts fit well, it might not work. These plastics are difficult to glue. There are now some high tech adhesives for gluing these slippery plastics. One of them is Devcon's Plastic Welder II. You need a special applicator gun for it, which I have. A tube of it goes for $11.68 from McMasterCarr. In fact, I am going to be ordering from McMasterCarr in the next couple of days and would be happy to add this to the order. Send me an e-mail. -Dee