Dee Hall

My understanding is that Wilderness Systems bought Watermark (Perception, Dagger, and others), so it will be interesting to see what happens to the polyethylene on these boats. Also, there is the competition from the new thermoformed, harder plastics from some of these manufacturers. For now, it's a little more expensive, but the end result is a more rigid, attractive boat that can be glued and repaired more easily. -Dee

The triple layer consists of two layers of dense polyethylene surrounding a foam core of polyethylene. It's thicker than the other boats and more rigid without being significantly heavier. -Dee

Kevin, These two boats are quite different in size at the cockpit, so depending on the size of your friend, their experience sitting in one vs. the other might be critical. -Dee

After a few months of use, ours get pretty moldy and yuchy to look at, so we clean them frequently. It's really very simple. Fill the pouch and hose with water plus 1/4 cup of bleach. (Use gloves and eye protection when pouring the bleach.) Let sit for 20 minutes or so. Rinse well. Then mix up a solution of 1 cup of water plus 1/4 cup of vinegar or a tablespoon of lemon juice. Swish this around inside the pouch and through the hose to neutralize the bleach. We've been using this for years with our hydrators which are the same components. It works great. -Dee

He is speaking of the Intermediate class which was supposed to be open water. I would also like to hear a description of what happened.

Knowing Mark as I do, I would never have interpreted his remarks as haughty or sarcastic. Perhaps that is the downside of an electronic message board and the large audience it addresses. However, if anybody has a better way to address the three rec kayakers that left Conomo Point at 3:30PM in jeans and fleece sweatshirts, please let me know. I asked them if they had anything other than jeans to wear. -Dee

Cathy, you are an angel! -Dee

Also looked into it extensively. I think that in boats that are not low volume, it can be installed to work well if the boat doesn't have a lot of rocker OR the input for the pump isn't really far away from your seat. Also, it would be difficult to fit into a low volume boat. I found these other helpful links: http://www.loup-garou.net/pump.html http://www.wiredweb.com/~mntnhead/BULKHEAD%20FOOTPUMP.htm I decided not to pursue a foot pump because of the weight and imbalance it would add to my empty boat.

Bob is referring to the Puget Sound Paddlers Network. They have a Yahoo Group called PSPN. It was started by the same primary founder of this club. Good luck.

Thanks for the offer Ralph, but someone with extra rack space is bringing an extra boat.

Let's help out a hopeful future kayaker! We also need spotters. Had one, but an emergency came up. See official post for contact information

In case any of you think that Jason might not entirely deserve his title "The Monster", he portages his kayak on his shoulder with his gear in it. In this picture, presumably, it was gear for the whole weekend.

Sunday was a picture perfect day for winter paddling, except for a stiff southwesterly breeze as we left Manchester harbor. It slowed our pace, and chilled our fingertips. Otherwise, the sun was bright and the elements that drive us to mess with all of that extra clothing and endure the cold were there: the sound of the ocean uncorrupted by the continuous drone and whine of motorboats, shorelines somehow transformed from overpopulated suburban beaches to snow-crusted, seafaring New England towns, and flocks and flocks of birds that aren't gulls. I admit to avoiding paddling on days much colder than Sunday, high temperature 39 F (briefly) and winds of about 12 kt. Although I've got some good solutions for keeping my extremeties warm during paddling, things can get pretty miserable when we get off the water. So given the wide fluctuations in temperatures in New England in the winter, there a plenty of warmer days to go kayaking. Other days are good for hiking, x-country skiing, etc. I'm not quite sure how it hasn't happened before, but I think that this is the first time I've paddled with significant snow between me and the launch point. The novelty here is that portaging our boats from our cars to the beach mostly involved dragging them through the snow. Even a fully loaded boat was a breeze for one person. It made one wish that there were big snow banks at the edge of the water for a long, giant seal launch! (Who hasn't wondered what it would be like to sled with their kayak.) The last few times I have paddled this fall/winter, I have been amazed by the number of birds. Recent trips have involved encounters with eiders, snowy egrets, great blue herons, osprey, and bald eagles. This last trip also involved loons, brant geese, some birds that looked like puffins but made calls, and a merlin falcon. Naturally, the water is cold, or so I assumed. I haven't stuck any uncovered body parts into the ocean since October. It is incredibly clear. Sand, rock, and shells take on more definition and color now than they did during the summer, and the seaweed is a deep burgundy color like leaves of a red maple. Otherwise it's largely the same ocean as it was in the summer. The wind ruffles it, just more often. The ocean swell sloshes it, also more often. In reality it always amazes me that I can launch from the same place a hundred times and between the differing sun, tides, wind, and swell the ocean will look, feel, sound, and smell different. Because we have more wind and swell in the winter, there are more interesting variations each time we go out. Many of the harbors look very different in the winter. Once all of the boats and docks are removed, many harbors become unrecognizeable. One can see the whole harbor at once and paddling happens unimpeded and almost without hazard. A sea kayak feels more at home.

Actually that would be level 4.

Scott, We are already in the process of unravelling this issue. We will get back to you momentarily. Thanks for your patience (is that too cliche?) -Dee

You read that right. Bob is sneaking out before work.

Ours definitely got pretty sooty.

After some discussion, that can was well over 20 years old. It wasn't particularly rusty and the contents looked clean, but it's used up now except what's in the aluminum fuel bottle that we didn't take with us.

This summer while camping with Liz and Karen, they noted that my stove didn't seem as hot as Karen's. This past weekend, while lighting Jason's Peak 1, I almost lit my hat on fire. Later after refilling my Peak 1 with his fuel, the same thing happened. It seems that the remains of that gallon can of fuel that neither Bob nor I can remember buying probably has some water in it. If a can is that old (or you are), it's probably time to burn it off and buy a new one. -Dee

Bob missed a few things worth reporting. In general, there was a lot more water than last year. Presumably, this is because of all of the rain. The tide levels were the same, but the water was just a lot higher. I had hoped to take a short cut through Hall Bay, but Mary said that she was on a trip that had tried that before and there is an all-tide barrier not shown on any of our charts. Bob and Jason confirmed it for the sake of my curiousity. The first night, during dinner, a great, blue heron landed on the beach in front of us, a silent silhouette at the edge of the water. Our circumnavigation of Westport Island, at 19.6nm, was a more aggressive version of what I had planned, but the group was quite advanced (and enthusiastic) and we had expected that the current would be with us nearly the whole time. It was against us most of the trip. This was a very impressive group of paddlers. Due to a bit of a late start and an early sunset, we had to make good time. Lunch was short and there was only one other stop that was so brief that I missed it completely. The tow was for time, not because someone couldn't paddle anymore. The forecast for Sunday was for winds of 25-35 knots sustained with gusts much higher. My float plan hadn't included a possible bailout to AMC's Knubble Bay Camp, but this was the obvious plan for Sunday morning given that it is just over 1/2 mile from Beal Island and we had already dropped a car there for two paddlers that had to leave early. We agreed that cooking and eating breakfast in 25-35 knot winds didn't sound like fund. So saturday night we cleaned up everything after dinner, and battened down the hatches, preparing for heavy winds and rain and an early packing up. I fell asleep to the sound of rain on the tent and awoke to thunder. There were several strikes within a mile of the Island but none too close. The rain continued through the morning, but the Island did shelter us from much of the wind. The trip across to Knubble Bay Camp was very fast with the current and wind with us. -Dee

Many harbors and rivers have had untreated sewerage dumped into them due to overloaded treatment plants and a power outage at Deer Island: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachus...eased_into_bay/

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During Nigel's previous visit, he told me he really likes surfing in the Rumour. Of course, I don't know how much time he has spent at once in one. -Dee

Now on the Calendar in October: There is a trip for high level 2 paddlers wishing to push their skills towards level 3 trips and a late season camping trip for level 3 paddlers. Note that as of October, it is club policy that wetsuits (farmer john style) or, of course, drysuits are required for ocean trips. This will be expected on both of these trips. -Dee

>Wet terry on your body is fine when it is warm but not >particularly pleasant as the air gets cooler. I thought that this might become a problem, but there is so much terry that even with three wet paddlers using it (Bob, myself, and Ryan) it never becomes damp because it has so much capacity. It's a pretty big poncho though. It's probably 50" wide and long. I'm not so sure I would make it so big next time. >I prefer any microfiber over cotton for the changing fleece >because I don't want the material to remain wet. In summer >months, I leave it in my car and it isn't a sodden mess and >doesn't require regular washings to keep it from stinking. >In the winter, after I put clothes on, I can simply leave it >on for extra warmth as I did this Sunday after surfing. > Whether I leave it in the car or bring it in the house, it dries before the next paddle. The car gets so warm from the sun, and my house is also kept pretty warm. Of course, I don't leave it in a ball. We end up washing it about 3-4 times a season.