KayakDan

Not surprised to hear that Doug would do this one,'cause he's an"out there" kinda guy! Doug, are you ready for winter camping season?? No frozen pot roast this time!!

EEL gets a gold star! Yes,it's the "Cora Cressy",a five masted coal schooner that was scuttled in the harbor at Medomak(Bremen) Last Aprils' storm really took a bite out of the old girl,but it's still impressive! The Cora Cressy

I bought a foam seat from Redfish Kayaks. Took 2 hours to rip out the old NDK bucket and install this one. I then trimmed a foam block for a back support. Works great! Redfish Kayaks

I believe the 10 litres of wine lying on the hull helps to offset the commotion caused by the lobsters trying to escape the pot on the back! So...no takers to name the "object of interest " in Medomak Harbor????

The wine travels nicely in the MSR 10 liter bag,in the bottom of the day hatch. No cheating! Ya gotta cook em on the island,otherwise you're just a tourist in a boat!

Muscongus Bay Launch at Broad Cove Marine-but make sure to bungee a big lobster pot on the back of your kayak. Hit the dock before you launch and buy a few lobsters and steamers,and put them in a mesh bag,in the pot. Paddle over to Hungry Is.(Crow if you're less ambitious). Leave your "bugs" in the water while you set up camp. Set up your kitchen and prepare your lobster feast. Optional appetizer(mussels in beer and garlic)depending on the tide. And everyone who has paddled Muscongus Bay should know what's in Medomak Harbor..can you name it? (no peeking online!)

Just a note of caution about Whaleboat,my favorite kayak camping island. It is heavily infested with several varieties if ticks,including deer ticks. If you camp there,try the site on the west side of the island,about half way down.The campsite up on the grassy knoll is "tick heaven". Also consider Little Whaleboat,just off the northern end of Whaleboat. Also owned by the Island Institute,as I recall. Also,if you camp over by the Punchbowl on Jewell,it may be a little more laid back.

>Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures in Westport, MA offers a trip to >the Bahamas in March that includes instruction. We've not >done this, but I believe a few members of NSPN have gone >with the Ladds. > >www.ospreyseakayak.com > >Deb M Linda and I have done this trip for the past 4 years,and it has been great. We do love Exuma! This year,however,their trip was cancelled,but we are going anyways,and will likely end up working for Starfish Outfitters for a trip while we are there.

Ah,Popham Beach!. In a moment of uneducated insanity many years ago,I launched my shiny new Carolina into the full ebb of the Kennebec from behind the fort. Managed to survive two trips around ferrying Linda's boat to the beach also. She had more sense than I did. We camped the night on Fox Island,and proceeded to paddle into that craziness behind the island,resulting in two swimmers in shallow water! The best result from this fiasco was Linda's insistence that we take lessons,so "We'll know what the hell we're doing out here!" First paddling trip,fully loaded boats,totally clueless...but hey! we lived through it!

Woods Hole is just as much fun in a sailboat. We took our Macgregor 26M through in September,about 1.5 hrs after slack,with a 15-18kt wind. A huge motor cruiser went crashing by us(we were under sail)and set up a really big wake.I turned stern to,and got that Mac surfing at 7.8kts!

Just a mention re:kayak camping in Maine. We're just back from an overnight on Whaleboat,and for the first time,ticks were a major problem-including the dreaded deer tick. I'm hoping that the deer tick population,being on an island,may not have been Lyme affected yet. I'm now on watch for the "bullseye rash".Had a conversation with one of the guys at H2O,and he says it's been a big problem lately. So,if you go,be aware,particularly in tall grass or vegetation areas.Do a thorough check for ticks-really thorough,cause deer ticks are tiny,and easily missed on skin,clothing or gear. And if you paddle in Harpswell(Dolphin Marine)you might want to do it on a weekend other than the Lobster Boat Races. Holy Crap was it crazy there yesterday! We avoided most of the racing,but unfortunately paddle back in when the "Big Drunken Raftup" was breaking up. The marine patrol came out to us,to make sure we would be ok coming in. I must be a slow learner..we did the same thing last year with our sailboat!

Yeah Liz,but the food was great,and we never ran out of wine! And we did almost paddle one day...

While mandatory wet exit instruction seems like a good idea from a safety standpoint,is it really a neccessity for all commercial trips? It seems a bit like taking every new powerboat owner out and swamping their vessel to teach them about boater safety. As far as I know there haven't been any accidental deaths from a capsize on a commercial outfitter trip(excluding heart attack,which,of course,wet exit practice can't help) I would agree that there should be mandatory "on land" wet exit training,prior to going on the water,but I think most responsible outfitters are already doing this. Seems that this legislative push was a result of the two deaths on the Cape,and those were not in a commercial setting. They were boats owned by individuals. To be effective,the legislation needs to be pointed toward the selling dealers,providing training and safety info. This could become a benefit to outfitters providing that training,and result in an actual increase in kayaking safety. Water safety is taught,not legislated.

I have struggled with the cowboy re-entry,but found a technique that helps.I have gone up over the rear deck from the side,but first reach across and place the paddle in the water in an extended position.While holding the paddle shaft,hook your fingers thru the lifeline,and grab the far side coaming with the other hand. When you launch yourself onto the deck,the paddle acts like a lever to stabilize you,hopefully long enough to "drop the monkey in the bucket". Still working on making this look like I know what the heck I'm doing. 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!

Best way to carry water is the MSR 10 liter water bag. I usually fill mine and like magic it will slide into the day hatch and lay flat on the bottom. You can supplement them with the 2 liter bags also. The bags are nearly indestructable,and you can hang them from a branch. There's also an optional "faucet" lid for them. [http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47995896&parent_category_rn=5760741&vcat=REI_SEARCH]