KayakDan

Broad Cove Marina is the best option. $7/day to park,good gravel launch at all tides,and you can buy lobsters at the dock! Don't miss the shipwreck(actually scuttled in 1932) in Medomak Harbor just to the south. Broad cove is also a short hop over to Crow,or Hungry for camping,and you can paddle in the relative shelter of Hog and Louds Islands going to Round Pond,or Thief Island. The public launch is a hostile place if you don't have Maine plates. Round Pond has very limited parking and a $5 kayak launch fee now,but it's a great place to paddle in for lunch. Hit the beach,walk 100ft and sit down at Muscongus Bay Lobster Company. Launching from the public dock at Friendship can be tight for parking also.

Umbagog is an amazing place. Linda and I did a trip several years ago(one of many)and paddled at night with a full moon and dead calm. It gave a strange sensation of floating weightless with no distinguishable horizon. An when the wind blows...welcome to the Umbagog Ocean!

Scott did a great job of presenting the "plastic vs. glass" debate. For my own experience,when my wife and I decided to get out of our Carolinas,I looked around the club to see what the "heavy duty" paddlers had. I figured f that's where I would end up,I might as well buy the boat and grow into it. I saw lot's of Explorers,and it seemed like the way to go. And of course the "sticker shock' was x2,as she got a Boreal Ellesmere. After almost 6 years of beating the daylights out of the boat,and enjoying the manners of the Explorer more and more with experience,I must say I never regreted the decision. I still love the boat.

Stayed on our sailboat the last two weekends in Harpswell,ME. There was a pretty good display the nights of the 7/4 weekend(no,Im sure it wasn't fireworks!)and a little bit last weekend.

Al,I think ERBA has just what you are looking for. They have a 3 hour "Gilligan Tour" geared toward beginners. They also do a 2 hour "Senior Paddle" for those 60 and older. (Senior at 60??? NOT gonna happen) Tony Bloxham at ERBA also does great beginner training.

Hey Buddy, Linda and I might like to do some Friday nights at Pawtuckaway. Rolling practice,BCU 3 star stuff would be good. I'm not gonna keep hearing "Oh..OH...Buddy!"am I?:-) We'll see you at OE on June 5!The BSKC party is the same afternoon,so plan on going. Dan

I recently cut the seat out of my Explorer,and replaced it with [http://www.redfishkayak.com/foam.htm]. It was a lot easier that I anticipated. Because of the dayhatch bulkhead angle,a simple foam block,also supplied by Redfish,made an excellent backrest. I used a marine epoxy to attatch the foam pieces. About $60 for all materials

Liz, David Lothrop was right on the money. The north end of the lake is great,nice remote sites. Linda and I have been going there for about 7 years. Maybe you can do the paddle we did,end to end,11 miles for an ice cream cone!!

Karen,Osprey Sea Kayak (Sam and Carl Ladd) have 2 Exuma trips planned for March. This will be our third year doing this trip,as we really like Exuma. It's the lower end of the Bahamas. There may be space left on one of the two trips planned. We are going Mar 19-26. Dan Lacey

This certainly drives home the point that there is safety in numbers. Of course that only works if every paddler considers themselves part of the group. On an AMC trip in Maine last year,Linda and I had a somewhat similar situation. Paddling with a group from Beal to Reid S.P. with an assortment of paddling abilities,the group got spread out over half a mile or more. Linda and I hung back to keep an eye on some new paddlers,obviously struggling. Eventually one paddler had to beach and needed medication and a rest. The rest of the group paddled on with the leader,oblivious to the fact that some paddlers were falling behind. Most of these folks had no idea where they were going,had no compass or charts. To make the situation worse,the return involved navigating Goose Rocks Passage,which has wild currents and boat traffic. We ended up bringing the slower group back through the passage to find a few paddlers coming back when they realized we were missing. Moral of the story-always have a "sweep" with radio contact with the leader. All paddlers in the group should be aware of the "back of the pack". Dan Lacey

Fact is,even if the legislature passes a law regarding mandatory safety equiptment,there's almost nobody available to enforce it. I don;t think the Coast Guard has any jurisdiction regarding a state law. The best they could do is warn somebody that they are not in compliance with the law. Aside from an occasional harbormaster,when have you ever seen anybody from a Mass. State agency on the water? I think I have seen the MA "Environmental Police" twice in seven years. Aside from a PFD,any other part of the law is going to require close up inspection of every kayak-just won't happen. I would rather see a law requiring boat retailers to provide safety information and a list of approved providers of kayak safety training to boat purchasers. To be effective-don't mandate-educate!

Glad to hear that you had such a great turnout. We wanted to be there,but the thought of packing our camping gear and driving back to Newburyport from Monadnock was beyond us. It will be island clean up time before you know it!

I rolled on my first attempt,but had no idea how I did it. The problem was,when I bombed a roll,I didn't know what went wrong. I had to start over and learn to roll,but the experience left my confidence a bit shaken. I have no fear of the water,and my sculling is fine,but throwing myself into the water,and not having the confidence that I would roll back up,really spooked me. After bombing a roll last year,I was determined to bring the boat back up on my own,and turned down an offer of assistance. I climbed into the boat and did a re-enter and roll. I was so busy getting set up and so mad that I had bombed,the time under the boat never bothered me. Since then,I have done many practice rolls,but probably just as many re-enter and roll. The R&R just seems less traumatic,as you choose when to go back under the boat,and you are forced to take the time getting set up,to roll back up. This may be an alternative that helps you as well Bethany. Thank you Mike Crouse for a quick sculling lesson-a long time ago-it made a big difference-the back of my head is wet every time I get in the boat now:-) Thank you Christopher for telling me I could do it,when I wasn't very sure.

A really wonderful day on the water. Seems that most of the NSPN roster was in Ipswich Bay yesterday.Thanks to Al and Leslie for putting that trip together. Actually Al,we did go back out after a short break in Lanes' Cove,and had a nice paddle down to Halibut Point,where I was able to play in the rocks for a bit. Along the way we met up with Rick Crangle and crew,returning from Thatcher Is. Arrived back at Lanes around 5,tired but happy!

Al,the all neoprene skirt is the way to go if you like to play in your kayak. The only drawback is that it gets hot inside that neoprene on a warm sunny day. Sometimes,if it's hot and the water isn't too cold,I fold down the tube to get a little air and stay drier. My favorite one is Bush(English company). The one I just bought had the forward section reinforced,right where my old(4 years)one was starting to wear. Stem to Stern(formerly Country Canoeist) in Dunbarton NH sells them. Mine was $90.

Liz, I disagree. I believe at least two people are neede to safely change that lightbulb in darkness conditions!:-) This should probably be listed as a "show and glow." Dan Lacey

Ah,but back then ignorance was bliss! Launching from behind Ft. Popham into a full ebb in the Kennebec seemed like a good idea... I did have the good sense to wait a little while until there seemed to be a bit better chance of survival. And then of course,the think to do is cross the Kennebec from Salter Island (full flood tide of course) and head into the rip at the end of the beach. "We've been paddling for 15 minutes and the fort is still beside us!!..whatta we do???" And then the nexd day,undaunted,we paddle to Fox Island where Linda's boat slams over the stern of mine in a wave,dumping her. This would have been a handy time to know some kind of rescue. "Let's take lessons next week if we live through this!" This past Saturday I was surfing by Reid State Park,then playing in the standing waves in Goose Rocks Passage. It's more fun when you have some idea what you're doing!

Dry ice in a kayak sounds kinda scary. Have you priced hatch covers lately?:-) Another option is to insulate a day hatch with bubble wrap,and put 2-3 nalgene bottles of ice(leave space in the bottles for expansion)in the bottom of the hatch.pack all your frozen food tightly in the day hatch and insulate the top and cover area with brown paper bags. The more nalgenes,the longer it stays cold,but you loose space. The other benefit is an additional supply of water. Be sure to repack tightly as you use food. The cooler in the cockpit also works well,but be sure it's well secured,no carry straps able to snag your foot. I bungee the cooler in across the footpeg rails using a small bungee with modified hooks. This method has let us eat well on the coast of Maine,most recently for 4 days in Muscongus. The key is freeze everything-pack tightly-insulate well Cold beer on the third day out-Yee Hah!!

Gee,sponsons seem like a great idea! Now I don't have to bother learning paddle float or T rescues,and all that stuff! I can just strap 'em on and head out into the ocean! D'oh!!! Here's your sponson guy. [http://www.sponsonguy.com/] Thanks Tim,for saving us all from certain death due to our stupidity! All this time we thought kayak skills were important...who knew?

How about a "warm-up" trip on the Maine Island Trail,with some "on the Water" demos of navigation,paddling full boats in conditions,and dealing with currents and loaded boats. A demo class in boat packing,combined with a "show and tell" of kayak specific camping gear would be a good start,along with "eating well on the water". Linda and I would be happy to help if available.

Tom,that would be Burnt Is. Allen is privately owned,and not on the MITA list. Burnt is owned by a member of the MITA board(we just did some trail work there). Camping probably won't be a problem if it's after the Outward Bound schedule. The day I was out there it was really calm,and Monhegan looked SO close! But no kayak with me.. For those who can't make the Monhegan leg,there's Warren Island,a 3 mile crossing,and the MITA meeting is the on Warren that same weekend,so Monhegan is out for me. Dan

Linda and I would have a definite interest in an expedition. I'm not sure what would qualify as an expedition for most-Apostle Islands,Georgian Bay,or does it have to be a "big" destination like NFLD or Alaska? I'm curious as to what the "expedition training " would be. We've done four days out alone,and a six day trip with a guide (camp chef with a nautical chart and permits in this case). Would the training be geared towards leading an expedition? Alaska is a great destination-but it ain't cheap! We would certainly like to go back,though. Been to NFLD a couple of times (I'm a Newfie on my dad's side)and seen some of the coast. Like Michael pointed out-conditions range from flatwater to "holy ****! Where would we like to paddle? I'm up for a trip to Nfld for sure! Another option is a winter "expedition". We've been to the Exumas with Sam and Carl(Osprey) the past two years and it was excellent. Other possibilities,Baja,Belize. Anybody else wanna paddle in Tonga??!!(where's that atlas?)

I think that what we're seeing is just a "maturing" of the kayak trend. When sea kayaking seemed to really take off (98'-00')some of those folks aspired to reach certain levels of ACA/BCU certification. They have had 5-6 years to move up through various training,and many have become impressive,skilled paddlers. Many others are content to paddle at a less strenuous intermediate level-nothing wrong with that. While kayaking is still a growing trend,I wonder how much of that growth is in the upper end of sea kayaking-the folks who need and seek skills and instruction. It seems like the "serious" paddling community in New England is probably a lot less people than one would guess. Seems like we're always running into folks that we know,no matter where we paddle. It would be interesting to know how many BCU 3-4 and five Star Awards have been given,as well as ACA Certificates,and how many were given in a particular year. It would also be interesting to know how many higher end(say $1500 and up) were sold in New England year by year for the past 6 yrs. Maybe this would point out a trend. As to NSPN competing with outfitters-it's just the opposite. I think NSPN with it's inclination towards kayak safety,points out the neccesity of good paddling skills to members,particularly new paddlers. This would make for more safety minded new paddlers,seeking instruction from various outfitters. As for the distance being a factor for courses,I wonder if it's more about committment,than economy. I just drove over 100 miles to take a course with Wayne Horodowich,and drove home really late that night. It was just that important to me. Maybe it's the numbers of really committed paddlers that's decreasing,as the trend levels off,and the paddling community "matures" As Mike Crouse pointed out,this is about something we enjoy in common,so let's just remain friends in the paddling community-and get out on the water!

It's amazing how fast the world can dissapear in coastal Maine! First rule of paddling Maine should be-no chart-no compass-no go! I really enjoy paddling by chart and compass in the fog,but without the proper equiptment,I'm sure it could be terrifying. It also doesn't hurt to have a GPS unit,with at least a starting waypoint,and maybe some secondaries as you go. This of course,is only a backup. Chart and compass,and know how to use them is primary. The other backup is a cell phone,or at least a VHF radio. This would have saved a lot of anxiety in this case,I'm sure. I have done Ken Fink's navigation class a couple of times,and his "point and shoot" method makes kayak deck navigation relatively easy. I recommend his class highly if you see it listed. It's always nice to paddle out of the fog,and land at your intended destination.

Bethany,If not for the fact that we will be standing on the summit of Mt.Madison that day,Linda and I would have been happy to be there!