rick stoehrer

so you assume you know more than anyone else on the water too? good to know there's 2 of us! ...wait a sec...we can't BOTH be right? oh, hold on, we never paddle together...PHEW.! my faith is still intact! if you don't think the leader is making right decisions....why are they the leader? i agree with you...if you think something is a terrible idea or simply can't do it, then don't. let folks know what you're doing though...don't just paddle off.

"As a newer paddler trying to constantly develope new skills, let me say that it might be helpful to have strong mentors such as yourself let some new flesh try leading sometimes. Just knowing that there is someone by my side to take control when things go wrong, it is very helpful for us young-blood to try for ourselves." well, yeah. for the most part, i don't paddle much with the club. when i do participate in club events, like helping to teach the CAM workshops, it's mentoring - i'm teaching exactly the above so you DO get the opportunity to lead....and it's my job to make sure that it all doesn't go pear shaped. i'll be the first to admit that from my perspective, it's hard to take a step back and watch someone make a mistake...the thing is not letting them make a BIG mistake. you have to understand though too that teaching or guiding it ins't a CAM scenario...i'm either in charge or one of the folks in charge. there's that duty of care thing. the beach briefing is one of the most important things you can do to prevent problems before they arise.

CAM says that leadership within the group can be fluid. i believe the thinking is that if/when an emergency arises, there will be a paddler with the skills, experience and assumed group authority to make a decision and that the group will respond accordingly. given that you could have various needs and that some may be stronger than others in different area's, this leadership role could shift. i think it's a nice idea and that sometimes it can work brilliantly. on the other hand, i've seen it work less than brilliantly far more often. honestly, i've never totally bought into that fluid leadership thing entirely and just assume command the second i get on the beach. during the beach briefing we can build a consensus and take time to have thoughtful and reflective conversation....on the water? if i tell you to do something, just do it. the group can take the time to reach a consensus on land before you launch...on the water though? sometimes you need an admiral and don't have time for discussion or even the ability to have a discussion. years ago, i saw a situation with some very skilled paddlers devolve into a cluster *&%*) because they were giving commands using consensus language in some textured water.....don't do that. it was very, very ugly. SOMEONE take the lead. the group oughta have figured out WHO before it gets to be an issue. that's the way i've taught CAM...someone IS LEADING...we all know who it is before it gets to be an issue. all things to talk about....during the beach briefing.

beach briefing is vital. for any type of paddling with / in a group - CAM, paid class, etc. vital. period. you establish a baseline of skills, paddlers goals for the trip, expectations, route, distance, time on water (pace), protocols, etc. you do this ON the beach because once on the water, the window quickly closes on keeping "control" of the group. in CAM YOU belong to the GROUP and the GROUP belongs to YOU. YOU are now part of the WHOLE. YOU no longer have a goal...the GROUP has a goal. (we are the borg, you will be assimilated.) if YOU want to paddle alone, go do so and don't be part of groups. i think it's pretty simple. that group control window in fact closes so fast on the water that i like to NOT let anyone get too out of hand to begin with...BEFORE paddlers launch, i send 1 competent person on the water with EXPLICIT instructions to them that they are to paddle out beyond the break or wherever and WAIT for me there. then i launch the group one at a time with instructions that they are paddling to that first paddler and waiting for the rest of the group. i am last off the beach. Once i get to the on water group, we talk about what the next leg of the journey is, a heading, distance, time....throw someone (not the speed demon wandering type) on lead and tell them that they absolutely need to turn around and count heads (which you all talked about in the beach briefing) and stay within x # yards of the paddler in back (this keeps them from going too fast) and then i'll take the side i want paddlers to stay away from and towards the back of the group...this lets me see everyone, mostly be able to quickly reach everyone and still able to get between a paddler and whatever obstacle that concerns me. you want to always put yourself in the spot where you can do the most good - and that's very dynamic. the bcu calls it something or other now but i think it's been guiding 101 think for a long, long time. you want to be a really good paddler? keep a step ahead. there are always a lot of thing to consider while in a group on the water besides the over arching "well, this is fun" and that's just time on the water...not sure there's a shortcut.

manual or not, sounds to me like they did everything they oughta have done. irrigate, cover, evac. she scores full marks all around. and for the record, i wasn't offering criticism...suze asked if there were any other suggestions and i offered an option. given the situation, where they were and with bill / Old Quarry available - sounds just about like she had the perfect solution to me. hope whoever it was is feeling better.

m88 for $200 seems like a good price IF you can still purchase the replacement insurance. i buy all my radio's (icom) at west marine and always buy the $46 odd dollar insurance....don't have any experience with other brands / outlets and while i think i'm paying a premium, the customer service on the insurance is great....it's just "here's your new radio and do you want to buy a new insurance policy?" i have no beef with either company in that regard...i've been quite satisfied.

nope. bill rocks...its one of the great advantages to using old quarry. had bill NOT been available, then i'd tow them. had they then got sick, i might get on the radio and see if there was anyone in the area that might be available to help but it isn't something i'd trouble the coasties with - it's a situation you can fix yourself and there isn't imminent loss of vessel or life...while it sucks, it's just an inconvenience.

snapped a perfectly good paddle in half yesterday. was surfing offa seabrook yesterday....was just behind a wave...caught up and was....just trying....to....drop....in....paddling hard with the force of all that water moving in an opposing direction....<keeee-rack>....a paddle in each hand. so yeah, water can be forceful, huh? barring that it was clearly my superman like strength.

"My observations lead me to think that some people may consider when they will want to use their radios, and not when they will need to use them? In light of some recent discussions of whether or not you should actually wear one or keep it in a hatch, I would like to compare it to a tow belt. I am curious to know if there anyone out there who owns a tow belt that does not wear it but keeps it in a hatch? Let's not get off topic with this one - tow belts can/will be another discussion thread." - my general thoughts on the topic. difference between a radio and a tow belt is that you wear a tow belt for "the other guy". your wearing a tow belt doesn't aid you (unless you hand it to someone and say "tow me") whereas a radio can directly aid you personally. i put my radio in my pocket. it's tucked away and i never have to worry about it. i suppose securely clipped ON is fine but i have no experience with that method. in any event, anything that isn't in/on your pfd, you don't really have. day hatches are fine for things you might want. things you NEED when it comes right down to it, oughta be on you. i might like lunch...day hatch. i might need this radio to call the coasties and get our arses outta here...pfd. i might like sunscreen...day hatch. i might need this dye marker/strobe...pfd. as much as i might need i try to have on me, barring that it then goes in the day hatch in the likely order i might need it. the cag/hat is generally the last thing in as it's likely to be the first thing out on the water...that sort of thinking. be sure to announce your channel crossings, especially on a foggy day. there are folks out there working and not looking for you....announce where your crossing from/going to and estimated transit. announce when you've cleared the channel...let's the folks working know they no longer have to worry about you being in the way. unless i expect to hear from someone or have arranged to use it to communicate, it's off....i might turn it on if i thought the weather/forecast looked sketchy so i can get any weather updates. otherwise i don't leave it on. i don't think it's realistic/reasonable to think that you are going to respond to a sail / power / commercial boat emergency. i almost NEVER use it in a group. be closer than that. if you insist on using it as a group comms device, turn the squelch up (or the static will drive you batty) and leave it on or it's utterly useless...probably you should decide on a channel beforehand too. our radios are line of sight...we sit roughly 3 feet off the water and if we're trying to communicate with another kayaker with a radio 3 feet off the water our effective communication range is very limited...and if there's anything in the way (rock, island, etc) the radio's aren't very effective. a radio is NOT a get out of jail free card. limited range, power, etc....better to have one than not but don't think that just because you have one, you're going to reach anyone...probably, but not necessarily. if you do manage to comm with the CG and let them know you're in trouble, you still have a response time....and then you have to wonder about whether or not they have a vessel that can get to you. we're shallow water craft and while CG ribbies don't have much draft, they aren't the most stable boat the coasties have either....it might be too rough for that boat to reach you. couple guys experienced that a few years back offa PI...just cause you contact anyone doesn't mean you're home free...they have to be able to get to you. radio's rust out regardless of any claim to "waterproof". ALWAYS buy the insurance through west marine. for $50 insurance, i get a new radio every time the leads/battery corrodes. as for leons comment "it’s not worth it to ever publish trip reports where there was any potential incident or lesson-learned. It’s just not worth the hassle of defending oneself against all of the self-appointed experts who think they know better than the paddler’s that actually did the trip." ah-ha...so you're just going to be the hero in your stories? BORING. part of the value/merit to the forum is that we can come together and try to advance paddling/safety. i think it's part of the mission statement and the basis for our being a tax exempt 501-c entity. if we can agree that one of the ways we advance the sport and paddling safety is to discuss our thoughts and trips and observations (which includes our mistakes, faults and errors) then we need to agree to have those discussions in a non-recriminating manner. if you get creamed every time you post and "oops", then no one will do it, right? at the least, you have to try not to bristle when anything you mentioned gets parsed. you think i posted about that trip to plum island 7 years AFTER the event by mistake? no....fact is that while the observations and lessons are still valid, it's been 7 years and at this point, i don't care what anyone thinks about that trip...it was a long time ago. the experience is posted so that others CAN think to themselves "okay, don't do that" or "do this but not that" or whatever. plenty of lessons there...take them as you will. we all fail. trick is to pick yourself up and not fail at the same thing again and again. i would rather be part of a community where i am comfortable admiting to falling down than one where i have to lie about being perfect - that doesn't do any of us any good. we should think about THAT next time we're ready to rip somone's head off via "courage inducing and wisdom enhancing" electronic communication...take a breath, take a day...don't post angry and remember that sometimes conviction and experience are inversely related. it's great to ask questions, it's less great to sink sharpened barbs.

dancing with your water partner is more fun than battling with her. you almost never win the fight....she's way bigger, and i swear she don't feel a thing.

kate - i disagree with a hanging draw being inherently unstable - especially if you're edging blade side. you're SO close to a high brace in that position - it's a reflexive no brainer if you do have an "oops" moment. and it's a completely different stroke and accomplishes a very different motion than a sweep stroke. sweeps move the bow/stern and draws move the whole boat sideways. there are times in rough water when we'll all need ot move the boats sieways, especially in rough water - cause rough water is where you're likely to need to do a rescue, right? not everyone has the courtesy to capsize in calm water. while i see your point about the sweep accomplishing some of what you need to do, mastering a good solid draw in conditions does you and the folks you're liable to rescue a world of good. besides, moving the boat around and linking strokes is just kinda fun...you're own little ballet.

i generally edge into the blade/strokes. the blades in the water on that side and i can quickly transition into support if i need it. opinions may vary. on another note....surfing....eh, i do edge away from the blade sometimes...it can be very effective.

congratulations!

there wasn't a lot of surf to tackle. mostly it was just sssu-weeeetttt to roll over and be cool after a very hot day.

as he's a furry ape like creature...banana's

beaufort scale has a visual component that's easy enough and accurate enough for our purposes and you won't have to mess around with any extra kit. if on the other hand, you think being very precise makes a big difference to your experience, anemometer to your hearts content. http://www.shesails.net/2012/01/the-beaufort-scale/

congratulations - no small accomplishment.

the only thing that anyone may want to note in regards to washing a boat, rudder, skeg...whatever, is the transmission of non-native species and that has more to do with fresh water paddling than sea kayaking (if your going so slowly that zebra mussels have affixed themselves to your boat, it's time to take up just watching grass grow). there is a chance you might pick up some millfoil or other invasive plant specie and might not know it and then inadvertently transmit it to another lake. you see signs all over the place at freshwater public ramps about the peril of invasive species. http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/aquatic_nuisance.htm#stop

2 buckets besides the barn - both covered when not in use. bucket 1 - water/pine sol bucket 2 - water dunk and soak in 1. dunk and soak in 2, repeat hang on the line to dry repeat as stink requires.

headed out last night on max ebb with a west wind...gps says we made 9.4 knots. played in the surf at the sandbar (which being on a boat i could fall off of, as the sun was setting and on a max ebb was disconcerting) and then headed back up river for the slow (paid for that 9.4 kn on the way down somewhere, right? ain't nuthin' free) slog back up. pretty sunset. once again that v8? yeah, it's fast.

Type II, type I...type whatever...none of those lads look like they're lacking types of muscles

...with the agreement that that reasonable people can have reasonable differences...lets not start a holy war (skegs vs rudders, paddles vs twigs, bcu vs aca vs experiential learning), sure, i'll answer... the ONE time i needed to use a knife on water was to cut monofilament out of and away from a poor cormorant that was on the whole, not as unhappy to have my help as i would have expected. i suspect the poor boy was just plain exhausted from his troubles. in any event, it occurred to me as this poor devil is squawking at me to hurry up, that scissors would have been a better tool because scissors don't require tension in order to cut...unlike a knife. if there's no tension and you try to cut something with a knife, it's just going to move away from you...with scissors, it's snip, snip and it's done. so there i was cutting/sawing away at line that had been embedded in this poor bird and in doing so, adding to the pain it was already suffering because of the tension needed to do the cutting. scissors - better. scissors cut towline and everything else i'm likely to need to cut immediately just dandy (and i've actually done this just to make sure...cause i sure don't want to find out at the "wrong" time). they are imho, far more practical. and cheap...new pair is like $14 or so at any dive shop...i get them a couple at a time. ...and the knife is still in the med kit if i really need it or more likely, just need it to spread peanut butter...which is 9 times outta 10 what we use the things for anyways. opinions will vary ('cept on those burnable sticks some folks choose to paddle with - those are just silly)

hi lynch it's just that if you ask a question on a public forum EVERYONE will post an answer and i was wondering what YOU thought. by your own admission your sorta new and so my question should have been more appropriately, "yes, it's a good idea to have a knife...do you know why?" to my way of thinking the primary reason you carry a knife (or the safety scissors i prefer) is to cut line. especially any tow line that you may or may not find yourself entangled in - if you carry a tow line then you'd best have a way to cut that line if it comes down to it. in any event, welcome aboard.

hi... i agree with you...it's less expensive than polo but there are a lot of out of the gate costs associated with kayaking! and not throwing stones at you per se, just an observation. i shop online too (llbean.com, baby) for some things that folks like joel/new england small craft doesn't bother stocking (how many enormo sealine boundary bags is he going to sell? he doesn't even bother stocking them and rightly so) and agree that some things you have to search out. on the other hand, i can't tell you how many times i've seen or heard about folks spending some local merchants time/expertise in "trying" their boats for a day and taking that persons time and utilizing their expertise with little or no intention of actually buying a boat from them...they're there only to test drive the thing and see what fits and maybe get fitted....and then off to the internet they go to find that same boat. the outfitter/retailer has offered their time/experience and yet gains no sale...and to my way of thinking, that simply isn't sustainable. it's like the local farm thing...if you want local produce, you gotta go buy it. it's the same thing with outfitters...if you want local expertise, you need to support the local experts...or pretty soon all your veggies and boats will be coming from ______ sort of thing.

it's a fine line in going to a local merchant and buying online. lets say some local fella owns a shop, has lots of inventory on hand and decades of experience and expertise in kayaking, outfitting and getting butts in boats and happy with their purchase. you go and say "hey, i want to buy a boat" and he'll help you see what fits, get you fit into it, let you try what he has in stock, etc....and more often than not, he WON'T sell a boat to you if there's ANY question as to your long term happiness with it...and THEN you turn around and shop that item online based on your days experience with that local merchant and then ultimately make that purchase online. you've utilized a local resource, a professionals time/experience to make sure you're making the right purchase buuuut, you aren't paying for that time/experience, are you? i'm as big a proponent as the next guy for "getting a deal" but understand that when you do that, you are depriving a LOCAL resource you utilize of a sale and in not supporting that person, make it difficult to sustain a model where that expertise IS available in the future. just saying it makes for a long term unsustainable model for a local small business.