rick stoehrer

lots of opinions on this one....i think universally we could all only reach the following concensus - you shouldn't be wearing it while trimming, cutting or slicing the neck gasket. after that...back to lots of differing opinions.

gloucester - i'm in....farther afield i'd have to pass for a thursday afternoon.

...and if danny were to have an outer islands with him, well, wouldn't that be so much better?

well, okay class II isn't exactly roaring or gigantic....but hell, it was my first time. this past weekend ken c offered to take me up to the piscataquog in goffstown to run the river with jed and he and to offer up my first feeble ww attempts to the river gods. seems that ken and jed were curious to see what sea skills tranferred to the river in an absolute new, raw river running recruit and hell, i've never been all that bright. we launched from the base of the dam there and my first impression was "holy &^%&) !! this water is cold...the ocean never gets this cold...this was like liquid ice! the experience was....different. i can paddle a sea boat and had been in a WW boat (okay, the pool apparently does not count) but this was something. i was so nervous the first run down the river...it's funny how everything you know really comes from teh experience of where you know it from....since i had never been on a river before, it's like i "forgot" how to paddle at all....i was very, very nervous. ken and jed both cautioned me repeatedly about placing the paddle up river...but no, that didn't take and over i went....into the ice water...there wasn't a gasp reflex but i held my breath for all of, i dunno, half a second? was freaked out a bit, blew the roll and outta the boat i came. ken was kind enough to help me sort that out in an eddy and we continued down. i was mortified.... the last rapid of the river (running at 2 and a half times it's normal flow) is a class III....you head toward it and BOOM....it's in your face and all around and then it's over and your through it....and you just GRIN. by the time we finished the run, i was feeling a little better....starting to get the hang of it by doing that one pathetic run and seeing ken and jed peel out a little more effortlessly into the current and back into the eddies....these were not strokes i was unfamiliar with....just an unfamiliar venue.... so the second run went far better! i understood better how the water was goingt to push my little boat around and how to peel into those eddies and then back out in the current....again, same strokes, just a different application. still managed to place the paddle upriver though and while i went over, at least rolled up....instant ice cream headache! that water was COLD! it was great....by the end of the run, i was feeling 100% better and would have liked to have spent all day on that learning curve....surfing a wave created by a rock or in a hole after a drop off was exciting as hell....even in this little stuff! thanks to ken and jed for helping a WW newbie take those first steps! it was pretty exhilirating! i think i'm hooked boys!

leslie - the principles that adam would have to cover in cursory format will be covered over a period of 6-8 weeks and in depth by the coasties. the coastie course does cater to sail and powerboaters but the principles that they teach are easilly transferred to kayaking with as little as a hand compass and a piece of string. given the scope of the topic and the time contraints adam would face in a half day class, you would get a broader, more in depth understanding of basic navigation from the coasties. the price is comparable to what adam is offering and the classes are once a week at night. if you google the local auxillary office, they will no doubt be able to offer details.

so anyways....this past weekend in GA, the air temp was 70-ish and the water temp 50-ish and so naturally, i just wore neoprene....there was almost no wind but even still, even a little evaporation chills you out pretty quick once you're wet. rather than dig out the hypo kit and get dried off, etc, etc., etc., or use the sil nylon emergency shelter, we built a wind break (why, yes...yes you COULD say that what we built broke wind) by placing one boat on its side perpendicular to the wind and then balancing that boat by having the second boat at a right angle and perched on top with one end sticking in the air and the other into the sand....looked a little like a see-saw. we inverted the boat on top so that the bottom boat was in the cockpit coaming. of the top boat. i don't know if i'd trust this in a big wind but for our purposes it was ideal. enough so that we could lean against it to rest our backs... on the lee side it was warm and we were out of the wind - layed out in the sun as the fog burned off, had lunch, chatted and napped....by the time we woke up, we needed a little sun screen and were pleasantly warmed. so the point is that you can indeed use your boats as building materials too in a pinch.

...a "combat" wet exit? oh yeah, his combat wet exit - slick as a navy seal....he's a veritable john clarke (clancy novels anyone) of wet exits....why i've seen him pop out and flounder about on the same rock on which his his pintail was stuck, wedged, folded, spindled or mutiliated upon before the rest of us could even think about trying to stop laughing long enough to haul him out; all the while going "aarrh, aarrh" and looking for a handout of tastey sea treats. that pintail is testimony to the durability of british boats. or was....or something along those lines....seem to recall a quest of similiar quality....and that orion...oh, yeah, just about tore that in two. john, it's our song.... ....to all the boats i uuuussssedddd to hoooolllleeee....you paddled well and then went on to better hhhooooommmmmeeeessss...though your coats were fulla craaaaccckkkks, your 'glass mostly was intact and you always paddled baaaackkkk....to all the boats i used to hoooollleeee....

ladies, gentlemen....instead of "he forgot..." or "that's not practical..." could we focus on the joy? sometimes we (me too, oh yeah, meeee tooooo) get bogged down in minutiae and miss the forest for the tree's! lets focus on the point that the act of throwing your boat off a cliff and then jumping down to enter into it is cool as hell! that's friggin' awesome!

no! sounds like you had a good time though. best keep an eye on leonard, he's the poster child for watery mayhem

spring...it's like spring out!.....i'm at work...AIAIAIAIAIAIEEEEEE! where, o WHERE is the sanity and justice in this? damnit!!!!

down at sea kayak georgia this past weekend werner maas and bill gwynn both assesssed for and passed BCU 4 star. the water was 50-ish and the air 70-ish....now if only it would warm up to thereabouts up here....only a few months! congrats boys!

forget the paddling details....pussers bar right in the harbor....excellent. pussers was the rum used to make grog in the brit navy for....sheesh i dunno, a million years? think they banished the tradition in the mid 70's or so....anyway, forget mixing with water to make the grog but mixed with tropical fruit juices.....ahhhhh, bliss! glad you guys had a good time! and remember that old island saying..."iguana, the other white meat"

went out briefly and for once, we listened to that little voice that said "bad idea" and came back in after a short while. it was too cold, it was too windy and it was too early in the season. only report is that it was pretty cool to have the windward side be covered in ice and still be toasty warm. new drysuit with booties rocks!

it's a tragic potential result everytime anyone goes on the water regardless of whether or not there is a maine guide present or leading the trip and regardless of any licensing. which is not to say that maine guides may not be more thoroughly trained and may excercise different judgement...but still, you know anyone infallible? ...and the result is going to be a lawsuit regardless of the licensing of the group organizing or the qualification of those leading...all you can do is take as many precautions as possible. events like these just drive home the importance of judgement, competence and sometimes regardless of all that stuff still happens. besides which, until we know all facts, circumstances and timeline, it would seem problematic to try to arm chair q-back. all we really know is the outcome.

yeah - 2 more

As I sit within this infernal tin can on a monday morning heading to a job where every day I'd rather be on the water...I look up to see the very hat I had on yesterday...and wonder what are those dusty white circles...ahh, yes the dried salt rhime of my weekend. Mr. Gore, sir..wherever you are...thanks. You even made my monday morning commute better

i should replace my pfd soon (lest it swim away under it's own power) and while some would point to duct tape (and that's a perfectly valid response), i'd like to take it in another direction. so the question is this....has anyone tried the astral line of vests? i am looking for a fairly large amount of "cargo room" for all the stuff (okay, crap i hope i don't need) in addition to the water bladder i've become so accustomed to having. can't seem to find one around and i'd like to try it (or at least SEE it) before i buy it. i looked on their website but i haven't found anyone carrying the 300 series (like the quick release integrated into the vest) any input appreciated. thanks.

this is the sea - really good. not instructional but more along the lines of warren miller picks up a paddle

folks - there's the theory and then the practice of this or any art. and like most things, learn with small, easier pieces first and once that's down pat, then run off headlong into "alternative" methods. you gotta play chopsticks before you play chopin. so the theory is the nice room, with a nice big flat table and then the rulers, the dividers and such. learn this way. practice this way. it's nice to have a warm room with a nice big flat table to learn and practice on so why not? it's the way i "learned" and am still learning and it's the way the coastie's teach it, and what the hell, they've been doing this a while. once that's pretty much down, why not then progress to the nav aid or just a hand compass and plot your course as if you were on a beach or the chart were on your deck? and for the most, this is proof in the pudding kinda stuff - it's all nice in a room no matter how you got it, but it's what you do on the water that counts. as a gentleman (and i use that term loosely) once said "the key to not getting lost is always know where you are" see you there...i'd bring whiskey but what are the odds i'd run into timid virgins at anything we put together?

ha! ...and for extra sicko points....which wood doesn't float? ...yup, that'd be natalie wood.

there are trade off's to anything you do. again, everyone makes their own best and informed decision on what to do - you are master and commander of that little boat. you do what's best for you. if you have ease of access and it's rough enough to wash it offa your deck then if you wet exit outta the boat in those conditions you are at an increased risk for head injury, right? if you are swimming in rough water, should you ideally have your helmet on?

in rough conditions....the idea is to wear it. if you lose it offa your head, you have bigger problems than securing items to your deck.

wee you just go, mr. wizard!

k.i.s.s. your helmet has holes on top and along the sides? get a hard plastic "dowel" that's a bit longer than the hole....drill a hole in it and tie off a piece of bungee that's shorter than the height of your helmet and tie the other end off to the bungee crossing right behind you on the rear deck (the one that's close enough for you to reach....if it ain't there now....yeah, rig it) so....the helmet goes on the rear deck, the bungee come up from the deck, the dowel goes through the hole vertically and then once on top of mr. helmet, you let it snap down on top in the horizontal position....voila. you could do that a coupla times if you are unsure of the stability of keeping the helmet on the rear deck with a single line of bungee...something like that. if your thinking it'll wash off in rough water....well, in rough water, maybe you want it on your head? this ease of access would certainly make donning and doffing said brain bucket a whole lot easier than digging through various hatches(...under the cag, beside the radio...on top of the PBJ....), that sort of thing...and with that ease of access and a comfy lid...why not wear it? i'd like to say that little piece of brilliance was my idea but modesty prevents such....mr. najarian has that set up on his boat...i saw it and thought it was pretty crafty... happy holidays!!

is because you can get hurt....it is coincidentally, why we should. for me, anyways. but what risks am i taking? are they the same risks you are taking? to the same degree? each of us comes to a problem with our own assets and liabilities and this is no exception. skills and experience should not be confused with one another any more than gear and experience and skills. a good/great sailor can get around the dang world in a rowboat (bligh, shackleton) and others may soon drown in a proper ship (what WAS the name of the titanic's captain?) as far as a helmet - can it hurt? no. is it the "magic pill" that makes playing in the rocks a good idea? no. there is no magic pill of skills that will help you out....but those boat handling skills along with experience and an eye on what's going on around you make it safer. you don't need "rocks" to have a legit concern over the validity of wearing a helmet....you come outta the boat in surf and that boat hits your bean without a helmet on....bad. bad. and nary a rock around. it's only safer if you go over, right? so what are you doing, where and when are you doing it and what are the odds you'll hit your head? think about it and make a decision based on the risks you're taking individually. you only grow with experience and time...don't take such risks that you jeopardize yourself or anyone else unduly...but it is how people grow - this testing the boundaries. just take baby steps, right? know the limit of your abilities and just stretch a little and in the right company...like kenny rodgers says "know when to hold em and know when to fold em" just what do you want to gamble today? sort of thinking. is it a few chips or all in? like most of us, i have many holes, scrapes, dings, dents, deformities and love bites to the hulls of my storied past and these are just my opinion and experience. happy holidays!