rick stoehrer

we get married at sunset aboard a boat in Key West and from there, we're all off to margaritaville for dinner, drinks (so that'd be like the reception if we were doing this "standard", right?) and then after that and we put the various nephews, niece and old folks to bed....yeah, Key West never sleeps.... so after sleeping in the day/afternoon after our all night carousing....we head off to the Snipe Keys just NW of Key West for kayaking and a little "commando" camping. supposed to be a gorgeous area and we are really looking forward to getting on the water thereabouts....all kinds of little keys, birds, coral, fish, sharks....beautiful sunsets....ahhhh man! when's february??!!

come on....the news is that this was your honeymoon, right! so glad you had a nice time. Janis and I went in February and CR was gorgeous. the vegetation, the animals (monkeys galore and sloths), the amazing hills/mountains over on the Osa Penninsula....and the exchange rate is so favorable as to be ridiculous? is there a more perfect place? the land crabs were the coolest things....oranges, reds and purples and greens....all on a single species?

Ah-ha....perhaps then the black and yellow dutch sea bass? Lets see what "the book" has to say about the b&y dutch seabass....hmmn.....black and yellow canary rock darter....no.....black&yellow go fast...no....black&yellow bellied wave hater....definitely not.....here it is, the black and yellow dutch seabass - A great roving, good natured fish prone to rocks. Too gamey for commercial value and difficult to catch, the byd seabass is sometimes found swimming in clouds of gel coat.

sea bass yell'er to me.

I am almost positive that it's required that you put her in and not on, the plane. Even with discount airlines, the cheapest seats available are IN the aircraft. Just a heads up. Don't want you ro get in trouble with the authorities once you started duct taping her to a wing or something. The python version would go something like....."Bobby, this doesn't look safe" "No, no...this is fine ma. People do it all the time." "okay...a little more...and...snug?" "great...see you at christmas then, off you go." Hope you had a good thanksgiving!

...this is a topic a friend of mine and i have discussed more than a few times. it's a whole different ball of wax, solo, eh? if you're expeditioning and don't have mates along who can run down a wayward boat, then maintaining contact with it can be of paramount importance - it not only has almost all your food and water, it's your way to shore and home depending upon where you are... and that's what i think it comes down to is; where you are....if the boat gets loose, what's the worst that could happen? if your solo 50 feet off the beach in nantasket, a wayward boat doesn't quite have the impact of a wayward boat in the middle of nantucket sound, does it? the line could entangle you, or it could snap your neck or it could just tear up the soft tissue of your throat if it gets pulled or suddenly yanked across there....but is that risk greater or lesser than the danger of where you are, alone? if the boat leaves and you ain't in it....can you get to safety? farther down the string here, someone references chris duff - he's a solo expeditioner and spends stretches alone along unprotected shores or in long crossings with little access to immediate aid and so what he does, he does for specific reasons that he understands and has weighed for himself and so has taken precautions that suit his needs and abilities and conditions. if you use a tether, do the same thing. weight the risks - what's more likely to kill you? it's a personal judgement. my 2 cents. good luck, happy thanksgiving!

see? there's one! ...and so the grass roots "we want a skills based symposium" campaign starts... come on folks!

with many of us having travelled far and away this year for instruction, classes and assessments, i am wondering what kind of interest we could generate within the club for a kind of skills based east coast symposium? something for EVERYONE on the water from 2 star to 5 star....get us all on board. hell, we could maybe even inlcude those twigger heretics! just like in georgia. there's room at the paddling table for all so pull up a seat damnit...nobody cares what anyone paddles...just paddle! could we generate enough interest (and by interest, i suppose i mean MONEY and TIME) that would make an northeast coast symposium feasible? could we generate the buzz and the bucks to get it off the ground? what would it take to get folks like shawna and leon from the west coast? to get nigel dennis, nigel foster, to get karen knights, steve maynards to make time? for that matter, tom is literally world class, right up the road and can draw the talent, kids.....if we could get them...could we have something local like dale has down in georgia then we would get the folks repping their wares ....could we get something going? not an nspn event, something bigger. the interest and commitment would initially come from our and other clubs as members of one big paddling culture - sure, but not just us or ricka or connyak, bskc or any one club. everybody, all, en toto. we keep talking about what the club is, what we do, should do, etc....what better place to have this discussion? what about we help organize or drive such a thing? that'd be a mark and a certainly a worthy acheivement towards our overall goal of on water safety. so think about it....where could we do this? would we want to do this? when could we do this? could we draw enough of the paddling community together? before anything "is" someone, somewhere dreamed of it....dream on it. maybe i'm way, way off base, maybe it's not a good idea or there'd never be enough folks, time, venue, etc....but the way i'm thinking this morning, those are all excuses.

"...and help me put Walmart out of business." earth to bob. earth to bob....come in bob. bob, that windmill you are tilting at? let it go bob, let it go. earth out. over. all i can hear in my head is richard kiley singing to dream the impossible dream!

in a long list of folks with problems with their drysuits.... we searched high and low for a drysuit that had what we wanted for janis...booties and a relief zip being high on the list. nope, no one seemed to have anything in stock that we were looking for - a palm stikine or a kokatat....so we ordered a dry suit from bomber gear out of colorado based on quick turnaround...they primarilly cater to white water paddlers and i have one of their dry tops and it's pretty great so i thought that the drysuit would be of similar qualty. i was wrong. the suit arrived wednesday and while it looked EXACTLY like it did on line - good looking suit really and it fit her very well, not too big, not too small, perfect...the problem is with the zippers. they are the same zipper that palm puts on their less expensive drysuit - the urethane plastic zips. great. oddly, this was NOT mentioned on line.... so we went out yesterday and tested the drysuit....paddled out to straitsmouth and then janis did a wet exit and we got her back in her boat and then closer to shore we had her thrash around a bit...nothing like what you'd get tossed in surf, pretty much just jumping up and down in the water...and the zips FAILED! the relief zip leaked across it's entire length, the front zip failed at the shoulder and BOTH the neck and wrist gaskets leaked. so...that's getting returned tomorrow and we are back to the drawing board for a good DRY suit. honestly, it's seems to me that it's evident that unless it's the big metal toothed ykk zips, they are useless....the palm stikine, kokatat, i think even whites all have this zip...never had a problem with the kokatat, have not had a problem with the palm and joan was out with us yesterday and had no problem with the whites....they all share that zip.... beware the zips!

it's not mistrust...they're questions. a coupla things didn't/don't make sense. statements akin to saying "okay, i can see the prudential bulding from des moines iowa on a clear day" or "the sox are going to sweep the national league offering 4 zip to win the world series" you are naturally going to asked be asked "huh"? the board is about communication, education a little sense of community....i don't see the mistrust part you're talking about and that ancient greek reference....yeah, do you OWN a tv?

THE trip report. while nomad is as welcome as any to the fold, he has only been a member since 10/30...which as far as i can tell is a day prior to the post....so if "old nomad" has posted other stories, they are under a different member name/another pseudonym...we never did figure out who thomperman was, did we? if you can think of any other reports where there were some factual inconsistencies/errors (perhaps poetic license more than a navigational error and even if so a nav mistake is easy enough to make, even for someone skilled in nav, yeah?) and maybe we can figure it. deduction dear watson, deduction....to what do the clues point? on the other hand...who cares? like moby dick, it's a nice enough story and certainly anyone who'd consider such a paddle would do the actual plotting of the course and figuring for themselve and not trust old nomad or anyone else to have lain the way.

while air is pretty important (hot and otherwise) the thing that is really getting to you is the "oh crap, i am upside down and idonthaveaccesstotheair,thiswaterisreallycold,thisisreallybadgetthehelloutoftheboatandbreathe,breathedamnit" maybe? you really probably have more than enough breath in your lungs to be upside down...it's not like you didn't know on the way over that you were going to be upside down in a second, you probably took a breath, right? so why the difference? you just need to acclimate to the temp change in the water that you were so comfortable with when it was warm and you were secure in your practice. we're air breathing mammals and we don't inherently have great diving capacity like seals and whales and in our genetic past if your head wasn't on the surface, yeah, that was probably very bad....how long has swimming even been considered recreational? i think the lizard part of our brains are hardwired to thinking that breathing = air = very,very good. and the shock of the cold water hitting your face just drives that primitive part. so how do you maybe short circuit that knee jerk reaction? time, practice, get underwater. next time you and glenn go out, roll over on your side and then just gradually go from just hanging on his bow to hanging upside down with his bow right there in your hand. extend the length of time you spend underwater....the bow in the hand should be a pretty calming force (you can come up when you want, no need for your brain to start sounding all kinds of alarms..it will but you can extend that) and then after a while, practice the sculling and then rolling parts and spend more time underwater. i think that it isn't so much the holding the breath thing as the calming your natural reaction thing. i don't think that's anything that's going to get better with practice in a nice warm swimming pool...you don't kayak in a nice warm swimming pool and rarely will you encounter any real fear there, right? there's an edge not to far away, surrounded by people, there's a life guard, the waters about 80 degrees. go practice in a nice cold ocean. you'll get better at it. my 2cents! thanks for the link on that other site too - it was pretty great!

What do you do on a really big day? Really big - 11 foot on average with 30 MPH winds? I mean, besides not leave the beach? Assume you and your mates have the skill sets to paddle in those conditions. If you do launch into this, the question is how to rescue someone in those conditions, right? Sure, you aren't swimming now and everyone out in conditions has to be pretty rock solid or you don't leave the beach but part of the decision making to EVERY trip HAS TO BE the “what if” game. Yup, everyone has a roll on a trip like this, to not would be really, really foolhardy, but everybody blows a roll, and paddles break and bad things happen all the time. It’s all about risk assessment. Everyone has swum or will swim - what if someone swims on a day like this? How are we going to rescue them? Where are we going to rescue them? SHOULD we rescue them? Well, sure, you should probably rescue them but remember the first protocol of the rescue HAS to be, "me, me, the group, the swimmer" sort of thinking. So, look....if there are 11 foot breakers and the swimmer is bobbing along in them and getting trashed....let him bob and get trashed...it doesn't matter what impressive array of skills you possess, what are you going to accomplish by going into those waves? Even assuming a 12 second period, you paddle over, take your hands off and secure your paddle, grab the boat to stabilize it and then ……TIMES UP! Right, now TWO swimmers.... No. Let the swimmer bob along. Make eye contact if you can...let them know that you have an eye on them and that you are waiting for an opportunity to rescue them. It would be good to have worked out signals on the shore BEFORE this contingency so you can make arm/hand motions to communicate as it's going to be too loud in the surf/wind to hear anything. So let them know you are waiting for a safe opportunity. The reassurance to your swimming friend is a huge psychological factor. And he’s going to need reassurance as he is now nowhere near his boat…in heavy surf and high winds, there is no way he will have held onto that pitching, heaving thing. It left like a rocket on the first wave train they were separated. And that’s perhaps just as well, a boat will bash in your head pretty well even though you should have a helmet on…just remember, get up wave of that thing…if you’re down wave, you are going to get creamed. We’ve all seen it along the shore in little waves as you’ve got out of your boat and some little thing comes along and just tosses it as you get out of it…now imagine that in 11 foot breaking stuff only now the cockpit is probably half full of water…so lets see, say 30 gallons of seawater (that’s 240 pounds of water) being heaved at your head in the guise of a hard, pointy kayak…a head that is btw at an even level with the hard pointy end…right, you see the point (no pun intended) Back to the rescue of swimmer… now, where is the swimmer going to end up? Where is the water pushing him? Is it safer there? Did you survey and examine the area BEFORE you got into it? Did you discuss the bailout/rescue beforehand? Would be helpful...plan your paddle, paddle your plan (to steal a catch phrase of divers). Maybe a throw bag? This is gear that I have never carried before but is very popular amongst WW paddlers for the extra reach it gives them in freeing a trapped swimmer. So if the sea is too rough maybe toss in a throw line (you can probably get it close enough that it may drift by or victim can swim to it) and try to paddle/pull the swimmer out of the of it to somewhere that you can put them on your back deck? Someone else will of course have to retrieve the swimmers boat (less than 3 there shall never be and all that) so consider too where that boat is going to end up and don't just rush into the sh%t to go and get it. Wait for it. So you regroup the swimmer with his boat at some point where rescue is feasible and then you get the man in the boat (the paddler retrieving the boat maybe can sort out emptying said craft of water) and then, given this time of year, all to shore to treat for possible hypothermia. If the swimmer has been in the water for any time at all, they may be suffering from some degree of hypothermia. The water temp is only 50 and depending on what layers you have on underneath a dry suit (and surely none would go out sans dry suit now), the effects of hypothermia will vary. Even if not hypothermic, the guy was just in big seas with breaking waves...a cuppa tea would offer some psychological solace even as the body drains off that adrenalin and then they are going to be a bit tired....so get to shore. Make it so that it's in your best interest too (and it is) and not something you are doing just for the swimmer - they will feel a stigma about their recent swim and will be shaken up and so you need to minimize that psychological impact, remember, just buds getting to shore in big stuff. Once on shore, act accordingly. If hypothermic, get outta the wind and strip, dry, dress is warm clothes and stay outta the wind. This is difficult to do sometimes as the first symptom of hypothermia is impaired judgment so the swimmer may tell you that they are fine....riiiggghttt. So your conversation may have to be a bit more forceful than you would normally engage in but bottom line is that you are in charge. So take charge. Be nice about it, but make sure things get squared away. Have a little to drink as most folks suffering from hypothermia can be dehydrated. Have a bit to eat. Settle down and let that adrenalin siphon off and the stress of recent events drain. You can’t be uptight when you go back on that water. If you are, you’re paddling will come back in over the cockpit and you'll be in the drink soon enough unless you can keep it casual as ever. So relax a bit. If extremely hypothermic...call the coasties. We do what we can on site, but we aren't qualified to treat/transfer on our own and if nothing else, the coasties can walk us through and be a reassuring voice on the other end of the vhf. Remember, there is no shame in calling the coasties. While they are a resort to which we'd all rather not be pushed, it'd be a worse shame to not use the resources you have if you need them. Another thing to think about is your kit. Where do you have what you are going to need in an emergency? If it's not on you, you don't really have it, do you? If you come outta your boat and then the boat rockets away in the surf and wind...what resources are you left with if you hit the beach, and your boat has blown away or is lying on some distant shore? Anything? Pfd’s have pockets and some carry hydration packs. Stuff and use them accordingly. A whole different set of rules and consequences apply in really big conditions. This past weekend 4 went out and 4 came back and while this is not that story, it could have been.

maine harbors (http://www.maineharbors.com/) is a good source of info on tides and weather. noaa (http://www.noaa.gov/) is the best source for weather forecasts and patterns we have. it gives you whats going on where with and give specific info reports from local buoys. wind speed, gusts, direction, pressure, wave height, period, water temp... and speaking of water temp....the water temp is such that you need to make sure to be dressed for immersion or you run the real risk of hypothermia if you go in the drink. this means that it's pretty much dry suit weather....regardless of the air temp, it's the water temp that is so dangerous and any length of time spent immersed is dangerous. word to the wise and welcome aboard.

...and as it happens, i have a stikine canyon by palm that i love and has performed very well with no leaks or problems whatsoever and is holding up to my rather abusive ways without complaint or incident. could be the zipper - pulled to the stops both ways? leaking in and down the assembly? try the tub again....and if that doesn't bear anything out, try the lake again and just float there and see if you can pinpoint the problem. palm is distributed by MTI out of weymouth and i can't beieve that they would lose a sale to ko...koka....that k company where they have seemingly finally entered into this market (i don't remember seeing a palm drysuit around here before last winter) good luck!

john, did you just "say" the words subtlety and finesse?

there is NO good way - it's the massachusetts answer to the maine expresssion "can't git theyah frum heah" best of the worst ways is probably the ferry outta boston and then on the road, i've always used 3 to 228. good luck - leave early.

as we speak, this juggernaut has the hatches off her and is half full of fetid rain water. it is enormous when you stand next to it, but i'll bet it gets real little, real quick in the middle of the atlantic for 72 days. it's on blocks outside of Nigel Dennis' place in Wales. We walked by it every night on way to pub and then sort of stumbled past her hours later.

haven't seen you in awhile. janis and i moved to rockport so probably won't be seeing you around devlins.... too bad, it is was her favorite and the creme brulee? magnifique!

see, david who is apprently FAR more technology savy than myself understands better what he wrote but i, having almost no techno frame of reference, find your answer far more useful! not a knock on anyones answer! thanks!

okay, that list of put ins with directions lives WHERE now?

anyone here have any knowledge of the snipe keys? looking to spend a little time back coutnry camping/leave no trace fun down there in february and while i have several reference books that mention the kayaking bliss that they represent....the books only reference camping on sugarloaf key which is along the very developed rte 1. so if you have the backcoountry scoop on the snipe/mud keys (noaa#11445, NW of sugarloaf, NW of middle narrows and then S of snipe point there appears to be a likely candidate) i'd apprecate it. thanks folks!

the sng last saturday went well and had a larger than anticipated turnout. thankfully, there was a very healthy ratio of shepherds/sheep on the water had anything gotten squirrely. the weather held off and while it was a bit breezey, the more challenging conditions we had anticipated never materialized as it seems most of the storm blew itself out on friday night. reviewed on the beach a number of things from trip planning basics to what gets packed in the boat, where and why along with some basic decision making on whether or not you launch. when yours truly finally shut up, we launched and reviewed rescues. time and weather depending, i would like to do this again before it gets too cold and then also add a few things i learned from the first iteration. we'll see as far as timing. highlight of the day (besides john leonard swi....having a good time?) was saving a juvenile cormorant that was thoroughly and death sentence snagged in a giant ball of monofilament....took about 10 minutes or so to cut him free....apparently if you cover the eys and put them on their backs, they chill right out....either that or he was just bloody exhausted! in any event, once freed from the mess, he was able to properly dive and go away with nary a squawk over his shoulder....

hey bubba...