rick stoehrer

were it any other time of day (well after the time most folks using the beach) or weather conditions (it was rather blustery/rainy) i probably wouldn't dare either as i would prefer on the whole that the truck be there when i get back....it's just that the local surfers gave us the skinny - that the cops would roust you every now and then but on the whole that we were pretty safe parked where we were.

thanks for the info though!

i was in an avocet and suze in her explorer.

if you are the junction of 128 and 127, go straight across at the light and then veer left at the pizza shop. i think you then take the next L at the intersection by a pharmacy? in any event, you follow the shore right down the coast and then you come to good harbor beach / bass rocks.

there is no parking unless you belong to the yacht club but.....as it was after 7 that we finally put in and there is NO ONE around and there were locals parked there enjoying the surf....yeah, we just pulled over there on the side with them and launched. there was a very convenient put in to be found in the ladder that goes down to the little estuary river across from the yacht club.

maybe someone more familiar with the area would have better advice on access / parking?

the underwhelming repsonse actually worked out for the best....we paddled good harbor beach/bass rocks and had some fine 4-5+ footers coming in with a little smaller stuff on the E end of the beach. nice!

the only way i know how to ge there is to paddle from greasy pole? is there an easier way - closer that i could just launch and just play in whatever fun there is to be had?

anyone?

thanks for the help!

squam lake up in holderness is beautiful and has 2 islands (bowman and moon) that you can camp on. reservations are set up through squam lakes association (squamlakes.org)

Car camping on the ocean -

there are a bunch..cape neddick camp ground up offa rte 1../overlooks nubble light.

recompense island has a campground....can't remember the name but you could call ll beans and they'd give you direcions.

for actual pack the 'yak adventures...

Jewell Island off a portland...pretty much launch from eastern prom and head east up diamond passage, through the hussey and then up along vail, long, cliff...cross luckse and then over the N side to either surprise beach or the punchbowl. that's a fair bit of paddling and you are exposed in places so take all precautions, etc.

join MITA (mita.org)...they send you a book of the islands in the association that refernce put ins, launches, local knowledge, etc. worth the $45 all day long.

This past Friday at 7:15 or so Suzanne, Christopher, Janis and I launched from Greasy Pole with a destination of nowhere….which we figured would bring us out along Normans Woe and as far down as Marblehead or anywhere between.

As we danced our boats along the rocky shore, I thought how nice it was to be back in a boat and to not worry about my shoulder….healing nicely. Christopher, Suze and I played a little game of chicken with the boulders as we took what fun we could from the gently breaking swells. As Christopher regaled us with a made up rendition of “Master of the House” from Les Mis., we suffered nary a scratch in the “toothy bits” and it offered a great opportunity to practice boat control and all the little things that make the difference between “blah” and “wee!” Getting most of our forward momentum from the swells as they broke, we practiced our rudders, hangs and draws along the rocks as the sun set to a beautiful day. Looking out over my recently repaired shoulder to see Janis smiling and paddling along in the swells this evening after only being in a boat half a dozen times was even more exciting!

We paddled past Kettle Island as the sun set behind Magnolia and onto Graves Island. We brought the boats high ashore and broke out our dinner and headlamps and bug juice and a rigged the kayaks/pfd’s with glow sticks. We had our dinner (chowder from the fish place across the street from Greasy Pole) and watched as the last of the sun lingered and finally disappeared behind the mainland.

After some discussion over exactly where the moon would rise and not coming to a consensus, we launched into the night….and lo, there she was, low on the horizon. Apparently when we landed, we didn’t take the little rise in the middle of the island into account but now we could see her - full and blood red, the moon was a sight to see. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and as red as she was, there was a fair bit of light cast. To our further joy, the water was swirling and gleaming with every stroke of the paddle with tiny neon lights; a speckled sea parting around us as the phosphorescent phytoplankton blipped off and on as the boats were headed home. It was beautiful and we were in a river of much of it til almost Ten Pound Island.

Paddling back to port and looking out over the darkened sea with the moon light softly glimmering on the swells to see the silhouette of your friends and the one you love is a pretty wonderful vision. I am very glad to have the memory!

We landed at 11:15 or so and were jazzed from the sublime perfection of the last several hours upon the water.

beals island raid? legend has it that it was a "black op" and lights were eschewed in favor of stealth.

and the black boat (should she ever arrive) will be adorned with the same style reflective tape squares that have graced the last coupla boats.

i had a great time friday night with a full moon paddle (will post the report as soon as i have the okay from my paddling mates) and thought maybe it would be appropriate as the weather was finally warm and lovely to post something about night paddling?

this is not necessarrily the "right" way, but the way i was taught from some pretty steady folks. if you do something different or could add something, chime in. we are collectively smarter than we are solo (well, mobs excluded!)

in addition to the lighting you need in an emergency to avoid collission (the CG requirement) and which you probably won't use as you probably won't have an emergency AND it completely blows your night vision, what i do is tie a glow stick to the stern of the boat off of the grab handle and then another glow stick to a length of line off my shoulder on the pfd and then hang that behind me.

in addition, do a count. you do a head count, everyone is assigned and number and then you shout out the count during the course of the paddle. so if there were 7 paddlers and paddler 4 started the count, then 5 should call out and then in succession 6,7,1,2,3 until the cycle had been completed and all were accounted for in the group. do this often...every minute you paddle and don't do this is a minute you may need to go back and collect someone.

so for instance, paddler 3 is over and in the water and separated from the boat....you do a count 2 minutes later, discover that he isn't there...you paddle back and find him as he waves the little glow stick on his shoulder, say that takes 3 minutes rather than 2....okay, so now, paddler 3 has been in the water 5 minutes and you have him...now you need his boat...how far did that go in 5 minutes and how are you going to find that in the dark with only a light stick on the stern to light her...how are you going to find it if it doesn't have a light on it? the paddler in the water has been subject to the current for 5 minutes and the boat to the wind for 5 minutes and unless they are going in exactly the same direction at exactly the same speed, they are likley in different places, right?

you begin to the see the issues, yeah?

sure, the group is PROBABLY close enough that you will hear what's going on and PROBABLY you will hear paddler 3 if he goes over...but maybe you won't and maybe it is 5 minutes before you find him....think abut what you'd do before hand and you solve the problems in your head before you face them on the water.

have fun and see the water at night, it's beautiful but remember that it isn't exactly the same as doing this in the light of day!

...and not a pretty fish - a face only a momma sea bass could love.

fast dang things though. the very reason some boats have such large motors - you need a big engine to catch 'em.

too tough, weathered and downright gamey to be considered fine dining. maybe when it's caught young it'd be okay, but once it acheives maturity (and then some); a little on the ripe side? there may not be a strong enough marinade.

do like the idea of a cookbook though for those of us that can read (although slowly and with lips a'movin') but can't really cook.

talk about an invitation for suze and jonathon.....

bastar...err, i mean, good for you! some severe jealousy! although....bears bob. bears. i can't decide if that's exciting good or exciting like, "crap, i'm on the menu...." probably good. more likely bugs and rain than bears will be an issue. JEALOUS! eagles thick as sea gulls...the quiet....JEALOUS!

roger voeller spent a bunch of time up there with his nols courses...maybe he has some contacts.

do you have his email address - i think he moved to colorado?

the folks up at mikco do trips up there as well...maybe they could hook you up with local knowledge.

have a great time and post the picks!

to hear about frank liz.

i heard something with a cockney accent go by and then a blur on the horizon....hmmmn, clears that up.

congrats binks! maybe that sea bass fella will catch you...the rest of us just end up watching (from afar)!

ahhh, holes in boats...finally, something i know what i am talking about....the biggest "hole" i have seen was a puncture of one hull from the bow of another boat. this was done in rough seas as one fella surfed into another - they both recovered almost immediately and the 2 boats just seemed to barely touch for a moment. the hole-ee didn't know that he had suffered the wound and we had to yell and finally paddle over to tell him.

now, the repair was made on land using denzo tape (english plumbers tape - very foul, but will stick underwater), piece of plastic, self tapping screws and yes, duc-t tape. the repair was watertight and we played the rest of the day in some very interesting water off of popham.

so no, you don't necesarrilly (sp - not even close!)need to be by the rocks to get the hole in your boat and while dry land is best to make the repair as you get the most stable platform, that whole thing could have been done on the water.