rick stoehrer

Bring mesh bags...you can put drinking water and whatever else is in a water tight container into the mesh, tie it off with yer tow line securely and toss it in the ocean. The sea water is cool enough to be a nice little fridge. Make sure to "lock" the fridge after use and that it isn't too rough. That has worked nicely and clients think yer kewl and crafty.

pru - people suck. not all of them...just enough of them to make the rest of us need the occasional restoration of faith in the remainder...which brings us back to kayaking. don't let the turkeys get you down...there's no shortage of jackasses but on the whole, we have them outnumbered. and spider i think your injecting the political landscape into this is just ridiculous.

so you aren't out thrashing in surf, you're riding wind waves to get somewhere...travelling. not that it makes much diff...sea kayak is a sea kayak...no rails, no hard edge to cut/carve into the water. i guess i'd make my way over best way i could...maybe try to get a lot of it in "up top" and then enjoy the rides down? dunno...don't think there's a right or wrong way. depending on whether or not you can keep the rudder in the water, you might have more success with a ruddered boat...with some of them with the over the rear rudder at the very stern, they can come out of the water and you'd face the same issue...under hull rudders like on a surf ski will stay on the water better but you've got to take more care launching/landing.

so surfing perpendicular up to 30 degrees or so of center, you're doing great and then beyond that...bongo city? surf specific kayaks have a hard rail or edge, very similar to a surf board. most sea kayaks don't have this feature and they're a whole lot longer...so once that sea boat starts to purl, it's really tough to bring it back and often, you don't...if you can make turns up to 30 degrees and bring it back to center, you're doing great. i don't think there's a specific trick or technique beyond where you're bringing the boat josko...i think that's just the nature of the boat you're using.

finally took his maine guides exam. not surprisingly, he passed. congratulations. a-yuh.

peaceful and pleasant journeys Mary. Hope you are well.

how far are you from rescue resources, evacuation? is there even anyone TO contact and how far away are they? anything REQUIRING a SAT PHONE - expedition. everything else is camping or a series of camping trips. the risk thing is on a whole different scale one to the other. better have your head in the right space too.

icom - west marine - ALWAYS buy the extra insurance. i have no idea what kind of warranty is otherwise offered but when I buy the insurance, there's no hassle about replacing them them when they crap the bed. i have the m88 - there are more and less expensive models...break the bank is subjective and when you're talking about something that will get minimal use but when you go to use it, had better work, it gets even more subjective.

not inherently slower? i don't recall the last olympic race won by a paddler using a greenland stick...or the blackburn for that matter...in any category. makes me think that, in fact, they are slower. i don't believe that's low hanging fruit...i think that's just...reality. not to say it isn't perfectly good for paddling (and staring fires as needed) but it is not a fast blade.

correct, i am NOT SAYING you dust your compatriots...just that the ability to have a turn of speed can be a very, very helpful thing and makes a lot of other things much easier.

speed = safety. being faster and stronger rarely hurts. being able to just MOVE a boat can get you out of a lot of trouble. the ability to paddle UP and OVER larger water can't hurt you. in short, fast is good!

I know Josko...I was just tweaking the twiggers...I don't get it either but to each their own and some of them are downright graceful with those rolls. Again, I think it looks like your regular stroke only slowed down with an extended glide and less power (although THAT gets old fast - keeping paddle/shoulders up while slowed down is a DRAG) OR just move about the group chit chatting away.

See? I didn't think of that! Josko, just use a greenland paddle; using a popsicle stick would slow you down sufficiently as to not present a pacing problem for most groups, let alone using an shorter popsicle stick. Don't know about efficiency but slow? Yeah, they've got it covered. In the inimitable style of Sheldon Cooper - Ba-Zinga!

meandering about isn't about efficiency, is it? i slow the cadence and just don't put much power into the stroke while trying to keep the rest of my mechanics solid. ...and lots of talking. takes your mind off the fact you're going so slowly - keeps the group together, etc. come to think of it, i spend a fair amount of time going backward or turning around, etc....lots of other things to do well in a sea boat besides go forward, fast.

Hi Warren - I think that if you managed to pull that off as a C.A.M trip, that's wonderful. If everyone participated in the all the stages, sounds like a textbook C.A.M. trip. Your use of "we" and the possessive pronoun "our" and reference to "our written material" that had me wondering how you all ran the trip - whether or not you and Pru simply put the trip together and led it or not.

No need to send me anything, thanks. Just curious. When you say "Our goal all along was to provide a sense that we know what we are doing and we highly value group safety." and then "Perhaps some of the paddlers who participated in our trips will comment on whether or not this approach was helpful." Were these C.A.M. journeys or did you and Pru essentially lead these trips? There is NO right/wrong answer...I am curious how the dynamic played out.

"our written material" do tell.

pru - kayaking certainly has it's own share of self centered, unthinking jackasses. we've all seen plenty of evidence. you mighta mentioned that if they were on a site that could accommodate more than 2 and that you were going to camp there regardless to minimize impact on other sites on the island JUST to piss them off, but why bother? you were out for a nice weekend experience and not to make a point and willingly spend time around jerks.

Pru, Just a thought-isn't Crow one of the MITA Islands that NSPN has adopted to the tune of $500. per annum? Not to mention the stewardship that NSPN members provide during the year? Wow-I'm glad I wasn't with you cause serenity is not my bag! I don't know where Ed gets his manners and morals for camping on MITA but I find it a bit much for my taste. ...so...what is your point gene? do you think that because the club donates money ( i have no idea what you mean by the club performing in the role of stewards - some members occasionally go pick up trash - but that's not stewardship; that's a different thing ) that you have some kind of right to use an island or be anything less than cordial and well mannered? that because the club pays some money to a worthy organization that you get to be surly? why would you think that? glad the rest of you guys had a good time. it's a lovely part of the coast. in regards to site use....no, no group is under any obligation to clear out of a large site to accommodate a group better suited to the site. it would be nice to think that everyone who used the islands was respectful of the fact that if they're a 2 person group then they oughta utilize a smaller site rather than a larger one but there is no obligation to do so. when you're out on the islands, being thoughtful, respectful and understanding goes a long way and while i can't control those things in others, i can certainly control my own actions. wouldn't it be nice if everyone thought the same way in such a lovely place? all you can ask for really. and again...safety trumps all. make yourself and your group safe above all, regardless of island capacity, who is on what site...whatever.

you said i forgot something when in fact you've no idea if i forgot, forgot to mention or deliberately omitted. hence the "you presume, sir". crossing as a group and minimizing exposure is a good idea regardless of whether or not there is boat traffic...it just becomes more important with boat traffic. as far as paddlers heading down the middle of a channel...that IS a bad idea...why are you apparently taking it so personally? don't take any of this personally christopher...i couldn't care less how you choose to cross a channel.

RIck forgot? You presume,sir. A good habit is a good habit and spreading across a channel as a group or even a solo paddler running smack dab down the middle of a channel just because no one is around, is a poor lesson by example.

...and surfing against current. wind waves, swell, boat wakes...whatever gets the bow down and then stern up....surf it. takes some gearing but it's a great way to git er dun.

what marc said...yup, yup. eddy is your friend.

the question is what is the correct way {for kayakers} to cross a channel? the answer is safely. there are a number of different ways to skin that cat....figure A is nice as it MINIMIZES the amount of space we water borne speed bumps take up in a channel and allows other vessels the most amount of room to maneuver but it in all honesty, i've rarely seen it and never enforced it. figure B is far more likely to be what you end up with and as long as the pod is fairly well knit and stays together so that the folks in the front can talk/yell to the folks in the back, then i would find that to be an acceptable formation for a crossing. the thing you DO NOT want to do is string your group across a channel taking up a large amount of space or effectively blocking the channel. so if you look at figure A and then imagine them crossing and getting strung out so that they more or less formed a diagonal line bow to stern you see how that would pretty effectively make a rolling roadblock of sorts across that channel, right? DON'T do that. Power and Sail and Commercial boats may not have the time, the skill or the ability to dodge all those kayaks blocking a channel and that is not going to work out to our advantage. if visibility is impaired get on the radio and announce your crossing from point A to point B and expected time to cross....once you've crossed get back on the radio and announce you've finished your transit. in regards to route...ideally you choose the shortest exposure to the channel and cross directly minimizing your time in the channel. stay together, cross together, be direct and stay out of the way.

Ricky the tow pony at your service.