Bill Gwynn

Hi Cathy, Generally we don't have any definitive plans until we all me at the put-in. Usually we do between 8 & 12 miles at a leisurely pace with a nice relaxing lunch break. I know that some of us are interested in catching the Pats game at 4:30, so I would guess we would try to be off the water by 2 or 3. Last week we paddled the same area and headed East towards Bakers and Misery, so maybe this week we will head South towards Salem and Marblehead just to mix it up a bit.

Me...Mee....Meeeee!!! I want to go!

The Henderson Hyperstretch Hoods are very popular. They have a bib type collar that can be trimmed so it will fit over the neck gasket, but under the collar of your dry suit. This provides protection for your neck as well. As far as thickness goes, my experience is that 3mm is enough for paddling, if you plan on spending time under water practicing rolling etc. you may want to go to 5mm or even 7mm, but they are very restrictive for wearing all the time. Personally, I use a 1mm skull cap, with a 1mm full hood with neck bib over the skull cap. I also have a 5mm hood for rolling practice.

I think part of the problem is that on SNG's you often get a mix of kayakers with different skill levels. You end up paddling with people that you don't know anything about. We often see stated on a SNG post that "you are responsible for yourself", legally this may be true, but in reality, we should all be reponsible for each other. We need to treat SNG's with more respect and do all of the things that would be done on an official trip, such as pre-launch meetings to go over skill levels, who has what equipment, who will lead, who will follow and sweep etc. People that decide to attend a SNG with people they are not familiar with need to realize that the day may not be exactly what they expected. Everyone may need to make compromises whether it be simple decisions such as where to land for lunch, or slowing up to wait for the rest of the group even though the current pace is slower than what you wanted. Certainly, we are all individuals and we a free to do as we please, but on a SNG paddle I believe we all have the responsibility to act as a team member and not as an individual.

Five brave souls met at Lynch Park in Beverly at 9:30 for a easy paddle around Salem Sound. The put-in was great with snow covered grass that the boats slid over easily to a very high spring tide beach right at the edge of the snow. Very easy launch. We headed out with calm seas and a light 8 knot breeze from the north and set a heading of 120 degrees towards Eagle Island via Great Haste. As we headed across I decided I was over dressed and decided to make a pit stop at Coney Island so I could remove one layer from my top. From there we headed around the south side of Eagle Island, then over to North Gooseberry with the intentions of stopping there for lunch. Once we arrived at North Gooseberry we had a group meeting and decided the landing was less than perfect and changed our lunch plans to Misery Island instead with a quick trip around Bakers Island on the way. Roger did make a quick landing to adjust a footpeg. Once we got out around the North-East side of Bakers, the seas were a little rougher with some swell, but still relatively calm. On the crossing from Bakers to Misery I decided to see how fast my new Aquanaut would go and found out it is considerably faster than my Avocet. I got to Cocktail Cove at Misery in no time at all, I even beat Roger who is usually the first one everywhere. We had a wonderfull long relaxing lunch on Misery. Brad made espresso and spaghetti. Walter made peanut butter and the best blueberry preserves i've ever had sandwiches. The usual banter was had with lots of laughs, this is what kayaking with your friends is all about. We left Misery, and decided to head across to West Beach and follow the coast back towards the put-in. The seas were almost completly flat and the wind was non-existant. Once we got back to the put-in at about 4:00 (low tide), we weren't even sure is was the same place. We could see the beach where we started, but is was a good 200 yards away. Thankfully the sand was not too soft, and the portage to the beach was done in pairs. Werner and Roger volunteered to carry Walters boat (no easy task). Brad (the real man) carried his boat himself after helping me with mine. Nothing like a good workout to end the day. Pictures by me can be seen at: [http://www.kayakpics.com/gallery/010905] Pictures by Brad can be seen at: [http://www.kayakpics.com/gallery/album38]

Here's another one, It's the Mt. Dew advertisement. [http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/commercials/569/]

My Guess is that it's a fake. Killer Whales are only about 20 feet long. Compared to the sea kayaks in the video this whale appears to be way bigger than 20 feet.

Well, that narrows it down by 50%.

I'm guessing The San Juans near Deception Pass. Am i close?

Hi Suz, What a great idea, navigation is definetly an area where I need alot work.

You would think after witnesing Werner's ride into the rocks two weeks ago, I would have learned something...apparently not!!! I was too close to the rip-rap...big wave...bongo ride into and up onto the rip-rap rocks. I did some pretty extensive damage, the picture of my bow shows a portion of the damage, but I have gel-coat damage in various spots down the whole length of the boat. Also I actually broke the seam (about a foot long) right by the cockpit. Ken commented that my crash was so violent, that he was very surprised that the boat fared as well as it did. I ripped a small hole in my dry suit, all-in-all a heck of a way to start the day. Thankfully no personal injuries, except for my pride. I guess I will paying a visit to Straz Kayaks for some repair work.

My vote is for Back Beach at 10am. Pebble beach could be a tough launch with the incoming surf.

Count me in!

Sorry about the formatting of these list, I didn't come out the way I wanted it to. Basically we were curious about the wind speed that day, it looks like 2pm was the strongest with sustained winds at 24.2 Knots, and gusts to 30.3 Knots. Wind Date___Time____Direction____Knots _____________________sust____gust 12-05 8:00 AM_____SW__23.2___28.0 12-05 9:00 AM___WSW__21.0___24.2 12-05 10:00 AM__WSW__17.0___20.2 12-05 11:00 AM__WSW__17.4___21.4 12-05 12:00 PM_____W__20.0___25.8 12-05 1:00 PM_____NW__18.7___23.2 12-05 2:00 PM_____NW__24.2___30.3 12-05 3:00 PM_____NW__21.5___25.6 12-05 4:00 PM_____NW__24.0___29.2 Air temp Date Time_______°F 12-05 8:00 AM___42.8 12-05 9:00 AM___42.0 12-05 10:00 AM__43.6 12-05 11:00 AM__45.6 12-05 12:00 PM__46.4 12-05 1:00 PM___43.7 12-05 2:00 PM___41.5 12-05 3:00 PM___39.7 12-05 4:00 PM___38.3 Waves Date__Time_____Period__Height _______________Seconds Feet 12-05 8:00 AM___4.6_____4.3 12-05 9:00 AM___4.6_____4.0 12-05 10:00 AM__5.3_____3.9 12-05 11:00 AM__5.3_____3.1 12-05 12:00 PM__5.3_____3.2 12-05 1:00 PM___3.6_____3.0 12-05 2:00 PM___4.0_____3.2 12-05 3:00 PM___4.0_____3.3 12-05 4:00 PM___4.0_____3.3

Thanks for the pics Ken. As you have figured out, because that camera has no zoom feature, you have to be right in the thick of it to get good shots. Thankfully, the camera is waterproof and easy to operate with one hand. Often, I put mine on my wrist with the strap, that way I can still paddle, but the camera is close at hand. You still got some good shots! Thanks again.

I left behind a bag with 3 Red Cloth Placemats. If anyone found them please let me know.

Thanks for the link Ken.

Stop...your killing me...my sides are about to split open from laughing so hard!

Six souls decided to mix it up a little and do a one-way trip from Pebble Beach to Lanes Cove with a little side trip out to the Salvages on the way. We met at 9:30 at Pebble Beach, Roger and Ken dropped their gear and boats and then drove over to Lanes Cove to meet up with Walter who was picking them up on his way to Pebble Beach so they could leave their cars there at Lanes. It took a while to get all this done, and then get us all dressed and on the beach ready to launch. This winter paddling is alot of work...so much gear. The launch was interesting, although the seas were not rough, there was still considerable surf dumping on Pebble Beach. It was close to high tide, and the beach is steep with lots of pebbles as the name states. Brad was the smart one, he carried his boat down the beach to a little sandy spot and launched from there. Finally all six of us on the water..time..10:45, not too bad considering all we had to do. The first leg of the trip we followed close to the coast skirting in and out of the rocks and ledges. There was some swell to make it interesting, but not enough to make it scary. This was my favorite part of the trip. As we approached Straightsmouth Island we decided to follow the Eastern side of the Island and then make the crossing from Straightsmouth Light out to the Dry Salvages. Along the way we saw lots of seals popping up checking us out. Once out at the Salvages we circumnavigated a couple times looking for some wave action, the swells were small with the occasional larger one, it was fun. We were starting to get hungry, especialy knowing that Walter brought his famous roast beef sandwiches for all of us. We were going to go to Rockport to land and eat, but along the way we decided to try to land at Straightsmouth instead. It turned out that it wasn't the best idea, there wasn't any "good" place to land that we could find. We did all manage to get out of our boats, but it was very slippery. Brad took a spill and twisted his knee...he's OK, but still limping a little bit. Lunch was delicious, and we relaxed for a good hour before attempting the precarious launch. Werner was gracious enough to help each of us launch, and left himself last to go. He evaluated the circumstances, and decided the best option was to just send his boat into the water first and then swim in after it. This worked out just fine with Ken helping him with the re-enrty into his boat. The next leg of the trip was also alot of fun. We decided to head straight across from Straightsmouth Island to Halibut Point. We had a decent 15 knot tail wind and following seas. We all caught some good rides on the way. Brad's GPS said he had a top speed of 6.6 MPH and averaged 5 MPH on the 2.6 mile crossing. Once at Halibut Point we slowed down a little and cut the corner very close to the rocks enjoying the motion and little bit of action caused by all the rocks on the point. We were having fun until a "rogue wave" came in. I saw it just in enough time to get out over it, but Werner was not so lucky and it took him for a bongo ride into the rocks. He and his boat took the beating with narry a scratch, but after the water drained back out, he was left high and dry and had to wet exit. Now for the second time today, Werner had to throw his boat into the water and swim after it. Ken went in and towed him out a little ways and then did a T-rescue, life was good again. I feel bad mostly for the many people on Halibut point that thought poor Werner was dead for sure, they came running from all directions to "help". The last leg of the trip from Halibut Point to Lanes cove was serene and quiet. Protected from the wind, it afforded us a liesurly paddle to chat about the days events. Can't wait till next weekend!!! Photo's can be seen at: [http://www.kayakpics.com/gallery/112704_brad] and [http://www.kayakpics.com/gallery/112704]

Here is an easy inexpensive alternative. I used a small battery operated pump behind my seat called the "Attwood Water Buster". It is available from West Marine [http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&productId=39703] I just stuck it behind my seat and put a couple bungies around it to hold it in. It comes with a nice long piece of tubing for the discharge that you can route under your spray skirt. It uses regular d-cell batteries. It will pump your cockpit out in about 5 minutes as you continue to paddle.

I think when you paddle solo as much as Brad does, you look at things a little differently. He has done more miles this year than most of us can only dream about (he has estimated over 2000 miles this year) and most of them were solo on multi day camping trips in Casco Bay. He always plans on the unexpected wet exit even though he has a very solid roll. I would guess in a 15-20 knot wind if you lost contact with your boat, you couldn't swim fast enough to catch it. He is a skilled and experienced paddler that carries all the necessary kit, even if he did lose contact with his boat he does have a VHF radio, flares, smoke and die. Even still, the thought of floating around without your boat would cause me to consider a tether, of course a PFD knife in case of entanglemnet goes without saying. We all know you should not let go of your boat in a wet exit, but sh%^ happens.

I took advantage of the fact that alot of my clients are on vacation this week. Wheeee!!!

What a day! The weather was spectacular. We put-in at 11am at Dolibers Cove in Marblehead with virtually flat seas and little wind. Not very challenging, but a great day to relax and enjoy the scenery. We headed directly for Childrens Island and passed between Childrens and Cormorant Rock, then over to Satan Rock, then over to a small boat with two divers getting ready to go hunting for Scallops. Next heading was to South Gooseberry Island and a trip around this small island, then over to North Gooseberry Island for a lunch break. After a relaxing lunch and some picture taking we decided to head over to Bakers Island and circumnavigate this island that is populated with lots of summer homes and a small lighthouse on the northern end. It didn't look like anyone was on the Island and all the homes appeared to be closed up for the winter. From there we basically took a direct heading back to Dolibers Cove, we passed Eagle Island and Grays Rock on the way, landing at Dolibers just about 3pm. Total trip distance 9 miles. Pictures I took: [http://www.kayakpics.com/gallery/112304], pictures my brother took: [http://www.kayakpics.com/gallery/brad_112304]

.

Thanks for the laugh Kate!