Bill Gwynn

I second what Bob said. Also, to add my 2 cents. Whenever I go on a trip, I always take responsibility for myself. That includes knowing the tides, weather, having a chart, and what my expectations are. I evaluate if this paddle is right for me. Do I have the skills, will I be the weakest paddler, the strongest, or somewhere in the middle. I also make sure I have the appropriate kit and the knowledge to use it. Check Here for a guideline for what to bring. I feel that my responsibility to the group includes everyone in the group. Not only to help a paddler having a problem, but also to communicate to the stronger paddlers that they need to slow down or help or whatever. Under CAM, the whole idea is for everyone to work together and have a fun, safe day on the water. Common adventure is nothing new. We have all used it in our lives. Out on a fishing trip with your buds, out for a hike with friends, a day of xc skiing. These are all CAM trips. Even a pot luck cookout in your back yard could be considered CAM. Any responsible individual would not purposely let someone put themselves in harms way. To Quote from the Trip Participation Page: "On a Common Adventure trip, everyone is expected to share in the responsibilities of the trip. The trip initiator (the person who posted the trip) simply gets the ball rolling. The rest of the group is expected to help plan for the success of the trip, from the arrival at the launch and beach briefing until the trip has ended and everyone is safely on their way home. The success or failure of a common adventure trip rests not in the hands of the trip initiator, or NSPN, but rather in the hands of everyone that participates in the trip." Communication is the key. Communication prior to the trip via posting or email, know what your in for. Communication on the beach prior to departure, know what you are in for. Communication on the water, know what you are in for. Training...yes get some. Peer learning is a great thing, either at skill sessions or on a trip. I personally do some rescue practice, tow practice, stroke practice etc. on every trip. I am also a strong proponent of professional instruction. Nothing like having someone that does this for a living to help you perfect those needed skills.

NESC is no longer a P&H dealer, but hatch covers are not specific to P&H boats, so they may have them, or be able to get them.

I am not aware of a Pavillion beach in Rockport. There is one in Gloucester, and one in Ipswich.

Just a quick FYI. The quickest way to cross President Roads (big channel, big boats) is to cross from Deer Island to Long Island. Once across you can explore from there. Be aware of other boats around the islands, especially the ferry's, they travel courses that you may not expect. I believe one of them travels between George's and Lovell going really fast. I know I did not expect to see a ferry going that fast in that area.

Never been there at low, so I am not sure about the launch conditions. I do know that you will not be able to pass through the creek to get over to Cape Porpoise, so you would be forced to go out around the island. The nice part of going there for a high tide paddle, is the very protected conditions going through the creek and over to Cape Porpoise. Great beginner paddle, and very scenic. You can go into the small light house there, and stop for lunch at the pier. Going around the outside on the other had can be quite a bit more difficult depending on the days sea state. There are some ledges there that create some big boomers.

Try this link. http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/curr_pred.html Choose the year, then the state, then the geographical area, then the location, then scroll to the correct month. It tells you pretty much all you need to know. In the case on Blynman Canal, it flows 310 degrees True on the flood. You can aslo look at the Harbor Entrance as well as the Annisquam Light. IIRC the break where direction changes in the Annisquam is somewhere around the bridge.

But of course...the good old liquid lunch. Disclaimer: I do not advocate kayaking while intoxicated.

Rowes Wharf is definitely not a place where I would try to dock. Not only is it private, but it has lots of traffic from large commercial and private vessels as well as the water taxi service there. You would be better off going over to the Barking Crab where Boaters are always welcome to tie up at no charge WHILE DINING.

There is also the option to hook your town line to the boat, get out and then swim in. Then for getting back on the water, you hook the tow to the boat, swim out and drag your boat out to you and do a cowboy or R&R or any other method of re-entry. This is the preferred technique for landing on a rocky no-landing zone. It really is fun to do, give it a go sometime.

http://tinyurl.com/6jrblm

Slideshow

Here is a thread from a couple years ago on this subject. http://www.nspn.org/forum/index.php?showto...htning&st=0

You are thinking of Gath Helmets. http://www.gathsports.com/ Really nice product.

My take on the democratic process is as follows. At the beach briefing, there should be introductions where each persons talks about their paddling experience and skills. So, we all now know which paddlers will most likely emerge as leaders. Personally, I like the idea of a leader being chosen at the start of the trip. That leader can make decisions for the group, consult with the group and continue to lead until the group decides otherwise. The only real difference between a CAM trip and a guided/lead trip is that the group has the right and are encouraged to provide input. So, on any trip, if something goes wrong, if you have chosen a competent leader at the start, that person can make the quick decisions necessary to effectively manage the situation. As I said at the start here, sometimes additional leaders emerge when situations arise. Hopefully, with the guidance of your chosen leader, and assistance from the group, you will never have a situation that cannot be easily handled. In my experience, the only time I have seen "democratic voting" is when we are trying to decide such trivial things as where we will stop for lunch

Understood. My point is that there does seem to be a wide spread misunderstanding about CAM. So, every time I see a comment about "no leaders" I tend to react in an effort to dispel these misunderstandings. Glad you guys had a good trip.

Just trying to clarify that CAM does not mean leaderless. It seems to be a very common misunderstanding. This paragraph is from the NSPN Trip Participation Page: http://www.nspn.org/trip_participation.htm Trip Leadership. While on a Common Adventure trip, leadership is a fluid process. If someone knows the area, he assumes a leadership role, helping the group find their way. If there's an accident on the trip and someone has good first aid skills, they assume leadership. If a kayaker capsizes, another person may take over. Major decisions are made democratically as a group, with weight given to those with specialized knowledge. Often it is the trip initiator that guides the democratic process. In this process, everyone is able to express their opinions and shed light on the decision. By involving everyone, the group is able to tap all of its resources, making it far stronger than if one person tries to make all of the decisions.

WOW!

If you go just a little further to BearSkin neck, you can have ice cream there prior to your return. You can land on the beach right at the ice cream shop (I forget the name of it), but it is here. You land in the little cove there on the west side. When recruiting paddlers, ice cream always get their interest. That is a nice paddle, done it many times.

Hi Les, Just a quick post to clarify that Common Adventure does not mean Leaderless. There seems to be some confusion regarding this. Here is a paragraph from http://www.nspn.org/trip_participation.htm Trip Leadership. While on a Common Adventure trip, leadership is a fluid process. If someone knows the area, he assumes a leadership role, helping the group find their way. If there's an accident on the trip and someone has good first aid skills, they assume leadership. If a kayaker capsizes, another person may take over. Major decisions are made democratically as a group, with weight given to those with specialized knowledge. Often it is the trip initiator that guides the democratic process. In this process, everyone is able to express their opinions and shed light on the decision. By involving everyone, the group is able to tap all of its resources, making it far stronger than if one person tries to make all of the decisions. So, bottom line, this is your trip, and you may choose to have it be leaderless, but, a true CAM trip does in fact have leaders. Cheers, Bill

I really recommend the Polar Fleece with the windblock in it. On those windy cooler or winter days, it makes a huge difference.

It was probably Suz. She made that herself out of windblock polar fleece. She says they are very easy to make. Of course she has sewing skills that I do not have. I am sure she will chime in here with some advice.

Nice Sponsons.

The foam floats work just as well. The problem (at least for me) is where to store the thing. I like a clean deck. I know some people use them exclusively in the winter when quick deployment is a concern.

Interesting, my preferred method after a wet exit is to just do an R&R without a paddle float first, then if that is not working for me, is to inflate the float and put it on the paddle and R&R. I hadn't ever thought of just using the float without the paddle in a real situation. (Although I have used just the float when practicing to learn different types of rolls.) I guess I have always figured that if I am in the water swimming and need to take the time to inflate my float, I may as well stick it on the paddle. That way I have some additional support while I am squaring myself away. I suppose that in certain situations, there may be a benefit to not putting it on the paddle and having one less thing to do after getting back upright. It does allow you to just grab your paddle and get on your way without having to take the time to remove the float. As always, these conversations bring out some thought provoking alternatives. Thanks for engaging my brain.