Bill Gwynn

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.

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.

Al -

I'll be there. See you close to 9. Is Tucks Point right next to Singing Beach?

Blaine

http://tinyurl.com/6jrblm

Here is a thread from a couple years ago on this subject.

http://www.nspn.org/forum/index.php?showto...htning&st=0

If I were to buy a helmet today I would get one manufactured by a company in Australia...unfortunatly I don't remember their name. It is the same company that makes the helmet that John Carmity wears (John, this is where you jump in of you reading)

When it comes to helmet I wouldn't by based on price.

You are thinking of Gath Helmets.

http://www.gathsports.com/

Really nice product.

I agree there seems to be confusion/misunderstanding about "CAM trips" and the apparently seldom read NSPN materials provide clarification. In the spirit of discussion, I posit a few thoughts on the concept. I believe there needs to be a recognition of the distinction between the person who takes on the task of supplying superior skills/knowledge to meet a demand and the overall "leader". They do not need, obviously, to be the same person nor is it necessary for "overall leadership" to move from one person to another. I like the term trip initiator as opposed to leader since indicates the person proposing the trip is just that, proposing a trip, and participants should not expect that person to have any particular skills nor should they expect/rely upon that person to save their bacon or be the know all and be all. I'm dubious about the concept of democracy as applied in this setting. Perhaps that is because I do not know what is meant. If it means a discussion/debate occurs, a vote is taken and the majority controls; then it seems unworkable except in mild situations which I suppose does describe most trips. While I totally agree with the concept of trips being taken by active participants, sometimes it is simply necessary for decisions to be made quickly and decisively. To me that means someone, who should listen to those who have a clue, needs to be able to decide and implement a course of action for the group without building a consensus from all participants.

I believe the concepts of CAM derive from programs used in an educational setting, which might well have been rather controlled in terms of perceived risk v. actual risk, where certain pedagogical outcomes were the desired end result. So some adaption seems necessary to suit the purposes of a paddling club's trips.

Ed Lawson

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

I am sorry you misunderstood my comment. It was meant to be humerous. We had a beach meeting prior to departure and discussed that very subject. Everyone in the group was familiar with the CAM concept and that leadership would, in fact, be present and that it is a fluid concept and would generally default to the more experienced person in any given circumstance. After we arrived at Misery Island, had our practice session and lunch, we had another meeting and decided to divide into three groups, each with a different destination and purpose. All in a democratic process, under the CAM model so it does seem to be working.

Bill

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.

Climbing aboard using the paddle/paddle-float as an outrigger is much more difficult than re-entry and rolling.

I agree that a R&R is easier for someone that has a roll, or maybe beginning to work on a roll. But, for someone that has zero experience rolling, the R&R would be difficult. I still teach and practice the standard paddle float re-entry. You never know when you may need it, or need to teach it to someone.