christopherG

ken, i have had similar experience in the last year -- actually with two different symptoms (one same as yours; one a matter of a leak in the stopper, allowing what i take to be contamination of the hot contents by the now-decaying liquid inside the stopper) unfortunately the person best equipped to answer the question is not paddling with us anymore (ken condon, whose business is stainless medical instruments and appliances, etc). i remember discussing just this problem with him and ken telling me that the rim-weld between inner and outer steel barrels is a highly-technical and complicated manufacturing procedure, requiring great precision. this weld is the likely culprit: it needs only open up in however microscopic manner to release the vacuum and...bob's yer uncle: no more hot tea for your lunch on whatever remote island -- when you needed warming up! i suggest a return to the store where you bought them: they are supposed to have a lifetime guarantee, no? i just changed one of mine with no questions asked...

does this mean that all the above writers are going to be going to the MITA get-together? i hope so -- the original purpose of this thread seems to have been diverted...

I believe we should be supporting the Maine Island Trail Association, of which, apparently, a third of all members live in southern New England. Many of us love to kayak in Maine and that means camping on islands, as far as possible, doesn't it? Who wants to join me? Read on... This Sunday, there will be a social event (with slide show and small presentation) at the Mass. Audubon Joppa Flats Visitor Centre at 1300. This is in the vicinity of Newbury and is easy to get to. Executive Director Karen Stimpson will be hosting this, with local MITA members, including our own Scott Camlin, whom you may not know is on their Board of Directors. You need to RSVP to him as soon as possible, however, so write to him quickly! scamlin at restructassoc dot com Directions: From I-95, take EXIT 57 to ROUTE 113 (West Newbury/Newburyport). Follow 113 EAST (it's also route 1A) for 3.8 miles through Newburyport until you cross the town line into Newbury. At the traffic lights, turn LEFT into ROLFE'S LANE. Proceed 0.6 to the end and turn RIGHT, where you'll find the Visitor Centre (and the Visitor Center) 0.1 on the LHS. See you there!

brian, i do not know: would you like to contact al johnson direct? write to him ajohnson at d1 dot uscg dot mil or call him at (617)223.8464 -- i'm sure he'd be delighted to hear from you or anyone else.

I have just had a call from Al Johnson, who is a Commander in the USCG, in charge of Recreational Boating Safety in this district, whom many of you remember from our session with USCG Merrimac a year or so ago. This coming Saturday the CG at Boothbay Harbour want to do some more experimentation with radar, being the basis for an article to be published on kayak visibility. Are there two or three kayakers who would like to be available to put-in at the USCG station and generally enjoy the area before the cold sets in? You will doubtless be asked to paddle with various devices or in differring configurations of reflectability... It sounds fun for the right person: I am already committed elsewhere. I am sure they'll look after you -- they might even feed you?

thank you, auntie sooz! ;^)

<...let's just hope Old Nomad doesn't go R.I.P, because I for one what trip reports? i've been on this list for...(what?)...about six years and i do not recollect ever seeing his or her name before, let alone reading long reports of that nature!

Roger, what about trying wax on the zippers? NESC sells a special lubricant designed exactly for this purpose. If these zips of yours are not as good as the full-metal ones, perhaps wax will improve the seal? I also believe the wrist gasket sealing, as mentioned by Suzanne and Brian, may be one of your problems: it happens to me quite a lot -- the shape of my wrist is quite different now to how it used to be, with tendons that were once flush, now standing proud in a huge "trench", post-surgery (if you follow?) If none of these suggestions works for you, how about simply re-proofing the suit? They do need it, once in a while, and I never see anyone on this list make reference to that, for some reason...(anyone?) Nikwax is available at REI as a spray or as an addition-to-final-rinse in the washing machine. Does this help, at all? (By the way, at session's end, at Walden, I too was soaking wet underneath, despite wearing a borrowed tuiliq on top of my drysuit!)

Cheri Perry's evening presentation at the Chinatown Community Centre was wonderful: she is engaging and very used to speaking before an audience. The photos of her Greenland trip were magnificent and her pool demonstration -- awesome! On Sunday, despite a chilly and increasingly-damp day (warmed, however, by Suzanne's splendid lentil and carrot soup), we enjoyed the hospitality of our local Pond Scum neighbours, joined by various QajaqUSA stalwarts, some of whom came from afar, as Suzanne has already reported. These Greenland enthusiasts are tireless teachers and should be gratefully commended for their generosity in giving of their time -- thanks especially to Turner Wilson, Dan Segal, Will Bigelow, Keith Attenborough (whom you all know is this year's president of QajaqUSA, right?) and Cheri (oh, and you, Mr. Luby!) Those with whom I personally spent time in the water (yes: , not ) are wonderful teachers. Myself, I learned several new and interesting rolls, found the balance brace for which I have been looking for so many months and even learned a "norsaq" roll. The small-volume boats were a revelation to me (for one)! Now I understand something (however little) about the finesse required to make that roll look elegant. The sitting position in these tiny boats is quite different to our accustomed British boats, so I have some unusual aches today. The trick will be, now, to see how closely I can replicate that fit/feel in my daily hack! It was a wonderful day (a day for me, actually) and I have to thank Suzanne publicly for having taken the initiative to put it all together. Brilliant! PS: There is only one thing: fresh water up your nasal passages all day isn't nearly as comfortable as saline, is it? I'm paying for it today...

once again, folks, please excuse the use of bandwidth: do we have among our varied membership, perhaps, anyone with good electronics skills? good enough to do some fiddling for me with an electrostatic speaker? thanks...

dear bethany, i know a very good sports surgeon (as i was saying just last night) who might be willing to perform a small modification to an otherwise perfectly elegant pair of feet...i'm told that we don't really the little toe at this stage of our evolution. might that solve the aforementioned problem? hee hee...

Ach, so…Ewa kommt von Deutschland aus, mein lieber Freund, Johan! Also, ganz natürlich, ist der Qualität sehr gut! Wann können Sie es um zufinden, Müssen Sie es kaufen! OK? OK! Seiner Freund, C. Gottfried

carl, so sorry to hear of your loss! owners of older cars might learn from this: some european countries make everyone carry a fire extinguisher in their car (as have i for years). cheap insurance and who knows when you might be able to help someone else? in the netherlands (correct me if i'm wrong, werner, alsublieft) they even make you demonstrate that you can use it when you take your driving test! now there's a thought...

hey! that's seat: move up, will you?

christopherG will be in attendance, jonathan: thanks for doing this!

so...what about tonight?

I don't want to look at copy of this video: I want to watch and replay and replay and replay the sauciest moments! Where may we buy it, then? (Gawd: some of those waves are awesome! Was that a Pintail, I wonder, that was doing a disappearing act, looking rather like a sounding whale?) Other recent threads raise a question: whatever is "skulling", something I have read about in several places on the message board? Quite mystifying...perhaps there is a connection with deepest Borneo and head-hunting?

Oh, dear: sadly, Dee, you do not express yourself very well and I do not understand your implication. You talk in circles without mentioning specifics. WHAT is your problem with MIKCo? The fact that you have heard much good about them comes from this very message board, where some of us enthuse openly about their teaching and philosophy. What is this "criticism of the way..." "...spends their spare time"? What on earth has this got to do with things? The fact remains that MIKCo are in a and if club members would investigate their offerings and training, then we would have a of more competent sea-kayakers among us...period.

With all due respect, Dee, you are way out-of-line in one or two of your assertions or suppositions. You may be a really competent kayaker; but you are not an authority -- not yet, at any rate. The economy may be poor; but folks still buying boats: in fact, last year was great for the distributors and dealers! Maine is not far away at all – especially if you get up early (it takes me about an hour and a quarter to get to Eastern Promenade, the put-in; then the brief paddle over to Peaks Island warms you up for the day, doesn’t it?) Tom does start at crack of dawn, if you’re coming in from elsewhere. A variety of instruction, you say? Yes, I can see that some might like that and I consider it perfectly valid; but I am not aware that Armand Santos has given instruction during the past couple of years, for one thing, and, for another, when you find a really fine teacher, don’t you try to hang onto that person, like mad? “The increasing popularity of Greenland paddling”? What are you talking about? Interest in elegant cedar paddles comes and goes, like any other aspect of the sport. Let us see how many of those who have recently “discovered” traditional paddling are still doing it in a year or two’s time, shall we? “Some day a real smart instructor in the area…” You demonstrate how little you know of local instructors, then: ever heard of Attenborough and Raleigh, who were offering tailored Greenland instruction years ago when I started paddling? They are almost founding members of this club. The shame is that they no longer do this: can you imagine why? Not enough students willing to put their money where their mouths are, I wonder? “Heavy-handed criticism of NSPN’s offering instruction and trips by MIKCo-trained paddlers”…I don’t really understand you here. If you mean to imply that the two above symptoms have turned you off MIKCo: fine by me. Regarding offering tuition through the club: you attended the last General Meeting and could have spoken your mind. Regarding trips by MIKCo-trained paddlers, I have no idea at what you are driving. “Persistent lobbying” might be some satisfied customers broadcasting their gladness on the message board? Perfectly legitimate. Classes with MIKCo? A recent “group buy” was organized and sold out fully and produced a bunch of very satisfied customers. NSPN had no official finger in organizing this. Go pursue your training in Rhode Island – watch the traffic: it’ll probably take you a minimum of two hours to get there! Sincerely, Relatively-novice paddler Christopher

accent? cockney! watch it: he's likely to shoot you for less...or hole your new boat? (but you've no need to worry: i've got the denso tape or whatever it's called)

christopher will be there...!!

i would never dream of being mean to our founder: perish the thought! i simply always carried the stuff at his recommendation: now i believe i have something far better -- available at NESC (ask alex). i still have to be pedantic and ask: how are you going to repair your hull with a dry towel in a raging sea? this is a practical issue, after all, and it is perfectly conceivable that you might crack your much-abused, poor old pintail wide open trying to perform a seal-landing on jagged rocks, requiring instant repair! duct/duck tape may not do the job under real conditions...i think?

dee, duck tape may be "more waterproof" than duct tape; but have you ever using duck tape on a wet fibreglass hull? or using tape on a wet hull? regardless of our founder's advice aeons ago about carrying it in my emergency kit, i defy anyone to get it to adhere! there is another answer; but it isn't duck tape at all. (don't ask: i cannot remember the name; but i carry it!)

Mark, with all due respect, how on earth can a morse code signal be expected from the authorities when that language/system has been dropped? Brian Nystrom addresses the very subject of the attitude of the USCG station people with whom we met early last year. I hope that next time you'll be able to attend and ask them yourself what they like to see. Regardless of what is "official policy", they had nothing but approval for our enquiring attitude to the whole flying show. One light (white) for recognition and to be able to identify one's self to other traffic and maybe a strobe for emergency, with nothing said about what it flashes out -- in any case: waves between your sorry body in the water and any rescuer might easily mean that that person will never read S-O-S, right? Morse is dead, officially, period. Mind you, like Latin, some of us read it still, I daresay...

There has been much talk recently on the subjects of strobes and VHF sets and I do have some opinions to voice that might be unpopular in some departments (Mr. Nystrom knows I would never point a finger at him – his decisions and answers to our queries are always thoroughly considered and tested by his own experience). All this talk of strobes that flash out “S-O-S” is merely academic, in my opinion: what mariner is going to pause, on observing a strobe at night-time, to read it says? For one thing, the morse code has fallen out of general use several years ago. Any strobe flashing on the water will attract attention easily, if there is someone there to see it, as the USCG told us in person last year when we visited them at Merrimac. They also told us (as Liz Neumeier regularly reminds us – thank you) that strobes should never be used EXCEPT in emergency! I suggest that expensive VHF sets probably all work comparably well, in very general terms; but they are useless if the operator is shy of transmitting on them or has no idea about correct usage. For many years, paddlers have gone out on the water safely enough without the benefit of such devices and lived to tell the tale. I think someone suggested that “x” brand was better than “y” brand because the batteries lasted for a full 10 hours on the water without charging: well, what happens on the third or fourth day on your camping trip up in Maine? Is the blasted thing now useless? I am not saying that VHFs are not useful; I am not saying that GPS is not useful; I am not saying that flares and signalling devices are not useful; but I saying that sea kayakers should concentrate on developing and honing their own skills, going out onto the ocean as often as possible (preferably in company), taking classes and learning not to rely on expensive equipment and high-tech devices. These things do not automatically make us safe paddlers – and I know, I’m a bit of a “gearhead” myself (there are several of us in the club). What the heck is the use of a red laser beam that shines for donkey’s miles if one can barely remain upright in heavy seas? Or a super-duper R/T set (VHF) if one cannot take a hand off the paddle because of wind and waves? You get my gist? Flak jacket on, as they say…