christopherG

my email addie is not "chris" any more; but initials cdwg at the same place (centennialfarms)

WANTED: more kayakers needing to hone their skills after big meeting. Please let me know if you wish to join us in Chinatown: spaces available.

Plenty of space available at all of these, folks! Roll up, roll up! (Scull up, too, perhaps?) The magical mystery tour is waiting... This venue has always been popular and in demand, partly because of David Sing's trip leadership for PPPO. There is space available still at all sessions, so be quick, please and email me to reserve your spot. cdwg at centennial farms spot kom

Some years back, Shelley organized a group purchase of Horizon HX350S VHF marine radios. I need to send mine back to the manufacturer for repair. Should I be doing this via the retailer or direct and was that group purchase? I need to tell them how old the set is, because the guarantee is apparently three years. Anyone who was in on that purchase, please?

Just because some blade or other says "stainless" does not guarantee it is rustproof -- (a) there is stainless and there is stainless (if you get me?) and ( even manufacturers have been known to tell lies (I know, I know: we're talking about the Swiss here, so that's very unlikely). You are perfectly right about the fitments in between being something else: stainless steel has a tendency to "burr" when working or rubbing against itself, so the manufacturer make the stainless blade operate against some other material. ANY stainless knife I have had on the water (briny) has shown a tendency to corrode until I have protected the article in some form of grease (chain lube, silicone, vaseline, whatever)...the shame is that it is to take precautions beforehand! That's all! (Bonne chance avec le couteau de l'armee suisse, monsieur Bill!)

"...You can’t expect someone who is laboring on the sweated line of production, day after day, with only the thought of the next pint, to get the cockpit combing, or the seat aligned, just so..." dear rick: in a word: bollocks! there's nought wrong, lad, wi' me pintail or sirius that were achieved with same techniques of fibreglass an' guinness! so stop makin' 'scuses, lad...and get thee on t'water, i say. industrial revolution's long gone from these shores -- in fact, it never got 'ere to anglesey at all, mate! take care, over there in t' colonies, won't thee?

"...wouldn't give up yours for anything..."? huh! i won the lottery last night and was thinking of offering you five thousand for yours; but i guess that's futile?

Thanks for this post, Sing. Anyone else out there wanting to participate, please contact me fast: there places open for this first Chinatown pool session -- ANYone in the club who wishes to practise their braces, sculls, rolls or even just the pleasure of sitting in their boat again in warm water, here's your chance! It does not cost an arm and a leg (on the contrary). My email address has been posted on the general message board in the pool notification message; but here it is again: cdwg at centennialfarms potty kom. Note that I do not often get to read email on the weekend. Come on, now, folks: takers?

I am told that at every demonstration or seminar within that weekend, there were plenty of people spectating or participating -- 30-40!

Regarding Bristol, Dee, last year there were about four of the major manufacturers of wooden boats there and it is surely THE wooden boat event in the northeast. However, regarding trying out boats, there were about a hundred boats of all sorts of design and build lined up on the beach, all awaiting anyone's trial, except for maybe three or four boats on which owners had left notes, asking folks to take out. Bristol is the event you should attend!

Al, aren't you forgetting the battery-operated foghorn that we have decided (thanks to our field researchers Alex and Andrew) must be considered obligatory for paddling on the Maine coast? I strongly recommend a large-capacity 12v lead-acid battery stowed between your thighs, where your bodyheat will keep it at a nice constant temperature and where it will do double-duty as valuable ballast. To the afterdeck you can attache one of those clever, space-age, solar panels to keep this battery in top-top condition and on the foredeck you might position (with Brian Nystrom's assistance, of course) a large, red panic button to activate the horn which should be mounted (I think) on your long schnozz -- I mean on your bows. In addition, I suspect that RadioShack will be able to supply you with a timer for prolonged, automatic use of the foghorn. Remember to research very carefully the tonal qualities of the foghorn for melifluous sound and for carrying power: it must not disturb, unduly, nesting birdlife along the shore and on rocky islands! Don't you think this might conceivably be more important than the popcorn? Kind regards to you and your wife from the various Sub-Committees on Safety, Nutrition, Environmental Impact and Ornithological Studies.

never mind hearing loss (especially when we'll all be speaking ASL or tsunami soon): the important question is: will this hood absolutely guarantee immunity to the dreaded berri-berri?

There are others who are (much) more qualified to answer you than I, Jim; but I cannot forget that poor Ken Condon relinquished his Greenland stick after gaining his *** (we have not seen him all this year -- other fish to fry, I hear). , in the newest edition of the BCU Handbook there is actually some reference made to those little sticks and I should not be surprised to hear that the official attitude is changing... Why don't you call Tom Bergh and ask him what gives?

...and the sun rises in the west? ...oh!!

Dear Dee, This is patently nonsense! Gondolas are not powered by pushing off any bottom! You know how deep the Grand or the Rialto Canals are? (Are you thinking of punts, perhaps, poled along shallow English rivers?) Gondolieri learn to scull from early age. Anyone who has ever seen the semi-circular cut-out at the top of and in the middle of the transom of a dinghy knows that a small row-boat may be sculled quite efficiently. I think the answer to Leon's question must have something to do with the continuing "sail" effect of having a paddle tip (whichever side) in the water, whereas the gondolier's oar has little "sail" area...thus gaining less advantage. I believe, therefore, that the kayaker will win the race.

oh, dear: dare i say it? if the wind is too strong, then you shouldn't be out in it, perhaps? goodbye for now, over and out.

dee, i try my damnedest to avoid with rocks, as far as treatment of paddles in concerned. why on earth would you deliberately push off with your poor old paddle blade? no wonder you're concerned with all these formulae for tensile strength components...a paddle is only a paddle, after all.

then, of course, there is the Talic Seahorse -- see talic.com

was it tough, hauling your boats up the back of the seawall, brian? carabiners and pullies, too, i presume you needed? you know those photos you see of climbers camped out on a nylon platform, halfway up some impossibly sheer rockface? are we going to start doing that with kayaks? avast, there, landlubbers! belay!

Ah, yes, Dee: you are right, as ever. Note that I initially wrote Goretex (or approximate-Goretex) (I think those were my words?) for exactly that reason...

Dear Dr. Binks, The word is "contaminant", Sir! (Your spelling "contaminent" -- poof!) Well, it would seem that Mr. Kok O'Tat and Ms. Raven Spring are unlikely to marry, wouldn't it? Such disparity of philosophy is hardly going to be conducive to a happy union, I think...? Such a shame. I only quoted just what I was told by the charming employee at Kokkie's place. Regards, as ever, Your humble servant, Sir,

Suzanne, While I applaud you for wanting to treat your new suit with deference, do not be under any misconception about its ruggedness or durability. When speaking with Kokotat regarding a repair or alteration (I you do not have a Kokotat suit, my love!) you will be INSTRUCTED to wash your suit before despatching it to the factory! Mild soap, machine-wash -- just like your fleece or whatever. And hanging over the bathtub should be adequate: no need for a dryer at all -- this goretex stuff (or approximate-goretex?) dries quickly and easily. Take comfort, ye who read! The goretex bumpf (paper -- ie the labels, my dears) even tells you that their fabric is not affected by salt (in theory). OK, so we'll continue to rinse ours off, won't we? Signed: smartypants, you-know-who!

Mark, I do not recognise your name, so presume you are new(-ish) to this list? With all due respect, I believe that Jed Luby and Scott Camlin are being very gentle, restrained and diplomatic with you. Please do yourself a (big) favour before you become another statistic: practise your rescues with other paddlers until you get a person out of the water within (about) a minute. Attend the cold-water clinics and practice-sessions that regularly happen with NSPN and learn about correct clothing for kayaking in chilly/cold water. Your email is self-contradictory in several instances: you mention that you think you might be paddling in a tidal river, yet you mention "heavy surf"; you mention "strong winds, current" and likewise go on to say that the tidal river you have in mind has "little current". This leads me to believe you are trying to imagine various scenarios; but if you are trained to deal with these situations, you will easily cope with any of the above. Stop trying to be so imaginative and, rather, get practical. This is a wet and dirty sport or pastime and is one that is fraught with misconceptions and ignorance from many sides. TRAINING and the developement of good judgement is all that is required for your safety. By the way, familiarise yourself with the deeper pages on this website and you will find much information about cold water paddling... Sincerely,

Dear Jim, I like the colour of your writing. There is a nice flavour to it ("it was also a piece of junk; but that's another story..." and so on) Regarding altimetry: of course pilots adjust their altimeters all the time: that's one vital function of air-traffic controllers -- they constantly advise local barometric pressure (usually in millibars -- only in the USA, as far as I know, is it still given in inches, by the way). When flying from one flight information region to another it is quite conceivable that the general, average pressure of the one may be quite different to that of the other: hence, on changing setting, a significant flight adjustment might be necessary, too. For exactly this reason, all aircraft above a certain altitude (which lower limit is locally-ruled) change to the "standard setting" of 1013,2mb and one's altitude is then no longer described as being in feet, but as a "flight level". Regarding how high one has climbed on any given day, in theory one needs only consult a decent contour map to calculate this? I seem to have Boy Scout memories of counting those contour lines on the wonderful Ordnance Survey maps (one inch to the mile and splendid detail)...halcyon days! Enough? It really is quite an interesting subject...for your own personal and mobile barometers, then, you need to be able to adjust local pressure before leaving the warmth of your home to set out for the peaks (Ken the Cooper et al).

Captain Stoehrer, What exactly is "bonk" or "bonking", please? I have never encountered this word before and I cannot find it in Webster's (closest: bonkers = mad, crazy). Is this bonkers, perhaps, what you imply? Did one of your party have a fit of craziness...? Or is it closer to "honking"? Most relieved to hear you came out of it in good order!