pm7771

dgray@billingtonseakayak.com writes: ...(Thurs 6/9)...In the morning, there was only one left on the car. It was taken still wrapped. The deck color is yellow with black seam and the serial number is glassed inside, 20127Y0501. The reward is $750 for its recovery and info on who took it. Just spreading the word. This is the second Surge stolen from Billington in a matter of weeks!

Michael- Rotted neck gasket I hear? Would like to hear more about that. I own an oversized plastic hanger I got from Divers Market here in Plymouth. No ill affects so far, I treat my Kokatat periodically - irregularly with 303. 4th year, still good. One torn wrist gasket that Wayne @ Divers Market had fixed nicely for me post-haste Peter M

finally!!! I've posted some of our better pictures from our Quebec trip to webshots. Enjoy, and look for additions over the next week. Peter http://community.webshots.com/user/pm7771

Chris- I'm not old, but I have been into audio since the heyday of electrostatic speakers (klh comes to mind)/ You can probably get good or better help locally but keep me in mind my home office toll free is 800-649-7771 (I've been into audio sales & service since 1975)

Woods Hole – Elizabeth Islands Wednesday 10/6/04 Weather: Bright Sunny mid 60’s 5-10nw shifting 10-15sw late morning Mark Stephens - Charlie Rafferty (aka Rafferty the piper) - Peter McLaughlin Peter met Mark in So Carver, @ Erikson’s Ice cream 7am - arr at the Woods Hole ramp 7:50am to Charlie getting ready on the ramp - launched 8:35 with our piper playing the Naval tune as we headed out of Great Harbor & across a fairly benign Hole and 15 min later arrived warm & bright at the shallows of Nonamesset. Charlie began by stripping off his heaviest layer of fleece; and smartass Mark says “this is how I cool off” as he rolled over, missed his roll, and Peter’s bow assist attempt, only to come up having lost his prescription sunglasses and by pulling on his hydration line on the exit – lost his deck-bag of water for the day. Such a bummer! Rounded Nonamesset to a beautiful view of the vineyard – you could just about make out tree details – and across Lackey's Bay, former home to Gretchen, the now-famous Great white shark (who purportedly left Monday) along Naushon Isl, past Tarpaulin Cove, landing for a stretch below the lighthouse there. Then on into Robinson's Hole, lunch in there on Pasque Isl to the serenade of Charlie's bagpipes – Charlie shared a big Newman’s chocolate bar, with ground espresso beans. Rather Tasty! We decided to extend the trip around Pasque via the rocky east side of Quick's Hole and back again offshore a ways via Buzzards Bay, favorable winds & current – averaging 4kts to an extended stretch (after 3hrs non-stop) at the beach on Weepecket Islands, another opportunity for the piper to fire up his bagpipes; and get some more pictures. Then back thru the Northeast Gutter (between Uncatena & Naushon) and around Bull Isl. into Hadleys Harbor and back across the Hole – (not a single boat in view all the way north and South) around the outermost tip of Penzance Point into Great Harbor; sighting of the Great White shark in the middle of harbor (see pix) landing at 4:40pm. I'll add tired but accomplished, picture perfect day and great conditions for this long trip! A post paddle celebration to end the day? YES! Estimated 20nm (23mi) - TOPO! Says 25mi (ran GPS from lunch; read 11.58nm) PPPO @ Marc Anthony's in Onset - met Eileen Kusky there for pizza, salad & pitchers Bass Ale Peter McLaughlin Plymouth, MA

This Morning (Sat 9/25, Boston Globe) WOODS HOLE -- A nearly 1-ton shark, similar to the great white in the movie "Jaws," swam to within 10 feet of one of Cape Cod's Elizabeth Islands yesterday, drawing curiosity-seekers and boaters -- including one brazen kayaker who had to be shooed away. OK, time to do a headcount. Anyone heard from Mark Stephens? :-)

yes, he is close to complete on the trip report! All the awesome details (close whale encounters) and the really really scary - Mark's homemade focaccia pizza! :- )

I think you wanna add the Necky Chatham; I think its the hottest thing Necky has done in awhile - at least they can't build em fast enough. Its a brit-style, with skeg and I believe available in rotomolded or composites, and 16 or 18' versions. CRKC last I knew had one to sample in their rental fleet. Check out the reviews on www.paddling.net

Dee, I don't have the education you do on weathercocking; I gave up trying to have my skeg deployment all figured out. Theres an infinite variety of conditions of waves, current, and wind, I find its better in my experience with my boat (P&H Sirius) to play around with the skeg as necessary; but pretty hard to make generalizations. But I can say that set halfway works almost all the time for me; but I won't ever use the skeg unless I feel I need it. And - hearing Derek's instructions - I keep my deck clear of bulk to lessen windage. I almost always make satisfying headway into the wind. Put to the test yesterday in Duxbury; last Saturday in Lewis Bay and last May coming back to Woods Hole from Hadley - and hit by 28kts.

Scott- Last year I got a set of 3 heavy nylon zippered pouches (4x6, 5-1/2x7, 7x8) in the hardware section of my local Sears. They're remarkably well made, and feature a plastic swivel clip on one corner. $6 bucks! They're navy & black. You could sew the appropriate one as a "patch" on your vest. I'm on my way to my local store - I'll see if they still have these (I have my doubts) I use the big one to hold a few essential tools; the medium hold a set of FRS radios, and ther small a notebook and some digital camera cards and spare batteries. Good Luck!

Bob- In November when I had (your old) Sirius in Roger Crawford's shop - www.melonseed.com - he wet sanded it to bring back the beauty of the hull. Where the gelcoat had worn thru to the glass at its keel line, he mixed graphite into epoxy and painted a nice neat line of this - about 18-24" lone and maybe 1-1/2" wide. It looks super, and as opposed to the gel-coat, I can mix and reapply this epoxy mix myself as needed. Picture of the result on request

.... and that Leslie! She got $12 bucks outa me in exchange for - a sharp yellow - well, I'll refer to it as sunshade for my solar panel. One of these trips I'll put it to good use!

>The future is bright. The sun is rising on a new trip. The >float Plan has been filed and our friends, our members are >ready. > >Buddy Hogan >NSPN Board Member Jeez, Buddy! from where I am,(Plymouth) the future is dark(ness), the sun has set; the water is very hard and HELL HAS FROZEN OVER!

Al- I'm going to take a stab at this one; although there will be better advice from more experienced paddlers coming to this posting, I'm sure. Sounds like you have good experience with layering choices for terra firma. The difference with the wetsuit is in its (lack-of) breathability. I have been paddling up until Thursday morning in wetsuit, and for Thursday wore my long poly underwear under my Goretex Kokatat drysuit. What a difference! Although the drysuit takes a little more time to get into, the overall comfort was surprising, after being out of it for 6+ months. While you can still get cold in a drysuit, there isn't the moisture build-up that you get with the wetsuit, that can be chilling. And for our leisurely paddle before Thanksgiving dinner - no chilling affect I might have had taking off a wetsuit & changing into street clothes after the paddle. I find that fleece breathes so well, that wind penetrates it; and I'd expect that fleece over neoprene on a cool breezy day could be an invitation for a chill. Hope I've been helpful.

I should add that the cause of the loss of this (Diane Manganaro's) members boat was a rotted strap on a 1-1/2 year old trailer. Beware; the strap looked good generally; I used it earlier on the day on my Sirius, but I'd guess as a permanent strap on a trailer UV got to it and weakened it prematurely. Check your straps & replace them if you have any question. They're too cheap to take any risk, not to mention the hazards of a dropped boat in traffic. Peter McLaughlin Plymouth

After a pretty good cold water shuttle paddle today (North River)- we lost a WS Epic off the trailer heading back to our Scituate put-in. The fall ripped out the rudder. Anyone know of a good source for a rotomolded rudder repair? Much appreciated for any leads. Peter McLaughlin Plymouth

9/7/03 Boston Outer Islands Trip (trip plan of Mark Stephens, posted to BSKC website late August) Trip could be titled "A Swell Day on the Water", for the light swells remaining from hurricane Fabian - or "Take Me To The Graves". Mark Stephens, Jim Rice, Peter McLaughlin (NSPN), Ken Hunt, Linda Burke & Diane Manganaro (NSPN) 8:30 meet @ Windmill Point (Hull Gut). Said hello's to the assembling NSPN paddlers. In the shadow of the seemingly out of place, giant, windmill we headed out around the point to Little Brewster Island. All seem impressed with the gentle conditions. We landed on Little Brewster's steep rocky beach. We were immediately met by Colleen Kloster who is our guide for Boston Light. A little history, and a climb of 76 stairs and 2 ladders to the Fresnel lens (1850) surrounding a $120.00, 1,000 watt lamp, amplified by the lenses to 2 million candlepower and visible 27 miles. Boston Light, originally destroyed by the British, is the oldest lighthouse in North America. Heading northeast past Shag rocks, we soon spot something strange falling slowly in the sky. Its a bird - its a plane - no! its a huge bunch of purple & gold helium balloons. Jim (a marine biologist from the Boston Aquarium) with help from Linda - pop them - then Jim used one of the balloons as a bag to hold the popped remnants for the ride home; he was concerned that the balloons might impact whales/seals. On to Outer Brewster, with a stop in the north cove, near Pulpit Rock. By this time the chilly winds at the put-in seemed to have moderated and the temperature is rising. Water crashes over rocks, but in the cove it feels like being rocked in a cradle. The bottom can be seen with long strands and bunches of sea grape. Next off the 1.4nm to The Graves Light, standing dark and tall to the main shipping channel into Boston. Graves Light seems a lot less cheery than the well maintained, bright white Boston Light but, in the bright sunlight, not as dark as the descriptions of it in many texts. Then to Green Island for extended stretch & lunch. Mark was not to be undone. Two loaves of French Bread, sharp cheddar, summer sausage, sliced homegrown tomatoes, a Cajun smoked salmon, and cold grapes. Ken brought a bag of Lucy's cookies. Diane has her staple PB&J; Linda has a peach. Peter has a salami sandwich. Lucky for Mark he offers to share. I guess in the history of these islands, this is a good choice for his sake! Boston's outer harbor is an area of many sights and sounds. The islands have a fair amount of heights, boat traffic, light in the morning, picked up by afternoon, planes come-and-go out of Logan, even a cruise ship came by, contrasting when seen through the craggy rocks of the islands. And almost everywhere the sight of that windmill acted as a reference point... from whence we came... After lunch we paddled past Little Calf, Calf Island, the high cliffs of Great Brewster and turned west following the gravelly gray Great Brewster Spit to Lovell Island and crossed around to Georges Island where we stopped for a short tour & photos in Fort Warren. Most tourists left on the last boat while we toured, and we ended-up almost having the entire island fort to ourselves. Crossing Nantasket Roads to Hull Gut at low tide with the most concentrated boat traffic of the day, and more exciting current than we left in. 11.84nm PPPO: Tried to do Red Parrot overlooking Nantasket Beach but very busy & no parking. Ended up on the patio of Casa Del Rey, 15 North Street in Hingham - just around the corner from the rotary - a great little Mexican restaurant with a nice patio. We all enjoyed chips & salsa - beer & ale - and tempted by the Margueritas.

Don- I found your tracklogs very interesting, particularly trips I've done - most of the cape ones. I have TOPO! and use it regularly - is your gps laying down these routes onto TOPO! or equivalent program? I have a basic Magellan which cannot do this. Keep me in mind on future trips - particularly on-cape. I've done Onset, Megansett, Bass R, Bassetts, Sandy Neck, Monomoy (3x) recently and Annisquam in June. Would like to do Cohasset / Minots again. My e-mail is pm7771@aol.com.