RogerPollock

I surf more than anything else now . . . alone . . . at one of the most miserable, battering beach breaks in the area, just because it's close and convenient.

And every time I enter the surf, I'm afraid to one degree or another . . . I don't know if that will ever change, or if it would be a good thing if it did.

That was the thing . . . some of those 8 footers out there looked like a blast, but others . . . you'd have tales to tell, that's for sure. Tough, tough call . . .

"somewhere in there managed to tweak my neck . . ." Not an experience I'm ever looking for, but I guess them's the risks . . .

Heal well . . .

I tried a surf boat for the first time this weekend, too. Very interesting not a massively different experience than a planing-hulled ww boat, but the finned experience was cool. Seems lots of interesting possibilities, there. I haven't bought a new boat in a while, now, and that plastic Mega Maverick sure looks cool . . . hmmm . . . and many colros to chose from . . . hmmm . .

Sunday 11/4. We arrived at Nahant at noon to find Bill Gwynn outfitted for both touring and surfing. Watching the action together for a while, the surf wasn’t as clean as one would expect, and there was very stiff offshore wind. The were some very nice, large peelers with defined shoulders rolling in, but the price to pay was the bigger sets, mother boomers with overhead foam piles, that shook the sand we stood on.

Though the forecast was for diminishing conditions, they hadn’t diminished all that much yet.

After discussion and reflection, we made the call to check out Kings Beach, which appeared smaller and much mellower.

A good call – in the lee of the wind, a very easy paddle out, easy to time and easy to handle if it broke on you, unlike head-breaking GHB, which I’m accustomed to. Nice long, long, long rides with lots of green, and, often enough, defined shoulders to chase you down the line. Really, a very pleasant, very mellow kayak surfing day, such wasy sufing, with 3 + foot waves, no beatings, and, really very few capsizes for anybody.

Maybe an hour and a half to two hours and things rapidly began to die out. We should have packed up quick, and bang, boom rushed over to Nahant to catch the last of it, but, it was already so late with sunset almost on top of us, so we made the best of the last few swells, until they were gone:(.

Well, a good thing I guess, to opt for the smaller venue. Fortunately, it wasn’t a dynamic with too much testosterone and not enough brains. We’ll all have an opportunity to do something stupid another weekend, perhaps as soon as the coming one, ‘cause it sounds as if there’s more surf on the way (!!!!!).

Kevin,

I have a plastic Tempest. It gets used hard and put away wet - every time. Stored outside, no tarp, totally exposed, three years through every season and doing fine.

Fading, scratches, dents . . . holes . . . all badges of honor to displayed proudly. Use your boat and enjoy it, and don't worry about the consequences. Worry about paddling and having a good time. If it gets "brittle" from exposure or otherwise wears out before you WEAR it out, you're not paddling enough.

Have fun . . .

Roger

John,

Totally with you on the sweating/cooling thing . . . the worst feeling . . . the cag helps a little . . . but it seems the only thing that really clinches it is to outright change your thermals at lunch/break time, which is a miserable operation that exposes you to the cold, but man, does it feel better and warmer to get some nice, dry stuff on.

Actually, though, last year we kept out winter day trips short such that we didn't do lunch or a real break, so it wasn't a problem, thank God.

For the record, was plenty warm, at times too warm, in my 4/3 full wetsuit during a playboat outing with lots of rolling and splashing, with no concern whatsoever for soggy, heavy, sweaty thermals. Quite nice, actually.

Thermal regulation is a bear.

My biggest problem is sweating. The Inuit have a saying "If you sweat, you die" - but if I dress for 50 degree water, and it's 90 degress out (like it was one day at Bar Harbor), it's pretty tough not to. I've literally poured maybe a liter of sweat out of my drysuit on on occasion - at first I thought it was a leak, but it was just the accumulated sweat.

So - a typical problem I had - the day seems warm enough, and I wear just a layer of thermals underneath my drysuit. By mid morning, I'm drenched in sweat - no problem, I'm still warm from my muscles working.

Then, we halt for lunch, and a breeze comes up. Despite the the goretex, the wind and sweat conspire to get me cold. Do I layer up? Or...since I know I'm going to be going out on the water again, should keep on what I have, figuring I'll warm up as soon as I start to paddle.

In this case, I elected to get a little chilled by the wind, but put on a wind breaking top, and then I did warm up once I started to paddle, but I was really scratching my head about what to do. Still am, really. (I had fleece in my front compartment in a dry bag, so I could've gone to it, but I really didn't want socks full of sweat-water).

Meet 9:30 ish at Corliss Landing, Gloucester. End of Apple St, off Wheeler St.

Short paddle to Goose Cove to play in a lively tide rip under the bridge. 5-7 knots. It's a 12' tide tomorrow, so it should really jam. Going to try a experiment and tow my shot boat over behind my sea kayak (moo-haw-haw - should be fun).

Great place to learn/play in current in a nice, sheltered area w/virtually no boat traffic. And a great option when the weather ain't gonna be that great.

Once you're in though, you're in. You can't get out until the current slows down (a couple hours). Take out to stretch legs/eat/pee are readily available on rocks, or in the Greenbelt area on the other side of the cove (short paddle).

One of the last opportunities before the water gets too cold.

Come play!!

Next time check the surf reports. They were all predicting that there would be nothing. The swells were knocked down by the wind when it changed and turned around. So you had an off shore wind and small leftover swell from the storm. All that disappears fast against the wind.

I'm going from memory here (that's getting short - LOL). I think that it was blowing hard from the west most of the night.

Some of my favorite surf sites are www.wetsand.com and magic seaweed. That along with watching the weather discussion.

Suz

It's all such and imperfect science . . . and I'm no expert. Thing is, same sort of scenario occurred a few weeks ago - background swell w/deep water buoy's reading 5-6 seas and a stout offshore wind w/incoming tide - and the surf was fantastic. As far as the forecasting sites go, sometimes they're on and sometimes they're not. Magic Seaweed wasn't exactly calling for nothing - they were calling for two foot surf - not great, but not nothing.

Who knows . . .

All the better, Kevin. There was uttelry nothing there, though by rights there should have been.

I didn't check out the beach today. Anything??

Forecast

W WINDS 15 TO 20 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 KT... DIMINISHING TO

10 TO 15 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 KT IN THE LATE MORNING AND

AFTERNOON. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT.

I think this may be conservative. There's a system out there right now producing waves in excess of the current forecast.

Tide will be incoming. Wind will be offshore. Said conditions seem to produce nice surf here . . . But you never know what Mother Nature is going to throw at you. Could be great, could be punishing.

I'll be in a short boat . . .

Bob: I took a closer look at the chart along with your description and I'd like to join the trip. Just so you know what you're getting: I'd describe myself as a L3 paddler for pace/distance and L2 for skills. I've done paddles up to 12 NM. Forecast is for winds 7-10 kt and seas 2-3 feet, which I can handle. I may decide to stay among the outer islands rather than go for the light, if there are others who want to do that too.

Assuming that sounds OK with you, I'll see you Saturday.

Kevin Fredette

Kevin,

As of Friday morning, forecast is:

W WINDS AROUND 5 KT...BECOMING N AROUND 5 KT AROUND NOON...

THEN BECOMING SE LATE. WAVES 1 FOOT OR LESS.

Plus, pushing 80 degrees . . .

It should be a big bathtub . . . with islands . . . so, except for the open water aspect, just about anybody ought to be able to handle it . . .

I've never had a problem with any boardie, anywhere, ever.

Best rule of thumb in surf is, kayakers should always give boardies - and other kayakers, for that matter - as wide a bert as possible - unless you can reliably demonstrate good skills and control. Longboats can be particularly difficult to control in surf . . . unless you're Nigel Somebody.

Mostly, I think what boardies see of kayakers, and the bad situations I've seen, is people out there who don't have a clue - a couple kids monking around on a sit on top, a guy and his girlfriend who rented rec boats for the weekend - just loose in the surf, and dangerous to others. So, when they see a kayak, they feel threatened, and I kind of don't blame them.

To me Boston Harbor is a lot like Salem Sound . . . on steroids . . .

We were one week early at GHB . . . What a difference a week makes . . . Deep water bouy wave readings this a.m. from 5-7 feet . . . Hit the beach at 7:15 and there were 2-1/2's to sometimes 4 foot sets with a fair zephyr out of the north clipping the peaks into pluming rooster tails . . . boardies crowding the corner (but not too bad), and you'd be crazy to play in the rocks like we'd done just one week ago . . . Just big enough so it wasn't murder to get outside the break, though it was still quite tricky - and a workout. Beautiful morning - no better time than morning . . . vanilla sky . . . warm water . . . awesome sets - just big walls of twinkling blue glass . . . long rides w/lots of time on the face and a foam pile you could play on all the way to the sand. A few capsizes . . but no beatings . . . This was Good Harbor . . . this was why you keep coming back. And, today, the steepest vertial drop I think I've ever experienced, felt like a hundred foot wave. Holy molie what a ride . . .

Plus, there was this traditional island stand up style paddle/board surfer there today, and man could the guy shred it up. Made it look effortles, and, wow, he could just scream speed down the line . . . It was inspiring just to watch - very unique.

My only beef . . . this new super-stretch wetsuit . . . the neck chafing is killing me . . .

Phil,

My only option this weekend will be to get out on Good Harbor on Saturday early, like, 7-8 a.m. Leaving by 10. Clearly, this is insane for most kayakers associated with the board, but . . . Clearly, in those predicted conditions, surfing is a lot more appealing (at least to me) than slogging along in an estuary in 30 kt winds (which I've done many times).

Maybe I'll see you there . . .

Sat 9/22 . . .

Well, the predicted conditions were 2.5’- 3’ surf w/3’-5’ seas, and spying the beach from the dunes at 9 a.m. things didn’t look too bad.

We ended up with 5 of us in short boats, and 3 in long boats, and everybody, it seemed, was ready to have a surf experience . . . but, unfortunately, once out there, things were not as lively as they first looked, and seemed to get even quieter as they day developed.

We did out best, however, to make chicken soup out of chicken poop, and nobody complained too much (except for me). For some it was their first experience in surf in a long or short boat (or close to it), and I think conditions were just right for an introduction. When it’s kicking, the surf at Good Harbor can run the gamut from big and peeling, to, more often, big and dumping, and I’ve taken some very memorable beatings there. Better, I guess, for everybody to leave feeling positive and more confident, rather than overwhelmed and beat down.

At one point, while the long boaters were practicing rescues, Bob and I headed down to the south corner and played out on the rocks. Though the surf was minimal, there still seemed a fair swell and surge (strangely), which we surfed through some cutes and over some corners. The short boats are so VERY at home in this stuff, and have intriguing potential for coastal rock play that needs further experimentation.

Thought not quite what was expected, not a bad few hours in the water . . .

Yeah, that's right, Whitam St.

Good Harbor Beach

Messing around.

9 a.m. start

Experiential for me, experimental for Bob who'll be givng a go in the surf in his WW boat.

Surf predicted moderate 2.5/3 feet. Seas 3-5 predicted by NOAA. Plenty of fun in a kayak.

We'll be bringing long boats and short boats. The idea being to see how the surf is, maybe surf for a while and see how it goes, then maybe take the long boats out for a paddle, or maybe surf those, too. Who knows . . . No big, firm, grandiose plans.

Come bring a long boat, or, if you want, try my short boat. I'm sure we'll be in the surf a few hours anyway, so if 9 a.m.'s too early, no biggie, show up a little later. Water and air will be warm. Be ready to capsize and swim and have fun.

Take your first right after the main entrance to Good Harbor, and park in the sand along the road. Residents only sticker parking, but they won't bother you off season. Yee-haw, it's the off-season again!!

I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to perform an ocean rescue, near the rocks, for real, rather than just for "practice."

Someone on here said, "We're all just between swims . . . " and ain't that true. Sooner or later, we all swim. It's evidence of your willingness to push your limits and learn, rather than of failure.

One thing . . . we're taught during training to bang three times on the hull upon capsize. It's taught so universally, it really becomes ingrained, and boy, when I heard "boom, boom, boom" there was no mistaking what it meant, and, actually, that big, empty, upside down hull was very effective as a sound transmiter. It's a good thing . . .

A good day on the water . . .

I haven't posted since the site changed . . . I'm a bit nerve-wracked looking at all this stuff . . . am I this much of a technophobe? Gulp . . .

Heidi, I had the same problem, but didn't make a "seat". Just slapped down some 1/2" minicell and glued in hip pads on the sides. Easy, didn't involve anywhere near as much shaping, didn't have to be a craftsman to do it. Works good.

Thing I bet, too, if you you were to buy a seat, it'd still be too high and you'd end up cutting it down; they look pretty thick.

Second Mr. Bud. Carry a shaper/knife for a while. It will take a little screwing around before you get it right . . .

The only thing I can think of is off East Main St, just as you turn onto the road to Rocky Neck. There's a little public parking lot, with the put in across the street. Wonson Cove. It's a bit tide sensitive, and can be a bit of a portage at low, surely not something you want to be doing at the end of the day, though first thing wouldn't be so bad. Puts you in the harbor just a tad north of Niles Beach.

There really isn't anything else, while "in-season" with legal parking.

The leaky hatch thing is huge complaint from Tempest owners. That and skeg cables.

I must have lucked out, though. Good skeg, and I only get a small amount of water in the hatches, such that a sponge is enough to clear it out, and that's nealry completely corrected by using the pain-in-the-neck bungie they supply to go around the hatch covers. That's even with extended rolling sessions, surfing, etc. Maybe it's a boat by boat thing, or model year . . .

T165 is a great surfing, rock-garden boat. Highly maneuverable, carves around a dime. It loves rough water of all kinds. Doesn’t track as well as a longer boat, but, when tired of correcting it, the skeg solves the problem completely. I’m 205 lbs, and took the seat out to fit comfortably. The boat’s a tad slower for me than my longer boat (17’7”), which I prefer for less play stuff and more open water stuff, though the Tempest if perfectly capable of open water paddling.

You’ve got an Avocet, though, and I don’t think you’ll find a much different experience between that and the T165 (my opinion only), than you would say, the Avocet and a longer boat.

I tell you, Corliss Landing is a VERY nice and pothole free alternative. It puts you about in the middle of the rver just like Long Warf, but on the other side.

Last time I went down Long it was like the surface of the fricking moon. Yeah, my car made it down there, but the wear and tear on the front end, aya carumba . . .

Corlis is at the end of Apple St. Go up Wheeler St and take the left right after Corliss St.

Ah, that's 6/2. Duh . . .