Gcosloy

I've been employing the wisdom implicit in picture #38 for almost a decade now and have been the gentle butt of many jokes about it. Once I actually lost it and a rescue party sprung into action to retrieve the helpful grail, without success. Why are we so squeamish about such a necessary function of life? And Doug, why no pics of the women's caucus on the subject? LOL

I'm interested too! However what happened to the also traditional after Thansgiving paddle and left over pig out on Misery Island?

Wore my Stohlquist B-pod drysuit for the first time this season on election day. Air was between 35 and 40. I wear rayon/silk socks, a long sleeve poly shirt, Kokatat full body fleece, NRS Maverick gloves and a neoprene skull cap. As the air gets colder and gusts stronger I'll add a layer of light fleece, add wool socks and make sure my cag (Kokatat and non-breathable) is reachable in my day hatch. I also keep neoprene pogies in the hatch as well which can be used over gloves or bare hands. I don't do bitter cold so this combination serves me well all winter when I can choose a relatively mild day to paddle.

"After 40+ years on the water in warm conditions,and some years in the military, I am not inclined to get too involved in the somewhat regimented atmosphere surrounding NSP, but very much enjoy and appreciate the knowledge of your experience." Tom, I can assure you that the experience on the water with the NSPN folks is quite different from the atmosphere you intuit from these posts. Come out for a few paddles in the Spring and see the difference.

Ed, I've gone through the marsh many times using edging alone. However recently navigating the marsh in moderate ebb current made it more difficult and I had to employ some rudder strokes as well.

Because of lack of interest this trip is cancelled.

Saturday HT is 10AM and Sunday its 10:43AM We can launch 9:30AM Saturday or 10:00AM Sunday and circumnavigate Gerrish clockwise. RSVP here with your preference-I can do either. Saturday looks a bit better on the current NOAA graphical forecast for the coast. Less threat of rain and more moderate wind and gusts.

Katherine does not want her trip confused by some of us who may wish to circumnavigate Gerrish. She is perfectly correct in limiting the paddle as the organizer to the Creek and Marsh. I will post a different paddle for Saturday or Sunday for those who would be disappointed by missing the ocean side.

Wonderful video: I enjoyed it much! Only regret that I wasn't there too. Terrific choice for the music as well. Thank you Cathy and Bill for sharing this.

I've done the circumnavigation maybe a dozen times; I live up the road from the put-in! Never took the marsh and creek both ways until about three weeks ago: three of us went out in strong wind clockwise and arriving at Brave Boat it was jumping. Breakers across the entire entrance. So after lunch we three experienced paddlers did the safe and prudent thing and went back the way we came. Its all good!

Thanks for the tip Brian. The next time I pull the seat I'll take your advise and use Lexel.

Ed, If moderate conditions conspire I might join you as well.

This is a cautionary tale for owners of new boats. Do you know whether the bottom of your seat is properly separated from the boats layup via mini cell foam or not. Most of us just assume so and paddle until there is a problem. I recently purchased a used Boreal Ellesmere about a year old and in excellent shape. Not being too happy with their seat I removed it to make some modifications. I was surprised to see wear into the resin exposing the kevlar fabric in two significant places: the leading edge of the seat and two areas under the sit bones. No foam was in evidence other than a block in the center of the seat, which was obviously not enough. I since have provided protective foam for these neglected areas. While you will not be able to inspect the bottom of your seat without removing it you can make an easy determination about the leading edge of the seat by running your finger underneath to see if there is any protective foam there. This may be unique to Boreal but something tells me there may be other manufacturers who neglect this important area as well.

Because of Derek Hutchinson I long ago gave up the use of the cranked paddle shaft and adopted a straight shaft so that I could take advantage of many of Derek's extended paddle strokes. i.e. sweeps, sculls, and rolls. While no longer in vogue, they still come in handy sometimes. Thanks Derek.

There is a difference between a stuck paddle joint and a tight one. If the joint is stuck try this: leave the paddle outdoors overnight when the temps go down to the 40's or less. Prepare a towel soaked in hot water and wrap the joint for about 5 min. See if you can take it apart now. The theory is the ferrules may shrink in diameter. The hot towel expands the outer ferrule while leaving the inner ferrule still reasonably colder.

I've used 320 or 400 wet&dry on the male part with success. Gentle and twist and test frequently. Less is more!

Bob, although I've taught myself many different rescue techniques successfully, I've never really learned to scull with confidence. There is something about it that just eludes me.

York Harbor is about 5 mi north of Brave Boat while the circumnavigation of Gerrish/Cutts is close to 8 mi. this would result in an 18mi. trip-too long for this paddler. Launching from the town dock at Kittery results in 8-9 miles. An alternative when the dock is too crowded is the culvert at the end of Chauncey Creek. Launching from Odiorne only adds 4 miles round trip and has the advantage or disadvantage depending on your taste of crossing the mouth of the Piscataqua.

Great report Pru, I've done this route several times with groups and solo. It's always something new. If you guys decide to do this again in the months ahead (I paddle all year)I'd be interested in joining you. This is my backyard if you didn't know! By the way Pru, 15K is my new limit, at least on planning. If I'm caught I do 20-25-beyond that I'd say I planned badly.

Nancy, I'm all tuckered out from my trip today Saco to Woods Island. Returned a little early with 3 other paddlers and had to fight the ebb back to Cape Ellis. Also entered Biddeford Pool against the ebb which had to have been 3 knots. Have a great trip see you next time!

Left the wharf on the ebb around 11:30AM and paddled crossing the Piscataqua Harbor over to the CG station on New Castle. Paddling south and enjoying rock play at half tide along the way passed Little Harbor at Odiorne Point and played with more rocks all the way to Wallis Sands. While the seas were mild and even the surf at Wallis was anemic the lower tide and rocks provided plenty of excitement for this paddler. A south western breeze helped average 3.5 miles/hour over 12 + miles even with the rock play. Returned to Kittery just as the tide reversed. A perfect solo day.

Nancy-I'm a possible if I don't do the Saco to Wood Island with Doug and company on Saturday. I never paddle on two consecutive days!

Just another thought:If the membership and the board thinks that this might be a good idea; one could speak to the manager of promotions at say REI or EMS or CRC&K or my favorite Kittery Trading Post. They all sell and rent kayaks of all descriptions and uses. NSPN could set up a booth and provide information.

Not much on details except this: Saturday was a rough big surf day; the victim in question was not wearing a PFD and was out fishing. This last suggests a sit on top fishing boat or something similar and inappropriate for big conditions. Perhaps in the Spring NSPN will consider having a workshop that focuses on safety and makes a special effort to invite rec boaters, fishing boaters, sot's etc. They seem to be the ones most at risk due to lack of knowledge. I know we want to promote seakayaking exclusively but some of these paddlers are seakayaking with the wrong gear and knowledge and don't know it!

Attached is my opus on learning the roll. I submit it for those who have tried professional help and still cannot roll. Rolling-latest.doc