mccumial

I remember hearing about a few members who kayaked out to Key West a few years back. A freind and I are interested in doing a similar trip. Could someone post some detaisl about the trip? Of particular interest is the outfitter who provided the kayaks, conditions, and days on the water. TIA, Eric J.

I've got an Astral and it is great. It is very comfortable and the pocket space is enormous. The Sea kayaking line has two pockets--one on each side of the zipper. The integrated bladder pouch can be a bit persnicketty to get the bladder into, but once in it works great and stays out of the way. I also dig the fuzzy hand-warmers behind the pockets which can also double as a temporary stuff spot for things. Osprey Adventures in Westport has them in stock and Bob Smith's was carrying them last year.

Without even getting into David's "kayakers are more likely to go in the water" argument, which is probably true, or whether this is a knee jerk reaction to the unfortunate deaths off Chatam, any law that targets kayaks in specific misses the point. I'd be all for a safety law that targeted "unmotorized watercraft under 25'" becuase not only is it more fair to us kayakers, it recognozes that other craft of similar size and characteristics pose the same dangers. A canoe is just as likely to tip as a kayak, a row boat is just as likely to get lost on the fog as a kayak. Besides what definition of "kayak" are the authors of these bill using? Will sit-on-tops be counted? Open cockpit doubles? Kayaks paddled by british guys who insist on calling them "canoes"? How about c1s? ps. I'm not saying that power boats be left out of silly "nanny" regulations, but I do think that are a different class of boat.

I second kate's recomendation. I've got the older 33wr and find it to be a great camera for kayaking. The 33wr is a 3mp, so blown up the photos are not as nice.

Another option is the Reeds drysuite. It is actually cheaper than the Ravenspring. It comes with fabric socks, is breathable, and seems to be holdin gup pretty well. Mine is a year old and is doin gjust fine. They are very popular in England and Reeds makes several other types of kit including a tulic. I think the link is www.reedschillcheater.com

I'd be interested in doing hte Monomoy trip.

I just got an Astral PFD, the 300 series. It has two huge front pockets and fits very nicely. In addition it has a built in pouch in the back for a bladder and a ton of attachment points along the straps. I think wilderness house has them. I got mine from Carl Ladd down in Westport.

I've been using the Pentax wr33 digital. It is rated at ipx-7 which means it can take a pretty good dunking. The official standard says something like 10' for an hour without leaking. It is 3.2 megapix with a 3x zoom and takes good, clear pictures with nice colors. They now have a wr43 with 4 megapix and a few more features, but costs more. It fits easily in my PFD and uses 2AA batteries that last a good while if you don't used the LCD much. It is a pretty rugged little unit over the last 6 months I've taken it skiing, hiking in the rain, and sea kayaking on a weekely basis and like a timex it keeps on ticking. The only maintanance it gets is a good rincing after a day on the water. The only caveate is that I've been told that it cannot be used underwater; soaking wet is OK. I paid just over $300 at Ritz in January and would imagine that you can get it cheaper if you looked around. Previously, I used a Cannon Elf Sport which is a little APS cammera with no zoom. It also is a trooper and takes decent pics. You can get one for about $200 and it will work underwater as well as just about anywhere else. I just upgraded to get the zoom and instant gratification of digital. I still take the Elf Sport out on occasion.

And twigs are cheap enough that you can make a bunch of them to figure out the "ideal" length:)

Bob, I actually did take some shots from my inverted kayak out in Boston Harbor. I wasn't doing any seal shooting, but there were some really colorful starfish and rock formations that I could get. I use a Cannon Elf Sport which I keep in the pocket of my PFD so it doesn't float away. Taking shots this way is not ideal as the rolling action tends to disturb the water, the boat does move around a bit, and you don't have a lot of time to orient yourself and then compose a shot. It can be done though. I got some OK pictures, but I'm pretty sure I could have gotten better shots by just getting out of the boat.

I saw a post on the RICKA web site hinting that the brain trust at the MA legislature, while not busily trying to amend the constitution to steal civil rites from people, are considering a new "kayak safety" law that would require coastal kayakers to fly a stern flag at all times. The following article was in this month's Canoe & Kayak magazine. Thought you might want to post it on the website as interest to all. Massachusetts legislators are considering a bill that would require all sea kayaks to fly a stern flag to help prevent collisions with powerboats. Cosponsored by Rep. Brad Hill and Sen. Bruce Tarr, whose districts include coastal waters, House Bill No. 2126 originated at the Ipswich Police Dept. after the town harbormaster reported several "close calls" involving kayaks and powerboats in state waters. "On windy days, when the swells are pretty high, a motorboat can't see kayaks, so they come up up over these waves and there have been some near misses," said Hill. "The Ipswich police suggested some regulations be put in place, including use of flags. They are responsible for the language in the bill." The matter was referred to the Public Safety Committee after a public hearing last April, but no action on the bill is expected until July 2004.

>and re sexual harassment esp. in a private club, what's >wrong with the old yankee tradition of telling the offending >pig to F off and alerting your fellow club members of the >abhorrent behaviour? I'm with Jay on this one. In a club setting, it is a) the responsibility of the harrassed to make their feelings known, the responsibility of the club membership to make sure that each member fits into the overall club society. If the offender continues to offend and offend multiple persons in the club, then the offender should be aked to shove off becuase they do not "fit in" with the general club membership. Conversly, if the offended keeps feeling offended and other members of the club do not see the problem or feel the same way, maybe the offended needs to consider finding a new club or group of people who better suit their personal tastes.

I've read all of his books and think it would be great if we could get Mr. Duff to come to the area!!!

Does anybody have experience with this fabric or the paddlesuites made of it? The prices are great and I was thinking it may be a good option, but don't want to buy blind:) TIA