Rob Hazard

Thanks, Rob. It's a bit of a hike, for sure, but if a bunch of us could drive up in a van with a trailer, I'd be interested.

What is the date for the event? I can't find it on there.

I know it can't compare with the hysterical highjinks at the Portsmouth Pool, but I just spent three very enjoyable days in St Pete, FL, improving my notoriously uneven paddling skills in warm salty waters under breezy, sunny skies. The highlight of the weekend for me was taking 3 Greenland classes led by Greg Stamer. I actually managed to achieve one of my New Years Resolutions, to Balance-brace my Romany! I only managed it once, and then just, but I did it! Whoopee! Plus, I roughed in the elements of my first Forward-Finishing Roll! I was doing really well until we got to the "wind-up-and-fall-over-backwards" part, at which point I lost it. I also spent a productive morning taking apart and reassembling my Forward Stroke with a coach named John Ozard(sp?) whom I'd never met, though he seems to know a lot of NSPN folks. The Good Old Forward Stroke is a skill that seems to benefit greatly from occasional tuneups. Although I didn't see any other NSPN members there, there were plenty of familiar faces, including John Carmody, Steve Maynard, Lamar Hudgens, and Dale Williams. And to top it off, I made some connections with other sea-kayakers down here, which was another of my reasons for going. The bottom line is, if you have never come down this symposium, you should do it next winter if you can, and spend a few days away from the snow, soaking up the sun, paddling all day in a T-shirt surrounded by pelicans and dolphins, and picking up new skills from some of the best sea-paddling coaches around. This is NOT a paid advertisement, and if you want photos, you'll have to wait for them to show up on Sweetwater's website. Cheers, Rob

Goal #1: Spend more time paddling on real live salt water with all you jokers than I spend on Chebacco Lake doing Stupid Kayak Tricks. #2: Hone a few skills that have languished, like balance-brace my Romany, smooth out my offside rolls, or flip and empty a boat as gracefully as Scot Camlin. #3: Sit next to L. Beale when she uncorks the Scotch. (Bunnahabhain, Springbank, and Highland Park, in no particular order, Les...) #4: Have a second helping of Goal #1!

I don't care how they fund it. Kokatat is da DUDES! (My new suit is on its way as I write! :^)

I'm sure MITA will do another cleanup in the spring. Perhaps we can go out there the weekend before and give Bangs Island a thorough going-over. It seems to collect more than its share of flotsam.

The Warblers! I forgot about the Warblers! The brush, mostly Bayberry and Raspberry bushes, was alive with small birds, most of them Yellow-Rumped Warblers. Spider saw a Merlin shoot through, and we saw other small songbirds, hard to identify except for one very vocal Song Sparrow, but the majority were Yellow-rumps. We both wished we were better Fall Warbler experts, (a specialty among birders) so we could catch the other oddities mixed in. It was a good morning for birding!

For the club's contribution to the MITA Casco Bay fall cleanup we had 6 NSPN volunteers who paddled out from Cousins Island around Great Chebeague to tiny Crow Island for cleanup, trail work, and an overnight stay. Most of the trip was on flat water, but seeing sailboats in the distance heeled over in the southwest breeze told us that last leg of the trip, from Chebeague Point to Crow would likely be an upwind slog, which it proved to be. Paddling into the teeth of wind and chop is great fun, but its wet fun. Nearing Crow Island we saw a small boat approaching the beach and feared it might be another MITA cleanup crew there to collect trash that was rightfully ours, but it proved to be just a family out for a picnic. We found Crow to be pretty clean; in fact, after Mitch made a first pass around the shoreline the rest of us were hard-pressed to find any trash there at all, so several of us turned to clipping back the brush that was encroaching on the trails. In mid-afternoon Mitch decided that he really needed to be back with his family for the rest of the weekend, so we watched him go and kept an eye on him until he turned the corner of Chebeague Island and disappeared from sight. The evening was passed in typical NSPN fashion, sharing food and swapping stories. A rain squall passed through around dusk, but those of us who were up in the middle of the night found a clear sky and a bright moon above. Sunday morning after a leisurely start we headed over to Bangs Island, where we found all the trash we could possibly ask for. With a crew of 5 we could only cover the northern half of the island and even then we had to leave behind large pieces of lumber from old floats and docks. We also left behind a couple stone monuments deemed too artistic to destroy. The trip back was uneventful, with just enough tailwind and following sea to allow for micro-surfing along the way. Thanks to Dee, Sal, Jeff, Spider, and Mitch for a pleasant and productive weekend! Rob

Sorry to hear about your friend. We'll miss you, Sue. Maybe we'll do it again in the spring. Cheers, Rob

So far I count 7 definite yeses; Jeff, Spider, Sue, Karen, Sal, Dee, and me, plus 2 maybes; Jackie, and Henry. I expect there may be one or two more who show up at the beach. Have I forgotten anyone? Rob

Thanks Sal and Spider, I will bring bags, but I'm sure extra bags will come in handy. I will also bring some expendable rope in case we get carried away after the MITA skiff departs and have to secure some bags of trash for later pickup. I think a claw hammer and small pry bar might be handy in case we find any dangerously nail-studded driftwood. Brush clippers have come in handy in the past as well. Sunny skies would be welcome! Ed, have no fear about my (formerly Dee's) Romany. In six weeks it will begin its winter season dancing over the warm, salty waters of the Gulf of Mexico. No more chlorine for that baby! We appreciate your concern, though. ;^) So... tools, rope, trash bags, shoes for climbing around on wet rocks, what else? Food, drink, and gear for an overnight. As Chief Brodie so famously said, "I think we're gonna need a bigger boat!" Cheers, Rob

So, Ed, will you and Gail, perennial volunteers that you are, be joining us?

The trip is this Saturday. I'd like to know how many are planning to come. Could we have a show of hands? Rob Hazard Tiderace X-cite Red.

Hi Sue, For these events people typically organize their own food, but some people always seem to bring extra food, and dinner turns into a bit of a pot-luck. The last trip I was on there was enough hummus to choke a small horse. It's become a joke among us. Just bring what you like and a bit to share and we'll be fine!

OK, on further reflection I've realized that 9:00 would probably be too early for people who are driving up from MA. Let's try to launch by 10:00 instead. I checked the NOAA tidal current predictions for Casco Bay, Broad Sound, west of Eagle Island, which strikes me as the most useful site for our trip. On Saturday the ebb tide will go slack at 11:02, and the flood will peak at 13:10. If we launch at 10:00 we'll can ride the ebb out most of the way out. On Sunday the low slack will be at 11:51, so if we launch in early afternoon we can ride the flood tide back to Sandy Point. Maria at MITA tells me they'll try to arrange their trash pick-up as late in the day as they can, and if we do more work after that they can arrange to come back another day. A few other paddlers have contacted MITA about paddling out and they are being referred to me. I am happy to have them join us provided they are competent paddlers and are equipped for the conditions. The trip is mostly on protected water, with one crossing of about a mile, and there are plenty of spots to get ashore in emergencies. Having said that, if the weather is predicted to be windy (> 10kt) I'd rather cancel the trip. We have plenty of time to make that call, though.

My contact at MITA tells me they're planning to pick up the accumulated trash bags around 1 - 2 pm. So I'm wondering how early we could launch in order to maximize our time on the islands. Could we launch by 9 am? Is that possible? Let me know so I can plan accordingly. Cheers, Rob

Another thoroughly excellent Jewell Island adventure! Only one flavor of Mediterranean-food-product-that-must-not-be-named, though? How did you cope? I wish I could've been there!

Well, let's wait and see how many people express interest in the trip. If we have enough for 2 groups, some of us could head out Friday afternoon and the others Saturday morning, but if the majority want to go in the morning, that's fine. I'd rather paddle together and know who's with us than wait and wonder. I have let MITA know we'll be coming to join the party. Cheers, Rob

This evening's session was the LAST for the season. Thanks to all who showed up to paddle and play. See you there again in the spring.

Sounds like 2 yes and one maybe. That's a start! Good to hear from you, Spider. Cheers, Rob

Yes, the usual suspects will be there this Thursday, up to the usual highly intelligent kayak tricks. 5pm. Come join us! Cheers, Rob Hazard

The MITA guide book says the camping capacities are 10 for Crow and 20 for Bangs. I seriously doubt we'll have that many people out there. I'm hoping to paddle out Friday pm, but Saturday am could be an option. The tide would be contrary, but I don't think that's a major difficulty.

I'll be there too!

Attention MITA members and volunteers: On October 6th, the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend, MITA is holding its Casco Bay Fall Cleanup, and I'd like to get out there and pitch in with some trash picking on Bangs and Crow Islands, which we adopted as part of our club MITA membership. I think it would be a good opportunity to spend a fall weekend paddling on the bay as well. Is anyone interested in coming along? We could launch from Cousins Island in Yarmouth on Friday afternoon, Oct 5th, and paddle out around Great Chebeague. The distance out to the islands is about 5nm if we go around the east end, or about 7nm by way of the sandbar at the west end. The water is mostly sheltered and the longest crossing is about a mile. The tides look favorable for heading out Friday afternoon and returning Sunday afternoon. Most of the work consists of walking the shore line picking up summer trash, but there's often scrap lumber and occasionally some "beach art" to be dealt with. Fishing gear, of course, we leave unmolested! I bet we could get a lot done and still get to take a field trip or two in the bargain. I will bring a roll of contractor's trash bags along, as well as expendable rope, a claw hammer, and work gloves. Good shoes are handy as well. We can tighten up the details as we see how much interest there is. So, who's up for it?