Rob Hazard

MITA is holding several cleanups along the coast this month and next, ending with Casco Bay on October 15th. I'd like to pitch in by doing some work on the 2 islands we adopted as a club. Anyone like to come along? This could be either a day trip or an overnight. If some want to stay over and others want to head in, we could have 2 groups. The launching site will be Cousins Island in Yarmouth. Handy things to bring along will be work gloves, trash bags, clippers, and I'm not sure what else. As usual for this time of year, the trip will depend on good paddling weather. The round trip distance is just shy of 12 nm, most of it in fairly sheltered water. I realize this date is a good ways off, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get it on the calendar early. Interested? Rob Due to NOAA forecast of winds 15 - 25kts with gusts over 30 its both Saturday and Sunday, this outing is CANCELED.

Wow! What a trip! Thanks for the report and the wonderful photos!

Good shots, Jeff! Thanks to everyone who came along today. It was a Grand Day Out! Let's do it again before the summer ends. Cheers, Rob

You got it Barry! Where Rt 1-A crosses Seavey Creek.

Note the time change, We'll meet by 1030 and launch at 1100. See you there! Rob

Wow! Eight replies! Excellent! The weather forecast looks good, and the surf report looks mild, like 1 ft SE, but I plan to play in the rocks a bit, and if you expect to do the same, please come prepared with helmet etc. The usual CAM guidelines apply. OK, Doug, I'll agree to launch at 1100. That would mean arrive by 1030 at the latest, yes? We'll have to make sure we don't get mixed up with that AMC bunch, though! any idea what time they plan to launch? Cheers, Rob

Anyone interested in a leisurely paddle among the ledges south of Portsmouth? Low Slack at Little Harbor is predicted at 1300. We could meet at the Seavey Creek launch at 1000, launch by 1030, go play for a few hours and ride the flood back to the cars. Who's up for it? Cheers, Rob

After all this lah-dee-dah, I do hope you'll have the quotation lettered in white along one side of your Explorer, balanced on the other side, of course, with the J M Synge quotation about a man who is not afraid of the sea...

They're probably all eating hot dogs and getting ready for the fireworks tonight. Things should improve next week. Be sure to keep an eye on the "Trips" section of the message board, too, since some of us are too lazy to post paddles on the calendar. Where do you like to paddle? Cheers, Rob

Just a note: Both Rick Crangle and I will be out of town this Thursday, and thus will have to miss this week's Chebacco session. I don't know if any of the other regulars will be there. See you all next week! Rob

According to the NWS radar it looks like the worst of the T-storms is right over us now. Then it'll settle down into a familiar normal rainy day. NO shame in bailing, Nancy! See you at the PPPO.

OH, come for the potluck!

I'm watching the radar loop now (0615). There's a nasty looking one just south of Worcester that seems headed toward Salem. Once that's past us, things look better. I'll keep an eye on the radar until it's time to leave (0830) and be at the beach as planned. We can decide there.

The current forecast (8:45 PM) is for winds NE at 5-10 kts, seas 2-4 ft. Wetsand predicts swells 2ft from the east at 6 sec period. If all this holds we'll feel the wind first as we move up the harbor, then the swells will become apparent before we reach Ft Sewall Pt. We can decide how comfortable we are with the conditions there before we commit to going around to Salem. See you all in the morning. Cheers, Rob

A reminder to all participants: This is a CAM trip. You are responsible to the group to come prepared. Please show up with PFD, sprayskirt, and properly dressed for weather and water temp. Bring food and water. Check the weather forecast to be sure the conditions predicted are within your paddling ability. If you have a chart of the Marblehead/Salem area please familiarize yourself with it and bring it along. See you on the beach at 10:00. cheers, Rob

For those who are seriously interested in the Level 2+ trip, I'll describe it briefly. We'll leave from Riverhead Beach, Marblehead, and paddle up the west shore of the harbor, taking care to stay out of the boat channel that runs fairly close to the west side, until we reach Ft Sewall Pt. There we will take a moment to assess the conditions before proceeding. From there we will head north around Peaches Pt following the shore before crossing Salem Harbor to Winter Island, just north of the power plant. Then we will follow the shore again to Salem Willows, where we will land for lunch before returning by the same route. If the weather is clear we may leave the shoreline and take a more direct course to Juniper Pt, or if the weather is thicker or rougher we may follow the shore farther into Salem Harbor for a shorter, easier crossing. In years past we have used Great Aquavitae Ledge as a waypoint on our crossing of Salem Harbor. The total distance round trip is between 7-1/2 and 8 nautical miles. The 2 crossings and the possibility of ocean swells from the southeast raise the rating to a 2+.

Rob just wants to watch the look on Peter's face as Rob chomps down the last mouthful of Humboldt Fog. Of course Peter, as the August President of NSPN, could officially declare Humboldt Fog to be the OFFICIAL CHEESE of NSPN.

I just stopped at my favorite yuppie food store to pick up my usual wedge of Humboldt Fog to bring to the PPPO.

Just to clarify: The date of this, and the other Solstice Party Paddles is SATURDAY, JUNE 25th. (I only mention this because an alert fellow NSPN member asked me whether I was really scheduling an all day paddle on a Tuesday...) Rob

Solstice Party Paddle Level 2+ Saturday, June 25 Riverhead Beach, Marblehead to Salem Willows and Return Beach Briefing at 10:00 Launch at 10:30 Return mid afternoon. Last year The Solstice Paddle Level 2+ was divided into 2 groups and we may do the same thing this year, depending on weather and group size. I will lead one group which will launch from Riverhead Beach and proceed up the west shore of Marblehead Harbor, then follow the shore around to Salem Harbor, where we will make the crossing of the harbor mouth and land at Salem Willows for lunch. We will then return by the same route, unless we decide to follow the shore line and make a shorter harbor crossing. If we decide to divide the fleet in two second group may paddle out of Marblehead Harbor and cross over to Children's Island and play along the shore there before returning. Please respond here if you'd like to join us. Cheers, Rob

Good news, Chebacco's water is warm now. No more drysuits needed! A shortie is plenty for rolling or rescue practice. See you there! Rob

"Norman... NORMAN! The LOONS! The LOONS!"

A few details about what we found on Bangs: Since our crew of stalwart stewards totaled 4, we chose to focus our efforts on the northern half of the island. We'll get back out and hit the southern half later this summer. The island seemed cleaner in general than we have found it on past visits. There was, however, quite a bit of large driftwood lumber, mostly too large for us to handle safely or collect on a single visit. The flotsam tends to collect on the western side, facing Chebeague Island. So we concentrated on plastic trash, leaving behind anything that resembled fishing gear, lest we incur the wrath of the local lobstermen. We managed to fill 4 large bags. Hey, remember those little plastic discs that escaped from the sewage treatment plant in Hooksett, NH? Well, at least one of them found its way to Bangs Island! The island is teeming with Warblers this spring. We watched several Yellow Warblers working over the exposed seaweed in search of tasty creepy-crawlies. I never knew they did that. We also learned that Laughing Gulls are loud and rather shameless when it comes to lovemaking. A totally tasteless display! Being a day paddler by habit, I have much to learn about kayak camping, but I got some good pointers from Spider and Marilyn. Thanks! All in all, it was a memorable weekend. Cheers, Rob

Great Pix, Rene! Thanks for posting them so soon! It was a lovely weekend and I enjoyed paddling and hanging out with you all! Now we'll have to go back and clean up the south end! Cheers, Rob