Rob Hazard

Jill and I are heading up again, for our 5th time. We'll drive up Thursday and stay for the whole show. See you all there!

Hi Chris, YES, the Chebacco Lake sessions are still running, and will continue until the end of September. Bring your boat, paddle, sprayskirt, and PFD. If you want to get into rolling, nose clips or a snorkeling mask that covers your nose is a good idea. We launch as soon after 5 pm as we can get it together, and paddle until sundown. And we're always ready to welcome new members to the club! Rob

I see that today the low tide slack at Little Harbor will be at 3:56 PM. I'd like to go play in the rocks off Odiorne Point, leaving from Seavey Creek at 2:30 PM. My plan is to ride the last of the ebb tide out the mouth of Little Harbor, head south to mess about in the rocks until maybe 5:00 PM, then ride the tide back in to the launch ramp. Anyone interested in coming along? Rob

Golly, I'm the first reply! I guess nobody wants to think too much about the Men in the Grey Suits.

Oops, I was wrong. Valiant was a contender for the defender's role, but lost out to Intrepid, which successfully defended the cup in 1970 against Gretel. Still, Valiant is a handsome yacht. She was designed by the great Olin Stephens. As we paddled up the west shore of the harbor, she was tied to a pier on our right. Her name is on her mainsail cover in great big letters. Check her out next time you're in Marblehead.

Actually there was a THIRD pod as well, led by Sal Puglisi and yours truly. We had 10 boats for the original itinerary to Salem Willows and back. The trip out was very quiet, crossing by way of Great Aquavitae Ledge. At the Willows I went in search of the elusive Chop Suey Sandwich, but got waylaid by the first ice cream stand I came to. Please convey our regrets to the starving Level 3 paddlers who were pining for their favorite food. The return trip was a bit more exciting than the first leg, with a rising wind and increased boat traffic. Given the Level 2+ rating of the trip, I'm glad it wasn't any windier. Coming back up the harbor we passed the great 12 meter yacht Valiant, an America's Cup defender of years past. All in all, a very nice day on the water. Rob

Note: I just edited this post to change the Green buoy number from "17" to "21". It's on the east side of the channel, just north of a straight line from Fluen Pt to Ft Pickering.

Sounds good. See you tomorrow. Rob

Glad to have you along, Sue!

I left out an important detail: Launch Time! 10:30 The Level 3 group plans to leave at 10:00. Let's have our gear on the beach ready to launch at 10:15. That way we can have our beach briefing as soon as the Level 3's are gone and we can be on the water by 10:30. If we have more than 10 boats we can split into 2 groups to keep head counting simple. See you in the morning! Rob

The weather is still predicted to be clear and warm with wind from the South at about 9 increasing to 13 mph, which is right at (or a bit beyond) the upper limit of the Level 2 trip category. The majority of our planned course will still be in relatively sheltered water, but during the two crossings of the mouth of Salem harbor we will be exposed to beam winds and some chop. The straightest course would take us from Peaches Point to Juniper Point, a crossing of about 1 1/4 nm. I would prefer to hug the shore a bit more and cross from Fluen Point to Ft Pickering, using Green buoy "21" as a waypoint.This would cut the crossing distance to about 3/4 nm. If the wind has picked up for our return crossing, I would prefer to hug the west shore of Salem harbor up into the harbor and make the crossing in flatter water. This will increase our total distance but make for easier paddling. If you have a chart of the area please look it over and double-check my thinking. We will discuss the route at the beach briefing. Don't forget: wetsuit, sprayskirt, and PFD. Don't leave shore without them!

Hi Audrey, The Level 2+ trip will cover about 8 miles, including a couple 1 mile open water crossings at the mouth of Salem harbor. Most of the boats in this group are 16 - 18 ft long and quite narrow, designed to move efficiently on exposed water. Last year we had a squall blow through that gave some of us a challenging return trip from Salem to Marblehead. My gut feeling is that you would be happier in the Level 2 fleet, which will be exploring Marblehead harbor and just sticking their noses out a bit into more open water. I trust you'll come equipped with PFD, spray skirt and wetsuit, as the water is still pretty chilly here. See you Saturday, Rob

I sincerely HOPE that if the Level 2 and Level 2+ groups attract more than a prudent number of participants, that some of the Level 3 people will volunteer to help out. The groups can be subdivided, but we do need a certain percentage of competent open water paddlers.

Well, so far I count 6 in our fleet. Last year I think we had 14, and I suspect we'll be closer to that number by Saturday. The tide will be LOW at 11:32 AM on Saturday. There is very little current to deal with. So far the weather forecast is for a sunny sky and wind between 5 and 10 mph from the SW. Maybe we should ALL order those sandwiches and bring them back and make a BIG PILE of them in the middle of the table! YUM YUM! Eat up, you Level 3 hotshots!

I may have to buy one and bring it back to the PPPO, just to see the look on people's faces!

We Level 2+ paddlers will be paddling over to Salem Willows and back, weather permitting. We will follow the western shore of Marblehead harbor and round the point then make the crossing to just north of the power plant, then follow the shore again to the landing at The Willows. The trip length is about 8 nm, and we will time it to be back in plenty of time for the fabulous NSPN post-paddle pig-out. Further details to follow. Please respond here if you are interested in joining us. Cheers, Rob

I have already volunteered to lead a 2+ trip to Salem Willows and back. Galen Carey has offered to help with this trip. Last year we had ~15 boats in our fleet, so maybe this year we can split into a couple smaller groups.

Please come whenever you can. We will be there, rollin', rescuin', towin', and generally splashin' about every Thursday evening 'til the end of September.

QUESTION: We have another workshop in 2 weeks. Should we repeat yesterday's program or are there other ideas or scenarios we could explore? A couple things came to my mind: First, the feasibility of a 3-boat contact tow, with one person assisting the victim and another providing the power. I don't know if it would work, but I'd like to try it. Second, trading boats on the water, whether it would be faster to do it as an all-in rescue rather than a rafted tradeoff. I had a wonderful day yesterday! Thanks to all who showed up!

BUMP! Tomorrow afternoon Chebacco Lake sessions begin, with the unflappable Rick Crangle and the usual crew of waterlogged reprobates. (And don't forget... ice cream at Downriver afterwards!) Staying dry is overrated! Rob

This year's Thursday evening sessions on Chebacco Lake on Cape Ann will commence on May 20th. Take Rt 128 to Exit 16, Pine St, Manchester, then turn North, following the road as it turns to dirt. After a mile or so the pavement begins again and the boat ramp will be ahead on your right. As in years past we will launch just after 5 PM and paddle until sunset. The sessions are open format. Sometimes we work on rolls and rescues, other times we play silly games on the water, and sometimes we just paddle in circles to sharpen our boat handling skills. Beginners are welcome, in fact we actively look for new paddlers who want to improve their skills and widen their paddling horizons. If you're eager to ready yourself for open water adventures, this is a GREAT way to begin! We do request that you bring a suitable boat, PFD, and spray skirt, and that you come prepared to get wet. Early in the season that means a drysuit, at least until the water warms up enough for wetsuits to be comfortable. See you on the water!

The Thursday evening Chebacco Lake sessions will begin on May 20. We usually launch about 5 PM and paddle until sunset. This early in the season drysuits are highly recommended. The sessions are pretty free-form, varying from silly skill-developing games to rescue and rolling practice. Beginners are welcome, in fact they are actively encouraged! Come join us!

The Thursday evening Chebacco Lake sessions usually commence early to mid-June. I'll talk with Professor Crangle and post as soon as we've picked the date. The first few sessions are more comfortable if you have a drysuit.

We plan to cover the essentials of running a successful CAM trip following a rough outline which begins with what you need to know before you post a trip (launch, tides, route, etc.) and continues through organization, Beach Briefings, then how a group of paddlers moves on the water, whether it's a calm bay with motorboat traffic or an exposed coast or a foggy afternoon among islands and channels. We also want to go into elements of incident management, rescues, and dealing with whatever comes up in the course of a day on the water. AND we want to discuss how each of these stages and elements differs depending on whether the trip is led by a commercial guide or is following the Common Adventure Model. Our target audience is people who post trips on the club message board or would like to, as well as people who want to go paddling with other club members and want to know what to expect. That's pretty much the whole club!