chetpk

More Pictures http://tinyurl.com/2daxfrf Scott

This was a really fun paddle and a great place to push one's personal skill sets a bit. Nobody could have ordered a more picture perfect day or a nicer group of paddlers to have shared this event with. The trip was always varying with places to poke one's nose into and a wonderful stop on Goat Island for lunch and a free tour of the lighthouse itself. The biggest lesson I learned on this trip is don't leave your kayak with all hatches open sitting on a beach's edge with a small waves coming in. I did that while I went to my truck, only to discover that those small waves only needed an instant to completely fill all nooks and crannies of my boat with sea water filled to the brim with sand. It was all I and passerby could do to be able to simply roll the boat to dump as much water out of it as we could, then I won't go on about how long it took to get all of the sand back out. Finally finished that task today. Will hopefully post more pics in a day or two. Scott

Al, Looks like I will be headed to Maine on Sunday so won't be able to make it. Thanks though. Scott

I would be interested, but I only have Sunday open.

Last night at the Hampton Surf sessions, our pod of paddlers heading out under the Hampton-Seabrook Bridge we encountered a small child (2nd-3rd grade age?) and an adult (mom?) who had gotten into the current and the child had gone into full panic mode. Initially I think most of us didn't read the potential severity of the event, but soon did and immediately paddled to them. The young child grabbed the first boat within her reach and immediately tried to and eventually succeeded to climb up on the deck of that boat. She was beyond the state of being willing to simply hold onto the boat and be allowed to be paddled in. Here is what I remembered and noticed. 1. The child being in full panic mode made the first boat to her quite unstable and almost flipped it on several occasions. 2. The original rescue boat in its' attempts to stabilize itself with bracing almost struck the girls head with the paddle (no fault of the paddler) and we all know how potent the edge of a paddle could be. 3. The adult was holding onto the other end of the original rescue boat, but stayed in the water and didn't appear to be adding to the situation at that point in time creating greater chaos. 4. Once a number of us understood that the event in front of required kayak rescuing skills, they began to take hold. What did I take away from this? 1. The need to recognize what is going on around you even if it isn't directly involving people from your group. 2. Don't panic. 3. The importance of a second - third etc. boat to come along side the first boat and have people lay across the deck of the first boat as quickly as possible to stabilize it. 4. Do your best to keep the swimmers informed with what they need to do. The adult did appear to listen, the child out of sheer fear and panic did not. 5. The adult upon my directions let go of the first boat and grabbed the stern of mine allowing me to tow them in. Questions I have are ?? 1. If you were a solo paddler or others in your pod were not so close to you during such an event, how do you stabilize your boat and prevent being capsized by a panicked person in the water? 2. A paddle's edge being used rapidly to scull or brace could be a pretty lethal weapon on a panicking swimmer so how do you use it without endangering the person in the water? 3. Is there a specific person who should be taking charge and giving directions? 4. What else should be done different or looked at from another point of view? I was appalled at the treatment of the child (who did spit up some water) by the adult after it was all over, but that is another story.

Postings by FANNAFS only talk about golf with a link to "golf clubs for sale".

When I did do a fiberglass keel strip on my Explorer, I mixed color pigment right into my epoxy, applied it smoothy (Packing Tape I believe will also work) then skipped applying gel coat. Not saying that my approach is better, but it did work well and came out looking fine. It has been on for a number of years and as held up just fine.

What about something like Hippo Tape which advertises being able to handle cold temps and stick to anything? One question obviously is what happens when you drag a boat over textured surfaces. Will a stick-on product stay stuck on or start to shred and or peel off? http://www.hippopatch.com/index_002.htm http://www.hippopatch.com/index_004.htm

I most likely will do something along the lines of a Keel Strip protection for my boat. I've done a glass one once before, but interested in other options. I saw and talked to Ernie about his Velcro Tape (hook side of the velcro tape, not fuzzy side on the bow and stern) on his boat and he has been satisfied so far with that. On another board I saw the suggestion of Hippo Tape. Have others experimented or know about different options and their success or failures? Thanks, Scott

Nice shots Larry and I really liked the ones you took at Outer Brewster by going up high and giving a completely different perspective to it all with the camera shooting down rather then just out. The one of the six of us paddling into the lunch break cove looks like a flock of geese in our "V" paddling formation.

Thanks Tyson, I forgot to close everything out then log onto my account to find that edit pull down. That did it and they should now be in order.

Boston Globes write up of the ferry Boat accident. http://tinyurl.com/25rsdzv On our radios we had heard someone state it hit the ledge at 18 knots.

When I upgraded my Picasa is when this problem started. In this newer version of it, I'm not finding an "Edit" pull down option. A Google search says that others are having the same problem with the newer Picasa and that one needs to put the album in a folder, sort there, then back to an album, but if that is the case, I haven't figured out how to do that.

Thanks, Ill give it a try.

I always consider it a good luck omen when my 13 year old, 185,000 mile, rapidly deteriorating 2-wheel drive, stick shift truck starts and today was no exception as it hauled myself and boat to another excellent NSPN paddle adventure. This one was Al Coons posting to go out of Winthrop (Deer Island Neck) and wander the Boston Harbor as the group saw fit. There was eight of us making for a fun and manageable pod of paddlers. No sooner had we rounded the tip of Deer Island and its' treatment plant when our radios crackled with a May Day - May Day from a boat that had hit a sunken ledge and was taking on water. Turns out not to be any boat but one of the ferry's with a 170+ people on it headed out for a whale watch. We had to wait at the main channel before crossing to the islands because of the proliferation of official and rescue boats that were rapidly heading out to the accident. Once we crossed the channel it was a short stretch your legs and bathroom break on Lovell Island. Contouring around Lovell we headed towards Boston Light House hoping to stop there for lunch, but were turned away when we arrived due to the fact a private party had booked it. We decided to head out and slightly north towards Outer Brewster. The southern side offered little for landing spots, but Ernie and Larry located a nice pocket cove on the other side to land and have lunch at. Besides having an opportunity to eat and stretch, I think it was Gay's chocolate covered cherries that put the explanation mark to our lunch break. From there it was off to Graves as the seas were passive plus. Going around Graves, I was treated with a seal swimming just below the surface and doing a U-Turn directly under my boat. A neat experience, but happened to quick for me to capture with the camera. It will have to remain a mind's eye event. From Graves we did a pretty direct paddle to check out the "Massachusetts " ferry boat as it still was grounded and the Coast Guard had several pumps going to pull the water out of its' hull. The attached tug boat had either not really tried or was unsuccessful at pulling it off. From the ferry accident it was off to a nice stone beach on Lovell Island for the last siesta of the day. At that point of the day the beach of multiple, piled rounded rocks had taken on the feel of a Lazy Boy as we all indulged. If the incoming tide hadn't made our beached boats restless, some of us might still be there right now. Leaving there we took a a pretty direct line back to our put in, but elected to pull the boats out on the southern side of the neck this time. I would like to thank Al Coons for his call and posting on this and besides being a pretty stellar day for a paddle, it was a great crowd that also made this a very good paddle. We paddled approximately 17 miles. I'm posting a link to my picture album of this event, but apologize that they didn't load in chronological order. Not sure why Picassa does that and I don't know how to move them with in the album. Scott Kimball http://picasaweb.google.com/11132830468888...NKayakTrip7310# NESCN's reporting on the Ferry Boat accident. http://www.necn.com/07/03/10/Chaotic-frigh...amp;feedID=4206

Woops, completely missed the Google link, got it now. Coming from the north I assume it makes most sense to come down 93 till Callahan tunnel exit, then take that north till I hit the road systems that will take me over to Shirley road ?

I have never been to this boat launch before and will be coming from Manchester N.H. area. I did look at the put-in directions, but not sure how far out the put-in is and if there are any surprises or suggestions I might want to know about.

I am a tentative yes and going early is doable for me, but what works best for all is fine to. Scott

Nice shots as usual Doug and thanks for organizing and posting this one. That loop around Gerrish is always great because of the various changes of environments to paddle and no bad vistas.

Nine of us launched from the Odione State Park boat launch, paddled our way out to the Piscataquag River, crossed in a pod over to Foster Park in Kittery then meandered north along the ocean side of Gerrish Island. Today that stretch and the entrance into Brave Boat Harbor was quite passive. A leisurely lunch at Brave Boat Harbor was followed by the exercise in boat maneuverability as we S-turned our way through marsh to Chauncey Creek. At the end of Chauncey Creek we paddled up to the Foster Park pier then cut over to the island with the old abandoned Coast Guard station for our last break before crossing the Piscataquog and back to the boat launch under slightly ominous clouds. The seas were mild today, but a good group to paddle with. Link to my pictures. Scott http://picasaweb.google.com/11132830468888...lbum62610953PM#

I'm planning on making it. Scott

I saw this quote and thought it applies to kayaking. "Be like a Duck. Calm on the surface, but paddle like hell below it."

If you don't like the seat because the seat pan feels a little to short, you can always look at my NDK Explorer to see what I did because of the short seat pan in it. I cut and carved a piece of foam to fit perfectly flush to the front side of my stock seat pan then carved it to meet my comfort needs and to lengthen the seat pan's feel under my legs. Once I got it to feel the way I wanted it to, I velcroed it to the bottom of the boat butted up against the existing seat pan. That allowed me to have the advantage of a hard seat to maximize the paddling effort, but gave me the comfort I was looking for under my thighs. Scott

I see this problem partially rooted in a generational difference. What would be nice to see is youth coming into the sport-club. Brambor is right that even if you have younger people on a paddle, there is little to no peers for them to further bond to the sport with. Under the right circumstances, I can see a lot of younger kids taking to the sport. I was fortunate to have been part of the big outdoor boom that started in the 60's leading me from family camping to hiking to technical climbing to a number of adventures all over with a wide selection of peers to mix and match with. The stumbling block I see for getting youth into it isn't trying to pique their interest, but first cost of the equipment and their ability to be able to have time for recreation. Because the seas can offer plenty of endorphin building experiences, I don't think they aren't attracted because it isn't exciting enough. In the days and age of massive student loans and hard to find jobs it makes it difficult for them. I know in Europe, clubs will own small fleets of boats and in the old days, college outing clubs did as well. Members (youth?) could then at least have access to what they need to participate. I do know this is well beyond the scope of what this or for that matter most paddling clubs are in the position to do, but I think in recent years there have been few avenues for youth to experience the great outdoors and the potential of a life long lifestyle. After working with our youth for decades, what I saw was an over proliferation of organized sports run by adults and often for adults, kids from wealth that think jet skis and dirt bikes is the ticket or those with just a skate board and their local street as the final horizon. I have no idea how this or any club can take on this challenge of passing it on, but we might be surprised at how some might respond.

If lite, lite is the ultimate factor then I agree with Brambor that Warmlite Tents are about as light as you are going to get. They are made in house by the Stephenson family in the Guilford N.H. area. When set up properly they will take an intense blow, but aren't self supporting. They do need to be anchored at a couple of points. http://warmlite.com/