JohnHuth

It sure doesn't seem to be the most practical of boats.

One option is the Garmin gpsmap60: http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap60cx/ Most models don't allow a download of charts, although the gpsmap60 does allow this. I have a Garmin e-trex vista, which allows waypoints and route transfers, but not maps. The general caveat is not to use these as a substitute for good map and compass work. Actually, the single best thing I've gotten out of the units is a continual monitoring of velocity. This is great for improving your forward stroke through direct feedback. Units have been sometimes known to fail when they were counted on - batteries, dampness, lack of sattelite signals. Still, they can be fun to have on-board.

In the Globe today [link:www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/03/14/3_uri_students_missing_after_post_party_ride_on_foggy_bay/] This was a rowboat, with three students going out at 2:30 AM after a party with 40 degree water temperature, no PFD's, thick fog.

I took the Solo course last year. The cert lasts for two years, and they also have an option to squeeze in the CPR cert. I highly recommend it - in fact - I had a choking incident at work and had to do a Heimlich to clear a woman's trachea, not to mention other minor incidents - so this training is definitely valuable! John H.

This, and Cape Winds... I had to give a tour of my experiment to Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska. He's sometimes called "Yosemite Sam" - if you're on the other side of an issue from him, you can practically see steam coming out of his ears. My own view on drilling on the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge is that we should hold off on it until we have a more sensible national energy policy, but I wouldn't dream of saying this to the Senator from Alaska. It's a tough problem - we say we don't want the problems associated with energy, but at the same time, we burn fuel like gluttons. Many of the LNG ports suggested all would have negative implications for sea kayakers. I guess I would err on the side of having them in closer proximity to urban settings, since we have to face the fact that it's needed.

That might explain why I don't know my ACA number. I get very little or no information from them.

Rick Crangle sent me a bunch of URL's on waves - the two I found the most interesting for water waves are below: http://w3.salemstate.edu/~lhanson/gls214/gls214_waves.html http://research.haifa.ac.il/~maritime/depa...cean/lect18.htm Thanks, Rick, and to all who attended the courses! Best, John Huth

I read somewhere the Rebecca Giddens (US olympic silver medalist in the slalom in Athens) did this one: stand on an exercise ball and have someone throw a medicine ball at you and toss it back. I have to say that I have yet to accomplish the simple task of balancing on an exercise ball on my feet - but I thought y'all might get a kick of that.

Adam - pretty nice. I'm always up for some new moves. There's also the wood-chop: basically take a medicine ball and move it in a diagonal direction from the foot to up in the air in a standing position. 3 reps per side at 60 seconds each. Another one, which is good core/balance is this: kneel on a swiss exercise ball (feet not touching the ground, so you're balancing on the ball) - take two weights (I use 5 lbs...but whatever) - and use a paddle stroke motion - with or without any diagonal core rotation. Go for 100 or so rotations (but you have to work up to it). The good thing about this is that there are all these muscles that are used for fine motor coordination for example, in surfing - when you're doing the balancing, but also paddling at the same time.

Remember - keep the ferrous metals away from the compass!!!

The course is 10-12 tomorrow, followed by Bob Budd from 1 till 4 PM. John

OK - for tomorrow's weather/wave course, we'll start out with a discussion of observations you made over the last two weeks. I hope some of you noticed the classic warm front moving through with the high winds and rain. When I saw the high cirrus clouds moving in, I was thinking "oh boy...this is perfect timing!" I'm going to spend a bit more time on thunderstorms and gust fronts because this is a major issue that kayakers can face and a big potential hazard, then move onto waves. Someone asked for the powerpoint transparencies - here they are. Note that my chart of barometric readings from October gives you an idea of what to look for in how fast pressure changes indicate fronts. PPT of two weeks ago: http://nspn.kates.org/2006/Huth-John/Bascom.ppt PPT for tomorrow: http://nspn.kates.org/2006/Huth-John/Jan_21.ppt Web-browser version for tomorrow: http://nspn.kates.org/2006/Huth-John/Jan_21/ Best, John Huth

Yes, please bring snacks and lunch, or plan to get lunch in Topsfield. I'll try to bring some coffee boxes as we had for the last meeting. John

Thanks to Jason for putting these up - here's a version that should be readable by all web browsers http://nspn.kates.org/2006/Huth-John/Bascom/ If you can't read this, let me know and we can post an alternate version. See ya on Saturday (I want to have someone tell me why we had so much wind on Sunday and today - a good pop quiz). John

I own a glass 170, and it's perfect for me. I'm 5'10", 185 or so. I'd say the the cockpit is the right size for me - it's easy to roll - battle tested in big surf. I think I was only blown out of the cockpit once in heavy surf, and was able to do a reentry and roll that time. I found the built-in pads and such to work great for me, with little adjustment. But, maybe I have a strange build?

It's pretty bizarre. The "wavey" pattern seems to indicate that those patches were underwater and exposed to some wind, and that at a certain point, while the tide was going out, the wind suddenly dropped. That's my best guess, that it was windy as the tide went out, and then it suddenly dropped off just as the water was maybe a centimeter deep. I don't have any other explanation - I have seen some rectangular patterns on flats, but none with wave-lets on it. John

Do you have any more photos? Can you describe the location a bit better, and the time the photo was taken relative to the tides? In very flat beaches one can get strange backwash patterns, but I have to say that this is by far one of the odder ones I've seen. Are you certain there was no human activity in that area for 24 hours before the photo was taken?

If you could help with a snack, that would be useful. I'll be bringing three boxes of Starbucks Coffee. There is a projection screen there, so there's no problem. I will need a flip-chart etc, so if Liz and get this to Rick to get to the Barn, that would help. We still need a volunteer to collect dues. Remember to bring a bag-lunch! I'll be bringing handouts for a weather journal/predictions for the period between the 7th and 22nd. John Huth

Here's an update for the weather/wave course. First - thanks for the great turn-out on the 7th. For those of you keeping track of the weather, I hope you may have noticed that we had a warm/tropical maritime pattern that suddenly got hammered by a cold/continental front yesterday. If not....well, no comment. We'll be doing this again on the 21st at the Gould Barn. I'll be doing weather/waves from 10-12, and Bob Budd will be doing safety from 1-4 PM. In weather/waves, I'll do a bit more detail on thunderstorms, since there were some questions about this, then briefly on sea mirages (fata morgana etc), then onto waves. I will need a flip chart, if there's one available. Any general comments on the course, or things you'd like reviewed, or general questions, please post them. I'm still trying to post my slides from last time- I didn't forget. John H.

Excellent question. I was leaving the navigation part to Rick Crangle, as he asked to do that. I got an e-mail from him saying that he was going to defer the navigation part until later in the year (perhaps spring) - so it will be all weather and waves. I'll be using an LCD projector and a flipboard. Saturday, 7th at 10 AM - lasting until about 2:15 - with breaks for lunch etc. Then, again, on the 22nd. I have the sense that most people were interested in weather in any case. I'll try to post more details in a bit. John

How much did they cost you? I've been thinking about getting studded tires, but the cost of the added gear cluster for the rear wheel has been keeping me - but the bruises I got on my knee and hip are making me think seriously about it. The other worry is about slipping on ice in traffic - I don't even want to think about that one! John

As long as the conditions are safe, I'll paddle (and do). I also continue to bicycle commute from Newton into Cambridge, and have a nasty bruise on my knee to prove it (slipped on ice). My philosphy is that it's necessary to get outside as much as possible, all year round - it keeps a person happy. Main caveats- avoid conditions where ice forms, either in the water or on the surface of the boat, and I get a lot more cautious about conditions - even with a drysuit and a tight fitting hood, I worry about immersion shock. Someone once suggested plastering silicon grease on your face - now if I could only find silicon grease - I'm thinking about trying Crisco instead.

I think that S. Nauset beach is closing up on S. Monomoy - I don't know if that'll change the tide flow - maybe it's mostly coming from the west anyway?

I was able to get a very high quality land-sat photo by using NASA's WorldWind. I can't seem to post it here, but I can e-mail it to you. Yes, Hartley's a bit of a...well....but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in crossing from Monomoy to Nantucket. Any takers?

Well, we could give it a try - but my trusty guide says that the oils in coffe are responsible for this effect. You need just a thin layer of oil on top of the coffee - this cames from a strong roasted coffee - no milk or sugar, not espresso, not instant. I wonder if Starbucks should consider marketing a "weather prophesizing coffee"? Sounds like a good gimick.