jwhipple

Hi Al - Forgive me if this is something you'd already thought about, but I remember discovering NSPN through a club flyer available at REI. Is it worth doing an 8.5x11 flyer and having it available at such places (REI, EMS, outfitters, etc.), maybe even mentioning it to whoever the boating sales staff is, in case the people they're selling boats to are interested? Maybe that population of folks (many purely recreational) aren't entirely who you're looking for, but they'd all benefit ... Anyway, just a thought. Meanwhile, I have only 1 or 2 people I know who might possibly be interested, and I'll mention it to them. Cheers, Judy

Thanks for your input, John -- your clarification of the phenomena involved helped a LOT!

Richard, your observation is really interesting, but it's a frankly a little scary, mainly because I don't fully understand it. (Physics always does this to me.) Two cents' worth of questions on the subject from me anyway: a penny each, specific and general. * First, the specific. The link you gave about Faraday indicated that everything metal in the boat has to be wired together into a conductive unit or "cage," providing the lightning with a single, uninterrupted path to the water. The article encourages mariners to protect themselves and get this wiring done, if it's not already installed (which I read to mean that NOT all boats have it). It also says, "The voltages are so massive that if they start to travel through a boat's structure - say through its mast - then meet with high resistance (for instance, the hull skin) the current discharge, in its attempt to reach ground, may simply blow a hole in the non-conductive barrier." Hmmm. So, my question: if (as the article implies) some boats DON'T have this grounding system installed, how do we know which tall boat to paddle up to, given the possible consequences of choosing wrong? As your post said, the devil is in the details; you seemed to be suggesting that we need to be looking for specific types of boat features -- flying bridge, long metal outriggers in up position -- okay, I'm a dummy, what do these things look like? It just doesn't sound simple to me (or am I missing something?) ** My second question is more generally meteorological, regarding the role the ground (or water) plays in lightning strikes, and what bearing that may have on our decisions. We generally think of lightning as DOWN -- it hits the ground, don't let it hit you. But in his NSPN weather class, John Huth noted that most of a lightning bolt's charge is FROM the ground -- the ground's response, with the ground supplying much more power. Other weather references corroborate this. The following is culled from a couple of sources: The first stroke begins with what is called a stepped leader, which seeks out a path of least resistance ... when the leader gets NEAR the ground, it draws a streamer of positive charge upward from the ground. As the leader and streamer come together, a powerful electrical current begins flowing. This contact begins the return stroke, an intense wave of positive charge traveling upward along the ionized path that the stepped leader created. This return stroke moves much quicker and it is this stroke that is visible to the human eye. This stroke usually comes from where the positive charge is the greatest on the ground below the cloud. (The sources cite protruding objects as an example, and crouching versus lying down as a way of minimizing the amount of positive ground charge you're concentrating and offering to the sky.) So, there seems to be a great deal of UP in lightning, with the ground -- and the concentrations of charge in it -- playing an active role. A revelation to me, and I'm wondering if this puts the "why's" of selecting one's choice of hiding place (on land or at sea) in a slightly different perspective. But I'm not weather-wise enough to understand what implications it may have ... if John Huth is out there, I'd love to have him weigh in with an opinion or clarification. Meanwhile, until I understand this option better, I think I'd rather take advantage of tall boats by being a short, small object at a modest distance from them, close enough to give the lightning a better choice but safely away. Anyway, my two questions for what they're worth, input welcome ... Judy

Curses! Foiled again! Please note Sing's post below. (Thanks for keeping us apprised, Sing; I'm sure you'd have gotten the problem fixed in time for us, if there had been any way possible). Second Chinatown cancellation in a row; Mother Nature (February) and the resident pool gods (March) have been conspiring against us. Please note that a new Chinatown pool session has been scheduled for Saturday, April 8 (to make up for the snow-cancelled February session). Details are in the NSPN calendar. To sign up for the April 8 session, just contact me at winter_hill@hotmail.com - Judy

Hi Brian - Thanks for doing this! If there's still room, I would like to sign up for the Sunday. My Explorer needs a number of things, among them new deck rigging, troubleshooting a leaking day hatch, hole drilling for compass mount and hatch pressure relief, foaming the pedal area of the cockpit ... or whatever subset of these is manageable in one session. Regards, Judy

This is a longshot, but I'm attempting to get to Florida during the school vacation week period (to join a group of paddling friends), and airfares are astronomical, so I'm thinking of driving and suspect there may be other paddlers headed similarly south during the same time period, maybe interested in sharing driving and gas? It's worth a shot, anyway ... Judy

(See Sing's post below.)

The Saturday Chinatown pool session was full, but due to one paddler's last-minute schedule conflict, one spot has become available. Please email me at winter_hill@hotmail.com if you're interested, or have questions. Judy Whipple

They belong to someone who attended the Dec. 10 pool session in Chinatown, I think -- somehow they ended up in my gear basket. Sorry I didn't notice until yesterday's paddle (Boston Harbor for New Year's, just a few paddlers and all those Brownies, but I digress). You no doubt want to be reunited with them before the next pool session, so just let me know who you are and I'll get 'em back to you pronto... Judy

Thank you everybody for your time and effort (your Christmas shopping is already done, evidently) and all your helpful information! I now have a much better understanding of the issues involved and the options available. The message board is like magic -- just type a few words with a question mark at the end, and this huge wealth of knowledge and experience and helpfulness surfaces out of it ... Happy holidays, and best wishes for just the kind of marine conditions you're hoping for, in 2006. Judy

'Tis the season, so here it is ... Yup, the drysuit neck gasket has ripped. Not a lot, but "not a lot" won't matter the minute I try to put my head through it. I've read the old threads on the website about replacement, and am checking out options mentioned there, and getting in touch with Ravenspring and with United Divers (just down the street from me in Somerville). For replacement, the old threads seem to cover the topic well ... I'm posting this to understand if repair is a viable option. The rip's only down about 3 rings, so I'm thinking one option is to trim the gasket down just below the rip and hope the thing still fits, with replacement as the backup if it's too loose. Brian ably demonstrated how to trim them at the cold weather workshop, but here's my silly amateur question: when cutting, should you trim to/above/below a ring, are those rings there just for reference? Also, is there any other available method for repairing/reinforcing/sealing a short rip like this? Thanks for any and all input, and happy holidays! Judy

Yes please, include me in your headcount! As to type of winter paddling, I'm in what seems to be a majority who are looking for relatively benign conditions. Thanks for taking the initiative and doing your poll! Judy

Am I reading right, the SNG is on Monday? Thanks in advance for clarifying...

The syllabus looks great (especially V and VI) -- please count me in, and THANKS for developing this! - Judy Whipple

Yes, oh yes, pleeeeeeeeeze, yes! For me, any and all options would be welcome, though my preference would be for 3-level trips. And with the exception of the October 23-4, I'm looking to fill up my calendar ... Thanks to those of you willing to suggest and set these up! Judy

I've got one eye on the weather and one on the message board ... and am wondering if you're going ahead with the paddle tonight ...?

I was wondering how your hook encounter turned out ... YEESH! And using it as a cautionary tale for the rest of us is helpful, and appreciated. Sounds as if consulting Al's wife is a good idea, a better alternative than having a surgeon go fishing in your finger. On the other hand, if you wind up ultimately having a little foreign "friend" sharing your finger, it isn't necessarily a problem, even if it never decides to move out. Depending on location, these things can turn out to be perfectly well-behaved, absolutely symptomless residents. (But sorry, you probably didn't want to think about that.) This will NOT prevent your Monomoy trip, right?

I haven't FELT missing ... Dee, thanks, I did eventually get your email this PM and have responded to it; sorry for the hassle finding an email address that works. Judy

This thread (and this list in particular) is also very useful for folks like me (female, variable lower volume depending on ice cream intake, and considering a boat upgrade this year). One boat which is notable by its absence from your list, and which has often been recommended to me, is the Avocet. I'd be grateful for an opinion on how it compares with those listed (and whether it was omitted for a specific reason). Thanks in advance ... Judy

Just north of Broad Cove there is a public landing which is NOT a good idea for leaving a car ... someone told me theirs had been broken into.

Regardless of what they're now called, the fact that they're listed somewhere other than on the main message board was news to me (I'd been wondering, like a dummy, why the show 'n go volume had dropped this year to like, well, zero) ... so yes, there are folks who hadn't figured out where to look for them, and thanks for the heads-up, Al!

me too ...