Kevin B (RPS Coach)

You're not going to come dressed like a holiday tree again, are you? I thought you had gotten past that...

Salem's fireworks are scheduled to begin at 9:15pm on Tuesday and a couple of us will be viewing them by kayak and welcome others to come as well. We'll also be viewing Marblehead's fireworks that start at 9pm. Put in at Dolliber Cove with back up of the Willows. Put in promptly at 7:30. We'll monitor 72 for lat arrivals. We have no idea if this will work since we haven't tried it before. There are alot of uncertainties including weather, parking, etc. This will be the last update so use your own judgement in re those variables whe deciding whether to go. If you get lost on the way, feel free to call at 978.270.8170.

Several of us are planning on touring Salem Sound on Saturday the 1st. Put in time is at 9am (low tide at 10am) with the put in /take out dependent on interest. Either Tuck's Point, Forest River or Riverside. Post questions or expressions of interest here.

A couple of us are planning on paddling around Gloucester Harbor Wednesday afternoon. Put in at the Greasy Pole around 5pm if anyone would like to join us. If you can't make the put in time, we'll monitor 72 if you want to join us on the water. Post questions or expressions of interest here. _____________________ ...at least from my point of view. Most recent NOAA forecast has gale warnings until 4pm and SMA until 4pm tomorrow. Given how gloomy it is outside and the fact that I don't feel like slogging through the wind today, I won't be going out. Others may still show up who don't have a chance to read this update.

In case anyone arrives late and we're already on the water, we'll be monitoring channel 72.

Conomo Point at 5pm and off the water by dark; however, if you have any lights good idea to bring them along just in case. Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day!

Yup, figured that out...I sort of thought kayaking would be quite hard with two left arms

Anyone want to paddle on Wed.? Don't really care about location...just want to get out there....post here if interested...

Why do I have a feeling this thread might turn into a knife vs. non-knife free for all? I tried the bear claw and found it rusted much too easily and it was hard to near impossible to clean off the rust. It was also much too small to grab with gloved hands when paddling in the winter. I use a knife made by Buck named the Tiburon. It has a blunt, screwdriver tip, rope cutter, serrated edge as well as straight edge. Here's the description from Buck: Multi-purpose water sports knife designed in collaboration with world-renowned kayaker, Ed Gillet. The Tiburon has a 3-3/4" serrated segment, and a chisel tip on the blade. A handy line cutter on the back and a clever socket wrench. 17-7PH stainless steel gives the perfect balance of corrosion resistance and good edge holding strength. Sheath is molded with belt loop and clip for right or left-hand use. 8-1/2" overall, 6 oz. I've found the locking mechanism to be incredibly secure; however, the tradeoff is that you have to use two hands to unsheath it until you get used to the mechanism. It will spot with rust, but a little TLC with a Scotchbrite sponge takes it right off. It might be long for some people at 8.5 inches, but I have it on my pfd and have never had an issue with it while performing rescues, rolls, etc.

Hey G, Check out Brian's description: http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Techniqu...ames/read/21952

Keith, Yes, my comment assumed of course that you still had a boat on which to open a day hatch I keep my radio (iCom m88) in my pfd without incident; however, several people including professional coaches claim to always keep them in their day hatch on the grounds that electronics don't fair well in a marine environment. I always found that to be a weak argument since I believe that radios are more likely to fail due to a manufacturing defect (which you'll discover quite soon) rather than constant exposure presuming they are properly cared for (rinsing, etc.)

I'm planning on going...

Well, if someone flips me over, I'll just take a page out of Gillian's book and tell them not to do it again or I'll whack them with my paddle:) To be honest, dealing with a swimmer is not much different than dealing with a person new to kayaking and unfamiliar with rescues who flips; however, a motor-powered craft will be out there with us in radio contact if that allays any fear...

Suz, Could we do this to coincide with either the Chebacco or Mystic lake session?

Keith and John, I'll add my voice to the chorus of those who have expressed gratitude that the both of you came through that experience relatively unscathed. In regards to the radio in the day hatch, was it difficult to access in those conditions? I know quite a few people who keep their radio in that location for a variety of reasons and I'm just curious if that's still a sound idea in light of your recent experience.

Ok, I'm apparently a glutton for punishment for I opted to act as coordinator for this event for our end. Salem Coast Watch will be holding a fundraiser swim meet event on July 22 at Forest Park in Salem, MA. They have approached us to see if we could provide kayak patrols and we have agreed to do so. Once again we have a chance to get the word out about our club and about kayaking in general. So I'm now soliciting for volunteers to help out. The committment is minimal. We will need 6 to 8 people on the water, basically helping to keep an eye on the swimmers and offering assistance if necessary. The event runs only for one day from 8am to noontime. They have also agreed to allow us to have a table from which to pass out our club literature and talk to people about the club/kayaking, so I would like to get 2 people for the booth as well. Salem Coast Watch will provide refreshments for the volunteers. This is another great chance to help spread the word about our club in the heart of the North Shore, so please volunteer today! WE GET SO MUCH FROM POOL AND LAKE SESSIONS, THE MESSAGE BOARD, ETC. GIVE BACK TO THE CLUB NOW! If you have any questions or want to volunteer, please email me at kevin dot beckwith at mindspring dot com. Thanks!

Many thanks for the vertigo info...from the description it sounds pretty close to what I experienced.

Wow, I guess I must have been underwater when all that happened...

The carabiner was attached to its own belt and not the person. Again, it did not click closed on the site, rather it pierced the webstrap and became lodged. The only way this fluke could have been prevented would be if it remained in its bag (this is the Northwater Sea-tec tow belt), which would mean easy and quick deployment would be compromised. Even the way Suz described carrying it could in theory have led to the same result that Gillian experienced.

>I unfortuantely still have half a roll but got the sweep >right last night, just lifted the head . . . did a couple >cowboy re-entries and Kevin even got Julia out of her >boat!!!!! Kevin did about a hundred rolls until he actually >made himself dizzy I hear - we're still wondering if that's >perhaps from the motion or water in the ear or a combination >of both? Um, not quite a hundred rolls . To clarify, on the way off the lake, I rolled four times in quick succession on the same side and although I did not get dizzy while in the boat, I did as I tried to exit when I reached the shore. Now, this could be do to doing the rolls quickly in succession, but I'm also curious if it had anything to do with either water hitting the ear canal, essentially causing a bit of vertigo, or perhaps not replenshing the air supply amply enough between each roll. Curious as to thoughts on this... >As I was turning around in the boat to face forward, the >caribiner caught and clipped onto the strap of the back of >my seat. To clarify, the seat-back in Gilly's Aquanaut is attached to the bulkhead with a set of small straps. The carabiner was clipped to the provided loop on the tow belt for quick deployment as has been suggested to me many times. In this case, we would that the carabiner did not simply latch on to the webbing, it PUNCTURED it and became quite difficult to dislodge. Had Gilly flipped again in that position, it would have been very difficult to near impossible for her to wet exit. This may have been a fluke, but it's a fluke I would really like to avoid in the future. Any thoughts?

Barry, My first boat was an Eclipse and although not the best tracking boat on the market, it did so reasonably well. If I recall, it was quite windy the day you paddled so it could have been the fact that with the rudder up you basically have sail on the stern. I didn't use the rudder when I had the boat and on windy days it would always catch the rudder out of the water.

Well, our participation in REI's Demo Day weekend went off without a hitch. Sat. provided us with some slight wind and rain, rain, rain, but we persevered through four long hours without a rescue or tow. Many thanks to those who stuck it out in the rain yesterday (Julia, Janice, Joan, Keith, Gillian and Ernie) to provide safety, instruction and to represent our club! For those of you who did not get your REI coupon, I do have them and I'll be at Mystic and Chebacco this week, so remind me if and when you see me. Today turned out to be a much better day in terms of weather albeit with much more wind. The four hours went by much more quickly as several people did us a favor by falling out of their boats, or losing steering control in the wind or even losing their paddle. All in all, two "out of control" canoes, one child adrift without a paddle and two capsizes, all returned to shore with big smiles Our club's dedication and proficiency shown through today and left a lasting impression on many of the people trying out boats on Sunset Lake. A special thanks to Matt, Heidi, Gillian, Michael, Gay and Judy for making that possible. All of who participated deserve a round of applause for their efforts. Thank you from the club!

Ernie, According to REI, it's a rain or shine event. Per their schedule for their employees, they should already be on site.

It could be the hitch you named. I was just playing around with the rope and most likely just reinvented something

Would this work for a knot on a short tow with a quick release from a biner? Start out as you would for a bowline knot, but instead of having the working end go over have it go under the non-working end as you wrap around the biner. If you don't, it could jam on release. Then using the working end, pass a bight through the loop just created. Next create a bight with the non-working end and pass it through the first bight created. Finally, create one more bight with the working end and pass it through the second bight. Tighten by holding onto the biner and the non working end. Sorry no pics available.