subaruguru

Bump. See my PM to you. Ern

i might be avail to paddle tuesday or wednesday before i head back to nevada, if the weather calms down and if work isn't too pressing. I'm possibly up for an L3 Monday, if my sore back improves. Tuesday might be ok, if a bit windier and cloudy. Perhaps we should start another thread...? Ern

Phew...that's a tricky one for me, too. The fact that a couple DOZEN large heads surfaced simultaneously, forming an arc a good 120 degrees or so around us last week left me thinking that it wasn't the seals who should've been fearful! Annoyed? I'm not qualified to respond. But I was left with the feeling of being an invader. Would having a camera be sufficient rationale to justify the provocation? Hmmm...I dunno. May I suggest that you repost a separate thread? I don't think too many potential responders will find your query tailed off my trip report. Best, Ern

Aargh...wish I had seen this earlier!

Four of us shared a nice parting paddle yesterday before Leon heads South. A full 3-4 DOZEN big grey seals saluted as we rounded the Breakers, followed by a brisk run to sloppy landings for lunch at Children's. Just a bit of bump and swell, and a few interesting pairs of OPPOSITE direction breakers (clapotis?) at low tide just to confuse us a bit. See Lisa's trace (we tried to trace a hanging Xmas Eve stocking) and pics soon. Hoping for a couple more 50 degree balmy ones before the Holidays. See you all at the Party!

Warren, If I attend on Sunday (back problems), I can possibly bring a spare kayak (Impex Force Cat 5) for you to use. Has custom bulkhead set for 31-33" inseam. Check with me much later in the week. Ern

. It didn't seem balanced to me. Heavy plowing bow unlike my plastic one that rides much higher. Perhaps I was too big for it. Verrrrry slow. ...Huh. Almost sounds like the seat is positioned too far forward so that you're plowing inefficiently. Sounds like the OPPOSITE of the Cetus you're used to. And why so different from the plastic? Weird.

Both my Supernovas leaked profusely at the multi-panel crotch junctions, even after Kokatat's initial repair of one. Newer Supernovas, as well Goretex ones are probably much tighter, of course. I mention this only because you didn't state which model you have. If an older Supernova look for lifted tape at the crotch seams that exposes the stitches to water. You can also test by simple wading immersion. My booties didn't fill until the required immersion depth, at which time the trickle down my leg was immediate (insert obvious joke here).

Weather.com calls York area at 23 WNW, gusts to 40 (!), rain 30%. Is there any way to stay alee of this, Gene? It's Halloween, but I'd hate to look the part without a costume.

I'm a strong maybe for this trip too! Would we be pooling, Barry, or would you be up there already en famille? Ern

D&N, Interesting boat, and video. Sounds like a big-cockpit small Cetus. Does the fat tall bow slam percussively like the Cetus'? And waterline with Doug looks fairly high volume, so wonder if it cocked badly without skeg? A reviewer on the West Coast found it even slower than Chathams, so strictly reserves it for natural-propulsion play like surfing. It's nice to see designers focusing on playboats that don't pearl nor broach easily. Doug, More importantly, did you get to try the the Baffin composite? It'd be nice to be able to recommend a great hull AND seat system in a big guy's playboat. Ern

Hey Scott, Upon CRCK's rec I chased a new design full-zip Neosport Farmer John 3mm "power-stretch" wetsuit, only to find them closed out (?) at rei-outlet for only $99. By the time I ordered they were down to only a small. Since I'd never seen the product for sale earlier I suspect they were selling pre-production samples. Both nrs and rei are famous for dumping S and XS stuff as advertising leaders. Hope to see ya Nov 7.

Gosh, this is tempting, and Barry and I could carpool, too, but I really shouldn't be kayaking just yet. I also just saw winds forecast picked up to 20-30kn from the west. Have fun if you go. Ern

Love to, Barry, but re-injured my damned back. Ern

I now realize why it's easier for me to use the "continuous screw-in" single move: The 4th hatch cavity! My legs are long enough so that when I hook-heel enter I then reach with the entering foot over to the far side (center of COMBINED masses) of the cockpit. This may have been necessary anyway as my prior Cetus had a BIG cavity, so I found it easier to have my entering foot aim for its eventual home, continuing a twist so that said first foot/leg needn't traverse a huge stalagtite. Although the Vaag's cavity is much smaller, the thigh braces are lower, too, so that spiraling in as though the entering foot is "drilling" into one hole is easier as momentum enables the thighs to rotate more quickly. Frankly with the Cetus I'm not even sure I could have even stopped midway through an entry and then reverse "twist", given the relative difficulty in sliding one's large foot and leg ACROSS the cockpit orifice with that big obstacle. I'll have to ask Doug M which he prefers.... Will have to try both ways in the Vaag. There's no question it seems faster to me just keep spinning (preserving momentum) though.... There also may be something that just also feels right when twisting my back TOWARDS the center of the combined masses, perhaps instinctively akin to backing into a safe corner and looking outward when threatened, rather than preserving the civilized politeness of a face-to-face exercise? Something about trusting saviors to "watch my back"? I don't like sitting in a restaurant with my back to an open crowd, either, which I think is a majority opinion. Just harder to let go and savor the food through other senses. (Maybe we should try rescues while eating oreos and see what happens?)

Leon, You'll be glad to hear that in gratitude for YOUR heroics, Le Consultat General du Canada in Boston is willing to honor you with La Medaille Pour Le Protection des Cartes Nautiques. Unfortunately I told them that you couldn't attend the ceremony at 400 Copley because you were afraid of elevators. One of them then snickered that the last time they offered this award the smell of the recipient's wet neoprene played havoc with le foie, ruining l'ambience de la ceremonie anyway. However, one of the guards did think that you're falling asleep during a pee-break was pretty funny, though. I reminded them that it was Bob (aka Le Savieur) who was truly deserving of une medaille, but they remarked that rescuing an offspring of old ex-pat French-American Canadians had been too common...they'd run out of those awards a long time ago. Gene, Funny thing about this Vaag: its slippery ass keeps it remarkably on track when climbing wave faces and surfing down them (it really doesn't want to broach, Leon); however, when on beam seas this sliding stern is trickier than expected. Although I didn't capsize despite several HOURS riding the 4-6 footers on our beams a couple of weeks ago, and I felt quite comfortable with the occasional 4-5 footers we were engaging on our trek toward Lane's yesterday, once we turned east along their beam c'etait deja vu.... I thought to stay loose-hipped, and managed good progress without much bracing, but was VERY surprisingly "slid" sideways by what I only would estimate as a TWO-footer on my stern! The speed of this slide didn't allow a quick left-side low brace, so I mysteriously went over. I was more pissed than anything else, as I had handled the bigger ones easily. This almost "banana-peel"-like slide I've experienced only several times, but it's unmistakable. I had been told by Mark at CRCK to expect this sliding-stern behavior. Useful as it is when trying to stay positioned on a wave face when surfing, I just can't yet figure out how to handle it when on beam seas. It's like the rug's pulled out suddenly, or instantly slipping on ice as I push the Miata too hard. One thought I have is that the stern becomes momentarily dry when twisting a bit on a beam wave, thereby instantly removing the 1/2-deployed skeg's bite, allowing the stern to slip around. Make sense? I'll ask the Maelstrom and Boreal guys when they visit on the 23rd.... Can it make sense that what makes a great surfer or rock-player makes a lousy beam-sea rider? ******** This was also the FIRST time I'd paddled without a paddle leash, having transferred it to my wing for a previous paddle ala Leon. (I KNEW there was something different when we launched, but couldn't figure it out.) I'm now going to put a leash on all three of my paddles.... Bob, Maybe we should post re heel-hook reentry continuous spiral vs the more conventional "facing" twist on a separate thread?

Great. Katherine, Scott, others?

Paddlers, Forecast and live buoy data show NE winds at 13-14kn throughout the day. Leon and I agree that Trip is still on at Lane's Cove 11AM meetup. Initial expectation is that we'll probably head south along the coast towards the Annisquam River if windy. Beach briefing c. 11:30. Ern

Hi Bob, Katherine, Scott and Prudence, Winds are forecast at 10-12 kn NE throughout the day. We'll meet at 11 AM at Lane's Cove and decide direction at briefing, unless Leon or I cancel in the morn...which is unlikely. Ern

G,L, Lane's is a more likely bet for me as I may not have the travel time to get to Rye. Will confirm later today. Winds are supposed to calm so we'll have many options. Others want to join in? Ern

Welcome, and congrats...you're now Level 2...once you get that skirt and learn to handle a wet exit or three.

The data I have was from the webpage of the IoS buoy, but it's not simple. Give me an email address and I can forward what I've done on. Also, I neglected to include in the plot any ratios greater than 4, but there were 15 or 20 data points (not percentage points) with extreme 3pm/9am ratios heading up towards 20. Phil Phil, Send to me at ernest_meunier@msn.com Interesting that you found outliers not included in the posted distribution. Makes we wonder if they contribute to the so-called "common knowledge" re higher PM winds. I haven't played with sample population data in 25 years, so will plot manually ( oh boy), lacking digital statistical tools. Thanks. Ern