Christa

Hi Mark, I had the same problem last year with my custom-ordered drysuit. The neck gasket blew after less than 6 wearings - I think it was 3 actually. I was standing around at a launch after a paddle and the gasket blew like I was the Incredible Hulk. I know the suit hadn't been sitting around a shop as it was sent directly from Kokatat to me. As it turned out, I was paddling with Carmody and Maynard the day after it happened. I called some friends to see if I could borrow a dry suit and 2 of them reported the same issues with suits purchased around the same time. Then while John was duct-taping me into my drysuit, he said his neck gasket in his new suit blew three times before Kokatat finally agreed to replace his gasket. I called Kokatat and explained what happened. Though they first told me that neck gaskets are not part of the warranty, they said if they discovered the latex was bad they would replace it for free. I sent the suit back to them so they could look at the latex and they did replace it for free. There's a review of the new Stohlquist dry suit on paddling.net (http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=1779). Ben Lawry has been using a Palm drysuit for quite some time and I also have some friends who bought Palms when their Kokatat gaskets failed and they have been very pleased with them.

Hey Suz, Mel Rice is going to be at the Paddlesports show in Kittery. Maybe she would bring the boat to Bar Harbor. That just leaves you getting it to Kittery. Christa

I just got this today. Day 1 Saturday * Coaching Processes (1) (Maynard S./TBA) * Intro. to SK (1) (Martin/ Schoon) * Intro. to Whitewater (1) (Lawry/Davis) * 2 Star Training (Rice/Maynard M.) * 3 Star Training (Yagoda/Hudges) * Incident Management (Wright/Carmody) Day 2 Sunday * Coaching Processes (2) (Maynard S. TBA) * Intro. to SK (2) (Martin/ Maynard M.) * Intro. to Whitewater (2) (Lawry/Davis) * Greenland Skills (Perry/Wilson) * 2/3 Star Assessment (Wright/Rice) * 2/3 Star Tour (Yagoda/Carmody) * Sea Kayak Leadership (Hudges/Schoon) Day 3 Monday * L2 Coach Training (1) (Maynard S./TBA) * Intro. to SK (3) (Martin/ Maynard M./Schoon) * Greenland Skills (Perry/Wilson) * 2 Star Training (Rice/Dovid) * 3 Star Training (Wright/Hudges) * Canoe Safety (Carmody/Luby) * Race Clinic (Lawry/TBA) Day 4 Tuesday * L2 Coach Training (2) (Maynard S./TBA) * Sea Kayak Leadership (Carmody/Schoon) * River Fun for Sea Kayakers (Yagoda/Wright) * Women's Skills (Rolling and Stroke Development) (Rice/Maynard M.) * Core Paddling (Lawry/TBA) * Greenland Skills (Perry/Wilson) * 2/3 Star Assessment (Hudges/Luby) Day 5 Wednesday * L2 Coach Assessment (Maynard/TBA) * 2/3 Star Assessment (Hudges/Maynard M.) * Canoe Safety (Carmody/Wright) * Forward Stroke (Lawry/TBA) * Euro Paddle Rolling (Schoon/Rice) * 2/3 Star Tour (Yagoda/Martin) * Inland 4 Star Assessment (TBA)

You shouldn't need to do turns like bow and stern rudders -use your tiller bar to turn the boat. The faster the boat is going, the tighter the turns will be. If you find it is not turning fast enough, then you can adjust the pins on the rudder. Move them in closer to the center and then when you get used to the Jet, you can move them back out. I spent a few months in flat water before I ventured out in chop. If you do go out in chop, make sure you have the float bags in bow and stern and that whoever is paddling with you is able to rescue a rec boat. I have to start coming to Boston fairly regularly for work and I'd be up for a paddle. I'll let you know once my trips start. Ben adjusted my boat so I never had any issues with being too far forward or back and that affecting the bow. Maybe you should ask one of the racer types like Alex L, Binks, or Ken Cooper for some help. Christa

Hi Ernie, I have a Jet. Here is a picture of Elizabeth McBride sitting in one so you can see her leg and back position. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/christarotol...3a3.jpg&.src=ph You want to sit up straight with your knees bent and fairly close together. Your back should not be touching anything. Backbands prevent torso rotation which is why racing boats don't have them. In Ben Lawry's Forward Stroke class, he makes the students take their backbands out of their sea kayaks. The knee padding will hinder your leg movement. Don't try to make the boat fit like a sea kayak. Sit up straight and get used to your core muscles holding you erect. If your legs are straight then you can't be using them effectively. Try this exercise from Ben's Forward Stroke class. Sit on the ground with your legs in paddling position. Ask a partner to stand in front of you with their foot against yours. Bend your leg at different angles and push against your partner's foot. Try it with a straight leg. Then have them give you feedback on what leg position gives the most push. Adjust the foot bar so that your feet fit through it and it's fairly snug. You should only be able to get your toes through it. Originally I had mine so that my foot slid all the way through, but Ben showed me where it should be on my feet and that helped. I don't think you can roll it just with a zippered spray-deck - unless those knee braces you added are really quite large. There's nothing for get your knees under so without a thigh belt it would be pretty tough. Christa

Just when I was starting to feel sorry for you for missing out on this and Tybee, I noticed there's a person in those pics that looks remarkably like you, Suz. Were you delivering hot cocoa by boat?

Suz, You're going to have to wrestle me for the Capella 161. One last try before I place my order. Christa

I don't know what the best skirt is or if there is a "best" skirt, but my vote goes for Snapdragon. Earlier this season I purchased an Ocean Trex supratex spray deck for my Romany. A few weeks ago I noticed that there was a small hole near the grab loop. I wrote to Snapdragon and asked where it could be repaired. I had no idea how it happened, but they did not ask. They apologized for the inconvenience and instructed me to send it back to them for repair as they warranty the deck edge and taping for the life of the skirt. Yesterday I received a brand-new spray deck. I'm a customer for life now.

Stan and Ema retired from Great River Outfitters in 2004 and GRO was sold and relocated to the Kayak Centre. So there is no need to search further than the Kayak Centre to find GRO.

Here's the link to the website http://sweetwaterkayaks.com/labrador/

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Congratulations to David Lewis, Matt Palmariello, and Christopher Godfrey on passing their 3 star assessment today with Steve Maynard.

No Guinness is exactly why the party will be held at Anna Liffey's. There's plenty of Guinness there.

On Wednesday June 29 at 7pm, Russell Farrow and his Labrador Expedition Team will do a slideshow and presentation on their upcoming Labrador Expedition. The slideshow will be at Anna Liffey's, 17 Whitney Ave, New Haven. I know, it's a bit far for some of you but it should be fun. A DREAM…. has finally been made into a reality. Russell and his team are departing New Haven June 30th on a self- supported expedition to northern sub-artic Labrador in North America. Please join us for this special event. Russell and his team will have on display charts, maps and photos of Labrador. They’ll talk about the route they plan to take and expectations of the trip along with some of the risks and hazards. Russell will be capturing the expedition on film. The film will show the day to day experiences and challenges of the team as well as the spectacular coastline. The team will be staying at my house when they return and have promised that whoever survives the trip will show the film for us upon their return to New Haven. BE A PART OF THE DREAM…… As you can imagine, an expedition of this magnitude is a costly affair. With no corporate sponsorship, except for P&H Kayaks, who is donating one of their premier sea kayaks, The Quest, the expedition team is personally funding the trip. To raise money, they have created a t-shirt to sell which will be available at the event. Short Sleeve tees are $25 and Long Sleeve $30. Cash donations can also be made and would be greatly appreciated. You can make your checks out to LABRADOR 2005. If you are unable to make the party you can send donations to Sweetwater Kayaks, 10,000 Gandy Blvd. St Petersburg, Florida. Supporters of the expedition will be listed on the Sweetwater Kayaks website and will receive expedition updates via email. Labrador 2005 Wish List ► Gas Money ► Sony 512 mb Media cards ($64.00 each) ► DVD Tapes ► Satellite Phone Rental $ ($50.00 a week) ► Food $$ ► Digital Camera Batteries ► Solar Recharger About the team and the expedition His expedition team will comprise of his long time friend and partner, Mark Prator, who paddled Alaska in 2000; Toby Brown, who paddled the east coast of Vancouver Island solo; and Tim Keen, who has done expeditions in Alaska and Mexico. They will begin their journey by traveling 3100 miles by vehicle to Goose Bay, Labrador. They will then take a three day trip north on a coastal steamer to Nain, which is the northern most village on eastern coast of North America. This is the beginning their real adventure. Russell and his team will spend 3 weeks on the water, totally self-supported. The area they will be exploring is uninhabited and very remote. . When asked what compelled him to do an expedition to Labrador, Russell replied, “It is the closest true wilderness to where I live. It is three thousand miles away. It is a sad commentary that you have to go that far away to experience true wilderness.” Features of Labrador: ► the oldest rock formations in the world ► the team will paddle past three mountain ranges ► highest cliff on the eastern seaboard of North America (140ft!) ► rocky terrain, icebergs ► ancient Inuit stone circles which held down skin tents that formed villages ► largest herd of caribou in the world (300,000) ► several types of seal, fox ,wolf, whales, birds, polar bears and walrus Risk and challenges the team will face: ► gale force katabolic winds ( which can blow over 100 miles an hour) ► navigational challenges: 32 degree magnetic variation on our compass! ► polar bears ► freezing temps ► fog ► no civilization ► management of food and equipment, and group ► bugs ► the unexpected ► no Guinness

That girl in pic 23 looks like trouble! But that boat is awesome. I wonder if it's for sale. Thanks to Suz for the invite and all the trip leaders and cooks for a great day.