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Folks, you can charter me. Have towline, will tow (after the Blackburn Challenge that is). If the towees help by paddling a little, I'll tow two boats out to the IOS and back. I won't supply the drinks though. Karen G. is my reference ... I towed her around Cape Ann last year.

I'll try to make it.

It's a private arrangement ... if I reveal it I'll lose it. But sometimes I park far away and use my bike.

You're not allowed to park at Tucks (especially from Memorial day on). I leave the boat there and park somewhere else where I have permission to park.

Sir Godfrey, I was thinking of posting my own trip: "Men-only, above a certain age", but I'm afraid at least one of the women give me a good thrashing.

Lisa and I are paddling from Tucks tomorrow (arriving at 11:00). Any interest in joining us ... we're planning a slow one.

If, as expected, it’s calm we will head from Manchester Harbor to Halfway Rock Island. Halfway Rock, like its name, is mid-way from Boston to Gloucester, approximately five miles east of Beverly, Massachusetts. This island is a large rock pinnacle, which breaks the surface and stands over 50 feet tall, about five miles east of Beverly. Vertical walls and rock shelves drop to depths of 110 feet. There are a lot of cracks, fissures and small overhangs that make for some nice crashing waves against the rock. As we round Halfway Rock we will pass the Dry Breakers to see if any seals are still hanging around (probably not, it’s late in the year for them) and then head back to Tucks. Total trip distance is about 14 statute miles. A little history that mentions Halfway Rock follows: Massachusetts yachting begins in 1832 when Benjamin C. Clark, a Boston Mediterranean merchant who passed his summers at Nahant, purchased the pilot schooner Mermaid. John P. Cushing, just returned from China, then had built for him the sixty-foot pilot schooner Sylph and made his young kinsman Robert Bennet Forbes her sailing master. In 1836 came a famous ocean race, from Long Island to Halfway Rock off Marblehead and back, between the New York sloop Osceola and Mr. Clark's new thirty-six-foot schooner Raven, which won.

Gene, Let's do Wed. as long as the weather is reasonably good. Tuesday I'm doing a very fast Blackburn circuit with "Wonder Woman". Anyone else, I'll be at Tucks Monday morning at approximately 11:00. You're all invited. If interested please confirm here or via e-mail at leon dot g at verizon dot net.

Monday: Tucks at 11:00. I'm also probably going out Tuesday (and Wednesday, if the forecast improves). Anyone interested?

I'll be out on the water M – W of next week enjoying the scenery (probably leaving from Tucks or Lanes). Any interest?

I’ve been using a wing paddle for the last seven years, almost exclusively for the last two years. The reasoning behind the wing paddle is supposed to be that propulsive forces can be produced more effectively (and perhaps with less physiological cost) by using lift forces (at right angles to the direction of flow) rather than drag forces (in the direction of flow). Various articles found on the Internet (for example http://www.archronicles.com/3004.htm) conclude “You will see a 7-10% increase in boat speed from the same effort over a conventional paddle.†This may be extremely optimistic (perhaps it’s true for arm-only paddlers since the wing almost forces trunk rotation). For myself the speed advantage is more limited. Although I have no way to measure my output power versus speed with a wing paddle versus the same with a conventional flat paddle, I can do all-out sprints and see how fast I can go. For short sprints on a calm lake I find about a 1% – 2% increase in speed at perceived maximum effort (maximum power). For long distances on the ocean, such as the 19+ mile Blackburn Challenge, the variable sea and wind conditions, and my condition for that day, completely obscure any measurable speed advantage of the wing paddle. That is, for the Blackburn Challenge, I still don’t know whether I do better with the wing or not. I suspect that there is some advantage, and to put my money where my belief is I do use the wing in that race every year. Curiously however, my record time for the Blackburn circuit (not in an actual race) was 3:13 with a flat paddle and 3:19 (also not in a race) with a wing paddle a year later. Of course, the conditions were different as they always are on the ocean. Anyway, notwithstanding my inability to quantify the advantages of the wing paddle for distance racing, I just like the feel of the wing paddle. Here are the reasons why I think the wing provides a more efficient forward stroke: 1. Mathematical modeling has indicated that less energy is transferred to the water and wasted by a wing blade moving diagonally from the kayak than a conventional blade moving parallel to it [see Jackson, P.S. (1995). Performance prediction for Olympic Kayaks. Journal of Sport Sciences)]. 2. Lateral motions at entry and exit of the wing blade assist in rounding out the motions of the forward stroke; i.e. it is less costly to keep things moving. 3. The time and distance of effective pull with the wing is larger. With a conventional blade pulling parallel to the kayak there is no propulsive force until the blade moves backwards with respect to the water. With a wing blade the initial side motion provides lift, which provides a propulsive force. And of course with a wing the effective distance of pull is greater since the blade moves diagonally. 4. The wing blade technique may allow the blade to maintain a more vertical orientation than the conventional blade technique. This would maximize the component of force in the forward direction compared to components in the upward or downward direction. 5. Finally, lateral motions of the wing blade are produced more naturally by the body than parallel motions with a conventional blade.

I'm in. See you at Lanes at 11:00.

Slight change of plans ... meet Tuesday at noon (not 11:00)

More support shown for Tuesday. So let's make it Tuesday; meet at Tucks at 11:00.

Anyone interested in paddling out of Tucks Point Manchester for Monday and/or Tuesday (5/24 and/or 5/25)? The weather forecast looks very good. I’d be using a new Epic 18X Ultra; I could use some escorts (the boat has very little initial stability and I think it may be hard to roll ... I’ll find out soon). Destination to be decided at our extensive beach briefing.

Not loved by most NSPN folks, but this device on your deck might do the trick. http://www.roll-aid.com/ No, I don't use one.

Perhaps me (assuming I can keep up).

I'm a maybe, let you know Saturday PM.

Tucks canceled. Instead 11:00 at Concord River, Bedford boat launch.

I’m tapering off training for the Essex race and need to go slow for a few days before the race. The goal is a leisurely paddle east towards Kettle Island and Gloucester. Any interest?

Moi aussi Leon

I'm in.

I guess what you really mean is how well does it work in a prolonged floating scenario. For swimming you want no stinking water wings or anything inhibiting you. So, the less buoyancy the better. For me (at least) any PFD gets in my way for rescues (especially reenter and rolls, since the PFD’s buoyancy makes it difficult to submerge upside down and enter the cockpit). But, of course, the tradeoff is safety vs. freedom of movement. In cold and rough water safety is primary. In warm water freedom of movement might be more important (assuming you are a “swimmerâ€). Otherwise, wouldn’t people going for a swim put on their PFD first? I bought a competing CO2 inflatable PFD for comfort, but I found wearing it around my neck was almost as uncomfortable as a traditional PFD. I exchanged it for this belt pack system http://www.lifesupportintl.com/products/In...al-106-172.html that I either wear around my waist or just attach to my spray skirt or the deck bungees. No, I wouldn’t use it for solo paddling in the winter! Yes, inflatable PFDs are not good for hanging on knives, VHFs, fishing poles, etc.

This model inflates automatically when one of its components gets wet. Definitely not for sea kayakers.

Probably not nearly as safe, but I use an inflatable belt pack PFD (actually, only when racing). The ultimate in comfort. See http://www.lifesupportintl.com/products/In...al-106-172.html