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> >Of course, I believe the REI card is 1% cash back on >all purchases, which is about as good a deal as >you'll find on any CC That is the point I attempted to make. Years ago the REI card was offered to all members automatically, but I suppose those simpler days are long gone just like when you used to call to order and the people taking the order knew the stuff you were ordering and often had used it. Ed Lawson

>Great deal.... for $304 >($295 after my dividend) If you get an REI sponsored credit card and use it as your main credit card you may not get airline miles, but you get a huge dividend check from REI that enables you to walk in and get lots of neat gear for free every spring. Ed Lawson

John: I was reading up on weather this morning waiting for the snowplow ( snow had melted down to about 6" and now another foot arrives..grrrr) and read that when a warm/low front approaches the barometer actually rises before falling. Mind explaining why this happens and how useful for forecasting while on trips? I guess that assumes a barometer and do you find using a barometer on kayak trips all that useful? TIA Ed Lawson

> >The following is a sample letter / template that could be >modified >with your argument then sent to the appropriate person.. > Thank you for this post as it provides some useful points in the letters I am writing. However, I suggest that any letters send to the legislators be personalized and not simply a copy of any sample. Tends to have a greater impact that way. Ed Lawson

>I emailed Senator Letourneau and he feels very stongly that >this bill "is not in the NH fashion" and he intends to vote >against it. Now to convince the rest of the senate... Remember folks there are only 24 of them. Need to write soon as things are moving fast this year in the general court. The version of the bill discussed at the hearing on the 14th was created on the 12th. Ed Lawson

> >(Did Derek really design the one -- that would explain some >things. Are you suggesting there is something involving kayaks which Derek did not design? Isn't that sacrilegious? Ed Lawson

Both are very well done graphics and the preference for one over the other a matter of personal aesthetics it seems to me. As to what the logo says about NSPN, it seems to me this thread says as much about NSPN as one might care to know. On second thought, a new logo for a new direction or whatever makes sense. Some things have to change and might as well start there. Ed Lawson Provocative Contrarian

John: Based on this explanation, I believe it is now quite safe for you to use the appellation of Nerd Ed Lawson

>Unfotunately, the senate committee approved SB255 yesterday. BTW, was there an ACA official present to provide testimony? Opposition by organizations often counts for more than any number of individuals. Since there will never be more than a handful of individuals, it is easy to dismiss them given the total number of people affected. Harder to dismiss an organization which represents a large number of people. Ed Lawson

>Yeah... all NH residents, please write/call your legislators >to dump this thing. The reps in the lakes region say they have been bombarded with calls about this and the calls have all been negative. We shall see. Its putting alot at risk to raise $234K. IF they start collecting money then we have the right to demand access points for canoes and kayaks in addition to those kayak eating concrete ramps for bass boats. That would eat up the income in a hurry. Since they are short millions, this is a drop in the bucket for fixing F&G. I'm happy to launch in Kittery and spend my money there and not contribute to SLA, etc. Ed Lawson

>Channel 16 is the international calling and distress >frequency. It is monitored by all mandated vessels and the >the Coast Guards. I would not use channel 9 but you can and >is fully legal. > Rick: I asked about 9 as I had heard that in New England the CG was trying to move routine hailing traffic to 9 due to excess traffic on 16, but in my limited experience from NH north I have never found 16 all that active. so I wondered if there was any need to watch/use 9 at all. Ed Lawson

>Avoid especially any point on a chart that has GPS >coordinates written on it. Ben: Thanks for that gem and other sage advice. > >Fog is fun. Not there yet. This might be moronically obvious, but the working side is always the starboard side and they approach pots a few points off the starboard bow in wind? If you need to think about this I suppose you are way too close, but curious. Ed Lawson

>Does anybody have a Chart of the Rockland / Vinalhaven Area? Jason; If you email me your address I can mail you a chart of the area. Its a folding chart so mails easily. Covers Rockland to Stonington. Ed Lawson

This past Sunday I kept thinking the paddle from Pierce Island was pleasant and would be nice later in the season. Looking at tides, this seems a good day for wandering out to the coastline via Little Harbor on the ebbing tide, down to Rye Harbor for a nice picnic lunch at low tide, then up the coast, and riding the flood back to Pierce. Around 15 NM total with launch time at 10 AM and back by around 4PM. Typical Timid Paddler go no go conditions of winds @15Kts and seas of @ 3'. If you have not paddled this area, its nice trip with a little something for most interests. Ed Lawson

>Adam, please remind the audience In the same vein, are securite calls made on 9 as well as 16, what about the need to monitor 9 as well as 16, should we be hailing other than commercial vessels on 9 instead of 16, and does the CG in New England report weather alerts on 9 and 16? If so, then I guess we should always have a dual watch running when the radio is on. Ed Lawson

>you know something that might work is a transponder style of >radio which transmits a signal that can be pick up on a >vessels radar I rather suspect there are NSPN folks whose day job is doing RF design so I will let them give the details, but trying to become more apparent on the radar screens of others by transmitting on the searching radar's freq. is fraught with lots of issues and simply not feasible. As an aside i rather suspect in the fog the typical lobsterman likely pays more attention to the GPS showing pot locations than the radar. John is right that lobstermen fish very close to shore at times and all you can do is hope they slow up in areas crowded with buoys. Ed Lawson

> >Best defense: securite calls on VHF 16 that reference your >working channel. > >The calls work even if they make listeners impatient. Well, this is a great topic for discussion as a new season starts and just to prime the pump I think the best defense is care in where you put your boat and relying on the radio will give a false sense of security. I'm sure how you approach this depends on where you paddle so perhaps I am being parochial in this response. To me, the boats that scare me the most are lobster boats when they are pulling traps. They seldom if ever listen to 16, they often are playing music loudly, and if not the engine noise is loud. they are moving erratically and at rather high speed. Consequently, getting their attention via making noise is usually an exercise in futility and trying to raise them on the radio not much better. In any event they are working and don't want to be bothered by crayons. Which is fair enough. If you want to use the radio, the best bet is to find their chatter freq. and try that, but what are you going to say? If anyone has hints about how to judge distance and direction of sounds in the fog I would really like to hear them. People who have spent time in the fog tell me they are also scared by sailing vessels since they can appear out of no where and without warning, but using sound can help. So it seems to me the best defense is to pick crossing with great care, stay close to shorelines/shallow water, develop a good set of ears, and be able to change course and speed fast. The other thing I would appreciate hints on is dealing with the problems of navigating a crossing in current when you need to stop every now and then in the fog to scope out whether the boats you hear are threats. Ed Lawson

>The proximity of the moon and the fact that its >gravitational field lines are spreading out far more rapidly >than the sun's If I understand this correctly, the field lines radiate outward in all directions from the object so that the angle between a moon field line which hits the top of the earth and the line which hits the bottom of the earth is far greater at the moon and far less at the earth than similar lines from the sun and thus the force from the moon's lines has a great impact in bulging the earth? Is it also true that the tide in the Gulf of Maine is not true ocean tide or perhaps I should say not part of the Atlantic Ocean tide, but rather it is similar to the tidal flow into a bay? Not that I understand the distinction. I read somewhere that the tide generally floods north and east when north of Cape Ann and south and west when south of Cape Ann. Why does that happen? > >(now that I know I'm safely among nerds!) I think your post demonstrates there are nerds and then there are Nerds. Ed Lawson Wannabe nerd

> >Why is it so important that you use a different blade for >high angle vs low angle? It isn't important at all. I am glad to see someone who obviously has spent time getting paddles wet say this. Some may think 6 ounces is no big deal, but it is when it is out at the ends of a paddle and you are moving it more times an hour than you want to think about. Ed Lawson Who, ironically, uses a 4 piece Lendal paddle.

Gay: Perhaps these newbie thoughts may help you in your search for the paddle that is right for you. 1. The paddle is at least as important as the boat. Get a good one. 2. Just like boats, it doesn't matter what others use or what the "in", "right", or "recognized" paddle happens to be. What feels good in your hands and works for you is important. This is complicated by the fact that in choosing a paddle, it is good to get a more demanding one to grow into just like it is better to get a more demanding boat than you are immediately comfortable with. 3. It takes some time using a paddle before you can make a judgement about whether the paddle works for you just as you have to spend time in a boat to make a judgement. 4. The point made in number three is complicated by the fact that after you use something for awhile, you adapt to it and think it is fine even if it really isn't. This is further complicated by the fact "high performance" boats and paddles do require some getting used to before you can use them to their fullest extent and feel comfy with them. 5. Just like in boats, lighter paddles are nicer than heavier paddles to deal with, especially on long days. 6. Just like with boats, expect your views on what a good paddle is to change as your skills and the type of paddling you prefer changes. 7. Just like boats, you may well find you need a couple of different paddles for different types of paddling you enjoy. 8. Greenland paddles are definitely deserving of a serious trial. 9. Shafts that have a means of quickly knowing blade orientation are nice for us newbies. 10. Blades that readily find a neutral position when slipped through the water as in sculling draw or brace are comfy to use, but if a blade will at least readily hold a chosen position and not flip orientation unexpectedly it will work fine. 11. When you have a problem using a paddle from a respected maker, again just like boats, odds are overwhelming that it is your fault and not the paddle's in the sense that you are not applying the right technique for the traits of the paddle. 12. Assuming you have a reasonably narrow boat, go for a shortest paddle that works for you. 13. Ignore the low angle/high angle designations. 14. Unless you have adequate power and endurance and love to play in rough water, consider modest blade sizes Personally I now use a GP quite a bit since I am old and weak and have creaky joints, but mostly due to my contrary nature. For a euro paddle I ended up with Lendals since you can mix and match blades and shafts so easily. Werners are very nice and the ones I have used were more comfy than the Lendals which took time to learn to use. Ed Lawson

>...did you hear the one about the fella wanted to impress >the ladies so he stuffed a potato into his speedo? big >dummy put it in the back. What do you expect from someone who didn't know enough to use a zucchini? Ed Lawson

> >First - no - light houses are not 100 ft tall - but if you >don't know the height of a random lighthouse, it's a decent >guess. A lot of them are in the 80-120 ft range. As someone in the class rightly pointed out, we are a nerdy bunch so in that spirit,I'll add that the height shown on the chart is the height of the lenses above either HW or datum as the plane of reference and not the height of the structure itself. Assuming 100' seems good when dealing with "rules of thumb" calculations. I knew there had to be a reason for buying Chart 1. Ed Lawson

Advanced Notice with details to be added later. Its Memorial Day weekend, but the tides are good and this will get you ready for the upcoming season due to variety of paddling involved. If those interested in this type of trip prefer later in the season, then July 22 would be alternative. Basic idea is to spend a full day touring middle/upper Casco Bay. Launching at 10 AM from Sandy Point on Cousins Island, follow tide out and have a lunch on Jewell and maybe explore towers to enjoy view of Portland Harbor, then ride tide over to Eagle Island with possible side trip to Little Mark and the Monument, perhaps dinner at a restaurant on Harpswell Neck or Chebeague, perhaps dinner cooked on a beach on Whaleboat Island (TBDL), after which a twilight/night paddle back to Cousins with Moonlight assisting and landing around 8 to 9PM at latest. Total of 16 to 20NM, but spread over a full day. In theory mostly protected waters and forecast/buoy info needs to be 15K and 3ft seas max for a go since this to be simply a nice day paddling about. Nevertheless, should be comfy in small breaking wind waves of around 18" in any direction, following/quartering swells of around 3', paddling in 15Kt winds from any angle relative to heading, and maintaining @3Kts on water over distance. Ed Lawson

I'm sure John felt constrained by the scheduled amount of time, but it was about right it seemed. His classes are informative with a nice balance of practical, experiential and theory. The following are some items that others may find useful for weather and wave planning. There is a series of laminated guides with 14 4x9 panels called "Captain;s Quick Guides and one of them is titled "Onboard Weather Forecasting". These are made to be used aboard a small vessel If you want to have along a concise summary with pictures of weather forecasting and John's main points, then you should check it out. I believe one of the important points John made was that kayakers are more vulnerable to being caught by local weather systems that are not part of major fronts and large area forecasts. Reading the clouds is an important skill to avoid surprises. To help with this there is another 11x15 laminated chart titled "Cloud Chart" and published by Cloud Chart. It has 20 pictures of clouds on one side with a description of them and the weather they are associated with over time and with winds from certain directions. The other side describes how to use the chart and discusses fronts, etc. A bit big for kayaking, but very useful info/reference. I found these at Hamilton Marine in Portland, but I suspect any decent chandlery would have them. To add to the websites discussed at the class, I have found these useful: http://www.maineharbors.com/tide1.htm http://www.gomoos.org/ http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/gyx/main_menu.shtml http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/car/ Ed Lawson

>I have no interest in REI other than being a member for 35 >years. Boy I bet you get comments at the register about what a low number you have. Which feels good until they call you Mr. Scamlin in a loud voice..right? Ed Lawson