PeterB

Seventh  Annual NSPN Downeast Retreat, Bar Harbor, ME September 10-13, 2021
 Initiator: Peter Brady

NSPN’s traditional paddling Retreat in Bar Harbor is happening again  this year!

This 4 day event will be from Friday Sept. 10th to Monday Sept.13^th with group paddles each day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday is a travel day, with options for  a shorter trip winding down midday or early afternoon.  Since this retreat has been a success for  for six years  years running - it's a perfect location to paddle at a perfect time of year (and with a perfect group of paddlers!) - it will be run on a roughly similar schedule as in past years.  
Most people travel & arrive on Thursday afternoon or evening  and depart on Monday afternoon. Some arrive sooner and leave later, so there will be paddlers  around and about  though you are of course free to arrive and leave earlier or later. 
There will likely be some options for biking the Acadia National  Park  carriage  trails and day hikes in the area. 

Our base of operations will be at Llangolan Inn and Cottages  Rte 3, Bar Harbor 
We have established a relationship  with LLangolan over the years , The  8 bungalows  and rooms are  already reserved by NSPNers, who have been yearly attendees.  LLangolan will be our meeting area . We can gather there for car caravans to launch sites, and in the evening to plan next days trips,  and there will be a traditional potluck here  on Saturday evening. 
Accommodations are on your own. Make your own arrangements  (including reservations, cancellation deposits whatever) for your entire stay during this event. 
 

If you are interested in attending, please RSVP (" I’m going") in the calendar posting on Sept.10^th  
A Group PM  with all of participants will get going in the coming months ,  for information sharing,  planning and communication in advance of the event.

 Each day there will be  organized paddles (likely two or three) around Mount Desert Island, based on weather and conditions that day. We have a menu of trips suited to this area, and experienced participants familiar with the area to lead trips . We can meet at Llangolan every morning and around dinner time to create and confirm paddling plans for each day. 
  Some favorite destinations are: the Porcupine Islands off of Bar Harbor in Frenchmans Bay, the Cranberry Islands on the south side of MDI, Bartlett Island and Sound on the West Side, and the dramatic eastern shore of the island between Bar Harbor and Seal Harbor  In the last couple of years our variety of trips expanded  further into Blue Hill Bay and Somes Sound, and  new trip ideas are always welcome.

Note:   There is a possibility that 20121 will see a surge  of travel to places like this; it is past Labor Day but still tourist season in the area, so it would be advised to make reservations well in advance! 

Some recommended lodging: 

Llangolan Inn & Cottages :  Our base of operations and gathering spot. 

Hadley Point Campground:  this campground is adjacent to Llangolan on Hadley Point Road. With a laundry room and hot showers. 

Robbins Motel: not far from Llangolan on Rte 3 for those looking for the most economical no-frills lodging on the island.

Eden Village: A cottage resort similar to Llangolan, a short ways away on Rte 3.
Rose Eden Cottages:  a resort with small cottages right across the street from LLangolan. 

Trenton & (off the Island): Just across the bridge to Mount Desert Island, between Ellsworth and Bar Harbor  there are cottages and motels that are  probably less pricey than on Mt. Desert Island. 
There are many other options for lodging in the area, including fine (but less conveniently located) campgrounds and cheaper motels off of MDI between 

General Schedule 

Thursday evening: many folks arrive in Bar Harbor,and we will have a meet & greet  gathering at LLangolan with some potluck food snacks  or pizza, discuss and plan the first day's padding options.
Friday: Paddles all day ,  evening on your own: there will likely be a an outing to Thurstons lobster pound in Bernards. And some BYO hanging out at LLangolan, and   
Saturday: our traditional potluck dinner in the barn (made available by our gracious hosts)  behind LLangolan.
Sunday:  meals  on your own: 
Monday is a travel day with a possible   a shorter session  at Long Pond, where  we can paddle, practice skills or rolling, wash off gear, and  people can come and go as they please.  There are also  options for ocean paddles as well for those staying longer. 

This is a rain or shine event! This event has been a success because there is fine paddling to be had somewhere around the island in all but very harsh conditions, and if the weather is too crummy to paddle anywhere on the ocean we can paddle the inland ponds and lakes like Long Pond or Eagle Lake, or explore & hike Acadia National Park, or play tourist around Bar Harbor. Some people have taken a day off from paddling  to explore Mount Desert Island and there might well be an organized hike , bike safari  or two  mixed into the festivities.

If you have any questions: contact  Peter Brady   (PeterB on the message board )  or  by PM 

Very impressive!  I've been along that coastline, and if seas are severe anywhere in that whole area,  which they often are.they're likely to be severe right there. Point Reyes is like a magnet for  conditions, especially this time of year.  How cool that you have gone and paddled there. 

 Unfortunately , I just saw " The Lighthouse",  so I'm not too keen on being an investor at this moment. Give me a little time.  

 Gary, I thought that was Joyce but wasn't sure. 

Is this a " We're moving" notice? 

Barry, Doug, Roger, _______, Bob _________, Rene, Dan, Cathy, _______, Pablo, Rob ?, Jane, Mike, Kyle, Prudence, Nancy . (one of mystery figures is possibly  Evie?) 

What can be better than poring over poured over charts? 

Dehydrated hummus was one of the prepared foods (prepared by others))  that I benefitted from on a kayak trip.The beauty of dehydrated hummus is that it can be rehydrated in a number of forms: less water makes it the consistency of  , say, oatmeal or mashed potatoes  , more water and  it can be very  creamy, and anything in between. It stores and travels well , and rehydrating is easy.  

I heard some bad things about the boat  design from experienced paddlers who demo' d it  at Sullivan Falls.The boat's  pronounced rocker seems to  have been  achieved by bending the boat at midpoint:  it sweeps up to the bow and to the stern from some midpoint close to the cockpit. No real analysis  on how this  affects maneuverability or performance. Build quality is  reported to be okay but not outstanding.
The biggest issue with the boat is that the day hatch is on center, and with drainage trough and  slots this results in an extreme low point , a larger than normal  depressed area  just behind the cockpit. In rough water,   the boat does not shed water here, and waves can pile up on the back deck, destabilizing the boat.  Experienced BCU 5*  type  paddlers were capsizing a lot at Sullivan falls due to this.  That said , this could be a quirk which the paddler just gets used to and overcomes  in that normal course of breaking in a new boat  , and the boat was popular for a time   - I saw  quite  a few  of them at Popham Beach, maybe part of  a Canadian group  that visited  there regularly.  

What a great trip report and photos: thank you! I've been on the sidelines this paddling season,  so I especially enjoyed seeing this continuation of  what now might be considered an established  yearly NSPN  event. I attended the past two years and aspire to attend in 2021.  
Very impressive that a trip of this level and quality has been so well planned and executed.

This is their definition of self quarantine.  I take this to mean that a trip to Bar Harbor can be done without a  test in advance .  

 If  I :  travel to Maine, stay in a single cabin, bring my own food and supplies, never enter any  building (eg, restaurant, bar, supermarket, retail store,  museum, restroom,  convenience store etc) kayak alone  or with  my travel party , hike or bike while maintaining considerable (well over 6  feet)  social  distance from others,  , order food for pickup ( I would define  as: pay in advance &  it's brought out and put on my car hood ) I am within the guidelines of self quarantine, with or without a test in advance.  I think that I could manage a trip to Bar Harbor under  those conditions.  

Q. What does quarantine mean?
A: During quarantine, a visitor may not interact with others outside their travel party or go into public spaces like shops and restaurants. They may go outside for recreation in uncrowded areas provided they abide by physical distancing guidelines and avoid contact with other people. For example, if you can do the following a safe distance away from other people, you may:

go for walks  in uncrowded areas
canoe and kayak 

Bike on uncrowded trails 
swim in lakes ,ponds, and rivers

Take a scenic drive
relax and take in the views 

get takeout and delivered meals 
 

Feeling of stability in a kayak is often a  personal thing. Paddlers in one boat may just not feel comfortable in another, though  being secure and stable in a kayak   is a muscle memory thing, and feeling unstable is often overcome with time in a boat. I've seen an  experienced paddler feeling  initially shaky in an Explorer   after  switching from a Tiderace , where one  is not objectively more stable than the other.   Each boat has its own stability profile.
 

But to generalize, yes , more beam likely means more intitial stability, with the  tradeoff that a wider boat is often slower and less "performance" for paddlers looking for that sort of thing . So your 24" Chebeague is likely to be more stable  , but as you paddle more and become more comfortable with the ocean and all its dynamics (waves, current, and so on)  you may find yourself looking for a boat that can do more. 
As a general rule, most of the kayaks that experienced paddlers  use  are 21-22" wide : below 21",  more skill and  experience is needed to handle the kayak competently, above 23"  most kayaks  start to reveal limitations in speed and  "performance ". 
The P & H Cetus is a big boat but famously stable with alot of handling  & performance qualities,  (but with  some tradeoffs)  so that boat would  worth at least a look.  

  I have been told by local sages that on the ebb , The current from the Kennebec wraps around and creates an eddy (purple on the diagram)  that affords an easy ride from Cape Small to Popham Beach. I am not aware of experiencing this myself though I did paddle that route on the ebb once  (arriving at Pond Island on the last of the ebb) and may have been enjoying a bit of a  free ride but didn't realize it at the time. Your route looks like it was done on the flood ,so I don't now if this eddy would have been in reverse during your trip, would be inclined to doubt it .
A trip from Cape Small out  to Seguin Island  ( typically timed to be  done on the ebb &  returning on the flood )  can encounter slow going because of this eddy: perhaps wiser to follow the shore and  than peel towards Seguin once near White and Pond Islands. Returning to Fort Popham  from Seguin   ( again.  usually done at the beginning of the flood after riding the ebb to Seguin,)  can be  a bit tricky if encountering the remnants of the ebb from the Kennebec, so peeling off towards Popham Beach  on the return can be a  a good idea.

I  would speculate that a tried- and- true T Rescue would pose relatively small risk to the participants, and in the overall scheme of things  should command less attention and re-thinking in planning   ones CV-19 paddling.    The new methods shown here suggest  to me that they would, like any new thing on the water, best be achieved after practice ( I certainly would want to practice these before "taking them to the bank" ) , which in turns means... more time spent with  people in some contact with each other.  

 I'm inclined to think that having a water- friendly mask of one kind  (maybe a buff or  neck  warmer or a balaclava  around ones neck ) at the ready., and deploying  it in the event of a rescue,  would provide an adequate  barrier between paddlers for such a relatively short period of contact . Beyond that, my personal approach would be to paddle very conservatively (eg leave the rock play or paddling likely to result in a capsize for another time)   to forestall the need for a rescue in the first place,  and, most importantly ,   emphasize protocol during the loading/ carrying/ launching /landing phases of a trip where the contact between paddlers is  inevitably closer. 

This from Bill Baker , Old Quarry Ocean Adventures



Date: 5-5-20

 Yes I've read that a zipped- up 4 season tent may add 3-5 degrees to your sleeping environment so that's worth something on a cold night but probably only your 3rd priority,  after  your  sleeping bag and air mattress.
It partly comes down to how much you're willing to spend. If money is no object, and you go with (from cheapest to most expensive)  a Thermarest  Neoair X Therm  pad ,   a Western Mountaineering  20 degree sleeping bag ,  you cant go wrong. The X therm has a R rating of 5.7 probably higher with new rating system, in an  R-value class by itself  and the benefits of a sleeping pad  like that (just a few  are built to  actually radiate body heat back upward) cannot be overemphasized.  With sleeping bags  : most brands ratings are inaccurate: your 32 degree bag will keep you comfy maybe to 40 degrees, probably not even that. A few smaller high end brands like Western Mountaineering have accurate ratings.  In their  20 degree bag you'll be comfortable right down to 20 degrees. I'd recommend a Western Mountaineering 20 degree bag if you didnt freak out over the price. Also,  Janice ,  you have to pack everything in a small boat (Avocet  LV) so packability is also a bigger factor with you : a  20 degree  850-fill  down degree mummy  bag will pack down smaller than your current 32 degree  synthetic bag. (keep it in a dry bag)  
So , for fall where you might get 30 degree nights, a 20 degree bag would be the minimum for most brands (like REI,  Mountain Hardware etc)  15 degree probably  better. If you're a sound sleeper who doesn't toss and turn (Im not):  a mummy bag is more compact and more efficient than  rectangular or a semi or rectangular bag.  
 

I should think that sea kayaking would pose roughly the same risks or lack thereof as other adventure sports or outdoor recreational activities so it would be worth keeping abreast of whats being practiced in other adventure  sports. In other words, if group hiking and mountaineering and bicycling activities are largely suspended that would be good information on which to base decisions. Very good point about the of possibility  of contact in up-close-and personal activities such as  rescues  or incident management on the ocean: otherwise with the  normal  suspension of  kayak activities such as potluck meals, group hugs , post paddling group foodfests  , I would think that the risks attached to handling boats together would be less than virtually any indoor activity.,  but would be worth getting more information about.    In general, outdoor activities pose a  relatively  lower risk than virtually anything indoors, especially on  outings  with the kind of group communication and pre -trip planning thats encouraged to begin with. That said, I have read that much of the Appalachian Trial through- hike "community" has disbanded (right around now is the starting time for many northbound  through hikers) though that may be more due to the inevitable congregation of hikers   in shelters, group campsites and resupply towns. 

I'll see you there. I don't see any problem with leaving Boston (Charlestown ) @ 3:45 today. 
Peter 

I can't attend this week:  back in action next week, Tuesday or Wednesday. 
Peter 

Patricia, Thanks for sharing your info: The Mount Desert Island area is  a great for paddling at a wide variety of  levels . There are four sides to the island, almost always an area protected from the weather and conditions,  and we can select the paddling  areas each day best suited to participants.  In addition , there are  some very protected bays, sounds, and also  lovely  inland ponds to paddle on.  With20 + people, there will almost certainly be several trips per day so that people of all comfort levels may be accommodated, even on days with not-so=good weather and conditions.  Monday, the last day  we'll have a Long Pond  practice , skills and fun session, designed for people to hit the road in the afternoon, wash off, or  just  chill  after 3 days of paddling.    

Peter  

This is an update on the Downeast Retreat, which is now 4 weeks away (!)   :  at this time  22 people are RSVP'd and listed  as attending, and all are part of a group PM where we are sharing pre-trip information.

If you are planning to attend,  it's important that you RSVP (" I'm going')  in the calendar posting (Sept. 6th)  asap. You will then be  part of our group PM thread and  be able to update your information (when arriving, when departing etc) on a google spreadsheet that we are all sharing.
With over 20 people we may have 2-4 trips each day,  each day's paddles will be planned at fairly short notice so that we may have the best  marine weather information on  which to plan our paddles, so the more information we all share, especially our contact information, the better. 

Thanks!

Peter      

A small handful of us were at Walden last night and had a good time. The small boaters/ handicapped parking was mostly occupied with  an adaptive   paddlesports  program , which made the whole  arrive/park/depart operation worse than it already is. That  program will continue on Tuesday evenings  for the next 4 weeks, so we talked about Wednesday as a possible day for Walden sessions. Wednesdays would work for everyone present last night. Any feedback?  

okay: seems that if they close the lot  it oght to reopen  around 5 with day users starting to depart. Very unpredictable: 2 of us were there on Wednesday , the place was hotter than the antechamber of Hell but  the kayak parking lot was almost empty and the pond was pretty  quiet.  

I'll be going to Walden Pond after work today for a splash and some beat- the- heat-  upside down time, if anyone would like to join me. I'm going to try to be there  4:30 to 5 PM ,  driving from Boston (Charlestown) so arrival  will depend on how bad traffic is.   

Peter 

Both are great boats. The Romany surf cockpit is  for a bigger paddler , more akin to the Explorer HV cockpit (has knee bumps and a higher deck)   than the Explorer cockpit. On paper the Romany surf is for paddlers 180 lbs and over, but I think 200 lbs and over might  be  a bit more accurate if paddled unloaded . It's a great kayak and if you're doing mostly workout paddles with no speed or mileage requirements it wouldn't matter between the two since you'd  get your workout  in the Romany surf to keep it at speed, , just that the Romany surf will move slower than the Explorer. .  Maybe cockpit size and fit should be your biggest consideration : if you need a roomier cockpit, the Surf. If a less roomy cockpit, with the added feature of more speed ,  go with the Explorer. Both handle extremely well in wind and conditions and track superbly: they  need minimal to no skeg.