PeterB

Does anyone know of things that a low level entry kayaker may do? Most of these courses and locations seem to be for the non-novice? There are some half day courses , like "intro to sea kayaking", "safety and rescues" , and the 2 star (full day) would be a great class for the committted begginer. check out the schedule, and you can call to inquire about the suitability of any courses. http://www.carpediemkayaking.com/symposium-schedule.htm If you are looking to paddle on your own , Long Pond, Eagle Lake, and Echo Lake would all be choice destinations for an entry level fresh water paddle. Are some of these courses within range of a good zoom lense for photographs of NSPNers? The classes at Sullivan Falls ("Mayhem with Maynard" , offered all four days due to its success last year) would be a PERFECT opportunity for action photographs, or video. a very nice grassy park area with picnic tables overlooks the Falls, with a fairly commanding view of the area where all the boats will be, which is pretty close to the parking area, so boats will always be in view . There will surely be upside down boats, rescues, rolls and other antics/ misadventures.

Heidi, The open water classes will generally be run out of Hadley Point, which is on Frenchman's Bay, a few miles from downtown Bar Harbor. (Last year, most classes left from the Sand Bar in downtown Bar harbor , near Aquaterra's office ). The classes range varying distances, and the venue could change to go where the right conditions are (e.g. last year, some 4 star classes relocated to the Cranberry Islands, on the south side of the island, as it was too calm in Frenchman's Bay) Theres one class location at a reversing falls (Sullivan Falls), another scenic spot, and that's maybe a half hour drive away, a bit inland north of Bar Harbor). If I had to take a day off from paddling and wanted to be a spectator, I would definitely go there, armed with a camera, for a ringside seat on some tidal race mayhem. Probably most classes will be in Frenchman's Bay, but some will probably end up elsewhere. The flat water classes (2/3 star, strokes clinics, Greenland rolling & strokes etc.) will probably be on Long Pond, a lovely place several miles from downtown. The Lobster Bake is an evening event, out on Hadley point. Last year it was a big hit. There will probably be people there who have just gotten 3 and 4 star awards, so the atmosphere will be jovial. I'm no official spokesperson for the event, though, if you call Mel Rice of Carpe Diem Kayaking or Aquaterra Adventures, they're all good people and can answer any of your questions more definitively.

A few different issues are being bandied about here. With the ballast experiment you described, you’re talking mainly about “center of gravity”, more than “displacement”, “ideal weight”, or “performance” (whatever that means): When you put 25 and then 50 pounds of weight in the bottom of your boat, you are markedly lowering the center of gravity, and this will make you feel more stable, whether or not you have achieved "ideal" displacement for that boat. If that same 50 pounds were, say, strapped to the top of your your deck, you would feel nowhere near as stable, while the displacement would not have changed. Taken to an extreme, take that same 50 pounds and put it in a pack on your shoulders, or on top of your head: displacement is still the same, but … well, don’t try it, even with someone there to rescue you.

Seeing one next to you in the water is wondrous! I saw a large manta ray swim under my boat (not a kayak) in the Gulf of Mexico, off of Gulfport Miss.; just a giant dark apparition floating by,surely less than 10 feet under the surface. They are harmless, as they feed on plankton, like most whales. Nevertheless, you do feel your heart in your throat when you see one!

This is an item of interest as we have kayakers who are naturalists and who paddle Salem Harbor: from the Communications Dept. at the New England Aquarium: "If you open today's Globe on page B3, you will see a stunning picture of a dead giant manta ray with an 11 foot wingspan that was found dead in Salem Harbor Sunday. Unfortunately, the picture is not running on the Globe's website, but it is amazing. Channels 4 (CBS), 5 (ABC) and Fox also covered the story last night. Many of our visitors or familes and friends might inquire about it. Here are some basic facts: 1. The animal was an Atlantic manta ray and was 7 feet eight inches long from its tail to to the middle of its head. We guessed that it weighed 500-600 pounds, but it might have weighed more. It had a wingspan of 11 feet. The maximum wingspan in that species is 22 feet! 2. Atlantic manta rays can be found from Brazil to New England. They are very rare summertime visitors here and are normally found in the open ocean and not near the coast. Unlike most ray species, they swim at the top of the water column and not near the bottom. They are described as graceful and powerful swimmers. Atlantic manta rays are considered gentle giants and are not a threat to humans. 3. Like most giant species, they eat low on the food chain. Atlantic manta rays primarily feed on plankton, shrimp and small fish. This ray has that double head-like appearance with an eye on each promontory. Between those heads is a long thin rectangular mouth that is used for skim feeding. 4. We do not know what this animal died of. He did appear underweight to us. He had no apparent trauma. He most likely died of underlying disease or had some kind of foraging problem. We were unable to do an autopsy. 5. The giant ray was probably in Salem Harbor and out of its habitat, because it was ill and near death. Animals like people, when gravely ill, are often disoriented and can wander great distances outside of their normal range. "

Jewell would be the choice destination, but , yes, it may be crowded (powerboats often anchor there) and Falmouth Foreside might not be a good option as parking is difficult in the summer. Cousins Island or some other location might be better for parking and launching.

and you forgot to mention: "stand up in the boat" community. I was at Chebacco Lake last night and was voyeur to some pretty cool mcDougallian/Lutesian boat antics: stand up in the boat, roll, crawl out to the bow (while upright) and kiss it, crawl back again , unorthodox rescues. etc. Somebody's been practicing!

Alder Creek Kayaks rules the roost in that area. I think that some good protected water trips right can start from their doorstep or nearby. Check them out. http://www.aldercreek.com/

A Hebridean- I mean, Herculean- achiievement. Great new website ! Much hard work, warmly appreciated.

Don't miss Body Boat & Blade, to be sure: and if you can extend your trip to the Gulf Islands just north of there (they're all the same islands geologically, there's just an international border between them) the area is very kayak- and camping- friendly.

Mary, Yes, I can use what you have.I'll be gone for 2 weeks starting Sat. the 21st, if I don't cross paths with you before then,please save it for me. If you're planning a paddling foray to this area before Friday, let me know. Thank you! Thank you too Carl.

I need a fairly small amount of the textured black deck tape, I think it's by Pro Stripe. I will buy some off of anyone who is near the the end of a roll, exchange for window flashing (boat repair) tape, or go in with others on a full roll, but would need to know the exact item to be ordered. I have an immediate need of about 4 22" strips of the 4" wide tape, to put on my back deck behind the cockpit, to provide some grip where I put my hands when getting in and out of the boat, and to `cover some repair areas where my gel coat work will never be able to match the original deck color. I also need a very small ammount of the Dempler's fluorescent orange tape.

Welcome! You'll find that there will be good paddling opportunities right in the Salem area.Check the calender and the private trips section of the message board. There are skills sessions every couple of weeks in Salem harbor, and the Chebacco Lake practice sessions on Thursday evenings are a good way to meet paddlers and have fun.

Joan, I have a Eureka Timberline 4 person you can use. Might be missing a few pegs, but its free-standing. It would be very tight with 4 persons in it, pretty roomy wth two. Peter

I took a class with these two gentlemen last October, and it was a great experience. they are skilled, knowledgeable, and also a lot of fun, very courtly, personable, encouraging. The are also flexible, and one needn't be worried about this being for more experienced paddlers only. Taking either of these classes is a guaranteed good time which will inspire confidence in your paddling abilities!

You people cannot be stopped! Congratulatons.

"Did you find the level of weathercocking constant regardless of wind velocity? For me the Force weathercocks more noticeably in light winds and gets more neutral as the velocity goes up. I suspect that is a trait of most good boats." I don't recall any variations in weathercocking with wind velocity , since the wind, as I recall, didn't vary too much that day, (probably under 10 knots all day) ,and I only noticed that the Cetus weathercocked in all winds, and skeg was needed, and without skeg it was a battle to stay on course. I don't know why weathercocking would diminish with increased wind speed, would intuitively expect it to become more severe, as there's more wind pushing the loose end of ones boat. I paddled the Force 4 once at CRCK, while there were severe 20+ gusts, and found the boat to be pretty impervious to weathercocking; pretty impressive. I paddled a Capella 163 right ater and was blown about. For happily covering miles in wind, I would think it would be hard to beat the Force 4/5.

Having been throttled in my efforts to get on the water the past few days, wanting to take advantage of the good weather while it lasted ,and, learning that Portsmouth has its fireworks on July 3rd, I strapped Roger (my 14 year old) into the passenger seat of my car, and two boats onto my roofracks, and we to drove to Odiorne Point, arriving around 8:20, intending to paddle out to around Pierces Island to watch the pyrotechnics. I plopped Roger in my Explorer and slithered into the Anas acuta, put a 11 foot tow line on his boat so we would be more of a single entity in night waters,and we headed off into the gathering darkness towards Portsmouth and the fireworks, which were supposed to start at 9:15. We slapped a few mosquitos and , and ran aground about three times before finding the boat channel which runs under the bridge to Newcastle Island and Wentworth- by- the- Sea. This was low low tide! Once through , we paddled towards Pierce, but the fireworks started early, a few minutes before 9PM, so we found a good vantage point near Shapleigh Island , chatted , dined on Gatorade and Doritos, and watched the fireworks, which were kind of short, but colorful,with the requisite booms and oohs-aaahs. The booms echoed resoundingly off Leach's island behind us and the nearby islands and shoals, which was pretty cool. By their conclusion, we had drifted a bit towards Portsmouth with the now –incoming tide, and turned around to retrace our route to Odiorne. Soon enough, a procession of about a dozen power boats returning, no doubt, from the fireworks in Portsmouth to Little Harbor and Sagamore creek, slowly made their way past us, with the occasional searchlight sweeping the water. Their precise, undeviating path along the narrow boat channel strongly suggested the use of GPS. I had expected to see more boats on the water, but, except for the returning powerboats and one inflatable packed with about six persons puttering slowly around Little Harbor, we had had the waters to ourselves. Passing again under the bridge by the Wentworth, current was evident: it was now a flooding tide , and once through the bridge, we had more water and, in a few hundred yards, a free ride back to Odiorne. I had been hoping to organize a s&g, or club trip for this nice little outing, but was unable to do so due to famly illnesses and household obligations, so this was a short notice outing, undertaken at the last minute. But it all worked very well and I hope to plan something similar and bigger for next year. Happy 4th!

Now, if it had been a rocket engine instead of a boring ol' jet ski impeller, you would be really impressed. Are you now thinking of ways to merge your favorite hobbies?

Ernie, Friday, I paddled the Cetus for the better part of a day at Popham Beach. It was not a “big day” at Popham but we sought out the roughest stuff we could find, played in standing waves, surfed zippers, got worked by breaking waves,paddled in current etc. My first impression of the Cetus was what a superior surfer it was to the Explorer. I’m not an accomplished surfer, but I had an easier time maneuvering the Cetus into position to catch a wave, it accelerated better, and once on a wave I could more easily fine tune the boat with edging, stern rudders etc. These impressions were seconded by Mr. Carmody; we had switched boats and he found that, back to surfing an Explorer after paddling the Cetus for a few months, the Explorer felt like a blunt tool. Throughout the day the Cetus was utterly stable in bumpy water; I didn’t come close to capsizing or needed little in the way of recovery braces; I had one surf etiquette capsize (when two boats are surfing towards each other in a zipper, who is upwave and who is downwave? better to capsize and discuss afterwards…) and it rolled up as easy as pie. The Cetus edges very well. I’m not a great edger, and I had my spraydeck in the water with little trouble. The boat felt like a big, very fast Pintail. So, in short, I would call it a superior rough water boat, maybe the best (definitely the fastest) I’ve ever paddled. I would, however, think about the boats tracking; for me it was very skeg dependent in beam and rear quarter winds : On a 2 mile crossing in my Explorer with a rear quarter 15 knot wind and a broken skeg, I would not be happy but I’d get there okay. In the Cetus, I would be concerned. However, Mr. Carmody has found no special problems in this area , so this may just reflect some deficiency or quirk in my own paddling. It might be best to say that the Cetus requires “more advanced boat handling skills” in beam and rear quarter winds. To combine this degree of speed, stability, edging, maneuverability and carrying capacity in one design is remarkable. The designers of the Cetus, I think, caught lightning in a bottle with this one. Peter

If the Romany surf works for you, (how it fits and how you like it on the water) check out the Poseidon/Romany HV to confirm if there's a significany difference. They're quite similar in size, shape, design, and if you should find that the diffrences are insignificnt for you,MIKCO has some better than great deals on Romany HV's. Spend a whole day in each boat if you can manage.

Snapdragon makes a neoprene sprayskirt specifically for the Explorer. You may have to order it but it's hard to beat a sprayskirt sized for our own boat. I lucked out and grabbed one at NESC; they had one when I needed it, when my old one failed, which reminds me: get the renforced sprayskirt ( it has a band of reinforced fabric around the rim, where the coaming digs into the neoprene). I had first gotten the less expensive, non-reinforced one, and a hole appeared in it recently. The reinforced one is worth the extra (@$20?) bucks. I think the Explorer sprayskirt size is called "super keyhole".

I should be available.Portsmouth? Pavilion Beach? Sorry I missed you at Maudslay. Couldn't paddle today; (epic home landscaping project and boat repair in progress.) Glad you've resurfaced, and are once again looking to get wet.

I wouldn't worry about the Elite layup if the lighter weight is what you want. NDK boats are built for serious abuse(their customer base includes those who do expeditions with rough landing after rough landing on cobble beaches) so unless you're anticipating some pretty rough treatment of your boat, the difference in layup will probably not affect the kind of paddling you want to do.

The level 2 trip will be exactly as you describe, staying close to the protected waters of Marblehead Harbor, with stops at Brown Island, and a total of 5-6 Nautiaal Mies. The level 2+ paddle will be out of Marblehead Harbor over to the Willows and back, another stop at the friendsship in Salem harbor aong the way. Exactly like last years level 2+ trip , which was led by Liz Neumeier, who will be an assistant leader on this trip. If there's wind and windy and the water's bumpy, we will shorten the paddle(s) , or otherwise adjust as conditions dictate. We will be trying for all three trips to meet at the end for an informal, optional & fun skills session, probably close to the launch site in Marblehead Harbor.