PeterB

I would lie to join you , but will most likely be in family mode on Saturday. The culvert at Seapoint Road, behind Gerrish/Cutts Is. can be interesting. Last night I ended up rounding Gerrish Is. (counterclockwise) in the moonlight (simply wonderful) ; and reached the culvert at @ 10:30, an hour and a bit before high tide,; because of the full moon , the water level was already higher than it usually is at high tide, and the current was really ripping (against me) , so there was just enough room overhead to paddle through, hunched way over, kissing my deck, with super low angle paddling as my blades were scraping the ceiling of the tunnel, all in all a ridiculous spectacle. If I waited another 45 minutes or so for the current to slacken, there would have been no room in the culvert to paddle through. I failed twice, got through on the third try , and left some paddle fragments on the roof of the culvert, which you can look for on Saturday. (I could have just humped my boat over the road to the other side of the culvert , but that would have been no fun) The flooding tides for Chauncey Creek meet those from Brave Boat about an eighth of a mile past the culvert (towards Brave Boat.) , so, going clockwise, there could be a nice fun current to scoot you through the culvert if you arrive before high tide.

How about: meet at Frisbee Wharf, Kittery at 7:00, that'll get us out to the Fort Foster/White Island part of Gerrish Is. fastest. There are about 8 free non -resident parking spots ; at that hour some should be free, if not there's the lot across from the general store, which might be free at that hour. I'm working and don't have a lot of time to prepare so I'll grab some sort of prepared food on the way. I've got glow sticks and an extra c-light if anyone is in need. Peter

I'm flexible re: launch time, float plan, and gastronomy; if you'all and/or others are interested I can adapt to whatever works for the most people, could be there as early as 7, possibly 6:30, I just need time to get there from work .

I'd like to see the full moon from the water on Wednesday night, was thinking of @ 8PM launch from Kittery- Frisbee Wharf or thereabouts, clear skies permitting. Would anybody else be interested? I'm a bit hesitant to go alone... High tide on Wednesday is close to midnight. Peter

At @ 9AM on this most glorious of summer days, a trio of perhaps the finest paddlers in the history of self-propelled travel (Rob Hazard, Judy Whipple, and myself) embarked from the familiar (free) ramp, opposite the (not-for free) public boat ramp on Witch Creek, near Odiorne Point. We quickly made our way through the jetty into outer Portsmouth Harbor where we were greeted by 2-3 inch seas, crossed to Whaleback lighthouse and thence to White Island, and traveled along the south coast of Gerrish Island to the mouth of Brave Boat Harbor. At this point it was the mid-to-latter half of the ebbing tide, so water was rapidly exiting Brave Boat, creating a land/seascape unfamiliar to me, as all my other trips there had been timed to catch the high tide. Sandbars and shallows were appearing everywhere, our hulls were often tickling the beige- colored bottom, and our exploration of the harbor became more a search for water than anything else. We stopped for a snack on a gravel beach, greenheads were present but not intolerable. We made a brief foray up the winding channel which leads to Chauncey Creek, but quickly ran out of water and turned around. On our way back to Odiorne we connected with Ross and an out- of- town friend, who had originally planned to join us but had launched later than we. Rob & I were now helmet-clad, so we played in the rocks along Gerrish; the water visibility was excellent; this’d a been a good day for scuba divers. The ocean was calm, so rock play was very tame. We then retraced our route, parted company with Ross and friend halfway from Whaleback to Odiorne, as they had put in someplace to the north of us, and returned to our put-in ramp, and a surprisingly tolerable low-tide mud trudge to return the boats to their respective car tops. Throughout the day, evidence of NSPN was everywhere : On my way up I-95, I saw a familiar black SUV with surfski on the roof, careening in the opposite direction; surely Ms. Landrum on her way to make trouble somewhere to the south. On the water, we spotted a lone paddler in the distance , not far from White Island, busily paddling in the opposite direction to us. The boat (white-ish with red trim, probably a Q-boat), paddle (Greenland) The hour (morning) , and the tides (high around 8AM, it was about 10:30 at this point) suggested Mr. Attenborough doing an early morning Gerrish Island circumnavigation. Back at the parking lot, sleuths Judy and Rob identified a trio of NSPN autos belonging to Gwynn, Crangle, Hutchinson et al, surely off on a secret mission somewhere. We speculated that a crossing to the Isles of Shoals would be the only special op that would sustain the stout hearts of this trio on this day of tame seas. We wished all as fine a day on the water as we enjoyed, and headed off to tend to our terrestrial lives.

Launch from Odiorne Point/Witch Creek at 9AM, cross from New Castle to Wood Island or Whaleback light (@3/4 mile crossing) and Gerrish Island, with options from there to go north along Gerrish to Brave Boat Harbor. Possible surf at mouth of Brave Boat, and options for rock play along Gerrish. Trip total @ 12 miles. High tide is 7:52 AM.

The standard custom front bulkhead is 33" to 34", although you can, of course, order or retrofit what you please. 33" to 34 " (that refers to inseam) allows for most paddlers to pad out the bulkhead by a couple of inches, depending on your height, or how long your legs are, and will allow for resale to a paddler up to @6'2", so paddlers in that 6'3"-6'4" and higher will probably not be eligable buyers if you're thinking about resale. If resale is the very most important thing to you, then it may not be a good idea, but in all other respects, a custom bulkhead with minicell will put you in the lap of luxury.

I found myself in San Diego on short notice, escorting my thirteen year old on a vacation to a friends house,and,wanting to get my paddle wet in the Pacific Ocean, I showed up at Aqua Adventures on Mission Bay, where I found a very well equipped shop with a great fleet of rental boats (Valley, NDK, Necky etc) and a great staff. The couple at the front desk turned out to be transplants from New Hampshire and then I recognized the guy from pool sessions in Portsmouth a year and a half ago. His name is Matt (Palmierro? long Italian name, anyway..) probably familiar to a number of NSPN’ers. He now splits his time between ski trip coordinating in Utah and kayak guiding with Aqua Adventures in San Diego (a rough life but somebody’s gotta do it…) I rented an Explorer and paddled out of Mission Bay, through the boat channel and, rounding the north jetty , I was introduced to the Pacific ocean by kayak. I was impressed with the force of The Pacific Ocean. It, well, um, feels different from the Atlantic. There’s a relentless swell rolling in, surfers, hundreds and hundreds of them, are everywhere, all the time; and you feel like if you were a mile from shore and stopped paddling, you’d be borne right into shore, where on the east coast, it almost seems the opposite, as if you’d be swept out to sea, or just about anything could happen. The water temperature was 76 degrees. Pelicans, dolphins, and sea lions were frequent companions on my paddle. The tip of the jetty was a good playground , where rebounding waves, eddies from along the seawall, and the ever-present swell create a zone of 5 foot confused seas, so I lingered there , practicing, playing. It was no place to relax, though; Every few minutes a big wave would suddenly materialize within ten feet of the jetty, then engulfing the rocks in an overwhelming crash , where an unwary paddlers boat would be atomized. Paddling several hundred yards away, I was back in the gentler stuff, and paddled up the coast about three quarters of the way to the headland of La Jolla, where the beach ends and the rocks begin. The eight mile beach was wall- to -wall surfers and swimmers, and the surf didn’t look long boat -friendly anyway, big waves (by east coast /Nahant standards) dumping into a mass of foam pretty close to shore, so I stayed parallel to shore, practiced and played some more, letting the forming waves hit me from various angles, and was impressed with the conditions- friendly hull of the Explorer, which allowed me to maintain speed even when being buffeted about by waves. Some say the Explorer isn’t such a fast boat, but I’ll bet it has few equals for speed in conditions , which the hull handles so well that the paddle can do more forward paddling and less bracing, what Tom Bergh described as “paddler” or “real” speed, as opposed to “hull” or “boat” speed. In one rare, surfer-free patch of beach, I ventured closer to shore, messed around there for a while, then as I turned about, I saw a big wave juggernauting straight at me. I decided to punch through it, but had a fatal combination of bad timing and insufficient speed; the wave slammed me in the chest and sent my boat backwards, surfing straight for a remarkable long time, until I broached and was maytagged in the foam pile. Wow. (field notes: next time, first recognize an unpunchable wave: then, either back up, back up or capsize, then roll up after wave passes, …) I recovered, landed on the beach for a second, regrouped and punched back out in a better timed, event-free surf launch. I returned to Aqua adventures the next day, and Jenn Kleck was in the store. Jenn probably needs no introduction, but she’s one of the best paddlers anywhere, and the second woman in the US to earn a BCU 5 star award. She attracts a great staff of young BCU trained paddlers from around the country , making hers a very well staffed operation, highly recommended to anyone who finds themselves in that area. Jenn is a great person, friendly, good natured, strong, unassuming. I told her I was in BCU 3 star training, and after talking for a good while about boats, rip currents, strokes,local conditions etc., strokes etc she said she was assessing one of her staff for BCU 3 star that afternoon, and invited me to accompany them. So, after a morning outing,( this time to the south , with more waves, practice , fun, capsizes, rolls,) three of us paddled out into Mission Bay. Like the other two BCU instructors I have had , Jen was a great mentor , relaxed , encouraging. She was quite undogmatic, and emphasized not getting too caught up in “this is precisely how you do this stroke” but to develop each stroke in the context of what you want your boat to do in any given situation. For example, we went over different ways to transition into the hanging draw from other strokes, and how the low brace turn can be done wide and fast (paddle ready to brace but not in the water ) or sharp but with lost speed (aggressive low brace, paddle in the water) depending on circumstances. Along the way, she related some BCU 5 star war stories which revealed the necessity to be both precise (e.g in one rescue exercise with full-kit boats a freed-up tow line got caught on the spare paddles on the rear deck , turning rescuer into a helpless pirouhette: its important on which side of the boat , and how precisely one disengages a tow. ), and also flexible, creative : although it’s gospel to not use the toggle for a tow, in one scenario with a victims boat with a faulty front perimeter deck line fitting the best option was a toggle tow. The next day I had a few hours, wanted to see the sea caves of La Jolla. I couldn’t rent a composite boat, but realized I was becoming a boat snob, so I grabbed a sit-on-top (they’re a lot of fun) and paddled from La Jolla beach (mobbed, this time with swimmers, snorkelers, sit-on tops) and paddled the short distance to the sea caves on the north side of the La Jolla headland. Very cool sandstone pitted, Gaudi-esque (or maybe Gaudi is sandstone-esque..) formations, kelp, blood orange garibaldis, sea lions, pelicans.Way cool. Go in the off season though. I felt as if I’d just scratched the surface of this area. Two Aqua Adventure staffers, Matt and Hailey, were off for Baja Mexico for two days of camping, surfing, and more sea caves. Next time, when I have more time, hopefully…

Gillian, If your paddle’s diving it means that it’s being asked to do too much of the work, and no amount of refinement to your paddle work will help you. Forget about the paddle, focus on your hips, legs , head. “The kayak roll” video has a great exercise you can do on your living room floor to help get that hips & head motion dialed in to your muscle memory . Also, you will see in the video that you nail the(hip- legs-head) body movement first , and the paddle comes in last. I was too paddle- oriented at first, and had to un-learn this bad habit. If you don’t always have someone to work with you, a paddle float will allow you to work by yourself, work on the below-the-belt stuff as it effectively takes the paddle out of the equation. Some think that a paddle float becomes a crutch and impedes long term progress, but I didn’t find this to be the case. Peter

Old Quarry in Webb Cove is definitely the place to connect with. They cater to kayakers, can help or advse on day or camping trips, offer tours , have a campsite which could be used as a base of operations, and they offer a launch site, which is invaluable as parking is issue in that general area.

It's Um-BAY-gog

(report delayed by trip overseas…) On Saturday afternoon I launched from the public boat ramp on the south end of Lake Umbagog, crossed Sargent Cove and paddled up the eastern shore to Tidswell Point, where the lake makes a big right (eastward) turn. Looking around the corner here, I was inspired to paddle over to Tyler Cove, which is tucked into a southeastern corner of this part of the lake, about a mile and three quarters away. The wind, meanwhile, had picked up and was from the west. Here there is a west-east fetch of a little over three miles, and since the lake here is shallow (maybe 10 feet deep) I found myself amidst short, steep, breaking little wind waves, not much by ocean standards but these whitecaps packed so close together in ones rear can be “technical” in their own right (in the words of Alex L: ”I’d rather be out in the big honkin’ stuff..”) So I rode the following seas (following lakes?) down to Tyler Cove, and by the time I got there, whitecaps were close to 2 feet, and the entrance to the cove was a choppy mess of water. A few times on the way I was goosed from behind by a wave catching my (very low) stern deck, requiring a quick low brace, but it was a fun, fast ride. Tyler Cove is probably the lake’s best beach, a sandy, pebbly affair maybe 100 yards long, and is often a favorite gathering spot for power boaters sometimes fondly referred to as “Bassholes” by us pious low-impact types. But on this windy, choppy afternoon, I had the place to myself. Weather was passing through rapidly; big Huthian cumulus clouds were off to the east, forming into textbook vertical columns right before my eyes, in almost surreal sharp focus, front-lit by the late afternoon sun, but moving along to make trouble elsewhere. Tyler Cove was secluded, peaceful, a perfect rest spot , but my blood was up after my ride there, so I rested only briefly, stretched my legs, nipped some Gatorade, and was soon back in the saddle for the return ride, straight into the wind. Now armed with my Greenland stick, the weapon of choice in a headwind and short confused chop, I made my way from one short trough to the next , and was pleased to find that my boat, an Anas acuta, was the perfect mount for these conditions today : its rockered hull and hard chines seemed to the grip water slashing from many directions, and it was a very stable, comfortable, fun ride. Combine that with a Greenland stick and, aaaahhh, life is as it should be. Wind waves on this lake can vanish as fast as they appear, and by the time I got back to Tidswell point and crossed to the lee of Big Island, things were back to “normal” and the rest of the ride was uneventful. I poked into Thurston Cove, behind Big Island, past more remote campsites (mostly unoccupied) , and paddled down the west shore of the lake, behind Big Island and back to the boat lunch, about eleven miles total. The next day, on a calmer, sunny afternoon, my wife Bonnie and I had a fine afternoon on the water together , this time on the other (northern) end of the lake. She and I don’t paddle together often, as she has MS and fatigues easily, especially in her arms, which limits her boating ambitions to short outings in calm conditions. I had read an article on towing by Wayne Horodowich in which he wrote that, since towing is associated with emergencies and rescues, its other benefits may be underrated , and in a non-emergency role it can allow paddlers of disparate abilities to paddle together, or allow a slow (read: outcast) paddler to keep up with a group. With this in mind, I had hit on the idea of towed outings together, which would enable us to go farther and stay out longer. So, with my tow line daisy -chained down to less than 15 feet so that we could easily converse while underway, we launched from just above the Errol Dam on the Androscoggin, paddled up the river about three miles to where it meets the lake at Leonard Pond, not a pond at all but where the Magalloway and Androscoggin Rivers meet in a lovely open, marshy delta (un unusual delta at that; the rivers run in opposite directions). Here a well known bald eagle’s nest sits in a solitary tall tree which towers over the marshlands. A few kayaks, canoes, and smaller motorboats came & went as we paddled around Leonard Pond for a while before returning the way we came. Along the way, there was the usual fare of loons, herons, ducks, and an osprey perched in a dead cedar with a red-finned pickerel in its talons. Kingbirds made abrupt, chattering forays from their perches, and I heard but did not see other birds: an olive–sided flycatcher (“pleased-pleased-pleased to meet-cha!”) and yellow warblers (”Sweet-sweet- I’m- so-sweet”) All the while I was thinking: tows are good. We had never gotten this far together, (our outing totaled about 9 miles), and the tow felt easy, not a burden at all. Bonnie paddled when she could, rested when she pleased, and said afterwards that the benefit of the tow was as much psychological; knowing that she didn’t have to keep up helped her relax and enjoy the trip. The next day I did a shorter (@ 6 mile), more business-like workout paddle, launching from the tip of Thurston Cove and circling Big Island. Along the way, a robust, very relaxed loon seemed not to mind my passing within 10 feet. The loons on Lake Umbagog seem very un-skittish, for some reason. The water level is very high this year and their nests, which are right next to the water, might have been washed away. Loons are swimming (not waddling) machines; their legs are designed for propulsion and are at the very back on their bodies, so they can only wriggle about on their bellies while on land. At the take out a horsefly the size of a bumblebee gave me a hammer-like bite through my shorts; it did pack a punch but things could have been much worse; it was my only insect bite of note that day, a far cry from the marshes around Essex Bay and Cranes Beach, so: life is good.

I had some facts wrong in my previous post. The incident on the Cape that I alluded to was on Columbus Day 2003, not last year. The paddlers who died had taken a kayak class. My Apologies...

It would seem apparent that this bill has been crafted without the consultation of professionals in the field : guides, outfitters, retailers, instructors. Generally (i.e. vaguely) speaking: whatever would help bring them into the loop would be a good thing. My understanding is that the kayak touring/teaching industry has found from experience that beginning sessions with wet exits & immersion (i.e starting participants off cold and wet) has a negative effect on the overall teaching/learning experience, especially in "off-season"/colder months, so other models for teaching this essential skill are being explored. One can foresee this kind of bill having the the unintended effect of driving beginners away from the very classes and instruction that they need, and could lead to more beginners setting out on their own, which is ,probably, just the situation which occurred on the cape last fall. In the unlikely event that legislation such as this were actually enforced, it would probably: Have little or no effect on serious paddlers or determined beginners.(NSPN, for example, would probably not be affected in a meaningful way) Decrease the number of people taking classes &instruction , especially in colder water (around here: @ 7-8 months of the year) Damage the professional/commercial end of the sport. (outfitters/instructors) Have little to no impact on the (already small) number of kayaking accidents/fatalities.

This is a great opportunity for aspiring rollers. Bob has gotten a lot of people rolling for the first time after one class. But no matter where you are in the process: just starting, have worked on a roll but can't quite get there, or if you want to fine-tune an existing roll, this would be a great class. I took his class last year; the participants were at different levels, and I think everyone benefitted. I certainly did.

Aqua Adventures (www.aqua-adventures.com) is right on Mission Bay in San Diego. The owner , Jen Kleck, is one of the top paddlers in the US. also: check out the San Diego kayak club (www.sdkc.org)

Sorry to all for lack of communication on Friday afternoon; my internet was down or I was in transit. Hopefully, what was apparent to me was apparent to all: not a good time for boats on the water. Weather reports showed a string of thunderstorms passing through Cape Ann throughout Friday Evening, and at 5:30 there was severe rain and some lightning in the Danvers area. Hopefully we can reschedule, but it looks like tides won’t be favorable in tha area for an after- work session until September, and it gets dark earlier by then.We’ll keep trying…

rain or shine, but not if there's lightning. I'll be out of computer range from @ 2PM on, so please check weather @ 3-5PM.

Goose Cove is to the right (inland) of Rte 127 , about 2 miles from the traffic rotary, or halfway to Lanes Cove , near Lobster Cove and the mouth of the Annsiquam River, You would see it on the right as you cross a bridge/culvert driving north on Rte 127,. Parking at Goose Cove is not reliable. There may or may not be one or two spots to park, but Deb reports unfriendly residents who might make a scene. The best thing is to paddle there (1/2 - 3/4 mile) from Wheelers point area, (closer to the rotary, or before Goose Cove) Take the first rotary, and head north on Rte 127 for about half a mile. Take the first left after the hospital (on your left) Go for about a mile on Wheeler Road, up and down a hill to a public boat launch, Goose Cove is about a 1/2 –3/4 mile paddle from there . Head north, stay to the right, and look for a small bridge (Rte 127) on your right (not ther bridge to Annisquam, this will hae traffic on it) . Scoot under the bridge , ride the current into Goose Cove. Current dies dwn/eddies in a hundred feet or so. Once we’re in Goose Cove , we won’t be coming out until the current dies down, probably @ 8PM. Mary (or anyone) if you’d like to paddle over together: I’ll be at the boat launch @ 5:30, planning to launch @ 5:45. My cell phone is 617-877-5824. Both Beginners and tidal race gurus needed. Come on Suzanne!

Deb, It is a tidal race, maybe 100 feet wide, can't say whether its infamous or not, have only seen it from the road (Rte 127 bewen the rotary and Lanes Cove) it doesn't look infamous to me . Penryn Mawr it ain't, but that's the point, its a good place to practise, as mistakes won't result in broken & missing boats, paddles, paddlers etc. . Having a session there has been discussed at the Chebacco Lake sessions for a while now, and the tides will be right on Friday to go & do it.

There will be a practice session on Friday 6/23 at Goose Cove in the Annisquam section of Gloucester from @ 5:30PM to 8PM. At the entrance of Goose Cove there is a small tidal race which runs for about 2 hours in the middle third of the incoming tide. Midtide tomorrow is @ 7PM, so conditions will be right from @ 6-8PM. This is a great time and place to practice boat handling skills in the current under manageable conditions Rick Crangle knows the area and what he's doing, and will be there to instruct and advise. It should be a lot of fun.... We will practice entering the current, ferrying, edging, "mooning" the current etc. For my part I will be practising edging the right and the wrong way (i.e. capsizing) and will be wearing a helmet. There is little or no parking at Goose Cove, so we will be paddling there from some nearby put-in. Details will be worked out at tonight's Chebacco Lake practice session and posted tomorrow.

It was great to see two new members at yesterdays practice session . Hope to see you even before next Tuesday: come to the Solstice Paddle on Saturday. Its one of the two or three events during the year when the whole club may get together .

I would be interested, but it would need to be in the Newburyport area (Cashman Park, etc) as I can't stray far from home that day.

Since Jon's "shameless plug" for Old Quarry was not in the commercial classified section, we all may assume that he was offering us accommodations and guide services at Old Quarry for free. Jon, when my we take you up on this wonderful offer?

I use a Northwater tow bag too, and have found keeping the carabinier in the bag is no problem . I got a NW bag with a “gaping” mouth on the recommendation of Mr. Nystrom, who advised that one should consider not only ease of deployment but also ease in stowing your rig once you’re finished with it. I found that in practise, stowing everything quickly was indeed a good feature. The biner stows at the top of the pouch , and its very big so its easy to grab. The bag also can roll up into a tighter roll by using a second strip of Velcro on the bag . My towline is not attached to the bag at all but comes out & connects to the quick release strap that is integral to my PFD . If I need to quick release, the buckle on the front frees the strap and the towline slides off, but the bag stays with me. I had not thought of this set up from a safety point of view, but in light of Gillian’s account, I now realize that having the carabinier safe & tucked away is a good thing. The highlight of the practise session, however, was the impressive Cleopatra's needle performed by our friend in the yellow Shadow. His bow (or was it the stern?) pointed skyward, and the moment seemed to call for Kevin and Gillian to grab hold of the boat, scramble to its highest point together as if on the Titanic in its death throes, Gillian could then turn and cry out "Kevin, this is where we first met..."