bazzert

Quite a different from ours in july. Glad you all made it back safely. Barry.

Thanks Kate for another wonderful trip report; the pictures are stunning. Barry.

Some pics from the symposium. Trip report to follow. Barry.

I'm considering it ... getting there late friday night for the sessions on saturday and sunday. Where are people staying ? Was considering the campground at Hadleys Point. Barry.

Hi Dan: You can put in at the boat launch near the Medford boat club. It's between the lower and upper Mystic lake; there is now a path/steps to carry down to the lower lake and then it's a short paddle accross the lower lake and down the mystic river. I'd like to do this paddle as well some time but I am in Maine this weekend. Barry.

Hi Christopher, I plan on being there. thanks, Barry.

I had done some research on this recently because we were planning a kids camping trip to Thachers. There is actually a small boat ramp right in rockport itself. I have linked to it here and confirmed with the parking clerk that you can park overnight on any street which is not metered parking. There is room for one or two cars on the ramp itself to unload and then you would have to go a couple of streets away to find an unmetered spot. The weather was threatening so we just made a day trip of it, but the ramp process was straight forward with the advantage of only a very short carry. We found metered spots just a street away on a busy saturday morning. Barry.

My third night paddle this year and each has had it's own character. Last night was about a stunning sunset, mirror like seas, sand bars and good company. Some photos here. Barry.

Sorry Doug, I'm out. Next time! Barry.

also ... http://www.seacliffkayakers.com/Home.html

Yes. I was reminded we didnt do a full paddle this month while aboard the Acela home from NYC last night and a beautiful full moon appeared above the connecticut coastline. Barry.

Hi Doug: I'm interested. Barry.

Thats terrible! It's bad enough that there are so many places you cant launch officially, now we are adding places we can't launch unofficially! I remember this type of behavior in Charlestown ... but Ipswich ???

Here's one I took from Thacher Island, we made it back to Rockport with about 10 minutes to spare. Barry.

I had posted this article before, but what I was really struck by was the story of one of the commenters ... "When on a trip out to a sandbar on a boat with friends in Mombasa, Kenya I attempted to save someone who was drowning, the man who was sailing the boat. Approaching the sandbar he collided with it a little roughly and ended up falling overboard on the deep water side of the boat. Naturally im with a bunch of mates and we see the "captain" fall over, much laughter results until we realise he's dead quiet, not even attempting to reach for my friends hand. Much like Mario says in the post above his head was tilted right back, eyes glazed over minimal movement just spray coming from his mouth as he hyperventilated. I looked around at everyone who had resorted to screaming at him and offering hands to him and decided I'd jump in. I'd seen it before on TV, I'd done some lifesaving training when I was in the scouts, its a doddle right? No. The moment I touched him he instantly tried to use my body as a platform. He kicked me in the private parts, elbowed my face, clawed/scrammed/gouged up my shoulders and face just to climb higher as I slowly sunk. He finally decided he was safe when his legs were wrapped around my arms preventing me from fighting back. Under the water with a man now sitting on my head I couldn't swim and my legs were merely slowing the inevitable, I was already too low under the surface to even get gasps of air. It was only another friend who jumped over from a second boat having seen this unfold only been too far away to help decided rather than trying to approach the clearly distressed but no longer drowning man to instead simply deliver a swift punch to his face, swam around behind him as he fell off (his legs let me go allowing me to throw him off at that point) and dragged him the 3 ft to the sandbar. I was within 1 mtr of solid ground and while trying to rescue someone I almost sacrificed myself instead. If ever you jump in after someone be sure you know what the hell your doing. As for being overpowered he was a lithe kenyan fella, im a 5ft 11 rugby player sized character, in a fight I'd have said I'd have won anyday. It is surprising just how much strength and frenzied aggression adrenaline can cause and while im no fan of violence im bloody glad my mate can throw a decent punch."

They also publish a guide to the access points on the North Shore here. If you call or email them they will send you a printed version (at least they did in the past). Very handy to have in the car. Barry.

The access is definitely public. It is known as Grays Beach Landing. Attached is a screen shot from the Mass Office of Coastal Zone Management website. During the week especially there should be plenty of public street parking nearby. Lovely area, wish I was off tomorrow! Barry.

Actually, Phase I construction of the secondary spillway is complete. They have paused for the summer to allow recreational access and will resume again in the fall to rehabilitate the primary spillway. True, but I like that there is now an access path to the lower lake which would open up the opportunity for a trip from the lower lake to Boston harbor (anyone interested?). Also the fish ladder is pretty awesome! Interesting presentation on the project here. Barry.

We have 9 total in 4 groups; kids varying in age from 5 to 12 years old. Let me know if you would like to join us. Hopefully will be as good a weather weekend as this one! Barry.

For those of you who couldnt make it you missed another really nice night paddle. If you've never paddled at night I'd highly recommend it. The transition from evening to night is sublime. We had very flat seas, warm waters and virtually no wind. Although cloudy initially it cleared enough later for the full moon to make an appearance. The phosphorescence was particularly active. We were treated on the return trip to no less than 3 fireworks displays at various points on the north shore. Christopher has promised a full trip report so I wont steal his thunder! Barry.

Friday works for me! Barry.

We have six so far for this trip and I have reserved 3 camp sites. They have more so let us know if you would like to come along on this trip. Depending on the makeup we may have two launches one from Lanes cove (7 miles each way) and one from Rockport (3.5 miles). Barry.

Hi Gay, The dates are not set in stone so if for example the following weekend worked better and you were committed to going we could look at changing. Alternatively it would be great to hear your ideas and possible other dates. I'd love to do a couple of trips this season. cheers, Barry.

Hi Christopher, I plan on being there. Barry.

Rene (Brambor) and I have been discussing kayak camping trips we could do with our kids. We decided to plan on a first trip to Thacher Island which is just off of Rockport. The plan would be to launch either from Rockport ( a ~3 mile paddle) or Lanes Cove ( ~7 mile paddle). If there were people launching from both location we could rendezvous in Rockport. There are rentals available from North Shore Kayak in Rockport if you need a tandem. This should be an easy paddle and hopefully a fun introduction to kayak camping. Of course those paddling without children are also welcome! Let me know if you are interested in joining. We can work out the logistics and there is a huge wealth of knowledge on this forum for advice on gear etc. cheers, Barry.