MPARSONS

Since no one responded by bedtime last night I didn't bring my kayak to Boston today. You will have to go without me.

I, for one, can't paddle on Saturday this week which is why I posted a trip for Sunday and Friday. There has been no interest for either of those trips, though.

I'm planning to paddle in Cohasset on Sunday afternoon to mess around in the ebb at the mouth of Little Harbor. Put In: Cohasset Harbor Time: High tide is around 2:30pm but I don't have a good sense for how much of a lag there is at that spot between HT and when the ebb starts to get interesting. I'm thinking we could do the shore briefing at 3:30pm; launch 3:45pm; return around 7pm or so Itinerary: We'll paddle over to Little Harbor (about 1.5 NM) and play around there for a couple of hours. Then, if there is enough interest and energy left, we can do a little side trip to Minots Ledge Light (about 2 NM) and back to the put in (about 2 more NM) Level: Level 2 or 2+ because of limited exposure to open water and current Post here if you are interested!

My schedule on Friday just opened up, so I thought I'd post the same trip I posted last week to see if there is interest this week. An advantage to doing it on Friday is not having to get up early the morning after a night paddle. Put In: Fort Point Channel dock, in the parking lot off of Necco Street in Boston Time: Shore briefing: 5:45pm; launch 6:00pm; return around 9:30pm or so Itinerary: We'll paddle out Fort Point Channel and take a right. We'll paddle SE out of the Inner Harbor and across to Spectacle Island (about 3 NM). From Spectacle we will go E to the northern tip of Long Island (about 1 NM), then turn SE to George's Island (about 1 NM). We can take a little dinner break on George's and, if there is interest, explore the fort before returning by the same route. Being a Friday, we could choose to freak out the after work crowd at the Barking Crab by showing up in full gear. Level: Level 3 because of limited exposure to open water and return after sunset in area with lots of traffic. Special considerations: We will be finishing the trip after dark, so you will need to bring at least a flashlight or headlamp. Also some glowsticks might not be a bad idea to make yourself more visible in a crowded harbor. Post here if you are interested!

Since there isn't any interest to do it today, I'll make other plans for tonight. I'll post this trip again in the future with more lead time so that hopefully Phil, Jason and others can come along.

For anyone who works in the city or is willing to come in to join the commuters I'm planning a trip for tomorrow after work. If interested, please post here. If no one expresses interest I'll do something different, so don't plan to just show up without posting. Put In: Fort Point Channel dock, in the parking lot off of Necco Street in Boston Time: Shore briefing: 5:45pm; launch 6:00pm; return around 9:30pm or so Itinerary: We'll paddle out Fort Point Channel and take a right. We'll paddle SE out of the Inner Harbor and across to Spectacle Island (about 3 NM). From Spectacle we will go E to the northern tip of Long Island (about 1 NM), then turn SE to George's Island (about 1 NM). We can take a little dinner break on George's and, if there is interest, explore the fort before returning by the same route. Forecast: wind NE 5-10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Clear and warm. Sunset at 8:22pm Level: Level 3 because of limited exposure to open water and return after sunset in area with lots of traffic. Special considerations: We will be finishing the trip after dark, so you will need to bring at least a flashlight or headlamp. Also some glowsticks might not be a bad idea to make yourself more visible in a crowded harbor. Post here if you are interested!

I don't think you are missing anything. I think it is very boat dependent. In my very hard chined Shadow, I find that any edging starts the boat turning. To do a clean hanging draw I need to keep the boat on zero edge. An alternative would be to edge and then counteract the turning tendency by changing the pivot point. That is to say, I could move the paddle further back when I'm on the outside edge, almost to the point of being a stern draw. Causing the boat to pull in two different directions feels less efficient to me that keeping the edge neutral. That is less of an issue when I'm paddling a different boat, but now I have the habit of not edging on my moving/hanging draws. Like you, I often switch from a bow rudder to a hanging draw. I might turn toward a target, then slide sideways to get closer to it, then finish with a stern sweep to bring me back to parallel to my starting position. To do so I go from edge, to no edge, to edge.

That is a Five Star trip report! Congratulations Peter, Phil and David. Everyone else, if you ever have the chance being a tea bag/guinea pig on an assessment is a great learning experience. Whether you are interested in developing your own leadership skills or just want to become a more effective group member, helping on an assessment can be a useful exercise. Its also quite a bit of fun.

A check is in the mail...

This morning I noticed additional signs at the parking lot. Parking is free for the boat launch after 7pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

The new dock is now open...

It is surrounded by a massive parking lot. Hundreds of cars. They charge $12 per day on weekdays, but I think its free on the weekends. The launch is not open yet. The dock is installed, but it is closed off by a chain link fence. I'm really looking forward to this launch opening for next season. I park in that lot any day I have a post-work paddle planned. This means I'll probably initiate a bunch of mid-week harbor paddles next season.

Thanks, Ed. I have done the four star training and had the same reaction. We all had the paddling skills for what we were asked to do. It was truly leadership training. I couldn't agree more that all of the leadership skills are fully applicable to CAM trips, which is part of why I want to pursue it. My concern was more a technical one. I was afraid that if I initiated a bunch of trips and practiced all of the leadership skills on those trips, that I'd show up at the assessment and the assessor would say it didn't meet the strict requirements because there was no qualified leader overseeing what I did. I think your suggestion to just ask one of the local assessors makes a lot of sense.

Thanks, Rick. I definitely understand that CAM trips are not leaderless, I just didn't know whether the specific requirements set forth in the syllabus were met by such a free form leadership structure. After all, if the syllabus requires an assistant leader, that implies there must be someone else who is the "full" leader. It sounds like I'm getting too hung up on the precise language, which can be an occupational hazard of mine.

I have a question about how people in NSPN have pursued the BCU four star requirements under our CAM structure. Prerequisites for the four star assessment include five trips of at least four hours duration during which the person acted as "assistant leader". How have people achieved that prerequisite when our structure doesn't have leaders or assistant leaders? Did you satisfy the requirements on trips outside of NSPN? Did you count initiating a trip as being a trip leader? Trip initiators certainly do some of the trip leader functions with respect to trip planning, but they aren't really leaders in the BCU sense. That is the only prerequisite I'm missing, but I don't even have a good plan for how I'll satisfy it, so any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Definitely don't wait for me because I don't have a good sense for when I'll get there. Friday traffic out of the city can be unpredictable.

I'd love to go, but would probably get there later since I have to drive up from Boston. Where exactly do you launch and where do you meet on the water?

I'm planning to make it there!

What a great day and a great trip. Thanks for setting it up, Doug. I love the progression of pictures where first I'm stuck on a rock doing some kind of forearm brace and then shortly thereafter I'm wearing a helmet. I may be a slow learner, but at least I eventually get it!

I think I can make it too!

I think you could run for office under the banner of the RICK (Rational Instruction for Canoes and Kayaks) Party. While I think it is a good idea for everyone to keep an eye on this legislation, I'm not particularly worried about it. It has been introduced the past several years and to my knowledge it has never gone anywhere other than some hearings. I get the impression that this is something the sponsor is introducing to appease a vocal constituent, but the sponsor isn't interested in pushing for passage. My guess is that the sponsor realizes the issue is more complicated than it first appears, but his constituent really, really wants him to introduce it.

Here is a link to the bill: http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H00664 The bill would require anyone holding himself out as a kayak instructor for hire to have certifications. It doesn't say guides or outfitters must.

I think I can make this one!

Count me in!

1/8 in Haverhill is perfect. Thanks! "The check is in the mail."