brambor

Nice shots Doug. Looks like great time on the water. ... I can't get to Facebook from work. :-(

Great Idea.

My review: I took a few indoor pictures on Thursday night before the fun began. After that I did not have the guts to take the camera with me. I will work on the pics tonight. I have to say that the event was awesome for me. Even though I was futzing around in the least challenging classes as far as rough water is concerned I have learned great deal and improved my confidence in bouncy water. I originally planned on taking first day of greenland instruction, second day 'intermediate strokes in conditions' and third day 'rock and roll'. I have started rolling this winter and felt pretty good about it coming to the symposium. My first day in greenland instruction I have worked on the concepts of a forward finishing roll. This is a roll I would like to learn next. The instruction was very helpful and I have also learned a few good tips about my layback roll. big After lunch we jettied out to the bumpy water. For more experienced paddlers this might have been a benign sea state but for me it was just enough to process. I really enjoyed it a great deal. The return back to the beach through the mini 'race' of standing waves was exhillirating. I managed to stay upright that day and felt brave enough to demonstrate my rolling at the end of the day. To my utter disappointment I failed my roll and subsequent encore wasn't any better. So the next day I decided to go back to the Greenland class and fix what might have been broken in my technique. Of course I nailed both sides of my rolls before we even began the practice but my decision to do the second day greenland was sensible because I really had been using a lot of bad technique. I have improved my layback roll and now I have things to work on to perfect it. After lunch it was another trip to the bumpy water. This time we were to paddle through the standing waves in the race and then back out and do it again. It was bumpy enough that I was not in control of my boat. Even though I did not capsize I tried to process the information before I headed out again. As a result I went out 2 out of 3. Both times were turbulent like in a washmachine. It was very exciting for me. I had a great coach with me to guide me along and to ask if I was ok in between venturing out again. I was fine but I just did not want to just mindlessly throw myself into a bumpy water only for the sake of doing as many runs as possible. The third day I went to do intermediate strokes in conditions. I took a bit stabler boat with me for this class. The previous 2 days I was paddling Valley Q Boat. I was talking to Tom Bergh about the boat and he explained to me that the boat is very advanced and difficult to control for someone of my level. Even though Tom can handle any boat he did (with tongue in cheek) say that the boat was too much even for him. So I took out Seda Ikkuma. A 17 foot greenland 'inspired' boat. The boat was great in the bump. I felt a more secure platform under my butt. Our main coach was Fiona Whitehead. She really did an excellent job in explaining all the effects of edging, currents, core paddling and boat control and the different strokes to choose. I have learned a great deal and took with me a lot to work on. After lunch we again went into the bumpy water. We played along the rocks and had a good time in the swell. I felt very comfortable now to be out there, either thanks to the stabler boat but also from the cumulative experience over the past few days. I felt great. Then it was time to head back in through the surf. Our instructions were to try to return through the 'ferrying' channel. I've done that the day before and I felt very confident to do it again. We did talk about giving each other a good distance between boats to make it through. When I was prompted to go I just responded to the nod but I made one mistake - This time I did not really check the surf behind me. Needless to say I picked up two good breakers right when I was in near the rocks. The result was me getting the boat into the 'race' and then dealing with the surf. These were surely the biggest waves I have been in and I did capsize while dealing with them. Being upside down in waves is clearly totally different than rolling in calm water. I did almost manage to roll up but I did not recollect myself under water to do all the parts of the roll correctly especially the head back on the layback. So I swam. My coach was right there with me. He did a great job staying with me in the bump. We did a two boat rescue by first emptying the boat. The waves filled the boat before I got back into it. It is interesting to note how much more difficult it was to get on the back deck when dealing with waves. Once I was in the cockpit we decided to paddle it out with the boat full of water. I reattached my skirt and so we went through the surf zone. I managed one more capsize in which I did a little better with the roll but still not good enough. These experiences are cumulative and one seems to do better every subsequent time. This time I rolled up by holding to the coaches bow. We paddled though the surf and I made it to shore fine by bracing off the waves. This was all very exciting. So I got into my boat and paddled back though the surf in an attempt to surf back to shore and to work again on my wave bracing. I did fine and had a big grin on my face - really this weekend was adults playing like kids. :-) The evenings were filled with great slideshows from some of the expedition coaches. Greenland, Madagascar, two dudes paddling the east coast (Jake and Glen / portagetoportage.com / oneoceanproject.com) I wholeheartedly recommend going to this event again. Thanks.

I'd show up for that in a heartbeat. rb

Almost ready to head out. Life is good thanks to NSPN. rb

YES - one of the wishes I have whenever I take my kids paddling is that they had their own peers on the trip. It sure beats talking to adults all the time :-) So think about bringing your kids on a paddling camping trip! rb

Lead or Initiate ?

I'm in. Unless I'm out... rb

Bio what ? :-) While everyone was happily chatting I was just happy to keep to boat the right side up (sweating it) so I did not really notice the bioluminescence. Although on the way back I did notice something which I thought was catching the light of my lamp planted on the back deck. Perhaps it wasn't the lamp but was the bioluminescence.

I like your pony tail. In my line of work (SQL Server) a setting of 0 is a sign of unlimited number of choices while anything higher than that allows for constraints. No comment on the photography. ;-)

Great trip. The moon and our boats embellished with glowing '4thofJuly Necklases' bobbing next to the Anisquam Light ... great memories

They will still make you a boat with OC won't they? All you need to say is pretty please and open your wallet a bit more.

10-4 oneOdashfour

can we get some cell numbers just in case we're close but unable to find the parking spot? Once everyone is on the road towards the meetup the internet is of very little use. I will be working remotely so you'll probably find me in the nearest starbucks or t-mobile hotspot.

amazing.

I could not fit into LV but my Jubilee[(H20)Classic] is the right fit for me. I have added some weight to get it deeper into water. Are you going to paddle your Nordkapp during the night paddle? I was thinking about bringing a different boat but perhaps I can raise the fear factor a few notches and bring my Kapp :-)

My situation changed completely but actually improved the odds of going. So, please count me in unless I say I can't go. Is it BIB at 7PM at Lanes Cove? I'll be coming from Maine, starting around 4PM. I hope the traffic keeps up with the tradition of going NORTH on Friday.

Pintails, which Nordkapp do you have? I would love to compare notes sometimes.

Has there even been a case of a person drowning by panicking and failing to pull off their sprayskirt? (not counting cases where sprayskirt was not possible to pull off)

My report is only partial as we have joined the main group about halfway through the trip. Dagen and I met with Barry at Falmouth landing around 7AM. The road goes literally right to the water so the put in was a piece of cake. We headed out towards Little Chebeague island past Clapboard island. The conditions were as calm as they could get. Very little wind or wave action. As we passed Little Chebeague headed for the northern point of Long Island. The conditions were very calm and we saw very little boat traffic. We decided to make a straight line to Cliff Island instead of going to Great Chebeague --> Hope island --> Cliff Island. As we rounded the southern tip of Cliff island we received a radio transmission from the group already waiting for us on Jewell Island. They spotted us. We acknowledged our presence and continued towards Jewell Island. We saw a nice looking Fox on the shores of Jewell. When we touched the pebble beach of Cocktail cove we were warmly greeted by the rest of the group who helped us move our boats above the high tide mark and carry our camping items to the camp site. The campsites at Jewell are really a pleasure. Nice grassy patches with large overhanging trees for shade. Coupled with beautiful views you can't ask for much more. After we pitched our tent and settled in we went on an exploratory walk around the entire island. First we explored the former military installations on the sourthern tip as well as checked out the other camp spots on the way. Then we headed for the eastern tip with a campsite in the Punchbowl. Great campsite. We placed a brand new geocache in the Punchbowl called Punchbowl Treasure - there are legends of pirate treasure burried in the vicinity. Later the group decided to paddle out to Chunk of Pork while I and Dagen went back to the Southern Beach. Pictures of Doug, Judy, Roger ready to leave for a day trip. As the evening arrived we made a good dinner with a bonus of fresh mussels collected by Gary. The fog must have rolled in during the night. I felt the moisture slowly weighing down on my sleeping bag. The day was interspersed with lifting and 'descending' fog. We returned along the eastern tip of Cliff Island where I and Dagen caught a nice small wave. Perfect introduction to peak my kids curiosity about yak surfing. The group split when we reached Sand Island. Dagen, Barry and I have returned via Hope-Chebeague route while the rest of the group went around North Eastern side of Great Chebeague. We made a stopover at Basket Island where we wanted to refresh a geocache that I placed there last fall. As we neared the landing beach Barry noticed a lone seal pup. It was frightened about to jump in the water. Not exactly a suicide attempt but we did not want to intrude further to make it go into the water. So we retreated and rounded the corner to another landing. All looked well until we got out of the boats and approached a resting spot when about 20 ducks darted from the bushes - yep they were nesting there. Sometimes you just can't win in trying not to disturb the wildlife. We placed the new cache quickly, had a quick snack and headed out towards the mainland. The Basket Cache is now active again. The fog fell heavy for the last leg of the trip and it made the return more magical. Great trip! Thans the Gary to be a great initiator who took great responsibility for safety throughout the weekend. Thanks to Barry, Judy, Doug, Roger and Chris for a great company.

I knew a Bonnie that could make your head spin...

I could spot you Leon but you'd have to tow me.

If you paddle before you see a doctor maybe you can narrow it down a bit more. Wear a tight neoprene hood and scuba googles to minimize the cold water impact above your shoulder. It would be interesting to know if you get dizzy or not. If not then remove goggles and try again, if not then remove neoprene hood and try again... btw...what's a 'bonnie' and what's a 'bonine' ?

I would love to go, but I can not commit 100% yet. If I can time it right and it coincides with picking up my son from his dorm this saturday morning...I might be able to swing it.