rylevine

Still requesting volunteers for the NTKW pool session (April 28, 1:30-4:00, Haverhill pool). More volunteers means that we can offer the pool session to more NTKW participants. See description above. Post here or PM to me if you are able to attend. Thanks! Bob

We now have 73 RSVPs for the New to Kayaking Workshop, a huge response due mostly to the efforts of Al, Blaine, and everyone that posted fliers and/or contacted meetup group leaders. A week after the NTKW (April 21, Gould Barn) is the NTKW pool session at the Haverhill High School pool, April 28, 1:30-4:00. The goal of the pool session is to have NTKW participants be able to get into a kayak on water, balance and become comfortable in the boat, and learn some rudimentary skills. Obviously, we cannot have 73 people in the pool, so will have to cap it at some much smaller number (10-20?) that depends on the number of NSPN volunteer instructors. I'm preparing the itinerary for the pool session that will be sent to NTKW participants; and Al will take names of attendees at the April 21 NTKW. Consequently, by April 21 we need to know how many NSPN volunteers we have for the April 28th session. Right now, Leslie and I are signed up with four boats, which could accommodate 4 pods of two people each - or eight participants. A few more volunteer instructors and boats, and I think we would be able to offer the pool session to 10-20 NTKW participants, perhaps more. There is a 12 boat maximum in the pool. The prerequisites to being an instructor are minimal among active NSPN members - L2/L3 paddle experience should do it. Of course, there is no charge to volunteers (or NTKW participants). Please post here or PM to me if you are available to be a volunteer instructor for the NTKW pool session. Thanks! Bob

Agreed. It was fun just to concentrate on Greenland paddling and rolling. The boats are amazing. Great way to improve rolling technique for either Greenland or Euro paddling. Thanks to Doug for organizing, and to Nancy, Wayne, Fred and other instructors! Bob

Doug, Thanks for the pictures. "Rites of Spring" felt like "Rites of Summer", but no complaints about 70s temps and gentle swells. Great paddle! Bob

Looks good for tomorrow. See you there! Bob

Hey Eric, I would like to look at the bags at the NSPN Greenland workshop. I checked the skinboat website, and am interested in how that pulley system works. Thanks! Bob

Hi Eric, The address is 550 Peverly Hill Rd, Portsmouth, NH. If traveling north, take Rt 33 (Exit 3) off 95N, towards Portsmouth (right off the ramp), as you pass a cemetery on the right a mile or so down, take a right at Peverly Hill Rd. The YMCA is on the left about 1/2 mile from the turn onto Peverly Hill Rd. Bob

Phil, The calendar and my trip posting has the correct June 2nd date for the Salem Sound L3 paddle. Thanks. Bob

Warren, Congratulations on the Traverso award and the new kayak. Looks like your PT schedule, boat delivery, and reasonable weather are all converging at the same time! Bob

NSPN had the cold water workshop yesterday off Pavilion beach in Ipswich. Air and water temps were about 50F, and there was about a off-shore 10kt wind when we got started at 10:00. We had about 20 participants. Suz and Scott led the initial beach briefing in which the conditions of cold shock and hypothermia were reviewed. Suz then demonstrated the safety and repair equipment in her kayak for general paddling, as well as specifically for cold water paddling. She mentioned some excellent tips - eg., placing a dry set of gloves inside the dry suit, chemical warming pads as part of the kit, and having extra hat and gloves at your vehicle. The participants were pretty well prepared with everyone wearing dry suits, fleece undergarments, neoprene head cover, helmets, gloves, and some form of external covering (cags, jackets, and etc). Suz and Scott had extras of these items for people who did not have them. We started by breaking into three groups of 6-7 each, and taking a swim to experience the cold water with our gear. After launching we moved into the bay for rescue practice, including basic t-rescues. Our group, ably led by Phil, tried variants of the rescue in order to lessen the swimmer's time in the water. This included using the rescuer's hull as a platform to rest on while the boat was being drained. With the assist of an unintended capsize and the tide current pulling the rescuer and swimmer too far away (towards the Ipswich river), we performed a dual tow of the pair back to the put-in. At that point we had lunch, and used the group shelter (tent) for warming up on the beach. That was apparently very successful, so much heat was generated that a puppy decided to join inside - having figured out that his owners were not getting back from their walk to a warm car fast enough! After lunch, we went out for more assisted and self-rescues; and then returned about 3:30 to the put-in. It looked like everyone stayed warm, and had a lot of fun! I would like to thank Suz and Scott for organizing this important workshop again (the tenth NSPN CWW!), and the group leaders for assisting in the training. I think we can all look forward to an enjoyable and safe winter paddling season. Bob

coaches and instructors HAVE a responsibility...this isn't a CAM...folks PAID THEM for their expertise....they've put themselves in a position where they're the last ones off the water and it's their job to make sure everyone comes back. so yeah...i think they do shoulder the responsibility - they absolutely have a higher duty of care than you and your mates out for a cam. but these guys chose that responsibility and they're compensated for it. Rick is making a clear, important distinction between coach-led classes and CAM. The reported incident referred to a class, but I think there may be lessons in the report for CAM trips. To me the first lesson is to give VOICE to your intuition about possibly dangerous conditions. It could very well be that others in the group have similar concerns, and even if they don't, perhaps they should. Also, if you hear a voiced concern, then red flags should go up. Stop, re-consider your own decision-making. For the most part, the people I paddle with on NSPN trips are either more skilled than me, or close enough in skills so that if they are uncomfortable then I have to pay attention (for my own sake as well as the group's). However, there is nothing to pay attention to if nobody speaks up. The second lesson has to do with Mark's excellent description of the inadequate preparation and beach briefing. Rick mentioned classroom sessions prior to the trip, which we cannot do on CAM trips. However, we may want to consider an away-from-the-beach briefing. The beach is very chaotic and distracting, with people already engaged in the "drive-to-launch". Perhaps it is better to physically move to a briefing off the beach, forcing people to concentrate on important trip issues? Bob

I agree with Pru's assessment, and thanks to Mark for posting this incident report (and to Rick for relaying it here). There is so much good information for NSPN paddlers and trip initiators in this report. Every time I read it, I find more nuggets: I think Mark went against his intuition about the venue because he was deferring to other leaders. People he did not have experience paddling with, but who he knew by reputation. But, as relayed by Mark, only one (assistant) coach had paddled there before......................... "I had never met Sean before, but Sean and one of the other assistants, Jamie, are well known names in the world of kayak surfing, and I have only been teaching beginners to surf kayaks for a couple of years." "...Richard, my assistant, who, as it turned out, was the only one of the four coaches who had been to that venue before." There always seems to be a turning point where bad goes to really bad...................... "I realized that we were all drifting to the west much faster than I had expected, and I turned around to see if I could see Richard, Dave and Steve behind me, when I saw a much larger set of waves come through and capsize multiple students from both classes all at once." This is a seemingly sensible thing to try, but disaster was avoided only because of Mark's skills................... "I saw his kayak as something I could maybe use to help Shay and Jamie, so I flipped it upright, clipped into and towed it back towards them. I was really hoping we could put Shay in this boat, hand her my spare paddle, which was miraculously still on my front deck, and we could all get the hell out of there. I don’t know what I was thinking, honestly.....This, of course, is EXACTLY why you’re not supposed to tow a kayak in the surf. I knew this, intellectually. Now I know it for real." This is very disturbing....................................... "There were ten students on the beach, but there were differing opinions as to how many people we had in our class, all told. I insisted it was sixteen, and in the end, it turned out I was right, but not for the reasons I thought. Our original roster had twelve students and four instructors, but what I didn’t know is that one of the students was a no-show, and someone else had come along to take pictures. Much confusion ensued while that discrepancy was sorted out." This was the smartest decision of the day. Sending Fred in to call for help......................... "Sean had told Fred the photographer to make the call for outside help, which he did when he landed, with a borrowed cell phone." To me the single most awful mistake of the Anglesey Incident paddlers (see earlier NSPN posting by Rick, and incident report by Nigel Dennis) was not recognizing that somebody needed outside help before it was too late. I agree with Rick and others who say that the original decision to launch is the most critical, but it is possible for even very experienced paddlers to get in over their heads. Bob

I think it was Rene who suggested to me to put the thin latex gloves under the neoprene gloves. That worked well last year for really cold paddling in keeping the occasional splash from penetrating to the skin. Actually, the only time I got cold was during lunch on the beach! - so extra boots and gloves in the hypothermia kit are another suggestion. Bob

Scott Camlin and Suz Hutchinson will be conducting the yearly cold water event this year on Nov. 6. This will be a workshop done as a "learning on the go" style paddle as was done for the Spring CAM workshops on the water. • Review of cold water physiology and clothing; recognizing hypothermia; • Dunk tests • Rescues and tows (cold water version of last spring) • Group scenarios; CAM/leadership issues related to cold water; • Warm up practice (on-water and on-shore) • Indoors debrief (if we can find a place nearby to where we will be paddling.) Our launch will be planned as we get closer to the event. It will depend on wind/weather conditions. Most likely we will plan this near/on Cape Ann or perhaps Ipswich. Any updates to the trip will be posted to the NSPN website and the evening before we will post the location depending on the weather. More information will also be posted on the calendar. The paddling will be within level 2 guidelines on NSPN. We would like volunteers (one per 3-4 participants) so that we will not need to limit participants. Please contact Bob if you would like to volunteer. If you are interested in using a drysuit for the day, Suz will bring Kokatat demo suits. They will be available on a first come/first serve basis. When rsvp'ing let Suz know if you are hoping to use a drysuit and what size you think you are so she can make note: http://www.kokatat.com/sizing_mens.asp http://www.kokatat.com/sizing_womens.asp If planning to use a drysuit, please bring form fitting fleece to wear underneath, wool/fleece socks and closed shoes that can be worn OVER the drysuit sock and your socks. Fleece jackets are too bulky to go underneath a drysuit. Please bring any gloves/hoods/hats/shoes that you have that are extra so that if someone else is missing an article of clothing, they can borrow. RSVP - suz@kayakne.com Volunteers please also PM or email rylevine@comcast.net Please include CWW in the subject line for either Suz or Bob. Thanks! Bob

Doug, Sending check for Haverhill pool slots. Thanks for organizing them. Bob

Weather questionable, so better to cancel. See everyone at the General Meeting & Paddle! Bob

Doug, Even if just scum (?) on the water, pictures #58-#60 are beautiful. Thanks. Bob

Will be at Tuck in Beverly tomorrow around 5:30 for skills practice. Depending on interest and weather, possible L3 evening trip after the session. Directions to Tuck on this forum: http://www.nspn.org/...?showtopic=8088 Bob

Change of Scenery: We are thinking of moving tonight's NSSS to the Swampscott, Lynn, Nahant beach (Kings beach). Please PM me for details on meetup and/or check here, but it will be at the usual time (5:30). If surf is not suitable, we may head to Puritan point. Bob

After Willows heading across river to Tuck in Beverly for session. Directions on this forum at http://www.nspn.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=8088 Bob

Plan to be at Willows around 5:30. Bob

Had our pre-race safety meeting today, and was notified by the harbormaster that no propellers near swimmers (obvious in retrospect). Consequently, there is a need for more kayakers. Meeting 8/27 Forest River at 9:00am, race starts at 10:00am, and should be done by 12:30. If interest, and weather permits, could follow up with afternoon L3 paddle around Salem sound. Post here or PM me if interested. Proceeds to benefit Salem Sound Coastwatch, http://www.salemsound.org/ Bob