Tom Tieman

Great write up! Brings back fun memories.

I was just there this past weekend. I didn't see it Broad Cove Marina, Hungry or Hog island. Hope you find it!

At the time, I lived in Kittery so I was able to scout out the landing in advance. I landed south of the bluff at 43.14482,-70.626936 and camped the site near the bath house, at 43.145826,-70.626716. The trip was a fundraiser for the National Brain Tumor Foundation and the campground owner made a significant donation. And, I chose to avoid the stealth sites as they are mostly quite sensitive, either part of the Rachel Carson NWR or private. Besides, I could have easily just gone home for the night.

I stayed at libbysoceancamping.com‎ on the first night of the trail. It made for a long second day but I enjoyed it and they're on the York Trolley Line.

If you're looking for a book to read: Sea Kayaker's Deep Trouble: True Stories and Their Lessons from Sea Kayaker Magazine [Paperback] Matt Broze (Author), George Gronseth

There is a very tempting pond on Bois Bubert, but it is private. There is no potable water at Roque Island State park. There is water at the town campground in Jonesport (it's trucked in) and wonderful hot showers and laundry at the marina. There are closer to 30 miles of trails along the bold coast, but I'm not sure if there is anywhere to get water.

I'd recommend the 76C if cost is an issue and if you can find one, cheap. It won't be as accurate as a 76CS, but plenty accurate enough for kayak navigation. They float, but watch out, they always float away, never toward you!

In some places, the wind can also change the direction of the current. http://www.mainecoastguide.com/intro/tides.html

Another good idea is to have your name and contact info. on your boat. And, if you have a cockpit cover, put this on the boat when you get out. The CG will know you didn't capsize.

3M 5200 works great, but has a very limmited life after opening the tube. MAS has a new product, that they lasts longer after opening. I bought a tube, but have not tried it yet.

Not sure it will help, but this site has some nice pics of St. Thomas

Pre-programmed BlueChart chips come ready to use in your gps unit, but I'm pretty sure they cannot be re-used on more than 2 gps units. The chips come in 3 zones, Americas, Atlantic (europe) and Pacific (asia). The chips cannot be uploaded to your computer. The CD can go on your computer and get downloaded to the gps chip. I didn't like either BlueChart method and use the basemap with the oldest version of their TOPO software. The discontinued US TOPO installs on your pc and downloads to the chip with out any unlock codes.

Hope it's not too late, but I'd use the base map in the 76csx first to see if you are satisfied with it. The MapTech maps will not download to your gps the way the BlueCharts maps will.

I'm not sure if this was mentioned, but it looks like the paddle back was against the outgoing tide. 12:44 PM EST 8.25 feet High Tide 6:45 PM EST -0.11 feet Low Tide

The 76csx does float, but Murphy's law dictates that it will always float away from you! I used mine for about 4 years without a bag. Eventually, the seals in the battery compartment failed and the terminals corroded. The USB seal also failed. The serial port did not fail. No water ever got into the unit itself. So: either keep the gps in a bag or inspect and replace all the seals when needed.

I hope you didn't read more into my post than I wrote! For someone who has already decided to get a gps for kayaking on the ocean, the tide feature is a useful feature. I don't know of any that have weather alerts and no amount of electronics will ever do all your thinking for you! I was camped on a "camp at your own risk" island on the Maine Island Trail once. The campsite was located "Below the dunes, but above the high tide". It was a very calm night. I could hear the water comming closer and closer and thought about packing up the tent and going back out on the water for an hour or so at midnight. Instead, I looked up the actual tide level and the high tide level to figure out exactly how much the tide would rise. The water came right up to low side of the tent! And, that data is now stored on my PC, so I can have a pretty good idea if that island is going to an option next time I'm in the area. Some GPS units do have an electronic barometer, 76Csx, for example. Personally, I'd rather have a weather radio. Mapping options are a bit overwhelming. Keep in mind that even the lesser priced units have sufficient memory to store enough maps for a month any kayaking use. Memory cards allow you to load every posible map. But, any mapping gps has more than enough memory for a kayak trip. Don't forget to look for some of the older mapping software: I still much prefer the contour lines in original Garmin TOPO map over the shaded relief of the newer maps.

For kayaking, I'd recommend the Garmin 76Cs or the 76Csx or the DeLorme PN40. The 76 is waterproof and floats; has a good basemap, with nav. markers, ship wrecks, tide stations etc. The PN40 may have slightly better mapping. Both units give accurate tidal information so you can know how far to bring your boat up and if your tent will stay dry. The PN40 also gives water current speed from some stations, mostly near/in rivers. The extra accuracy that the 76Csx provides (over the 76Cs) is really not worth much for kayaking.

That's an impressive measure! All of the cameras I have seem to run on paint! Once the paint is gone, the camera stops working.

Try Xtides.

Look at the tide table in graphic mode. The tide cycle is uneven, with very large differences between the morning tide and evening tide. And, the pattern was about to change to more sinusoidal tides. That may be part of the answer, I'd love to know the rest.

Many islands in Maine prohibit or discourage campfires, but allow stoves. Does anyone here know if wood or twig burning stoves are allowed in places where gas burning stoves are allowed? For those who have not see a twig burning stove: and http://www.pond-doctor-dave.com/rocket-stove.html

That is too cool!! thanks!!

I just took the SOLO WFA last fall in Orono, ME and highly recommend it. I sure wish I'd taken it before the 2 times I needed it. Glad to see there is an H2O version, almost half of the people in my class brought kayak stuff!

I use the Garmin 76c. The base map (not blue chart) includes includes most of the navigational aids along the coast. I especially like being able to know the exact tide for the closest tide buoy. The 76c floats (even if it does tend to float away ) The waterproofing is good when new, but the battery seals do tend to wear out after a few years. There are 2 newer models that I am considering for my next gps. The 76csx has a more accurate chip. This is not useful for boating, but I would enjoy it for Geocaching. The Garmin Colorado has some interesting features, but again, not much additional use for boating.

If you want to look at only one factor, consider the boat's primary stability. The less primary stability the faster it will be on the water. Here's another data source http://www.blackburnchallenge.com/results.asp The data here would be a good base for an article to help decide if it's better to buy better or train harder.