Jeff Charette

I plan to be there.

I’m in.

It was a fabulous day. I also paddle out once, approximately 2 hours each way. Hitching a boat ride out allowed us to spend the entire paddling time exploring the islands. Great trip.

Based on the weather forecast and sea state I have decided to make alternative plans for Saturday. Prudence and Sue, thank you for organizing. 

Count me in.

DM2787, I am about the same height and weight as you and I also paddle an Explorer. My Explorer has a stock seat. I have not experienced the same issue, with with the thigh grips, as you describe. I find the Explorer to be a pretty good fit. How do you compare in size to the seller? Is there already minicell foam glued in for a more customized fit? If there seller has built up the thigh braces with foam for a custom fit this should be an easy fix. Remove or shave down the foam. If that is not the case I would second the comments mentioned above. Tom Bergh with Maine Island Kayak is an expert on boat fit and always happy to help. If nothing else works, then this is not the right boat for you.

Another source for foam is kayakoutfitting.com. They have a larger selection of sizes and better prices than NRS.

I saw more than one MA plate in the Odiorne parking lot yesterday. Since an advance reservation is required to get in I'm assuming it is ok for MA to use NH launch facilities.

I drove by Ordiorne last week. The gate is open but the lot was not plowed. There was enough natural snow melt that several cars were in the lot. I'm sure this week's weather will help even more. I do not know if the gate will be staffed and reservations required once the boating season kicks off.

I'm interested. Like a few others, I have also paddled out and back. Loved paddling around the islands but the crossing is about as much fun as watching paint dry. I think catching a boat ride out and back is the way to go.

I'm in.

Congratulations Joe. 

Cath, you're right, the price he charged was a little vague. Thinking back, I believe we paid one price to park one car, $10 per day, and another fee to launch 2 kayaks.

1 hour ago, prudenceb said:

Maybe he'll treat kayakers differently. ?

In past years, during the busy season, we have always unloaded boats and gear down at the ramp, then parked across the street, near the owners house. A few weeks ago there was not a lot of activity at the marina and the owner directed me to park in the marina's main parking lot, down near the water. This is where the signs are. I was wondering if the price was different for kayakers parking across the street, but there was no one there to talk to at the time.

Prudence, this is the place. I spoke to the owner when I arrived. He charged me $10 per day to park, which I was happy to pay. There was no mention of a price increase. Upon return, 2 days later, these signs where up. There was no one around to speak with for further clarification.

I parked at Muscongus Harbor 2 weeks ago. Paid the usual $10.00 per day for overnight parking. This sign was not there when I parked. Upon return one of these signs was posted at each parking spot.

Count me in. Will book parking right away.

There is a lot of good advice offered above and I would second all of it. Along with all of this good advice I would also like to add the importance of proper posture. How one sits in the kayak can have an effect on how stable one feels. You should strive to sit in an upright position and remain relaxed in the hips. By relaxing the hips the paddler allows the kayak to behave as it was designed to. Generally speaking if the paddler gets nervous and tenses up they will feel even more unstable. It often helps to take a few lessons with a qualified instructor. Add to this a bit of experience and with proper boat fit a paddler should be able to feel comfortable in any sea kayak.

The small parking area across the bridge is blocked off. Currently there is no parking anywhere along Rt. 1A. The small parking area, off 1A, at Rye Harbor is also blocked off.

I drove by the Odiorne launch today and it is still closed. NH will be opening beaches on a Monday, 6/1. I think there’s a good chance that the Odiorne launch will also open on Monday, but I don’t know for sure.

Nice brace Jim. I was only about 30 feet away, but outside the ledge where the wave broke over Jim. All I could do was watch Jim disappear into a wall of breaking surf. After the first wave broke I saw Jim was still upright, only to have the second wave bury him again. Another nice brace and still upright. While this was happening I had a few thoughts run through my head. "I'm glad I practice rescue skills", " This is not a good place to be doing a rescue", "Is there ever really a good place for a rescue?", after all, if conditions were not challenging then there would never be a need to do a rescue in the first place. In the end no rescue was necessary, Jim paddled out with a smile on his face. I'm also confident that had a rescue been necessary we both would have handled it routinely.

I also want to say "Thank You" to Bob and Joe for organizing these Wednesday paddles. We had a number of great trips this summer and I would say all of them were a huge success.

I’m in. See you there.

I’m also interested in continuing these paddles. I can’t make it 9/4 due to other obligations, however I will post a few Wednesday paddles in Sept. 

I'll be there.

I’ll be there

Wednesday Lunch Paddle #14
Odiorne Point, Rye, NH to Rye Harbor, lunch break at Rye Harbor, return to Odiorne.
Approximately 12 NM round trip.
Conditions - SW wind, 5 kts. or less, calm seas, 1 foot swell at about 9-10 seconds.
HT - 11:13am, LT 5:03pm
Paddles - Jeff Charette, Liz Burgess, Nancy Hill, Joyce Carpenter, Paul Sylvester, and David Mercer.

The weather forecast for Wednesday was hazy, hot, and humid, with the possibility of severe afternoon thunderstorms, hitting the New Hampshire coast anytime after 2pm. With this in mind the group unanimously decided to move our 10am meeting time to a 9am launch time. 

After a brief discussion the group decided it would be nice to head to Rye Harbor. There had been a suggestion to circumnavigate Gerrish, as the tides were perfect for this trip, however many felt the the heat, humidity, and possibility for biting insects would make the marshes an unpleasant place to be. 

We launched promptly at 9am with sunny skies and the predicted heat and humidity. Rounding the breakwater leaving Little Harbor we were met with slightly cooler temperatures and a light breeze. The Isles of Shoals barely visible through the distant haze. The mild conditions and rising tide meant there would not be too many opportunities for rock play, however a few in the group did take advantage of the few opportunities that did present. We took a pleasant lunch break at Rye Harbor, followed by a an easy return to Odiorne. Again, there was just a few opportunities for some mild rock play, or surf. All six landed back at Odiorne at approximately 2pm, with the sun still shining and no signs of those severe thunderstorms. 

It wouldn’t be too much longer for those predicted thunderstorms to come through. On the drive home a few of us ran into these storms. The up side, my boat was washed and clean before I got home.

Thanks to all who came out and helped to make this another great NSPN trip. Hope to see you all again soon.