lhunt

Hi, Stew - welcome to NSPN! And that's a great time in the BBC! I use the GPSmap 60Cx, too. Actually I have the 60CSx, but the "S" means it has a compass, which I never found to be very useful. (Don't get me wrong - a real compass is useful, just not this electronic one). I always keep it in a drybag when on salt water - water resistance has its limits, and I doubt all that salt is very good for it, either. On fresh, flat water I use it without. I also have the 76Cx. Only the case and a few buttons are different, the operation is almost exactly the same. The 76 floats. But somehow I like the other one better. Yes, you can lay down a track to follow, with the caveat that the GPS is only accurate to within 30 feet or so. Still, it can be a help. I seldom rely on the maps in the device for this sort of thing (I have been too cheap to buy detailed marine maps), so I can't review that feature. But I have made tracks using a somewhat convoluted method on my computer by tracing channels in the satellite photos in Google Earth. Or, once you have made one successful trip with your GPS, you can edit and reload that track. There are also, (for hiking at least) tracks you can download off the web. And of course you can share tracks with other NSPNers like me. When out on open water, you can also "find" a point (tidal station, waypoint, etc.). That gives you a straight line to follow from your current position. I would never rely on a battery-powered device as a sole means of navigation, of course! It's a nice convenience or a backup to other methods (like knowing your way or paddling with someone who does, or chart 'n compass, or at least another GPS!) Last year a prelaid track helped me across Sandy Bay during that pea-soup fog we had (for a short time) during the BBC. I happened to be at the front of the local "pod", so there was no one else to follow. Some of the HPK leaders, you may remember, went the wrong side of Straightsmouth. Mostly, though, I use my GPS to measure speed and distance for fitness training, and to publish tracks after paddling with other people so we can all see where we went on Google Maps. It's a blast. If you always take your GPS when you paddle, you can lay down a composite map with spaghetti trails showing all the places you've ever paddled, like this. Someday I'm going to sign my name with it. It's fun. Anyway, those are some random thoughts. Hope to see you out there sometime! Lisa

I found some more pictures on Picasa - this one shows the starting line. It looks to me like the SKs ("Sea Kayaks") have just started, the FSKs ("Fast Sea Kayaks" - my class) are starting to line up, and some HPKs ("High Performance Kayaks") are waiting in the wings. The heats start about 5 minutes apart. There is a boat to the right (off the screen) that calls the roll and starts the heat. Good job by CARC! Oh, and this is how Pavilion Beach looks when you finally get there for beer, lunch, and a massage. (photo from last year). Lisa

Thanks, Ern, Yes! A little Tylenol and all is well. But no matter how hard I try, there is no keeping up with the Schtarker. Ugh. It was a great time - very smooth, great conditions, no complaints. Lisa

The only problem, here, is that if you go into Tucks with 6 cars in high season you might jeopardize our "wink and nod" parking hopes, wherever you park. Especially if you block traffic while offloading or anything like that. Please be careful! Maybe you could split up and park in different places? Maybe some of you could even use the police station ramp or something (?) Lisa

Copied from "Events & Planning" page: Lanes Cove on Cape Ann is on the northwest side of the Cape, providing a starting point for exploring the Annisquam or rounding Halibut Point to get to Rockport and the Dry Salvages. Take Route 128 to the rotary at exit 11, from the rotary head up Route 127 (turn left at the circle), past Annisquam, the UMASS Marine Station and continue. 4.5 miles to Duley Street. Turn left and follow Duley Street 0.1 mile to cove; park anywhere that doesn't block the road. Launch from the head of the cove and then park either in the main lot or back up on the main road - walking distance varies with the tide. I've started a little map which might be helpful: See here. -Lisa (who probably can't come :-( )

Tues. would be great with me! (Monday OK, too...) Feel better, Ern! We need you to help us get Leon back in his Tippy Canoe Ultra :-) Lisa

Me, too.

I forgot to mention that all the good pix (21 - 31) were Leon's, which I appropriated without permission from his email. Sorry, Schtarker, didn't mean to stiff you the credits. I missed you guys, too. That is, I would have rather been paddling in Manchester yesterday than messing around in "real life" here at home... Lisa

Five went for a nice, leisurely, meandering paddle in the bay with a pleasant lunch at Children's Island. Seas were rippled glass with the occasional mirror. Pix here, trace here (though Google Maps seems a little rickety today). Lots of seals on the Dry Breakers. A great way to warm up the winter-chilled muscles!

Saturday looks OK to me... Lisa

Me, too, if it still looks pretty mild...

I went from 30" to 50" on my (Toyota'ish) Vibe, which has a short lugguage rack - you can see if you look closely that the luggage rails stop behind the front of the rear door. I already had the vehicle-specific Thule kit for the factory-installed rails (had been using it for a short rec boat). I bought half-pack feet and towers marketed for Vibes without the rails and used that on the front. Maybe overkill, but I'm happier safe than sorry. Lisa

Not on the boat so much. But a beginner who has no safety background (and therefore might need a strong warning) is more likely to buy a rec boat. A beginner buying a sea kayak needs all sorts of complicated information about equipment and skills - it's an issue which we constantly address in this forum, and you at least get some exposure when you start researching to buy your sea kayak. A beginner buying a rec boat doesn't see all of that so much. They just need to know "don't do it". Everybody has to start somewhere (!)

Whoa. We who paddle mostly in the sea tend to think only about the sea. Rec boats are perfectly appropriate and are really the best thing for many other types of paddling (quiet rivers, birdwatching, photography, etc.) There are many, many people who use them responsibly during the summer for the purpose for which they were designed. Why should they be lugging a sea kayak around for a gentle paddle in the Concord River? I think strong written warnings by the manufacturer are the way to go here. Under the "recreational kayak" heading, Old Town does list "Stable and maneuverable for paddling on lakes, ponds and flat rivers." REI adds "gently rolling waves" to the mix, which I think is irresponsible, as gently rolling waves don't always stay gentle. I got a full page of !!Warning!! stuff with my vacuum cleaner. What kind of warnings do you get with a rec boat? The person receiving a first-time boat for Christmas doesn't know anything about marine radios, wetsuits, surf landings, or Coast Guard warnings. There needs to be more paperwork by the seller. (IMHO, of course!) Lisa

Like Antarctica, you mean? Lynne Cox might be the one. She was on 60 Minutes. She did the English Channel, too, when she was 15. She shattered all the records.

I think I'm going to run out of superlatives pretty much right off the bat - for me, it was all new. First sea kayak. First experience of chop, of swell, of surf (still no good at surf...) First race of any kind in my adult life. First glimpse of a wild seal, an eagle, a porpoise. First experience of fog at sea. First wet exit, first (practice) self and assisted rescues, first roll, first trip over 14 miles. Then that almost imperceptible but deeply satisfying click when you start to move naturally with the rhythm of the sea. I remember the day the boat wakes in Gloucester Harbor came shoulder high from both directions at once, raising me up in the middle like a child being tossed in a blanket. And running the Blynman Canal upstream when it was ebbing fast. Then there was one trip to the Plum Island tidal race where 2' chop danced like sharp points of clear crystal on a flat base of rippled glass. We were enchanted, and there was one lone seal there, enjoying it too. Not the biggest water of the year, but I think the most beautiful. Leon Granowitz was for me, as he has been for others, first a recruiter and then a guide to this new world. "You don't have a sea kayak? Never paddled more than 10 miles? Never paddled in salt water? Never read a book, watched a video, or took a lesson in kayaking? Never heard the term 'forward stroke'? Doesn't matter. You are going to (safely) enter and place in the Blackburn Challenge next year. You'll love the sea. Here, try my paddle. It's lighter." This on first meeting. I had never heard of the Blackburn Challenge, and couldn't imagine entering it. But, I'm telling you, resistance is futile. I am not the first to have experienced this. Over the winter, the books and videos were duly produced and studied, the lessons taken, the kayak purchased. Leon's method is to recommend a place and a pace, then patiently paddle sweep just in case. The challenges were ever increasing, but never too much. I remember for example the first tentative cove-hopping foray into a little chop in Ipswich Bay. I felt as tippy as a 5-year old with the training wheels off. Leon had the rare wisdom to keep quiet and let me concentrate. Just a taste of the "real thing" - enough for a sense of accomplishment - then back to the safety of the Annisquam where I could be once again a relatively proficient adult. And other NSPN'ers helped too, to an amazing extent. Gene and Leon both helped me with rolling (Jillian, too, way back last Spring in the pool), and many people have helped me with other skills, like doing re-entries with Sid in Walden Pond. And all those people offering to lend me boats when mine was on the fritz! (Thanks, Ern!) Then there was the time when Leon helped me muscle my boat back to the launch with a broken footpeg against a wicked beam wind. (Of course, it was the windward peg that broke. 13 miles into the paddle. 7 miles from home.) And then he helped me locate and install the replacement. There were 10 practice weeks between the first tippy Ipswich Bay paddle and the Blackburn Challenge. Most of them were rainy, and cold, and windy. I hardly felt a bit of it. By the time the race came up, it was my 8th trip around Cape Ann, all with Coach Leon, and many with other NSPN'ers. In the end I enjoyed every minute of the race. Well, except maybe for that long hard hour at the beginning of the end, just before you get to Gloucester Harbor. But, even that, like beating yourself with a 2x4, really feels good when you stop. Anyway, Gene, you beat me in the final tally of ocean miles (I only did 590). If you plot all the tracks at once it looks like spaghetti. The longest trip was from Manchester almost to Nahant - about 24 miles round trip. If I add in river workouts, the year's total goes up to 1080 miles or so. Thanks to all for an unforgettable year. Can't wait 'till next Spring! Lisa

Uh, really?

It's like some kind of bizarre intelligence test. How many letters can he remove or change before we stop being able to parse the sentence? Have fun, guys. I probably going to have to stay home ick. Lisa

Oh, well, let's hope for another chance! Lisa

Yes (with fingers crossed!) Thanks, Gene! Lisa

What I really want to know is, which took longer, the trip or writing the trip report? Great post, Ernie! Lisa

I'm going to sit this one out... Thanks! Lisa

And the answer is... Thanks for all the suggestions - "Ms. Q" has been fixed good as new (almost) by Van Dusen, as suggested. For future reference, they do squeeze in composite-type repairs between making cool boats. It's worth calling if you live in the Concord area and need a patch (if it's a total smash-up and the fix will run too high they may discourage you). Brad would be a good choice, too! Paul, I wish I could blame it on the garage door. Unfortunately, I have to blame it on the idiot in the driver's seat, who tried to autopilot into the garage with the boat on top (the door doesn't open quite all the way up, so it made the first contact). I gave the garage door its own workup of splints and patches, for a total cost of $20. Needless to say, the boat was much more expensive, but still under our homeowner's deductible. Oh, well. Thanks again, Lisa

I'm coming, too! On Impulse (Seda, that is) Lisa

Video of start of mayor's cup surfskis.