lhunt

Speedsters can elect to paddle sweep. If there is more than one of them, this can come in especially handy - they can take turns "herding" if the need arises. Paddling sweep is more interesting anyway, in my opinion, than paddling in front and constantly having to look back and stop to wait.

I understand the concern about salt damage to the VHF. I thought I'd throw this in: I just counted (on my trip log) 81 salt water trips taken with my I-Comm M72 (I bought it 6/10) - still working fine. This year, based on others' experiences with a sticking on/off/volume knob, I have been cleaning it with Salt-Away each time. It only takes a minute. I'm not sure it will completely eliminate the problem, but it should help. Based on the instructions for Salt-Away, if you wait for the salt buildup to get established it's much, much harder to remove it than if you wash it every time. I would consider this marketing fluff if I hadn't seen it happen myself on other pieces of equipment. -Lisa

I think Leon pretty much covered the "where are you" scenario. I guess I might add that it wasn't all that scary, just mystifying. I did worry that maybe there was a capsize (and probably Leon did, too), but it seemed very unlikely as the rocks were giving us some lee conditions there. I think Leon must have been in front of me, end on, making him harder to see. Plus, based on our relative positions going in, I expected him to come out behind me. Though I did look all around, maybe inadvertently I put more concentration into looking behind. Very confusing. I suppose the only other thing I could add to the mix is the comment that rough water seems a little rougher when you are tired :-) This was not dangerously rough, but after 8 miles of it (or so) I was glad to get to the harbor, home, shower and bed part of the program. I always carry my radio in vest pocket. Sometimes I don't turn it on until there is a need (like we become separated), because the chatter can be distracting. If anyone wants full resolution photos from my bunch, just let me know. -Lisa

Did you mean the Nahant thing? Doesn't sound like there's a very strong case, though.

A mixture of brown, red and green drift seaweeds.

That would work, or go from Lane's the other way, riding the incoming tide into the Annisquam to have ice cream in Gloucester (there's one across the street more or less from Pavilion Beach). If you time it right you can ride the tide back out again afterward. Blynman's won't be too bad near slack high tide... Actually the problem with the whole thing might be that it's too protected.

Some pix from the Lane's Cove trip here... (wasn't that yesterday, Tuesday?) I missed that one - these are Leon's pix. Some pix from today, Wednesday, here... That's the Spirit of Massachusetts, last seen (by me, anyway) at the Isles of Shoals in 2010. Some of these pix are Leon's, too. I do appreciate getting my boat automatically washed on the way home, that is for sure. -Lisa

Yes, sorry, Wednesday. I was in a tearing hurry last night and didn't get the context right. We lost our internet connection and I didn't think I was going to be able to post at all for a while there.

Me, too! -Lisa

Thanks, Cath, that's very helpful. You've certainly persuaded me to check DeLorme out next time... For anyone who's interested, I just did a battery test of my Garmin 60CSx. Both LeonG and my husband corrected me - contrary to what I said earlier, it is still worthwhile to let your NiMH rechargeable batteries run completely down now and then to "refresh" them. So with that in mind, I put an old, repeatedly topped-off pair into my 60CSx and used it for several 4-5 hr trips, then just left it running on my back porch. End result: 31 hours of summer use on one charge. The batteries are one of 2 pairs I have been alternating between for the last 2 seasons or so. -Lisa

I often go through 2.8 liters on a hot day or during a long "brisk" paddle. I use a 1.4 liter Camelbak, refilled at lunch (with ice from my insulated lunch bag), or 2 Camelbaks if not stopping for lunch. In that case I usually have one of the bladders filled with half water, half sugary drink, and sometimes I freeze half of that so that it's still cool during the second half of the paddle. Cool water is a good motivator to keep drinking, as is sugar :-) I am much better at drinking enough when I have the Camelbak with me. A bottle's OK on cool off-season days. For me, the very first symptoms are loss of energy and a little sleepiness, and, of all things, hunger. Apparently that's normal - we have evolved to get hungry because some food is a source of water, too. It complicates things, because if the hunger is really hunger it's better to eat something - drinking lots of water with no carbs or electrolytes has its own problems. A ranger once told us during a hike down into the Grand Canyon that most rescues they do there are for low electrolytes, not dehydration. People have learned to bring plenty of water, but not enough food. -Lisa

Good sentiment, but it looks like Matt has already gone viral on surfskiracing.org. Looks like a happy camper to me! Are we going to lose you to the hpk guys, Matt? Lisa

Hi, guys, thanks! Hard to take any credit for being #1 of 1, though. We need to get some more ladies into this race. I think the statistics were something like 73 of the participants were women, out of 370 or so. Matt, awesome - you do us proud! -Lisa (PS for the record I think Caroline Pierre was mis-registered as HPK. She should have taken FSK, really. But 2nd in HPK with an FSK boat is pretty impressive, too!)

When you get it, you can go to settings->heading, and tell it to "switch to compass heading when below" 1 mph or something like that, for more than x seconds. You definitely want to do this when paddling. It's not that the compass is "not needed", it's more that the GPS will be much less useful with the compass on than it will be with the compass off. You want the device to direct you based on your movement, not on which way you are pointing, because in a boat you can point one way and move another (drift to the side). When hiking, you are more likely to stand in one place and pivot around while you are studying the screen, so the compass can come in handy. I'm hoping someone else will answer this. I don't use the special charts. That's because I don't like the idea of trying to study the charts on such a small screen. If I wanted to use a chart I would prefer a printed one, which gives more context. I guess it's natural to think that the GPS will be most useful as a device to show you where you are on a map, but I normally use it for other things (speed, distance, track log, which direction to head in). On the other hand, I can imagine that detailed charts might be useful. If I were more of an explorer sort (expeditions or unfamiliar waters), I would probably want the Bluechart as a backup to a more traditional printed chart, to be studied when camped on an island, or whatever. Or if you had the MapSource software and a chart in it, you could use the chart beforehand on your computer to map out a track or route to follow, then download it to your device. You can do that with simpler maps, but there is obviously less data (currents, depth, channels, etc.) to start with. The one situation where I wished I had a chart has been when trying to find the channel into a shallow bay at low tide (think Essex Bay, for example) - if there are a few inches of water everywhere it can be hard to see the channel. But that doesn't happen that often. I did buy Garmin MapSource topo 2008 maps for hiking, and they have been useful locally and also on vacations elsewhere in the US. If I were doing it today I'd want to research again, as I'm not familiar with what's out there now. Maybe Garmin Mapsource topo 100K is the newer one, dunno. The trail maps on mine vary widely in accuracy. But it's useful to know when your trail is coming near some road or other, and it's good for that. On the water, the topo maps give you a more detailed coastline than if you use the very basic internal maps that come with the device. That's helpful to give you some context while paddling. (Remember that there is a limit to how much detail you can absorb while actually trying to keep the colored side of your boat up.) If you are considering charts, it would be interesting to know if they also contain trail and road information for hiking. One possibility would be to get the device without the charts for now and use it for a bit before deciding. The only reason I don't mention it is that I haven't used one, so I can't recommend or even compare to something I haven't used. Also, I like having the same software for a couple of different GPS devices - I have one for my car, one that includes a heart monitor, and my handheld. Maybe there is someone else out there with Delorme experience? And yes, Ed is right, the maps are expensive! And it's hard to know if they are going to be useful until you buy both the device and the maps and try it out in your local area. I expect someday the land-based applications will be taken over by the smartphone/tablet paradigm, but it may be a while before that solution is ripe for marine use in a kayak on rough water, etc., etc., etc. Anyway, hope that helps! Lisa

To each his own, of course. But you can get an older GPSMap 76 for about the same $. It has a bigger screen and can be mounted to your deck so you can actually see it while paddling (OK, you could mount the Foretrex that way, too, but it's harder to see). Better access and a bigger screen give you more ease of use if you want to see your current speed or distance traveled, or time (for a race), or track your progress towards a waypoint, or give you a good ferry angle to make a straighter line in a crosswind. The GPSMaps have a "big numbers" option that reduces the number of fields on the main page in favor of really big digits. It's great when you are wearing salt-colored glasses. I don't think seeing my position on a map is actually all that useful, normally, except as a tie-breaker when two people in the group are arguing about the name of an island :-). But the goto pointer is a nice thing sometimes. And speed is nice. For example, if you normally paddle at 4 kn., and you find yourself going 5 in a tailwind, you know you might be doing 3 on the way back... (Now the math guys are going to get on my case, because it's not exact enough for them, but you know what I mean) Of course, you can get all those data from the Foretrex. In fact, I think it has most of the same features(?) It's a matter of how hard it is to use and to see on the water. If you prefer navigating by chart and compass and don't want or need the other features, yes, of course, having a smaller device to keep a log is nice. I'm just saying "never want" is pretty sweeping. It depends on the potential user. -Lisa

Yes, there is a different paddle happening on Saturday. It involves hundreds of boats and goes all the way around Cape Ann, right by Lane's Cove. I was sort of hoping all the ladies were going to be there Saturday to rescue all the people who capsize at Halibut Pt. :-) Sorry to miss the "real" ladies' paddle, though! Have a great time! -Lisa

You show 'em the way, Sid!

I was doing a timed run on the Concord River once, and encountered a cheering section on the Old North Bridge, which is where I normally turn around. As it happened, I had a strong need to use the facilities there at the park, so I waved enthusiastically at my well-wishers, pulled in to shore, hopped out and separated my paddle into two pieces so I could carry it with me. When I returned to my boat a couple of smiling ladies asked: "Why did you stop? Was it to get a new paddle?". When I looked confused, she pointed to my 2-piece paddle: "It's broken, isn't it?" ... One other incident happened at the same place. I had stopped for water and was half listening to a tour guide on the bridge. Someone asked the guide "Where does this river go?". I turned to watch, thinking "this is going to be good". With no hesitation or even a second thought, the tour guide gestured upstream (South) and answered (something like): "It runs into the Charles River, which goes into Boston. After the battle here [at the Old North Bridge], the British marched along the river back to Bunker Hill". For those who are not local, the Concord River flows North to join the Merrimack in Lowell, which then flows into the ocean North of Plum Island. OK, that he didn't know isn't all that surprising, but the ease with which he made up the story was pretty breathtaking.

2009 was my first year of sea kayaking, but I paddled a rec boat a couple of years before that for exercise in my local river. Once I started in the ocean it was partially to train for racing, which is why I put in so many miles. That, plus the fact that I got totally addicted :-) I was also lucky enough to have someone (LeonG) to train with, so I didn't do any of those trips alone. Good luck with the GPS decision, feel free to ask more questions, and happy paddling! Lisa

Hi, Lynn and Mikael, I use a GPS every time I paddle to keep track of speed and distance. I have taken it on every trip I've ever taken (with very few exceptions) since I started paddling in 2009, and I always download the trips, so I have a complete GPS log since the beginning. I download tracks onto my computer, then sometimes also transfer them to Google Earth and from there to Google Maps. Like this old sample of many paddles in 2009. I use a Garmin GPSMap 60CsX which I bought for hiking. It has a compass and altimeter, both of which are useless for paddling. Looks like now the equivalent, without compass or altimeter, is the GPSMap 62. I also use a GPSMap 76 (looks like the replacement is a GPSMap 78). That is exactly the same as the GPSMap 60 except that it floats, the case is less robust, and it's a little cheaper. My Garmin came with MapSource software which, while a little old fashioned in look and feel, is very very useful for logging and analyzing speed, etc. For example, if you forget to turn the thing off after paddling, you can edit out the drive home (can you tell I've done that many times?). I think Garmin now relies on a web site called GarminConnect, which is easier to share but not very flexible to use. That's too bad - probably it's possible to get a free copy of MapSource if you have a device, I'm not sure. However, you can download directly from your GPS onto Google Earth, and there are other free programs out there like EasyGPS. I haven't used that one, or any of the newer ones, but I'm just saying you aren't stuck with what the manufacturer sends you. The GPSMap takes 2 AA batteries - I use rechargeable NiMH batteries. If you get a good recharger (that does the batteries individually rather than in pairs) it's very convenient. A set of new batteries lasts for well over 10 hours. I've never used them up, so I don't know the limit. NiMH batteries can be topped off (they have no memory), so that's what I do every time. Alkaline batteries are a bad idea in cold weather, by the way. They don't give up their juice fast enough to keep my GPS going if it's below 40 degrees or so. The NiMH ones have been fine in those conditions. The GPSMap is supposedly "water resistant", but it's probably not resistant enough for paddling. Also, salt water will ruin almost anything in time. I keep mine in an AquaPak drybag, and it has been no problem at all. Again, time is against me - they stopped making that particular bag, but I'm sure if you look around you can find something that fits. (This one doesn't, by the way, not even for the GPSMap 76 they show in it in the picture!) The GPS/drybag combo floats, too. I mentioned the compass - if you are getting the device for paddling you should get one without a compass. The compass messes up the GPS's native ability to project the correct ferry angle in a cross current or wind. And the compass doesn't work well in a kayak, anyway, because you have to hold it level. So a separate (real) compass is much better. If you end up with a compass in your GPS for one reason or another, disable it when paddling. Note that most GPS's have a "compass" screen even if there isn't an internal magnetic compass, so don't be confused by that. The color screen is helpful - makes it easier to see the "find" pointer if you use it. I don't think there are many black and white GPSs out there at this point, anyway. Other features of my GPS which are good for paddling: It has tidal stations with current data. You can do a "find" on a tidal station (there is often one in the nearest harbor, which is very convenient in a pinch), but it also can display a graph of the tides over time, if you forgot to look it up before you left home. It can, as I say, give you a straight line in a crosswind or current. It can tell you how far you have to go, so if you're fighting a strong current or wind you can see if you are getting anywhere. It can help you find the right channel in a marsh. My main complaint is that it has very low precision. Internally it knows exactly how fast you are going (or, at least, what your average speed was over the trip), but it will only tell you to the nearest tenth of a mph. Same with distance - over 10 miles it stops giving you hundredths. After an hour it stops giving you seconds. Ugh. Even the MapSource software does that, which is just stupid. Oh, well, I have ways around it. Every time I talk about the GPS, I have to say, of course, don't rely solely on a GPS to get you home on a dark and stormy night! You need compass and chart, too, and you need to know how to use them, if you are going to do anything alone, or in unfamiliar waters, or go anyplace dangerous or disorienting or at night. I use my GPS as you say you want to - mostly for logging or for convenience. If I go anywhere unfamiliar, even with a group, I always bring a backup. Anyway, it's a caveat worth repeating. I guess that's long enough for a very brief question. Sorry to be so long-winded. Welcome back to life of paddling! Lisa

Ohh, No!... -Lisa

Found these links that may help, though I'm definitely unqualified for this conversation otherwise. There were other references but these seemed to be the most relevant. One of the people in the first discussion apparently asked Garmin, and got the answer "Great Circle" (different model, no doubt, though, from what we use). http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248240&highlight=great+circle+gps http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266942

Are you considering the Olympus TG-820 iHs? I'm thinking of it. Gonna miss the GPS tagging, though... Before you can have an adventurous trip report you have to have an adventure. I used to think it wasn't an adventure until you had come home and had a hot shower. Now I think it's not an adventure until after the trip report has been argued out and forgotten. Until then, it's an ordeal ;-) Which reminds me, what was that big raft-up all about? -Lisa

Hah! Thanks from Miss Sally, Scott. She likes you, too! -Lisa (I'm thinking about a new camera, too...)

Wow, Doug, great as usual, thanks!