Lallen

You may be onto something, Leon. Sea Tow makes good $ towing sailboats and other small craft. You could carve out your own nichw woth the kayak market. Will you give me a discount if I'm tired on our next trip? I won't be picky about whether you use your Seda or Epic to tow me-your choice

Hey Leon, We're heading South in the opposite direction tomorrow, and so will not be joining you. But I hope you have great conditions and a stress-free no drama trip! Happy paddling. Lorrie

Great, Lisa. Look forward to seeing you tonight!

Great, will look forward to seeing you both there tomorrow, along with anyone else who decides to join us!

Hi, Anyone up for another session of rolling practice out at Walden around 5:00 on Wednesday? Current forecast is for a warm day.

Ernie, this is a great trip report. You struck just the right balance conveying the challenges and problems with humor, honesty and a light touch. It brings up some things I've experienced on CAM trips-first that communication becomes more difficult with wind, and an inability to communicate is a set up for problems. Second, when the conditions get tough and everyone is working hard to maintain forward momentum, the group tends to spread further apart and become more fragmented. Finally a CAM trip doesn't mean a leaderless trip, because as you succinctly pointed out in another post that can lead to a free-for-all mentality. Even when paddling with an experienced group of paddlers, folks in the group will have different strengths and weaknesses, and may need to take different leadership roles throughout the trip. And everyone has a responsibility to look over their shoulder and check in with their fellow paddlers. I'm glad you all made it back o.k. given what Mother Nature threw your way. I'm sure that rescue must have been challenging given the waves that were rolling out there!

Ah Kate, what a wonderful adventure! Stunning photos and as usual with your accompanying text makes me feel almost as if I were there, too! Definitely will add this one to my destination wish list. Thanks for sharing!

Pru, congrats on the purchase of the TideRace & I look forward to seeing that Angel Roll! Julie, that's great you're almost there on the roll. Would be happy to spot you, and see if we can offer any helpful tips on Wed before your next lesson!

Pru, what boat did you buy? Was it the Tiderace Explore that had been posted? Would be happy to help you learn a few more of those Greenland rolls-if I can successfully demo them...

A few of us are planning to meet at Walden again this Wednesday evening around 5:00 to work on rolling, rescues, and stupid kayak tricks. All are welcome to join. The boat ramp now closes at 7:00, and the park at 7:30.

It was John, a Greenland paddler who some of you may know-he's often at Walden, who went for a swim with a dive mask and net and caught about 100 of them to turn over for study.

And your 14th Anniversary is coming up so you are indeed wise to remember that :-)

See all of you who can make it there. Unless there are t-storms at 4:00 I'll be heading there for sure.

Congratulations, Pru on completing your marathon. Consider it your initiation to NSPN! Not all trips are so challenging, and you handled it like a trooper! Love the "sporty" conditions term. I'll take surfing those 15-20 knot tailwinds and following seas any day. The 20 knot headwinds we faced for a good portion-not so much...

Great, Pru! I'll see you there. I think my friend Michelle is going to come as well-she may try out my Montauk then.

I will be at Walden this Wednesday, if anyone would like to join me. All welcome to work on rolling, rescues and any other skills. I won't be able to join Les this Friday, but do still plan to be there on Wednesday. Will arrive around 5-5:30 P.M.-the park now closes at 7:30.

If you do the trips frequently you might want to practice a couple of "Victory" rolls at the end of your journey each time. That way you get the feel for rolling the loaded boat, and worry a little less about having any water leak into your hatches with totally dry gear you need for a week. I've both rolled a loaded boat, and been rescued when I did something stupid and accidentally edged a little too far without bracing. Both worked just fine. As others have indicated, the roll is a bit slower, but as long as you are patient and know that it helps. Also getting the kayak to completely flip upside down takes more time as well.

Yes, I'm interested too, provided Hurricane Earl isn't barreling down on us, in which case Les would cancel it anyway!

Hey Les, I'm hoping to make it again this week, too! Lorrie

Warren, welcome to NSPN. The beauty of sea kayaking is that as you continue your progression you'll find many reasons to celebrate. Your first flat-water roll, first camping trip with your kayak, first wave you catch in surf, first tide race, first combat roll, first moonlight paddle, first day you survive wind and waves, all will likely inspire that same feeling of joy you experienced with your first self-rescue. Happy paddling!

Phil & I are in! I'm posting it this time, since every time Phil responds to one of your trips Christopher we end up unable to come. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow night.

I'm looking forward to it, too! And Peter, I'll have the spare hot pink noseplugs again just in case you forget yours :-)

And here I thought the voles on Thief were bad last year! Apparently, you must be a magnet for animals in search of dinner, Suz ;-) Lucky we didn't encounter any on our trip this year!

Wish I could join you again this week, Les, but unfortunately have an appointment at that time this Friday. Good luck with that roll, and let's meet up there again soon!

Good reason to wear a helmet!