billvoss

Family obligations will prevent me from attending this week's Walden pond practice.

Hopefully others will attend, and you'll all have a fun practice I will hate to have missed.

Hopefully severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards will cancel practice anyway.

Have fun without me.

Most importantly, congratulations to Jo for getting her first offside roll, followed by her second, third, and fourth offside rolls! She did not miss a roll tonight after getting her first offside roll. Awesome!

Welcome to Sonya who just moved to the area. Also welcome back Ray who I believe said he attended Walden once before, last year. I hope we will see both of you on the water in the future, and that I spelled your names correctly.

Despite scattered showers in the forecast, the evening had beautiful weather.

Unlike most places I paddle, Walden Pond's water is tested weekly, so blissful ignorance is not an option. For the second time this year, I arrived at Walden to discover elevated bacteria levels. The pond's beach was closed to swimmers, and kayakers were warned. However, the levels were not high enough for the rangers to close the park, and did not prevent three of us from getting our heads wet.

All in all a great evening. I hope to see more of the Walden regulars join us next week.

I plan to attend today. The National Weather Service is currently predicting a chance of scattered showers, but no thunderstorms!!!

I hope to see others there.

I've been looking over the site for the guide to the various L1/L2/L3 ratings and can't find them.

From the Forum, click the "North Shore Paddlers Network" (home) page link. Then under the "Paddling with NSPN" drop down menu it is item Trip Levels.

I currently expect to be Walden bound this afternoon (June 17, 2015).

Looks like I'm Walden bound today.

I currently expect to be Walden bound tomorrow (Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015). I will try to be a regular again this year, though I may have more family obligation conflicts this summer than in past years.

For those new to Walden, I just played around with Google Maps and created this custom map showing the following places.

Main Parking Entrance: You purchase your parking pass at the main parking lot entrance. Most regulars purchase a season pass, which is much more convenient than waiting in line during the peak season. We rarely park in the main parking lot unless we arrive late, or need the bathroom facilities in the main parking area.

Boat Ramp Entrance: There is a gravel driveway on the other side of the road just a bit south of the main parking lot which leads to the boat ramp.

Boat Ramp: Only cars with boats or handicapped tags are supposed to use the limited boat ramp parking. Be nice to the rangers, most of whom will react by being quite nice. Though a few are very "by the book" grumpy types. As previously mentioned in this thread, the rangers announce the boat ramp will be closing usually 20 to 30 minutes before it closes. The rangers close the boat ramp parking lot, and the in-gate for main parking, half an hour before the main parking lot closes.

Beach Bathhouse: There are also larger bathroom/changing facilities at the main beach, a short walk from the boat ramp, though with more limited days and hours.

We usually practice here: An initial pod of kayaks usually launches around 5:30pm. If you get there late, no problem, just paddle to the other end of the pond from the boat ramp where you will usually find us practicing out of sight from the boat ramp.

I hope I see lots of you there this year!

-Bill Voss

The SOLAS rated gear, including strobes, tends to be more reliable than stuff with only a Coast Guard rating. I'm still carrying my original SOLAS strobe. However, it is rather large. (Takes two AA batteries.)

I also have a little coin battery powered white light. When mounted on top of my helmet, I believe it meet's NH's loosely defined requirement for an all around 360 degree white light when kayaking at night. Though it is definitely not very bright. I bought it to meet the NH requirement as I understood it, without impairing my fellow kayaker's night vision. I had forgotten that it had a strobe mode. I would not want to depend on it in an emergency.

Congratulations, Cathy!

David, there <is>, apparently, a magic figure for annual running/maintenance costs -- and that is 10% of the purchase price, I seem to remember...! I don't think it applies to sea kayaks, does it? (Says he, smugly)

Alas, I seem to always spend more than 10% of my combined kayak purchase prices on annual running/maintenance costs. Way way more if you count mileage getting to and from the put-ins!

I was just bracing for all I was worth as Nancy, Leslie, and Doug took turns climbing on my kayak!

I wish you luck Josko!

Also, I wonder if it makes sense to set up some sort of a collaboration between clubs, say AMC, NSPN, Wild Turkeys, RICKA, etc? I kind of seeing the AMC as helping people with that first step and ten vectoring them to clubs such as NSPN. RICKA already does this quite well with AMC Narra. bay chapter. My current plan is to try to expand AMC entry level/novice instruction and try to help and encourage them to become L2 paddlers.

Back when I was more active posting AMC trips, NSPN did clarify that it was fine for an NSPN member to cross post an AMC trip to the NSPN forum. Just identify it as an AMC trip in your posting. NSPN members who are also meetup organizers sometimes cross post their meetup trips to the NSPN forum as well. Cross-pollination between kayak groups tends to be a good thing.

I consider cross posting especially useful for two kinds of trips. Advanced trips where the AMC listing is not drawing enough interest to run the trip (you need 3 to sea). It can also be useful if you are running an intro AMC trip and find you are too heavy with novices. You could post to the NSPN forum asking for some experienced help to come along as "support" or "safety boaters" as they are called on the white water side.

I wish you luck bringing more people into the sport. If that is what you currently enjoy doing, it is an excellent way to give back to the sport.

The BCU was created around local paddling clubs and bringing new people up into the sport. It's not about restricting learning, far from it.

I certainly agree that BCU promotes the sport, and promotes learning. Though like any large multinational organization that has been established for awhile, it has some bureaucratic aspects. It seems to work best for the paddler who starts with BCU as a beginner, and works their way through the stars one step at a time under BCU certified coaches to learn kayaking the BCU way. However, a BCU 4* Sea trying to teach an advanced kayaking course which BCU thinks requires a BCU 4* Coach instructor is likely to receive nasty-grams from local coaches complaining I'm coaching above my certification.

There are other non-certification based learning paths available. For example the non-commercial pass-it-forward approach I tend to encounter in Greenland roll mentoring, and AMC instructional events. In that context anyone can try to teach anything, which is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Sometimes you get great instruction, and sometimes you encounter someone who doesn't know as much as they think they do.

Both commercial and non-commercial approaches have advantages and disadvantages. I'm glad both exist.

Warren, well, yeah, maybe, but the whole BCU cert. thing comes to mind. One needs 5* coach to coach that kind of stuff, and all I have is 4* sea. I've already gotten nasty-grams from local coaches complaining I'm coaching above my certification.

Not at all sure where clubs fit wrt BCU coaching requirements.

Disclaimer: I have not sought any BCU or ACA certification. I am not a lawyer. I am not an officer of NSPN or the AMC.

I know of no legal requirement in the USA to hold a BCU certification to coach kayaking for free. Though I believe you would need to be a Maine Guide to receive any remuneration for accompanying or assisting a kayaker in Maine. Nor so far as I know does NSPN or the AMC require any BCU certification to coach kayaking. The NH AMC White Water school normally announces that the instructors are generally NOT certified coaches, just fellow paddlers trying to pass it forward.

However, when you applied for a BCU certification you might have agreed to comply with BCU policies. Those policies might require you to hold whatever BCU coaching certification is required by BCU for the coaching you wish to perform.

http://www.canoe-england.org.uk/coaching/coaches-responsibilities/

Includes the line:

When Coaches register for Coaching Awards using the C1 or CR form they sign a declaration agreeing the BCU Coaching Code and respective policies

I don't know, but I would not be surprised if the BCU 4* sea paperwork required you to make a similar declaration. That would give other BCU coaches who know you have a BCU certification a basis for their nasty-grams that you were not complying with your agreement with BCU. Some commercial coaches who have spent considerable time and money obtaining and maintaining their BCU coaching certifications tend to be quite sensitive about people "cheating" by coaching above their certification level.

Bill, I try to do just the opposite, i.e. try to plant my paddles in the troughs when paddling upwind,

I'll experiment with that next time I'm in the appropriate conditions. I don't know if the awkward reach down into the troughs will be more than compensated for by differences in water speed or not.

Bill, I can see the sense in above when paddling downwind/downwave, but not upwind. Could you help me out a little bit?

Hi Josko,

Actually the technique works best when short steep waves are coming at you roughly head on. I do not use this technique if the waves are coming from astern.

I originally wrote:

If waves permit, I almost always try to adjust my stroke so that my paddle enters near the top of a wave and I am always paddling downhill. That does not change when the wind picks up.

I can see how my original description is a bit vague. Let me provide more context and detail. I learned this technique during my first year of paddling. During an early Boston Harbor trip that year I heard the leader describe timing his paddling to match the waves, and frankly I thought he was crazy. The Boston Harbor waves were quite confused for a beginner like me, and I felt much more comfortable keeping a steady cadence like I would on a bicycle while ignoring the waves. Even if that meant I sometimes tried to plant my paddle in the trough between waves.

However, later in the year the same paddler was along on an AMC trip and the group was paddling back to the put-in almost directly into some very regular short steep waves. He told us the waves were perfect for this technique, and a few of us accepted his instruction. The gist of it is simply to adjust your timing so that your paddle enters the water at the crest of a wave. The stroke itself basically stays in the crest of the wave as the wave passes under your kayak. To me it feels like I let the wave lift my kayak up, then I paddle at the very top of the wave completing the stroke as my kayak goes down the back of the wave. After that I'm immediately setting up to spear the top of a wave on the other side. The waves set my cadence, though I don't have to spear every wave if I don't want to.

That AMC group became incredibly spread out. The few of us "paddling downhill" pulled way ahead of the people plodding in the back of the pod. Since then, I often find myself surging to the front of a pod when the waves are particularly well suited to this technique. I suspect that part of the reason is simply that with the waves setting the cadence I'm having fun, I'm staying interested and so I paddle faster. Paddling in the crests may also help with quickly and fully submerging the paddle blade compared to occasionally paddling in the troughs. I'll let Leon and others play with the physics. I just find it fun and apparently more efficient.

The water must obviously be bumpy to use this technique, but not so bumpy that the waves surf you backwards like they would breaking out through a surf zone. It is easiest if the waves are coming at your bow. With practice you can spear the crest even in a beam sea. If the waves are coming from astern you are usually better off trying to catch short surf rides instead, which has a very different timing.

When the wind comes up, personally the first thing I do is switch to a Greenland paddle if not already using one. Though I used to play with feather angle and paddle length before I used Greenland paddles.

If waves permit, I almost always try to adjust my stroke so that my paddle enters near the top of a wave and I am always paddling downhill. That does not change when the wind picks up.

Assuming the destination I prefer is directly upwind. If the wind "was too strong for me" meaning paddling directly into the wind was not making progress, or worse was not maintaining position, then I would certainly try a different plan if possible. Though I'm not confident that tacking would be a viable plan for making progress up wind. Picking a different destination that was not directly up wind would usually be wise. Paddling from wind break to wind break is sometimes possible.

If I can make progress paddling directly into the wind, I usually try to "sprint up hill." Basically paddle as fast as I think I can sustain to minimize my time fighting the wind. So I keep as vertical a stroke a possible. However, high winds are often accompanied by conditions which require bracing and/or directional correction strokes. The can push me all the way to a "sliding" style extended paddle sweep stroke on one side with a more vertical or minimal stroke on the other if that is needed to maintain direction.

In theory the sliding stroke can also help keep your paddle blade low and thus less affected by the wind. In practice I have not yet been caught in wind strong enough for that to be an issue with my Greenland paddle. Though I can remember fighting the wind catching my Euro before I had a Greenland paddle, which is why I used to play with length and feather.

If winds are 25 knots, more or less, beam or otherwise, the wing paddle acts as a propeller in my hands. It does not matter if I hold it low or high, I get this propeller effect. Every time I lift it out the water, it starts to twist and turn as the strong winds get caught on its curved edges and lifts it up.

While I like my wonderfully light-weight Epic carbon-fiber euro paddle (not a wing) in calm conditions, I hate how the wind grabs that paddle. When I first started carrying both my carbon-fiber euro and my much heavier cedar Greenland, I pretty much only used the Greenland paddle when I was rolling, afraid of hitting rocks with my paddle, or it was very windy.

Once I learned the Greenland sliding stroke I switched to using the Greenland paddle whenever conditions made boat control challenging, and whenever the water was shallow. Basically the sliding stroke provides extended-paddle sweep strokes which are wonderful for directional control. Especially once I realized that I could fully extend on one side of the kayak while only partly extending on the other side. I usually like a pretty vertical stroke, but using the sliding stroke and keeping the Greenland paddle low also further improves resistance to gusting winds. I'm sure the shape of the Greenland paddle helps with the wind. I suspect the heavier weight of my wooden Greenland paddles might also help a bit.

If you have a Greenland paddle with you, try it the next time you are swearing at the wind.

Next, take all this to the pool and practice there.

At the pool session tell someone first, before your first few capsizes. Pretty much everyone will be happy to float or stand right next to you during your first few wet exits to assist you just in case. They will probably follow that up by helping you practice an assisted reentry. (Of course, if you are not careful they might start teaching you how to roll next!)

Most of my childhood boating involved canoe's rather than kayaks. My first kayak euro-paddle experience was as a kid (probably 2nd or 3rd grade) after my dad bought an inflatable kayak. It was sort of a cross between a rubber raft and a sit-on-top kayak. We only used it on local Minnesota ponds for a few years, and I can recall sometimes really struggling to overcome the wind light breeze when paddling alone (dad standing on shore). I frankly thought "real" aluminum canoes were much better than that inflatable thing.

I was around 14 when I caught the rolling bug. A summer camp week culminated in a white-water day trip. We campers were all in four person rubber rafts. The guides were all in white-water kayaks. It was hot, and sometimes big bugs came by to bother us. The guides seemed to deal with both problems by simply rolling their kayaks. I was so envious. I've wanted to be able to roll a kayak ever since.

I continued to paddle canoes not kayaks through graduate school. One summer during graduate school I signed up for a month long white-water Outward Bound trip out west in the four corners region. We started with rubber rafts which I enjoyed. However, later we were switching to kayaks and I was really looking forward to finally learning how to roll a kayak. When we were issued our kayaks, they were sit-on-top models, we only used them for a few days of flat water paddling, and there was no rolling instruction. I and some of the other students were very disappointed.

In 2009 I read an article about The Wooden Boat School in Maine. I got all excited about spending a week of vacation to build my very own stitch-and-glue kayak. I called the school that Friday and left a message on their answering machine asking to signup for the class. They left a message on my work phone that Saturday saying sorry we missed you, please call back. Over the weekend I had gotten slightly cold feet and wondered if I should build my kayak first, or get kayak instruction first. When I heard the message and called the school back on Monday I was told sorry, but the kayak building class is full. So I asked if they had any space left in their week long Elements of Coastal Kayaking course. It was last minute, but they could fit one more person in. Before going I spent hours finding and watching You-Tube videos on kayak rolling. Finally, I was going to learn how to roll a kayak!

So my first time in a sit-inside kayak was September 7th, 2009 at The Wooden Boat School's Elements of Coastal Kayaking 1 course taught by Mike O'Brien on the Maine coast. Before getting on the water the first day Mike asked the students what they wanted to get out of the course. I said I wanted to learn to roll! He said that was not usually part of the course, and my disappointment must have been very obvious. He followed up saying he might be able to work with me a little bit on learning to roll later in the week.

Two day's later on September 9th, the class went to a fresh water lake where all the students got to experience a wet-exit. After that was done, and the class had done some paddling, we stopped at a beach to rest and Mike stood in the water teaching me to roll. He used the paddle float on the end of the paddle technique, and by the end of perhaps an hour I was reliably getting up with the float's assistance. He said it was time to stop, and I insisted on trying once without the float before we stopped. I came up!

At that point he did make me stop, and for the next 48 hours I really thought I could roll, having after all successfully completed all my roll attempts. When he next let me roll, I discovered it wasn't quite that easy. However, I did succeed a few more times that week and I was truly hooked.

People involved with The Wooden Boat School tend to prefer wooden boats to mass production boats. I definitely picked up a bit of that prejudice against mass produced kayaks. I also learned that skin-on-frame kayaks could be even lighter weight than stitch-and-glue or strip-built kayaks.

That fall and winter I dove in head first. I purchased my Chesapeake 18 and my Fuse 64 off Craig's List. I signed up for pool rolling sessions and the NH AMC Paddlers white-water school. I registered for a the fall workshop where I would build my first F1. By spring Rick Stoehrer was torturing instructing me at NSPN's Moving on the Water parts 1 and 2.

In the fall I attended Delmarva to build my skin-on-frame F1. I drove down disliking Greenland paddles based on briefly using one incorrectly, and came home hooked on Greenland style rolling.

I still love rolling, and paddling is not bad either.

After you invest in the kayak, the skirt, the paddle, and basic kayaking training, I would probably next recommend considering items from the list I recently posted in the Rescue Me Balloon thread. Here are the first five items from my post there.

1. PFD.
2. Drysuit.
3. Two or more Rick Crangles.
4. Modern VHF radio with DSC and integrated GPS.
5. PLB with GPS

Though how much gear you will need depends heavily on where and when you paddle, and most importantly if you paddle with well trained and equipped knock-off Rick Crangles.

Dressing for the WATER temperature.

First I recommend you visit http://www.coldwatersafety.org/

Go ahead, I'll wait.

I hope you noticed the five golden rules. This post focuses mainly on rule 2 and rule 4.

1. Always Wear Your PFD
2. Always Dress For the Water Temperature
3. Field-Test Your Gear
4. Swim-Test Your Gear Every Time You Go Out
5. Imagine The Worst That Could Happen and Plan For It

Basically, you should always be dressed so that you never hesitate to get into the water.

In New England, a dry suit will let you paddle the ocean year round. Though your hands and face can still get very cold in the winter, with proper layering the same dry suit can be worn in January and June. The vast majority of NSPN paddlers who own dry suits purchase a http://kokatat.com dry suit. The vast majority of people I paddle with own a dry suit. You can find a number of threads on this board concerning options and pricing. The most important option in my mind is integrated socks. The second most important option would be the appropriate relief zipper.

The main reason someone does not buy a dry suit is cost. Careful shopping can significantly improve the initial cost issue, and there are other brands that are cheaper. However, dry suits are definitely expensive to buy and cost a bit to maintain. Despite that, if you are going to paddle the ocean in New England and don't intend to restrict your paddling to July and August, you probably want to get a dry suit.

If you get a dry suit you do not need to buy a wet suit, though some people do. If you get a wet suit, you may still decide you need to buy a dry suit.

The first winter after I started kayaking I read, and strongly suggest you read:

Sea Kayaker's Deep Trouble: True Stories and Their Lessons from Sea Kayaker Magazine Paperback – May 22, 1997

Almost as good a read, and covering more modern equipment I also recommend you read the sequel:
Sea Kayaker's More Deep Trouble Paperback – August 9, 2013

Regarding PFDs, you are trying to balance competing attributes:

• Flotation. Ranges from the Coast Guard minimum around 16 pounds to "high flotation" models with 24 pounds or more of flotation. (Example High Flotation PFD the MTI Headwater) Higher flotation is generally safer, but is also bulkier.
• Comfort. Ranges from tiny inflatables PFDs (not recommended for general kayaking) to bulky "high flotation" models. Comfort also depends on the intended use of the PFD, you want a PFD designed for paddle sports. That implies a good range of motion for your arms, and a PFD that fits well with your kayak's skirt.
• Fit. Though some PFDs are "fits most" you will probably be happiest in one that fits you personally well. Which is partially a matter of sizing, but also a matter of shaping. Remember your PFD will need to fit over your paddling clothing including the kayak skirt.
• Pockets. Pockets are extremely useful, and depending on what you put in them may significantly improve your safety. I always want more pockets.
• Lash Tabs: Not nearly as versatile as pockets, but the ability to lash a strobe or a knife to your PFD can definitely help safety.
• Hi Visibility: Bright safety colors and retro-reflective patches are safer than mud colored.
• Cost:

My latest SOF build is a bit too heavy to act as a balloon. However, if I brought along some compressed helium of the means to make hydrogen gas, I might be able to inflate my PADDLE FLOAT, which tied to my tow rope might act as a Rescue Balloon!