billvoss

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. Always Wear Your PFD Always Dress For the Water Temperature Field-Test Your Gear Swim-Test Your Gear Every Time You Go Out Imagine The Worst That Could Happen and Plan For ItBasically, 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!

Forgot flashlight, signal mirror, and whistle.

I'm skeptical about the Balloon. At least for coastal kayaking. Besides training and practice I would first try to bring: PFD. Drysuit. Two or more Rick Crangles. Modern VHF radio with DSC and integrated GPS. PLB with GPS Commercial PLB like SPOT. Cell phone in waterproof case that permits use without removing from case. Short-wave radio (license required) in waterproof case the permits use. Duplicates of the above radios, 2nd VHF, 2nd PLB, etc. SOLAS grade strobe. SOLAS grade flares. (I prefer hand-held flares, see point 4 below.) Coast Guard grade strobe. Reflective tape. (Very good cost/benefit ratio for night rescues.) Rescue Laser. Coast Guard grade flares. (Not as reliable as SOLAS but smaller and cheaper.) Sea Dye MarkerMy list above is only in approximate order and omits many pieces of useful equipment such as spare paddles, tow ropes, helmets, first aid kits, etc that would not compete with the Rescue Me Balloon. Another way to think of the above list is: Equipment to keep you alive long enough to be rescued. People on the scene to rescue you very quickly without involving the Coast Guard. The ability to communicate with the Coast Guard (and others) so they know you need help, and ideally what kind of help you need. Radio based equipment should trigger the search and get the searchers very close to your location. The final category consists of equipment to help the searchers find you precisely despite thick fog, darkness, huge waves, hurricane force winds, and other adverse conditions. That is why I prefer hand-held to parachute flares. I assume that GPS and radio direction finders have already narrowed the search area but finding one person in adverse conditions can still be very challenging.In my mind, a Rescue Me Balloon fits in category 4, and only works well in high-visibility low-wind conditions. A PLB and a cheap sea dye marker would be a better combination under those conditions.

Congratulations Bob, Andy, and Rob. While I enjoyed my time as the only 2014 award winner, you all deserve it.

They should have known better than to use a GLASS kayak.

How big is your observational sample size? I hope significantly larger than 5. Are you more likely to notice someone's paddle is upside down if the writing is also upside down?

I was very very surprised to win last night. I thought for sure that broken bones would beat my list of woes, and that in any case I had missed the nomination deadline. First I want to thank the Academy NSPN Board, my Video Team (Catherine Foley), and "Speed Bump" my much loved retired kayak without whom I'm sure I never would have received this prestigious rock solid award. I would also like to thank the entire NSPN membership. It was so thoughtful of you to arrange for me to be the ONLY award recipient last night. Previous Hard Knock winners were sometimes upstaged by winners of the Founder's Award, Paddler of the Year Award, or Traverso Award. I thought it was very sweet of you to all refrain from nominating anyone for those awards this year so that I could receive the only 2014 NSPN award at the Holiday Party. However, I don't want to be too greedy. Next year you should probably nominate me for one of those other awards instead of having me repeat the Hard Knocks award as a solo award. I'm honored to join such a group. 2014 Bill Voss (crashed into Maine, broke paddle at Walden, and repeatedly damaged his kayaks)

Yeay - that must mean you and Robert are still coming tonight! I was getting worried! Though Cathy, how could you forget Warren (post #2) and Pru (post #3) both said they were bringing yummy deserts!

I plan to bring the vegan chili that I have brought to past NSPN events. (Contains soy and wheat.)

Hey, that may put me back in the running! It was a rough year for my kayaks. In the spring I was off the water while I replaced the skin on my beloved F1. Late last fall I had finally figured out that my F1 was leaking because I had abraded through the skin at the bow. Of course that was after I purchased a new drysuit with an overskirt for my skirt's tunnel, because I originally thought water was entering the kayak when I rolled, not that the kayak itself was leaking! While replacing the skin I also gave my F1 a name. I launched “Speed Bump” with the new skin at the June 18th Walden Pond “Taco” session. As I previously reported, on July 9th my favorite paddle broke in two at Walden during my first roll attempt that Wednesday. I ended up swimming my kayak back to the put-in, because I had left my spare paddle in the car. I suspect my paddle broke because of stress when it got caught in a car door handle and prevented the car door from opening. On July 12th while paddling from Cape Neddick to Ogunquit Maine a rogue wave picked me up and bumped me at full surf speed head-on into a rock wall. (I currently plan to never ever name any future kayak “Speed Bump!”) Perhaps if I had still had my favorite paddle I might have avoided the crash. I do wish I had stayed in the kayak longer before swimming, though my attempts to roll all seemed to be stopped by rocks, perhaps if I had timed an attempt to correspond with a wave I might have been successful. The video also suggests I may have been gradually moving away from the rocks when I popped my skirt. Thanks to Catherine Foley who said I could share it, I do have video of my main event! password = kayak http://catinnh.smugmug.com/Other/Bill-Voss-Crash/42899269_fSpHTf#!i=3384280416&k=PS9jrXR I did not realize my F1 had been damaged at the time. Though at lunch I did find a small piece of loose wood inside the kayak; I could not figure out where it came from. More seriously at lunch I tripped and fell on the beach which eventually resulted in a quite painful infection under my fingernail. (That was my only kayaking INJURY for the year requiring me to visit a doctor.) During the paddle back after lunch I noticed that I could not find the kayak rib normally under my feet. Once the kayak was unloaded back at the car I discovered a number of kayak ribs were broken. Fortunately the kayak was certainly usable with a few broken ribs, though replacing them would also require replacing the skin yet again. In the following picture you can see the foreground rib normally under my heel was totally destroyed, though some of the other ribs towards the bow are also cracked. The following Friday getting ready for a Saturday paddle I noticed that the deck beam in front of the coaming was also damaged. The mortise had ripped out and only skin tension was holding the deck beam in place at a slight angle. In fairness to that mortise, it might have been stressed back in 2011 when the center of the deck beam cracked while I was practicing a low-volume kayak rescue which involved having the paddler being rescued climb up on my kayak and get into their kayak while it was across my kayak right in front of my coaming. It might also have been stressed when I practiced the same rescue a few weeks before the wreck. Regardless of when the actual damage occurred, it cancelled my paddling plans for the weekend, and prompted me to immediately cut off the kayak’s skin that weekend. Once the skin was off I did a very careful inspection of the frame, and discovered a crack in the gunwale at the mortise for the deck beam behind the coaming. The crack appeared to extend from the top to the bottom of the gunwale, but I could not determine its depth. In truth I don’t know if the gunwale crack was caused by the July 12th crash. The kayak has been dropped off the car a number of times, and driven twice under a parking deck where it did not fit. It is quite possible the crack has been there for years and I never noticed it before my careful frame inspection. However, after consulting with a number of skin-on-frame builders, I decided that "Speed Bump" should “rest in peace.” I limped through the rest of the summer using my “spare” kayak, the Chesapeake 18 that I purchased off Craig’s List back in 2009. I quickly cracked the rear hatch cover with a simple Cowboy Reentry during a NH pond practice, and also discovered the rear bulkhead was not waterproof anymore. I did not feel safe taking it surfing or engaging in rock play, so I mostly restricted myself to pond practices for the rest of the summer. From my perspective my original F1 was built in one week during an intensive workshop/class the F1’s designer conducted back in 2010 at the Delmarva Paddler’s Retreat. This past summer I discovered that as a first time builder, collecting the material, making the jigs, and building the frame would take a lot longer than a week. Especially given that my shop was the garage area my car normally occupies. I was not always working full time, but I didn’t finish building my replacement kayak until the first full week of October. Which was just in time to take it to this year’s Delmarva Paddler’s Retreat. Where I got to show it off to the F1’s designer, and get feedback on what I had done wrong. Fortunately, with the exception of being a bit heavy/overbuilt, all the issues I’m currently aware of (all together now) CAN BE FAIRLY EASILY FIXED THE NEXT TIME I REPLACE THE SKIN! In my opinion, the “school of hard knocks” should teach you something. Not just send you and your kayak to your respective repair shops. Among other things, this year I have learned: Check if your kayak is leaking BEFORE buying a new drysuit (unless you need a spare drysuit).Always pack a spare paddle.Always have a spare kayak.Store your paddles carefully away from car door handles.Do not surf head on into rock walls. Do not wet exit your kayak until you have tried synchronizing your rolls with the waves.It is faster to repair a kayak than to build a kayak from scratch.You learn a heck of a lot building a kayak from scratch.Building a kayak from scratch is even more satisfying than building a kayak in a workshop.and lastly (all together now) IT CAN BE FAIRLY EASILY FIXED THE NEXT TIME I REPLACE THE SKIN! Oops, I didn't do that. Guess I'll have to hope someone else nominated me. Since I really need another rock over here in the Granite State. My history lessons taught me that it used to be considered unseemly for a presidential nominee to campaign or otherwise promote themselves as a candidate. Their friends were supposed to promote them, but to promote oneself basically disqualified oneself. Of course those days are long since gone. To the extent that anyone (myself included) is campaigning to win "the rock." I too am somewhat uncomfortable with self promotion that I find somewhat unseemly. However, I too love "Deep Trouble" and think that "reports" which potentially teach are very useful. Perhaps in the future we should have an award for the most educational kayak incident report of the year?

I've been using something like this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AAFS05M?psc=1 originally purchased to dry his and her XC-ski boots to dry my booties year round, and my Glacier Gloves in season. I think we have owned it for almost 15 years now. This summer the knob broke, but pliers still turn the underlying metal post, and thus the timer still works.

My definition of a mellow paddle may be more flexible than most. Any short to medium paddle in below SCA conditions sounds mellow to me. That said, the Jaffrey Point, NH station predicts high tide sixteen minutes after noon. That is nearly perfect for riding the flood under the Wentworth bridge in the morning, and riding the ebb under the bridge in the afternoon. Which is the classic "bad weather" option for Odiorne. I'm happy waiting until Sunday morning's beach briefing to decide which choice we make. However, to coax those wanting an extremely mellow paddle out, we could commit now to having at least one pod stay inside, with the option of sending a second pod outside if there are enough bodies and there is enough interest Sunday morning.

I hope to join you.

Awesome Dave! Congratulations.

Cancelling this week.

Great! I'll try to pull into the parking lot around 4pm. (You'll still have to help me with my kayak before we roll. )

September 10th was the last Walden Wednesday on the calendar. September 14th the park begins closing half an hour earlier, and the bath house is closed on weekdays. Though the parking lot restrooms remain open. However, the water at Walden is still quite nice, the parking is easy, and I still want to ROLL! If anyone else is interested in joining me, please post here.

The last Walden session on the NSPN calendar for the year was attended by me. It was a lovely evening, if a bit lonely.

We had fun last night at Robinson Pond. Weather permitting we plan to meet again next Tuesday. If it will draw more people out, we could meet at Pawtuckaway Lake next week. Otherwise we will repeat at Robinson Pond in Hudson, NH again. Please post interest here.

I think I'm headed to Walden this evening. Anyone else going? I still need help with my kayak. Anyone know what time they are closing the boat ramp these days? It is about time for them to start closing earlier. -Bill

At least two of us plan to meet at Robinson Pond in Hudson, NH again this Tuesday. We will probably arrive around 5pm, but it is a small enough pond that late arrivals should have no difficulty finding us. I'll be in my Chesapeake 18, a wooden kayak with a wooden deck and a blue hull.

I will not be attending tonight. Hopefully next week.