prudenceb

Really nice pix, Doug! pru

I talked to Carl Ladd, who was working on refitting the seat of the boat, and he recommended using Lexel, which is what I'm going to do. pru

Peter, thank you so much for recognizing my cartographic skills. I am (modestly) proud of them. pru

OK, registered, too. I had so much fun doing WFA with NSPNers, this will take it up a notch...or two...or nine... And hey, if I ever find myself in the Alaska wilderness with Warren, and he gets eaten by a bear, I will have the expertise to more competently assess the maul marks! pru

Wow, Katherine, that's a scary story! I'm glad (to put it mildly) that it all turned out all right! This whole thread provides further motivation to work on a "skill" that we really don't think about after the first four times we do it. Wet exits can be anything but routine. I've had wipeouts in challenging circumstances, and know well how your brain can freeze at those times. I have a friend who first paddled years ago but after not being out on the water much since then has just picked it up again. Every time we go out, I "make her" do a wet exit and rescue. This is met by a (good-natured) whine on the lines of "do I have to do this?" But she always does, and your story will be another motivator/object lesson. Thank you for sharing with us. pru ps - Happy 39th birthday!

Thank you for this advice! pru

NSPN Lanes Cove to Rockport Round Trip, Saturday August 16, 2014 This turned out to be a wonderful day with a little bit of everything. Advertised as a mellow paddle along this pretty coastline, it was mostly that, but there was more. Because one of us had to be off the water early, we gathered early at Lanes Cove. We snagged all the good parking spaces, and carried our boats down across the mudflat for a getting-to-low-tide launch. As trip initiator, I had made one serious error. Halfway to Lane’s Cove, I realized that I had forgotten to bring a chart. As it turned out, none of our group had brought one, either. Fortunately, I am so familiar with the area I was able to come up with an acceptable substitute and all of us agreed after consulting my handmade chart that heading out of Lane’s Cove and turning right would pretty much do it. We were aided as well by written instructions as to how to paddle, which came in handy as conditions changed! And so our group of six – Julie, Judy, Connie, Rob, Pablo and me - launched into the calm harbor. But the flags had given us a message, and we encountered wind – fortunately at our backs – and a bit of bump the minute we exited the cove and made the right hand turn. But it wasn’t bad, and we paddled along. I always enjoy this coastline. We rounded Halibut point, which was pretty much empty a little after nine in the morning. There weren’t many boats out on the water, either, but it appeared that the seagulls were quite pleased that there was at least one lobsterman. The bit of bump we’d had paddling along toward Rockport faded away, and we had a sparkly entrance as we made our way to the harbor. After a bit of debate as to where we had the best chance of scoring ice cream, we opted to go behind the breakwater to land at Bearskin Neck. But first, the harbor police came roaring out in our direction. What had we done? Nothing, the cops continued on. Then we were confronted by a thought provoking message: I often feel this way! (I hope you don't!) We paddled with Bearskin Neck to our right. We hoped that the folks at North Shore kayak rental would be generous about sharing their landing space. They were...and we weren't the only ones making use of the low tide beach. We landed and headed up onto Bearskin Neck in search of treats, although it wasn't much past ten in the morning. We had success at the ice cream/cupcake/large stuffed bear shop. Julie really had success at the elephant ear store. My Rockport recommendation: head immediately to The Fudgery, go to the back of the store and get one of these large, buttery, absolutely delicious treats, especially if they are still warm off the griddle, or whatever they're cooked on. They are without doubt The Best! Julie's sunglasses strap broke, which necessitated a trip to the little store at the kayak rental shop. She reports - although I was not there to document it - that she was assisted in her mission by three (three!) barechested young hunks. She specifically told me that Jason, should he happen to read this post, would be relieved to hear that she was so well taken care of in his recent absence... Two cheerful tourists offered to take a group shot. The rental shop had a nice view. Busy little place. Find our boats in this colorful mix: On our way to our boats, we saw that even in this tourist mecca, you can't escape mention of conflict in the world. We weren't the only ones looking for treats at Bearskin Neck. Bottoms up! After launching, we went to check out one of Rob’s favorite sailboats. Ask him about it. By his own report, he will be glad to expound endlessly on it! Judy fooled around with her - very nice! - balance brace while we organized ourselves to move onward. After considering a trip to Straitsmouth, we decided that it would be better to retrace our steps, to really hug the coastline to enjoy the view, the bump, and a bit of rock play, and to have time if anyone was interested for some skills work when we got to Folly Cove. Rob wondered what the story was with the contrasting stripe of four big dark rocks. Onward. Rocks. Divers. Birds. I liked the way this trio went from old and complex to new and simple in two short steps. Fishing boat. Dog. Then finally into Folly Cove, where in the lee of the rocks at the far end, it was quite calm. It had gotten a bit chillier, with wind and overcast skies, and I didn’t know whether anyone would want to do any skills work. To set the tone, I did one roll. Then Julie went looking for her roll, which she decided was somewhere at the bottom of the cove. She saw it down there, but gracefully decided to wet exit instead so that Connie could get some rescue practice. (Although I’m not quite sure why she was laughing and joking with Judy, when poor Julie was hanging onto her boat in the 60ish water.) With expert assistance from a chorus of consultants, Connie effected the rescue. Then got wet herself to practice being rescued. As I was the rescuer, and my camera was wet from my roll, I didn’t get any pictures of this. The final push back to Lane’s Cove was windy and quite wavy. In the distance we saw two men in rec boats and an empty yellow rec boat. Capsize? As we got closer, we saw that one of the men was towing the boat. We told him we had been concerned when we first saw them, and he shrugged it off and said, “Oh, I’m just towing my son,” turned around to look at the yellow boat behind him, and said, “He’s not there!” One of our group actually believed this. The man – pfd-and-sprayskirt-less in the wind and waves – laughed and carried on. When we landed we estimated the winds must have been….oh….20 knots, and the waves….at least four feet… But of course it was really only 12-15 knots, and the waves were, as predicted, in the two foot range. With the wind in our faces, it was very pleasant to ride up, and splash down on the other side. Although it was effort, it was pure pure pleasure, and everyone had a smile on her/his face. We made it back at 2 pm on the dot. The day had been notable for a variety of conditions – mostly calm, a bit windy, sparkly, sunny, cloudy, flat calm, bumpy, windy and then wonderfully wavy. We were in what felt like many very different environments: cove, coastline, open water, bay, harbor, town, shops. And we did a lot of different things: paddled, chatted, shopped, ate, felt like tourists, interacted with people and dogs, practiced skills and all in all had a really terrific day. I think all of us were a bit surprised by the variety the day – and this modest paddle – threw at us. Proving that when it comes to being out on the water, it’s all good. Thanks to all for coming along! pru

I've figured out the reason my second hand Romany has water in the day hatch after any rough water or rolling session is that the black plastic ring screwed onto the deck, onto which I attach my brand new Valley hatch cover, is leaking along one of the edges where it meets the deck of the boat. What is the best way/ best material to seal this? pru

Great! Only,change is we have to be off water by 2 pm, but plenty of time with 9'am launch! pru

Good grief! Apologies to Beth for leaving her name out! Thanks for catching, Blaine, and I have edited original post to rectify! In my next life, I'll learn how to count accurately all the way up to nine! pru

Odiorne to Gerrish and Around, Saturday August 9, 2014 Nine of us gathered, a last minute rush of sign-ups, for a Paul Sylvester-initiated trip to circumnavigate Gerrish Island. I always enjoy this paddle. In the past I've experienced bumpy waters, swells crashing against the rocky coastline, wind, lines of surf created by the off-shore shoals to the east of the island, and crossing the entrance to Braveboat Harbor. Dodgy crossings of the Piscataqua with seas confused by wind, waves, and boat wakes going every which way. Oh, and once a migration of monarch butterflies that fluttered about my boat. But on Saturday, all that there was was sun, camaraderie, and the calmest water I've seen out there. A day when a quick run to the Isle of Shoals would have been easily accomplished. We could see the islands hazy out on the horizon, but they did not beckon. We had a plan, and a timetable. Paul was apparently under threat of some kind of domestic dust-up if he wasn't off the water by 2 pm, so we gathered at 8:30, and after a beach briefing that covered two possible routes, one longer than the other, launched at 9:08 on the dot. It was high tide, so no problem paddling the short route over the submerged sand bar out to the jetty. On calm seas. We gathered up to cross the channel, hit the jetty on the north side. On calm seas. Then headed out to Whaleback Light. On you guessed it calm seas. Rob. Connie. Paul. A bit of texture by the lighthouse. Then calmly over to a rocky bird covered island. A few us of donned helmets for minimal rock play and one spot to try and catch a wave breaking at the north end of exposed rocks. But they weren't really necessary. Indeed, the moment when I was most glad I had a helmet on my head was when out of the blue (sky), all of a sudden, those of us closest to the rocky coast were buzzed and I mean buzzed... by a little yellow airplane flying so close that I thought it was going to land or crash - on top of our heads. That sucker was close! And so quick and unexpected that there was no time to pull my camera out of my pfd to get a shot. And on into (calm) Braveboat Harbor, which on this day was guarded by a line of surf that was perhaps eight inches high. (Yes, I've said it before, about my speed!) Those taking the most advantage of it were a couple of stand up paddleboarders. We stopped for launch. Launched again. Threaded through the marsh (dodging paddeboarders, canoeists, and people in a beautiful motor launch that garnered a number of admiring comments from our crew, but which managed to lodge itself into the mud (clogging up the channel for everyone else) several turns later The greatest excitement in the marsh was Pablo's experience of having his not-so-trusty Werner carbon paddle basically explode (his word) in his hand while he paddled the (yes, calm) marsh. Leaving one blade snapped in half. Weird! I mean, sure, break your paddle against the rocks or surf, but in the creek out of Braveboat Harbor?! I think Pedro will be writing a note to Werner about this. But Pedro's experience made me think of the number of times on mellow paddles that I didnt bother with an extra one. Had there not been an extra paddle in the group (and of course there were many), it would have been a long tow back to Odiorne! So: lesson learned. If I'm going anywhere, even somewhere where one couldnt possibly lose or break a paddle, I'm bringing a spare. Onward through the marsh. Through the culvert. Paul reminisced about the old days in NSPN, when Bob Burnett was wont to flood or capsize his companions boats, and where trips on dicey days lead to dramatic trip reports. And then we were back to the Piscataqua. Where at 12:30, there was very little boat traffic surprising on this spectacular, bright, inching-toward-end-of-psychological-summer day and the crossing was easy, andcalm. As was the paddle back inside the breakwater. Where we stopped for a time to carry out Paul's suggestion that those who wanted to could try doing a wet exit without using the grab loop. I have reported on our efforts in Leon's grab loop posting on the general forum. We may well have provided amusement for the scantily clad, beer guzzling power boaters partying-down on shore. We practiced rolls and wet exits and cowboy scrambles. The water was just fine. A refreshing dip for half of us. Didnt take pictures because my camera was soaked. And then we calmly paddled back to the launch, arriving minutes in advance of Paul's 2 pm witching hour. Only one of us managed to get stranded on the sand bar at the turn. Thanks to Paul for organizing, and to Blaine, Rob, Connie, Judy, Pablo, Beth and Mike for an unusually mellow (one might even say calm) day out on the water. pru

Another mellow L3 paddle hugging the beautiful rocky coastline between Lane's Cove and Rockport and perhaps a bit beyond.... Ice cream a possibility. Playing and working on skills if anyone wants. This Saturday, August 16. Early day with meeting at 8:30 at Lane's Cove for launch by 9 am. Off the water by 3:00 at the very latest. Weather forecast looking promising! Post interest here. pru

Thanks. Liz. I'm thinking about Saturday. Interest? pru

How hard is it to launch at Lane's Cove at low tide? pru

I am very happy to be the one to report that NSPN has a whole new cadre of BCU 3*** paddlers: Liz Burgess, Jeff Charette, David Mercer, Sue Hriciga, and Karen Gibson all passed their assessment this weekend up in Boothbay with John Carmody. Liz sent me this wonderful picture of the successful crew: Congratulations to all, and I look forward to being out on the water with all of you! pru

The good thing about these posts is that they can inspire whole groups of people to think about things they probably shoulda thought of but hadn't... Like practicing wet exits popping off the sprayskirt without using the grab loop. And so it was this afternoon that half of the paddlers on today's Gerrish Island trip amused the gawking party boaters behind the breakwater by first doing some rolls and then wet exiting pulling off our sprayskirts sans grab loops. One person realized it would be hard to do wearing gloves...food for thought. Another found that just pushing up with her knees worked. I found it easy enough to pull up the skirt from the side but then experienced that only half the skirt detached from the cockpit and while I was halfway out had to reach forward to fully free myself. I think we all found it a useful exercise. I will now add periodic practices to my Walden Pond repertoire. Thanks, Leon, for raising the issue...sharks and all! pru

This trip is CANCELLED for Saturday. Anyone interested in paddling that day,,check out,thr Odiorne/ Gerrish trip posted by Paul S. That's where I'll be! Pru

Connie and i woukd be up for the circumnav, and are fine watching others play in surf or rocks,we just don't want to do currents in the river by the bridge... pru

I much prefer the blue sticker and patch. They will go better with your many boats and paddling outfits! We can start working on the name of your guide service on our next camping trip! pru

I'm going to be doing Marblehead on Friday with Connie. We also want to paddle on Saturday. Likely on Paul's Gerrish trip if that happens, so hopefully you'd be able to join us on that one, Beth. If Paul ends up not doing that, Connie and I still plan to be out on the water on Saturday, so yes, pm me Friday eve so we can all make plans. pru

Woo hoo!

Paul...I've posted for an easier trip on Saturday,,but i love this trip and would happily cede to this trip. I know two of us, and possibly three, would likely be interested. So i'll follow re interest in your trip,,and may well join you! pru

I am completely thrilled to report that my great and good paddling buddy, and NSPN stalwart, Warren Parlee, just passed his Registered Maine Guide - Sea Kayaking exam today!! It isn't enough that he goes to Alaska for weeks, posts a most-read trip report, and grows a wicked cool beard... no, he went and became a Registered Maine Guide, too. What a guy! pru

To anyone who may have seen this post: I originally erroneously wrote Marblehead/Pavilion Beach. One gentle reader clued me in that I really meant RIVERHEAD Beach. Original post and title now corrected! pru

Anyone interested in a mellow L3 ish paddle - with option for rock play - wandering shoreline out of Marblehead Harbor/RIVERHEAD Beach. CAM decision at beach briefing as to exactly what we want to do/where we want to go. Beach briefing 9:30 am Launch 10 am Return mid-afternoon Post interest here or PM me. AS OF WEDNESDAY, TRIP IS CANCELLED IN FAVOR OF PAUL'S ODIORNE/GERRISH TRIP!! pru