prudenceb

Great trip report! Looking forward to being at Eye-el-a-Hoe myself this summer! Glad it will be clearer of trash than when you were there. pru

I may join you, too...

ditto! pru

In our recent WFA class,the recommendation was made to carry aspirin readily available - for example in PFD - because, let's face it, many of us aren't getting any younger, and aspirin can be a lifesaver. What is the best totally waterproof compact container that can be tucked away in a pocket? pru

Glad y'all had a good time. As Cathy and I were floating along on glassy seas on Sunday, we thought of you and were glad that it was such a perfect day! pru

Three Days on Muscongus Bay June 6-8, 2014 The latest iteration of Warren and David Mercer's Alaska 2014 Expedition Support Team/NSPN Division gathered at Muscongus Harbor on Friday morning. Cathy, Rob, Andy and I were prepared to offer whatever support we could to the two expeditioners - including being prepared to be coddled and cooked for by Chef Warren. As brave as I knew I had to be to be part of the team, and as happy as I was to join up with everyone, I arrived with a heavy heart. The evening before I'd received distressing news that a very dear friend had received a terrible and serious medical diagnosis. I would have had her on my mind anyway, but Ellen is one of very few non-paddling friends who understands my passion for being out on the water in Maine. She and her husband have a modest little house that perches on a big granite ledge over the water, almost literally around the corner from Schoodic Peninsula. They live far away and can only get to Maine occasionally, and she well "gets it" when I write or talk about the joys of being out among the coastal islands, whether it is sunny, cloudy, foggy, rainy, hot or cold. So she was with me throughout the trip, and I was struck that this trip, perhaps more than others, featured majestic skies and special light, water that was greener and bluer than usual, and I kept wanting to capture it all to send to her. From the launch we paddled along the western shore of Hog to Hockamock Point, where we looked at the disappearing remains of the sunken ship in the little harbor. There was Crow, our first night's destination, and we paddled toward it. We set up our camp and I sat on the beach and enjoyed the clouds, as I would continue to do for the rest of the day. We posed for a group photo. Blue People Group. No one bothered to tell Cathy about our fashion choices, but Cathy would later put our fashion choices to shame with her purple plaid golfing pants and checkered primary color shorts. Then headed out for lunch on tiny Strawberry Island, which is best approached at any time other than low tide, which of course it had to be when we got there. I refrained from taking pictures of the struggles we had sinking into the mud, but feel free to imagine. After lunch, Rob and Cathy ended up heading back to camp, as Rob's surgically repaired elbow was tweaking sufficiently to warn him to take it easy that day. The rest of us headed northeast along Bremen Long Island. There were layers and layers of clouds over us. We stopped at the north end, where the sky got more ominous. But on we went, turning the corner of the island, and heading south with the wind at our back. Andy ventured out into the mini (extremely mini!) tide race in the Flying Passage, and surfed the six-inch standing waves. I wish I had a picture of the skill and control this took him! It was light and dark. Dark and light. Sun splashed and not. On we went. We stopped on a little beach to stretch our legs. The in and out sun captured the light green leaves of a downed tree on the beach that despite its prone position was still living and growing. We had seen rain falling in the distance. We reached the end of Bremen Long Island, and within seconds, it went from to to to and then back to and we watched the weather as it moved away from us. We got back to camp in time for cocktails. We watched the weather across the way. Rob predicted that it would rain. This was no great feat, as he could feel the storm clouds atop of his head. Just as Warren was starting to prepare his wonderful first night feast (cheese tortellini's and turkey pepperoni in tomato sauce, parmesan cheese and hot sauce), and we were watching rain elsewhere, the rain was upon us and we scrambled for cover under the tarp that Warren had, with great foresight, set up when we first set up camp. We ate inside, then ventured back outside onto the rocks where we were treated to calm vistas and a beautiful sunset. We were all in bed by nine, listening to the muttering of seals on distant rocks to our east. Saturday morning dawned bright, blue and mostly calm. While we had considered breaking camp and spending the next night on a different island, for various reasons we decided to stay put, which meant that we were able to have a leisurely breakfast on the rocks, time for some sweet canoodling, calm conversations about the day's plans, and being able to paddle empty boats. While weather reports had predicted ocean swells, we never really saw any - to the great disappointment of Andy, and to a lesser extent, Cathy and me. But the beauty of the calm day made up for it, and I'm not sure that a slower pace was ever set. We paddled along the east coast of Hog, and stopped for a brief cool-off, crossed to Loud's Island, and from there to Thief's, where we considered stopping for a stretch break, but noting various osprey nests, decided to steer clear. We meandered along the shore of Thief found a pink buoy and crossed over to Jones Garden, which was as stinky with bird poop as Warren had remembered it. And then a short hop to an island owned by the Chewonki Foundation, where we were greeted by a four person MITA crew picking up trash on the island. Cathy helped them launch. We ate lunch on the rocks and investigated the campsite, where we had considered staying. Warren found and staked out a spot for his next visit there, when he will try out his freestanding tent on a hard surface for the first time. Sleep well, Warren While he napped, others walked on the rocks. I have no idea what they were pointing at. Then through the passage next to Cranberry Island and onward counterclockwise. As we got into a potentially more exposed area, we foundmore calm. Cranberry to Friendship Island. Now we were finally in an area that was new to all of us. The conditions were so mellow that our slow pace decreased to a crawl. Rob decided to liven things up by testing how long it would take the rest of us to notice that Cathy was out of her overturned boat. Under a minute, right, Rob? Because I was motoring so fast to rescue her, I didn't stop to take pictures, but I could have because it was a lovely day to be hanging out in the water, although Cathy did say her hands got cold Rescue accomplished, we continued on to Friendship Harbor, which held the promise of a marina, a real bathroom, and the dream of ice cream. While the harbor was undeniably picturesque, none of our dreams were realized. No marina. No bathroom. No ice cream. I don't know which any of us was most disappointed about, but I know that there was a contingent (Warren, Andy and Cathy) that seemed to have said the words "blueberry ice cream" more than once! So we made a pit stop at Sand Island, where some of us chilled out, and others plotted the rest of our journey. We crossed from the island to Martin Point, where we were very enthusiastically greeted by some of the local not-so-wild animal life. One seemed to believe that he could walk on water. He couldn't, but that didn't stop him from charging out onto floating mats of seaweed for a closer hello. Cathy reported that he stank! But given how he apparently spends his days, why wouldn't he? We pulled away from shore, bading farewell to our canine friends, but they weren't ready for us to go. They charged from point to point, surefooted as could be across seaweed covered rocks. Tails waving. Barking wildly. Then on to the next point, until there was nowhere to go that would get them closer to us, and they gave up the chase. It was a bit of a slog from there back to Crow. We were all tired, not because we had done great mileage - that was for sure - but perhaps because it had been such a lovely long slow day. It was time to be home. Once again, cocktails on the rocks. Once again, under a blue sky with fluffy clouds, Rob predicted rain for dinner. A sudden breeze foretelling rain. A drybag blew off the rocks. Rob gave chase, and for the first time in his life made real use of his tow belt, roping the bag in like a rodeo cowboy. Once again, he was right, and the rain that he had watched across the way arrived. Once again, escaped to under the tarp. Once again, it cleared quickly and this time Warren prepared our second supper on the rocks: quinoa with chicken, parmesan cheese and hot sauce. The Expedition Support Team pronounced Warren's cooking more than adequate, and we all voiced confidence that his co-expeditioners would happily snarf down his creations. We finished off supper with five different kinds of chocolate bars: orange, coconut, crunchy caramel and a taste off between two BACON flavored chocolates. Nothing to complain about there! We watched the weather happening elsewhere. A rainbow that poked partly down from a cloud but never made it to the ground. Reflections, light, clouds. Talking on the rocks. Sunset. Once again in bed by nine. There was a strange stereophonic effect. As I lay in my tent, in my left ear I heard the LOUD voices of what I could only imagine where Giant Ocean Peeping Frogs. In my right ear, the ongoing querulous seals. I have never heard seals make more noise from such a distance. I imagined them elbowing (flippering?) each other, grunting, complaining, shifting positions. I fell asleep to this cacophony of nature. I awoke a little after 4 am and peered out of my tent. Intense red harbinger of sunrise lured me out of my tent and out onto the rocks. It was warm and still and I thought of my ill friend and what a blessing this world can be. Then back to bed for another hour or so before getting up to enjoy the flat calm early morning. We packed up, launched, and retraced the first of Saturday's journey. It couldnt have been calmer. Thinking of the sticker that Liz Burgess has on her car and boat, I thought that there have been few mornings that have felt more that we were in the Church of the Double-Bladed Paddle. After a stretch break on the sandy beach at the end of Loud's Island, we proceeded along the western shore until we made the crossing to our final destination, Round Pond. While we never made it to the Rachel Carson Preserve, we enjoyed the beauty of this little harbor. Still hoping for ice cream, Rob stopped to see if anything was open. No luck. It was too early for ice cream shops. We headed out of Round Pond, and turned north for our launch spot at Muscongus Harbor. The coast from Round Pond partway to the harbor was Jelly Alley. Hundreds and hundreds of jellyfish. Lion's mane (yes, they do sting; no they did not sting me) and then green water and my hands and camera and clear jellies Cliffs. This was one of those days when I felt that I could have paddled forever. But that was not to be. We landed back at Muscongus Harbor at 11:00, admired our paddlers tans - which had deepened considerably over the three days and had a debrief and thank you to Warren for all his planning and cooking, and to all the rest of us for friendship, good paddling, appetizers, wine and a most excellent three days during which we managed to cover almost all of inner and middle Muscongus Bay. But the trip was notable for me not only for all of that - the considerable gift of being out on the water with friends - but for near constant thoughts of my friend Ellen and the exceptional beauty that kept appearing all weekend as I carried her along with me. pru

Peter, Glad to see that you've channeled a little Proust in your trip report! Nice text and pix. Thanks for sharing! pru

Hi Peter, Don't see this on the calendar posting yet... pru

Thanks to everyone. I may go the Jason/ John route. I do like those pockets! pru

Does anyone who has tried both have anything to say about preference for kokotat meridien vs expedition drysuit? The latter has a hood. Does this feature end up being an annoyance - does it get in the way when, as is most often the case, one isn't using it? I like that it has pockets on the sleeves, which meridien doesn't.. Any thoughts appreciated. pru

I don't know about those, but the walden sessions due to begin soon might fit the bill. Not too far from Woburn... pru

Yes, plus the stars!!!!! pru

Don't worry, Lorrie. Your cheering squad will supply the aspiration. All you have to do is show up. Piece o' cake! pru

A huge group gathered at Odiorne/Seavey Creek on Sunday, and promptly split into two groups - basically the same configuration we had for the last on- water CAM session, with a few additions and subtractions. This time, our fearless CAM organizers were Peter and Lorrie for the rockier/ wavier group, and Phil and Bob L for the moving-into-livelier-water group. It was a completely spectacular day. Sparkly blue, bouncy water, bright sun, enough wind to make it interesting. I was having such fun on the water, I hardly took any pictures, so this will be a brief report. The Lorrie/ Peter group did some rolls and rescues before we headed out past the breakwater and headed out to the lighthouse. From there to investigate two possible landing sites on little islands off of Gerrish, but birds had first dibs so we opted for a surfy landing on Gerrish. We ate lunch, had a surfy launch, paddled along the shore where it seemed every time we looked away Peter was in the water, generally separated from his paddle. Usually near rocks. Rescues and tows ensued. Lorrie decided that the day was making her seasick ( what is it with these two?!), so we had to deal with that. Lessons were learned throughout the day. Lorrie talked every single person in our group back and forth thru a rocky area. We had another thru-the-rocks approach to land on Wood, then back across the bouncy Piscataqua on a line that allowed us to watch big swells crashing across the breakwater without getting smashed cnto the rocks, too. Members of the group led the rest of us on different legs of the voyage throughout the day. We communicated well, stayed together as a group, made safe crossings and had a blast all day! We even had a PPPO where onion rings, beer and burgers, fish and burritos were snarfed down by our sun blasted, wind blown happy group not too far from the launch. Special thanks to Phil, Lorrie, Bob and Peter for organizing the on- water parts of the day. It was really nice to have more club members step into these roles in the absence of Scott and Rick. Our group got the benefit of Lorrie's skills, recently honed in the scary wild conditions in Wales. I hope that the rest of us will benefit in the future from all this knowledge, and that we will all pass forward to others as well. A stunningly successful CAM on-water training day! pru

Looks beautiful! I liked the turtles and river currents. Glad you all had such a nice paddle! pru

I'm also looking forward to Walden, but have a very busy month with trips to Maine, England and etc. Let's keep an eye on the calendar and weather and get going in a couple of weeks. I walked around the pond yesterday and stuck a finger in. Compared to 47 degree water Maine, it felt pretty nice! pru

Good for you, Robin for organizing a trip,and keeping it safe and making good decisions. Photos sure showed it was a beautiful day! pru

Rob, I'm glad you found your happy place! I was thinking of you all from the waters off Knubble Bay. Sorry to have missed The Event this year, but there are just too few days and too many places to go! pru

Hello, The trip, if we reschedule, is likely not suitable for 13 foot boats. Boats have to have bulkheads and be able to carry all your camping gear, including tent, sleepjng bag, food, water etc etc. I don't know if we've met yet...so don't have a sense of your husband and your skills. The camping trips are for clear L3 paddlers, as defined on the club website. If other questions, feel free to post here or PM me. Hope to see you guys on the water! I see that you're new to the club, so welcome! pru

Paddled to Damariscove, Maine today. No gloves. No ice cream headache on rolling. Pretty toasty in dry suit and one heavyish layer. John C said temp still below 50 degrees, but I don't believe it. pru

Lorrie, I am absolutely AWED and AMAZED by how far you've come! Hey, just being able to take a hand off the paddle to take a photo in some of those seas...amazing. I am glad to see that you are mortal enough to have hit the wall on the last day, thus proving that you are still human! As for Phil, well...who knows? I'm going to give John a break from all the adrenaline action the next two days, and let him lead this timid woodland creature into wild conditions at the very edge of my comfort zone. You know...six inch waves and 0.5 knot currents! Perhaps I can crash into the ledge named after me. But I will carry thoughts of your highly successful musical tour thru the amazing waters off Wales with me as inspiration! And belated happy birthday regarding the zero year! pru

Cathy, where do you find a foldy fire starter. The non-foldy one is a pain! pru

Where did you find the folding wand, Rob? The non-foldy ones are a pain! pru

NSPN CAM On Water Session May 28, 2014 Twenty (!) of us gathered at Riverhead Beach in Marblehead on a bright, breezy, lumpy water day for the first of the 2014 CAM on-water sessions. Because the usual CAM session organizers all managed to arrange their schedules to be either out of the country or otherwise 3000 miles away, we had some wonderful Scott-Peter-Rick stand-ins for the day. We split into two groups, with half us working with Paula Riegel and Rick Stoehrer, who proclaimed that they wanted folks who wanted to interact with rocks and bumpier water, and the other half with Paul Sylvester and Bob Levine. Before we did, however, we all met as a group, introduced ourselves, and stated our goals for the day. Goals ranged from having a good time (popular choice) to towing away from rocks to doing at least 50% of what Cathy Folster was willing to do (my choice!). We launched at just past dead low tide our boats were anxious to start floating, and indeed did, as we stood in our two groups having a proper CAM beach briefing (beef breeching). When more attention was being spent on corralling the boats back onto the beach, it was time to launch, and sometime after 10:30, we were off. I was in the Paula and Rick group, so will leave it to the Bob and Paul folks to chime in if they like with what their experience was for the day. Other than seeing the Paul-Bob pod paddle by as our group lunched at Childrens Island, and passing them as they did various exercises on the other side of Childrens after their lunch, our paths really didnt cross. The Paula-Rick group, on Cathys suggestion, paddled along the eastern side of Marblehead Harbor. We didnt have to pay much attention to boat traffic because there wasnt much. Rick, who at one point was ahead of our group, came upon a frightening creature guarding one of the docks fronting one of the usual Marblehead mansions. He remained quite taken with this creature, interacting with him not only when we were heading out, but when we were coming back in at the end of the day. Funny, the scary guy never moved! We gathered up to make the crossing over to Childrens Island, passing a bird-covered rock hunched a dark cloud. Here the games began. Im not sure if Rick talked Cathy into backing into a wide slot in the rocks where the swell was washing (and occasionally crashing) in and out, or whether she asked Rick to guide her. In any event, take my word for it (or not), but Cathy was in here somewhere Well, maybe not Because Cathy did it, in keeping with my goal for the day, I did it, too. Rick was wonderfully reassuring to both us, talking us both into and out of the slot to avoid the gnarliest moments. Rob was the first person to get his hair wet - wait a minute, he doesn't have any hair! - as Paula and Rick started us on contact tow rescue scenarios there. We moved out to another set of rocks where everyone paired up and went for swims and rescues. Then it was time for a surfy landing on the steep cobble beach on the west end of Childrens. Rick not only talked us all in, but dragged every boat up the beach out of the little dump. He had only a minor number of bruises and bloody spots after this exercise. Paula stayed out on the water until we were all landed, then made a graceful landing, consistent with her august 5* status! There was time to admire to really admire some of the fashion choices of the group. (Well done, Liz!) Then it was time to think about where we were going next. As I continually marvel on CAM trips, the group was of one mind as to where to go. So we went there for more towing and swimming and fun. It was while we were talking and observing that a wave/swell that by group agreement decided was at least ten feet tall came roaring on through. Very exciting to go up and over! And then we headed off to go clockwise around Childrens. The day had turned kind of weird in the weather department that is and when I looked ahead, this is what the day was, but when I looked back, this is what was following. Paula and Rick talked the entire group through a gnarly opening between the rocky island shoreline and another rock to its right. No one dumped going through, although I think there may have been some apprehension on some of our parts. But it was exhilarating, too. Although Rick scouted through another rocky opening off the east side of Childrens, we made another CAM decision to take a pass on that passage because there was too great a likelihood that it would end up being a surfing adventure through the rocks. The water had calmed down as the day progressed. We crossed back over by Marblehead Rock then back into the Harbor, where we stopped to race some sail boats and do rolls and self-rescues. Cathy discovered that a cowboy rescue on an unfamiliar boat is not as easy as on her Eliza. The water was cold but not stinging, and it felt good to get wet. Many of us managed rolls. (Go, Joyce!) It was fun playing around. And then it was time for the trip back to the beach. Marblehead Harbor is a very strange place. At the end of the day, it is considerably longer than it is at the beginning. As I said, I cant speak to the experience of the Paul-Bob pod, but I can report that every one of them had a big grin on her/his face on landing. Thank you to Rick and Paula and to Jeff, Rob, Cathy, Liz, Joyce, Beth and Dave for a day of fluid leadership in our pod. And to the Paul-Bob pod, it was nice, if frustratingly brief, to see you all as well! It is safe to say that there was not one bad egg in this whole group. No, there wasnt! pru