JohnMonroe

I’m going. I just sent you the dough via PayPal. 

Eager to see you all and paddle together. 

John

I copied your report, Pru, and emailed it to John. Here are the few photos I took. 

 Family plans have changed so I’ll be unable to join you on Saturday. Have fun! 

See y’all there. 

Weather 7 days out looks favorable for Sunday the 21st: temps in low 30s mid-morning rising to low 40s, winds from SW in low teens gusting to mid-20s. HT is 1320. 

We’re proposing 10am launch from Odiorne Point with return between 2 and 3 at the latest. Route to be determined by conditions and group skills and preferences. 

If interested, please PM or email me for the link to the float plan on Google Sheets. 

Post-paddle food and drink at The Atlantic Grill in Rye. 

John Haile and I are interested in getting on the water in January. Sunday January 21st is the date that works for us. [And we have a hunch it will be a calm, beautiful day with robin’s-egg-blue skies.] 

While I am happy to be the organizer, the trip will depend on weather (of course) and a critical mass of experienced paddlers for planning and on the water. 

Location TBD, but I’m thinking somewhere between Cape Ann and Odiorne Point. 

My goal is to be comfortable and safe, yet push my gear and skills a bit in these chilly conditions. 

Ideally, we’ll convene afterwards to warm up with hot food and cold beer. 

If interested, please reply here. 

I’ve created a float plan spreadsheet on Google Docs. If you are interested, let me know and I’ll PM or email you a link. Obviously, we are ALL weather dependent right up until we launch, but it makes my life easier to have the float plan ready-to-go in advance. 

Questions and comments? Post them here, or PM me. 

I’ll join the feast and bring my harpoon.

John M

Interested and watching the forecast......

In 2016, I paddled with Shawna Franklin and Calvin Croll of BodyBoatBlade in Eastsound WA. Great experience and I highly recommend it. 

I learned recently that Calvin is about to circumnavigate Vancouver Island solo....starting on January 1st. 

If you’d like to follow his progress and read his blog describing preparations, check it out here: https://futurewaterpaddling.com/   You can sign up there to receive an email when he posts updates during the trip. And thanks to a Garmin InReach satellite connection, his location will be updated each day on a map. 

Calvin a really great fellow in addition to being an excellent paddler and teacher. Godspeed, Calvin!

Yes, we had a very enjoyable trip. The weather forecast matched the conditions very closely, though it never reached the predicted high of 32. We were wearing business casual. 

Forecast looks very good to me so I am planning to be at the put-in tomorrow for a 10am launch. 

If you plan to come and haven’t yet filled in the float plan, please do that today. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AP9YF1tJ1_tGq0vH_-UDRRjR4zjrPgVT8PCpHwNAauk

If you decide not to come, please let me know by posting, PM or email. 

See you tomorrow. 

I was asked last night to provide a day-before notification just in case there’s a cancellation to save people from loading boats and gear. I really want this trip to go and share your feelings about using it as a test and proving ground in familiar surroundings. John Haile and I went out on Lake Gardner yesterday for that purpose and learned several things. 

At noon on Friday, I’ll put out an update on this trip: whether it’s a go or no-go based on wind chill.

Please chime in with your thoughts on Thursday or Friday morning.

John

Here are some trip-planning thoughts for Saturday at Odiorne Point. Please chime in with your questions, corrections and additions. 

I’ve created a float-plan spreadsheet on Google Sheets. Please fill in your info, or let me know that you will not join us. I’ve emailed all of you (except Jim) a link. Jim, I’ll PM you to get your email address. You do not need a Google account for this to work. 

We’ll gather at the Odiorne Point boat launch parking lot, aiming to launch at 10 after considering the conditions we encounter. Windy is forecasting overnight snow ending as we’re driving in, temps in the mid-20s and northwest winds in the teens, gusting to mid-20s. Swell is approaching 3 feet. Of course, that means dry suits and neoprene gloves and headgear for water and wind chill conditions that aren’t kidding around. 

As a group, we will decide on our route for the day. I’m not looking to log big miles or a particular circumnavigation, though we will need to keep active to stay comfy. I wouldn’t mind looking for some conservative rock play along the way. 

I’m aiming to be off the water by 2, maybe 2:30. With early darkness, I won’t want to extend that. I’m guessing we will have had enough chilly fun by then anyway. 

Once we’re off the water, I’ll be headed to The Atlantic Grill restaurant on the way back to 95 for warm food and cold beer: 5 Pioneer Rd, Rye, NH  03870   Parking is easy and there are no shopping centers in the immediate vicinity!  

Breaking new boats into pieces is optional, though not recommended. 

OK, what did I forget?

John Haile and I plan to paddle out of Odiorne on the 16th. HT is 0942 and LT is 1600. We’re thinking BiB at 10. Depending on conditions we’d like to poke around and play in rocks rather than accomplish a particular route or circumnavigation. Please reply here with interest. 

I owned an Idol drysuit and had trouble with the zipper. I exchanged the suit after a year for a normal one-piece when the zipper failed a second time. First time was a broken tooth; second time it just leaked. Kokatat customer service was great. 

 I'll be able to make some of these beginning in July. Thank you for setting this up, Jeff. 

My spot in the pool session on Saturday 3/4 is available.

978 270 1919

John Monroe 

I have a pool-session slot for February 19 that I will be unable to use. If the session is sold out and you'd like to go, please PM me, or email at JMonroe365 at gmail.com    

Even if you have never worked with a professional coach, consider this four-hour indoor workshop with Nate Hanson of Pinniped Kayak on Saturday February 25th at the Gould Barn in Topsfield from 9 to 1. The session is free to NSPN members. All skill levels are welcomed, but attendance is limited to 12. RSVP on the calendar.

Nate is well known for his clear and enthusiastic teaching on the waters around Acadia National Park and in the moving water of Sullivan Falls -- see 3-minute video here.

The learning objective will be to understand better the Environmental, Group, and Leadership factors that affect us as paddlers, and how to properly assess and align those factors for safe and enjoyable trips. Specifically, Nate will address trip planning in terms of paddler preparation, gear, group dynamics, the organizer role, weather, route-selection and conditions. We’ll talk about collecting tidal and weather information, and how to use that information in the field.

Gould Barn (& Parson Capen House)

1 Howlett Road

Topsfield MA 01983

For more information or to be put on wait list, please PM John Monroe.

Pru, I would appreciate having that connection. I will be in that area sometime between July 8th to 13th. 

John

On May 10th, I'll be hitting the road for four months with my Delphin 150 strapped to the roof of my Jetta Sportwagen. The itinerary takes me westward across the northern US (NY, PA, OH, MI, WI, MN, IA, NB, KS, CO, WY, ID, UT, NV, CA, OR, and WA). I'll come home across Canada, ending up in the Sagueney Fjord, then down to Bar Harbor for our September frolics. 

I plan to wet the hull in every state and province I pass through, every Great Lake, the Pacific up to the San Juan Islands, the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain. 

While some of the outings will be more symbolic than substantive, I am looking for paddling partners to hook up with for safety, local knowledge, longer trips and fun. I will appreciate any connections you can offer.

Please PM me with contact information; I don't want personal information to be shared willy-nilly. 

Play on, 

John

I have arranged for a day at Sullivan's Falls with Nate on Thursday April 28th. There is room for more participants. See his website for details.

On that page, you'll also find info about his April 27th session called Coastal Skills Tune-up. I'm going to that one, too. 

To reserve a spot in one, or both, call Nate to make a deposit. 

John Monroe

If by early you mean butts in boats at 9 rather than 10, I'm OK with that.

You are right about the address, Rob, but Google Maps places the pointer way off the mark on my screen

Here's the link from your first posting:

http://www.paddling.net/launches/showLaunch.html?lid=18331

An excellent way to bring in the New Year. Count me in.