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Robin-HG

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Posts posted by Robin-HG

    July 4th : Boston fireworks by Kayak

    in Past Trips

    Posted

    Hi peter,

    I did not make the firework watching neither. I have to work today so no time to set up this trip. Anyway, thank you for the inspiration! I got the idea of watching firework on Charles river from this post. It adds one more thing on my checklist.

    Robin

    July 4th : Boston fireworks by Kayak

    in Past Trips

    Posted · Edited by Robin-HG

    Hi Peter, thank you for all the details!

    I launched from magazine beach few times before and have some knowledge about that area.

    My concern was the last sentence in the quote above "no boat launch in this area". I am afraid that there will be a policeman staying here and not allowing us to unload our boats and launch from there (sorry, my naive imagination!)

    I think the easiest way might be going with you guys as a group. But my friends and I will take inflatable kayaks and they move much slower than sea kayaks. And I don't want to slow you down. Hopefully I will see you on the river!!

    July 4th : Boston fireworks by Kayak

    in Past Trips

    Posted

    According to the road closure information, parking and boat launch from magazine beach will not be allowed after 7am on July 4th. Is there any good suggestions on launching place/time and logistics if my friends and I want to watch firework on charles river?

    Will inflatable rafts be easier to use as you can carry it from parking lot to the launch place using a handcart??

    NSPN CAM On Water Day, Sunday June 1, 2014

    in Trip Reports

    Posted

    Gene,

    It was nice paddling with you last Sunday. The landing video was posted by Andy. I enjoy watching it as well. I was also thinking that I need a plastic boat for such landing practice :)

    Robin,

    I enjoyed the video you posted of difficult landings. While the individuals were impressive it was the group behavior that most impressed me. While I would never contemplate that kind of landing I'm sure we have a number of NSPNers who as a group could do something similar. And while I would not boast of such skills, if I was with such a group that I trusted, I would not reject such a landing. First let me acquire a plastic boat!

    NSPN CAM On Water Day, Sunday June 1, 2014

    in Trip Reports

    Posted · Edited by Robin-HG

    Some photos of the trip.

    [Please let me know if you are uncomfortable with your image posted in the public forum and I will delete the photo.]

    Beach briefing.

    post-102380-0-31881100-1401765925_thumb.

    Bob/Phil group was launching.

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    Shari and Mike

    post-102380-0-45627300-1401765940_thumb.

    Gene

    post-102380-0-44924300-1401765948_thumb.

    Bob (and Jackie)

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    Jonathan

    post-102380-0-14818100-1401765962_thumb.

    Mike(?) was on the wave!

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    My luxury lunch. I am feeling hungry now!!

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    NSPN CAM On Water Day, Sunday June 1, 2014

    in Trip Reports

    Posted · Edited by Robin-HG

    I was a first-time CAMer. I have to say that I love the CAM workshops a lot! I learned much more than I expected and had the opportunities to experience various conditions which I might be hesitate to try during previous regular trips. CAM workshops built up my skills, as wells as confidence. Sincere thanks to organizers and trip leaders, Scott, Peter, Bob, Phil, Lorrie, Paul, Rick, and many others.

    There were many moments that I would remember from the workshops. One of those moments was playing among rocks and breakers. I video-taped this moment using a camera mounted on my PFD. You could watch it on YouTube. Thank you Bob for guiding me through it!

    Monomoy 2nd attempt, May 25, 2014

    in Trip Reports

    Posted · Edited by Robin-HG

    Thank you to all who replied this post! I appreciate your encouragement. I have learned a lot from NSPN trips and workshops. Looking forward to more exciting moments on the sea!

    I agree the bouys might be set as local markers. They are not seen in the chart.

    Monomoy 2nd attempt, May 25, 2014

    in Trip Reports

    Posted · Edited by Robin-HG

    This is my second trip to Monomoy.

    The first attempt was last August. In that trip, we only circumnavigated the south Monomoy. The condition was very challenging to me and the entire team. On our way back, we encounted 3-feet waves and heavy wind. Some kitesurfers were playing the wind and waves with us. Also, as you can imagine, there was tons of trrafic near the stage harbor channel in mid summer time. I would not call that trip as a success as we underestimated the weather effect and planned the trip poorly.

    Stand up from where you fell. With this words in mind, I accepted my friends’ invitation of another attempt to Monomoy point, the north end of Monomoy on May 25, 2014. We prepared more carefully this time. On May 25, high tide was at 10:21am, and low tide was at 3:44pm. Wind was 0-10mph. Water temperature was ~55F. We planned to paddle as far as we can but turn back before reaching the Monomoy Point, which had 1.5-2 knots tide current.

    The team had 4 members, Rani, Daniel, Bai, and me. I was assigned as the pointer and group leader. Bai was the sweep. We planned on launching at 10am and returning at 3:30pm. However, we failed to stick with our original plan and we launched at 11:10am. We launched at Barn Hill Lane, Chatham. It has a park lot, a boat ramp, and a small sand beach for launching kayaks.

    We paddled along the Oyster Pond river to Stage Harbor. I regrouped the team before we crossed the channel and ask the team to move together. After getting out of Stage Harbor, I directed the team to turn southeast and we aimed at the north tip of Monomoy. There were some boats traveling from Chatham Harbor to Chatham Roads, and we can see some buoys in the sea. However, those buoys are neither red nor green. I am not sure how boats travel in this area, so we stopped for few minutes and watched the boat traffic. Interestingly, boats did not travel between buoys. Instead, they travelled in a “S” shape and travelled on the outside of each buoy. I am still not sure why they did it that way, and would like to hear opinions from experts. Anyway, we kept our kayaks close to each other and crossed this area carefully.

    As we launched one hour late than we expected, the water was shallow near monomoy. We had to keep ourselves far away from the shore otherwise we stranded in the shallow water. We saw many horseshoe crabs, some seals, and many birds. The sky was cloudy when we launched, but it became sunny and warm as the day went on.

    post-102380-0-32499500-1401326708_thumb.

    We had our lunch break 1:30-2pm, and decided to paddle for another 1.5 hours before turning back. The trip after lunch break was a little rougher. We had 1-1.5 feet waves came from south. I was worried about Rani as this was her first sea kayaking trip. However, she did surprising good. At 3:30pm, we were about 1-2 miles away from the Monomoy Point light house. Although the light house was my original destination, we decided to turn back. My friends were not used to long-distance paddling and we still had a long way back. So, we said Hi to the lighthouse from distance and rode the tide back. Companion is more imporatnt than destination.

    On our way back, we encounted some side waves. Daniel found his rudder does not work properly and he kept turning into the waves. I decided to switch kayaks with Daniel. In my preious trips, I tried not to use skeg/rudder so I was forced to practice controlling my kayak in various conditions. The practice seems helpful. I handled Daniel’s kayak well though I felt I was in a bathtub when I was in his boat.

    A man was flyfishing in Stage Harbor.

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    We got back at about 7pm. Our friends were waiting for us on the dock. Smile was on everyone’s face.

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    photo courtesy Kurt Yang

    One challenge of kayaking at Monomoy is you never get the accurate chart as the landscape keeps changing. The good news is you do not have to rely on charts. Just paddle along the shore. Based on my compass reading and google satellite map (I think it updates more often than nautical chart), I drew a rough route of our trip. We paddled about 12 miles totally. Applause to Rani and Daniel as they also did a 5-mile run before launching.

    post-102380-0-22923400-1401326619_thumb.

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