mhabich

Finally some good weather on a Thursday evening! See you at Chebacco at 5 PM.

You’re a New England paddler now. I’ll bring a spare.

If Riverhead Beach doesn't show up in your map, use 102 Ocean Avenue, Marblehead, MA. Spray skirts come in different sizes, on the bottom to fit the boat, and on top (the tunnel) to fit you, so borrowing can be tricky. Have you done a wet exit with a spray skirt?

Actually, dealing with checks is a bipedal process. One of us has to walk to the post office, and sometimes that might not happen for a month or two.

Come join us at Chebacco Lake in Hamilton on Thursdays at 5pm until sunset though the summer. Practice strokes, rolls, rescues, falling out of your boat, or just watching kingfishers. Dress for immersion. A wetsuit is warm enough in early season, and keeps down the bruises from climbing back into your boat ten times a night. We meet at the boat ramp at the south end of the lake, and hang out in the cove to the left of the ramp. You can either get off 128 at Pine st (exit 16) and head north on the dirt road, or find Chebacco road off Rt 22 in Essex and avoid the dirt. No entrance fees. No rangers to kick us out at the end of the evening, but the mosquitoes do the job just fine.

Just got my kayaking license back, but surf and rocks endorsement still on hold. I'll see you guys Saturday. Bring your tow belts.

Lincoln Canoe/Kayak in Amesbury.

Kate, Fixed. Something was strange here, but it should be all set now. Mike

Dave, Your membership invoice had expired, since it was a year since your membership had expired. I've reset the invoice, and you should be able to pay. I did the same for Julie's invoice, so if you log onto her account it should be OK now too.

Interested, subject to approval by the masked man with a knife. Will know next Thursday.

Josko, I just fixed the invoice so you can pay it now. Mike

Washing machine...sounds more like clapotis than current.

From GoodMorningGloucester: Question “I’ve been living in Gloucester now since 2013 (and love it of course!). When we first moved to the city, we could hear the foghorns during inclement weather. However, about a year ago, I noticed that I no longer hear them. I loved this soothing sound on a gray day and am wondering what happened? Have the foghorns been turned off? Thanks!” –Patricia Answer Sort of. The foghorn sound has not changed but their frequency has dropped significantly because the systems are no longer automated in situ on light house grounds. Instead, foghorns are on demand now, manually kicked in by vessel operators. They are VHF automated to frequency 83 Alpha. Five or more consecutive clicks sets the foghorn off for 30, 45 and 60 minutes depending upon the lighthouse. The USCG in Gloucester explained that the USCGNortheast out of Boston tends the Cape Ann Lighthouses, albeit Thacher Island North Light which is private. The USCG division responsible for all technology elements is called the “Aids to Navigation Team”, aka the USCGNortheast ANT unit. Since 2010, slowly but surely the USCG has been replacing the automated VM-100 fog detector systems with “Marine Radio Activated Sound Signal” or MRASS systems. VM-100 were problematic as parts were no longer fabricated and the systems were deemed less reliable and obsolete. Boaters rely on common knowlege. Many access USCG light list, GPS on their cellphones, chartplotters, and radar. When the weather hedges to the odds of even one boater being confused by fog, evidence suggests crowdsourcing engages the signal. Expect frequency to increase in summer when more boats are on the water. The change was not without controversy. See the history of transition in Maine. Locally, a 2013 Gloucester Daily Times editorial expressed support of the Rockport Harbormasters’ opposition. Because of broad push back, the roll out was slowed down for better outreach and acceptance. The “drop date” requiring all foghorns nationwide to be in compliance was May 1, 2019. “The upkeep of the MRASS foghorns is so much easier,” explains Petty Officer ONeal of the USCG ANT in Boston. “All the foghorns from Plymouth to Newburyport have been converted. Eastern Point was switched over yesterday.” I sympathize with this lament for the foghorn. And I appreciate the challenge of maintenance and adaptation. Understandably safety, navigation, cost and care were essential topics of discussion, less so audible texture, mood, sense of place & culture. (Never mind the challenge of mastering dead reckoning when vision fails.) The allure of the sound from shores, often traveling great distance, is in the ear of the listener. Beguiling. Haunting. Soothing. Despondent. Scary. Annoying [see bestselling author Elizabeth Stuart Phelps LTE complaints ca.1880 about the whistling buoy off Mother Ann and that’s no foghorn] What do you think, GMG readers, and vessel experts? Like train engineers blowing the whistle obliging ogling toddlers, maybe a few boaters will queue the sound in dreary weather for pining landlubbers. Technology changes that’s certain. Perhaps the poetic qualities will be baked into future foghorn design despite obsolescence. The MRASS system is robust and here now. Thanks to USCG Gloucester and Petty Officer ONeal USCGNortheast ANT unit Boston for confirming details and to GMG reader Patricia for a great inquiry!

PM is only available to members.

Al, Have a look at Seattle Sports Sherpak. It’s just about what you describe. I haven’t used, but have seen them.

Yup

Can't paddle, but can eat. Put us down for 2 places at the table. Bathrooms aren't open yet at West Beach. Our house is 5 minutes away, on the way, and everybody's welcome to stop on the way to kit up. If you don't know the way, PM or email me. Some seaweed on beach, but not bad, less to the west as always. Best to park on street side to leave space for all those who like to sit in their cars and look at the water.

More detail on getting and preparing charts on another thread: https://www.nspn.org/forum/topic/12038-on-line-nautical-noaa-charts/ I got a cheap laminator (Amazon basics, maybe $35), and it works fine. If I can make it to this session I’ll bring it.

Smoots are only for measuring the length of bridges, not the distance between them.

Your suspicions are correct. This is a chart-and-compass crowd. When I do see a GPS, it's usually being used for track recording, not on-the-water navigation. This may also be a sign of advancing age...

TIDES More graphics... Tidal bulge friction.tif Tidal inequality.tif moonecliptic.tif baytide.tif

WAVES Some of the more useful drawings and charts. Most, if not all, are from Bascom. Let me know if you'd like others. Swell speed table.tif refraction14.tif breakcirc.tif Development fetch.tif Wave period spectrum.tif Refraction on shore.tif Development fetch.tif barformation.tif Summer winter beach.tif Developed sea table.tif Sea wave spectrum.tif

I have an extensive slide show, but it would make little sense standing alone. No written handouts. The reference I used most and would recommend was Waves and Beaches, by Willard Bascom, revised edition 1980. It can be found through Abe or Amazon, typically as a library discard. Waves, by Fredric Raichlen, 2013, MIT Press, is concise and worthwhile. Past that, I stole from every source available.

It looked to me that he'd plotted the tide stations around here, but not the current stations. He's from Seattle, and presumably hasn't put the time into it. A similar source is anyTide, an iOs/Android app with tides/currents around the UK.