Inverseyourself

I have a really stupid question: Wasn't there an 8th Annual Jewell Trip in May 2015? If so, shouldn't it be the 9th one this year? Or is the trip generally called "8th Annual Jewell Trip"for some reason, no matter how many have taken place before? Just making sure I'll join the right one in case I decide to go :-)

I came up with the same routes as Dan, although I kind of gave up on the more conservative, more northerly route since conditions for that would have to be difficult enough to question leaving in the first place. Maybe not. Does anyone know how busy the two shipping lanes that are to be crossed are at night? Would calling in a securite make sense or is that overkill for the short distances? I like John's diretissima from R "4" Fl 4s to Jewell. I, too, have been wondering about scratching up my hull on submerged rocks if traveling near shore. Regarding lighting, I'm experimenting with a lit Orca compass a la Leon Somme (Youtube: search for "How to build a lit compass") and hope that it won't be a huge PIA for other paddlers once I fire it up.

Interesting. Where does the word come from? Arabia? I bet John Huth could help out here.

Kamal, as in Kamal Attatuerk ot Kamal as in Kamal Hassan the famous (!) movie actor? A google search for Kamal as a tool for gauging distances revealed little else. Please clarify . P.S.: Kamal was/is about 5' 6", depending on which Kamal we're talking about. We could measure distance in deka-, centi- or kilo-Kamals!

What a glorious paddling day, judging from the photos! I take it, since his house was still boarded up, Admiral Peary was still in Florida to await consistently warm weather in Maine?

A glass of Schweppes (no vested interest here) tonic water has enough quinine to help with nocturnal cramps - not in everyone and in every condition but in many enough. Unfortunately, it's no longer enough as malaria prophylaxis, but it used to be many (mosquito-) generations ago.

Awesome Plunge! So retrospectively jealous!

Me too.

Great, I'll try to be there.

Very interested in general, but unable to make it next two weekends. Always up for short notice Sat or Sun practice, even if (or because) it's crappy weather.

Very promising start of the video: Brilliant guys who are kayakers in New England...a perfect recipe for greatness :-). But in the end.....just a well done commercial to hype us crampers up :-((. I'll stick with a glass of tonic (w or w/o gin) and magnesium pills. I can get that for a couple of bucks. I'll be curious to see how much they charge for their product...Nobel prize be damned! Andy (= Cramper in Chief)

Regarding "Read the comments, please": I didn't immediately realize that you can only watch the video and that no comments are displayed when playing it on this webpage. If you go to vimeo.com and find this video, you'll see the rescuers' explanations why they did what they did during this particular rescue.

A little appetizer for the upcoming CAM and training season. Many learning points. One that I believe gets reinforced here is "don't get separated from your boat in high winds". Read the comments, please.

Cinque Terre

No personal experience, but Seakayakcornwall (Jeff Allen, Simon Osborne) offers a lot of trips from Iceland to Norway to Brittany to Greece (different programs, not a multi month trip from Iceland to Greece :)). If you are looking for advanced stuff, their Brittany Rough Water Week looks like a lot of fun (as you can see in the video, you don't even need a roll)

Didn't mean to sound like a French tourism agent. But Brittany does have a reputation in sea kayaking. Jeff Allen's Sea Kayaking Cornwall even offers a "rough water week" in Brittany that looks very impressive on their website. Not sure if they have to negotiate any issues regarding French maritime laws, though. And Wales is certainly easier to get to and more user friendly to us.

OK, now I'm on a roll. Break out the Beaujolais and the Brie and watch this: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xl9rp4_ile-berder-dans-le-golfe-du-morbihan_travel

After a little research: This spot is la vague de Berder, which is not a spot by that name but a standing wave (french "vague") along the island of Berder in the Golfe du Morbihan. Here's another picture, obviously at a different time and a slightly different area.

Do <I> know? <You> bet Pintail! Well, not the exact spot, mind you. Golfe du Morbihan, on the south coast of Brittany. Look it up on Google (pictures). It appears to be a veritable paddler's paradise. Protected and currents galore I suspect, what with all that water having to leave the Golfe during outgoing tide or whatever complicated tide pattern there may be. Yeah, that first wave is dreamy. What I would give to live near such a lovely "park and play" spot for some after work or whenever entertainment. You can maybe ask Nico (the guy in the Tiderace) where that is on Vimeo.com (although he may refuse to divulge).

Is there a way to videotape John's course and post it under "Educational" for the many who can'y attend? Just a thought, if a selfish thought.

I have WW-kayaked and I have thought about getting back into it on occasion. I just prefer long boats, at least at present.

So many nice places to paddle, so little time....

The first step they missed planning this kayak trip was...getting actual kayaks rather than glorified swimming pool mattresses! That TV-station's headline gives kayakers a bad reputation.

Andre' would have just helplessly fallen out of the boat and needed a rescue by Jean-Pierre or, even better, by Marie-Claire, who would have been overseeing the whole thing from the eddy.