Dan Foster

I would be interested in getting a group of paddlers together to train for this and other races in 2018.

Date for the Essex River Race 2018 is May 12. Date for the Blackburn is July 21.

If there's anyone out there who wants to bike and hike in addition to sea kayaking, I'm looking for adventurous types to join me for this event up in Maine. https://www.mainesummerar.com/ There's going to be a strong sea kayaking/tidal river paddling focus again in this year's race.

Another free (web-based) option for "currents as arrows sized to flow": http://deepzoom.com/index.html

My software displays seamless NOAA RNCs and allows you to plan routes and print custom maps, but it's Windows only and more expensive than the apps mentioned above. https://www.expertgps.com

You might also consider Google Earth with a NOAA RNC overlay: https://seamlessrnc.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/rnc/noaa_rncs.kmz

Squam Lake never fails to surprise or disappoint, and this year was no exception. A varied and varying band of NSPNers explored her waters and shorelines over the course of the weekend, departing from SLA headquarters in Piper's Cove on Friday morning after waiting out some early bands of rain.

We loaded boats, made use of Nancy's ingenious carrying straps, and headed out across a nearly-deserted Squam Lake.

After setting up camp and having lunch on Moon Island, some of the group returned to SLA to greet an afternoon arrival, while the rest of us headed out to Yard Island to practice scraping gelcoat off our boats as we played in the numerous rock gardens.

A wind-swept afternoon in camp had us hopeful that the clouds would scatter, allowing us a full-moon paddle that evening. We were afforded a spectacular sunset, but then the clouds closed in again, nixing our plans for an after-dinner excursion. Much pot-lucking and burning of firewood provided the evening's entertainment.

On Saturday, we headed north to Five Finger Point, where we went ashore on a fabulous UNH beach. Most of the group hiked up to West Rattlesnake for lunch, while the others explored the bays and passages to the northeast. Approximately 200 other people had the same lunch plans as us, and we lost count of the number of children who defied their parents and disappeared over the cliff edge before us. For future planning, East Rattlesnake might be a quieter choice. Still, the view was impressive.

Our two groups reconnected again, and two new groups were formed to explore our way back to Moon. More rocks were gardened, and again, we had the lake to ourselves, with the exception of some loons.

At one point earlier in the trip, we came across a raft of eight loons, and marveled at their haunting calls across the water.

With rain in the forecast for Sunday, we packed up early, and hit the water just as the first few drops began to fall. It started in earnest as we approached Piper's Cove, but let up a bit so that we could load boats and pose for a group selfie before heading for home.

A map of my travels during the weekend:

Hopefully others will share some of their photos and experiences as well. Come join us on Squam next year!

There are camping spots available for this weekend's Squam Lake trip. Also, there's an opportunity for paddlers to join us for the day on Saturday. Please get in touch if you're interested, as we're planning the trip's details now.

It makes sense to go back to the original line (or really, to tell you how much you've strayed left or right of your original line) if you're in a narrow, foggy channel. That's the use for the Cross Track Error (XTE) feature in early GPS receivers, which were marketed to boaters. If you're heading down a 100' wide channel, and your XTE is 60' left, there's a good chance that following the GOTO is going to put you into a rock, because you're now 10 feet out of the channel.

For "basic stats and tracking" on the water, with analysis done later in ExpertGPS on my computer, I wear and recommend a Garmin Forerunner 235. For any situation where navigation might be an issue (foggy camping in Maine), I keep a Garmin Oregon 550 in my PFD, which I've prepared ahead of time with a NOAA nautical chart as a custom map, and with waypoints marked at my likely destinations. If it's really foggy and I'm going to be using it a lot, it goes in my chart case to keep the salt off. Otherwise, everything gets a rinse in fresh water as soon as we hit dry land, and I try to avoid pressing buttons and working salt into them unless I need to.

I don't worry about GPS accuracy on the ocean. You've got an unobstructed view of the sky - much better than in the forest. And I can't think of any scenario where even a 100' positioning error would alter your course of action.

If you really like the watch convenience and form factor, Garmin has an app store for their watches, so you might look there to see if there are apps you can run on a cheaper model to give you the marine-specific info you want. The main thing I miss on the stock Forerunner 235 is a way to display your current latitude and longitude or UTM position so you can confirm your location on the chart.

I will not be able to attend this Wednesday, nor the following week. I hope to get some late-season paddling in once I return.

At last night's Walden (White's Pond) session, a few attempts were made to duplicate this feat of kayaking contortionism. Mike's video looks doubly-impressive now, having experienced how spectacularly this trick can go wrong. Congratulations are due to Mike, Cathy, and anyone else who can successfully perform this act of sorcery.

I'm planning to paddle today, but it looks like we're heading for the Concord River...

Walden Pond‏ @waldenpondstate 2m2 minutes ago 

Given the amount of hail, lightning, and torrential rain that just passed through, I think we made the right call to cancel today's Walden session. I hope nobody got caught out in that, or in the cells to follow!

I suspect the lifeguards clear the swimming beach, but they probably can't kick everyone out or clear the pond of open swimmers or paddlers. (But I've never been there for a thunderstorm)

See some of you next week.

I haven't started loading my boat yet, and won't until 3PM given the uncertainty. We've had a few thunderclaps, and there are ominous clouds popping up despite the sunshine.

Given this flash flood warning from NOAA, I would probably cancel. I don't have to make my go/no-go decision until 3. You or Jane can call it before then.

Thunderstorms with torrential downpours are expected into this
afternoon. Rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches an hour are possible.
Storm total rainfall amounts could get as high as 3 inches in
spots.
 

http://ospreyseakayak.com/shop/used-kayaks-and-sup/

I'm planning to be there at 4PM, and will be using Bill's formula above to decide where "there" is.

Thanks, Cathy, for leading a great trip, and for starting an open discussion about some of the issues that came up along the way.

I was still sitting by the water's edge and eating lunch when you began your float to the sea, and not a single alarm bell went off in my head as you went around the corner and out of sight. I only mentioned to Rob that you might appreciate a ride back because I thought it would be a challenging workout for him to paddle back up (presumably from the next eddy downstream) with you on the back deck. If that was what prompted him to look for you, it was a lucky break indeed. Thankfully those paddle boarders were there, and thankfully Rob decided to verify your safety rather than just assuming you were OK like I did.

Some thoughts on contributing factors and how we might deal with them in the future:

This was a led trip, not a CAM trip. I was only half-joking when I said I turned my brain off back at the parking lot. I left the chart, compass, radio, and tow belt behind for this trip. I definitely dialed back on the preparation and safety items I'd normally bring to a CAM trip.

Many of us had been to Cohasset together before, so there was some complacency in "familiar" waters, and we didn't spend much time talking about how we were going to play safely around Little Harbor.

Last year's trip to Minot Light got turned back by fog. So much of our group discussion this year was about navigation, compass bearings, sharks, and channel crossings. Apart from the "are you OK? / I'm OK" hand signals, we didn't talk about what was arguably the most dangerous hazard of the trip - the currents and features at Little Harbor.

We were presented with spur-of-the-moment opportunities to do new things that we'd never dealt with before. (Not jumping off of lighthouses, rolling in shark country, and swimming in swift water.) I think we do a very good job of recognizing the dangers of situations we've seen or been in before, but it's much harder to look at a new situation and evaluate the risk factors on the spot. If Cathy had come out of her boat below the bridge, pushed her boat to safety in an eddy, and then floated off around the corner, I think every one of us would have been running to our boats for a rescue. And yet, the same swimmer in the same current got a friendly wave and no further concern.

To echo Cathy's remark, I also have some thinking to do. (And some photos to sort through and post)

I had a great time at Cohasset and can't wait to get back out there again. I hope the lessons we learn from this trip and the ensuing discussion enhance our future paddles together as a group.

How is the water quality? I'm no expert, but I know for a fact that fish pee in all three of those rivers, whereas at Walden they're supposed to use the bathhouse. There are also wastewater treatment plants upstream on both the Sudbury and Assabet, although oars3rivers.org has done a great job of forcing towns to reduce the level of phosphorous released into the rivers.

If we do have a hot day where Walden isn't an option, I'd encourage people to bring a picnic or snack. It's really nice to hang out down by the Old North Bridge as the sun sets and then it's a quick paddle back to the cars. There's also the option to perform seal launches off of the railing of the bridge for the tourists.

AMC's whitewater group has practiced in the past at White's Pond in Concord on Wednesday nights. That pond has had issues with algae blooms in the past. On popular nights, you may need to park at the nearby school and walk over.

There are several options for a river paddle near Walden pond. I would suggest the Lowell Rd boat launch near Egg Rock (the confluence of the Assabet and Sudbury rivers, where the Concord begins), or one of the put-ins on the Sudbury river south of Walden.

http://www.sudbury-assabet-concord.org/concord-river-boaters-trail/

http://www.oars3rivers.org/river_map/map/1

Given the popularity of Walden on hot days, I'd propose that on "really nice" days, or days where Walden has at least one closure before 4PM, we abandon the pond in favor of a river paddle. Destinations can include the Old North Bridge, Fairhaven Bay, birdwatching at Great Meadows NWR.

I wouldn't practice rolling or spend a lot of time inhaling water from the rivers. Rescue practice is probably fine.

Thunder here as well. I'm going to sit this week out.

I was there on Sunday with a friendly group of paddleboarders, two of whom are planning to bring their sea kayaks and join us at 4 on Wednesday.

We were there at mid-tide, so the Walden current was near maximum flow. Many new stupid kayak tricks were attempted, some of them successfully.

This one is still a work in progress, in case the Thursday Chebacco crowd wants to claim a pond-session first: drop your paddle, capsize, and roll up using the helmet off of your head. (Or better yet, capsize your rescuer, and roll up using their helmet.)

I'll be there at 4. Planning to work on scoops, goose rolls, and the Haghighi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBVh6LquFYU

I'm in. I've never parked overnight in the area so I'll defer to the locals on that. I've always wanted to circumnavigate Cape Ann, so if the weather and tides cooperated, launching from Gloucester High School might be a fun option.

Anyone want to try some kayak fishing after we set up camp?

I'd be interested in camping on Thacher's Island, or in organizing a camping trip to the Boston Harbor Islands.

I have a plastic fishing SUP that came with one of these access hatches. I sometimes find that pooled rainwater has made it through the hatch seal. I'd test the seal on yours prior to cutting into your deck.

Just a reminder, if you plan to attend this Sunday's map and compass navigation workshop in Reading, please RSVP through the NSPN calendar posting (above). We've got about a dozen members attending, and there's room for a couple more. I'm going to close registration on Friday morning.