Dan Foster

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 8/9/17 at 11:05am Walden Pond closed for capacity. Re-opening at 3:00pm. Parking may be limited then. No walk ins, drop offs while closed.

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.

http://www.nspn.org/forum/store/product/1-nspn-annual-membership/

Sue, once you join NSPN (it's a steal at $15 for a year), you'll be able to RSVP for events on the Calendar like the Nav Workshop.

Here's the working plan. Feedback welcome before it becomes official. The April 23rd event will be posted in a few days on the NSPN calendar. Some people have been asking for beginner instruction and others would like an intermediate-level class. I'd prefer to start with the basics in April, and build on that later in the season with an ocean paddle out of Hingham or Hull with actual tides and current. Here's the proposed schedule for the Navigation Workshop on Sunday, April 23rd: 9 - 11: Basics of map reading, orienting the map with a compass, taking a bearing with a compass, land exercises outside at a nearby park (Gertrude Spaulding Park, Veterans Field, or Breakheart Reservation) 11 - 3: REI Reading classroom: using map and compass together, declination, lunch, plotting/reading bearings on a chart, triangulation, map and compass exercises 3 - 5: Veteran's Field boat launch at south end of Lake Quannapowitt: (Level 1 paddle) on-water navigation practice, matching features to the chart, using ranges to stay on a bearing, triangulation practice. 5:30: dinner nearby for anyone who wants to socialize afterwards.

It's looking like the navigation workshop will be Sunday, April 23rd, at (and around) REI in Reading.

I own the lowest-priced Kokatat model in the "fully-dry" category, which uses Hydrus 3L fabric instead of GoreTex. https://kokatat.com/product/hydrus-3l-swift-entry-dry-suit-dsuhse Kokatat doesn't advertise it this way, but you can order it through your favorite retailer with a relief zipper and booties, both of which I'd consider to be essential. Pros: saves a few hundred $, same Kokatat warranty and workmanship, fully-dry neck and wrist gaskets. Cons: The latex neck gasket is fully exposed, without any neoprene to wrap around it. It makes you look like you've got a Turtle neck, and not the classy Steve Jobs kind. I get pretty steamy in mine, but I don't have enough experience in a GoreTex model to compare the effectiveness of the breathable membranes. All in all, I'm happy for the additional paddling opportunities that owning a dry suit provides. 99% of the time (i.e., 100% of the time when I'm right-side-up), I wish I was wearing a semi-dry suit or cotton shorts and a t-shirt. It's what you're going to be doing the other 1% of the time that dictates what level of features you need and want to pay for.

A sabiki rig for mackerel or bait fish has 6 or more small hooks with an artificial bait that looks like a large fly or tiny minnow. You clip a 1-2 oz lead sinker on one end, and lower it from your kayak or a pier off the cheapest rod and reel you own. You could even skip the rod and reel and just use a hand line or 50 feet of mono and something to wrap it around. When it hits the bottom, slowly jig it up and down until a school of bait fish swims by. Since macks and other bait fish swim in big "bait balls", you'll typically catch multiple fish if you leave it down for an extra 30 seconds after you feel the first strike. https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=sabiki&tbs=imgo:1 Half of the fun of a sabiki rig is detangling 6+ mini hooks from each other, your fish, and your clothing as your kayak drifts into the rocks or the boating channel. If you want to skip the live bait, get an artificial lure (we use Daiwa Salt Pro Minnows), the shortest saltwater rod you can find (7.5' or less, easier to deal with in a kayak), and cast around the rocks, or watch for surface feedings around dawn. When you see a bunch of seagulls dive-bombing the surface, paddle over as fast as you can and start casting into the fray. With any luck, you'll catch a striper, and not a seagull.

We've had some luck using a sabiki (multiple small hooks on a weighted line) to catch mackerel for bait. We then hook a mack through the lip and let it swim in and out of the rocks where we think stripers may be lurking. What usually happens is we end up having mackerel for dinner.