Dan Foster

I'm planning to be there on Wednesday. On popular (hot) days, be sure to check https://twitter.com/waldenpondstate for announcements that the park is at capacity and closed to new arrivals.

Light winds and warm temps made for an ideal paddling day on Monday. I launched from Little Farms Road in Framingham at 8:45, and rode the quickwater underneath the "hotdog bridge" carrying the aqueduct over the river. Wood ducks erupted into flight around every corner, and two deer watched from the bank as I paddled by. The first two miles had a wild feel to them, with lots of wildlife, and some fallen trees to paddle around. After that, things opened up a bit, and the scenery alternated between long stretches of protected riverbanks punctuated every half hour by a road and some houses. I stopped for lunch at Egg Rock in Concord, where the Sudbury and Assabet come together to form the Concord River. Lots of people were out enjoying the weather and picnicking after the battle reenactments at the Old North Bridge. Passing the Concord impoundment of Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, the river turns due north and widens. This stretch of river can be a soul-crusher on a hot day, paddling into an afternoon headwind. But the forecast held, and I ticked off the miles and the bridges and looked forward to more interesting water in Billerica. There, the river narrows again, and in the final mile passes through a rock-strewn gap with some pretty little tree-lined islands in mid-stream. Here I met another paddler and we zoomed through the quickwater together to arrive at the takeout at Talbot Mills in North Billerica at 4:30PM. Total distance traveled: 26.9 miles.

NOAA Current predictions: http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaacurrents/Regions NOAA Tide predictions: http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.html For each, I went to the sub-page for Maine, copied the station names and their latitude and longitude, and plotted them in ExpertGPS. For a really cool visualization of tides and currents, check out http://deepzoom.com/ You can drag a time slider and watch the currents ebb and flood in your area of interest. Unfortunately, the site doesn't seem to have working current information for much of the East coast right now.

I assume Gary meant 5/19, which is the Thursday night being discussed for a night crossing to Jewell this year. I plotted two possible routes from Bug Light Park to Jewell. The yellow (red on the legend) line is 10 nautical miles, and takes a very conservative approach to avoid exposure to fetch and swell from the SE and the open ocean. It also has a bail-out to camp on Little Chebeague at the 6 mile mark in case of a late start, injury, or worsening conditions toward the outer islands. The shorter green route is 6 nautical miles. I tried to place my crossings from known starting points to visible landmarks on the far shore or to lighted buoys, and I tried to get nice round numbers for the magnetic bearings. (Bearings on this graphic are true, however. Oops.) I don't have local knowledge of South Portland or the crossing from Bug Island Light, or of the prominent features along the southern islands, so I look forward to seeing what those of you with more experience in the area come up with. Given that this is a Thursday evening trip, I assumed a launch time of no earlier than 7:30PM. I'm not sure this allows arrival, unpacking, and campsite prep "in time for smores" unless there's a pod of us already there with a signal fire already burning down to marshmallow-roasting coals. For anyone else working through this on their own, I've plotted the locations of the tide and current prediction stations from NOAA. Thanks for the exercise, Gary.

I, too, am intrigued by the opportunity to paddle by the light of the full moon. But, given the distances and the crossings involved, and the inevitable delays in getting a camping group to launch after a work day, I think I'm going to do my transit to and from Jewell during daylight hours. But I might be game for a sunset or moonlight paddle around Jewell or over to Cliff or Eagle on Friday or Saturday night, if the weather permits and the group was willing. If there is a Thursday night crossing from South Portland to Jewell, I hope you discuss the details here. I'd certainly benefit from hearing how you prepare and plan for a safe night-time crossing. One of my favorite memories from last year's trip was watching a lone paddler slowly appear out of the dusk and paddle his way to our campsite in the last lingering rays of sunset.

I'm planning to attend, and will probably launch from Dolphin Cove Marina on Friday and return on Sunday. Looking forward to seeing everyone again this year!

I'm looking for a small band of adventurers to join on a marathon-length paddle down the Sudbury and Concord rivers on Marathon Monday, April 18th. (Or that weekend, the 16th or 17th, if the weather is better or interest is higher.) The takeout is at Old Elm St in North Billerica, and depending on water level, the launch would be at Little Farms Rd in Framingham, or Pelham Island Rd in Wayland. Paddling maps of the Sudbury, Concord, and Assabet are available here: http://www.oars3rivers.org/river/recreation The rivers run northward, so if strong north winds or foul weather are forecast, the paddle will be rescheduled. We will, however, have the tides with us for the entire downstream run. Pace will be pleasant, but deliberate, with a focus on enjoying the river rather than training for speed. There are numerous stopping points along the way, including the Old North Bridge in Concord and the Great Meadows wildlife refuge. Post here and PM me if interested.

If there's only one answer, and A can be any angle less than 90, then the answer is that they cover the same distance over ground. Let A=0. They paddle identical courses. QED.

Thanks for capturing the event so well, Pru! I think this is the first paddle where I didn't take a single photo, leaving me to concentrate on just how much colder my fingers would be if I messed around with my camera. And a big thank you to Rob for organizing this adventure and getting us out on the water.

Does anyone know if any other paddling clubs or groups planning to join us or run their own trips to Jewell that weekend?

I'm planning to attend. See you all on Saturday!

I've been running land-based map and compass sessions this spring and would be happy to share some of that with the club this season. If there was interest on April 2nd, I could do a 2-3 hour intro to working with chart and compass on that Saturday morning. Sea kayak navigation involves much more than chart and compass work, so others could step forward to teach tides and currents, rules of the road, wind and weather, deciphering esoteric chart markings, etc at other times throughout the year.

Thanks for organizing these, Rob. All three dates currently work for me. I'd be willing to assist with or lead an on-shore refresher on navigation with chart and compass at either Marblehead or Boston.

Wilderness First Aid Afloat for MITA Members Saturday April 16 to Sunday April 17 Red Cross Building, 16 Community Way, Topsham A SOLO Wildnerness First Aid course with a water focus, open to MITA members only at a discount - $145 for 2 days. Taught by Nancy Zane of Unity College and Castine Kayak Adventures. Prior registration required - this course sold out last year! For more information: erin@mita.org / 207-761-8225.

Earlier this week, Garmin bought DeLorme, purportedly for this two-way satellite text messaging and tracking technology. I don't have any experience with DeLorme's existing inReach products, nor any inside information, but I'd guess that the next iteration of this technology will be Garmin-branded and integrated with their top-of-the-line GPS receivers. I suspect there will be some very compelling devices from Garmin next year.

I'll play Devil's Advocate and suggest that the first thing a paddler who is New To Sea Kayaking should buy is lessons, or beer for the more-experienced paddlers who are going to take them along. Rather than buying safety equipment, the focus should be on safely gaining experience by paddling with a group of people that will bail them out (both literally and figuratively) should trouble arise. Group #1: Lessons, beer, and a whistle, (to keep the Coast Guard happy).

I started to take the survey, and then realized my answers would vary wildly based on the specifics of how the proposed NSPN group would be seen by paid, unpaid, and prospective new members. Some meetup groups (and their members and events) are completely hidden until you've paid your dues or are approved to join. Others are viewable by anyone, with registration reserved for paid or approved members. Here are three local sea kayaking meetups, each of which presents a totally different "face" to prospective members. (If you're a member of any of the three, log out of meetup to see what they look like to non-members). http://www.meetup.com/Cape-Cod-Sea-Kayak-Club/ Non-members can see everything the club does. http://www.meetup.com/New-England-ACA-Level-5-BCU-5-Aspirants/ Non-members can see everything the club does, but Location is shown only to members http://www.meetup.com/NortheastSeacoastKayakers/ Nothing visible until you join and are approved. New members must be approved by the Organizer Content of this Meetup Group is only visible to members Without knowing what NSPN is proposing, I can't really give you meaningful answers to the survey questions. Feel free to delete this if you don't want questions cluttering up the survey.

A few more photos of a great weekend on the water:

Thanks again for getting us all out there today, Al! It was a fun group and a great day to paddle. I snapped a few group photos while we were bottlenecked on Fox Creek behind some inexperienced skippers.

I'll be there. Should be a great day to be on the water!

So much for my afternoon's productivity. Great report, Pru! I found myself shivering at times - the cold and damp really comes through in your photos and storytelling. Some of those iceberg photos are simply breathtaking. Beth, I'm rooting for your recovery in part 2.

Worked for me. Try copying and pasting this: http://rockpaddlesurf.blogspot.com/2015/06/circumnavigation-of-vinalhaven-61215.html

On a cool Friday afternoon, Rene, Warren, and I set out to explore the islands of the Cape Porpoise archipelago, near Kennebunkport, ME. Our campsite for the weekend was on Cape Island, the outermost island in the group. The inner islands are surrounded by mudflats during the lower half of the tide cycle. No sandy beaches here. Launching or landing involved precarious carries over seaweed-slicked boulders. After setting up camp, Rene lead us over to Goat Island, where Warren was pleased to find they had remembered his birthday. On the way back around the exposed side of Goat and Cape, we found a patch of lumpy water, and I felt it wise to put down the camera and hang on to the paddle with both hands for a bit. It took a while for me to cool off after that. After some more keel-hauling of boats, we turned our attention to gourmet dining. Our waterfront campsite feature a beautiful fire ring and stone benches, which we gladly put to good use as the sun slowly sank below the horizon in front of us. Saturday's paddling could have been three separate trips in one. We started the morning by winding our way north through the rocks to Timber Island. After lunch we rode the incoming tide up the Little River, threading our way deep into the marsh grasses, stirring up geese, ducks, and egrets, and eventually arriving at "the source of the sea", where a freshwater stream cascaded down to join the tidal flow. With the current now slack, we paddled back out of the river and headed directly across Goosefare Bay back home to Cape, which from a distance looked like a tropical paradise, with four protruding pines filling in for palm trees. No sooner had we arrived than a dreadful wind conjured itself out of the north, driving us to the other side of the island to hunker down in the leeward rocks to prepare dinner. But our reward, upon returning to camp, was a most spectacular sunset. And they all paddled happily ever after... The end.

Did you try Charles River Canoe and Kayak? They rent drysuits.

Entering the highway after the NSPN Jewell trip yesterday, I was behind a car with an 8' step ladder on the roof rack, held on with three zip ties! I quickly got in front of the car, because I certainly didn't want to be behind it if one of the little plastic ties failed. About 30 minutes later, the same car passed me at around 80MPH in the left lane. The ladder was traveling "feet-first", and the updraft had unfolded the ladder's legs upward, adding even more stress on the zip tie in front. An unsecured wheelbarrow killed a following driver here in Massachusetts last week.