JanetL

Thank you Joe for the great write up and photos. Looks like a very special place. 

Grab your thinking cap and join us on July 10 for our second skills session of the year "Understanding the Ocean Environment". This is open to all NPSN members, new and seasoned. We anticipate running from about 9am-1pm.

This session will be held at Riverhead Beach in Marblehead. There is a parking fee for non-residents but  no advanced parking registration required,  Odiorne State Park Boat Ramp, Rye, NH.  

Sign up through Googleforms is required to attend and attendance is limited. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/ZCkR3k2rqXLCUxfB9

You must be an NSPN member and an ACA annual or 1-day member to attend. Hope to see you there!

Hi Sherry

Sign up was just finalized - keep an eye out for an email with more information tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks

Janet

Hi Jim. Are you joining us Sunday? Make sure you sign up on the googleforms if so! Thanks.

I replaced mine on a WS Zephyr using parts from topkayaker.com - not all that hard and they can probably get what you need. Worth it if you like the boat!

Join us for the first in our summer series! The topic for this session will be Boat Handling Skills and it is open to all NPSN members, new and seasoned. We anticipate running from about 9am-1pm

(We also have space for another facilitator or 2, so let me know if you'd like to help out!)

We'll be meeting at Odiorne Point State Park. Please note that we strongly recommend advanced registration for parking at THIS LINK .. it's $5 for general admission and less for various senior/in state discounts. 

Sign up through Googleforms is required to attend and attendance is limited. https://forms.gle/KXsD4eb4BKM6bUci6

You must be an NSPN member and an ACA annual or 1-day member to attend. Hope to see you there!

Sue and I are getting the skills practice sessions for 2022 organized. If you are an NSPN member and want to help facilitate, and you didn't get a private message from me already, let me know!

You don't need to be an instructor, coach, or expert paddler to help facilitate - just enthusiasm for getting on the water and working together to improve our skills.

More details here

After a year of trying, finally the parking situation, mid-day high tide, low winds, and work schedules aligned to make this loop possible.  8 NPSN paddlers were present - half Ipswich locals! (helpful in calming my "is this the right creek?" worries). We had a glorious day of bluebird skies, little wind, and friendly company. Despite Mike's baffling 3-foot wind wave prediction there there was not much swell to be found although there was a very interesting zipper going on partway down Crane's. Doug has the good idea to lunch on the very scenic back of Crane's rather than wait for Choate. Some folks were able to see baby osprey peeking over the edge of a nest hear Choate - sorry I missed that! 

The day finished with some successful rolls. Thanks to everyone who joined on this beautiful day. Hopefully it won't be another 5 years till I paddle this area again! 

Thanks everyone! she has some options to try now

Feel better Beth! 

Chris, space for you - please join us!

And that's our group for Sunday! Please let me know if any changes in plans. Will update Saturday night if any changes need to be made. 

Logistics align to allow a circumnavigation of Castle Neck (Crane beach) on May 1 - before parking turns to resident-only!

We will launch from Pavilion Beach in Ipswich (NOT in Gloucester!), ready to paddle at 10am. This route is about 10-12 miles long and will take us through what may be bumpy moving water at the exit from Plum Island Sound and entrance to Essex bay - please contact me before signing up if we've never paddled together before.  We'll likely have lunch on Choate before heading back through Fox creek near high tide.

Must have sea kayak with deck lines and flotation, clothes for immersion (drysuit this time of year), and a signed waiver on the new NSPN system (linked below).

Post below to RSVP (limited to 8). Plan is subject to weather changes but it looks pretty good right now!

In search of gently used sea kayak paddle for a friend - something that's neither low end plastic nor high end carbon, in the 210-220cm range probably.

Anyone have anything hanging around?

For 2 years I've been unable to find a short-tunnel sprayskirt to fit my sea kayak, and it seems supplies are still pretty tight.  I want a short-tunnel version (6 inch tunnel - like the women's specifics Seals Athena / IR J-Lo / custom Seals) because my torso is quite short proportionate to the rest of me and a standard neoprene tube is uncomfortable.  I've been using a WW skirt that fits me great but the boat not so great, or an adjustable waist skirt that fits the boat well but lets a lot of water in the top. 

Was curious if anyone had any experience with buying a standard tube sprayskirt and having it hemmed. I would probably bring it to my local dry cleaners. Anyone tried this before? 

I tried a spray on product by Gear Aid, twice.

First time, sprayed it on while the drysuit was wet, let dry for 48h. Didn't seem to make a lick of difference.

Second time, sprayed it on while the drysuit was dry, then dried it with a hairdrier. Managed to singe one of the cuffs a bit (below where the wrist gasket attaches, so no harm to usefulness). Also didn't make any appreciable difference.

I've heard the really helpful thing is to wash and dry it in the tumble drier, but can't do that with gaskets....

I'm planning to come!

Summer Skills sessions return for 2022!

Skills Practice sessions are a series of on-the-water events offering NSPN members opportunities to practice and improve their fundamental paddling skills. These sessions will be held in coastal saltwater locations, allowing us to practice in a range of real-world conditions from protected water to open ocean. Sue H and Janet L are the organizers for this year’s program. 

Each session is dedicated to specific kayaking skills, with peer facilitators from the club who will assist the practice and development of strokes and other ocean kayaking skills. The goal for these sessions is peer-facilitated practice, not professional coaching or instruction – those are great things, but not what we are offering with our sessions. 

Sessions will typically split into pods, each with its own facilitator(s). Although there will be a topic-of-the-day for each session, the activities of each pod are steered by its members, so not all pods will do the same things in the same way. All attendees are encouraged to contribute their own practice ideas. Skills Practice is a dogma-free zone!

Who can benefit from Skills Practice? Any NSPN member, from newbie to expert, can get something out of a Skills Practice session. Practice at the level that works best for you. If you are familiar with a topic and want to help others gain that knowledge, consider being a facilitator.

Is this some kind of official NSPN course on “How To Paddle”? Nope, it’s not official, and it’s not even a set course. The focus is on picking up skills from each other, without prescribing any single way to paddle. What you get at a given session depends on who is there and your willingness to “practice” (sometimes this is simply listening, observing and asking questions, remember, you are in the driver’s seat!)

Where and when does this happen? Sessions begin at 9:00 am sharp on Saturday or Sunday mornings at various locations in the North Shore/NH area, and will usually end from 1-2 pm. See date listing below, and NSPN trip calendar for dates. Exact locations and activity focus will be announced a few days in advance to reflect weather and sea conditions. Some sessions will incorporate a brief paddling trip.

Want to attend a session? A link to a sign up form will be posted about 1 week before each session. There are no level requirements: all members are welcome. The number of slots will be limited depending on the number of facilitators available for a given session. However, some sessions may work best if you’ve done a preceding session that lays some foundation.

What do I need?  Our sessions are using American Canoe Association insurance, so you will need either an annual ACA membership ($40) or a 1 day membership ($10) for each session that you attend.. You will need a closed-deck sea kayak suitable for coastal paddling, with sealed bulkheads or float bags, and grab lines along the perimeter. Dress for immersion and a spray skirt are required (and for a few sessions, a helmet). Bring lunch, snacks and fluids for yourself. Optionally, bring a tow line, radio, and spare paddles. (Don’t have something? Contact the organizers and we’ll try to scare something up for you.)

Want to facilitate a session pod? We want you on board to share your knowledge! Please PM the organizers with your availability, contact information, sessions of interest, experience helping other paddlers improve, and gear you may be able to lend. 

How does facilitation work? Although demonstration and explanation are part of the picture, the main aim of Skills Practice is to give paddlers the experience of performing a skill. This often involves breaking it down into clear, approachable steps. Before each session, we’ll have some online exchange among facilitators to share our thoughts.

Got another question?  Post it here or send us a PM (JanetL / Sue H.) 

Tentative dates: subject to change and will be kept up to date on the NSPN Calendar. 

June 26

July 10

July 17

July 31

Aug 21

Sept 25

Sue H and I will be organizing these next year. More details/dates to come, but we will need help on the water for sure -- let me know if you are interested in facilitating one or more of the sessions! 

I’m in!

In, weather permitting.

We have a few open spaces from folks who can't make it. Please PM me if you'd like to come and haven't signed up yet.

Beautiful day on the water. Thanks for organizing, Jim.

Walking around/jumping off rocks in paddling clothing is one of my favorite activities, and one I think is underrepresented on most of our paddles. Count me in! 

Registration is now full.  Please send me a private message (NOT a post here) if you want to be on the waitlist.