Joseph Berkovitz

This week we are practicing boat handling skills essential for wind and waves. Saturday, 9 am at Riverhead Beach, Marblehead. Please visit the Calendar post for complete information. To register, please visit this form: https://forms.gle/BPQg5JyCXAmNeh6W8 Hope to see you there! Joe

July 22, 2020 Route: Riverhead Beach, Marblehead -> Childrens Island -> N. Gooseberry Island -> Eagle Island -> return People: Joe Berkovitz, Phil Morrow, Sue Hriciga, Mike Habich, Jane Cobb. Nancy Hill, Rick Crangle, Dana Sigall, Elizabeth Neumeier, Michael Hazeltine Distance: 7.9 nm Track: https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/b681e844335d9bdc258998c076bd4f6c/?layer=gaianoaarnc Conditions: overcast with showers, wind 10 kt NE dropping to light+variable, waves < 1 ft, air 70 F, water 68 F. Tides: 7:04 AM Low -0.64 ft 1:16 PM High 8.99 ft 7:12 PM Low 0.34 ft Description: We set out at 10.35 from Riverhead Beach into a light headwind, crossing over to the lighthouse where we arrived about 11. At this point the plan was to make our way to the west end of Childrens as a steppingstone to the rest of the adventure. Another 5 minutes took us to G C "1" at the start of the Marblehead Channel crossing to Children's. Some slight flood current was noticed in the channel. We grouped up there and crossed to R N "2" in 8 minutes. At that point the sense of the group was to head around the outside of Childrens and then go to North Gooseberry for lunch. The wind had now dropped and there was very little swell or wind waves on the ocean. We headed around Childrens and Cormorant Rock where, sure enough, there was some action at the southern tip although much subdued. Then out to Gooseberry where we arrived in time for a perfect noon lunch. At 12.40 we headed over to Eagle. Conditions were still extremely calm. To avoid any intersection with a bunch of junior sailors leaving the middle of Salem Sound for Marblehead, we decided to jog back towards Childrens on our way back home. As we got near the start of the return channel crossing around 13.15, we saw that Salem and Beverly were becoming obscured by a curtain of rain showers which soon began to rain on us: Visibility was dropping to perhaps 1/2 mile and I was aware that the Salem Ferry was supposed to come through any minute, but we hadn't seen it yet. The group had split slightly in two pods out of earshot, so I asked the pod I was with to stop at the channel marker while I set off to give the other pod a heads up about the ferry. At that moment the thrumming of the ferry was starting to be heard, although the ferry itself was obscured by the rain. Just as we neared the channel marker, we saw the ferry finally become visible at some point north of the main Marblehead peninsula. Barely 90 seconds later, both pods converged on the marker and the ferry zoomed past in front of us. There is not much lead time with that thing in the best of visibility, and this was hardly the best of visibility! Anyway, a reminder that time, tide and the Salem Ferry wait for no one. The rain quickly dissipated and we arrived back at Riverhead around 13.50. By this time the sun was shining brightly and it was heating up again. I think we were all glad to have been on the water in the clouds and rain!

This week's Wednesday Lunch Paddle is on July 22, 2020. Covid-19 paddling: on this trip we will strictly observe social distancing and MA state recreational boating guidelines for the pandemic. Please research and respect all regulations that apply at the time of the paddle. You must register using the form link below to be sure that you're actually on the paddle. We will stay at least 6 feet apart, minimize sharing docks and ramps with others, and wear face masks while off the water in public use areas. We also employ an online waiver to avoid passing around a physical piece of paper. Location: Riverhead Beach in Marblehead MA. Why Riverhead again, doggone it? Because the sole organizer this week (Joe) doesn't have transportation! But we will find something fun to do for sure. Parking: just go straight into the boat ramp lot on the left side of the causeway. Do not pay at the fee collection hut on the right of the causeway (for Devereux Beach), there is no charge for Riverhead boat ramp use. Registration: To attend, please register using this form which will also add your information to the float plan: https://forms.gle/iqwQ8UFPz5koKEZz5 You must be a paid-up NSPN member to join this trip. Your signup information will only be shared with other participants. Predictions: Cooler with air temps 65-70, some showers, wind E or SE 5-8 kt, water 68-70 F, waves < 1 ft. Salem Harbor tides (easy launch and landing at Riverhead): When/what: We will meet at 10 and launch at 10.30 sharp. We'll have a beach briefing in some safe manner, make a plan together based on what people feel like doing. This trip doesn't have a specific level: we'll determine the route based on who shows up, what people want to do, and what the environment wants to do. All properly equipped members are welcome: please bring boats with rigged deck lines, bulkheads, spray skirts, and dress for immersion. If you're not sure you have a safe vessel, please get in touch with us and ask. NOTE: The Wednesday Lunch Paddles are cooperative adventures, not guided trips. Each participant is responsible for her/his own safety.Don’t assume the trip initiators are smarter, stronger, better at rough water, more attractive, or more skilled paddlers than you are. For more information, see this description of our trip philosophy from the NSPN web site. We encourage paddlers to make their own independent decision about their comfort level with conditions at the time of the paddle. Please PM me if you have questions or if you haven’t paddled with me or Bob before. Hope to see you there!

This week we are looking at forward stroke in depth as well as backwards stroke and perhaps some rescue work. Please see the Calendar post for details and a link to the float plan/waiver registration. Hope you can make it!

I was just participating in a Sea Leader training with John Carmody the last couple of days, and we tried out a new assisted rescue technique that incorporates social distancing and seems to work reasonably well in rough water (which is where we did it, because that's where it needs to work). Both of the videos above demonstrate a technique where the rescuer stabilizes the bow of the swimmer's boat in a T position over their cockpit after emptying it, while the swimmer cowboy-scrambles in. Someone tried this on a trip I was on in a recent rough-water rescue off Marblehead, and it was actually fairly unstable with the swimmer falling back in while attempting the scramble the first time. John has watched the videos and he adapted this technique by simply sliding the swimmer's boat up further onto the cockpit. (The second video above does this to some extent, but not quite enough.) The change makes a huge difference in that the flat portion of the swimmer's hull provides much more stability, and allows the rescuer to get a much wider grip on the boat's decklines. It is not as nice as a bow/bow or bow/stern assist but it works well enough and maintains the 6 feet handily.

Hi there, We post our trips in the Trips forum: https://www.nspn.org/forum/forum/103-trips-nspn-events/ . Note that trips posted there are for NSPN club members, so if you'd like to join these trips, please join up - it is cheap and an unbelievable resource for anyone getting into ocean paddling. Besides the trips there are training sessions, pool sessions and lots more. https://www.nspn.org/forum/store/category/2-memberships/ Best, Joe

It was $199. But I don't think one can count on the 2 days, so for planning purposes it may not help much.

For what it’s worth I just got my PCR result (negative, happily) from AFC Swampscott. It took 2 days (they had estimated it would take 4).

It seems like a much needed program, paddling interests aside. Does anyone know what kind of tests are being performed in this program and what the wait time is for results? If it’s not a PCR or IDNOW test then Maine will not accept it. If I learn the answer from them then I will post here.

Route: Pebble Beach/Rockport -> Loblolly Cove -> Thacher Island -> Milk Island -> return People: Joe Berkovitz, Robert Levine, Beth Sangree, Prudence Baxter, Jane Cobb, Sue A. Hriciga, michael hazeltine, Elizabeth Neumeier Launch: 10.20a; Land: 2.00p Tides (Rockport Harbor): 8:17 AM Low -0.24 ft 2:33 PM High 8.54 ft Distance: 7 nm Conditions: wind SSW 5-8 kt; humid; overcast becoming sunny; air 65-70 F, water 66 F, seas 2 ft @ 8 sec GPS Track: https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/def494880cc1c93f1b9a98b09d12af24/?layer=gaianoaarnc Before this trip out of Pebble Beach began, the forecast was all over the place. The previous day had seen SSW winds in the 15-18 kt range and 4 foot seas off Cape Ann which were predicted to continue into today. So we had some expectations of changing the venue to Lanes Cove with its lack of southerly wind fetch; dumping 4-footers coming straight into Pebble Beach might have made for a nasty surf launch situation. But I stuck to the plan of at least meeting up at Pebble, so we could see what was actually going on before making the decision. Wise or not, this worked out well: conditions turned out to be very subdued, and continued that way all day. Pebble Beach is a very nice spot for a trip this size. We had 8 cars which maybe used about 70% of the non-resident parking. The beach is mostly small cobbles and steep in some parts, but there is a flatter sandy area that can also be used in less forgiving surf conditions. At launch time the picture was thus: At 10.20, with the water still pretty low but rising, we launched in small wind waves of about 1 ft. There was quite a bit of red seaweed in the water (although later there was to be much more). Our plan was to head north up the coast as far as Straitsmouth to check out an area which most of us had visited rarely, and in my case not at all. Then we expected to get out to Thacher for lunch. We headed up first along granite ledges into Loblolly Cove, which has a beach, and then up past Flat Point to Whale Cove which is just south of Straitsmouth. Along the way there were a couple of nice surfable ledge breaks plied by some of us. We arrived at Whale around 11.10; the sun had come out, the wind had dropped and it was looking like a really nice day. We decided we should use the benign conditions to get over to Thacher and enjoy it with a circumnav followed by a lunch stop. We headed back down the coast with a bit of a headwind, then crossed on an ESE course to Thacher via the channel markers. We arrived at 11.30 and Mike and Beth stopped for a quick break: From 11.40 to 12.10 we did a circumnav of Thacher, with a secondary mission of hunting down all landing spots no matter how sketchy. On the outside there was a lot of big, rough lumpy water and we found a couple of crazy tiny slot beaches that looked landable with the right conditions and water levels (neither of which applied at this particular moment). We continued around Thacher, where we were greeted by a posse of large seals (grays, perhaps) that cast a very dubious eye on our plan to visit the island: Arriving again at the ramp, we found it occupied by various humans, and a sign requesting that the ramp be kept clear. We opted to land at Milk Island instead to avoid both the company and the need to lug 8 kayaks around the ledges on Thacher. Across to Milk we went, landing around 12.30. Along the way our course followed an area of shoals that connects Thacher and Milk and there were a few good rides to be had in there. When I arrived in the small bay outside of Milk's beach, I noticed a strange, stationary rock-colored object sticking out of the water. I don't know why I didn't recognize it as a seal snout, but when I drifted up to it, it metamorphosed into a smallish harbor seal that was not at all happy at my proximity. It hooted three times and took off, but kept watching us for the next 45 minutes through lunch. We all then landed in some very scuzzy seaweed soup. Prudence tried to hail a taxi to get her off the beach and out of the slime: Post lunch, back to the ledges north of Pebble Beach to watch Bob exercise his haulout prowess and try to bang up his boat some more -- on this occasion, he may have failed to injure it further. Then we landed on Pebble around 2 pm in rather light surf but high water, putting us onto the steep cobbles. Some more seaweed soup immersion ensued except for Liz and me who elected to land a bit beyond the algae zone. A lovely day!

Hi John, Yes it did fill up - I hope you can make it next week!

Hi club, A reminder that this coming Sunday 7/12/20 at Riverhead Beach, Marblehead, Bob Levine and I will be hosting the second Skills Practice session of the year. These sessions are not just for novices, but for anyone who's interested in reflecting on their paddling practice and making it better (isn't that almost everyone?). Please see details on the calendar here:

No, there is definitely no culvert. Pre-road, the causeway was originally a tombolo which is a landform we see a lot around here (Nahant Beach is another one). The dark appearance in the satellite photo is due to the dark algae covered cobbles of the raised tongue. On either side there is light-colored sand.

First: in Massachusetts the Phase 3 guidelines seem to relax some of the restrictions, in particular the 10-person limit for outdoor activities. The Beaches guidance now limits "Beach Blanket/Towelling Groups" (a lovable term) to 10 people, but imposes no other numerical limit. The Outdoor Education guidance has a 10-person limit, but allows multiple groups of 10 provided they are separated by at least 20 feet. Note that municipalities can still do things their own way so it's important to check. For example Marblehead still puts a limit of 10 people on docks and piers, which are administered by the harbormaster's office, but not on beaches which are the domain of the parks & rec department. Second: Massachusetts to Maine travel. There has been some press lately about this. While there is no change in the quarantine-or-test requirement yet, Maine CDC has said that they have a clear set of statistical criteria and that they are regularly re-examining the MA statistics to see if Covid-19 incidence is the same or less than Maine's. Here is a video of the Maine CDC director being asked this exact question: https://youtu.be/D6uNHmuYUPs?t=958 So it sounds like it's based on science rather than politics. If MA statistics keep heading downwards, hopefully this will be loosened up.

During the pandemic my wife and I have started going to Devereux Beach early every morning when few people are around. This morning’s visit coincided with fairly low water of -0.77 feet and much of the surf break at the East end of the beach was exposed. It’s an unusual feature: a shallow tongue of bottom that sticks out at right angles to the much more substantial spit on top of which lies the causeway to Marblehead Neck. Thanks to the breaking onshore wind waves you can clearly see how the tongue extends well out past the part that’s visible. I originally thought I would walk out on this tongue for a picture, but no: it’s made of unwalkable slimy seaweed covered cobbles: I wonder why this feature is here - a sort of spit hanging off another larger spit. Unlike the causeway though, this one is made of large cobbles and rocks rather than fine gravel. A number of larger rocks extend right up onto the sand beach, although these may just be riprap dislodged by the waves near this break at high water. There is a NE-SW fault running down the center of the harbor which probably goes roughly parallel to this feature. Maybe there’s a relationship? Mysteries abound! It’s visible as the intertidal bulge to the south of the causeway here: Notice that the feature is just east of a parallel depression in the bottom that runs in the same direction. Perhaps there is some geology at work here, it doesn’t seem to be drifting sediment.

I just meant the fees for Lynch Park, sorry. West Beach is not open to non residents during the season.

You can also just pay to park there if you're not a Beverly Resident. $10 weekdays, $20 weekends.

The location for this paddle is Pebble Beach in Rockport MA.

This week's Wednesday Lunch Paddle is on July 8, 2020 on Pebble Beach in Rockport. Covid-19 paddling: on this trip we will strictly observe social distancing and MA state recreational boating guidelines for the pandemic. Please research and respect all regulations that apply at the time of the paddle. There is a strict limit of 10 paddlers on the trip. You must register using the form link below to be sure that you're actually on the paddle. We will stay at least 6 feet apart, minimize sharing docks and ramps with others, and wear face masks while off the water in public use areas. We also employ an online waiver to avoid passing around a physical piece of paper. Registration: To attend, please register using this form which will also add your information to the float plan: https://forms.gle/bvSoEVRt8SkxQFgw6 You must be a paid-up NSPN member to join this trip. Your signup information will only be shared with other participants. Predictions: Off Cape Ann we're predicted to see S wind 10-12 kts, warm and humid with possible thunderstorms, seas 2-3 ft.. When/what: We will meet at 10 and launch at 10.30 sharp. We'll have a beach briefing in some safe manner, make a plan together based on what people feel like doing. This trip doesn't have a specific level: we'll determine the route based on who shows up, what people want to do, and what the environment wants to do. All properly equipped members are welcome: please bring boats with rigged deck lines, bulkheads, spray skirts, and dress for immersion. If you're not sure you have a safe vessel, please get in touch with us and ask. NOTE: The Wednesday Lunch Paddles are cooperative adventures, not guided trips. Each participant is responsible for her/his own safety.Don’t assume the trip initiators are smarter, stronger, better at rough water, more attractive, or more skilled paddlers than you are. For more information, see this description of our trip philosophy from the NSPN web site. We encourage paddlers to make their own independent decision about their comfort level with conditions at the time of the paddle. Please PM me if you have questions or if you haven’t paddled with me or Bob before. Hope to see you there!

Yes, it is open in the sense that people can access it and it’s not blocked off or signed as closed. However, Lanes is not a gated, orderly place with a clear open/closed status. It is a very informal neighborhood setup with several possible places to put a boat in the water and various scattered parking spots (none of them especially ample). It’s kind of a small miracle that it exists with so few constraints on its use. So we try to be careful in how we use it and avoid overloading it with large groups, especially at busy times like a holiday weekend.

Route: Devereux Beach, Marblehead -> Whales Beach, Swampscott -> Marblehead Neck -> Riverhead Beach People: Joe Berkovitz, Bob Levine, Jane W Cobb, Prudence Baxter, Ken Koellner, Mike Habich, Rick Crangle, Elizabeth Neumeier Launch: 10:30a; Land: 3.00p Tides: HT 8.36a 9.3'; LT 2.37p 0.2' Distance: 10.3 nm Conditions: light wind < 5 kt, light rain -> partial sun, air 68 F, water 68 F, seas 2-3 ft swell @ 10 s GPS Track: https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/86b5fbc9ce79744bc6e392b877bd59f0/?layer=gaianoaarnc We launched from Devereux Beach in 2-3 foot dumping surf with the intent of heading south along the coast as far as Swampscott or perhaps Kings Beach in Lynn. The launch was not a big challenge as there were many lulls in the waves but provided a good opportunity for everyone to practice on a beach where the break zone is tight and narrow and right up against the beach. At this point the day was very gray and misty with dark and white clouds moving around, sometimes ominously. No thunder could be heard, however, and the radar didn't suggest anything terrible coming our way, so off we went. Next was a trip down the Marblehead/Swampscott coastline, along the rocks and stony beaches. Once out of Devereux the swells amplified a bit in the many coves along the way. The water was too high and the waves not quite big enough to do any surfing in these spots, though. It was more of a cliff-handrailing paddle. The weather began to alternate between drizzling and clearing, and we could see rain falling on the Nahant peninsula in the distance. We arrived at the dramatic point where Off Rock and Dread Ledge create a real rock-scape and attract a lot of swell action. Here we considered landing for lunch on the back of Dread Ledge itself, which is certainly doable, but the softer sand of Whales Beach seemed more attractive to some, so we paddled over to it and landed in more dumping waves, although ones that had a considerably longer runout over a shallow pancake beach. Lunch was eaten, as is required on every WLP! For the return leg we first paddled out to the back of Dread Ledge once again, where Bob and I took brief breaks. After launching from Dread the sea suddenly broke out in a long huge set of roaring swells next to me, although I was sheltered from them by some ledges. I went over to where Mike was waiting behind a slot next to a large rock; this seemed like a marginally better environment. Eventually the set wound down and we paddled through the slot and rejoined the rest of the group. From there up to Off Rock where an entertaining narrow slot was now exposed by the tide and some nice swells were running through it. From there up to Ram Island as a gathering point for the whole group. It was quite sunny and pleasant by now. The group elected to run up the outside of Marblehead Neck and down the harbor for a final home run into Riverhead. This final run was really enjoyable and featured some big (but non-breaking) waves standing up on the shoals at low water just west of Tom Moore's Rock. Finally back to Riverhead just a bit after low water. I did not take any pictures but maybe someone else did...? Please post if you have them!

No matter what we do, it will be more time spent in distance/coastal paddling than surfing. In any case The surfing is optional and there will also be rock play opportunities. However... let’s not overlook the fact that long boats are also great for surfing! Just a different kind of ride... We will take everyone’s desires and comfort level into account at the start of the paddle so we can find a solution I’m sure. joe

Arrr... the trip be full.

This trip is almost full already—we can take one more person!

This week's Wednesday Lunch Paddle is on July 1, 2020. We will be meeting at Riverhead Beach in Marblehead MA: https://goo.gl/maps/p6cWChiSE88bCkrCA Covid-19 paddling: on this trip we will strictly observe social distancing and MA state recreational boating guidelines for the pandemic. Please research and respect all regulations that apply at the time of the paddle. There is a strict limit of 10 paddlers on the trip. You must register using the form link below to be sure that you're actually on the paddle. We will stay at least 6 feet apart, minimize sharing docks and ramps with others, and wear face masks while off the water in public use areas. We also employ an online waiver to avoid passing around a physical piece of paper. Registration: To attend, please register using this form which will also add your information to the float plan: https://forms.gle/kKnZQfM8Ji6yjfFU7 You must be a paid-up NSPN member to join this trip. Your signup information will only be shared with other participants. Predictions: As of today (Monday), prediction is for very light and variable winds, overcast with some clearing, air temp 65 - 75 F, water 65+ F. Seas 2-3 feet, mostly 9 sec. swell with diminishing wind waves from previous days. The first part of this week we have an almost stationary low pressure system parked over New England. This is causing the gray skies and passing T-storms. However it looks like this may finally begin to clear out on Wednesday morning, so thunderstorms should be less of a worry by then. If this prediction doesn't bear out we may cut the trip short. Tides (Salem Harbor). 2020/07/01 Wed 08:32 AM 9.13 H 2020/07/01 Wed 2:32 PM 0.06 L 2020/07/01 Wed 8:56 PM 10.57 H Possible Plans: 1) Do a surf launch from Devereux Beach and head south down the coast to Kings Beach or even Nahant for lunch and some surfing, then land at Devereux or 2) launch from Riverhead Beach and head around the Neck to some combination of Tinkers lunch and potential surfing off Devereux. Given the lack of wind, we could actually head in any direction we please, but our suggestion here was to enjoy what may turn out to be some ideal low-impact surfing conditions, great to practice and learn in. Plan 1 would be a 10-11 nm trip; Plan 2 is more in the 6-7 nm range. Of course we'll walk over to Devereux and actually observe what's happening there before we make any decisions! Please bring a helmet if you have one. When/what: We will meet at 10 and launch at 10.30 sharp. We'll have a beach briefing in some safe manner, make a plan together based on what people feel like doing. This trip doesn't have a specific level: we'll determine the route based on who shows up, what people want to do, and what the environment wants to do. All properly equipped members are welcome: please bring boats with rigged deck lines, bulkheads, spray skirts, and dress for immersion. If you're not sure you have a safe vessel, please get in touch with us and ask. NOTE: The Wednesday Lunch Paddles are cooperative adventures, not guided trips. Each participant is responsible for her/his own safety.Don’t assume the trip initiators are smarter, stronger, better at rough water, more attractive, or more skilled paddlers than you are. For more information, see this description of our trip philosophy from the NSPN web site. We encourage paddlers to make their own independent decision about their comfort level with conditions at the time of the paddle. Please PM me if you have questions or if you haven’t paddled with me or Bob before. Hope to see you there!