Daniel Carr

Excellent selection Gary here are my choices:

1. Hurricane Island 2. Cross Island? 3. Cutler VLF Radar Station, 4. ??  5. Crotch Island Spoil Piles 6. Eastport Maine, 7. Vinalhaven 8. Shipstern Island 9 Settlement Quarry 10?  11. Hurricane Island Again 12??  13?? 14??  15. Green Island. 16. Phippsberg near Malaga Island 17??  18 Cant see the picture

Totally awesome pictures Gary. Thanks for doing this. 

Fun trip Joe.  Thanks for the comic relief!  Who fears a little virus when facing 15 foot seas?

• Thanks for the reminder that the little bastards are back on the move
• How long does doxy keep?.  I have a supply that is over two years old.
• Here is a link to a company selling tick removal and identification kits.  The best setup I have seen https://mainelyticks.com/shop/

Joe

I am interested for sure but I dont know if the dates will work for me.  MITA just secured permission from the State to list two locations along the Bold Coast as campsites and day use.  I believe that they will allow for on the order of 6 people.  One of the locations is a sweet spot in Sand Cove that should be conducive to landing on a Sand Beach in all but the roughest conditions. The other location requires a landing on a steep cobble beach at the south end of the State of Maine Cutler Coastal Preserve Land.  The information on these campsites will be in the 2020 MITA Guidebook which should be ready sometime in June.  

Adding to the avalanche of bail outs, a conflict came up and I will be unable to attend.  Please someone take my spot. 

Kate, from my perspective the primary difference about the Ottowa River is huge flows.  The average flow is over 64,000 cubic feet per second and can be 120,000 cfs.  My recollection is that when I paddled the Ottawa with friends back in the late 1980s, the flow was about 25,000 cfs which was scary big and pushy.  

For comparison the average flow for the Kennebec River is on the order of 9,000 cfs.  Rafting dam releases on the Kennebec are on the order of 4,000 and 8.000 cfs.  

You see whirlpools like that on the Grand Canyon also.  We rafted the GC in Sept 2016 at about 10,000 cfs and witnessed a guy fall of a SUP board in a minor rapid and get sucked under twice by relatively small whirlpools.  

All that said, those testosterone laden whitewater boaters are intentionally sticking their small volume boats into the whirlpools and with a little forward momentum, they could probably blow through them.   The key is to keep paddling.

All.  

I may have mentioned a video shot on the Ottawa River in Canada of kayakers in whirlpools.   I paddled that river in the summer in the mid 1980s and experienced the big wave and whirlpool action, friends and their boats disappearing the reappearing 30 to 40 feet downstream with/without helmets and paddles.  Amazing and scary power of a real big river flow. The key is to keep some momentum up and keep padding through them.   Watch to the end of the film clip for a very long submersion.  Hold your nose to avoid testosterone poisoning if you have to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uZ903SrdBA

I am certainly interested, you and Mel are really fun to paddle with too.  

Very nice images and report.   Thanks for sharing it. 

As a Trustee of the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA), I am asking for your help with an ongoing strategic planning effort.  Please take the following ELECTRONIC SURVEY to tell us about your interests in boating on the Maine coast.  The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.  Five people who complete the survey by midnight on Tuesday April 30 will be randomly chosen to win one of FIVE $100 GIFT CERTIFICATES from L.L.Bean.  Thanks in advance for your input!  

Hello all,

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow for our presentation and discussion about the future of the Maine Island Trail. See below for the original invitation. 
 

If you would like to attend and haven't already, please RSVP via this

linkhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfE0VhVoPdiaAwzaWv6p36VFpWWyNnKD5J3NnWS58YIZulXjw/viewform 

There are just a few logistical items to cover:

Finding Newbury Kayak & Canoe: Located at 291 High Rd. (Rt 1A) in Newbury, on the Parker River, 4 to 5 miles south of the center of Newburyport.

Timing: Please feel free to arrive any time after 5:30 pm. The presentation will start at 6:00.

Parking: Please park in front of the shop or in the lower lot by the river - to the left of the shop through the yellow gate.

Food/drink: We'll have some finger food on hand but not enough to constitute dinner, plus complimentary beer, wine, and nonalcoholic options. 

Joe

Please put me on the wait list.  It seems I waited too long before responding. 

Dan

Thanks Dan

Newbury Kayak and Canoe is hosting Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) for an evening of discussion exploring MITA at 30 years and charting a course for the next five years through MITA's Strategic Planning.   Participants will be afforded an opportunity to provide guidance to MITA.  Come one come all, MITA membership is not necessary for admittance, just an open mind and a passion for paddling. 

WHEN: Thursday, April 4th, 5:30 to 7:30 pm

WHERE: Newbury Kayak & Canoe, 291 High Rd, Newbury, MA 01951

Please join us for a great evening and lite bites and refreshments. RSVPs are being accepted via the link below. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfE0VhVoPdiaAwzaWv6p36VFpWWyNnKD5J3NnWS58YIZulXjw/viewform

We hope to see you there. 

poster 2.0 (1).pdf

There are rolling sessions at the Biddeford Y starting this weekend and going for at least three weeks.   I am shooting to go on the 30th. 

I really like these ponies from Immersion Research.  They have some rigidity and therefore are easy to get hands in and out of.  They also are large enough that you can get NRS mitts in and out of them for really cold weather paddling. They also are not too expensive. 

https://nextadventure.net/immersion-research-microwave-handwarmers.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=1o1&scid=scplp066831&sc_intid=066831&gclid=CjwKCAjw96fkBRA2EiwAKZjFTVDw0s5iewHV6hGeuMFFhogB18ezutE6_0E0cclwQ3Tj82kmf-rokxoCrYAQAvD_BwE

Please note that the MITA Splash event is the night before the Jewell Island Trip.  Come up a the day before and attend the Splash Event and you will not be sorry you did. 

Here is a source of tide and current data that I ran across last year.  I have not used of ground truthed this source for Portsmouth Harbor but it has been reliable elsewhere. 

https://www.sailwx.info/tides/tidemap.phtml

Who is giving the talk?

Admittedly I have the radio on my life jacket if 1) I am with a group or 2) paddling solo that involves a long crossing and or 3) if there is a threat of fog or rough seas.  I put the radio in the mode to scan 9, 16, a station for local boat traffic/the station the group has selected. 

For what it is worth, I was in periodic contact with the H.W. Bush marine security team and occasionally HW and/or Barbara when paddling off of Cape Porpoise/Walkers point.  During the first gulf war there was surface to air missile batteries posted on Goat Island. I exchanged words and challenged HW to a boat race which he took in good humor.  I cant imagine having a similar exchange with the present occupant of the White House. 

Nick

Other campgrounds off the top of my head include:

Winslow Park in Freeport;

Sagadahoc Bay Campground in Georgetown- only on the upper half of the tide and this campground is located near the mouth of the Kennebec River with lots of exposure and currents

Gray Homestead Campground on Southport Island

Ames Island Campground in Muscongus Bay

Lobster Buoy Campground in the Muscle Ridge area near Rockland

Old Quarry Campground in Deer Isle

Hadley Point Campground and Mt Desert Campground on MDI

Mountainview Campground Gouldsboro

Jonesport Campground in Jonesport

Are you a MITA member?  The MITA Guidebook has information on all of these campgrounds. 

There are worse types of vandalism but I am not the perp.  Just saying...

I got the fever.  I will try to be there and can bring a hot dish