Jim Snyder

I think the way one equips themselves should be proportional to the level of risk they want to take on the water. Dressing for immersion should be the minimum. However it does create a problem on a trip when someone isn't at least minimally prepared. Rather than giving "the stinkeye" I hope we help them determine what level of equipment is appropriate for the kind of kayaking they want to do. Obviously if you never planned paddling beyond level 1 conditions this could be pretty minimal and you could still have a great time.

I'm clear all but the 10th.

Let's get a sign up going...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9o-nBtiufQ https://kayakguru.com/sharks-attack-kayaks/ "If Florida was a country, it would also have more shark attacks by far than any other country in the world."

If you want to try carving your own I have a straight grained spruce blank leftover from when I was carving paddles. You can have it.

My light has failed and needs to be replaced. Anyone found one they really like? Do the water activated ones just come on all the time?

I just bought a set of Hullavators for next to nothing. One needs the spring replaced. I've sourced the replacements and am pretty confident in my ability to make the repair but if anyone here has experience I would like to hear about it.

Reluctantly wading in to this. Adam, we haven't met yet but I want to say I appreciate how much thought and planning you're putting into trips to try to make them fun and interesting. While I don't disagree with Mike, let me try to be more positive. In hundreds of trips over eight years, I can only recall two that I've been on where a tow was necessary. Incidentally neither was in particularly challenging conditions. A lot more common are situations where either a member got in beyond their comfort level on a trip or changing conditions required some or all participants to change course for comfort and safety. While I'm not sure it's written policy anywhere, good incident management would never send one paddler back who was uncomfortable with conditions. While a large group can sometimes split into pods, sometimes the only solution is to change course to accommodate one paddler.

Thinking about my comments on the HX 210, a thing it doesn't do that I like on my HX 870 is dual channel monitoring which allows me to keep an open pleasure channel for the group but also monitor 16.

Today's threats to our national security come as the possibility of nuclear warfare or via the internet. But for most of our history we looked to the sea for those who wished to harm us. On Tuesday we visited some of the sites that were part of our national defense through centuries of conflict. An excellent history of some of these sites can be found here: https://www.newcastlenhhistoricalsociety.org/forts-timeline.html Dave Mercer, Prudence Baxter, Karen Gladstone, Jim Doscher, Sue Hriciga, Richard Blais and I gathered at Fort Stark in the shadow of the huge Battery Kirk, which was built to resemble a naval battleship painted in camouflage during WW2. We had expected some morning fog but it was clear and sunny as we launched from the beach. There was a little bit of light rock play on the reefs outside the Fort but the ocean was too calm for much excitement. We proceeded up the coast of New Castle and landed for a short exploration at the little pocket beach at Fort Constitution. This site is a state park as well but has been closed for repairs since winter storms. There is a nice public bathroom accessible there though. We then headed across the river to Fort Foster for lunch. As we approached the fog approached us from the open ocean. Realizing a river crossing in the fog was likely to be part of our return we planned during lunch for the safest route to get back. We decided to stay on the Maine side of the river through Pepperell Cove up to Clarks Island for the shortest crossing that didn't involve getting too close to Seavey. The fog had dissipated significantly and we could see across to New Castle but to be on the safe side David broadcast a "securite" to announce our intent to cross the channel at Clarks. From there we entered the channel under the bridge at Goat Island for a leisurely, slightly foggy return to Little Harbor. Thanks to a great group and to Richard and Prudence for pictures.

I'm pretty sure that's the model I've used with the Seacoast Science Center. If you're not looking for a lot of bells and whistles it seems like a simple reliable choice.

We toured the lighthouse last year. I made arrangements in advance.

There is a group message with details for this trip. Check your inbox if you're planning to join.

Here you go: Fort Stark is on Jaffrey Point, Fort Constitution is at the northeast point on New Castle, Fort Foster is across the river on Gerrish.

Thanks for all the interest, I'll start a group message tomorrow.