Deb Millar

Actually, Joel's shop was New England Small Craft. We still have pens and wiffle balls from there. Great place.

Actually, Carl Ladd is in Little Compton, RI, and he's still doing repairs. Carl put keel strips on Bob's Avocet, which is there now for skeg repair, and my previous NDK boats and my present Pilgrim LV. '

I have the older, heavier Kokatat drysuit, in black, as do a few of my friends and coaches. It's 13 years old, and going strong.

Watch New England Gear Swap, too. Disgusted.

Because I was getting wet inside my 12 year old Kokatat GMER, I sent it off for a dunk test, along with a request for new wrist gaskets. I was sorta kinda hoping that it'd delaminated as getting a new drysuit in a different color scheme would be fun. I paid, as I have before, for the dunk test and, potentially, the gasket replacements including the neck which, unbeknownst to me, was about to rip. The drysuit came back, new gaskets and all, with patches in all the presumably right places. Evidently, 2010 was a banner year for black, GMER drysuits as two friends and one coach, who bought their drysuits that year, have yet to have them delaminate. In honor of a prayer from the Iron Islands in "Game of Thrones", I use the phrase '"What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger."' when referring to my drysuit.

Oh, no. I had no idea, either. He's one of the best. Deb M ExplorerLV, followed by RomanyLV (Bluetooth), and PilgrimLV (Stormborne)

Exactly. The Polynesians crossed the Pacific in outrigger canoes. According to Tim Severin in "The Brendan Voyage", Irish monks crossed the North Atlantic to North America in curraghs, which are open canoe-type boats made from leather and wood. Other oceanic cultures had open canoes and traveled in the South Pacific. The playwright Eugene O'Neill regularly paddled a canoe out of Provincetown and then down along the coast.

I'm not a member and no captcha for me, either.

You've received some great advice here, which I hope will be helpful to you as you buy your kayak. I just want to add a few things. Boat fit is extremely important for the investment you'll be making. I speak from experience, 4 or 5 boats worth since I first started paddling. Like Goldilocks, I had to find the kayak that was just right for me, and not necessarily what everyone else was loving and paddling. I've gone from a Current Design Slipstream (too big and I was also too inexperienced to paddle it happily; I almost gave up kayaking because of the experiences I had with it.) to a Vela, which was one of the first boats made by P&H for a smaller person. I also was one of the few people, 17 years ago, to show up at events with it when the boats du jour were Nigel Dennis Explorers and Romany's. It wasn't until I tried an ExplorerLV, followed by a RomanyLV, that I found "the boat" for me. While no boat is perfect, NDK/SKUK (Nigel Dennis Kayaks/known now as Sea Kayak UK) kayaks work, both for fit, comfort, and building confidence. My husband paddles a Valley Avocet, no longer (sob) made; he also has a CetusLV which, sadly, spends most of its time on its rack in our basement. It fits him well, but he also isn't into long, overnight paddles. So, try as many boats as you possibly can. Paddle in flat water and in bumpy water that you're comfortable in. Because it may seem everyone else is paddling the same brand, it may not be, as I found out, the brand that makes you happy and allows you to grow as a paddler with lots of adventures to look forward to. Right now I paddle a Nigel Dennis PilgrimLV, which has been replace by NDK the Echo. My previous boat was an AvocetLV, which didn't work for me on a few levels, and before that my still-missed RomanyLV. And, not get something started here, these boats have skegs rather than rudders. The first (and only) time I paddled a ruddered kayak was on the first tour I went on.While it made sense for the outfitter to put his clients in ruddered boats, I found I preferred a keg. My words of advice (finally): Try before you buy.

Hi Nancy, My guess is that The Trustees of Reservations, who owns Great Misery, brought the goat(s) over to control the vegetation. They've done this in the past on Hog/Choate Island.

Ah, but look on the bright side, Prudence. It's TEMPORARY, and when the virus is beaten, or as beaten as it's going to be, normalcy will be restored.?

Here's a list, although it dates to 2005, of every beach and possible put in on the North Shore and Boston. https://www.mass.gov/service-details/massachusetts-coast-guide-to-boston-and-the-north-shore-print-version-from-2005 There seems to be some confusion about "Beaches being closed to non-residents". This is reflective of the Covid-19 epidemic; whether it will become permanent is another matter. The main issue seems to be where you can park your car legally after dropping your kayak and gear off. A beach sticker entitles the bearer to PARK their car for free, and gives them access to the beach. Non-sticker holders have to pay a fee to a park, as exemplified by Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester. Conomo Pt, until the shutdown in March, had parking in designated areas, but no one was prohibited from using the beach. Singing Beach and Pavilion in Ipswich now have resident only parking and access, although it's my understanding, that you can park and launch at Deveraux in Marblehead by paying a fee. Again, we're all in the same miserable boat about access to beloved launch sites being denied because of the virus. From what I'm reading, there's fear that the non-resident restrictions will be permanent and, if so, something has to be done. Unfortunately, beach access laws in Mass are confusing, somewhat archaic as they date from the 17th Century, and not always easily understood. A PRIVATE beach, such as you see in front of the big houses lining the shoreline in Manchester and Marblehead, has restricted down to the mean low tide line; technically you can't and shouldn't land there and have lunch or a bio-break any further than that if the beach is private.

Pintail, LOL, we know first hand about paddling too close to swimmers, although this was years ago,at WIngasheek, and the teenage lifeguard really got his baggies in a knot when he claimed we were endangering swimmers. Truthfully, our group was well away from those enjoying the water, but, hey, testosterone is your friend when you're 18 and there are ladies present. I think Bob meant that TRYING, let alone even THINKING about launching off Good Harbor during beach season is not allowed, although I've read here that it's been proposed for trips. In the past, during storms, we've had friends surf off of Wingasheek, but that was well in the off season. I've tried, in my naive, early surf kayak days, surfing at Good Harbor, along with a few others, but, again, this was well before beach season when we could, indeed, present a hazard to swimmers.

Beach access is set by the town or city. The beaches in those municipalities essentially belong to the citizens and not the state. Yes, Revere Beach and the beaches in South Boston are public; I think Horseneck in Westport is also a state beach,. However, this ownership means that the Commonwealth is responsible for their maintenance; if things got out of hand, the state could legally shut them down. Do I like not being able to paddle in Maine or, it seems, RI,? We love paddling in Maine and RI, and miss launching from Conomo or Pavilion in Ipswich so we can paddle over to Cranes or play in the chop off the end of Plum Island, too. Because of Covid, these possibilities are closed to all of us who kayak. Hopefully, things will open up again once the virus comes under control as the infection rates continue to drop. However, complaining to the Commonwealth or to the town or city most likely would not work, given that, as I've written, access is controlled by those town or cities and the beaches are not public. A little bit about Conomo Point. It's a small community, composed of year rounders and summer people, and with its own combination of widgets. Essex itself has defined itself as being two parts: northern Essex, which is closest to Hamilton, and southern Essex, which is closest to Gloucester, and, obviously, includes Conomo Pt. I have friends who grew up in this town and were from the northern part, who were told they couldn't swim at Conomo because they were "from the wrong part of the town and therefore had no right to be there." While this was many years ago, and was illegal in the sense that their parents paid taxes etc to the town, it does give one a sense of the mindset of the community.

Many of us remember when you could launch directly from Clammer's Beach, and park along the road across from it without penalty. It was an ideal situation for paddling in the marshes and heading over to Crane's Beach. Sadly, those days disappeared about 16 years ago, and being able to drop your boat, then park in the legal visitor area was a poor substitute but at least you could still launch. With all due respect, I think you might look at things from the taxpayers -- and Essex has one of the higher residential rates in the area -- POV. It's their town and their beach, and they would like to have first dibs on it rather than having to share space and parking with out-of-towners. While out-of-towners bring income into the town by dining in the restaurants and shopping in the antique stores, that money isn't viewed as a reason to grant non-residents town resident/taxpayer privileges. I've lived in seaside towns for most of my life and I fully understand the oft-times town vs visitor situation. As Gloucester residents, we can't buy a sticker for the season and thus park in Essex where we'd prefer. However, Essex residents, in fact any one from any town or city in MA can purchase a beach/parking sticker and therefore enjoy launching or going to the beach in Gloucester. Granted, the price is high; last I checked it was $150 vs $20 for residents, and $2 or $3 for seniors, good for two years. The fee provides revenue for the city, along with the, admittedly low, residential taxes we pay. I get your frustration, but please try and understand why Essex is what it is, and don't blame the residents or town meeting for what's happening with launching and parking. Trust me, I don't like not being able to launch from Clammers and have somewhat convenient parking, but I also find myself annoyed when my husband and I go down to Lanes' Cove or the Greasy Pole, and up not being able to paddle on an optimum day and on an optimum tidal cycle. Why? Because all the parking spaces near the launch are taken up by, presumably, non-residents, whether they're enjoying Pavilion Beach or paddlers wanting to explore the harbor or head down to Manchester.

Lots of Gray Seals off the Dry Salvages. Lots of bluefish and stripers, too, which are mere appetizers for The Landlord. The Landlords' territory extends as far north as the south coast of Newfoundland. There have been sightings of a Great White lunching on a seal off Quoddy Light/Campabello Island. As for identifying the species from "a miserable little piece of video": The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, as the article pointed out as did Prudence, knows what they're talking about. Dr. Greg Skomal, who works for the Commonwealth of Mass, is a recognized expert on GWS.

As David pointed out, closing down Conomo Pt at the beginning of the Pandemic was one way of preventing the virus from spreading. As for the parking situation: More than a few years ago, you could park at Clammer's Beach in Essex along the road closest to the put-in; it was convenient and gave you access to Ipswich Bay and Crane's Beach. This changed to the restricted parking area for visitors; you drop your boat and gear, drive your car back to the allowed area more than a few blocks away, and walk back to launch. On a hot, optimal tide day, parking is extremely difficult. Conomo Pt is not a "gated community". It has an odd history as far as real estate goes and that's irrelevant here, but restricting access in the past few months was for the Town's residents' safety. Gloucester is a small city, with a mayor and city council. Pavillion Beach by the Greasy Pole (competition closed this year, along with accompanying Festa) and Lane's Cove are, at least to us and we've lived here for 26 years, the prime launching areas. Parking at both can be difficult, but free, which can be annoying to residents who purchase a beach sticker to prove they live here, especially when the parking areas are full. However, both areas are open. I have no idea why our launch sites are open except that it may have something to do with the population size of the city vs the population density of Essex. The launching situation right now, and that includes traveling to NH, ME, and RI to paddle, is difficult, especially if you want to paddle close by. However, as things open up and, hopefully become "safer", kayaking on the North Shore and beyond, will, fingers crossed, become what it was before, although I have my doubts.

We don't kayak camp, but we do have and use a 4 person tent from LL Bean, which has gotten us through some heavy rain in Canada. Having been the coldest I've ever been while camping in ME in May, I took the advice of an extremely knowledgable coach, followed by receiving even more knowledge from an older Eagle Scout (Eagle Scouts are like Marines: they are one for life, and I'm married to an Eagle Scout:)) salesman at REI in Reading. It's as follows: Get a sleeping bag rated down to 4 degrees F or lower, designed for women. Mine is a Marmot and I've never been cold. In summer, when it is warm, I sleep with the zipper open or on top of it with a homemade fleece liner. Get a good, albeit expensive pad with an extra layer of lightweight fill. The one I use is from NEMO. It's extra long but it inflates with a foot pump. I'm 5'4"but the X-long fits my bag and I'm not falling off it and onto the cold, cold ground. I don''t know how well these will fit in your AvocetLV; I had one prior to my <16' PilgrimLV, whose hatches are small, but a warm bag and pad are key to comfort. PS: I'm not a fan of blow-up pads, for sanitary reasons, and I'd be especially leery now with the virus. The foot pumps are really so easy to use.

Actually, Greenhead season is almost over as the second spring tide in their cycle is wiping them out.

I believe in bow tie downs. My car doesn't have a place to attach so I got this from Thule. It is loop that you put under the hood of your car. You can attach a line from bow of boat to the loop. Works great! So do we. Both our cars have front and back places for big screw bolts with a giant eye that came with the cars for attaching the tie downs, but we use the same method as Prudence does. And, yes, it works great. It's also a lot cheaper to replace the loops than having to spend $$$ for replacement bolts.

I'm not an NSPN member, which is why you couldn't PM me through the message board. Here's my email gaeldotcridheatcomcastdotnet. Deb

I wear a medium/large and love my Sweet. Bob wears a L/XL. Osprey Sea Kayak sells Sweet Strutter. They're open on weekends now. Deb

Hi, Jonathan, I have the Reed Pullover Cag in blue and black, and it's great. Covers me down past my knees, has a hood with a stiffened visor, and a big, roomy (and comfy) fleece-lined pocket. The wrists can be tight, but I stretched them the same way I've stretched the wrists on my drysuit. In a pinch, it would work as a changing robe. It also packs up small enough to fit in a dry bag.The only reason I didn't have it at the Rendezvous was because I'd a forgotten it. I ordered mine from Sherri Perry and Turner Wilson's website: kayakways.com. They are Reed dealers. Deb

We just spent 5 days in our LL Bean 4 person tent, likely made by Eureka. We bought it on sale at the LLBean Outlet in Freeport. Great tent that most likely is 5 or 6 years old. You can stand up in it, it has loads of room for "stuff", it's easy to put up, but it doesn't have a vestibule. Our friend who shared the site with us had a Eureka with two entrances.