Did anyone have any memorable kayak trips over the Memorial weekend? I was on-call for my job so wasn't able to leave town. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
--- Dave Reynolds <davvycrock_at_yahoo.com> wrote: > Did anyone have any memorable kayak trips over the Memorial weekend? I was > on-call for my job so wasn't able to leave town. I did. All whitewater, but paddling adventures to be sure. http://www.texaskilonewton.com/kayak/memorialday05/index.html Geoff *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi Dave, Not memorable as in anyone else would care, but memorable in as much as it was the first paddle from the dock in out back yard. We just moved to Cape Coral, FL from Cincinnati and over the weekend was the first time we threw the boats in from the dock and had a paddle. Amaizing how different paddling down the "street" in the back of the house is from walking down the street in front. Easier to meet people from a kayak for some reason. Also saw some kind of snapper and a couple snook, maybe 22 inches or so. Ducks, anhinga, the usual for around here. It's not wilderness paddling by any stretch, but you can't get more convienent - grab the paddle and pfd from the lanai, walk 30 feet, slip the kayak in and go. Thanks for asking, I wouldn't have though it a milestone, but it is a first! Regards, Carey -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net]On Behalf Of Dave Reynolds Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 12:47 PM To: PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net Subject: [Paddlewise] Memorial Weekend paddle adventures Did anyone have any memorable kayak trips over the Memorial weekend? I was on-call for my job so wasn't able to leave town. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Paddlewisers, There was a beginner/SOT fatality at the Channel Islands in Southern California. Here's the link to the info: http://www.nps.gov/chis/press053105.htm Sad tragedy. Duane Southern California *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I have paddled out there about four years ago in one of the rental sots. The rental company made me sign my life away in their release and only asked about my skill level in passing. They supplied boat, paddle and pfd. I don't think there was a whistle. The water was very cold in a sot. The waves were not bad, being on the lee side, but there were occasional swells that caught me off guard. The dangers were not only the offshore wind but also the ingress into sea caves. It was easy to get stuck inside one (on a swell) and even easier to crash one's head on the roof of the cave. Common sense and experience kept my paddling under control but I saw a bunch of newbies who didn't know any better. There should be a better vetting process for new people renting and flyers available on potential dangers. Best Regards, Tony Reynes ............................................................................ ...................................................... Paddlewisers, There was a beginner/SOT fatality at the Channel Islands in Southern California. Here's the link to the info: http://www.nps.gov/chis/press053105.htm Sad tragedy. Duane Southern California *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Sad. I guided out at Santa Cruz for a while, it's an incredible place. Gorgeous and wild. I'm sort of suprized that things like this don't happen more often. It can get rough quickly out there, and without practice, getting back onto a sit on top in windy rough conditions can be tough. And you see plenty of people out there paddlign who are not dressed appropriately, with a clear lake of skill. I wonder if the kayakers were advised of the conditions, or questioned on their skill? Geoff *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> with a clear lake of skill. Of course, I meant lack of skill. I type much faster than my skill allows. Geoff *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Ha! That's one on me. I thought it was a paddling reference, as in having a clear lake ahead of you - no other people etc. to be seen. Or in this case, no skill to be seen either. I guess it was a Freudian slip then. Wanting to be paddling on a lake, were we? Tell me now, when did you first notice these longings for clear open stretches of water? C > with a clear lake of skill. Of course, I meant lack of skill. I type much faster than my skill allows. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
OK, let's see what we have here - a group of tourists renting boats to go paddling for their first time, and going on their own, to our Channel Islands. Heck, you might as well give a loaded handgun to a group of school kids to play with. I'd like to know who rented these people the boats, and if they realized that the boats were going to the Channel Islands. Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I used to walk my boat to the intra-coastal from my garage in Delray Beach. >From there into the Atlantic. Really convenient! I've seen bull sharks, manatees, tarpon, turtles, etc. Try paddling with the gators. Puts an edge on your edging! Cya Bob Formerly Delray Beach, but now Santa Cruz (as of Friday) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
A friend and I enjoyed a great mid-week trip to the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior right before Memorial Day. Managed to miss the crowds that generally come with the holiday in this area. Plus we avoided the bad weather that we had in these parts. Saw a total of three fishing boats over three days. Had nice views of many great gray owls. Here are some pictures and a brief trip report: http://www.patrickmaun.org/apostles.html -Patrick *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Paddled all 4 days of the weekend myself. Friday, I poked around the lake near my house & got in some roll practice. Saturday, a group of us paddled from Groton, CT to Fishers Island, NY & back. Sunday, I went canoeing on a local river. Monday was the big paddle --- back to Groton to circumnavigate Fishers Island. It's a 15.7 nautical mile paddle that includes paddling through a major tidal race. Myself, my girlfriend Judith, and our friend John were the only ones who showed, so we were it. I had timed the paddle such that we would arrive at the race a half hour before slack & be able to ride the current out for a bit before it started running in. By the time we would get to the east end of the island, the tide would be at our backs the rest of the way back to the launch. Fishers Island Sound has substantial currents, reefs, and overfalls, so it would be a fun day. Which brings me to the accuracy of weather forecasting...........how is it with all this "cutting edge technology", that the various weather services seem to be getting worse at predicting the weather? The marine forecast called for west winds 5 - 10 knots with seas 2 feet or less, turning onshore locally in the afternoon. What we got was southwest 12 - 15 knots with frequent higher gusts. So, we got to the race right at slack, rather than before it. We pulled out on the beach on the south side of Race Point, and had lunch. We continued on down the 6 mile length of the island on the ocean side, and hugged the shore to take advantage of the eddy currents. We had nearly flat seas when we were not in an overfall or near a headland, and the wind was now at our backs. We made decent time to the east end of the island, and ran the overfall back into the sound. We stopped for a break just inside, and figured out a landmark to use to hold our ferry angle back to the launch. We had the current at our backs, and the wind in our face, and with the right ferry angle, we'd hit Ram Island, just offshore of Mystic, CT with no effort. We settled on an antenna tower as a visual range, and set out. We ferried right to Ram Island, and back into Groton in very good time considering the headwind. We stopped right off the launch and did a bunch of rolls to cool off, and then headed in. It was a good early season long paddle. Wayne Wayne Smith wsmith16_at_charter.net Check out my website! http://webpages.charter.net/wsmith16/home.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I got exhausted reading your report. John MacKechnie *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
"John MacKechnie" <bigmac1_at_enter.net> wrote: >I got exhausted reading your report, [Wayne]. Me, too. Perhaps that is the way of Memorial Day trips. Below my sig is a summary of our day of kayaking ... errr ... boat dragging. This was supposed to be an easy trip. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR. -- Skamokawa to Knappton, Lower Columbia River, Oregon/Washington May 30 It was my idea, so I guess I get the blame. My story is that it was Randy's fault. He made me do it. Randy and Beth hooked up with Jan and me at Skamokawa's Vista Park Sunday morning as they traveled downriver from Tenasillahee, where they had spent the night, engaging in serious gluttony. I had nothing to do with that. My error came later. Very peaceful, wonderful glassy water, two-three knots of ebb hustling us along, relaxed chatter back and forth, and six knots of speed made good. Only fifteen nautical miles to Knappton -- this will be a snap! Four hours max. Little did we know it would take about twice that. Randy was enamored of the gardens growing atop piles, so we paused now and then for shots, jabbered of the heyday of Brookfield, and dodged around the burbles off Jim Crow Point, to be swacked in the eyes with **Jim Crow Tent City**. Yeegods! Must have been fifteen big tents. End of the quiet times there! Further down, a marker on the end of the downriver piledike on Jim Crow Sands stands anointed with a relic from Marlboro days. Some gillnetter joke, we suspect. Then the error of our ways began. Randy: Wonder if we can go through the lagoon on Miller Sands? Dave: Sure! Lots of water, we can do that. Jan: I don't know -- remember all the trouble we had even getting into it last time? Dave: Yeah, but we have at least a foot more water. We committed, running the gauntlet leading into the lagoon ... and sure enough, ran totally out of water 300 yards down. Our main consolation was a trio of guys wandering the flats near their Alumaweld, stranded for the next three hours for sure, over near the north side of the lagoon. They would not make eye contact. The wind came up. We slowed down. We ate. We crossed the shipping channel over to the downriver end of Rice Island -- kinda choppy, but not bad -- turning towards Frankfort, a couple easy miles away. Oops! More shallow water. Aaaagh!! Pretty soon we are all dragging our boats again, over ground we'd have floated ... if we had not been delayed in the lagoon. A mile of walking and two more stranded boats later, we eased into the chop, where the west wind and remnant ebb combined for some nasty short-period stuff that soon had me soaked, and working hard to stay upright. Thirty - forty minutes of that and I slid onto the cobbles at Frankfort. Hop out, look around for the others ... where are they? Oh, there they are, leetle specks on the water. Twenty minutes later, we are all "ashore" on the mud flats, grousing about our fate and powerchomping to refuel while donning more insulation. Rounding Grays Point half an hour later, we hit the wind full in the face, dodging small seas, lagging to just a knot and a half, as the flood began, running a knot or so against us. An hour and a half later, we hit the rocks at Knappton, whupped and wet. I told Randy it was too shallow to do the lagoon. Would he listen? Nooooo! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Did anyone have any memorable kayak trips over the Memorial weekend? I was > on-call for my job so wasn't able to leave town. Um, yeah! Seven us were on the last two days of a 10-day expedition up the east shore of Lake Malawi (or Lago Niassa if you're from Mocambique) in southern Africa. We put in at Cape Maclear near the southern end of the lake, made a 35 kilometre crossing to Cape Ngemba in 3-5 foot swells but were pushed along by the same southerly wind that was causing all the upheaval. We free camped on a spit of land on the eastern shore and therefater hopped up the lake, camping on beaches and in tiny pebbled coves. On the third day, we crossed into Mocambique where the coastline becomes much more rugged -forested mountains, thick with miombo (brachystegia) forest and baobab trees, falling into the lake. Apart from migrant fishermen (whose craft are for the most part dugout canoes carved from Mozambican teak logs) there are few people on this coast. Settlements are paltry and far between, and for five days we did not hear an engine, nor see any cars, roads, TV aerials, aircraft. No barking dogs, no traffic, no cellphones ... Bliss for the city-averse. We averaged 25 kilometres most days, in conditions ranging from mild (it's *winter* in this part of the world) to, erm, exciting. While waiting for inept officials to stamp us into Mocambique at a skanky immigration office in the lakeshore village of Metangula, a Mweru (the name for the southerly wind) blew up and turned the lake into a raging sea. Staying in Met was not an option - nosy officials and, for once, too many people eying our kit - so we paddled off into the bay. Our camping option that night - a south-facing beach - was being pounded by huge waves so we tracked around the point in 10-foot seas. That was a big trek, but once round the point we blown downhill at a rapid rate, eventually seeking shelter in notch of a bay. Apart from a small resupply from friends at Metangula, we were entirely self-supported. Thanks to the outstanding planning of a gourmet camp chef, we ate exceedingly well (try fillet of beef and potatoes and fresh vegetables on day 5 - oh, the miracles of blast freezing). Sometimes we bought fish on the way, but the winds had blown out most of the fishing so fresh fish was scarce. Water came unboiled and unfiltered straight out of the lake. With ample driftwood on the beaches, all cooking was done on open fires, obviating the need to lug stoves and fuel On day 10, we stamped out of Moz at Cobue and paddled across to Likoma Island, which despite being just 6km off the Moz coast, is actually an enclave of Malawi, and finished the paddle there, 230km from Cape Maclear. Three of the party took the kayaks back to Cape Maclear on the Ilala, a 1950s ferry that is the lake's only international public transport; the rest of us hopped into a ageing Piper Aztec and flew back to the capital to catch our flights home. Very weird to undo the previous 10 days paddling with a one-hour flight, but that's progress for you. Highly recommend the trip. It's like paddling into a anthropological experiment. Cheers Paul *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Dave Reynolds wrote: > Did anyone have any memorable kayak trips over the Memorial weekend? Not epic, but a nice day on the water... On Saturday we decided to paddle out to Bull Island in Cape Romain National Wildlife Sanctuary. Weather was fine for the trip. On the advice of Chris at Coastal Expeditions, we opted for the northern route from Garris landing: across the ICW, through the marsh out to the mouth of Anderson Creek, then a 2 mile crossing across Bull Bay to Northeast Point on Bull. Nice crossing, just a little bit of a breeze from the south that I could keep straight in without any problems, although Belita had to work hard to overcome the weathercocking of her Sparrow Hawk. This surprised me, because I have paddled that boat in some stiff winds and not weathercocked at all. Maybe the weight difference. We arrived at the point about 1:30 and set off walking around the point and down the ocean side of the island. Like Capers, Bull is moving inland, and dropping a maritime forest into the sea. The boneyard is much narrower than Capers Island, the next one south, but quite dense in places. Chris had warned us that the north end of the island was "buggy," and we noticed that if we walked near the dune line, we were frequently buzzed by something, but no big deal. Yet. After a while we reached the place where the north road interescts the beach, and stopped for lunch. From up on the road we could see the interior of the island, which up there is mostly pond and marsh. No alligators in sight, which disappointed me, as they are plentiful on the south end of the island and a naturalist had told me that the big ones--like 14 feet and over--lived on the north end. While gazing over the scenery, I happened to look down and see a shiny, streamlined, triangular fly on the back of my hand. As I brushed him off, blood flew everywhere. I realized that he was some sort of sucking beast with anaesthetic and anticoagulant in his saliva, since I hadn't felt the bite at all. Must be time to get along up the road. We decided to follow the road parallel to the beach rather than re-tracing out steps. It was quite scenic, but the flies got denser and denser, and toward the end we were racing along, swatting each other to keep from being bitten through out shirts. Meg and I had head nets, which helped some. The 31% DEET on my hands, in contrast, didn't do diddly. Arriving back on the beach still mostly perfused, we headed back with a freshening southerly breeze. Belita still struggled, and Meg got a little concerned. I tried to clip onto Belita's bow with my short tow line, but ended up with it jammed into my rudder, so I dropped it and we just went on. The seas were a little over a foot, and occassionally one broke onto your shoulder, so you had to react a little. When we arrived at the marsh on the other side, we found ourselves about 1/2 a mile north of where we needed to be, due to drift from the wind, and had to claw our way back south into it. Belita was pretty knackered, so I clipping in with my long towline and towed her back down to the shelter of Anderson Creek. By that time I was a little knackered myself. It was a pretty calm paddle then back to the landing, at least until we got to the last 100 yards. We had just passed a bald eagle sitting on a ruined dock. Meg was about 50 yards ahead of me, paddling through very shallow water, and suddenly started to shriek and flail her arms about. "What is it?!" I cried, but she was too agitated to find the words. She quieted down, then shrieked again, then again as she drove her boat onto the shore and jumped out. I was afraid that she had gotten into a jellyfish or something spiny, but then she yelled "It's a fish! In my PFD! Come get it out! And NO LAUGHING!" Yeah, right, no laughing. Especially when a 4 inch mullet came flying out of the top of her PDF and landed in the water, stunned. It had jumped into her PDF at the neck, jumped up and hit her in the face, and fallen back in the PDF. A little excitement to close out a pleasant day on the water. Steve Cramer Athens, GA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
OK, I can't top Steve's fish in the PFD post but... I need some off-topic, non-paddling-related advice from some folks with experience working with epoxies and wooden boats. If anyone wouldn't mind answering a few questions via email, please reply to me back channel. Thanks in advance, Keith *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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