2010 Columbus Day Paddle

Paddling south across Jamaica Bay

There is no better way for a kayaker to observe and celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas then by exploring a nearby body of water. So yesterday, on the legal Columbus Day holiday, several kayakers from the Sebago Canoe Club  in Brooklyn, NY, paddled across Jamaica Bay and back again.

Seven other paddlers (Vicki, Lynn, Tony, Anthony, Walter, Dottie, and John W.) and I set off from the Sebago Dock around 11:30 AM, headed for Far Rockaway. No Kings or Queens commissioned our journey, nor was there great fanfare as we departed. The sky was blue, however, the water calm, the wind minimal, and the air temperature in the mid 70’s. Columbus himself could not have asked for a better day to be on the water.

As we were paddling out of Paerdegat Basin into Jamaica Bay, we met up with Chris, on his way back from a solo paddle. He decided to join us as we paddled into the Bay and crossed the channel to Canarsie Pol. Crossing the channel, Tony paddled point and John W. paddled sweep. By the time we reached the Pol, however, Lynn was having second thoughts about her ability to complete the paddle, and decided to return to the clubhouse, accompanied by Chris. Meanwhile, Gary and Rochell, paddling in a tandem, joined us.

Beaching on Ruffle Bar

An hour after we started paddling, with one paddler having pulled out and two other paddlers in the tandem having joined us, we beached on Ruffle Bar to stretch our legs, take some group photos, undertake a little below the high tide line exploring, and coordinate our crossing of the next channel.

After leaving Ruffle Bar, Tony ably led across the channel to Far Rockaway and John W. brought up the rear, even though we were tightly grouped for the channel crossing. John W. and I tied up at the dock at the Warf around 1:30 PM while the other six boats, their paddlers not wanting to have to climb up the high dock, decided to paddle to a nearby beach and walk to the restaurant.

At our destination, we discovered no silver or gold, but we did find good food. I enjoyed a fish taco, onion rings, water and a cold Corona with Lime. As we ate outside on the deck, we celebrated not only the good food but also good company and conversation as well as a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline off in the distance to the north. Another one of our members, Rockaway Vivian, surprised us by walking up to our table. Even though she had not paddled to the restaurant, we let her sit at our table.


Group Shot on Ruffle Bar. Photo by Gary.

As we were preparing to leave, Gary grabbed the check and paid for our lunches with each of us leaving our own tip. An hour and a half after arriving at our destination and after having refueled, we returned to our kayaks and headed back to Sebago.

Rather than stopping on Ruffle Bar during our return trip we simply paused for a floating break, thinking that we might beach on Canarsie Pol later in the return trip. Before we reached the Pol, however, the Weather Alert feature of my VHF radio kicked in, alerting me to a severe storm warning. Even though the sky did not look threatening, we took the warning seriously and decided not to beach on Canarsie Pol but to rather take breaks on the water.

A little over five hours after departing, we arrived back at the dock. We returned with the same number of kayaks we started with, eight, but with nine paddlers rather than eight, and only seven of us having been among the original group. We brought back no spices or precious metals but many precious memories and a zest for life. We claimed no land for distant monarchs but once again claimed our right to paddle and enjoy the largest open expanse in all of New York’s five boroughs.



Enjoying lunch at The Wharf

After washing and stowing gear, we retired to one of the picnic tables on the Club grounds overlooking Pardegat Basin.  with wine, munchies, and frozen cake we celebrated a fine day on the water, as the sun slowly apprached the western horizon. I wish I could have stayed longer to enjoy the company but the bunp and grind or real life responsibiulities beckoned.

The paddle from Sebago to Far Rockaway, which included a beaching on Ruffle Bar, was a 4.8 mile paddle. The return trip, with no beaching, was a 4.7 mile paddle. According to my GPS, in spite of what seemed like a leisurely and laid back but steady paddle, we were at times paddling at a 3-4 mile pace. With little wind to contend with, our pace, in retrospect, makes sense, and also accounts for the fact that both legs took about the same time factoring in the one beaching.

Prepairing for the final channel crossing

This was my second Columbus Day Paddle. Last Year’s paddle was my first. While I was not originally going to be the trip leader for this year’s Columbus Day Paddle, when Phil, the original trip leader had to bow out because of work obligations, I volunteered to lead. While I have assisted on several other Sebago trips, this was the first trip for which I was the designated trip leader. I was glad to have along as Assistant Trip Leaders Tony and John W. and to be leading a trip of experienced and competent kayakers, all of whom, with the exception of Rochelle, I had paddled with before. I was also glad to be paddling one of my favorite club boats, the blue Necky Chatham 17. With hardly any wind and mild tides, however, I never once used its skeg.

During the paddle back, as I in the blue plastic Necky Chatham 17 club boat was paddling next to Anthony in his yellow fiberglass Necky Chatham 17, I asked him if he knew what two Chatham 17s do when they meet. He did not know that the answer was “They neck”.

Barnegat Bay Paddle

Barnegat Lighthouse as seen from the southern end
of Island Beach State Park

Recently I was one of thirteen kayakers from the New York City metro area to paddle in New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay. Seven paddlers in seven boats were from the Sebago Canoe Club, based in Brooklyn, and six paddlers in four boats were from the Long Island City Community Boathouse, based in Queens.

The Long Island City paddlers were first to arrive at the Island Beach State Park kayak and canoe launch site and some of them were already in the water when my wife and I arrived. She and I had spent the night before with a friend on Long Beach Island and had driven an hour from the south to arrive at the site. The other five from Sebago, delayed due to 9/11 observance traffic and rerouting, arrived about an hour later than the 10:00 AM estimated arrival time.

The first challenge of our trip was route finding, which tested us before we ever unloaded our boats. I drove past the road to the launch site twice before we ventured down it on our third pass. With absolutely no signage and nothing but a dogleg hard right onto a sandy road on the bay side to suggest that the road was in fact the way to the put-in, we were not the only paddlers to miss the turn. After we unloaded our boats, I decided to drive back out to the road head to direct others yet to arrive to the put in.

We were all on the water by 11:20 AM. We paddled south out along the western side of the Sedge Islands to near the western end of Barnegat Inlet. With powerboats of all shapes and sizes zipping through the Barnegat Inlet channel as they were making their way between Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, the channel crossing from north to south was one of the most challenging I have ever undertaken. Not only did we have to keep a careful watch out for boat traffic, we also had to contend with some large wakes from passing traffic. At one point it seemed a large power boat, running just north of the channel, was determined to run us down and passed by within only twenty or thirty yards.

Once across the channel we hugged the shoreline at High Bar until we beached on some sea grass, around 1:45 PM, within an easy walk of the Barnegat Light House. Walking toward the lighthouse, we made a beverage stop and those who did not bring lunch made a deli stop before we settled in at some picnic tables near the channel. After lunch, most of us walked to the lighthouse but not all who walked there climbed the 217 steps.

The view from the top outside platform of the Barnegat Light House was spectacular. The setting offered a commanding view of the southern end of Island Beach State Park, including where we had paddled from and what we hoped would be our return route. One could clearly the entire Barnegat Channel, including the rippling ebb current flowing out through it. The inhabited northern end of Long Beach Island offered a stark contrast to the uninhabited southern end of Island Beach State Park and one could see through the haze the outline of the larger casinos and hotels of Atlantic City, 50 miles to the south.


After a late lunch and playing tourist, we walked back to our kayaks, slipped into our cockpits, and around 3:50 PM started paddling back north. Crossing the channel from south to north was not nearly as hazardous as the earlier north to south crossing as it appeared most of the power boat traffic was now from Ocean to Bay rather than both ways, and not nearly as busy.

We discovered a breach in the Army Corps of Engineers Dike at the southern end of Island Beach that allowed us paddling access to to the Little Bay Trail without having to portage. As we paddled through the islands and salt marshes, however, some of us would occasionally encounter water so shallow that we had to exit our kayaks and drag them into deeper water until we could again paddle.

Beaching at the Area 15 launch Site
at the end of the day and trip

With the sun appearing ever closer to the western horizon, we debated whether to take out at the southern Area 21 access and hitch a ride to the cars at the northern access and to drive them south. We decided to keep paddling and easily made the northern access well before sunset, around 6:45 PM.

According to my GPS we paddled 9.5miles, 5 miles north to south and 4.5 miles south to north.  One of the other Sebago paddlers on the trip, Ed, also had a GPS and logged a little over 10 miles.  I can not explain the discrepency.  Ed posted his GPS data, including a map of our paddle, on the Garmin site.

This was my second Sebago trip involving a lighthouse, the first being over a year ago when we paddled from Long Island’s Captree State Park to Fire Island and walked to the Fire Island Light House after beaching. Because we arrived too late that day to climb to the top of the Fire Island Light House, the Barnegat Light House is the first lighthouse I climbed while on a Sebago trip, and only the second lighthouse I have ever climbed, the other being the Montauk lighthouse.

On this Barnegat Bay trip, I was able to paddle one of my favorite club boats, a blue Necky Chatham 17, only occasionally using the skeg. I was not disappointed with the boat.

The Last Paddle of Summer

I know the fall equinox does not occur until September 21, but for many people, Labor Day marks the official end of summer. In which case, the Sebago Canoe Club’s Labor Day Paddle to Gerritsen Creek and back was the last paddle of summer. What a paddle it was. Here is how Phil, the trip leader, announced it.

Mon, September 6, 12pm – 6pm

Where: Sebago Canoe Club Clubhouse Brooklyn, NY
Description: Gerritsen Beach Au Naturel. Intermediate level 2 minimum PLUS kayak rescue + safety.

The ability to do a wet exit, must do group rescues and boat handling skills plus you have paddled on minimum10 mile trips. Low tide is 12:45 and High Tide is 7:00pm so we will get an assist on the way back

The trip is appox 6 hours. Gerritsen Greek has been home both to a bayside community of fishermen and dumping grounds for old boats. Now cleaned up and revitalized, its scenery is stunning and includes a new interpretive nature center. But don’t worry, it’s not sanitized, you can still take in a few hulks of rusting wrecks while gazing at egrets.

Twenty of us assembled for the paddle and were on the water shortly after noon. The sky was blue with just a few billowy clouds. Both the air and the water were warm. There was a slight breeze. The tide was going out, which was in our favor. In other words, it was a nearly perfect day to paddle.

I paddled, for my first time, one of three demo Necky Elaho’s recently purchased by the club. The particular Elhao I paddled was red, poly roto-molded, with a skeg rather than a rudder. I did not use the skeg as the boat tended to track well. I like the feel of Necky’s and this boat could easily become my second favorite, close behind the Chatham.

According to my GPS, we paddled 13.8 miles round trip, but I and two other paddlers detoured into a salt marsh on the way home, which may have added an extra half-mile or so to my total paddle.

About a mile into the paddle one of our group decided the wind was too much and headed back to the dock, reducing our number to nineteen.

The most demanding part of our trip was just after the Marine Parkway Bridge when we turned north into Dead Horse Bay. The wind, tide and shallows combined to produce a nice chop. Since the day and the water were warm I paddled into the midst of the chop, eventfully paddled on my starboard when I should have braced on my port, and over I went. Roger offered to rescue me but we opted to head toward shallower water where I could stand in water a little higher than waste deep and with a nice hop up and across the deck of my boat and grabbing onto Roger’s boat I quickly reentered my cockpit and was paddling once again.

Once at Gerritsen we beached around 2:45 PM and enjoyed whatever lunch we brought or others shared. The water was so thick with power boaters and jet skiers that we opted not to paddle around the island in the middle of the Creek. To make matters worse, ATVs and dirt bikes were on the beach and one ATV even cut across our beaching site, coming within inches of some of us, as he crossed from one side of the beach to the other side.

About half an hour later, we headed back toward Sebago. While the wind and chop made re-crossing Dead Horse Bay a bit tricky, once we were out of the Bay we generally had the wind at our back and were paddling on a flood tide for a nice assist.

Because I chose to detour into a salt march on the way back, I was one of the last paddlers to reach the Sebago Dock, almost exactly at 6:00 P.M. By the time I reached the dock, my water was almost gone. My arm and shoulder muscles were sore and my legs were stiff. While this was not my longest paddle, nor was it the first time I had paddled to Gerritsen Beach and back, tt was only my second paddle to Gerristsen, my third longest paddle ever, and my longest paddle in over a year. At the end of the day and trip, however, I was humbled when one of our oldest members, 85 year Betty, Sebago PGD #1, paddled up to the dock. I hope to be paddling at her level of skill and competence thirty years from now.

While this Labor Day paddle was a great one, I experienced a little sadness as we were washing and stowing gear in the setting sun because I realized that Sebago’s summer paddling season had officially ended. While there will certainly be some fall paddles before dry suit conditions set in, there is something special about Summer paddles, with their warm air and water temperatures, and late evenings.

I have posted photos from the trip on my Picasa site.

Paddling the East River

Vicki paddling into the sunsett and under the bridge

I have lived in New York City for three years and since moving here have kayaked in Jamaica Bay and in the Great South Bay of Long Island. I have kayaked and sailed in the Hudson River. It was not until this past Saturday, however, that I paddled in the East River.

Thanks to an invitation from the Long Island City Community Boat House (LICCB), several members of the Sebago Canoe Club were treated to a late afternoon-early evening paddle on the East River. Most of us paddled tandem sit-on-tops. My wife and have been paddling our own sit-on-tops for over nine years but this trip was the first time we have ever paddled together in a tandem, an Ocean Kayak Malibu Two XL. Our paddling seemed well coordinated and our marriage survived.

We put in around 4:45 PM at the LICCB floating dock across the river from the United Nations. Paddling south with the ebb tide, we passed under the Williamsburg Bridge and Manhattan Bridge until we beached near the Brooklyn Bridge, where a wedding was in progress in the public park. We treated wedding guests to the sight of over a two dozen kayakers beaching their boats on the rocks not far from the ceremony, but neither the Bride or Groom, or any of the wedding party and guests, seemed phased.

After beaching, we spread out during a break while waiting for the flood tide. While waiting, my wife and I joined a few other Sebago paddlers to explore a nearby bookstore and pizzeria.

The flood tide started flowing at about the same time the sun appeared to set below the Manhattan skyline. With deck lights now adoring our kayaks, as New York State boating regulations require, we paddled with the flood tide up the east River, from whence we came. Near the end of our paddle, some of us let out an Allan Ginsbergesque howl, as the nearly full but now waxing moon appeared above the Eastern cityscape.

Back at the Boat House, with kayaks and gear stowed, we retired three flights up to the roof top for refreshments and a mixer between the two clubs, all under the rising moon and with the vibrant lights of upper Manhattan clearly in view across the river to the west. Cheese, crackers, chips, dips, beer and wine were in abundance.

One of the things I appreciated most about this trip was the generosity and hospitality of the LICCB, which allowed my wife and me to pack light and take the subway to the trip. We did not take, as we usually do, our own PFDs and paddles with us. Nor did we have to drive to the Sebago Club House, load boats on our car, drive to the destination, only to drive back to Sebago after the trip, unload, rinse boats and gear, and then drive back home.

According to my GPS, our trip covered about 9.5 miles, but I think a mile of that included our walking around where we beached, so the actual distance we paddled on the East River was probably closer to 8.5 miles. Here is a link to my picasa site where I posted a few photos from the trip. Tina Lee also shot some pics and here is a link to her picasa site.

Another Youth Paddle . . . Or Two

Volunteers gathered at the Sebago Canoe Club, located along Paerdegat Basin in Brooklyn, NY, were expecting not one, but two groups of youth to paddle last Friday. Once again, I was there to help. The previous scheduled youth paddle never happened because the youth and their adult leaders never showed up. This time was different.

Exactly on time at 10:00 AM, the youth and adult leaders from the 77th Precinct arrived. Sized and outfitted with PFDs and paddles, and briefly instructed by Gerry on how to paddle, they were in the water by 10:45. Eight youth paddled Ocean Kayak Prowler 13’s. One youth and one adult leader paddled Necky Zoar Sport LV’s. These ten boats were accompanied by fourteen volunteers in thirteen boats, better than a one-to-one adult leader to youth and Sebago volunteer to participant ratio! Thirteen volunteers paddled kayaks, with Lisa and Gary in a tandem. Andy paddled a canoe.

As soon as the youth were on the water they dispersed in all directions until we provided a little more paddling instruction and the youth got the hang of it. Eventually, in spite of a strong wind blowing us toward the northern terminus of the basin, we generally paddled together toward the end, then turn ed around and paddle toward the basin’s opening into Jamaica Bay. We made it only as far as just past the commercial docks, however, before the clock forced us to head back to the Sebago Dock.

While we were on the water another group of youth and their adult leaders, from the 88th Precinct, had arrived. Rebecca kept them busy with water quality testing activities until we returned with the 77th precinct. She planned to do the same with the youth of the 77th Precinct while we took the 88th out for a paddle.

Once back at the dock, all the 77th Precinct paddlers and most of the Sebago volunteers climbed out of their kayaks and took a break on terra firma. Gary, Vicki and I, however, remained on the water in our boats while waiting for the next group to enter the water.

As sone as a few of the next group were on the water, one of them accidently rammed a youth in an Ocean Kayak Kea, sending him overboard. Even though he was only 10-15 feet from the dock, I paddled over to rescue him. As I approached, I could see he was a little panicky. Even though I offered him my bow, he grabbed hold of my port deck line and started climbing back my port side toward the cockpit. I was finally able to reassure him enough to calm him down and I talk him back toward the bow. With him holding onto my bow, I paddled him to the dock where Tony helped him climb out of the water and onto the dock. Nina then went with him into the clubhouse and provided some dry clothes. Once recovered, he was back on the water, but this time in a tandem with an adult volunteer.

With the wind even a little brisker than it had been earlier, we repeated the course we had paddled earlier in the morning. The 88th Precinct group included eight youth in kayaks, a youth and a Sebago adult volunteer in a canoe, a youth and an Sebago adult volunteer in a tandem, two Sebago adult volunteers in a tandem, and the rest of the Sebago volunteers in kayaks, twenty-one boats in all.

Paddling back toward the Sebago dock after we had turned around, another youth in another Kea took a spill. Gerry and Chris were closer than anyone else was and appropriately responded. Between the two of them, they were able to help the young man back into his sit-on-top. As I skulled nearby I could tell from the youth’s face that he was not at all scared and even seemed to be enjoying himself from the moment he went over to the time he was back on top.

Because of the heavier wind and time constraints, we still paddle south past the Sebago dock before returning but not all the youth were able to paddle as far south as the earlier group.

I paddled a red Sealutions I had paddled before. Vicki paddled her new previously owned Current Designs Sirocco she has named “Sirensong”. Throughout the paddle, I could occasionally hear her saying “I love my Boat. I love my Boat. I love my Boat.” I think she loves her new used kayak.

After all the youth had cleared their boats from the dock, the adults also started docking and carrying boats and gear up the wash rack to be rinsed with fresh water before being stored. Once all the gear had been stored and the youth headed for home, most of the Sebago volunteers ended the paddle with grilled veggie burgers, kielbasa, Laurie’s homemade pickles, and other tasty treats.

Sea salt dried and adhered to my camera lens early in the trip, rendering most of my photos useless. Thus, there is no picassa album accompanying this post.

The Youth Paddle That Wasn’t

What do about a dozen adult volunteer paddlers do when the youth they were expecting to introduce to kayaking do not show up? They go kayaking, of course. They go kayaking longer and farther than they would have if they had been introducing the youth to kayaking.

Thirteen kayaks and fourteen paddlers departed from the Sebago Canoe Club dock around 10:15 AM. last Monday. The group included the trip leader Tony, as well as Barbara, Benny, Gary, three Johns, Kevin, Laurie, Mary, Nina, Rebecca, Vicki and Vivian.

After a brief paddle toward the mouth of Paerdegat Basin, we rafted up just shy of the Belt Parkway Bridge. When everyone was ready, we paddled under the bridge and into Jamaica Bay, intending to raft up again near buoy 13. Even before we reached that marker, however, one of our group members turned around and headed back to the clubhouse after deciding they did not feel up for the longer and farther paddle.

After the rest of us assembled near buoy 13 (Photo right), we paddled as a tight group across the channel to buoy 12, and then turned west, along the northern shore of Canarsie Pol. About halfway along the northern shoreline of the island, two more paddlers, paddling a tandem, turned back toward the dock, as one of them had an appointment later in the afternoon and was afraid he would not make it back in time if he paddled much farther.

Now down to eleven paddlers in eleven boats, we continued paddling around the northwestern tip of the isle, and being sure to stay a safe distance away from an Osprey nest, we rounded the tip and put in on a sandy and fairly clean beach.

Once we had all extracted ourselves from our boat’s cockpits, we stretched our legs, drank from our water bottles, and shared snacks. Tony offered up sugar-coated donettes. Laurie shared figs, and Mary invited all to partake of some of her trail mix. Restricting ourselves to the beach because of the wildlife management area above the high tide line, our Commadore still managed to collect some trash from this generally clean stretch of sand – three plastic water bottles tied together with polypropylene rope, one bottle still un-opened. Thanks to him we would be leaving this beach even cleaner than we found it.

One of the unique aspects of this particular beach was the invasive species that appeared to be sprouting right out of the sand (photo left). Three colorful Mums, ready for picking, fascinated those of us who did not see Kevin pick up the loose flowers (most likely left over from one of the religious ceremonies that sometimes take place on the shores of Jamaica Bay) from the sand and stick them stem first back in the sand.

After an opportunity to rest, stretch, refuel and rehydrate, we slid back into our boats and headed home. Before crossing the channel, we once again rafted up before heading in our usual tight group across the channel toward the southern shore of Brooklyn, just east of the Belt Parkway Bridge over Paerdegat Basin. Once across the channel we spread out over the water and paddled toward the western end of the bridge. As we cleared land the full force of a strong breeze, blowing straight down Paerdegat Basin and under the bridge, hit us in our faces and slowed our return paddle to the dock. After a steady paddle, however, eleven paddlers in eleven boats returned to the Sebago dock, three paddlers in two boats having returned earlier.

Vicki and I paddled Wilderness Systems Sealutions. The Sealution is not my favorite club boat I would rather paddle it than some others. My favorite club boat is the Necky Chatham, but other paddlers claimed both club Chathams before we arrived for the paddle. Vicki and I both experienced some weather cocking with the Sealutions that could only be corrected by adapted paddling strokes, as the Sealution does not have a skeg. The Chatam does have a skeg, which is why I prefer it.

Back at the club house, with all gear and boats having been rinsed with fresh water and stowed, most of us gathered around the outside picnic tables in the shade, joined by some club landlubbers, and enjoyed friendship and conversation in true Sebago style – over grilled veggie burgers, kielbasa, vegetables and assorted beverages, with watermelon for desert. Overall, it was a good day and a good paddle, even though the youth for whom we had gathered never showed up.

According to my GPS, we paddled 5.9 miles. The water temperature at the dock when we launched was a tepid 79!  The air temperatire ws in the 90's.

Photos from the day tcan be viewed on my Picasa page.

Trip Leader Workshop

It had been three and a half months since I paddled on the proxigean tide. That was January 30th, when the air temperature was 15°f and the water temperature was probably in the 40’s. Last Saturday the water temperature at the Sebago dock was 58°f. Under the Belt Parkway Bridge it was 60°f. Out in Jamaica Bay it was 56°f. The air temperature was near 70°f. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing, really blowing. Had a beginner’s paddle been scheduled it would have been cancelled due to the wind. But the eleven of us that would later be out on the water were not beginners.

Earlier in the morning we started gathering in the clubhouse of the Sebago Canoe Club in Canarsie, Brooklyn. With some confusion about the schedule, we started straggling in for the Trip Leader Workshop beginning 8:30 AM, with more arriving at 9:00, 9:30, 10:00 and our final participant arriving at 10:30 AM.

A little before 10:00 AM the odd assortment of future trip leaders (or was it an assortment of future odd trip leaders) and experienced trip leaders and instructors watched segments of the Leo Hoare and Olly Sanders Sea Kayak DVD as it played on Walter’s Mac Book Pro. We focused primarily on rescues and towing. Later in the morning we discussed what was required of a trip leader in general and a Sebago Canoe Club Trip Leader in particular. We also reviewed and discussed the procedures related to Sebago’s Wednesday evening and Saturday morning open paddles when most of us would be leading and assisting with trips.

During the paddling season, as conditions permit, The Sebago Canoe Club welcomes up to fifteen walk up first time paddlers for an “Open Paddle” on Paerdegat Basin and Jamaica Bay. After signing an insurance waiver and being asked for a $10 donation to cover costs, open paddle participants receive a brief introduction to paddling and paddling safety and are then taken out as a group onto the water. With a Leader/Participant ratio of 1/5 or better, Sebago needs at least one trip leader and two assistants for every open paddle.

After our classroom work we took a short break and then put on our dry suits, wet suits, and paddling jackets as we prepared to head out onto the water. Five future trip leaders and six current trip leaders and instructors paddled straightaway down Paerdegat basin and under the Belt Parkway Bridge out into Jamaica Bay.

Whether it was the wind or the tide or whatever, Walter’s boat edged up to mine from behind and before I knew it I was rolling over into Jamaica Bay, the unintentional victim for the first rescue practice of the day. Ted paddled up to my boat and following his instructions we emptied my boat of as much water as possible and I climbed back in. From my perspective the most difficult part of the rescue was playing dumb, i.e. pretending I was an inexperienced paddler who knew nothing about rescues and who needed to be talked through the procedure by the assigned trip leader.

Within the next hour or so Phil would intentionally capsize several times so that each of the future trip leaders could practice their rescue skills (photo top right). Phil so dramatically portrayed paddlers panicking that most of us thought he was bucking to get out of the set shop and onto the stage. In our minds, at least, he deserved a Tony for his portrayal of the inexperienced kayaker from hell that will not listen to directions and therefore endangers others by standing up on his kayak as he is being rescued. Meanwhile, Bonnie feigned an avid bird watcher who strayed away from the group in order to test the observation skills of the assigned leaders and their ability to keep the group together.

Though I have owned and carried a tow belt since last season, Saturday’s workshop was the first time I have actually used one as Jerry acted the part of a tired paddler who needed to be towed back to dry land. Towing, even into the wind, was easier than I thought it would be, though I was glad I did not have to tow Jerry all the way back to the dock.

Back at Sebago, after rinsing and stowing our gear, we debriefed over hamburgers, hot dogs and assorted beverages prepared by our Commodore John Wright. All in all it was a good day of learning, fun, and comradeship.

While additional Sebago Instructors and Trip Leaders participated in the morning classroom segment of the training, the eleven that paddled in the afternoon practical session, in addition to myself, included Dan, Ted, Hillary, Andy, Severin, Jake, Phil, Bonnie, Jerry, and Walter.

More pictures from the day have been posted on my Picasa page.

Paddling on the Proxigean Tide

Climbing out of bed around 5:45 AM was much too early for such a cold Saturday morning in late January. After walking the dog an hour earlier than usual, I grabbed my gear bag and headed for the car. The starter struggled in the cold to turn the engine over, sort of like my current mental state without my usual morning coffee, especially since it was not yet 6:30 AM

Half an hour later I pulled into the parking lot of the Sebago Canoe Club, parking near the club house. A car pulled out as I was parking, leaving but one other car in the lot. Entering the club house, I saw Pete building a fire in the double fifty-five gallon drum wood stove and Phil making coffee. The three of us were the only ones that had yet arrived.

Others started arriving not long after. Eventually there were at least fifteen of us assembled in the club house. The occasion was the proxigean tide, the highest tide of the year, and reason enough for kayakers to gather, eat breakfast, and maybe paddle. (My photo to the right is of our breakfast before the paddle. Phil is standing at the table in his dry suit.)

The plan was to gather at 7 AM to prepare coffee and breakfast with an ongoing serving throughout the morning. With the high tide at 7:53 AM, Stevie was planning to lead a paddle with an estimated launch at 7:30 AM in an attempt to make the elusive marsh crossing of Ruffle Bar, a small island in Jamaica Bay about a four miles paddle south of the club’s dock. The marsh crossing had eluded all previous attempts. With a little luck, seals might also be sighted. The only problem was that Stevie had forgotten his dry suit at home and therefore was not able paddle. He still gave great trip support.

The gathering crowd at the club house brought various breakfast items. Most did not plan to paddle. They came for the fellowship and to see what the highest tide of the year looked like around the clubhouse, which is located on Paerdegat Basin, at the foot of Avenue N in Brooklyn, NY, and just a few yards from the water’s edge. In previous years the proxigean tide had crested high enough to not only reach the club house but to cover it with a few inches of water, but not this year’s. According to folks that had been around awhile, this year’s proxigean tide was mild. It was even a little disappointing for newcomers like me who had not only never seen one before but had never heard of it until recently. I had lived in the mountains until two and a half years ago, and in the mountains we did not pay much attention to tides.

Not forgetting their dry suits and wanting to paddle, even in the 15°f temperature, were Bonnie, Elizabeth, Pete, Phil, me and Minh. (The photo to the right is of the six paddlers, suited up and ready to go. Photo by Stevie) I had paddled with each of them before but cannot remember if I had ever paddled with all of them in a single group. They were all seasoned paddlers. I was probably the one with the least experience.

After coffee, eggs in the hole, assorted danish, and a pancake, I, along with the five others, suited up for the paddle. I was glad to be suiting up in the wood stove heated club house, even though I could still see my breath as I put on my dry suit.

Under my Kokatat dry suit I wore a base layer of Patagonia Capilene on top and bottom. For my upper body I put a SmartWool zip neck on top of the Capilene base layer, and on top of that a heavier weight Patagonia Capilene zip neck. Before zipping up my dry suit I activated an EZ Heat packet and placed it between the outer Capilene and SmartWool to help keep my core warm. Over my dry suit I of course wore my PFD, which added even more upper body insulation. For my feet I wore SmartWool liner socks inside NRS neoprene Paddle Shoes. I wore NRS neoprene mittens on my hands and an Xcel titanium neoprene skull cap on my head with a wool Himalayan beanie over the skull cap. Before heading out of the club house I also put on a neoprene spray skirt.

Down at the dock I easily slipped into the club’s blue Necky Chatham 16. I have paddled this boat several times and it is one of my favorite kayaks. I like it for both its stability and maneuverability, enhanced by its skeg, but today the skeg cable was frozen solid with ice and would not budge. I was glad I was able to put my spray skirt around the cockpit coming without having to take of my mitts; otherwise my hands would have chilled. Once away from the dock I realized that I was the first one on the water. I estimate that the put in time was around 8:00 AM, a little later than the float plan called for, but not by much. (That's me sitting in the kayak in the photo to the right. Photo by Bonnie)

At first my toes and fingers were a little cold but after paddling for awhile my toes warmed up and my fingers were bearable. My nose and face felt warm. My core, thanks to breakfast and the activated EZ Heat, was toasty.

With the wind at our back the six of us paddled a straight course for Ruffle Bar. Crossing Jamaica Bay was an easy paddle but at the north-eastern tip of Ruffle Bar we encountered some small standing waves in the shallows just north of the island, forcing us to paddled back away from shore in order to clear the waves and the shallows. As we passed some small standing waves at the beginning of the shallows, the first real waves we had yet encountered, I found myself thinking “this would not be a good time to flip.” I didn’t.

As we passed the eastern end of Ruffle Bar we eagerly looked for the entrance to the salt marsh. After passing a couple of imposters we finally found the entrance but the channel into the marsh did not look as large as I remembered it. I had paddled into the marsh once before but it was on a summer paddle and everything was green. Today, everything is brown and white.

Even though I was the lead paddler at the time, after looking at the channel I passed it by, convinced that it would not be possible to negotiate through it all the way to the western side of the island and back out into the bay. Nevertheless, my five paddling companions took a brief look. Bonnie and Pete paddled further into it while the rest of us continued along to the southern end of Ruffle Bar, planning to meet up with Pete and Bonnie at the western end of the island just in case they were able to make it through.

Paddling along the southern shore, Ruffle Bar served as a wind break and we enjoyed very calm water and a chance to warm a little, so we paddled a little more slowly. Slush and chunks of ice floated nearby. I could have imagined I was in the Artic.

Turning northward at the eastern end of Ruffle Bar we encountered some wind and waves. Bonnie and Pete were nowhere to be seen. We would later learn that not far into the salt marsh they encountered thick slush and ice blocking the channel and did not want to turn their kayaks into icebreakers, so they paddled back out of the marsh they same way they had entered it. They eventually caught up with us. (The first photo to the right is of Pete as he first encounters ice in the Marsh channel. The second photo to the right illustrates what Bonnie and Pete would have faced if they continued through the channel. Photos by Bonnie)

Further out into the bay the wind and waves intensified. I found paddling back northward across Jamaica Bay, with the wind in our face and standing waves in places a foot high, a daunting paddle. While I was comfortable and warm on the protected southern shore of Ruffle Bar, my fingers were now starting to chill and eventually became numb, especially on my right “grip” hand. The wind was now not only blowing in my face but also occasionally blowing icy cold spray onto my face. Whereas there had previously been a thin layer of ice on the bow deck of my kayak, the constant wash over, combined with the hull occasionally pounding the surf after dropping off a wave, cleared the deck of all ice. But ice was now clinging to my dry suit and the fiberglass shaft of my Warner paddle.

Because my right grip hand held tight, even though my fingers were numb, I was able to maintain a tight controlling grip with it. But my left hand, which released any grip it had when I feathered, was starting to slip and slide up and down the paddle shaft because of ice on the paddle shaft as well as my neoprene mitt. I feared I might hit a standing wave, attempt a brace, and have my paddle slip away or turn out of the brace, leaving me in the icy bay. Somehow I managed to maintain control on the icy shaft and remained upright. But I was paddling hard and steady, wanting to stay perpendicular to the waves and give the wind less time to abuse me. Once again I found myself thinking “this would not be a good time, or place, to flip.” Once again, I didn’t.

Somehow I had managed to be the lead boat through the first half of the wind driven icy chop but eventually Pete overtook me on my port and pulled ahead. I was kind of glad not to be the lead boat anymore and with Pete in sight I knew I was not alone, as I had not looked back since we entered the chop.

Eventually we paddled out of the chop and the wind seemed to die down just a bit, but my right fingers were pretty numb and I needed to warm them. I caught up with Pete when he stopped to take a break and asked him if I could raft up with him for a couple minutes while I warmed my hands. He offered me a spare pare of mitts from his deck but they were encrusted in solid Ice, so I thought they would not help much. Rafted up with Pete, I set my paddle down on the deck, wedged it under a deck line, and put both hands, still in mitts, under the opposite armpit, wiggling my fingers inside my mitts. After just a few minutes I could sense feeling and warmth returning. Not long after, I picked up my paddle, pushed away from Pete, and started paddling again.

Pete paddled ahead. Phil and Minh also eventually overtook me and paddled with Pete. But Bonnie and Elizabeth were still behind me. When I reached the ice encrusted green buoy marking the channel leading into Mill Basin I paused, turned my boat around, and waited a moment or two until I could see Bonnie and Elizabeth in the distance paddling toward me. Then I turned north and started paddling once again, but at a more leisurely pace than I had paddled in the stiffer wind and standing waves.

As I paddled, Pete, Phil and Minh were at least fifty yards ahead of me. Elizabeth and Bonnie were seventy yards or more behind me. In the windy chop I would have felt abandoned, but now, paddling in these less windy and calmer waters so close to shore and home, I appreciated, even valued, being somewhat alone.

I don’t know when I entered it, but eventually I found myself in a Zen-like paddling state where I was paddling without thinking about what I was doing. Earlier, out in the windy chop, I was intensely focused as I concentrated on paddling, occasionally bracing with a small hip flick, thinking about what I would do if I lost it. Now I and the kayak were working as one without me thinking about it, smoothly cutting through the smoother water. It was hard to tell where my hand stopped and the paddle shaft began. The boat became an extension of my body. After awhile my paddling and my surroundings came back into focus and I realized that for awhile all had been well with the world.

Now aware of what was going on around me I noticed flocks of water fowl occasionally passing nearby. In retrospect I realize that I had not seen a jet all day, even though the control tower at Kennedy International Airport was in clear view, a few miles off to the east. Had it not been for the receding Manhattan skyline and the approaching bridge over the Belt Parkway, I would not have known I was paddling in an urban environment. Jamaica Bay is, after all, a National Wildlife Refuge, and for me an occasional refuge and retreat from more urban and concrete life.

Further out in Jamaica Bay, from whence I had paddled, I could clearly see Lower and Upper Manhattan. (The photo to the right is of Pete, paddling through the wind driven chop, heading north toward Manhattan. Photo by Bonnie) But as I paddled northward and closer to Paerdegat Basin and the Belt Parkway bridge over the basin, the New York City skyline kept receding below the horizon ahead. Eventually, as I approached Buoy 13, all I could see was the top of the Empire State Building. Eventually, it too, slipped out of sight, hidden by trees along the parkway.

When I reached Buoy 13, its lower parts covered with ice, I stopped paddling. Turning around, I looked for my two paddling companions behind me. Once I saw them I headed for home.

Whenever I reach buoy 13 I always feel like I am almost home. Buoy 13 is the first buoy you encounter paddling out of the basin heading south. That means it is also the last buoy you encounter as you head back into the basin from the south. At that now familiar green buoy, which I have paddled past countless times, I know that after another 15 to 30 minutes paddling I will back at the Sebago dock. Sometimes 13 is a lucky number.

After paddling under the Belt Parkway and up Paerdegat Basin, I approach the new Sebago dock, not yet a year old. I see that Minh, Phil and Pete are already out of their boats, their kayaks out of the water. Stevie is the only person I see, standing by, ready to lend assistance as I approach. What a helpful trip leader that was not even on the trip!

With the dock just a few yards away I turn around one last time to make shore Bonnie and Elizabeth are behind me. I see them passing under the Belt Parkway and so I turn toward home and paddle the last few yards. Making contact with the carpet covered aluminum, I appreciate Stevie's offer to help me but don't need. I break the ice off my spray skirt’s webbing and pull the nearly frozen spray skirt off the cockpit coaming. With the paddle shaft behind me, pressing down on both boat and dock, I lift myself out of the cockpit and up and onto the platform.

Rolling onto the dock, my left calf, finally liberated from the cold and cramped cockpit after having been wedged most of the day against a foot peg, cramps tight. Stevie can tell I have a leg cramp and volunteers that he often experiences the same after a paddle. Thanks Stevie, now I do not feel so old.

I knead and rub my lower left leg through my dry suit and try to relax the cramp. Once the cramp eases I kneel next to my kayak and lift it up on the dock. Prying off the rear hatch cover with the blade of my paddle, I grab my two dry bags out of the rear hatch. Leaving the kayak on the dock, I carry my paddle and two dry bags up the ramp of the dock and walk into the clubhouse. It feels good to be home.

Standing next to the wood stove for a few minutes, I warm up. So I won’t drip all over the floor I soon head back outside to break and scrape the ice off my spray skirt, PFD and dry suit. (The photo to the right illustrates the ice buildup on Bonnie's dry suit at the end of our trip. Photo by Stevie)

Returning inside I stand close to the fire for a few more minutes and pour a cup of hot Russian tea from my thermos. I can feel the warm liquid going down my throat and entering my stomach, the warmth radiating throughout my body. Eventually I take off my PFD and spray skirt. A few minutes later I unzip my dry suit and slip my head out through the gasket. Then I slip the wrist gaskets over my hands and slide my arms out of the sleeves. Next to the stove with my dry suit half way off, I am really starting to thaw out.

Further warmed by another cup of tea and some munchies I take off my boots and dry suit, exchanging them for cotton pants, a fleece lined wind jacket, and fleece lined Crocks. I am starting to feel semi-normal.

I go back to the wood stove, drink yet another cup of tea, and eat a cup of Mary’s hot soup and eat a sandwich of ham and Swiss between a sliced bagel, the bagel having been warmed on top of the wood stove. I pull my phone out of my pocket and see that it is nearly noon and that the air temperature has risen from 15°f to a warm and balmy 18°f.

Feeling fully warmed and recharged, I collect my scattered gear, stuff it into my nylon mesh gear bag, and head home, making sure I sign out, and saying goodbye to my paddling companions and others around the club house table as I leave. But I’ll be back, someday, for another paddle.

This 8 to 8.5 mile paddle was not my longest paddle, but with a 15°f air temperature at put in and an 18°f air temperature at take out, it was certainly my coldest. Last year I paddled 7.2 miles at Jones Beach on January 10th but the air temperature was 31°f that day. I paddled again at Jones Beach, doing 4.5 miles on February 21st and 3 miles on February 28th, but on both trips either failed to measure or record the air temperature. I doubt it was below 25°f if even that cold. Besides, both were relatively short paddles. Today’s cold air temperature, head wind upon returning, and total distance paddled, combined to make this one of my most demanding, and perhaps best, paddles to date.

Because I knew the cold would quickly drain my camera’s batteries, I did not take any pictures on the trip even though I had my camera in my dry bag. Thanks to Bonnie and Stevie, who both granted me permission to use their photos, I am able to include a few of their shots with my post. I also thank Bonnie, Elizabeth, Minh, Pete and Phil for the pleasure of their paddling company. Thanks to Stevie for planning the trip and his dockside assistance. Thanks to all the members of the Sebago Canoe Club who came out, brought food, made breakfast and lunch, and offered support and encouragement. You are great!

I posted a much shorter trip report on the Sebago Blog, where Bonnie has also posted a trip report along with a link to more of her photos.

A Great Day in the Great South Bay

Members started arriving at the Sebago Canoe Club around 8:00 AM Saturday morning. Some came by car, some from as far away as New Jersey. Some came by Bus. They all came with the intention to paddle on perhaps the last trip away from Sebago for the season. In spite of remnants of the fall’s first frost still on the grass, the day promised to be clear and warm, which raised hopes for a great day of kayaking. By 9:00 AM five cars were loaded, and with boats on top, left Sebago, headed for Heckscher State Park.

Question: How many members of the Sebaog Canoe Club does it take to install Yakima racks on a Honda?
Answer: Seven. Three to do the work and four to watch!

After the fifty mile drive we all pulled into the parking lot at Heckscher State Park, just feet away from the north shore of The Great South Bay (photo top right). Between 10:30-10:45 AM all nine of us were on the water: Walter, Tony, John W., Phil, Peter, Elizabeth, Beth, Avi and me (second photo from top, right). I think I had paddled with everyone before bet never in the same group. Some I had not paddled with in months. The water temperature was around 48-50. At put in the air temperature was 52 but warmed up to 58 by later in the afternoon. Most of us were wearing dry suits but a few had donned wet suits.

For the first time in a long time I was able to paddle the club’s blue Necky Chatham 16, currently my favorite boat. It felt good to once again be sitting in its cockpit and to have a working skeg. It was also the first time this season that I wore my Dry Suit, which was much more comfortable than my wet suit, which I worn on the Columbus Day Paddle in Jamaica Bay. just a few weeks before.

We beached on Fire Island, near the Sailors Heaven Visitors Center around 12:20 PM. Not a soul was in sight. With the picnic area to ourselves we enjoyed a true picnic lunch, people passing goodies around the picnic table. It seemed like Tony had an endless supply of homemade pop-corn. Walter produced a bag of Jo Joes. Nuts and fruits were also in abundance, and I am not just talking about the kayakers.

After refueling we tied up our kayaks against any rogue waves and followed the boardwalk into the Sunken Forest, where we were treated to a close encounter with a five point buck (third photo from top right). Near the center of the Sunken Forest I felt like a member of the Swiss Family Robinson, living in a large tree house on a deserted isle. Passing through the Sunken Forest we emerged on the southern shore of Fire Island and briefly visited the Atlantic Ocean before heading back to our boats.

Putting in from Fire Island around 2 PM we paddled back across the Great South Bay (fourth photo from top, right) from whence we had come. Wanting to paddle out ahead of the group so that I could take a few pictures with the sun at my back, I planted my paddle for the start of a power stroke only to have the paddle snap in my hands! Admittedly the paddle was not an expensive one and nearly nine years old, still, without a spare loaned me by Tony, I would have literally been up the Great South Bay without a paddle. I will write more about that in a later post.

With wind and tide combining to provide one to foot waves for our enjoinment, the water was just a little more rougher for our return trip than it had been earlier in the day. Great discussion ensured as to whether the waves were one to two foot waves or foot and a half waves. Every once in a while it seemed like they were over two feet, but those were few and far between. Regardless of their height, the waves were rolling rather than choppy. Most spectacular, however, were some of the higher waves that occasionally appeared to glow a translucent aqua-marine as rays from the setting sun penetrated their crests.

By 4:00 PM we were back on the beach at Heckscher State Park, but not until after yours truly lost it in the surf while trying to ride a wave in. I think I had already peeled back my spray skirt in anticipation of landing so as soon as my deck tilted below the surf the cockpit quickly flooded and before I knew I was no longer on the bay but in it. Yes, I am glad I was wearing a dry suit.

As we were changing and loading boats for the return drive we were treated to one of the most spectacular sunsets I have seen in a long time (bottom photo right). As the orange-red glowing disk set, however, we were also faced with falling temperatures, numbing fingers as we tied off our boats for the return drive back to Sebago. For the first fifteen minutes of the drive home the car heater was on full blast.

Back at the club we unloaded and stored boats and gear, said our goodbyes, and signed out.

By the end of the day and trip our hopes had been fulfilled. We had paddled across the Great South Bay to Fire Island, visited the Sunken Forest, and paddled back. The water was challenging but not threatening. The sun was warm, the air crisp, the water nippy, and the sky blue with barely a cloud. The companionship, as usual, was competent and collegial. It was indeed a great day on the Great South Bay.

More photos from the trip can be seen here.

Columbus Day Paddle: An Adventure of Epic Proportions

In 1492
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
517 years to the day
Sebago kayaked Jamaica Bay

On Monday, October 12, 2009, around 11:15 AM, after more than an hour’s planning, preparation and outfitting, eighteen courageous paddlers embarked not in three large galleons but in eighteen small boats from the dock of the Sebago Canoe Club in Brooklyn, New York on an epic voyage of discovery. Led by Anthony “Tony” Pignatello (photo top right), the Corps of Discovery kayaked southward through Paerdegat Basin, under the Belt Parkway, and into the open and treacherous waters of Jamaica Bay, where the water temperature was 60 and the air temperature was 54. An hour later, after an uneventful crossing of the open bay, they landed on an island called by the indigenous people “Canarsie Pol” (photo middle right).

Had the historic Sebago Flag not been inadvertently left behind in the clubhouse, the explorers would have planted it in Canarsie Pol’s sandy soil, claiming the island for the Sebago Canoe Club.

As it was, these hearty men and women of the sea continued their historic trek eastward along the island’s southern shore and shortly after 1:00 PM entered nearby salt marshes in search of the previously elusive “Marsh Passage” (photo bottom right). Having divided the company in half at the southern end of the marshes, two separate scouting parties discovered their separate passages through the watery grasses and reunited at the northern end of the grassy labyrinth. Paddling again as one group, the expedition then kayaked westerly along Canarsie Pol’s northern shore until turning northward for their return trip across the open waters of Jamaica Bay. Successfully navigating across the bay a second time the troupe headed home, making way once again under the Belt Parkway and northward into Paerdegat Basin until, 6.9 miles and 3 1/2 hours after beginning, they arrived back at the Sebago dock around 2:45 PM.

After carrying their kayaks up to the wash racks, washing and storing all their boats and gear, the tried and tested heroic explorers retired into the club house for a feast worthy of Pilgrims. Sausage and hamburgers were grilled by Fran. Beer and wine was drunk. Many fresh delicacies and baked goods were shared and consumed. A good time was had by all.

Surely this ambitious undertaking by the dozen and half kayakers will be hailed for years to come within the halls of the Sebago Canoe Club clubhouse. Songs will be composed and sung. Poems will be written and recited. Statues will be erected. Blogs will be written. Ken Burns will document. Holidays will be named and observed in their honor.

View more photos of this epic adventure here.

Another AM Paddle

For the second Tuesday in a row I climbed out of bed earlier than usual in order to go kayaking. Joined by Tony, John W. and Michael (both photos to the right), three of the same four paddlers as last week, we had all arrived at the Sebago Canoe Club by 7:30 AM and we were on the water by 8:15 AM

Last week we paddled west. This week we paddled east, paddling into and exploring Spring Creek and Hendricks Creek. Last season I had explored Spring Creek, more or less a small meandering wilderness oasis populated with various water fowl in spite of flowing under the Belt Parkway. This was my first time in Hendricks Creek, a more urban experience bordered with parkland on the east but a modern sewage treatment plant on the west.

Unlike last week there was little wind and the bay was fairly smooth. Thanks to easily paddling we averaged 3 mph over the 11.8 mile trip, counting a 40 minute break, but easily paddled between 4 to 5 mph when we were actually paddling. Had we stayed in open waters rather than paddling into the creeks our average speed probably would have been 4 mph. The air temperature was 68 by noon and the water temperature was around 62. Thanks to the sun and light wind I was comfortable in chaco's, water shorts, and a long sleeved synthetic shirt under a paddling jacket, but I have a hunch that on my next paddle I will be wearing a wet suit with neoprene booties.

I paddled the club’s blue Impex Montauk. I vaguely remember paddling it before but am not sure when. I found its cockpit smaller than that of the old Wilderness Systems Sealution which I paddled last week but after a few minutes felt very comfortable in it. At 5 feet 8 inches however, I had the foot pegs fully extended, so this would not be a good boat for larger or taller paddlers.

More photos from the trip have been posted on picassa.

Early Morning Paddle

I climbed out of bed an hour earlier than usual this morning so that I could go kayaking. I was out of the house around 7 AM and at the Sebago Canoe Club by 7:30 Thirty-five minutes later I and four others, John, Michael, Tony and Michael, were in our boats and on the water. I paddled an old red Wilderness Systems Sealution which belongs to the club and which I had paddled before. It was my first paddle in nearly a month and one of the earliest morning paddles I have been on.

Starting our under a crystal clear deep blue sky with bright morning sun (photo top right), and water and air temperature both around 66, we easily paddled out of Paerdegat Basin and into Jamaica Bay in spite of some wind. Our first stop was Floyd Bennet Field, where we took a short stretching break. From there we headed for the Marine Parkway Bridge, paddling into a head wind as soon as we rounded the point between Floyd Bennet and the Bridge. Just before the beach we stopped for a “wind break” by beaching just downwind of the ramp (photo bottom right).

In spite of the wind, with sunny skies and seasonable air and water temperature, some of us were willing to push the boundaries a little and continue on. While Michael stayed behind to wait for us, the rest of us paddled back out into the wind, under and just beyond the bridge, before heading back to our “wind break” to pick up Michael. Conditions around the bridge consisted of one foot swells and foot and half waves. Paddling under the bridge proper was like paddling through a wind tunnel. It was the most wind the steadiest waves some of us had encountered in quite awhile and shortly after the bridge turned around and headed home. While no one lost it in the wind and waves, all of us were experiencing some weather cocking almost the entire trip.

There was awhile around the bridge when I found myself in that zone where mind, body and spirit seem to be one. There was nothing but me, the kayak, the water, the wind, the waves, the swell and my paddling. It was one of those rare, magical, mystical moments that made getting out of bed and climbing into a kayak worthwhile.

On the way back to Sebago we stopped again at Floyd Bennet Field for a break and were back at the Sebago dock by 12:15 PM. We covered 9.2 miles and averaged two miles per hours including breaks.

Photos from the trip can be viewed on my Picasa site.