Connubial Prudence

It was one year ago almost to the day since E&H were celebrating their wedding with friends and family in Bristol. A year later we were back in Bristol for a little less formal gathering we were calling the anniversary paddle.

MB, BH, CC, PB, RB, and TM all joined E&H for the paddle. We met at OSA and were planning to paddle to Prudence, portage over, and come back around via Patience. There was fog and thunderstorms in the forecast so we were being cautious and were willing to do whatever paddle seemed safe. We were predictably slow getting on the water as we all visited Cat and checked out her store.

The paddle out of Bristol Harbor is always longer than expected. At one point we were lined up side by side almost as if we were an organized group. And we were all thrilled to finally pass Popasquash Point and head over to Prudence. As usual the eight of us alternated pair and triples as we paddled along and caught up on the stories and trials and excitements in each others lives.

When we landed on Prudence it was feeling hot. We explored the marsh that we were planning to portage over and decided, partly because of the low tide, to skip the carry and paddle up the east side of the island. It was already nearing lunch time so we were searching for a good place to land and eat.

We found a reasonable spot to pull ashore and the usual lunch ritual began. Tim shared his PB&J with Eric, Heather shared her home baked cookies, and various other partially melted and crushed foods were passed around.

As the lunch break was proceeding we noticed we were being approached by three strange kayakers. As they neared we realized it was RB, MR, and MK. MK was sporting a web cam mounted on his helmet. We discussed throwing rocks at them to thwart off the attack but instead decided they might have good food and let them join us. They had left out of Goddard Park and were on a mission a little more challenging than ours.

The wind had picked up a bit as we left Prudence and headed east towards Bristol. The beam sea paddling was comfortable but the southerly leg into the wind was a bit of a slog. Rounding the point, we all enjoyed a little down wind surfing. We each caught at least a few rides, Bob of course leading the way.

As we neared the launch we were joined by RS who was practicing a bit and waiting for us. LB met us on the beach, sidelined with her sore shoulder. We were as slow to get off the water as we were to get on. A number of rolls, some sculling, and a few rescues kept us cool and smiling.

After the paddle we met at the Bee Hive Café on Franklin Street in Bristol. The coffee was good, the pastry was delicious, and there were nice indoor and outdoor places to sit. It was great way to help E&H celebrate their first anniversary.

12 miles total

The Season’s warming up

It had been a few weeks since my last paddle. I was itching to get out in the boat and the weather was perfect. In fact it was too perfect. The air was warm enough that it is difficult to dress for the water.

The plan was the Jamestown dock on Saturday morning. I was itching to go somewhere different but the Jewish holiday had a few of us on a tight time schedule. As conciliation we hoped that the outgoing tide and the full moon would combine to spice things up at the dumplings. Seven of us arrived ready to paddle. It was a crew comprised largely of very experienced boaters.

There was very little wind as we were dressing and packing our boats. We were all feeling pretty hot. I wore a very light layer under my drysuit. I knew I would cool off quickly if I spent any significant time in the water but the conditions were benign and I had confidence in my partners. Plus the air was warm enough that I’d warm back up once out of the water. This is in contrast to a typical winter paddle where once you cool off it’s very difficult to warm up, especially your extremities.

Once on the water I did some sculling to get my body in the water. It cooled me down quickly. Surprisingly quickly I might add. As we started paddling a breeze did pick up. It was just enough breeze over the cold water to balance the heat I was generating internally. On the water, I was very comfortable.
Bob and I headed to the East side of the dumplings to look for some fun. The current was running but not too strong and without an opposing wind it was fairly tame. Carleen, Carole, Tony, Rich, and Becca all went along the shore.
Carleen was suggesting Beavertail. Others wanted to head towards Brenton point so as to head up wind and not have to fight it heading back. We agreed on BP and made a long diagonal crossing in that direction. This is a crossing we would do as a perpendicular beeline in summer to avoid boat traffic. This day we were largely on our own.

We paddled along the shore and did some easy rock gardening. Carleen was suggesting helmets but no-one was biting. When we got to the jetty there was some wave action coming over the shallows. Bob and I headed across and we were greeted by waves approaching simultaneously at 90 degree angles. Tony, with helmet started surfing them. We all followed suit and put ours on also. Bob and Carleen were paired up. The rest of us were more timid and discussing if we really wanted to go over. Becca was concerned that she was out of practice. I knew that I was dressed a little too light to deliberately put myself in the water.

The next thing I knew I could see Bob retrieving Carleen’s kayak. We were not at all alarmed. It was not very rough. B and C would be fine. But things weren’t proceeding as quickly as expected so we wandered over in that general direction. It was then we saw that C was separated from her boat. But Tony had her hanging off the back of his big double kayak so we weren’t too concerned. It would be no time before T had her back to her boat. But again things were taking longer than expected. T couldn’t pull her along nearly as fast as I expected.

So I headed over and met up with them about the same time as they were all meeting up. Tony dropped off C, B started the rescue, and I pulled up along B’s boat for extra support. We were away from the surf so it all seemed like no big deal.
But about this time I was realizing things were not all going as easy as I expected. C was very tired from being towed along by T’s boat. She was struggling to lift herself onto the boat. I was recalling a rescue last fall where the swimmer was very tired just from holding on to his boat. Somewhere in this process C became separated from one of her boots and Tony recovered it.

Once C had some of her body on the boat she was struggling to get her feet up at the surface and continue the slide on. We were starting to think about the sling. I had mine right in my vest pocket but I was thinking to myself “Do I really remember how Tim showed me to use this thing? Do I really want to add the rope to this situation to get tangled in?” Besides, give C a minute to rest and she’ll just pop herself in. Then once C was on her boat her vest became caught on the combing on her cockpit. We finally got her all the way on but now her vest was caught in the hole that is her cockpit. Slowly, we got her unstuck from the cockpit and she could slide into the seat. It was all very strange.

We all decided to head over to the beach and get Carleen re-connected with her boot and give her a rest. At the beach it became clear that she had about a gallon of water in each leg of her drysuit. The neoprene neck seal of the Tropos drysuit had let in a significant amount of water while Tony was towing her through the water. It was only a day later that Carole and Bob realized that during the rescue Carleen had brought her body over the cockpit of her boat instead of over the back decks of her and Bob’s kayaks. That explained the very strange tangle of vest and combing but it didn’t even occur to us on the water.

What a lesson this was. Bob, Paul and Tony with Carleen in the water in relatively tame conditions is a rescue you would expect to go quickly and easily. But it didn’t. I know personally I was so lulled into the belief that it would go easy that never got involved with the intensity I should have. It makes me think about the way the kids used to practice soccer when I was coaching. I’d try to get them to practice with the intensity as if it was a game day but they never really took it too seriously. It’s exactly what I did in this situation. And in hindsight it is very obvious to us what went wrong but at the time we weren’t seeing it.

There was nothing dangerous about this situation. But it reinforces how important practice is. These things need to go smoothly when the conditions are difficult. They have to be mindless and flawless in benign conditions if this is going to happen. I often let others do the rescue in practice sessions thinking I’m all set and I want others to learn. Maybe I should do some more of them? And I for one want to practice more in difficult (but safe) conditions.

So back to the paddle…. we ate lunch on the beach and then headed out to Brenton Point. With the tight schedule and Carleen already wet on the inside of her drysuit we just went out to have a look and then headed back. At the beach Carole, Becca and I worked on our rolls. In the process Carole realized her latex neck seal was too worn and was letting water in also. Another thing to fix!

4/19/2008 Air upper 60s, water 50s, wind light

Kings Beach, Newport

It had been 8 weeks since my last paddle. I was getting a bit restless to get out in the boat. For a winter paddle I usually contact some of the regulars by email first to be sure there will be at least a few paddlers on the water that I trust. This is a safety measure. I want to be sure that there are people with me who are aware enough to use appropriate risk avoidance. I also want to know that there will be others who can perform a quick and efficient rescue should things go awry. Then, with a quorum established, I post on the web page hoping that additional capable paddlers will join in.

This week I had my heart set on the Kings Beach launch and a paddle along the Newport coast by the mansions and the cliff walk. It’s an area I had never paddled before and one with some stretches where beaching is not possible because of the rocky shoreline. As a winter paddle this is something I would only suggest in favorable weather conditions. Favorable in this case was a North wind and temperatures in the mid 40’s.

A total of 8 paddlers showed up. All skilled and ready for this trip. What we weren’t ready for was the cold temperatures. At 9 AM the temperature was still below freezing and the wind was a steady 10-15. It felt frigid. The locals like Tony can show up pre-dressed in their dry suits. I have a 90 minute drive. I need to dress in the parking lot. (I can just picture myself putting gas in the truck and buying doughnuts in my gortex “space suit”.) The dressing up process was cold but once I was zipped into my suit I was quite comfortable.

During my time off the water I had taken the opportunity to augment the foam in my boat. I trimmed out my thigh braces and added significant hip padding. I was looking forward to feeling how the new boat would respond with this customizing. The hip padding is tighter than it was in my older boat. It actually applies a gentle pressure as opposed to just filling in the gap. The result was wonderful. I took three paddle strokes and did a little hip flick to see how it felt. My hip flick almost tipped me over because every degree of torso bend translated into boat motion. No slop or delay in the boat’s response. The process of foaming your boat seems a little daunting at first. The expensive foam doesn’t really fit right out of the box. It seems like you’ll never get it shaped to fit right. In fact, it’s not all that hard. I’ve typically used the layer approach to foaming in. I’ll use a ½ inch sheet and let it follow the outer contour of the boat. I then add additional ½ inch layers in more localized areas. This is followed by sanding away and shaping with coarse sandpaper. It’s very easy and the resulting boat feel is well worth the effort.

When we were all on the water we headed east. It was clear from the start that the conditions we ideal from a safe easy paddle point of view but were going to be a bit too tame for this group of paddlers with rock gardening and surfing thoughts in their heads. But it was nice to be on the water and we took our time and poked in and out of the rocks and explored. Joe commented that it was really quite scenic. A perspective he usually doesn’t notice because he is busy watching the waves and flow around the plethora rocks that dot this section of shoreline. Half the group tried to catch a wave on a small reef by the end of the cliff walk. But the swell was virtually non-existent and one attempt each was sufficient. A bit latter at Ruggles beach we all had a go at surfing. There was one spot with surfable stuff. The more confident among us surfed between rocks. The rest surfed with rocks to just one side allowing at least the possibility of directing our boats to the right and away from danger. After a few passes here we decided it was time for lunch. We were headed for the corner of First Beach but selected a little rocky cove below the cliff walk. Here we were well protected from the wind and were well lit by the sun. It was warm and quite comfortable.

I had my usual PB&J and the deserts were passed around and shared. Some new stories were told and some old ribbing was continued! We were in no rush to go anywhere.

After lunch we headed back. We took a few more rides at Ruggles. We found a different rock to poke around about the half way point. We paused here to discuss some coaching approaches. (Three of the paddlers were coaches and one is aspiring to be!) It was here that Bob had his best opportunity to go over when a rogue wave caught him off guard and surfed him towards the rock. He handled it with ease but it did add some excitement. While sitting at this spot I saw a good sized seal in the distance. It was the only seal sighting of the day.

Back at the launch Gerry, Eric and I took the opportunity to slip in a roll. My execution was fine but I forgot to close my day hatch which I had opened to put my sun glasses in. It filled with water. Gerry looked smooth. Eric was successful but did struggle a bit. On his second roll he popped up awkwardly without his hood on. The cold water on his head made him a bit grumpy. (Actually I assume he was more grumpy about his first aborted roll attempt.) But true to form he tried one more time and came up comfortably.

While we were rolling about, Mark and Steve headed back out in the direction of Brenton Point. This entire length of coast was new to these Connecticut people so they wanted to explore a bit more before calling it a day.

The total distance was only 9.5 miles. The wind was 10-15 from the north shifting to the south just about the time we got off the water. Air temperatures rose from 32 to about 42. Water temperature was just above 40. 3/30/08

RICKA pool sessions

Rolling. I’ve been paddling for almost 8 years now and I’ve never “needed” to roll. Yes, it would have been nice to roll in the surf. And yes, I have needed to be rescued when I could have otherwise rolled but at no time has my “lack of roll” put me in danger.

So why am I talking about it again? Because I just finished my third RICKA pool practice session. Why do I do it? It’s fun. But that’s not the only reason. It’s probably the most tangible measure of competency level for kayakers. Hardly the most important one but clearly the most recognized. So there is an element of pride in there. And some showing off. I must admit I like to casually mention to the boys at work on Monday that I rolled a few times in 38 degree water.

Practically however, it’s a bomb-proof roll that matters. Rolling in the pool or when setting up ahead of time is fun and games. Rolling when the water conditions put you upside down is the real goal. In 2007 I wanted to master rolling in the surf. I didn’t achieve that goal partly because I didn’t have many opportunities to paddle in the surf. But I did roll on almost every paddle I did. It served to build my confidence. A confidence that is needed to think through and then execute the series of motions that are required to get yourself right side up. For some natural athletes it’s mindless. For most of us it’s a practiced skill.

I did have a little lapse in skill this summer. My roll was 90% for most of the year but for about 3 weeks it dropped to more like 50%. It was frustrating and the frustration just made the roll worse. But the months of reliable rolling leading up to the lapse did give me the confidence that I’d get through it and I did. I also set up and executed some rolls in current and chop. I learned there that getting back up doesn’t mean you’re done. If the water is nasty enough to put you over it’s not going to be any friendlier when you pop back up from a roll but are still not well balanced. It doesn’t wait for you to finish celebrating before knocking you about again.

Four weeks ago the pool sessions started. I popped my boat in the water, paddled around a little, tipped over, and blew my roll. I was disgusted. I hopped back in and rolled many more times. I got my offside roll back and never came out of the boat again that day. 12 months earlier I would have been thrilled by that performance but I was disappointed due to my high expectations. While driving to the pool the second week the radio was playing great music (George Thorogood). It put me in a great mood and my rolling was spot-on. I even rolled Tim’s Explorer HV both on and off side despite the fact that I was totally loose in it and couldn’t even touch the foot pegs. I skipped the third week to paddle outside. The forth week was going great until I jumped in Kevin’s Ellesmere. I own an Ellesmere so my anticipation was high that it would be like getting back together with an old friend. But it was uncomfortable and I blew 2 of three rolls. Why? Who knows. I had rolled about six different boats this year. Many that I wasn’t well fit to. I quit trying with Elly and, with confidence, returned to rolling the white water boat. I left a happy paddler.

Such is rolling. It’s why I practice a lot. It’s why kayakers are impressed when they see others do it with ease.

Thanks to RICKA for letting us "almost competent" rollers play in the pool. And thanks to the coaching staff for foregoing their own rolling fun to help the next generation learn the skill. Your dedication is what put many of us in the deep end!

January and February 2008. Air temperature 75, water temperature 75 in the pool. Air and water sub 40 degrees outside.

February on the water

RICKA rolling pool sessions only occur 4 times a year. Sunny, 45 degree, weekend days in February occur even less frequently. So faced with a decision between those two options I hesitated but the decision wasn’t hard.

Carole, Bob, and I met at the Narragansett town beach just after 10AM. The temperature was already 40 and there was a gentle swell of less than 2 feet rolling onto the beach. I had arrived early and had time to watch and see that there was an occasional larger wave, in fact they seemed to come in pairs. It was not a major concern to me but I didn’t want to dump in the surf right off the start.

We loaded up our boats and dragged them to the water. Bob jumped in first and paddled in and out of the small surf. Carole was still finalizing the loading of her boat so I waited for the two large waves to pass and headed out through the gentle surf. Bob went back in towards Carole and the two of them paddled out while I watched. Just as they passed the break zone they met the next set of two larger waves. They were steep but still rolling and they easily passed over them. 20 seconds later however and they both would have started the day off with a least a face full of cold water.

We headed north by the rocks that guard the entrance to the Narrow River. We paddled along Boston Neck towards Bonnet Shores. There were a couple of locations where the swells stood tall over the bottom features and Bob was attracted but Carole and I held our distance and he seemed to get the point that we didn’t really want to go in and get him. It was warm with a gentle breeze at our back. And it wasn’t long before we were approaching the beach at Bonnet. Bob surfed a few waves and Carole and I headed to the east end for an easy dry landing.

We set up for lunch against a concrete sea wall which protected us from the wind and faced us directly into the warmth of the sun. We shared tea and snacks and ate our sandwiches. Adults, small children, and various sized dogs were frolicking on the beach. We weren’t stripping out of our dry suits but it was awful nice for February.

After lunch we discussed whether we would paddle further or just head back. I kind of wanted to touch the rocks at Bonnet point but for some reason we just headed back towards Narragansett. While we had stopped for lunch the wind had picked up a bit. It wasn’t strong but it was enough to slow us down and start up a random chop. As we passed the corner where the shore starts to bend westward it was a strange mix of swells, chop, and reflections which confused the waters. It almost felt as if the tide was moving against the waves but I knew in fact the tide was coming in. For me it was just enough to make it a bit exciting and get me thinking that this was February and no time to be doing something stupid. This slop continued until we reached the area near the outlet of the Narrow River.

At the river we passed inside the rocks and paddled just outside the surf rolling in on the beach. From the back sides they looked a little bigger than I had remembered at 10 AM. But as we had discussed, if we dumped while returning to the beach we were close to the cars to warm back up. Plus, the further up the beach we went the smaller the waves were.

As we approached the cars I was dealing with a strong urge to stand by a tree. While Bob stopped to talk with a WW boat surfer I just hopped on a wave and headed towards shore. My new Impex Force 4 seems to hold a nice straight line in the surf. In fact it tends to accelerate and stay ahead of the wave with the bow sinking just shy of the point of burying. This is in contrast to my Ellsmere which had a habit of burying the nose and inviting the back end to come around. But I should qualify this with a disclaimer that I’ve only been in relatively small (less than 3 foot) surf with the new boat.

I relieved my need, donned my helmet, removed my sunglasses, traded pogies for gloves, and headed back out into the surf. On my way back out I plowed through three or four waves that broke strongly onto my chest. I set up and rode another nice wave back into shore. For reasons I don’t fully comprehend I tripped the boat as I was turning to head back out. Over I went and I started to think about rolling. As the words swirled about in my head I started dragging my head and back along the sand. I started to set up my paddle but it was all too shallow and I fell out of my seat. (I still need to foam the boat.) The water was cold. As it slid down the ear canals underneath my neoprene hat I got a hint of that coldness disorientation. It wasn’t bad but it was clear to me that my neoprene hat (over the ears with a strap) was not nearly the same level of protection as my neo hood.
Carole and Bob seemed like they were done so despite the fact that I had only ridden one wave I decided maybe I should be done too. I decided to walk out and test the effectiveness of the insulation layers I had under my dry suit. I was comfortable in the water and floated about for a bit. Then, after a conversation with B&C I figured I’d try it without my hat on. I dove into a wave and experienced instant ice cream head ache. Not a killer one but enough that I didn’t want to stay in the water.

This whole neoprene hat thing is a conundrum. I would have over heated had I paddled all day with a hood on. On the other hand I would have really wanted it on had I gone over for some reason out in front of Bonnet.
It was great to load the boats in the warm parking lot with bare hands and light jackets on. Normally an immersion by the put in would have me scrambling for a warm car and dry cloths. Pretty nice for February!

After the paddle we went to chez C’s where we were treated to strong coffee and Panini. It was just a wonderfully relaxing day to be on the water.

Narragansett Town Beach to Bonnet Shores. 8.2 miles round trip, sunny, air 44, water 39, winds SW at 10.

Three Amigos

For me, winter paddling is all about the weather. I have no desire to head out in sub freezing temperatures but a 40 degree day is more than enough to get my attention. So when Joe suggested a Boston Harbor paddle as an option for Saturday I checked the forecast and my schedule (in that order) and got excited. I contacted Eric to find out if he had a preferred day. Boston is “sort of” in our neck of the woods so I didn’t want to do it if he couldn’t. It was his preferred day. Then Joe posted that he was feeling a little bit under the weather and maybe Sunday would be a better day. I asked Eric if he’d be OK if it was just the two of us. We agreed that would be fine, we’d just stay inside of Hull. But I also said to him that if we were going I suspected Joe would feel well enough. He didn’t disappoint me.

Initially the forecast for Sunday was actually a little warmer. But my weather mantra is “don’t pass up a good day for want of a better day later”. Too many times I’ve said let’s wait for the better day only to have the forecast degrade. Again, the weathermen didn’t disappoint me.

So Paul, Joe and Eric showed up at Hull Gut. We had posted and did not know if anyone else would arrive. I didn’t expect any of the RI crew because they feel they need to have their passports to cross their little state border. But I thought that maybe some of the north shore paddlers that sometimes join us in the summer would show up. It turned out it was just us three. The conditions we perfect for a relaxing paddle so 3 was fine.

I suggested that our course include circumnavigating Pedocks Island but Joe insisted it was boring. So we all agreed to head towards the outer islands with Green Island as our destination. We headed out with the tide and a light wind pushing us. We managed just under 5 miles in the first hour and were at Green well before we were hungry for lunch. The Graves loomed off in the distance but we couldn’t land on graves comfortably and it was winter so somehow we managed to show good judgment and head south towards Outer Brewster Island instead. With a little instigation from me, Joe started the process of sneaking through a skinny passage in the rocks. I chose the second passage and rubbed my bow a bit. Joe took a different line and awkwardly scuffed his beam. Eric learned from our mistakes and made the passage perfectly! We found no good landing spot on this island, nor Middle Brewster, so we headed towards Boston Light.

We had not seen any seals around Green Island. We did see rocks that looked like perfect sunning spots. We assumed that maybe there were none to be found. But we were surprised when a friendly group of about 6 checked us out as we passed between Outer and Middle Brewster. We paused to observe them and discussed how we probably scare them because we look like 17 foot sharks from below. However, in the water and at their distance they seem comfortable.

We pulled up on the shore of Boston light for lunch. I located a comfortable rock facing SW towards the sun. As we started to eat our lunches the sun slipped behind a high cloud haze and the wind died. The lack of sun, the cold rock under our butts, and the cooling down of our bodies from stopping paddling combined to chill us all a bit. It’s heeding little clues like this that keeps us cautious and not doing things like paddling out to The Graves. Had one of gone over out there it would be two hours back to the put in.

The three amigos talked about our jobs while eating lunch. Had it been warmer I could have sat on that rock for hours. It was profound how different work is for the three of us. Yet each of us finds satisfaction in what we do. (And each of us enjoy immensely being out on the water in early January.)

Back on the water the wind picked up a bit. It was always gentle but without the sun it had a cold feel. We headed directly back to Windmill Point. As we passed through The Gut the tide was just finishing its ebb. Eric felt compelled to continue his discipline of doing at least one practice roll. This day it was just one roll but he did it.

We packed up our stuff, changed into dry cloths, and sought out the nearest coffee/pastry shoppe. I think we earned a little snack.

1/5/2008 10.5 miles round trip. Air 40, water mid 30s, winds gentle WSW.

2008 Paddles

The Paddles of 2008

1/5/2008 Boston Harbor Outer Islands
1/12 Oaklawn Beach to Patience Island
1/13, 1/20, 2/10 Ricka Rolling Practice
2/3 Narragansett Town Beach to Bonnet
3/30 Kings Beach to 1st Beach Newport
4/19 Jamestown/Brenton Point
5/11 Oaklawn Beach to Patience Island
5/25 Quonny Pond Practice
6/29 OSA to Prudence
7/4 RICKA picnic paddle
7/12 Westport Paddle
7/20,22,23,25,26 St Laurent / Saguenay Quebec
8/16,17 Deerfield River WW Class
9/8 Hull, World's End to Pedocks Island
9/13 Sakonnet Point Training
9/20 Stone Bridge, Tiverton
10/4-10/5 Freeport-Jewel Island Maine
10/11 Deerfield River Round 2
10/15 Westport River Rip
10/18 Lake Chauncy Roll & Rinse
10/26 Charles River/ Barking Crab
11/1 Padanaram to the Dumplings
11/15 Stone Bridge/windy paddle
11/29 Bay Campus

32 Days