Wild Turkey Paddlers

Mark

Mike: Nice to meet you and Helen last night. The thigh braces for the Surge is a great idea, but it will make getting into that cockpit even harder, I'm afraid. The tradeoff is better contact/leverage if you are determined to roll that boat. Be happy to help you out with the outfitting as I had cons...

Mark

Steve, Steve, Steve, this is Mark on GD - I'm glad to have relieved you of those three spare Old Brown Dogs left in my fridge, so that you could be up at 6AM today. (Also, the other kind souls that left behind the Endeavor and something else that looks very "craft-brewed" in a big bottle.) It is a s...

Mark

Adam: I know of 4-5 (besides myself) who are planning to attend that don't normally post here.

When are you scouring Dux Beach? Better do it today before the cleanup crews show up tomorrow.

Mark

No telling what you might find on Duxbury beach right now. Telephone poles, old cars, people's front porches, dead whales. You might find sand, but it will probably be scarce. The storms this past week have really made a mess of the beaches. Good timing by the aquarium folks!

Mark

Birdseye: LOL! I've surfed there in worse conditions than yesterday, where I got repeatedly tossed into the seawall and broke all three fins/finboxes in my boat. So, I'm actually being more careful about what days I surf that break.

Mark

When I headed out around 3PM, the Boston Buoy was reading about 16-1/2 foot wave heights. Wind was still around 20mph from the SE. Most every break on the South Shore was totally blown out or too big to paddle out through. Not a single board surfer out today anywhere. Tried paddling out at Brant Roc...

Mark

No, but you can, Steve, but it will take more than a morning's work.

Mark

I've updated the header post for this thread to reflect a date change to May 5th, with June 2nd as the alternate date if the first weekend in May is too cold or rainy. I'd like to change the focus of future discussion on this thread to who would be interested in doing what to their boats if we hold ...

Mark

Pat: I can't seem to do a poll. Maybe you could post one?

Thanks,

Mark

Mark

Possible Date Change - There are a bunch of folks from the NSRWA that can't make this date as it conflicts with the annual NSRWA auction. Other dates that work for the tides and should work for me are May 5th or June 2nd. It could still be pretty chilly on May 5th - or it could be gorgeous. I am not...

Mark

Tailspin, the pads for knees/thighs is exactly the sort of stuff we would be doing. I won't get into any gelcoat work this year though, as that requires warm temps that can't be guaranteed in May, and it would rule out your boat participating in the afternoon paddle as well.

Mark

EDIT - I'd like to invite everyone to my place for a South River Paddle and Potluck on May 5th. The alternate date if weather is bad or too cold on the 5th will be June 2nd. If there is interest, we can do a short boat Outfitting Workshop in the morning as well. The Paddle - The South River is a gre...

Mark

Hi Peg - Wow, it looks like you are planning a full day on the 21st if you are going to be in Maine in the morning and down here by 6PM! Hope you can make it, it should be fun.

Mark

My 10-year old daughter has been in a Wilderness Systems Piccolo since she was 8, and she handles it quite well. We have done overnight kayak-camping trips together and I make sure she carries some of the gear in her boat. (OK, so I end up towing her, but whatever.) This is a true sea kayak for smal...

Mark

Oh, thanks, Pat. I was wondering what time I was on.

Mark

I won't argue with the statement that paddling in sub-forty degree water is dangerous. But risk is relative to preparedness. If it takes one nine seconds to execute a roll, then I agree the risk isn't worth it. But I also think that cold-water conditioning and rough-water experience in cold conditio...

Mark

It's going to be Saturday the 21st. See the Upcoming Trips forum for details.

http://www.wtpaddlers.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=576

Mark

Adam Bolonsky will be giving a *free* class on VHF usage at my house on Saturday, April 21st. He is only asking for a $1 donation to cover materials costs and to be fed some pizza and beer. Adam has given this class a bunch of times before and he is an excellent instructor to boot. We will gather at...

Mark

Oops! Thanks Pat. I fixed it.

Mark

As far as I know, barring a miracle, I am free this weekend, and it looks like a decent enough forecast to consider getting on the water. At a minimum, I'll plan to hit the Cohasset play wave, but if anyone is interested in some sea-boat touring, let me know and we can try to hook up. It's SPRING!

Mark

Ok, looks like this is going to happen. I'll be doing a one-hour lecture/presentation on Paddling to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket at the Kayak Expo, April 14th. Hope to see everyone there.

We can follow up on this more informally the next weekend after Adam's VHF class at my house.

Mark

Interesting mix of kayaks - everything from old-school whitewater river-runners to open rec boats to short sea kayaks. Looks a bit like the flotilla that usually floats the North River every year for the Great River Race, although this run on the Mad has a few more rocks!

Looks like fun.

Mark

Aw, c'mon Steve, all the women (and some of the men) comment on your movie-star good looks!

Mark

Ok, Adam and I talked offline and it will be the weekend of April 21/22. I've asked him to just to pick either Saturday or Sunday and pick a time and then I will post it with directions to my place in a new thread.

Thanks,

Mark

Mark

Ok let's make it April 21 or 22. I think Adam said he preferred Sunday but he knows he can crash at my place on a Saturday night if he wants. I'd actually prefer a Saturday myself.

Mark

I am reading this as Which Weekend Works Best, not that it would necessarily be on Saturday. Adam said he preferred Sunday, and I am flexible for Friday night, Saturday or Sunday.

Mark

Ha, good one, Doug. I'll bring a couple WW boats up from the basement so we can have ship-to-ship communications practice.

So, Pat, can you put up the poll for the weekends of March 24, April 7, April 21?

Thanks,

Mark

Mark

"Now all we have to do is pick a date" - Want to do a Friday night? Or Saturday? I can do next weekend, either the 23rd or 24th. After that April 6th or 7th.

Mark

Adam: You can do it at my house if you want. Pretty central location for the Turkeys. I have a couple FRS radios, plus my K-Mart VHF.

Mark

The currents in and out of Little Harbor bear no resemblance to the currents in the Sound. Little Harbor currents are an unobstructed, short piece of river-like fast-moving water, with very clean eddylines on each side, while in Vineyard Sound you are in a miles-wide river and you may only know the ...

Mark

The ferry is always your bailout option for the trip back. But I definitely agree that you really can't even book a campground reservation without a good understanding of what the crossing options are for those days, let alone count on being able to make the crossing that day.

Mark

Smoke: What time would you have to be off the water? What time realistically would you want to get on the water? I may head to the North Shore to paddle with some old NSPN friends, but no definite plans yet.

Mark

Roger was interested in the idea of me doing a talk at the Kayak Expo on this topic. The subject would be paddling Vineyard Sound and some of my trips to Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Cuttyhunk, etc. focusing on how to plan for the currents, etc. Just an idea at this stage, but would those intereste...

Mark

Jordan or Anyone: I'm thinking of taking the sea-yak out of mothballs this weekend. Air temps near 50, and a rare free weekend for me, and unlikely to be any decent surf, which is about the only winter paddling I do these days. Drysuit is really a must, though, unless you are at least as experienced...

Mark

FYI - Last year Boston Harbor water temp first hit 50 degrees on May 24th. Yup, even by Memorial Day you really shouldn't be out there without at least a wetsuit and drytop. And nobody wants to be wearing a wetsuit and drytop on Memorial Day! Spring paddling kinda stinks that way. In the Fall, you a...

Mark

This is a decent instructional video on launching through surf:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8JyJolUrOE

Mark

Ok - change of plans. We're kayaking to Nantucket. Been there, done that! I agree with Birdseye - I'd like to see the images from those trip report posts by Mark. I googled Ocean Sunfish. Looks strange. I emailed them to Nelson. I can send them to you if you give me your email address. As far as th...

Mark

Great post, Doug, and thanks for all the pictures. Some work went into that lesson!

Mark

Anybody getting out paddling? I was down at Westport for a 3+ hour surfing session yesterday. Pretty nice day for February and sweet waist-to-chest high sets of clean spilling waves. Got a real good workout. But even with the full surf hood, that water is painfully cold after a roll! Hey, Spring is ...

Mark

Thanks Adam and Jordan for the plugs. There are three ways to tackle a Vineyard crossing: 1.) Use the currents to your advantage to cover lots of miles quickly and with a very high fun quotient. 2.) Cross at slack tides (VERY narrow window) and avoid dealing with the currents. 3. Screw up bigtime an...

Wild Turkey Paddlers

Search found 902 matches

Hangover

Marshfield Surf 4-16-07

Date Change

Possible Date Change

May 5th: South River Paddle/Potluck/Outfitting Workshop

Kayaks for Kids

VHF Class April 21st 6PM

Paddling This Weekend March 24-25

Talk at the Expo

Poll Closed

MV Trip Planning Lecture at Kayak Expo?

This Weekend?

Water Temps

Sea Kayak Surf Launching