I have posted photos from the January 25, 2009 Pool Session at Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatics Center at
http://picasaweb.google.com/summittoshore/January252009PoolSession
You can also read an account of my own expereinces at the pool session on my blog Summit to Shore at http://summittoshore.blogspot.com/2009/01/pool-session.html
Jan 26, 2009
Jan 13, 2009
Jan 12, 2009
More Seal Watch Pictures
More pictures of the seal watch contributed by Jim More, the only non-Sebago member on the trip.
See more at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/brooklynkayak/SealWatch011009ByJimMore#
Jan 11, 2009
Seals in the Snow - Jones Beach, 1/10/09
1/10/09 Trip Report - Reader's Digest/Picture Worth 1000 Words version!
Another fantastic Sebago trip courtesy of Tony & Walter:
With seals
and snow!
Despite the fact that Tony had posted this specifically as a seal-watching trip, I always tend to be a little cautious about getting excited about seeing wildlife on my various hikes & paddles - the animals are on their schedule, not mine.
But wow. The Jones Beach inlet area was FULL of harbor seals. Never saw anything quite like it.
That's all for now. Thank you to Walter & Tony for planning, and everybody else who came for being great company. More pictures later, looks like a nice day for a park stroll, must go before the snow all melts!
Another fantastic Sebago trip courtesy of Tony & Walter:
With seals
and snow!
Despite the fact that Tony had posted this specifically as a seal-watching trip, I always tend to be a little cautious about getting excited about seeing wildlife on my various hikes & paddles - the animals are on their schedule, not mine.
But wow. The Jones Beach inlet area was FULL of harbor seals. Never saw anything quite like it.
That's all for now. Thank you to Walter & Tony for planning, and everybody else who came for being great company. More pictures later, looks like a nice day for a park stroll, must go before the snow all melts!
Jan 8, 2009
Nov 18, 2008
Idea for winter paddling...the Boat Sauna
For those who paddle in the winter..a Saunaboat...just motor the sauna to all your paddle locations... for more info click here
Nov 3, 2008
A Few Pictures from the Norwalk Islands
Sorry, haven't had time for a trip writeup, but here are a few of my pictures from Sunday's Norwalk Islands trip!
Launching from the Small Boat Shop's dock at Rex Marina on a stunning day.
Launching from the Small Boat Shop's dock at Rex Marina on a stunning day.
Landing on Sheffield Island (idea of location for shot shamelessly stolen from Walter - he IS the Brain after all - or wait, is that Tony?)
Sheffield Island Island Lighthouse with a bunch of kayakers (there were a dozen of us, nice sized trip & as usual, a thoroughly nice bunch to paddle with).
Closeup of the bunch of kayakers. Please note garb! Yes, drat, it's starting to feel like winter paddling. Seemed like a number of us had packed either cool and cold-weather gear, or an outfit that could layer up as needed, and then most of us went for the colder end of the spectrum. Good move, the extra layers were a little warm as we first set out with the breeze at our backs, but as we rounded the tip of Sheffield Island, we found that the breeze had swung around to be in our faces, which (combined with a little splash from the 2-foot swell) had a highly cooling effect!
Sheffield Island Lighthouse
Launching from the Sheffield Island Lighthouse. Didn't take many more after this, as I mentioned, once we got past this point, the water got a little more "textured" (great description by one of our 3 guests) & I felt like I needed to pay a little more attention to what was going on - I was signed up to be one of the trip leaders, not "trip photographer"! 
Back in Norwalk Harbor. Swan Series! 
Finished off the trip with a couple of pints, some good pub food (best beef & guiness pie I've had all year...ok, also the only such pie I've had all year, but it was great!) and the beginning of the game where the Giants creamed Dallas at a nearby pub. The swimming deer did not put in an appearance* but I think that a good time was had by all!
* TQ was one of the other guests & he vouched personally for their existence. he was teaching a rolling class on the Peach Island one time when a doe and her fawn swam past - the whole class stopped to ooh & aah, the deer did keep an eye on them as they went by at a steady 3 knots or so, but didn't seem too phased. Very cool, love to see that sometime!
Oct 19, 2008
Breaking news....NY Mayor's Cup - Aborted
NY Mayor's Cup - Aborted
Sunday, 19 October 2008
In a sad turn of events, the NY authorities stopped the NY Mayor's Cup about an hour into the race. It was cold and windy and choppy - and too much for some of the competitors.When kayakers started capsizing, the Coast Guard made the call to abandon the event.
for the full report and videos, click here
Sunday, 19 October 2008
In a sad turn of events, the NY authorities stopped the NY Mayor's Cup about an hour into the race. It was cold and windy and choppy - and too much for some of the competitors.When kayakers started capsizing, the Coast Guard made the call to abandon the event.
for the full report and videos, click here
Oct 9, 2008
Canoeing and Kayaking New York
Hello. My name is Kevin Stiegelmaier and I am the author of Canoeing and Kayaking New York, a guidebook to rivers across New York State that is scheduled for release this coming spring. The book contains an appendix that lists paddling outfitters found in the state and includes your group in it.
I have a blog which details some of the trips I did while researching the book (www.cknewyork.blogspot.com) that you may be interested in. There is a link to a map on the blog that identifies which rivers are included in the book as well as updated information about the book's scheduled release.
Please feel free to contact me at kevinsteg1@gmail.com if you have any questions about my book or would like more information about it.
Thank you very much,
Kevin Stiegelmaier
I have a blog which details some of the trips I did while researching the book (www.cknewyork.blogspot.com) that you may be interested in. There is a link to a map on the blog that identifies which rivers are included in the book as well as updated information about the book's scheduled release.
Please feel free to contact me at kevinsteg1@gmail.com if you have any questions about my book or would like more information about it.
Thank you very much,
Kevin Stiegelmaier
Oct 7, 2008
Cold Water Workshops & other upcoming events!
Oh, I will start by mentioning that we DID have a great paddle to the Graveyard of Ships on Sunday, and with 50% of the attendees being bloggers with cameras, it was well documented! See writeups & pix here and here.
Working late tonight getting ready to go on vacation (Deception Pass! Saturday & Sunday! Woohoo! Can't WAIT!) but just thought I'd post a notice I'd put up on Sebago's email list on the Sebago blog & Frogma. Fall is upon us, it's cold-water workshop time!
***********
I'm passing these on because I think that these formal workshops that you'll start seeing at the local outfitters starting around now are the absolute best way to learn about cold-water paddling safety. It's tons of fun going out all winter, and it can be done safely, butyou need to know the risks, and have the right skills; the right gear to mitigate those. Go to a workshop run by a reputable paddlesport dealer & you can walk out with 2 out of 3!
*********************
EVENT #1 - NY Kayak, 10/11/08I start this with Randy's email to New York Kayak:
We're offering our free Cold Water Immersion Clinic at 10AM onSaturday, October 11. Dr. Lili Banan from Bellevue ER will talk aboutthe physiology of cold water immersion and treatment for hypothermia,Tom Harsh from Kokatat will talk about kayak apparel and cold waterimmersion wear, and I'll do a short talk on risk management for offseason paddling. Tom will have all of the Kokatat Dry Suits and PaddleSuits to try on and water-test after the talk!
Hope to see you!
Randy
New York Kayak Co.40 N. River Piers (Pier 40)W. Houston & West St.New York, NY 10014212-924-1327 800-529-2599http://www.nykayak.com
************************************
EVENT #2: Sunday, October 12th at Empire Kayaks in Island Park:11:00am.. Join us for this free clinic and learn how to dress properly to safelyextend your paddling season. There will be drysuits to try on and demo in thewater. Big discounts on drysuits purchased the day of clinic. Call to reserve:
516 889 8300
www.empirekayaks.com
*************************************EVENT #3: Saturday, November 8th, Chuck Sutherland will be leading a cold waterworkshop at the Annsville Creek Paddlesports Center.
Full details here.
And here's AKT's BCU Expert Center link - I'ma big fan of going, listening, asking questions; then trying the gear but reading's good too:
>http://www.atlantickayaktours.com/pages/expertcenter/main-expert-center.shtml
And of course Chuck maintains one of my favorite cold-water boating safety sites:
www.enter.net/~skimmer/coldwater.html*******************
And of course how can I leave out The Small Boat Shop's. It's not even scheduled yet but this one's particularly fun because they hold in in FEBRUARY. Fall ismore the usual time of year for these, because they are aimed at getting peopleready for off-season paddling - but the problem with trying out cold-water gear in October & even November is that the water just isn't that cold yet. I specifically went to the Small Boat Shop's last year because I wanted to try swimming in full winter gear in very cold water & see how that felt. It wasn't the coldest it's ever been for them - there was no actual ice - but it was 39 degrees and although the situation was completely controlled (warm shop & hot beverages steps away), it was interesting feeling that level of coldness pressing in all around. Gives a real sense of the inevitability of what would tohappen if you were to end up in that water without a way to get out, even with all the gear - that's just buying you time, but in the end, if you can't get back in your boat in a certain amount of time, you are in a kind of trouble thatyou are going to need more and more outside assistance to get back out of.
Nice to get that first-hand understanding and then jump out and run back into a nice warm shop!
***************
So that was the Yahoo group post. BTW I'll also add that if you're up in the Cold Springs area, another one of my favorite outfitters, Hudson Valley Outfitters, is offering 20% off Kokatat cold-water. Even if you can't make a workshop, a reputable paddlesports dealer will steer you right.
**************
A couple more local events that I'm sort of sorry I can't make (psyched though I am about Deception Pass):
Sunday, October 12th: If you happen to wander over to the Hudson, you may notice about a zillion kayakers out there - they'll all be out there for the Riverkeeper's Waterfest. Sounds like a fun day on the water. Weather looks good!
Oct 12 Sunday
Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the upper 50s
E WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING SW IN THE AFTERNOON...THEN BECOMING W AFTER MIDNIGHT. WAVES 1 FT OR LESS.
And then of course of Sunday October 19th, all the big names in kayak racing descend upon the isle of Manhattan for the 3rd annual Mayor's Cup kayak race. (at least in the current form, 4th annual if you count the one I was involved in back in 2001 - that was not a race, though). Actually would've been a fun time to be in town; Oscar Chalupsky's giving a racing forward stroke clinic on Thursday the 16th at Manhattan Kayak, I've never met him personally but he sounds like someone who'd really be a lot of fun to take a class from. There was also a brief rumour about Freya doing something but life sort of happened, in the unfortunate way it sometimes does, to the person who was originally seeming to organize & I haven't heard much more.
Oh yeah, as long as I'm rattling on...on out in November, Marcus Demuth has organized the NY Premiere of This Is The Sea IV - again, that will be at Pier 66.
OK...that's all folks!
 |
| From Cold Water Workshop at the Small Boat Shop |
Working late tonight getting ready to go on vacation (Deception Pass! Saturday & Sunday! Woohoo! Can't WAIT!) but just thought I'd post a notice I'd put up on Sebago's email list on the Sebago blog & Frogma. Fall is upon us, it's cold-water workshop time!
***********
I'm passing these on because I think that these formal workshops that you'll start seeing at the local outfitters starting around now are the absolute best way to learn about cold-water paddling safety. It's tons of fun going out all winter, and it can be done safely, butyou need to know the risks, and have the right skills; the right gear to mitigate those. Go to a workshop run by a reputable paddlesport dealer & you can walk out with 2 out of 3!
*********************
EVENT #1 - NY Kayak, 10/11/08I start this with Randy's email to New York Kayak:
We're offering our free Cold Water Immersion Clinic at 10AM onSaturday, October 11. Dr. Lili Banan from Bellevue ER will talk aboutthe physiology of cold water immersion and treatment for hypothermia,Tom Harsh from Kokatat will talk about kayak apparel and cold waterimmersion wear, and I'll do a short talk on risk management for offseason paddling. Tom will have all of the Kokatat Dry Suits and PaddleSuits to try on and water-test after the talk!
Hope to see you!
Randy
New York Kayak Co.40 N. River Piers (Pier 40)W. Houston & West St.New York, NY 10014212-924-1327 800-529-2599http://www.nykayak.com
************************************
EVENT #2: Sunday, October 12th at Empire Kayaks in Island Park:11:00am.. Join us for this free clinic and learn how to dress properly to safelyextend your paddling season. There will be drysuits to try on and demo in thewater. Big discounts on drysuits purchased the day of clinic. Call to reserve:
516 889 8300
www.empirekayaks.com
*************************************EVENT #3: Saturday, November 8th, Chuck Sutherland will be leading a cold waterworkshop at the Annsville Creek Paddlesports Center.
Full details here.
And here's AKT's BCU Expert Center link - I'ma big fan of going, listening, asking questions; then trying the gear but reading's good too:
>http://www.atlantickayaktours.com/pages/expertcenter/main-expert-center.shtml
And of course Chuck maintains one of my favorite cold-water boating safety sites:
www.enter.net/~skimmer/coldwater.html*******************
And of course how can I leave out The Small Boat Shop's. It's not even scheduled yet but this one's particularly fun because they hold in in FEBRUARY. Fall ismore the usual time of year for these, because they are aimed at getting peopleready for off-season paddling - but the problem with trying out cold-water gear in October & even November is that the water just isn't that cold yet. I specifically went to the Small Boat Shop's last year because I wanted to try swimming in full winter gear in very cold water & see how that felt. It wasn't the coldest it's ever been for them - there was no actual ice - but it was 39 degrees and although the situation was completely controlled (warm shop & hot beverages steps away), it was interesting feeling that level of coldness pressing in all around. Gives a real sense of the inevitability of what would tohappen if you were to end up in that water without a way to get out, even with all the gear - that's just buying you time, but in the end, if you can't get back in your boat in a certain amount of time, you are in a kind of trouble thatyou are going to need more and more outside assistance to get back out of.
Nice to get that first-hand understanding and then jump out and run back into a nice warm shop!
***************
So that was the Yahoo group post. BTW I'll also add that if you're up in the Cold Springs area, another one of my favorite outfitters, Hudson Valley Outfitters, is offering 20% off Kokatat cold-water. Even if you can't make a workshop, a reputable paddlesports dealer will steer you right.
**************
A couple more local events that I'm sort of sorry I can't make (psyched though I am about Deception Pass):
Sunday, October 12th: If you happen to wander over to the Hudson, you may notice about a zillion kayakers out there - they'll all be out there for the Riverkeeper's Waterfest. Sounds like a fun day on the water. Weather looks good!
Oct 12 Sunday
Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the upper 50s
E WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING SW IN THE AFTERNOON...THEN BECOMING W AFTER MIDNIGHT. WAVES 1 FT OR LESS.
And then of course of Sunday October 19th, all the big names in kayak racing descend upon the isle of Manhattan for the 3rd annual Mayor's Cup kayak race. (at least in the current form, 4th annual if you count the one I was involved in back in 2001 - that was not a race, though). Actually would've been a fun time to be in town; Oscar Chalupsky's giving a racing forward stroke clinic on Thursday the 16th at Manhattan Kayak, I've never met him personally but he sounds like someone who'd really be a lot of fun to take a class from. There was also a brief rumour about Freya doing something but life sort of happened, in the unfortunate way it sometimes does, to the person who was originally seeming to organize & I haven't heard much more.
Oh yeah, as long as I'm rattling on...on out in November, Marcus Demuth has organized the NY Premiere of This Is The Sea IV - again, that will be at Pier 66.
OK...that's all folks!
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