City of Water Day at Sebago - 7/20/2013

From City of Water At Sebago -- July 20, 2013

It was a very good day at City of Water Day in Canarsie! It was very hot and a little windier than we like for beginner paddles, but we got a whole lot of people out on the water in canoes, kayaks, and a Sunfish sailed by Holly the Sailing Co-Chair, with safety boat support provided by sailors Jim (the other Sailing Co-Chair) and Chris B. Between them being out there and the relatively sheltered area we have in the Paerdegat Basin, we were able to keep trips running all day. Click on the link below to see a few more pix of the day. 

2013 Season Opener

Saturday, April 27^th, was not only the season opener, the first “official paddle
of the season” for the Sebago Canoe Club in Brooklyn, it was also one of the first post Hurricane Sandy events.  A group of kayakers left the Sebago dock around 10:30 and paddled around Canarsie Pol.  Other paddlers and rowers paddled independently of the organized paddle.  My wife, Vicki, and I were two of those who paddled independently.



Looking at the Belt Parkway Bridge over Mill Basin

Vicki and I put in just after the Canarsie Pol paddlers had taken out.  It was our first paddle of the season, first paddle since Sandy, first paddle since sometime in the fall, and first time to paddle under the newly finished Belt Parkway Bridge over Mill Basin and not under the old bridge which has been removed.  I paddled my Ocean Kayak Drifter, a sit-on-top I probably had not paddled in over a year.  Vicki paddled her Current Designs Sirocco.  Using an old fashioned mercury thermometer, I checked the water temperature under the bridge.  It was 57°F.  The air temperature was in the mid 60’s.



Kayak Committee Mtg Convened by Kayaking Chair, Tony

Vicki and I paddled under the bridge, past buoy 13, and to where the channel to the salt marsh would have been if it had been high tide.  Not wanting to miss the kayak meeting or the food, we turned around there and paddled bcak.  Our total paddle was about only an hour long, but enough to reacquaint us with paddling in Jamaica, especially after Sandy, and to wet our appetite as well as paddles and bats for an upcoming paddling season.





General Mtg Convened by Commodore Walter

After getting back to the Sebago dock we carried our boats up to the wash racks where we rinsed both salt water and debris from Sandy off.  Then we attended the Kayak Meeting, held in the club house at 3:00, and convened by Kayak Chair, Tony Pignatello.   After the Kayak Meeting we took a break and headed outside for the General Meeting, convened at 4:15 by Commodore Walter Lewandowski with several other chairs and officers making reports.  We enjoyed food, wine, and fellowship before, during, and after the meetings.



Follow the Osprey

Canarsie Pol osprey, April 2007

With the remnants of last weekend's blizzard still in evidence, there's certainly no mistaking the fact that it's still winter, but the days ARE getting longer (I do love it when I start seeing a bit of blue still left in the sky when I leave work at my usual hour of 6, and we are there!), and the various Sebago committees are beginning to gather to plot out the season's fun (SailComm was last night, kayak & canoe committees this weekend), and before too much longer, our local ospreys will be starting their long flight back from their wintering grounds to the South. One of the ospreys that nests in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (over in Broad Channel) has actually been tagged with a GPS tracker, and I'm really looking forward to following along on Osprey's Journey.

Thanks to John at Control Geek for passing the word word word, word on the bird!

Cross-posting at Frogma.

Sealwatching Hike

With a forecast for winds gusting to 32 mph, Sebago's sealwatching paddle turned into a sealwatching hike. We did a loop around the west end of Jones Beach, starting and finishing at the Theodore Roosevelt Nature Center - about 5 miles at a nice leisurely pace. It was hard to see the seals in all the chop but there was one definite and two possible sightings, plus all sorts of birds. Lovely day to be BY the water. More pictures tomorrow!

Sailing: Philosophy for Everyone: Catching the Drift of Why We Sail

The sailors among us might be interested in Sailing: Philosophy for Everyone: Catching the Drift of Why We Sail, Edited by Patrick Goold; Forward by John Rousmaniere, ISBN 978-0-470-67185-6, and my review of it on Summit to Shore.

Welcoming the New Year, Sebago style!

From Sebago Canoe Club Annual Frostbite Regatta (plus New Year's annual meeting)

Happy New Year! Here's a link to a few (by my standards anyways) photos from this morning's annual New Year's Day paddle at the Sebago Canoe Club. Always a nice way to start off a year. Welcome 2013!

Post Sandy Repairs Progress

Sebago Canoe Club members of all ages and races, recent members and long-time members tackled post Sandy repair work this Saturday. 

Post sandy walkway before repair

The biggest job requiring the most people was repairing the main walkway, lifted off its foundation by the tide and left broken and scattered around the club grounds.  Even after the walkway was sawed into smaller pieces, it took ten to twenty people to lift and replace the sections.  One crew had started near the dock and was replacing the walk from west to east.  Another crew had started at the sidewalk gate and was replacing the walk east to west.

We all took a lunch break before finishing the walkway work.  Many volunteers had made soup, stew, and chili or brought store made lunch items for a group lunch.  Scattered around the club grounds, members ate lunch and told of their own hurricane experiences as well as sharing other news and stories they had heard from others.

Slipping the final piece into place

Refreshed by a hearty lunch and rest, the final sections of the walkway were cut and carried into place until the last piece of the sidewalk puzzle was put into place, only an inch or two  having to be cut off to make it fit into place.  It was like the joining of the transcontinental Sebago railroad sans the golden spike.

Sebago walkway after repair

Throughout the morning and afternoon others had been hard at work cleaning out the storage containers, cleaning and re-positing sailboats and kayak, pulling water logged material out of the club house, and other odds and ends.  It was a true group effort involving forty to fifty people and a testament to the dedication many Sebago members have to the volunteer run, 501C3 nonprofit membership organization that operates as a concessioner on New York City Park land.

A lot of work still needs done around the club, inside the clubhouse and containers and out on the grounds, but the grunt work which demanded many hands is finished.  With walkway, kayaks, and sailboats back into position, it is now much easier and safer to move around on club property and the grounds look almost normal. 

Recreational Water Advisory For Jamaica Bay

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12
October 31, 2012
Contact:
Chris Gilbride/Ted Timbers (DEP) (718) 595-6600 Chanel Caraway (DOHMH) (347) 396-4177

Recreational Water Advisory For Hudson River, East River, New York Harbor, Jamaica Bay and Kill Van Kull

Due to flooding and power related shutdowns caused by Hurricane Sandy, wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations have discharged untreated wastewater into New York City waterways.  The New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene advises that direct contact with the Hudson River, East River, New York Harbor, Jamaica Bay and the Kill Van Kull for recreational activities such as swimming, canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing or any other water activity that would entail possible direct contact with the water should be avoided until further notice.

The Department of Environmental Protection is responding to the impacts caused by Hurricane Sandy on its waste water treatment facilities and will monitor water quality conditions through testing to verify when these water bodies are safe for recreational uses.

Vicki and I made it down to the club late this afternoon.  There is a lot of work to do to clean up, repair and rebuild.  Here are some shots from our visit.

After Sandy Update

Commadore Walter Lewandowski has updated the club after Sandy via our yahoo group:

"I went to the club this morning and can report almost everything is still there. I estimate at least two feet of water covered the property based on high water lines on the containers. Much is moved around and the clubhouse still had water inside. I was unable to get into the clubhouse to assess damage.

We will not be participating in the food bank paddle this Saturday on Long Island due to the damage at the club from Sandy. All members should plan on offering some assistance for the cleanup effort this weekend. Details will follow later this week.

A reminder to please photograph any damage before you attempt a cleanup."