Sebago Canoe Club

Winds out of the West...gusting to 50 m.p.h.

2012-02-25T17:42:00.000-05:00


Wind report from iWindsurf...Westerly winds, gusts up to 50 m.p.h. This is the kind of day that Joe Glickman describes in his book, Fearless, see below for sound bite from his book signing...

Joe Glickman presents his book At REI SoHo,NY

2012-02-11T22:15:00.000-05:00

Sebago's Saturday Night Indoor Pool Sessions

2011-12-17T22:22:00.001-05:00

Sebago Kayaking FUNdamentals ACA Level 1

Learn the basics of kayaking with certified instructors in the comfort of a classroom and heated indoor swimming pool!

Three Saturdays at the Flushing Corona Pool $99

January 7^th – 7:30pm-9:45pm

January 14^th and 21^st – 7:00pm-9:45pm

January 28^th – snow day if needed

Material includes the basics of kayak design, transportation and launching. Students will capsize and exit their kayaks and learn both assisted and solo techniques for getting back in. Fundamental paddle strokes and maneuvers will be taught for easy control of your kayak.

Sebago Rescues and Recoveries

Students learn a wide variety of sea kayaking recoveries for maximum safety

Two Saturdays at the Flushing Corona Pool $75

February 4^th and 18^th, 8:00pm-9:45pm

Rescues taught include the paddle float, paddle float with sling, cowboy, Eskimo reentry and roll, T and T-X. More will be taught as time allows.

Sebago Eskimo Rolling

Learn to right your kayak after a capsize without exiting the boat!

Two Saturdays at the Flushing Corona Pool $75

March 3^rd, and 17^th, 8:00pm-9:45pm

Relieve yourself from the fear of capsizing. A solid Eskimo Roll increases kayaking safety and broadens a paddler’s horizons. Students are taught the C to C or Sweep Roll or the Eskimo Roll of their choice.

Advance Registration Required

Contact Walter at kayak824@gmail.com to register

Just Another Ho Hum Day On Jamaica Bay...

2011-11-30T18:58:00.003-05:00

Nah, nah, just kidding. Off-season paddling takes a certain amount of preparation & awareness -- but boy, it ROCKS.

Work Day Slideshow

2011-11-13T22:29:00.000-05:00

Just a few pix from today's work day.

Photos and video after Irene

2011-08-28T11:22:00.005-05:00

"Video of the dock as it looks at 10 am Sunday.."

Notice the walkway removed to prevent it floating away.

Leaves and debris on the kayaks and canoes, no big branches on any

Inside the clubhouse, lots of water, the phone still works!

The worst damage was not from mother nature,
but from a human...can you identify the above suspect?

Plane Zones

2011-08-22T11:40:00.002-05:00

Plane zone, Saturday:

Plane zone, Sunday:

Noon to two,
woo hoo hoo!

Holly the Sailing Co-Chair's post-sail comment - "Anyone who didn't plane today is doing something wrong".

What a splendid Sebago weekend it was!

Return to Orient Point

2011-08-19T00:41:00.002-05:00

Eddied out again (except I washed out while I was filming) - this time with a few friends!

Friday afternoon found me & TQ back on the road to Orient Point again, where the Sebago troops were gathering at our favorite "kamp"site out there, the Eastern Long Island Kampground.

There'd been discussion of an afternoon or evening paddle - but after all the packing up and getting ready to go, and the fun of the sheepherding class we took TQ's dog Bella for with the trainer with whom the dogs were staying for the weekend, and a couple of last-minute stopping shops, I found that the only thing I was particularly interested in doing once we'd made camp was testing out the Thermarest for leaks. It was functioning fine - and it was absolutely perfect weather for napping in a tent with the flaps open & the breeze passing through. Aaah. TQ had brought a book along, and then when I woke up, well, there was still time if anyone had really pushed for it, but somehow we were all quite happy with camaraderie and beer.

If we'd known what was coming on Sunday (recordbreaking rain), we might've gotten off our duffs & gotten out there, but I'm not going to lie - I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. I spend entirely too much of my life running around doing stuff and I love it when there suddenly aren't any deadlines or places to go or things to do. There was discussion of dinner, but I was already getting peckish, and we'd stopped for corn, potatoes and tomatoes at a farm stand, and I decided to break out my camp stove and cook up an ear of corn for an appetizer, only it was my first fresh corn of the summer and I couldn't stop at one, and John had brought out his usual fantastic cheese, and Jake was suddenly passing around cheeseburgers, and somehow all the sudden I was full. Go figure! We talked about the various plans for the weekend, we sorted out more or less who was going on what, TQ & I brought out the chart and the Eldridge & talked about what we were going to find in Plum Gut on the following day, TQ gave a nice on-shore (more like on picnic table, really) lesson about ferry-gliding using his pocket knife as a model kayak, and there was more beer & more camaraderie and it got dark and the cicadas started to sing and then we all got sleepy and that was pretty much Day 1. Nice, huh?

Day 2 - Woke up psyched for the day after a good night's sleep. TQ knows me entirely too well, he'd brought Spam! Eggs and bread, too, and he cooked those up while I made coffee and packed up lunch. By ten o'clock or so, we were back at Orient Point!

Look familiar?

Now, we had promised our little crew a real rough-water play-session, boils and eddies and waves oh my, and I had pored over my Eldridge carefully, and by gosh, look at the veritable MAELSTROM into which our...

little band...

sallied...

forth...

No, no, no, we totally meant to do that. Ebb was starting at the Race right around noon, and Plum Gut really gets going before anything else does. We very intentionally set our launch time for about an hour and a half before that because that's when we figured things would be quietest - and I hate to brag but look, we nailed it. I'd wanted to start with some rolling and rescue practice, just to get warmed up; we did that, and TQ also came up with the great idea of going out & giving everyone a calm-water preview of the area we were going to be playing in as the current started picking up. We did that, caught a few boat wakes to practice surfing, it was all very nice --

and as we were out there, our bands of standing waves ever so gradually began standing up.

We went in for a lunch break, a little more discussion of using eddies and ferry angles, and another good look at the Gut from the point - things starting to move now, the waves still not very big, but you can see where they are shaping up, and where the eddies are forming, and all that good stuff:

And then after that, time to go give it a try!

Main hazard of the day:

We should have had helmets, but we had a pretty capable group and as long as we stayed downcurrent from the rocks, we thought we would be OK; water temperature was fantastic, air temperature likewise; there were motorboats around but we kept our eyes peeled & didn't have any problems with them - really, these lion's-mane jellyfish were the main issue. Fortunately, as you can see, they are big, easy to see, and while there were plenty of them, it wasn't anything like my first trip to the point a couple of years ago, when there was a bumper crop of smaller ones & you literally could not have capsized without running afoul of at least one. Stevie did get a little bit of a sting at one point, but these are also not the worst of the stinging beasties out there; he was able to keep going fine & by the end of the day the redness was gone.

We'd gotten back on the water at a good time - things were starting to pick up but we had some time for Luis & Derrick, our two takers who were trying this for the first time, to familiarize themselves with the feel of moving water before things got to max ebb.

Stevie already knows his way around moving water fine - that was nice, TQ and I were the "official" trip leaders on this one, we've done plenty of paddling on our own and with others in water this size, but this was our first trip where we were actually in charge & taking care of others (that was neat...there are SO many people out there who've taken me out in conditions that were at my outer limits, finally & officially doing the same for others felt like the start of paying back a longstanding debt -- great stuff) so a one-to-one ratio plus one extra totally competent person out there too was VERY nice.

Derrick working his way up an eddy -

Oops. Shore break while one of the trip leaders makes the aforementioned (aforeblogged?) emergency repair (SO disconcerting to look forward as you're careening about in waves & current & realize that you are looking INTO your hatch - I was just lucky I noticed it BEFORE I took anything over the bow - that was starting to happen, too)

Paddle flourish from Luis - Derrick & Luis both really got the hang of this fast & Luis even got a combat roll (not his first, really, but his first in moving water - that was VERY cool - "Boat over!" - "Boat back up, WOOHOO!")

This is actually right when the video at the start was taken - we'd been playing for a while, and we were about to strike out for the lighthouse, and there's a patch of large rocks right before you get out into the more open section, and that makes a nice spot for a group to take a bit of a breather.

TQ, having fun!

Stevie makes his break for the lighthouse -

And a minute later the rest of us followed & once we left the shelter of those rocks, no more pictures until --

Rest break at the lighthouse

Stevie, Luis, TQ & Derrick at the lighthouse

And the next pictures I took was of the purple potatoes I was cooking for dinner -

and a very shiny car.

Day 2 ended with an absolutely ridiculous amount of food (Sebago's notorious for eating well, but this was over the top - I swear you could've stocked a small butcher shop with the meat that was cooked!) and a thoroughly entertaining debate over whether marshmallows should be Gently Toasted, or set afire (I supplied the marshmallows that fueled the debate and I think that has to be one of the most entertaining contributions I have ever made to a Sebago repast), and some good stories.

Day 3 -

A total...

washout!

Stevie was the only one crazy enough to want to paddle in the deluge (with possible thunderstorms), so that didn't fly - but still -

spirits remained fairly high -

An extra tarp was set up -

Coffee was made -

and then TQ and I got the heck outta Dodge & back to the club, where I took advantage of the good soaking & the rain-every-day-for-the-whole-week forecast by planting some seeds - my beets had gotten strangled by weeds, and I hadn't planted enough basil seedlings, and I had some seeds in my bag and figured a wet week might make it worth trying again. We'll see!

Then home, to where the bathroom is still festooned with stuff hung up to dry.

Could've been more paddling - but on the whole, what a really fun weekend.

“How is the Water?"

2011-08-14T08:48:00.003-05:00

"How Is The Water?' Report

A Sebago Day to Remember

2011-07-31T15:29:00.002-05:00

Joe Glickman coaching Laurie Pea on her forward stroke

Yesterday afternoon, Sebago Canoe Club Commodore Tony Pignatello posted this comment on facebook: “Coming back on the Open Paddle I saw about 50 kayaks on the water. Open Paddle, Stroke Clinic, Level 2 classes plus individual paddlers. That's what makes us one of the best in the city. Thanks to all who gave their time.”

I was one of those paddlers Tony saw. My wife was another. She and I were not participating in the same activity but happened to be on the water at the same time.

Yesterday was indeed a day at the Sebago Canoe Club to remember, a day that rivaled our annual open house in terms of people and activities. Vicki and I pulled into a nearly full parking lot a few minutes before 9:30 AM. Vicki came to the club to participate in the second half of the ACA Level 2 class. I came to participate in a Forward Stroke Clinic led by Joe Glickman, one of the premier paddlers in North America.

As the stroke clinic and ACA Level 2 class were gathering and preparing for the day, the open Paddle was finishing outfitting. A few minutes later, they were all standing in a circle, paddles in the air, Stonehenge like, making introductions and receiving a safety briefing and short paddling instruction. I estimate that about thirteen to fifteen paddlers were among the group.

While the open paddle carried kayaks down to the water and began to paddle, five students and three instructors as well as a dozen or more participants in the Forward Stroke Clinic stood around Joe Glickman as he demonstrated the forward Stoke. After half an hour or more of instruction on terra firma, the two groups broke apart and the ACA Level 2 class hit the water, paddling out into Jamaica Bay while the Forward Stroke Clinic finished outfitting.

By the time the Forward Stoke Clinic put their kayaks into Paerdegat basin and headed out toward Jamaica Bay, the ACA class was already out of sight. As those of us in the Stroke Clinic paddled, Joe observed our forward stroke. Once in the bay, we caught up with the ACA Class, passed it by, and paddled into some shallow water where Joe offered each Stroke Clinic participant some one on one instruction.

Sitting on the bow of each participant’s kayak and facing the paddler, but with his feet on the bottom of the bay, Joe prevented the paddler’s kayak from making forward progress while observing the paddlers’ forward stroke. From Joe observing me while paddling out toward the bay, and from the one on one session, I learned that I need to keep my paddle shaft and shoulders more parallel, follow-through from 11 O’clock to 12 O’clock, and focus on not allowing my right hand to drop during the follow-through.

While were receiving our individual instruction, the nearby ACA Level 2 Class paddled away toward Ruffle Bar and were eventually out of our sight. Those of us in the Stroke Clinic eventually paddled to the concrete ramp at Floyd Bennet Field, each paddler focusing on their forward stoke as we paddled.

At Floyd Benet Field, most of us beached to stretch our legs. As we were standing on the beach, we watched two large NYPD Boats circle nearby to the south. Eventually, a helicopter took off from Floyd Bennet Field, hovered about 15 yards above the bay between the two police boats, and three scuba gear clad swimmers jumped out of the helicopter into the water. The swimmers eventually climbed into a motored raft and headed toward shore while the helicopter flew away. Apparently the NYPD was doing the same thing we were doing, capitalizing on a beautiful day on the bay to practice and refine their skills.

Already having been out on the water several more hours than we had expected, and having paddled farther than we expected, we climbed back into our boats, paddled toward Sebago, again focusing on our forward stroke while paddling, even though Joe was no longer observing us.

Back at the clubhouse, the open paddle had long been back and there was no evidence of their even having been there. With our boats on the wash racks, washed but not put away, we sat around a picnic table and pulled our collective lunch resources to enjoy a late lunch. As we were finishing eating, the ACA Level 2 class began pulling in to the dock, so we hastily put our boats away to make room on the wash racks for their boats.

After the ACA Level 2 Class had washed and put away all their gear, instructors and students gathered around cold beers in the Sebago Club house for some post class debriefing. Those few of us still around from the Forward Stroke Clinic were permitted to listen in. Hearing both students and instructors debrief the day as well as the entire two-day class was itself instructive.

About seven and a half hours after we arrived at Sebago, Vicki and were a slightly tired, a slightly bit more tanned, and slightly improved paddlers. Throughout the day and as we headed toward home, we were both amazed at the level of activity at the club that day, three major events, but a few individual paddlers and sailors doing their own thing. We were also impressed with the level of expertise possessed by so many of our club members, expertise they were willing to share with others as trip leaders, assistant trip leaders, and instructors.

A collective map of Sewage Outflows...FYI

2011-07-25T06:02:00.000-05:00

Jamaica Bay Mussels

2011-07-23T20:22:00.003-05:00

Generations of New Yorkers have stained the creek along which the Native American Canarsie tribe once lived.

Still, the ribbed mussel persevered, and now city officials are hoping they can help clean up.

While pumps may have worked, crews rigged nets and trays in an effort to get thousands of mussels to latch on.

"Sometimes the simplest solution can be right in front of you, and you need to look at it through a different lens," said John McLaughiln of the Department of Environmental Protection.

Mussels, like other bivalves, are natural filters. They ingest the water, unharmed by toxins from untreated sewage and street runoff.

In the next four or five days, ropes and trays will be completely submerged by water. All that’ll be visible are strips of reflecting tape on top for boats passing in the night.

The hope is that in the coming months, the mussels will start to collect and help filter the water as the tide comes in and out.

"Each individual mussel can probably filter 20 to 25 gallons per day, so when you multiply that by 10,000 or even 100,000 mussels, you're getting a lot of filtering of the water," said McLaughlin.

There are plenty of the mollusks already, but only on the banks tethered to cord grass roots.

So the city hired a crew and paid $350,000 for the entire project. It's part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's PlanNYC, which hopes to reverse environmental damage citywide.

It's smack against a residential community, but discreetly so. Despite trash and less than pristine water, there aren’t just scores of mussels but jumping schools of jumping fish and ducks paddling northbound.

If the plan works, New York's waterways could become a veritable seafood buffet. After luring oysters and mussels to stay in the five boroughs, officials say they're next considering bay scallops.

Dept of Health Water Quality Report is full of Poop!

2011-07-23T04:56:00.001-05:00

An example of a totally useless water quality report: NYC Department of Health
Why? They are never correct...list good water on the worst days, bad water on perfectly clean days...a total waste of our tax dollars and time.

Testing the Water By Diana Mellon Hartford Advocate

It's Friday afternoon, and Rosemarie Soldi points to a coffee cup and a piece of plastic next to her on the sand at West Haven beach. Nowadays, she only goes into the water up to her waist. "I would not take my granddaughter to swim here," she says. She has watched the beach become dirtier and dirtier in the 30 years she's lived here.

When West Haven's water is dirty — too dirty by state standards — the town's Public Health department doesn't let beachgoers know. According to an Advocate investigation, West Haven is the only one of five shoreline towns (New Haven, Branford, East Haven, West Haven and Milford) that hasn't closed its beach or posted a dirty-water advisory at all since 2003. But last summer alone, 19 water samples from West Haven exceeded the safety limit suggested by the state.

One June day last year was particularly bad: 13 of the 18 water samples taken by the Health Department at different locations along the beach came back above the acceptable bacteria standard, but Connecticut's longest public beach remained open for swimming.

The state encourages towns to send beach water samples to its lab for free testing every Monday. The lab counts the number of colony forming units ("cfu") of Enterococcus — a bacteria — per 100 milliliter of salt water. State guidelines consider an Enterococcus reading of more than 104cfu per 100ml of water to be potentially dangerous.

Enterococci are indicator bacteria: If levels are high, there's a good chance of too much human or animal feces, which can carry contagious diseases.

With a result above 104, the state says towns should look for pollution sources at the beach, put up an advisory or close the beach and retest the water as soon as possible. Since this isn't required, some towns close their beaches and others don't.

Because of the time lag between when samples are collected and when results come back — it takes one to three days — some health officials disregard test results. Water conditions may have changed by the time towns are notified of a high bacteria count.

Some officials place more trust in what they see on the beach: If nothing looks suspicious, the beach stays open. Most beach closings and advisories — more than 75 percent between 2003 and 2008 — are due to rain, not high test results. Several towns, like Milford, proactively close their beaches when there's heavy rain. Stormwater runoff picks up pollutants and, in older sewage systems, runs down the same pipes that carry raw sewage to treatment plants. The plants are overwhelmed when it rains, so they dump untreated sewage into Long Island Sound.

Chances are, testing only once a week won't catch most sewage spills. A test taken on a Monday wouldn't detect a pollution incident occurring on Tuesday.

Only occasionally does the test have perfect timing. One West Haven beach sample, taken on June 24 of this year, showed more than 19 times too many Enterococcus bacteria. After the test results came back, Ray Puslys, West Haven's chief sanitarian, walked the beach and discovered the culprit: The city's sanitary sewer line was backed up. He warned the city, which fixed the problem, but not the public. In the meantime, the beach stayed open for swimming.

The tests, West Haven's Puslys argues, are meaningless if water conditions have changed by the time the test results come back days later. "Going by the results," he says, "you tend to close a beach when it should be open and open it when it should be closed."

Because the Enterococcus test is slow and out of date, local public health officials are caught in a difficult position, says Jon Dinneen, a research analyst at the state's Department of Public Health. The federal Beach Act of 2000 required that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) come up with new standards and a faster test by 2005. When that deadline passed, the National Resources Defense Council waged a successful lawsuit against the EPA. The new deadline is 2012.

Dinneen says swimmers should always follow the state's long list of safety guidelines — don't swim with open cuts, don't put your head under water, don't bury friends in the sand, always towel off after swimming. Because you never know when you're swimming in unsafe water.

NYC WaterTrail Web: Public Boating Program Cancellations due to Sewage...

2011-07-22T09:58:00.001-05:00

NYC WaterTrail Web: Public Boating Program Cancellations due to Sewage...: "Please be advised that the following organizations have alerted NYCWTA that they have canceled all or some of their public paddling programs..."
****************
As things stand now, it'll be business as usual at Sebago!

Sewage Update

2011-07-22T09:17:00.002-05:00

Ugh. Do I ever hate having to write a title like that.

Anyways. The Times has an article today about the fire & the resulting water quality issues - click here to read -

And as they mention in the article, there are now advisories against swimming at 4 beaches south of the Verranzano - here, again, is the water-quality site; advisories are now posted for Midland, Cedar, and South Beaches in Staten Island, and Sea Gate at the westernmost tip of Coney Island.

As of now, water quality at the beaches closer in to the bay is still fine and barring further changes, all programs at the club will run as planned this weekend.

We are fortunate.

Hudson River Sewage Dump

2011-07-21T11:24:00.003-05:00

Updated w/closure & advisory info at 4:30 pm. Please scroll down for details.

If you have access to a kayak & Hudson River waters in the NYC vicinity, and you had any thoughts about beating the heat with some rolling and rescue practice - DON'T.

A fire at the North River Sewage Treatment Plant has knocked out a couple of pumps and there's been a massive discharge (ongoing as I post). Click here for full details.

Via the NYC Kayaker Distributed E-mail List - thank you as always to the Hudson River Watertrail Association for maintaining this incredibly useful "kayak grapevine". I usually hear it there first.

Adding a suggestion, slightly later - if you were considering attending any of the area's public paddling programs this weekend, it would be a good idea to check the website of the place you were going to go before you do. I think most of them have phone numbers you can call for a status update or will make announcements on their sites. I'm only aware of one so far (Hoboken Cove) that has made the call to not run their program this weekend, but others are considering it & will make their decisions as the situation develops.

Sebago will most likely be open for business as usual - we're way way south and around a very sharp turn, I think we're unlikely to have any problems. As long as the Brooklyn beaches along the inlet to Jamaica Bay are OK, we are too - click here for water quality reports.

Update, 4:30 pm...hat tip this time to the the New York City Watertrail Association, http://www.nycwatertrailweb.blogspot.com/ -
Rob Buchanan from the Village Community Boathouse got a press release from the DEP a little while ago. None of the beaches in the Lower Harbor or the Rockaway Peninsula have issues; as of now, seems that it's mostly the area north of the Verranzano that's been impacted. Testing will continue and if there are any changes in status, it'll be up on the water quality site shown above (think I got that from Andy Novick originally, thanks Andy).

Here's the description of the area that the DEP says IS affected:
Water quality modeling indicates that there is no immediate impact to permitted beaches due to the dilution capacity of the river. Based on recommendations from NYC Health, the Hudson River, the East River from the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge to Verrazano Bridge and the Harlem River will not be fit for recreational activities such as swimming, canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing or any other water activity that would entail possible direct contact now through at least Sunday.

Sebago Visits Governor's Island - City of Water Day 2011

2011-07-20T09:55:00.001-05:00

City of Water Day 2011, a set on Flickr.

A 360-Degree Firework Spectacular

2011-07-05T11:11:00.000-05:00

Two dozen paddlers, some in traditional decked sea kayaks and others in single and tandem sit-on-tops, enjoyed a 360-degree firework spectacular last night from the vantage point of Jamaica Bay between the two islands known as Canarsie Pol and Ruffle Bar.

When my wife and I arrived at the Sebago Club House a little before 5:00 PM, some paddlers already had their boats ready for the paddle, even though it was still hours a pot-luck barbecue picnic away. As more and more members and guests arrived, so did more food. There were several choices of chips, salads, grilled vegetables, burgers and beverages to enjoy, and enjoy we did. No one went away hungry and a lot of leftover food went into the clubhouse refrigerator afterward.

Around 7:30 PM, after cleaning up from the social, we put butts in boats, and boats and paddles in the water. The shore to sea breeze blowing through Paerdegat Basin suggested we mind enjoy an easy paddle out into the bay but have to paddle against a head wind on the way back. As soon as we cleared all the docks and were in the wider part of the Basin, however, the breeze calmed, but we still enjoyed an easy paddle out into the open waters of Jamaica Bay.

Once in the Bay, we tightened our formation at buoy 13and then crossed the channel toward the western end of Canarsie Pol. As we crossed the channel, a spectacular sunset illuminated the distant buildings of the Rockaways, painting their drab concrete grays with a luminous reddish orange luminescent glow. The setting sun also showed us that the scattered clouds were clearing, suggesting we might enjoy a fine view of fireworks.

Once clear of the channel, we turned west, and past the Pol. After clearing Canarsie Pol, we headed toward Ruffle Bar. As we paddled toward the Bar, we started seeing fireworks in the darkening sky over the Rockaway’s. Midway between Ruffle Bar and Canarsie Pol, with the highpoints of the Manhattan skyline visible over the tops of the trees on Canarsie Pol, stopped to wait for the NYC Fireworks. As we waited, however, we continued enjoying pyrotechnics over the Rockaways, as well as from many other distant sites, some from perhaps as far away as Long Island. With a clear 360 degree horizon, we could see so many fireworks around us that I lost count of how many sites we could see.

Finally, with the darkening sky in the west, we started seeing the fireworks set off from barges in the Hudson. Thanks, Macy’s! I have watched the New York City Fireworks from the banks of the Hudson. While being closer to fireworks and enjoying the display as part of a large crown has its advantages, one cannot see the fireworks from all the barges when that close. Our vantage point from the waters of Jamaica Bay not only allowed us to view the display from all the barges, but afterwards, rather than moving with the throngs toward an overcrowded subway, we paddled past a variety of birds in the city’s largest Wildlife Refuge while enjoying the wide-open expanse of the glassy smooth Bay.

Once the New York City show was over, occasional displays of random fireworks continued to entertain us as we paddled back to Paerdegat Basin. The eerie reflections of terrestrial lights off the glass-like Bay almost lulled us into a hypnotic dream-like paddling cadence as we crossed the main channel, but as we approached the construction area near the Belt Parkway bridge over the basin, realty once again claimed us as we carefully negotiated the narrow channel under the bridge and into the basin.

Once back at the club, we carried boats and gear up to the wash racks where we rinsed it free of saltwater. After we put it all safely away back into lockers and on top of cars, we settled around tables in the clubhouse were we enjoyed a post paddle desert of Italian pastries, beer, wine, conversation and fellowship. About fifteen minutes before midnight, we said good-bye to friends old and new and headed home. It was a spectacular Sebago Canoe Club Fourth of July to remember.

Jamaica Bay water quality agreements signed

2011-06-28T06:20:00.001-05:00

NEW YORK CITY, NY, June 27, 2011 -- New York environmental agencies have signed two parallel agreements to significantly improve water quality and habitat in Jamaica Bay.

The agreements, signed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), continue several years of joint efforts by these agencies to clean up the bay, with the active participation of a civic and environmental coalition, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Jamaica Bay Eco-Watchers, which were named in one of the legal settlements announced today.

The agreements require DEP to invest in heightened nitrogen treatment systems at four New York City wastewater treatment plants that discharge into the Bay, at an estimated cost of $100 million. DEP will also dedicate $13 million in Environmental Benefit Projects (EBPs) and $2 million to restore marsh island habitat in this nationally prominent ecosystem.

The agreements also require New York City to adhere to a schedule for plant treatment upgrades and provide for the civic and environmental coalition's continued involvement in the cleanup. The agreement between DEC and DEP also will keep on track the multi-year program to improve water quality in Long Island Sound through nitrogen treatment upgrades.

"The signing of this historic agreement will benefit generations of New Yorkers and millions of tourists who want to enjoy one of New York City's hidden gems," said New York City Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway. "And we have not waited for the drafting to be complete to get to work. We are already removing roughly 8,000 pounds more of nitrogen per day than would be the case without this agreement; when it is fully implemented, we will have cut nitrogen discharges from our treatment plants by at least 50%."

Popular for fishing and bird-watching, Jamaica Bay is one of the focus areas of the America's Great Outdoors program, the Obama Administration's initiative to develop a 21st century conservation and recreation agenda.

The Bay is a diverse ecological treasure that supports multiple habitats, including open water, salt marshes, grasslands, coastal woodlands, maritime shrub lands, and brackish and freshwater wetlands. These habitats support nearly 100 fish species, 325 species of birds and many reptile, amphibian and mammal species. Over the past several decades, Jamaica Bay's marsh island habitats have been disintegrating at an accelerated rate.

Excess nutrient nitrogen in salt water systems is a major cause of algae growth and associated low oxygen conditions that can cause fish kills, wetland habitat decay, odors and bio-slimes -- sometimes referred as a nitrogen "dead zone." These conditions often impact both Jamaica Bay and Long Island Sound during warmer weather. Ninety percent of the nitrogen going into the Bay comes from municipal sewage treatment plants.

Canoeing!

2011-06-20T21:51:00.000-05:00

The recent revival of Sebago's Canoe Committee, and the upcoming Bronx River trip have reminded me that I used to do a lot of paddling, single blade, old school, "J" stroke and all. I dug up some of my old photos of two special wood canoes that I had. One, an Old Town 15' lightweight "guide" model that I completely restored, and the other an ultra-light, Tom Hill designed lapstrake canoe that I built. Holly and I put many miles on these two boats, making several week long trips in the Adirondack lakes, and some weekend forays to the Pine Barrens. We paddled a bit on salt water too, on trips to Maine and Nova Scotia. Here are some pics.

The Old Town Guide, with her original canvas before restoration.

Stripping off the old varnish. The canvas has been removed.

I decided to take a canoe restoration class from renowned builder Rollin Thurlow, who was teaching at the WoodenBoat school in Brooklin, Maine. This week long course was excellent, and I came away with a nearly done boat. We stripped the old canvas off, and removed all of the old varnish prior to traveling up to WoodenBoat. This was back in 1990 or 91. Once there, I removed the old end decks, repaired the stem ends, and replaced several broken ribs with new, steam bent white cedar. Most of the planking on my boat was sound. The exciting part of this whole business was the re-canvassing. The hull is suspended in a "hammock" of #10 canvas, attached to the building on one end, and a powerful come-along tackle on the other. Here, Rollin is jumping up and down in the boat, and shoring down from the ceiling to stretch the canvas tight.

New canvas!

Stretching the canvas tight at the gunwales, before stapling.

The canvas, once stapled, nailed, and trimmed, is filled with a proprietary canvas filler (secret recipe) before painting. This mix has to dry for a few weeks, so I finished off the boat at home.

The finished boat rests beautifully in the Batsto River, Jersey Pine Barrens.

I had actually begun building the lapstrake canoe before we bought the Old Town. At the time I thought that the restoration would be quicker than building the new boat. I was wrong about that! We finished the lapstrake boat and took a trip up with her up to Nova Scotia before we ever finished the wood and canvas restoration.

Lapstrake canoe building form.

The lapstrake canoe is built on molds and ribbands. The finished hull is lifted off of the form, which can be used to build another boat, which we in fact did. The bottom planks were glassed before planking the rest of the hull.

Sanding the interior. Inwales are also being glued on.

Portaging the 45 lb. canoe in Vinalhaven, Maine.

A beautiful sunrise on Lake Kejimkujik, Nova Scotia.

I would love to see Sebago revive some of the regional canoe trips to the Pine Barrens, the Adirondacks, and beyond. Its a wonderful experience!

SEBAGO SAILING- 2011 basic sailing course

2011-06-15T13:38:00.000-05:00

Here's a report on another successful basic sailing course for small boats. Congratulations to all the participants! This year, our chief instructor Holly had just completed the US Sailing Small Boat Instructor course, bringing a new level of professionalism to an already superb level of instruction.
As usual, we combine classroom instruction with "on the water" drills, pairing each student with an instructor. Our water drills out in the bay are accompanied by two rescue power boats. The second boat has proved invaluable, both in terms of safety and in maintaining close contact with the students. Further, we can load instructors in the power boats, rather than landing on the beach, while the students are doing their solo drills. We start out in the classroom and on land.

Holly demonstrates sunfish rigging.

Severn practices the tiller hand exchange.

After the lecture and land drills, we launched the boats and headed out to the bay. Because of the bridge construction, we are doing a lot of towing. On Saturday, we had a stiff east to southeast breeze coming in with the flood, so towing was an absolute necessity going out. We also had some pretty dreary weather, and were chased in by a good sized thunderstorm, but not before everyone had done a good bit of sailing. It was way too wet to worry about the camera that day, so there are no pics from the bay. On Sunday however, we had it easy, launching in a very light north easterly with the last of the ebb. Most of the sailors sailed or paddle/sailed out of the channel. Our wind switched south (don't we love that) and gradually filled in to a max of 7 or 8 mph. Perfect conditions for learning! We set up buoys, anchored the two safety boats, and everyone sailed solo for a couple of hours.


Lee and Oscar sailing, with Holly, Tracy, and Matthew in the skiff.

John and Severn sailing.

Laurie sailing.

Oscar on a reach.

Lee with good tiller form.

Rounding the mark.

When everyone had enough tacking, jibing, reaching, beating, and running, it was time to practice our capsize recovery drills. All the students were successful, which is not always the case!

Former kayaker, Quint, demonstrates recovery from a turtle. This constitutes a "roll".

Climb on, Laurie!

I'd like to thank the students, Laurie Bleich, John Thomas, Severn Clay, Oscar Aarts, Laura Segal, Quint Klinger, Lee Von Kraus. And the instructors, Tracy Kornrich, Justin Steil, Chris Bickford, David Cripton, Holly Sears, Bob O'neil, Jim Luton, Matthew Peverly, and Mark Rand.

NY1 Photos

2011-06-08T10:56:00.007-05:00

NY1 Live truck came to Sebago on June 2nd, 2011

Mike Boxer talks to NY1 Roger Clark

Tony interviewed by Roger Clark

Steve does a roll...

Sebago makes it on NY1

2011-06-02T13:38:00.006-05:00

From NY1 website:

A Brooklyn canoe club is urging New Yorkers to paddle up this summer.

The Sebago Canoe Club is helping teach the basics at the Paerdegat Basin in Canarsie.

The volunteer, not-for-profit club has been around for 78 years teaching the public the basics of canoeing and kayaking.

Members, who pay a yearly fee of $225 and come from all walks of life, say they share a common love of being out on the water.

"It's relaxing, it's very soothing, it's like a runner needing to run basically," said Sebago Canoe Club Member Mike Boxer.

"This is just wonderful, it's like nothing that you find anyplace in the world, you know, it's just wonderful," said Sebago Canoe Club Member Elain Winslow.

Club members spread their love of the water through summer open paddle sessions which cost just $10 and free paddle trips for kids from the Police Athletic League and local schools.

"A lot of them are very timid at first and when they come back they have big smiles on their faces and they feel like they've accomplished something, they've overcome their fears," said Sebago Canoe Club "Commodore" Tony Pignatello.

While the waterways around New York City have not always had the best reputation for their water quality, club members say the basin has never been cleaner.

"There's a sewage treatment plant, and it's fully on line, and it's really magnificent," Pignatello said.

For more information on the club, visit www.SebagoCanoeClub.org.

NYC WaterTrail Web: Fleet Week Security Zones 2011

2011-05-25T15:09:00.003-05:00

It's almost Memorial Day Weekend, which means it's Fleet Week here in NYC. If you're a local boater, or thinking of visiting the area, you might find today's NYCWatertrailWeb posting to be very helpful!

NYC WaterTrail Web: Fleet Week Security Zones 2011: "Below is an excerpt from the CG notice about Fleet Week which describes security zones which will be in effect for several days..."

Go Navy!

DEP goes from gray to green

2011-05-25T14:29:00.002-05:00

We don't need no stinkin' fishing license!

2011-05-23T09:38:00.004-05:00

New York's saltwater anglers are officially off the hook with regard to paying a fee to fish!

Governor Andrew Cuomo's new $132.5 billion budget passed before the April 1 deadline immediately repeals the saltwater fishing license and replaces it with a free registry coordinated through the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Swapping out a fee-based saltwater fishing license with a free registry should allow New York to retain its federal registry exemption, thereby allowing state anglers to avoid having to pay a $15 federal fee to fish. As part of the Environmental Conservation budget bill, the registry will be no cost to anglers for at least the next two years.

Jamaica Bay Fishing Tourney Results

2011-05-17T07:10:00.001-05:00

Friday and Saturday brought clear weather with the usual wind, and with heavy rain and thunderstorms on the radar on Sunday fishing on the final day was called off.

Open Division:
1. Bob Stuber 42 1/2" bass
2. Chris Voorhes 40" bass
3. Adrian Gonzeles 38: bass (tie)
4. Marty McMaahon 38" bass (tie)

Fly Division:
1. Kurt Schwartz 30 1/4" bass
2. Rob Jagde 25" bass
3. Chuck Mills 23" bass

The Bronx River Flotilla Review

2011-05-12T09:53:00.000-05:00

Sebago went to the Bronx River, and we will be returning again !

What Happened At The Regatta (In Case You Missed It)

2011-05-09T18:23:00.000-05:00

This post inspired by a charming little cartoon we used to have pinned up on the SailComm section of the Sebago Canoe Club bulletin board. I'll have to look to see if it's still up when I go to water in the morning, because I can't remember the cartoonist's name, but as I was reminded of it last night as I sorted through all the pictures I'd taken of little boats going this way and that, with puffy clouds in the sky behind it.

The pictures, of course, are a few of mine from Saturday's Laser District 8 regatta, hosted by the Sailing Committee of the Sebago Canoe Club. What a lovely day of racing we had, and great food afterwards, too!

Many more pictures here.

Cross-posted at Frogma

The Bronx River Flotilla

2011-05-08T06:27:00.005-05:00

May 7th Sebago went to The Bronx.
More photos coming soon!
We will be returning June 26th...

Hudson River Greenland Festival

2011-05-04T18:46:00.001-05:00

June 24-26th, Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

our goal

The focus of this weekend is to learn, refine, and share traditional kayaking techniques in a stimulating and enjoyable environment. Whether you are new, along, or far down this path, come join us for a great weekend of Greenland-Style kayaking!

the instruction

We will have a passionate group of mentors that will offer, for all skill levels, the opportunity to either discover or further engage the deep and significant repertoire of the Greenlandic seal catchers. No matter what your paddling experience, come explore these very practical strokes, braces, and rolling skills.

A comprehensive strokes session will be offered both days for all levels, beginning with the best teacher of all, the paddle itself. A short land talk/Q&A on history, material, paddle-sizing, kayak fit, basic stroke, posture and legwork will be followed by an on-water session covering forward stroke, canted stroke, back-paddling, braces, sweeps, rudders, draws, and more.

Did we mention rolling? Kayaks can be rather tippy sometimes and you can find warmth, security, and dryness by staying in the kayak rather than in the water. Hence, the ‘eskimo roll’. There are many ways to roll. Are you interested in mastering sculling for support or the basic standard roll? More advanced layback techniques, such as the crook of arm or spine roll? Norsaq rolls? Hand rolls? Would you like to learn forward-finishing techniques, like the storm roll, or the reverse sweep? Do you want to push even deeper into the ‘rolling list’?

And there is more to Greenland-style than paddling and rolling! See a Greenlandic Ropes demonstration (how the Inuit kept fit during the long winter months) and try it yourself. Participate in discussions on paddle-carving and Skin-On-Frame (SOF) construction. Hear our guest speaker present her trip to Greenland and learn about Greenland culture. See how many rolls you can accomplish in the Roll-Off. Try your hand at some skill-inspired games and join a team for a very fun Greenlandic relay race!

New at HRGF 2011!

Paddle-carving workshop with Chris Raab of Tuktu Paddles!

$100 for a full-day workshop, all tools and materials provided, Friday, June 24, 9am-5pm, ending with a Greenland paddle ready to get wet. Minimum 5 participants, maximum 15 so sign-up now!

Deadline for paddle workshop sign-up and payment is April 30.

So, come join in the fun! Seize this day! Explore the origins of kayaking! Here is your opportunity to try traditional gear, including paddles, ‘paatit’, skin on frame ‘qajaq’, and paddling jackets, ‘tuilik’. Bring an open mind and a set of nose plugs!

Dress to get wet!

logistics

You may arrive on Friday anytime after the park opens at 8 am. Event registration will be from noon-8 pm at the Lodge in the cabin area. The $8 daily parking fee is waived for all participants. We will have open activities—paddling, ropes play, socializing.

All our cabins have been reserved. Tent site are still available. Bathrooms with showers are in separate buildings in the cabin area and by the tent sites.

HRGF headquarters will be at the Lodge in the cabin area.

Food – Meals are provided starting with Friday dinner, three meals Saturday, and Sunday breakfast and lunch. Bottled water and sodas will be provided all weekend. Feel free to bring other beverages of choice to share.

Silent & Live Auction – Saturday night at the Lodge. Items include donated kayak gear, crafts, and trips to other kayak events. Please bring items to donate to the table as all proceeds go right back into keeping event costs low.

safety

A Coast Guard approved personal flotation device to be worn during on-water activities. EMTs and First Responders are always on-site.

fees

$175.00 for the entire 3 days, ACA members subtract $5.00 for insurance.

the schedule

Friday Night: Noon-8 pm check in. Drive up to the gate and tell the guard you are there for Qajaq USA’s event – the Hudson River Greenland Festival (HRGF). Proceed through the park to the Lodge at far end of the campground. If you know you will arrive later than 8pm, indicate this on your registration form and we will give you a cell phone number to reach us.

Saturday:
6:30am Yoga
7:30am Breakfast
8:00am Morning Meeting
9:00am Instruction Kick off
12:30pm Lunch, see food for options
1:00pm Afternoon meeting
1:30pm Afternoon Instruction
4:30pm Break for day, let the festivities begin!
5:00pm Ropes demo/instruction (at the Lodge)
Sat evening Dinner, Silent & Live Auction, Miscellaneous Fun!
8:00pm Presentation: Heather Lamon’s first trip to Greenland

Sunday:
6:30am Yoga
7:30am Breakfast
8:00am Morning Meeting, clear camp
9:00am Instruction Kick off. Also possible Guided Hudson River paddle.
11:30am Roll-off
12:30pm Lunch
1:00pm Afternoon Meeting
1:30pm Greenlandic Relay Race
2:30-ishpm Award Ceremony, open practice, paddling

directions to the Hudson River Greenland Festival

The Hudson River Greenland Festival will be held in Croton Point Park. Croton Point Park is a 508-acre park situated on a peninsula on the east shore of the Hudson River. It is located in Croton-on-Hudson, Westchester County, New York.

on Google Maps

Search for Croton Point Park, Croton, NY.

directions from east of the Hudson River

From the East [Port Chester and points East] Merritt Parkway (South) or New England Thruway (South) to 287. 287 to the Sprain Brook Parkway North, to the Taconic Parkway North, 3rd exit, 100/9A north. Stay on 9A to RT 9 north of Ossining, and take first exit, Croton Point Avenue. Make left, follow signs to the park.

directions from west of the Hudson River

From the West [Rockland County and points West] New York State Thruway to Exit 9 (Tarrytown). Proceed North on Route 9 for approximately 10 miles and exit at Croton Point Avenue, turn left at end of ramp; turn left at light; Park entrance straight ahead.

directions from north of Westchester County

Take your best route to Route 9 South. Take Route 9 South to Croton Point Avenue exit; follow signs for the park.

directions from south of Westchester County

Take your best route to Route 9 North. Take Route 9 North to Croton Point Avenue exit; follow signs for the park.

Click here to sign up

Canoeing On the Bronx River!

2011-04-25T22:15:00.001-05:00

Canoe Trip Bronx River Flotilla May 7th

2011-04-25T21:34:00.002-05:00

Upcoming Events: Our Annual Open House, And Our Annual Spring Laser District 8 Regatta!

2011-04-13T09:37:00.003-05:00

My goodness, summer must be on the way. To give you a live link: for more details, visit SebagoCanoeClub.org, and to see the kind of fun to be had at the Sebago Open House, click here!

And...HEY LASER SAILORS! Don't forget, Sebago's annual Spring Laser District 8 Regatta is coming up SOON!

Boy, May seemed so far away when I first posted about that.

Cross-posted at Frogma.

Matinicus Peapod Update.

2011-04-03T16:54:00.000-05:00

We are gradually making some progress on the peapod. Here's a couple of recent pictures of the interior.

Interior is painted, and redwood floorboards are in.

For the full story, go to my blog, Small Craft Warning.

Kayaks and Canoes For Sale

2011-04-03T07:29:00.004-05:00

1)Canoe...15'4" Squareback Alum. canoe, needs repair 15'4" x 43"

2)Plastic canoe with built in cooler 16'6"x38"

3)Kayak Acaida 11' x28" green

4)Kayak Wilderness Systems 14'6" seacret

5)Green fishing kayak 11'x28

6)White Wood kayak 15'10" x25"

For more info call 718-284-8884

J-Bay Task Force Meeting - JFK AIRPORT EXPANSION RESPONSE!

2011-03-31T16:32:00.001-05:00

"Reclamation", the powers that be are calling the proposal to turn some number of acres of Jamaica Bay into airport runways...

Here's a meeting that should be of great interest to those who love Jamaica Bay. I highly doubt that I will be able to make it because of work pressures, but I did want to spread the word.

JAMAICA BAY TASK FORCE MEETING

APRIL 7, 2011 @ 6:30 pm

NPS Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Cross Bay Blvd. Broad Channel, NY 11693

AGENDA
6:30 - 6:45 Sign in, Introductions, Acknowledgment of Elected/Agency
Officials
6:45 - 7:05 Overview of Regional Plan Association Proposed Plan for
Expansion of JFK Airport- Environmental Response
Dan Mundy Jr. Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers
7:05 - 7:15 Potential impacts of JFK Expansion
Brad Sewell, Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense
Council
7:15 - 7:35 JFK Airport Expansion and Bird Hazard issues
Don Riepe, Jamaica Bay Guardian
7:35 - 7:55 Marine Life in the targeted areas; A
commercial/recreational
Perspective from the local Fishing Industry
Captain Vincent Calabro
7:55- 8:30 Discussion, Q & A
Dan Mundy, Don Riepe
Co-Chairs
For more information and directions, please call 718-318-9344

Last Paddle of Winter + Paerdegat Proxigean Promenade

2011-03-21T08:52:00.003-05:00

If everybody didn't know I was probably at the beach, I would call this picture "Tea in the Sahara".

It's one of a very few I took on my last winter paddle (to Breezy Point, that's Minh & TQ in the picture above) - first off, the weather was extremely breezy & I had to concentrate on paddling, and secondly, I was out of reach of my charger for the weekend & wanted to save the batteries for the very unusual and fun event that some very smart folks at Sebago had put together in honor of the midafternoon arrival of the Supermoon Proxigean Low Water - a shorewalk right in our own Paerdegat Basin!

It was GREAT - thanks to all who helped organize, I really enjoyed seeing our familiar basin from a different point of view.

More pictures from both days (but mostly the shorewalk) can be found here.

Sebago Canoe Club Teaches Kayaking to "Swim Strong" @ Flushing Meadow Corona Park Aquatic Center

2011-03-15T23:38:00.002-05:00

Sebago ran a special session for some of the kids in New York City's SwimStrong program weekend before last.

I was sorry to have to miss it (tummy bugs don't go well with kayaking OR children), but TQ reported that everybody had a great time, and that's backed up by the faces in Chris's wonderful album! Click here to see more.

Spring Boating Safety -

2011-03-04T23:43:00.002-05:00

That rescue story was the classic one you hear every year when the weather starts warming up. Nice thing was that this one had a happy ending.

Almost every Spring, when I hear the first story about a warm air/cold water incident, it triggers my Annual Spring Boating Safety Sermon over on Frogma.

Usually, the sermon is just a repost of the incident, followed by links to sites that are FULL of information on the topic, like Chuck Sutherland's coldwater pages and the Atlantic Kayak Tours Expert Center.

This year, in response to the rescue, and with Viv's encouragement, I actually wrote my own piece on the subject. I think it came out pretty well. Want to check it out? Click here to visit Frogma!

A Rescue In Rockaway

2011-03-04T23:41:00.000-05:00

I checked in with Viv, and she gave permission to post the email she'd sent around to the club once she'd gotten the story. It ended up being written up for the paper by another reporter there, and I've added that at the end, but I like Viv's writeup - good to have a kayaker's take on the story!
*******************************

There was indeed a very close call for a Jamaica Bay kayaker who faced possible death from hypothermia on Tuesday, and a well-prepared local resident, who fishes with the harbor rescue guys and knew just who to call, saved the kayaker's life within minutes! Sebago is responding with information and education for the public. Bonnie at "Frogma" and Vivian Carter ("RockViv" of Oy Vey Rockaway!) are on the job!

Rock Viv met the unfortunate (but extremely lucky) kayaker and his rescuer yesterday, and it is a good story. But I don't think either broadcast or print media picked it up, so you may not have heard. There will be a small piece in the Wave on Friday, and hopefully a longer piece on cold-water paddling safety penned by Bonnie for next week. You can buy the Wave on newsstands in Rockaway, at Ragtime in Howard Beach, or at Sherwood Diner on Rockaway Turnpike near Costco. However, the online edition can't be seen until two weeks from tomorrow, unless you have a subscription. This information is important to put out there right away, so feel free to circulate this email widely!

I was told that due to privacy restrictions, it's often difficult in police and fire rescue, crime and accident cases to find out more from either medical or law enforcement sources. I just happen to know a bay front resident from my church who gave me the name and approximate address of the rescuer. Believe it or not, I found him by looking in the phone book! So retro!

Anyway, here's the story:

Felix lives in the area known as "Arverne by the Bay," near Beach 70th Street on the Rockaway Peninsula. He has a bright orange, 16 foot kayak, and a wet suit. Recently, he's been kayaking several times a week for exercise, launching into the bay at Dubos Point (around Beach 60th Street), heading up past Brant Point (around Beach 70th), on to the Cross Bay Bridge (around Beach 95th), and then returning. Most times, he wears a wet suit. With the warm weather this week, he decided to try it without the wetsuit, although the water temperature was still quite cold (probably in the 40's). He was wearing woolen winter clothes and a warm winter hat (but no drysuit--not even a wetsuit!). He almost didn't return.

Felix launched (it appears) with minimal safety gear. He said that he was hit by a wave and a cross current (probably as he passed Silver Hole Marsh), and capsized. He tried to right the boat but it was filled with water. The tide was outgoing, so he tried to head toward land and wave for help. Not clear whether he had a pump, a whistle, a radio, or a cell phone.

Another neighborhood resident, Francisco, was (fortunately) sitting in his backyard along the bay at noon on Tuesday, March 1 when something orange caught his eye as it floated by. Then he saw a hand reach up and wave to him; he realized it was a guy hanging onto his boat. It was Felix. Francisco fishes frequently, often with the guys from the rescue units, so he didn't call 911, instead he called his buddies at the Parks Police rescue unit at their dispatch location. A helicopter arrived within 3 minutes, and plucked Felix from the water. Another resident had also called 911, police reported. Francisco said that they've seen similar incidents along the bay in that area over the years, and that if he had tried calling 911 he might have still been on the phone with the operator by the time Felix was rescued. So, being prepared and ready to respond, Francisco surely saved Felix's life!

After I got in touch with Francisco, he and Felix came to The Wave to tell their story, and have a photo taken. I hope it will appear in the paper, together with Bonnie's safety message.
***************

Here's the resulting article from today's print edition of The Wave:

So, a happy ending, and an awfully nice lead-in for my annual sermon.

And visiting the Wave's website reminded me - I'm an online subscriber, because Viv does get some fun stories about the club in there. She had a good one with pictures about the Frostbite Regatta - well, we're well past the 2 weeks from publishing during which articles are only available to subscriber, so that should now be available for everyone's enjoyment!

Marcus Demth Presentation

2011-02-21T06:51:00.002-05:00

Marcus Demuth will be giving a presentation about his last two
paddling adventures.

When: Saturday February 26th at 6:00PM
Place: Sebago Canoe Club
http://www.sebagocanoeclub.org

The presentation will include details of his record 80 day Great
Britain circumnavigation and his attempt to circumnavigate Tierra del
Fuego with paddling partner Biff Wruszek.

For more details, check out his site at:
http://marcusdemuth.com/default.aspx

Bring your own drink.
Coffee, tea and water will be provided.

A shuttle from the nearest public transportation is possible. Email me
and we'll arrange to have someone get in touch.

Spring is coming, and here's Sebago's Annual Spring Laser District 8 Regatta NOR to prove it!

2011-02-02T14:50:00.002-05:00

From Sebaga Laser Regatta 5 22 2010

Hear Ye Hear Ye!

The Sailing Committee of the Sebago Canoe Club, Canarsie, Brooklyn, has a confirmed date of Saturday the 7th of May, 2011, for our annual Laser District 8 Regatta.

Spread the word, all ye snowbound sailors. Let's dream of Spring!

Links Are For Clicking:

Notice of Race

Sailing Instructions

Ahhhh, white sails, green green grass, green green trees. Remember?

From Sebaga Laser Regatta 5 22 2010

cross-posted at the Frogma

Seals, Snow, and Bigelow's - 1/15/2011 Jones Beach

2011-01-21T00:02:00.002-05:00

They made us sweat this time, they did.

Once or twice every year for the last couple of years, Tony and Walter (aka "Pinky and the Brain", aaka "Co-Chairs of the Sebago Cruising Committee") have organized midwinter sealwatching paddles at Jones Beach.

It's one of my favorite winter trips. In the summertime, Jones Beach may be a pure people's playground, but in the wintertime, the maze of marshy islands inside the inlet becomes almost as popular a playground for our phocine friends.

The first time I joined the Cruising Committee on this trip in 2009, I actually didn't believe it. Tony and Walter were billing the trip as a sealwatching paddle - but in the NY Harbor and Jamaica Bay area, a seal sighting was a special treat. I took the name as a bit of optimism on our trip leaders' part and made elaborate mental preparations to not be too dissappointed if we didn't see any. Wildlife can't be expected to appear on cue, it shaped up to be a great group of people (of course Sebago trips all tend to have that happen), it looked like a lovely area to paddle, there'd surely be some lovely ducks and geese to see and hey, it was supposed to snow, I love paddling in the snow, so even if the seals didn't appear on cue, hey, it would be a fantastic day.

The first seal appeared off the fishing docks before we'd even launched, and once we were on the water, they were everywhere.

They were following us.

They were watching us.

At one point we stopped paddling and just gawked because we were completely surrounded by a circle of seals. At another point, a seal popped up right in our midst - missed the shot by that much, the biggest ripple marks where the seal had been a split-second earlier.

Second year, it wasn't quite as easy to see them. There was a brisk breeze blowing, and it's a lot harder to spot those little round heads when it's choppy. We didn't see them quite as quickly, and a couple of guys who were landing just as we were launching said that they hadn't seen any, so once again, I began to tell myself the whole beautiful spot/lovely ducks/nice people/seals would be the sprinkles on the sundae story...

Of course, they were out there again, and then for the sundae-sprinkles on top of the sundae-sprinkles on the sundae, I jokingly asked ace birder Mary to find us a snowy owl, and guess what - she did! Incredible.

There was a 3rd trip that I missed. I think that was the one where the term "hundreds" came into use. The crew that did that one came back with a story of not seeing many seals and thinking it was going to be a so-so sealwatching day - until they rounded a bend back in the marshes and found themselves smack dab in front of a beach where a huge herd of seals was hauled out.

Unfortunately this resulted in an instant departure of every seal there - seals can get hypothermia too, and their sunbathing time is key to their health; they are very skittish while hauled out so the idea is NOT to suddenly appear right on top of them - in this case the humans and seals were equally surprised, there was nothing to be done but apparently the exodus was quite spectacular.

By my records, then, last Saturday was the 4th Annual-Plus Sebago Jones Beach Seal Paddle.

It was a cold and snowy, slightly blowy day,

but we had a very nice turnout, including a few paddlers with a little less winter experience who were nevertheless drawn by the prospect of seals, and even a very nice prospective member who'd found out about the club, came to the Frostbite potluck to meet people and decided she was interested in joining us for this trip.

L to R - Almost a group shot by Mary Ann (thanks Mary Ann!): Commodore Tony, Susan, Dotty, Walter, Mary Ann, TQ and me - missing: Martha, hiding behind Susan (bummer!): Danica (I hope I spelled that right!)

Jones Beach is actually a great introductory winter trip. It's very protected and quiet inside the inlet, you're never really too far from land, and it's all about watching the seals, there's no particular distance that has to be done for the trip to be a raging success.

They'd all heard so much about this trip, and we launched with confident promises of wonders to come...

But as I said at the beginning of this post -- the seals let us sweat this time.

I don't know if they heard that we were taking them for granted and wanted to teach us a lesson, or maybe they were down at the inlet having lunch, but we paddled for a VERY long time without seeing any.

And once again I found myself working through the litany of ways in which a seal-free seal paddle would be OK - this time, with others joining in.

Mary Ann, God bless her, started to point out the birds. A loon, a longtailed duck, how lovely!

Someone else commented on how beautiful the marsh islands were and what a nice place this was to paddle as we paddled on past the second seal-free inlet.

And once again it was a really great group. Sebago paddles are like that. Oh, did I say that already? Well, it bears repeating. They just are.

And then, finally, just at the other end of the inlet, the first one was spotted. We stopped, we drifted, we gawked, we paddled backwards, and those little round heads kept popping up here and there. It was still nothing like the density we sometimes see there (I actually didn't end up taking any pictures on the water because I didn't see any opportunities for shots that were going to be any better than pictures I'd taken on other paddles with seals, plus I was a little more in trip-leader mode than I had been in the past, which makes me lay off the camera a bit) but all in all, it was another good Jones Beach seal paddle. I don't think the first-timers were quite as blown away as I was on my first trip, but I think everybody was happy.

And then -- how do you make happy paddlers even happier?

Oh. My. Gosh. BIGELOW'S!

Doing wonderfully, deliciously unhealthy things to seafood in Rockville Center since 1939. Faaaaaabulous!Walter introduced this to the Seal Paddle last year. I begged to go back this year.

Guess what, I didn't have to beg too hard!

I once again chose the Ipswich belly clams with a cold Harpoon IPA for there...

and a quart of the best New England clam chowder I've ever had anywhere (except maybe TQ's homemade) to go. And Danica got a slice of key lime pie and a bunch of forks, and I was SO happy - I LOVE key lime pie, I was way too full of clams to have a whole dessert to myself but a couple of bites of creamy key lime yumminess to top of the meal? Wonderful.

Oh, gosh, and that reminds me, there's a sailing committee scheduling meeting on Saturday. I wonder if I could hunt down a Steve's Key Lime Pie somewhere in Manhattan tomorrow?

BTW - interested in going to see the seals at Jones Beach for yourself? You don't need a kayak or a drysuit, just warm clothing, some good walking shoes, and maybe a thermos of something hot (ok, and a car would probably help). The Theodore Roosevelt Nature Center offers guided seal walks all winter. Click here for schedule and details.

The Future of Plumb Beach

2011-01-17T14:37:00.005-05:00

Here is an older video of Anthony Weiner talking about the future of Plumb Beach after hurricane Earl, August of 2010.

The future of this beach and the Belt Parkway is in danger. Every 20 years, the erosion from constant wind, storms and just the shape of Plumb Beach causes it to wash out to sea. Nature really wants to connect Plumb Beach to Gerristen Creek, but something is standing in her way. It is the Belt Parkway. Unfortunately, Robert Moses did not know that nature would want to destroy his beloved highway, so he built it like a belt around a mans pants, going around the outer section of Brooklyn, showing it's great waterfront.

If several Northeaster's this winter as well as a few hurricanes gang up this year, the Belt Parkway will be underwater in no time at all. What that means is if you want to go anywhere near Sheepshead bay, you will see traffic jams like you can't believe. If you are in favor of nature taking her course, perhaps this won't be the best solution. Come to the meeting and let your feelings known..
tion.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS

ALTERNATIVES FOR ADDRESSING SHORELINE
EROSION AT PLUMB BEACH, BROOKLYN, NY

PRESENTED BY: New York District Corps of Engineers, New York City
Department of Parks and Recreation, and Gateway National Recreation Area

TIME: 6:00PM – 8:00 PM open house (with agency presentations at 7:00 PM)

DATES and LOCATIONS

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 (snow date Feb 22) at NYCDPR Salt Marsh Nature

Center, in Marine Park, East 33rd St and Avenue U, Brooklyn (718- 421-2021)
By car: Take the Belt Parkway to Kings Plaza/Flatbush Ave exit, then north on Flatbush Avenue
to Avenue U. Turn left on Avenue U and continue west past 33rd Street and look for the parking
lot on the right. Nature Center is across Avenue U from Parking lot.

Thursday, February 17, 2011 (snow date Feb 24) at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center,
Crossbay Boulevard, Queens, NY (718-318-4340)

Matinicus Double Ender Update- By Jim Luton

2011-01-10T12:12:00.000-05:00

Fitting floor timbers, and making floor board patterns.

One of the frames marked for sawing out.

The holidays found me this year working away once again on the Matinicus Island peapod, after a long hiatus during the sailing season at Sebago. At this point, she's all framed up and I've generated patterns for the floor boards to come later. I'm working on the interior furniture now, seats and the like, and laying out the decking arrangement. Everything needs to be fitted, then pulled back out to paint the hull interior. A full report can be found on my own blog, Small Craft Warning. Stay tuned...

Do you want a bike lane to the Canoe Club?

2010-12-14T11:01:00.001-05:00

Do We Really Need an Interconnected Bike Network?

By Matt Chaban

December 13, 2010 | 6:37 p.m

Had I had the time, I would have added to this nonsensical opinion about connectivity, that all biking except for the rare biker who actually LIVES on a bike lane, dumps people off of her [DOT Commish Janette Sadik-Khan's] connective system. I would venture to say that next to no one would use the bike route that "connects" Eastern Parkway to Shore Parkway down two nondescript residential streets in Canarsie. However, if they connected a lane down Paerdegat Avenue along Paerdegat Basin, through Canarsie/Seaview Park and out again up East 108th Street along the other side of the basin, biker riders would use it significantly. The fact that the lanes terminate and are not connective is irrelevant. Everyone leaves the lanes to travel home somewhere.

Well, one reader certainly disagrees:

What Lew Fidler, with his windshield perspective, apparently fails to grasp is that not everyone who hops on a bike wants or needs to commute to Manhattan. We want to shop, visit friends, attend a meeting, ride to our nearby, non-Manhattan jobs or ride to the subway to commute to Manhattan. And we don't want to have to get into cars to do all that. But we want to feel that we're reasonably safe when we're on our bikes, and bike lanes and traffic-calmed streets go a long way toward accomplishing that.

So which is it? Do we need an interconnected bike system covering the entire city for it to be truly effective? Would not having one be like building a bridge to nowhere? Or is our time and money better spent on a system that will get a lot of use from a high concentration of riders while leaving gaps in the broader system? Should every street in the city have a lane? Should we ban cars all together? What's your solution?

mchaban [at] observer.com | @mc_nyo

NY shops charged with dumping sewage into Jamaica Bay

2010-12-09T16:14:00.004-05:00

The dye map of the creek, left; and the four men hit with environmental crime charges

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Several stores at Brooklyn shopping center have been dumping raw sewage and restaurant grease into a small creek that empties into Jamaica Bay, a wildlife jewel next to John F. Kennedy International Airport, authorities said Wednesday.

The businesses, which include a Regal Entertainment multiplex theater, a bagel shop, a TGI Friday's restaurant and a marina, were accused of using busted sewer pipes that leaked human waste into the water and were charged with environmental violations. Residents complained starting last year, but prosecutors say some of the businesses were first cited in 2003.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said it's unclear whether the sewage would cause permanent environmental damage. The leaks did not affect the city's water supply, the largest unfiltered supply system in the world.

The waste was seeping from septic pipes that run along the banks of the Shell Bank Creek, which weaves through Sheepshead Bay and Marine Park neighborhoods in the southeastern tip of Brooklyn, prosecutors charged. The Department of Environmental Protection served a notice to the manager of the Regal Entertainment Group that the lines needed repairing after 2003.

But after complaints in 2009, an investigation using green dye traced discharges of fecal matter and toilet paper to the creek from the movie theater, prosecutors said. The other businesses charged, which include Knapp Street Bagels and the Deauville Marina, also used the pipes.

List of gear for Herring Fishing

2010-12-04T07:27:00.005-05:00

What you need to catch herring:

1.Inexpensive fishing rod...

2.Herring rig..also called a Sabiki rig..$4.99

3.A sinker (2-3 oz. weight)

4.Bucket or container for fish

5.Rag or paper towels for fishscales on your hands

6.Hot chocolate for the kids or yourself

7.Patience and good luck

8.Know the tide charts..incoming tide is good

All this can be found on Emmons Ave, two bait stores are there and the staff knows about what you need for herring fishing....

Our Club House gets a Make-Over

2010-11-28T18:08:00.001-05:00

This is how it looks so far....more to come!

Sebago Canoe Club's Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatic Center Pool Sessions 2010/2011 Season

2010-11-22T17:58:00.004-05:00

Sebago Canoe Club is proud to announce the start of their winter kayak instruction program at the Aquatic Center in Flushing Meadows Park (next to Citifield). Easy walk from the #7 train or free parking is available.

Sebago Canoe Club membership is not required, but Sebago members will be given priority this year. Non-members will be allowed, but will be determined through lottery and non-members can not participate any two weeks in a row.

The sessions will take place most Sunday’s from 9am to 11am

starting December 5th, 2010 and will run until April 3rd.

There will be some cancellations and rescheduling of sessions, determined by swim meet schedules.

Sebago offers the ONLY program that allows full sized sea kayaks in the pool. Other kayak types are allowed as well.

Our program usually has at least 2 ACA certified coaches each week.

The program is for people who have never been in a kayak or are new to kayaking and those who just want to sharpen their skills or learn to roll. Many sessions will have use of the diving area for those experienced kayakers who just want to practice. This is especially good for practicing rescues.

For the beginner: learn how to do a wet exit, learn rescues, learn how to do avoid a capsize.

For the intermediate paddler: sharpen your bracing skills, learn how to scull, learn advanced self rescue techniques and begin to master a roll.

For the more advanced: perfect your roll on both sides, practice your balance braces and finally learn to roll without a paddle.

Have more fun and be safe the first time you get back into the water this spring.

SPACE IS LIMITED and RESERVATIONS WILL BE TAKEN EVERY WEEK. You must RSVP!!!

Sebago members will be given priority until the previous Thursday afternoon of each week. A lottery will determine which non-members can participate on the Friday or Saturday before each session.

There is no penalty for cancellation, but it is important to email Steve if you should have to cancel, even if it is Sunday morning. This allows others to participate in your place.

Boats, paddles, PFD's and all equipment provided if needed (see cost below).

Swim caps are required for all participants. If you have one, bring it. If not, one will be provided.

SESSION COSTS

If you bring and share a boat $20.00

Without a boat $25.00

The standard ACA insurance fee will be required for non-ACA Members.(Sebago memmbership includes ACA membership)

You can also join the ACA at these sessions.

We'll be washing the boats out thoroughly before they get in the pool. A hose will be provided.

For those meeting at the Sebago Canoe Club to load boats and car pool, we will meet at at 7:30 AM. Others meet at the rear of the pool before 8:30AM to help move/prep boats and get ready for our time slot.

PLEASE be early, late arrival takes precious pool time away from others.

Reservations or questions contact Steve McAllister, preferably via email at brooklynkayak@gmail.com. If email is not an option call 917 496 1523.

Click for info about the pool.

Click for Directions. Be aware that we enter the facility from the rear entrance.

Thanks to Dorothy Lewandowski for this opportunity.

Work Day 9 years ago at Sebago

2010-11-22T16:10:00.004-05:00

Here are several photos taken over 9 years ago, showing how the club looked before we had a path, ped. gate, only a few containers, no real garden, and an old tractor trailer carcass that used to be a container. Does the club look different today?

Reconstruction of Bridges on the Belt Parkway

2010-11-16T13:59:00.004-05:00

This is an artists conception of the new Paedergat Bridge
Reconstruction of Bridges on the Belt Parkway
click on above text for a detailed PDF of the project.

Beginning in July of 2009, the Department of Transportation started reconstruction of seven bridges and their approaches on the Belt Parkway, over three local streets and four waterways. They are: Bay Ridge Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, Gerritsen Inlet, Mill Basin, Paerdegat Basin, Rockaway Parkway, and Fresh Creek Basin Bridges. All are original structures, which were built beginning in 1939. These structures have outlived their useful lives and must be replaced. See details of the reconstruction project (in pdf format) in English, Spanish, or Russian. The first contract to replace seven bridges on the Belt Parkway started in late October 2009. Contract No. 1 includes the replacement of three bridges: Fresh Creek Basin Bridge, Paerdegat Basin Bridge and Rockaway Parkway Bridge. As part of the scope of work, the contractor is required to establish staging areas. The use of these areas prevents the storage of materials, equipment or vehicles on local streets in surrounding residential communities. Staging area No.1 has been established on the Canarsie Circle near the eastbound parkway entrance. Staging area No.2 is being established in the paved area between the westbound parkway entrance service road and Canarsie Road. Staging area No.2 will be utilized for storage of construction material and equipment as well as the contractor's staff. Access into the staging area will be from the Rockaway Parkway service road and from Canarsie Road. Due to the nature of the work, the area must be available during both daytime and nighttime work hours. Every effort will be made to minimize impacts to the surrounding community. Beginning in February 2010, the East 8th Street Access Ramp over the Belt Parkway (also known as the Guider Avenue Bridge) will be fully closed to vehicles and pedestrians. DOT will begin the replacement of the bridge deck (concrete road surface), the steel structure, bridge columns and footings, and the bridge abutments will be replaced or repaired. The new bridge will meet modern safety standards include an improved walking/biking path and have a 75-year life. The anticipated completion date is May 2011. Drivers heading for the westbound Belt Parkway should head north on Coney Island Avenue, turn left onto Avenue Z, turn left onto Hubbard Street, and bear right onto the Shore Parkway Service Road. All pedestrians will use Coney Island Avenue. Beginning in March 2010, there will be intermittent lane closures at night in both directions. This may include full stoppage of traffic for 15-minute intervals between 1:00 am and 5:00 am, Monday through Friday.

A Particularly Rewarding SailComm Work Day

2010-11-14T23:27:00.004-05:00

Hey guys...

Wat'cha watchin'?

Ooooohhhh!

It was a particularly rewarding workday for the Sebago Sailing Committee today - it's not just every day that a boat is resurrected!

This 420 has been on the grounds for several years after being donated by a club member a few years back. Unfortunately, for various reasons (primarily lack of knowledge about how to use the boat combined with plenty of boats that people DID know how to use), she's languished on her trailer gathering grime ever since them. A couple of us who have sail-curious family or significant others have looked at her with a lot of interest but none of us really had the time, energy, or skill to spearhead the process of getting her back into working order.

Well, among the numerous sailors who've joined the club this year are a couple of gentleman who have actually sailed these - and so today, they brought her back to life!

It turned out not to be all that difficult, either - listening to the guys talk, there are some structural repairs that need to be done before the boat can be put to regular use - but all the pieces were there & by the early afternoon, they'd gotten her fully rigged & deemed her ready for a trial spin on the Paerdegat - and there she is!

Oh - and speaking of nice old boats ending up in good hands?

A while back, Andy had found & posted a neat old brochure from the Sebago Boat Company. That post ended up drawing comments from a couple of people who were working on restorations. I always enjoy seeing old boats being cared for & loved & I asked Mike, who was working on renovating a "Fisherman's Friend" model that he'd had for 30 years, to let me know when he had pictures. Well, if you are on Facebook - click here to check out his album. Sweet!

Sebago Swim Support!

2010-11-06T20:59:00.001-05:00

Had a lot of fun with Phil, Steve, Tony & a lot of other old friends at the CIBBOWS Veteran's Day Swim today!

Jamaica Bay's revival begins with mollusks

2010-10-19T21:53:00.001-05:00

Oysters, plants cleaning the plumbing like Ty-D-Bowl

By Gary Buiso

Tuesday, October 19, 2010 8:10 PM

Troubled Jamaica Bay is going from stinky to stunning!

Pilot projects using natural water cleansers such as oysters, and improvements to the sewer system are yielding tangible results, according to a report released by the city on Monday and — more important — those who live and play along the 39-square-mile bay.

“In the past, we would observe a plume of discolored water atop Paerdegat Basin [one of the bay’s inlets], and people would be driven from their patios because of the horrendous smell,” said John Wright, a board member of the Sebago Canoe Club. “We are very pleased to see the progress.”

The bay, part of the National Park Service, borders Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County, and includes approximately 142 square miles of meadowland, marshes, dunes and forests and open water — habitats that support 91 species of fish and 325 species of birds, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals.

Humans, such as Wright, and his 220-member club will also be the beneficiaries of a cleaner bay, but there is still a long way to go before it’s as clean as it could be.

To that end, the Department of Environmental Protection has tweaked its Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection plan, focusing on upgrades to the wastewater treatment plants that dump approximately 300 million gallons of treated wastewater in the bay every day.

That water has a high concentration of nitrogen, which results in poor water quality that allows harmful algae to thrive. The algae diminish the bay’s oxygen, killing wildlife.

The city — compelled by law by the state to do so — announced that it would invest $115 million to improve the overall water quality and mitigate marshland loss in Jamaica Bay, the bulk of the money going to the installation of new nitrogen control technologies at the four wastewater treatment plants located on the bay. The money, along with $95 million taxpayers previously committed, will reduce nitrogen in the bay by nearly 50 percent by 2020.

Agency commissioner Cas Holloway said the mayor has made the restoration of the bay “a special priority” in the effort to improve harbor water quality throughout the region.

“We are on track to achieve the goals outlined in the [plan] that will substantially improve the overall quality of the bay’s ecology,” he said.

The report notes that the city has already planted 1,000 eelgrass marine plants as part of a $350,000 pilot program to evaluate the potential for establishing small beds, which are seen as beneficial to fish and mollusks; and restored 10,000 oysters to help filter excess nutrients from the water.

A WNYC radio show about Jamaica Bay Oysters

2010-10-16T08:19:00.001-05:00

New York City is the former oyster capitol of the world. There was a time when New York Harbor had over 350 square miles of oyster beds, half of the world supply. Street-side oyster vendors were as popular as hot dog carts are today. Local oysters were a delicious treat, they cleaned the waterways and they bolstered aquatic wildlife. But oysters have since disappeared from New York Harbor, mostly because of human intervention. Now, there are new efforts to reintroduce them in Jamaica Bay.

Mark Kurlansky, the author of The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell, and Jeffrey Levinton, distinguished professor of ecology and evolution at SUNY Stony Brook, visit The Brian Lehrer Show to talk about the history of oysters in New York Harbor, and plans to reintroduce them.

Listen to the whole show:
thanks to WNYC public radio

Jamaica Bay Oyster History

2010-10-14T16:45:00.002-05:00

an oyster pushcart selling Jamaica Bay Oysters

Did you know that :

Canarsee Indians dug clams and oysters west of Coney Islands in Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn and Queens. Oysters were plentiful and popular with European settlers, but by 1810, the natural beds showed signs of exhaustion. In a short time, oyster planting and cultivation became a major metropolitan industry. From 1880 to 1920, New York was the undisputed oyster capital of the United States.

for more info about Oysters and Jamaica bay go to :
http://www.nyfoodmuseum.org/

Sebago Member Presents Program

2010-10-13T08:58:00.000-05:00

Marcus at an earlier MKC Presentation

On October 19th, 2010, 7pm – 9pm (presentation will start promptly at 7:30pm) at the Pier 66 boathouse, Manhattan (three blocks north of Chelsea Piers, at the intersection of 26th Street and the Hudson River), Sebago Canoe Club member Marcus Demuth will present a program about his recent record setting circumnavigation of Great Britain. You can read about Marcus’ kayak adventures, paddling tips and more at his website. If you thought Marcus was only a sailor, be advised, his recent circumnavigation of Great Britain was by kayak, not laser.

Columbus Plus Nine

2010-10-12T09:20:00.003-05:00

Group photo while beached on Ruffle Bar. Photo by Gary.

Nine paddlers observed the legal Columbus Day Holiday by paddling from the club house, across Jamaica Bay to the Warf Restaurant on Far Rockaway, and back. The wind was minimal, the sky blue, and the air temperature in the low to mid 70's. Lunch was enjoyed at the Warf.

For a fuller and only slightly biased and embellished trip report, read the post at Summit to Shore.

Classic Jersey Skiff Lands at Sebago.

2010-09-30T21:07:00.003-05:00

Chris (at the helm) and Phil Maynard in the new melon seed.

Congratulations are in order for Sebago sailor Chris Bickford who just acquired a Melon Seed Skiff! The melon seed is one of a class of traditional gunning skiffs which evolved on the Jersey Shore around Little Egg Harbor and which also includes the well known Barnegat Bay sneakbox. Noted water craft historian Howard Chapelle, in his book American Small Sailing Craft, speculates that the melon seed was "intended as an improvement" on the sneak box, and that the craft produced was drier, more seaworthy, and better able to cope with the rougher water found in the open bays of the area. Though this notion is disputed by some, the fact remains that the melon seed is an able and quite beautiful boat, a smart sailor, and perfectly suited to her new home on Jamaica Bay.

Lines plan from American Small Sailing Craft by Chapelle.

This particular 'seed was built a few years ago by Phil Maynard of Philadelphia. Phil is a talented boat builder, sailor, and pilot, among other things, and brought to this project a unique take on melon seed construction. Traditionally, these boats were carvel (smooth) planked on steamed frames. Many are now built lapstrake, either cedar on oak or glued lapstrake plywood, with maybe six planks per side. Some are cedar strip planked, and quite a few have been built in 'glass. Phil built his with three planks per side, in stitch and glue plywood, from lines recorded by Chapelle. The overlaid lines in the body plan drawing show how close Phil was able to come to the molded shape of the original, with an economy of material and effort.

Red lines overlay the original body plan, and indicate the new plank layout.


The melon seed under construction at Phil's shop.


The melon seed under construction at Phil's shop.

This boat originally carried a sprit sail, similar to that shown in the Chapelle plan. Phil later changed to a higher aspect bermudan rig, with a wishbone sprit boom (actually a "half-bone" in this case). The sail area is generous, but the sail has two fairly deep reefs, so the boat stays manageable through a broad range of wind conditions. The geometry of the boom, with its upward angle towards the mast from the clew, keeps sail twist under control with no need for a vang.

Phil and Chris rig "half bone" sprit boom before launching.

I'm looking forward to sailing this boat myself, and welcome another traditional small craft to Sebago. Happy sailing Chris! For a full gallery of photos, visit Chris' album.

Newtown Creek Is Declared a Superfund Site

2010-09-27T12:22:00.001-05:00

The Environmental Protection Agency has designated another New York City waterway as a Superfund site, promising a thorough environmental cleanup for the long-neglected Newtown Creek, once one of the busiest hubs of industrial activity in the city.
The designation, which was announced on Monday by the agency’s regional administrator in New York, Judith Enck, means that the E.P.A. will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the severely polluted creek to determine what kind of cleanup is needed and to identify continuing sources of pollution. Community advocates, environmental groups and members of Congress had long sought the designation out of concern about the extent of contamination and its possible danger to residents.

Changing of the Guard

2010-09-20T09:11:00.001-05:00

Newly elected Commodore Tony
Pignatello (right) recognizing retiring
Commodore John Wright (left)

Though I have attended a few Quarterly Meetings of the Sebago Canoe Club, the most recent Annual Meeting was my first. Because it was the annual meeting, the agenda included elections.

After the Nominating Committee reported, nominations, including self-nominations, were accepted from the floor, or in this case, because the meeting was held outside, from the grass. All those nominated stood, in turn, in front of the assembled membership to say a few words about their qualifications and vision for the club.

After their speeches, nominees retired to the clubhouse. With nominees out of earshot, various members offered speeches in support of one nominee or another. Ballots were then distributed and cast. With a tie for the fifth slot on the Board, there was an additional tie-breaking vote.

With New York’s primary election having occurred just five days previous, perhaps the small print New York Ballots were still on the minds of the Nominating Committee when they decided to print the names of all nominees on newsprint large enough for all to see from a distance. With regard to tiebreakers and transparency, I think both Florida and Afghanistan could have learned something from the process.

Although they will not take office until October 1, here are the election results.

Commodore: Tony Pignatello

Vice Commodore: Andrew Sherman

Treasurer: Zachary Abrams

Secretary: Rochelle Rubin

Board members (four for two years, one for one year):

Walter Lewandowski

Pete Peterson

John Wright

Joe Glickman

David Zweighaft

Already serving on the Board and moving into the second year of their two year terms are:

Mary Eyster

Jim Luton

Jerry Dunne

Newly elected Commodore Tony Pignatello duly honored retiring Commodore John Wright, presenting him with a plaque recognizing his leadership over the past several years.

It was a glorious,

2010-09-18T21:12:00.001-05:00

From

glorious,

glorious,

GLORIOUS day we had for the first race of the Fall series.

ARRRRR!

2010-09-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

ARRRRR! Avast ye scurvy scallywags o' Sebago! I would like to bring t'yer attention that Sunday is not only the day o' th' Annual Meetin', but also Talk Like A Pirate Day!

In honor o' th' arrrrr-spicious arrrrr-ccasion, let's have all debates settled by cutlass and pistol, an' a keelhaulin' or two!

That'll liven things up an' mayhap move things along, too, aye? What think ye me hearties?

New satelite photo shows kayaker!

2010-09-13T17:51:00.001-05:00

Photography Contest... all about paddles....

2010-09-07T20:18:00.003-05:00

Do you have a photo of a kayak paddle or a canoe paddle that is ready for a photo contest? Please enter your photo for a chance to win the photo contest..all about paddles...enter here
You will have to join Red Bubble, but it is worth if you are into photography....
While you are there, check out all the photos of canoes and kayaks....
click here

Boating laws apply to wakes

2010-09-03T02:38:00.002-05:00

This is a letter to the editor from a former member of Sebago Canoe Club, who now lives in Florida and is vice commander of Division 4, 7th U.S. Coast Guard District.

"Use caution on local waterways," stated that he and his children were almost swamped by a high-speed boat while they were kayaking on the Indian River. The writer went on to state there was no law relating to wakes outside of a wake-free or manatee zone.

I can relate to this, having paddled Olympic racing canoes and kayaks for the Sebago Canoe Club in Paerdegat Basin and Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn in the 1960s. My children did the same in the late 1980s. While most boat operators were courteous, there were always a few who had no regard for us or our fragile racing boats. Unlike a regular canoe or sea kayak, if we swamped, we were unable to climb back into the Olympic flat-water kayak or canoe without risking cracking the hull, gunwale or combing.

Fortunately, there are laws relating to the safe operation of a motor vessel. These laws do apply to wakes produced by a boat, regardless if you are in a no-wake zone or open waterway. U.S. Code, Title 46, Section 2302, and Florida Statute 327.33 deal with the reckless or careless operation of a motor vessel. Law enforcement agencies have successfully applied these laws to wakes produced by passing vessels -- where a wake caused an injury, damage to another vessel, someone falling overboard, or caused the swamping of another boat. Depending on the circumstances, it could either be reckless operation -- a misdemeanor, or careless operation -- a non-criminal infraction.

All vessel operators are urged to be cognizant of their wakes, particularly when passing smaller, human-powered vessels. Remember, operators of motor vessels are responsible for their own wake at all times.

Editor's note: Sorrentino is vice commander of Division 4, Daytona Beach, 7th U.S. Coast Guard District.

Public Meetings Re: The Future of Floyd Bennett Field

2010-09-01T09:56:00.001-05:00

Just a quick copy & paste from my email to spread the word.

Hello,
Please find attached, and below, the information for two upcoming public meetings on the future of Floyd Bennett Field. Please distribute the flyer and this information to your contacts and anyone you think might be interested in attending.
Best,
Maya Borgenicht
Regional Plan Association
Governors Island Alliance
4 Irving Place, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10003
maya@rpa.org
Phone: 917.652.6359
Fax: 212.253.5666
www.rpa.org
www.governorsislandalliance.org
twitter: @govisalliance
PUBLIC MEETING
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall invite you to join a conversation on the future of Floyd Bennett Field.
Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Anthony Weiner have formed a Blue Ribbon Panel to provide recommendations on possible improvements to Floyd Bennett Field.

The 1400 acre Floyd Bennett Field, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, is one of New York City’s largest public spaces. It provides many environmental, recreational, and cultural benefits to the people of Brooklyn and Queens and visitors from the rest of the City and beyond. The National Park Service is now drafting a plan to shape the Field’s future. Please share your thoughts on the Field’s current use and potential with the Borough Presidents and other Blue Ribbon Panel members as they develop recommendations for the Field’s plan for the Senator and Congressman.

For more information go to:
www.rpa.org/FloydBennett

Queens Meeting:
September 27th, 2010, 6-8 PM,
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge,
Queens, N.Y.

Brooklyn Meeting:
September 21st, 2010, 6-8 PM,
Aviator Sports, Hangar 5,
Floyd Bennett Field,
3159 Flatbush Ave.
Brooklyn, N.Y.

For more information please contact Maya Borgenicht
maya@rpa.org or at (917) 652-6359.

Small East Coast fish fuels big environmental feud

2010-08-28T20:06:00.005-05:00

At one time, schools of migrating menhaden could stretch from Maine to Massachusetts. Jamestown colonist John Smith described his boat sailing into solid masses of schooling menhaden--so many of them his crew could scoop them up with frying pans.
What is a menhaden? It is also known as a bunker,a small bait fish, and we used to see hundreds of them in Jamaica bay. Even thousands.. How many do you see when you go for a paddle? Why should you care? This bait fish is missing not because of pollution, our water is the cleanest it has ever been in years...It is missing because of over fishing from the Omega 3 company..here is the article that explains it:click here

Fall Dinghy Racing Series at Sebago

2010-08-24T18:30:00.003-05:00

Jim announces the course for the 3rd race of this spring's Laser Regatta - From Sebaga Laser Regatta 5 22 2010

I'm happy to share the news recently emailed by Jim & Holly, Co-chairs of the Sailing Committee of the Sebago Canoe Club - we'll be having a Fall Racing Series this year! Come join us for some fun days on Jamaica Bay. Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions and a full schedule can all be found on the Sailing Committee page at SebagoCanoeClub.org

Hope to see you there!

cross-posted at Frogma

2010 Mayor's Cup - Carnage the way it ought to be

2010-08-24T12:41:00.007-05:00

Written by Joe Glickman

Gone were the 30 knot winds, frigid temperatures, and pelting rain that whipped the gun-gray river into froth during last year’s race. There were no frantic paddlers pinned by the current against a parked barge.

Sean Rice pulls the pack (notice the angle they hold the wing paddles)

for the rest of the article, click here

Old map of Paerdegat Basin

2010-08-24T05:16:00.003-05:00

Old map of Paerdegat Basin ...from Brooklynpix.com...
For more photos of old photos of same area, click here

Map of Paerdegat Basin Park Preserve

2010-08-16T09:52:00.003-05:00

Sunday SailCom Cruise

2010-08-15T22:16:00.003-05:00

It felt a bit Septemberish, gray skies & cool weather, but the wind was great (more in the low teens than the 5-10 kts the forecast had called for) and Holly & Jim set a good course with the windward leg being the sail to our favorite lunch beach on Ruffle bar, where all the work getting there made my empanada lunch taste extra extra good, and then the trip home again being a big looping S around Ruffle Bar & Canarsie Pol. The trip home was awesome, all reaching & running, and with the wind & the waves, we flew! I felt like I was getting more speed out of Swampfox & maintaining it for longer periods of time than I've managed before in a Sunfish - usually I have a few fantastic moments then do something to foul up whatever I was doing right, but today there were long stretches where things were going great.

I did learn one really good lesson today - I have a light wetsuit top that just needs to always be part of my sailing kit. The weather wasn't quite as warm or sunny as the last forecast I'd seen had been talking about & I was lucky Holly had a spare top because the day (and especially the windward leg) would've been a chilly one if she hadn't had that for me.

I didn't take a lot of pictures because conditions were just enough that the sailing really required two hands & full attention, but here were the few I did.

I can't show you pictures of one of the "end" results but I can tell you that I will be needing a cushion for the next few days! :D

City of New York awards $27.1 million ARP deal

2010-08-14T17:01:00.001-05:00

City of New York awards $27.1 million ARP deal

The City of New York has contracted ThermoEnergy Corporation to deploy an ammonia recovery system at the City's 26th Ward Wastewater Treatment Plant, situated on Jamaica Bay, as part of a $27.1 million deal.

Once in full operation, the company's CASTion Ammonia Recovery Process (ARP) will prevent approximately 2.4 million pounds of ammonia from entering Jamaica Bay each year, helping the City to achieve its goal of improving the health of Jamaica Bay as outlined under Mayor Bloomberg's Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan. The CASTion ARP process will be used to treat the 26th Ward wastewater treatment plant's ammonia-laden, internal recycle stream called "Centrate." When operational, the ARP facility will treat 1,200,000 gallons of water per day.

Cas Holloway, environmental protection commissioner, said: "This past year, the City committed to reduce nitrogen discharges into Jamaica Bay by at least 50% through $200 million of investments in nitrogen-control technologies over the next decade.

"While nitrogen poses no risk to humans, it can reduce the Bay's dissolved oxygen content, which fish and other aquatic life need to thrive."

The Ultimate Brooklyn Kayak, And Other High Points from Orient Point

2010-08-12T07:45:00.000-05:00

With apologies to my good friends at Brooklyn Kayak and Kayak Brooklyn, behold clubmate Eugene and his remarkable craft-

The Ultimate Brooklyn Kayak! Bottom tagged with a proud proclamation of Eugene's place of abode, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and sides featuring a lively cityscape -

with the Brooklyn Bridge & everything:

A couple more interesting facts about the boat & the builder -

1. Eugene had never paddled a kayak before he built this boat. He just enjoys woodworking, saw a plan online & decided to make himself a beautiful boat.
2. The story behind the graphics (which I love!) is that when he was finished, he had a boat that was, indeed, beautiful - on top. The underside had a few cosmetic flaws - and he suddenly started looking at it as a canvas.
3. The boat was designed to be 18 feet. Eugene cut it down to 16 because that's how much room his Bay Ridge Brooklyn basement has.
4. Once he had this awesome kayak, he had to learn to paddle, and that's how he & his girlfriend Jen came to join the Sebago Canoe Club. They've both gotten to be quite good. This was my first time meeting them & I'm looking forward to paddling with them again.

So I promised a trip report, but guess what - you're not exactly going to get one!

Why? Because it was a long, full weekend of fun & I just don't think I can squeeze it all in here if I try to do the traditional first we a, then we b, then we c. I've already sort of done that on the gallery I'd put up, I've added captions & it now gives a pretty nice chronogical account of the paddling, from the pre-trip huddle over charts -

to the day-end boat-toting, and then on to the next day. I also got silly with a Google map (featuring locations like "Ferries! Eek!", "Ice Cream Here, Yay!" and "Here An Osprey", "There An Osprey", "Everywhere an Osprey-Osprey"). So with 2 differents linear explanations of the weekend's adventures - I thought I'd just ramble about a few highlights, like Eugene's Ultimate Brooklyn Kayak (which I've just been dying to post about since the minute I first saw it at their campsite on Friday night). So here we go!
*************

End of the Day Boat Toting:

Why is that a highlight? Because I learned something obvious but amazing from organizer Walter this weekend. Look!

did you know that if, in addition to the person at the bow & the person at the stern, you add one or two at the cockpit, it's easier to carry the boat? Seems obvious, but who ever does it? People on serious kayak camping expeditions, that's who (load up a kayak with enough gear and 2 people CAN'T carry it any more) - and also people who have just had the Wind God kick their okole for them in the last two miles of an almost-15-mile paddle. Worked great - I love my Romany but it's a heavy heavy beast of a thing & if just 2 of us had tried to carry it the 30 yards or so from the beach to the loading area, the arms would've been burning. Add 2 more carriers & whisk whisk whisk, where's the next boat? I know, I know, this should have been a no-brainer, but sometimes it's funny the things I would just never think of on my own.
******************

The Eastern Long Island Kampground Is Growing On Me:

The Eastern Long Island Kampground is growing on me. First time I saw it I sort of looked down my nose at all the RV's - but the folks that run it are really a nice bunch (even found one of our folks who'd forgotten to make a reservation a spot in their full-up campground), the Sunday morning pancakes are really pretty good, and you know, it's just fun seeing a place where packs of kids go hurrahing about on their bikes or splashing in the pool or just generally running around outside instead of being glued to their little beepy things or driven from one scheduled thing to another. Also fun the way almost everybody in the camp hangs out around their campfires talking in the evenings. A few too-cool-for-camp teenyboppers were the exception - for some reason they preferred hanging out in the bathroom simultaneously complaining verbally to their physically-present friends & by text message to their cell-phone friends, sort of a 21st-century Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah! There are boob tubes in the RV's but the campfires & conversations do win out.
******************

Blackberries Are Good And Liz Is The Queen:

I love that Walter took us blackberry-picking during our lunch break. This seems like a very North-Fork thing to do, you really do feel like you're out in the country there. Liz was the Blackberry Queen - the rest of us had no restraint (and swimsuits also aren't the best blackberry-picking attire) but she picked enough that there were even some left at breakfast the next morning.
*****************

Food, Part 1:
Speaking of food - Tony & Walter (aka Pinky & the Brain) had quite a challenge on their hands organizing meals, especially dinners. The way Sebago trips work, usually everybody handles their own breakfast & lunch food, and then dinners end up being a coordinated thing. With 18 people, this got tricky! The amazing thing was that somehow, even without a real plan (and with some unexpected timing issues on Saturday after a totally abortive attempt at celebratory drinks in Greenport, we were chased from the town by barking, snarling parking-lot attendents), everything worked out great. Jen & Eugene were the linchpins of a fantastic feast on Friday night - the original plan had been more to go out, but they showed up with all of this Russian-style marinated pork & chicken & something like a bushel of fresh sweet corn - I think they could've sent us all to bed full & happy but it got better, sort of kicked off the Stone Soup effect. I remembered I'd grabbed a big cucumber out of my garden right before Mary Ann & I left, put that & some good cheese out, somebody else mixed up some great yogurt-mint dip, more cheese appeared, sausage, wine, caprese salad, artichoke dip...what a feast.
************

Why Is Kayak Distance Is Not Like Every Other Distance?:
We need a paddler Einstein to appear and give us the equations that explain how it is that in any given 15 mile paddle, it can it happen that the last 2 miles of the day end up being longer than the entire preceding 13. This is a fact. Anyone who paddled the last 2 miles will tell you so.
************

Food, Part 2:
Friday night was Camp Food Magic Night. Saturday night, not so much. Actually had a bit of tension to it - everybody was tired from the aforementioned last 2 miles & I'm only half-joking about the snarling parking lot attendants - they only chased us out of their parking lot, but in the process completely split up our group, despite pleas to let us stay together. Eventually we all regrouped at camp, where we'd all originally planned to eat, but by that point Braun's, the excellent seafood takeout place where a number of us had planned to pick up food to bring back, had closed. There was a lot of confusion over what was available at camp - shrimp, no, no shrimp, not enough food, might be enough food - and everybody was tired & a bit cranky & that was sort of another low point. But by then, everybody just wanted food & nobody was married to the Group Dining Experience & so thank goodness, we just sort of split off into smaller groups & went our own ways. Mary Ann, Elizabeth & I ended up going to this little local favorite (warmly recommended by one of the Kampground managers as he & his wife's favorite place for dinner), where some really great seafood & a nice bottle of local chardonnay proved extraordinarily soothing. Think everybody else found something good too because at the end of the evening, we all regrouped around the campfire & the day finished on a good note with a few more minutes of talking (now cheerful) and marshmallow roasting.

Maybe the moral of the story is if there are 18 of you, and it's Saturday night, skip the celebratory drink in Greenport & just go drink the wine you have in camp!

Even more though - when you're up to 18 people, just be ready to be flexible. In the end, everything worked out great, and some of us even made it to Braun's the next day. Made the perfect pre-drive lunch stop.

Funny that the dinner drama loomed so large!
***********
Losing Stuff, Part 1, or,
I'd Lose My Head If It Wasn't Attached To My Neck, And, It's So Nice to Find Out That People Are Waiting For You:

Also looming large was my gear, or more precisely my inability to hang onto my gear! I don't know what was up with me but I tried my hardest to make this into a Very Expensive Weekend. Tried to lose my camera, my lifejacket, my sprayskirt, my better swimsuit, a pair of shorts & my NYC Watertrail Cap! First loss was the camera. We'd left the lunch break at the point & paddled past the ferries, then reached into my lifejacket pocket to grab the camera & take a picture of the rest of the crew passing the ferry. Oh no...no camera! Checked the cockpit. Checked the dayhatch. Gone. Asked Walter to check the dayhatch. Confirmed, no camera. I'd known I'd had it right before we launched. I decided to go back after it. Thank goodness I keep a bright orange float on it - as I approached the spot where we'd launched - aaah! there was a little blob of orange bouncing around just off the beach! I paddled up to it, grabbed it, turned around & began the long catch-up sprint, broken only by a short pause for the ferry. I was glad I had my VHF along because I took advantage of that stop to let the group know I was chasing them. Next voice I heard on the VHF was Dotty, amazingly clear - well, it turned out that she & Susan had stopped to wait for me! Very, very, nice of them - it is tough chasing a distant group, you may be moving faster than them but there's always this long time when you're just seeing dots in the distance & not feeling like you're gaining at all. Nice to find people waited for you - and boy did the ice-cream at the next stop, where the 3 of us caught the rest of the gang, taste good!
****************

I Feel Good:
I was pretty happy with how I did on Saturday - particularly with the longish catch-up sprint after retrieving my camera & also during those sloggy last 2 miles. Last year wasn't a great one for exercise, I was feeling so overworked & then of course we had such a cold & nasty winter; I came into the summer feeling pretty puny. Being back at mostly-full staff at work has made a huge difference - I haven't been consciously sticking to an exercise program or anything but I have been paddling or sailing most weekends since March, and I think those 10 days in Hawaii did a lot too - I was hiking, paddling, swimming or some combination thereof almost every day I was there. I just felt SOLID this weekend. And here -

I don't LOOK too puny, do I?

****************
Losing Stuff, Part 2, or
The Incredible Niceness of the Orient Beach State Park Manager:
The lifejacket & sprayskirt, I didn't realize I'd lost until we were back at Sebago. I'd left them hanging up in the sun in the shower room. I think I decided to leave them there until the last minute to let them dry as much as possible before I put them in the car - but then out of sight, out of mind & the last minute came & went without my remembering that that's what I've done. Fortunately there's a really amazing manager there - I called on Monday morning; she confirmed that she had them (HOORAY - my lifejacket is a Lotus L'ocean, fits me better than any other lifejacket I've ever worn & has been basically irreplaceable since Patagonia bought Lotus & proceeded to drive the company into the ground - it's now defunct, although I've heard a rumour about the founder starting a new one - one quick message to him if by some fluke he reads this - L'OCEAN CLONE, PRETTY PLEASE?) & then, as I was trying to figure out how I was supposed to get 'em back, she completely blew me away by volunteering to go to the post office & mail them back to me. And then the post office blew me away too - she mailed them on Tuesday, the box was less than $10 and it arrived at my office right around lunchtime today. Isn't that fantastic? I was SURE I'd be borrowing club gear for at least a weekend! Now, it did help that she's friends with one of our members & knows about the club - but even so, I still can't get over how nice of her this was. I'm SO glad we'd patronized her park!
***************

And that's pretty much it for the highlights, and lowlights that turned into highlights too. Overall, as I think I'd already said - another fantastic weekend by Tony and Walter. Thanks Guys!

I will just close with -
**************

What A Nice Bunch Of People I Have To Paddle With At The Sebago Canoe Club.

I'll be looking forward to the next Cruising Committee event I can join, which I think is...hmmm...something to do with our friends at the LIC Boathouse, if I'm remembering correctly?

Now that should be fun!

Cross posted at Frogma

New Bridge at Paedergat Basin

2010-08-10T15:24:00.004-05:00

Here is the new bridge as proposed, with east and west bound lanes seperate...

Sun? Check! Fun? Um...

2010-08-09T13:36:00.004-05:00

Maybe not so much at the moment this picture was taken -- or at least I bet there were a few people who wouldn't have used the word "fun" as their first desciption of the last couple of miles of Saturday's big Orient Point paddle!

Most of the day we'd been blessed with insanely perfect conditions (even the notorious Race was barely a-bubble as we passed through), but the Weather Deity decided our characters & skills needed at least a little bit of building at the end & threw in a good quartering wind of the sort that makes a kayak act like wayward, cranky, iron-mouthed old trail-ride horse whose mind is entirely focused on the grass on the side of the trail. Takes focus & a lot of energy to keep that nose pointed in the right direction!

Characters were duly built. But I guarantee skills were too, and aside from that tough last stretch and a couple of other odd moments, like the one where we were being yelled at by surly parking lot attendents in Greenport (silly us for trying to go have a drink there on Saturday night, I guess) it was another great weekend pulled off by the Cruising Committee!

And look look how beautiful.

More pictures tonight. If you really want, they are up on Picasa now & I think that clicking on the photo above will take you to an uncaptioned gallery - I hope to add captions tonight, though, and although a picture may be worth a thousand words, sixty are a lot to plough through without at least a little storytelling to go along! Still, couldn't resist this quick lunch-break post.

This trip report "teaser" cross posted at Frogma.

Residents want to see plan for Paerdegat Basin Park

2010-08-06T07:19:00.004-05:00

By Gary Buiso

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 7:11 PM EDTA fast-tracked plan to beautify Paerdegat Basin Park — which sat on a shelf for 15 years before being brought to life by federal stimulus money —has residents demanding the city let them know what’s being done.

Critics charge that the Department of Environmental Protection has bulldozed portions of the 160-acre park without informing locals about the work, which they claim has already devastated local flora and fauna.

“There was supposed to be a park plan. Where is that plan?” demanded Mary Anne Sallustro, president of the South Canarsie Civic Association.

Already, unkept forestland along four blocks of Paerdegat Avenue North has been completely wiped out, with more blocks up next.

“There was no public process that we know of,” said Canarsie resident David Phillip. “I’m angry no one was notified.”

But the city disagreed, saying that it met with Community Board 18 in July and Jan. 2010, and that locals have been amply briefed about the plan to rebuild the park — which has not been amended since the board approved it over a decade ago, and is available for view on its Web site.

Still, Phillip charged that the city provided information only to those “who they wanted to hear it and not who would really be affected.”

They included state Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Mill Basin), who represents the Bergen Beach side of the basin, and Community Board 18 District Manager Dorothy Turano.

City officials met with them a year ago, just before a letter typed on community board stationary was dispatched to the agency stating that “it was the shared sentiment of all the interested parties to wholeheartedly embrace and approve the Paerdegat Ecology Park Project at the Paerdegat pumping station.”

That didn’t make sense to Steven Kaye, vice president of the civic association.

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“It is not a community board meeting if you don’t have community board members there!” he roared.

Board member and Canarsie resident Mercedes Narcisse said she doesn’t recall receiving any word about a summer meeting.

“If this is going to affect the community, there should be a fair presentation,” she said. “I would love to see a park, but the community should be made aware.”

But those at the meeting said there is no cabal.

Turano said she briefed the board about the meeting in Sept. 2009, and said there were no changes to a plan the community board approved in the 1990s — and that the South Canarsie group blasted back then for adding truck traffic to the neighborhood.

Still, she said, the city never bothered to notify the board when it would be doing the work.

“I was never given a specific plan,” she said. “I complained that we were not notified. This is a good thing, but it’s not a good thing we weren’t notified.”

Kruger said the meeting he attended was strictly informational.

“It only memorialized what was going to be done,” he said, adding that any changes would have to go through a formal public review procedure, which was not undertaken.

Ultimately, he said, the city is beautifying an area that has been long-neglected.

The two-year project began in March, and the city insists it will result in a lush Natural Area Park —with no public access in order to promote habitat restoration and ecological improvement — and a five-acre ecology park on the Bergen Beach side of the basin.

The $15-million, 38-acre habitat restoration and park was planned and approved back in the mid-1990s as an accompaniment to a state-mandated initiative to clean the polluted basin.

When federal stimulus money became available last year to fund the parkland portion of the work, the city was finally able to move ahead with the project.

The city sent out a notice to CB18 with a project description, requesting a summer meeting, so that the agency could advertise and award the contract for the work by Dec. 31, 2009.

But a full board meeting was never convened.

The $15-million parkland component is small potatoes compared to a massive$457-million upgrade of the pumping station at Ralph and Flatlands avenues and construction of a 20-million-gallon underground storage tank, which will prevent raw sewage from being dumped in the basin during heavy rains, a common predicament caused by the city’s aging sewer system.

Some pictures by Dwan

2010-08-04T18:40:00.009-05:00

Dawn Kish works with National Geographics. She played with a simple camera while out in the bay. Here are some pix. She is off to Wyoming on an assignment.

I know I am in the pictue a lot. Enjoy. Have a great summer.

What is going on at Paedergat Basin?

2010-08-02T20:24:00.003-05:00

The project Will Improve Water Quality, Create Ecology Park and Restore Jamaica Bay Wetlands

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced the registration of a $15 million contract to restore 38 acres of wetlands and natural grasslands adjacent to the Paerdegat Basin Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Facility located on the shores of Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn. The registration means that the contractor, Tully/Posillico Civil, can begin to mobilize so the stimulus-funded project can get underway.

“This investment will greatly improve the ecology of the Paerdegat Basin area,” said Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway. “When finished, the community will be able to enjoy a five-acre ‘Ecology Park’ teeming with native plant life. The combination of absorbing more stormwater and the creation of tidal wetlands will improve water quality in Paedergat Basin. This is just one part of DEP’s larger commitment to improving water quality and ecology in Jamaica Bay.”

The project will help absorb stormwater by reintroducing local plant life and restoring the shoreline. Five acres of parkland will become an “Ecology Park,” which will offer access to salt marshes and grassland area and include educational exhibits about coastal habitats. Construction is expected to begin this spring and completed in January 2012, with public access in 2013. The project is funded through Clean Water State Revolving Funds — a program administered the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation — that were authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The restoration will complement the $357 million capital investment that DEP is making in building the Paerdegat Basin Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) abatement project, which will store 50 million gallons of CSOs during storms. When stormwater surges into sewers it can trigger CSOs when sewers and treatment plants reach capacity, which by design protects the sewer system and treatment plants. CSO tanks reduce this problem by storing flows until storms pass, allowing for release and treatment. The City continues to invest in major infrastructure projects that improve the wastewater treatment system and has budgeted $1.9 billion in capital improvements. The City is also taking steps to incorporate sustainable strategies that keep stormwater from reaching sewers in the first place.

DEP manages the City’s water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of water each day to more than 9 million residents, including 8 million in New York City, and residents of Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties. New York City’s water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the City, and is comprised of 19 reservoirs, and three controlled lakes. 6,600 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,400 miles of sewer lines take wastewater to 14 in-City treatment plants. DEP also manages storm water throughout the City, and ensures that the City’s facilities comply with the Clean Water Act, and other federal, state and local rules and regulations. The DEP police protect the watershed and its facilities (including seven wastewater treatment plants), and the agency’s HAZ-MAT unit responds to hazardous materials emergencies and toxic site remediation. The agency is also responsible for asbestos monitoring and removal, and enforcing the City’s air and noise codes.

The Youth Paddle That Wasn’t

2010-07-28T07:59:00.001-05:00

What do about a dozen Sebago 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. Read more about the trip on my blog, Summit to Shore, a post which includes a link to photos from the day.

The 2010 All Club Invitational

2010-07-18T16:10:00.002-05:00

In the words of Phil Giller (photo above), one of its main organizers, the “all club Invitational was a great success. We are working on final numbers but we had OVER 100 guests on the water and 60 members signed in, so my unofficial count is that we had over 150 people on the water at 1 time.”

I think it was a rip, roaring, rowing, rolling, wind riding success! When do we start planning for 2011?

Photos taken around the club house, docks and adjoining areas can be seen on my Picasa page.

More personal reflections have been posted on my blog, Summit to Shore.

July 16, 2010 Youth Paddle

2010-07-16T17:19:00.004-05:00

Here is a link to more photos from taken at the July 16, 2010 Youth Paddle than you would probably ever what to look at.

According to Tony Pignatello "we took out 15 young boys and girls from the Brooklyn Sports Club. We had either 27, 28, 29, or 33 paddlers on the water (it all depended on who was counting). We came back with at least 27 so it was a very successful trip. It was picture perfect and the kids seamed to have a really good time. This was a Sebago record, we had more volunteers than guests. Thanks to Mary E, John W, John H., Vicki the mermaid, Laurie P, Nina S. and Raphael, Matt F., Cecelia F., Griffin F., Andy N, Marty S, Dennis S, Barbara T., Jerry D, Gerard the bocce man, Gary (head of security) G., Anne G., Lori (not B), Beth E. and Mike C. Everyone had a good time."

Tony continues "We have the best club in the metropolitan area and it's our volunteers that make it so. Thank you all and forgive me if I missed anyone. Thanks."

You can read my own comments about the day on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Saturday Open Paddle with Roland Lewis

2010-07-13T14:04:00.006-05:00

Roland Lewis, the president and C.E.O. of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, recently lectured at Sebago Canoe Club on our open Paddle. Here are some photos of that paddle, and we were joined by some horses at the end ...

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The Cool-Off Paddle

2010-07-07T07:11:00.009-05:00

The only way to cool down after 103 F heat is to paddle after sunset. So Patrico and John Zhou and myself went out Tuesday, July 6th with the excuse to cool off and maybe catch some fish. The bay was like a lake, smooth as glass and clean as it ever can be. The tide was leaving and going to be low tide by 11:30, so we should be into fish according to plan. We were hoping for striped bass, maybe some bluefish, and if we were desperate, go for some fluke. After going under the bridge, the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees, but the water still looked like glass. No splashes, no swirls of fish tails, the tell tale sign that bass are in the water feeding. No bunker jumping, but lots of blue claw crabs swimming around, being very alive and busy eating.
The silence was deafening. But it was very cool (temp wise) and quite beautiful. I recommend this Cool-off paddle to all non-fishers as well as fishers, because we got no fish. They are too smart to hang out in a hot bay, they went to the ocean to cool off.

June's Full Moon Paddle Trip Report

2010-07-02T00:01:00.015-05:00

One of my favorite Sebago Canoe Club activities and trips during the paddling season is the monthly Full Moon Paddle. Scheduled for the Friday or Saturday evening closest to Full Moon, the paddle, usually led by Phil, heads out into Jamaica Bay before sunset and returns after the full moon rises. The full moon is not always visible because of cloud cover, so there is always an air of expection about the paddle, “Will we see the moon, or not?”

Fifteen paddlers gathered in the early evening of Saturday, June 26, for the first Full Moon Paddle of the season. Some of them are pictured in the photo at the top of this post, seen as we prepared for our paddle. Tony and Fran were the last to arrive and soon afterward, around 7:45 PM, we were on the water and headed for a small island in Jamaica Bay called Ruffled Bar, about a six mile round trip.

The fifteen lunatics included our trip leader Phil plus Dottie, Walter, me, Vicki, Dennis, Cleo, Patrick, Jen, Chris, Andrew, Eugene, Tony, Fran, and Marty, all experienced paddlers. I was able to paddle one of my favorite club boats, a seventeen foot Necky Montauk.

Lights are an essential piece of safety equipment on Full Moon Paddles. While I paddled with an ACR C-Light attached to my aft deck via a suction cup, an activated cylemine light stick hanging off the back of my PFD, and a Princeton Tec H2O headlight hanging from around my neck in case I needed it, other paddlers had their own similar but also unique lighting configurations. The key to lighting for night paddling is to light to be seen, not to see, and not to blind other paddlers. Some did better than others regarding the last criteria.

The evening presented very little wind and the surface of Jamaica Bay was alsmost as sooth as glass. There were no bugs, except near Ruffle Bar, and any daytime oppressive heat and humidity had already dissipated. In other words the paddling conditions were almost ideal.

Phil, the usual leader of Full Moon Paddles, almost always takes a package of Fig Newton’s with him on such paddles and this one was no exception. When we reached near the shore of Ruffle Bar we rafted up, Phil had someone open his day hatch and pull out the cookies, and then passed them around for all to enjoy. After our rest and snack we headed back across the bay and for the club house even though the moon had yet to be seen.

While paddling back toward Paerdegat Basin, with the skyline of Manhattan in the background, we were surprisingly treated to fireworks that appeared to be launched from two locations in the vicinity of South Street Seaport. We had no idea why there would have been a fireworks display but we were glad there was

Occasionally someone would turn around to see if the full moon was yet peeking from behind the clouds. Finally we heard a loud “howl” that would have made Allen Ginsberg proud as the one of our paddlers finally saw the disk of full moon. But as soon as it appeared it disappeared again, only to occasionally reappear, again to sounds of howling kayakers.

We were back at the clubhouse by around 10:00 PM, and with boats and gear washed and stowed, some of us broke out covered dishes featuring garden salads, fruit salads, nachos, cheese wheels, and sausage accompanied by port wine, white wine and sangria, and we enjoyed a late dinner. Sebago has a strictly enforced “No Alcohol” policy before and during trips, but after trips is another matter altogether, and a little eating and drinking with friends and paddling companions after a paddle is one of the many reasons I enjoy being a member of the Sebago Canoe Club, that and the kayaking.

By the time we finished and were leaving the grounds the Full Moon had risen well above the clouds and we enjoyed a Full Moon drive home.

This trip report is cross posted on my personal blog Summit to Shore.

Wildlife Refuge hosts trucks and cranes

2010-06-28T21:56:00.001-05:00

By Joe Maniscalco
Monday, June 28, 2010 4:11 PM EDT

Parts of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge are being used as a staging area for Department of Transportation Belt Parkway bridge reconstructions — making it look like a containment area for a certain oil rig explosion.

Grimy sand and floating containment barriers etch the marine landscape below Paerdegat Basin bridge. But agency officials say all is smooth sailing while the DOT reconstructs seven bridges along the 71-year-old Belt Parkway, and stores its construction materials and vehicles along the banks of one of the most important urban wildlife refuges in the United States instead of on the street.

“We have periodic field inspections and monitor the water,” said Dave Avrin, chief of resources for Gateway National Recreation Area, which is managed by the federal park service. “We expect the DOT to follow the best management practices.”

One of the staging areas is located on the Canarsie Circle, near the eastbound entrance to the Belt Parkway. Another is being created in the paved area between Canarsie Road and the westbound parkway entrance service road.

Despite the extensive work, Gateway officials say that the project is well conceived, and will not impact the 9,000-acre refuge which features such diverse habitats as salt marsh, upland field and woods, an open expanse of bay and islands, and varied fresh and brackish water ponds with more migratory birds flocking to it each year than to Yellowstone and Yosemite parks, and the Grand Canyon.

As of now, there’s no need to worry about the containment barriers, which are there to prevent the spread of turbid water, which is basically dredged up debris, said Avrin.

“This is a project that has been in planning for over a decade,” he assured.

Come One, Come All to the Sebago Canoe Club All-Club Invitational

2010-06-27T22:06:00.004-05:00

Good heavens! Is it possible? Why, yes, it's true, we're only 3 weeks out from what could possibly be the biggest event Sebago has ever had!

At least while I've been there.

July 17th, we'd like to invite pretty much anyone who has a hand-launchable small craft to join us for a day of fun in the sun (we hope, but rain won't stop us) on Jamaica Bay. Not just kayaks, nope - canoes (outrigger or non), stand-up paddlers, windsurfers, rowboats, pirogues, dinghies, curraghs, taraibune, whatever - you name it, if you can get it to our club, down our generously-sized ramp, down the basin & under the bridge (the last being the challenge for the sailcraft, if the winds aren't feeling cooperative it's a few very fast tacks to get through), we'd love to see you!

And NO, you don't actually have to be a member of a club to come! All you need a boat you know how to use & all the related gear & safety stuff.

For full information, including contact information for an RSVP (which would be appreciated so we know how much food & drink to buy), click HERE!

Sebago Kayak Instructors run class for Brooklyn Bridge Park Volunteers

2010-06-23T15:52:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday Sebago Kayak Club instructors Tom Potter and Walter Lewandowski ran a class for Brooklyn Bridge Park volunteers at the soon to be created boathouse at Brooklyn Bridge Park. A spectacular venue on the East River.

After the class some adventurous students and Tom, Walter, and Dottie Lewandowski paddled to rendezvous with the LIC Boathouse to observe their walk up paddling operation.

A wonderful time was had by all.

Tom Potter demonstrating strokes with the Wall Street skyline in the background

Sebago Kayak Chairman Walter attempting to keep the classes attention.

Second Annual Spring Laser Regatta

2010-05-23T16:27:00.000-05:00

We at the Sebago Canoe Club were proud to hold our second annual Laser Regatta yesterday, in good weather and a consistent southeast breeze. We had ten sailors, two of whom drove all the way down from Saratoga, NY. We had great racing, great food, and just a plain good time on the water and on shore. Bonnie Aldinger took some great photos. For the full set go HERE.

Skipper's meeting before the race.

Race Committee Boat

A Clean Start.

Good Down-wind Form.

Hi Holly!

A Good Breeze.

Sebago's Club Laser, "Qiwi".

Sebago's 2nd Annual Laser District 8 Regatta - Photos Up

2010-05-23T12:26:00.009-05:00

From Sebaga Laser Regatta 5 22 2010

I had a great day being on the race committee for Sebago's 2nd annual District 8 Laser Regatta yesterday. I took tons of pictures, of course! Good weather, a nice breeze that picked up over the course of the afternoon, and wow, 10 boats & only 3 were from Sebago (and 2 were from the Saratoga Yacht Club, that's a long trip)! Good racing, good company a nice day on the water & a delicious post-race spread of roast chicken, chili, a few other sides & brownies & ice cream for dessert.

Couldn't ask for a much nicer way to spend a Saturday!

And no, no bouncy castles - which reminds me, here's the story behind that particular bit of silliness, found via a link posted by my favorite Laserblogger, Tillerman.

cross-posted at Frogma.

We Promise: No Bouncy Castle Obstructions At Sebago's Laser Regatta

2010-05-20T20:58:00.002-05:00

I feel QUITE COMFORTABLE in promise that there will be NO such silliness at Sebago's 2nd Annual Laser Regatta on Saturday. Hope to see folks there!

Note to last year's winner: Blake, I hope you're coming back, I think we'll have planes this year!

(my pix from last year - no planes...)

Trip Leader Workshop

2010-05-17T08:47:00.016-05:00

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 watched segments of the Leo Hoare and Olly Sanders Sea Kayak Safety 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 (top photo). 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.

New Facebook Group

2010-05-09T15:31:00.002-05:00

The Sebago Canoe Club now has its own Group page on facebook. Here is the link.

New Roof at Canoe Club for Workshop

2010-05-03T06:47:00.010-05:00

How the new roof looks so far...after 2 workdays at the Club...

Saturday Work Day - Arrival Of The Roof!

2010-04-19T20:23:00.004-05:00

If you're on the Sebago Yahoo group, you probably saw the following announcement from Phil, posted at 8:45 AM:

It looks like the weather will hold BUT EVEN IF IT RAINS, I need 3-4 people
between noon and 2pm to help me UNLOAD roof from truck RAIN OR SHINE

So if you where planning on anly coming for a couple of hours, please do it then
Thanks,
Phil

Well, it's a good thing it didn't rain & there were close to 20 people there, because the truck was WAY too big to come onto the grounds, there were a LOT of pieces & some of the heavier components (the pieces that will anchor the roof to the top of the container) took 4 or 5 people alone. As it was, with all hands on deck, we made pretty quick work of the task. Ever watch ants moving something to the hill? Well, that's exactly what we did, back & forth until we had everything put away.

Chris had his camera & got some great pictures of the whole process & has put up a very entertaining gallery of the whole process (plus a few more of the other jobs we worked on. Check it out!

And don't forget - now we need to put it up! What a great chance to work off your work obligation early in the season! Here's Phil again:

We will begin to erect our new roof starting Saturday. We will start slow but
sure and continue on Sunday. AND EVERY WEEKEND UNTIL MAY 23 unless we get it
done sooner.

We need a minimu of 6 people at EVERY workday to physically put up the roof.

If anyones has acces to old plywood, PLEASE let me know ASAP. We need 8' x50'
put down to roll scaffold on.
Thanks,
Phil

Season Opener Gallery

2010-04-18T22:02:00.004-05:00

From Sebago Season Opener 2010

Busy weekend, I'm pooped, but here's some pretty pictures from today's Season Opener at the Sebago Canoe Club! Beautiful day (although b-r-r-r-eeeeezy!), good paddle, good food, and even the 3 1/2 hours of meetings (kayak committee followed by general meeting) wasn't too bad - kept moving, a lot of good information was gone over. And the wine didn't hurt (and the last bit of business was the best, four conditional members to be voted on for senior membership, woohoo & congrats to our four newest senior members)!

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Special occasion today - the inaugural appearance of Steve H's beautiful new cherry-red TaheMarine Greenland-style kayak, just christened today - here's the first roll (and this will also give a hint to the conditions out there):

We had hot tamales, and he said something about that maybe being a good name for the new kayak. Don't know if he was serious or not but it is definitely one sweet-looking boat!

Cross posted at the Frogma.

New Pedestrian Gate, New Kayak, New Rollers

2010-04-12T13:13:00.008-05:00

Gary tries out a grass roll, in
Franks new kayak.

Frankie tries out a California roll in his new kayak.