Memorial Weekend.

Memorial weekend was a blast. Spend lot of time on the water, I get a bit of sun poisoning to prove it.

Let start with Sebago Open House on Saturday. I get there at 8:45AM, and before I know it it was 6PM in the evening. I help with the first two morning paddles. We get a good big group of people waiting to paddle by 10:30. I wasn't expecting to get out till at least 11AM, but the weather was good, and apparently most people decide to stay in the city for the weekend to save on gas money. I end up taking the lead on the first paddle. I don't mind leading the trip, except for the talking part of it. I hate public speaking ( I hate talking to stranger period so one or 10 really don't matter.) I try to hand it off to Steve, but he kicked it back to me. I managed not to mess the orientation too bad. The wind was blowing at about 10 to 15 mph with some strong gust. We only have one guest cutting the trip short. The rest of the group went half a mile up against the wind toward the head of the bay, then back down to the end of the marina and back again to the dock without any mishap.

Laurie already have a large group of new guests line up for the second paddle. I take 15 minutes or so to get something to drink, and just wander around getting used to the huge number of people hanging around. I think this may be our most successful open house that I can remember.

The second paddle I take point. I try to keep a slow study speed. We did not goes more then pass the dock on our way back. Phil wanted us back because there is another large group waiting to go out. I was fine with that I need to get back and eat something anyway, it was 12:30PM. Another group of trip leaders take out the next two groups of guests.

I don't do much mingling. Just eat my hot dogs and try to keep out of the way. I talk to some member that I haven't seen for a while. Embarrassingly I don't remember any of their name. I get to get better to retaining name.

I was railroad into a war canoe ride as I was waiting on the dock. The canoe is perfect for small children, because it take about 8 people to paddle it, and it is relative stable. The canoe ride itself was ok except for the one kid that keep yelling that he want to get off, that his sister is getting him wet. Definitely one kid I would not want on the car ride on a long trip. I was so glad when we finally get back to the dock.

I help with one other trip out before having enough. After the last trip goes out, the rest of us on land get the unused boats wash and put away. It was 4:30 when the last paddle come back.

I don't know what I did but I did not leave till almost 7PM.

Monday I help with Phil first Jamaica Bay trip. I get there early, 10AM but not earlier then Phil who is already in his paddling cloth when I pulled in. It don't take long till everyone else show up. We launch a bit after 11AM. At the first stop before the bridge I decided to see if I can turn my long, 17 feet boat 360 degree with just two stroke. I was leaning way back to do a reverse sweep stroke when my right knee come loose from the knee brace. I wasn't able to return the boat to an up right position but I was not fully capsize either. I have my back arched and extended when I lost control of the boat, the boat stay on it side but I can't get the leverage to get the boat back up. Since I am in a sculling position I decide to get up with a sculling roll. I manage to get up enough to get some air but no luck getting back up. After trying a couple of time to scull back up with one leg inside the boat and the other almost outside the boat, I wisd up and decided to fully capsize the boat and set up properly. I get my head completely under water and re-seat myself. I was definitely tire and running out of air by that time. Seating upside down, under water, I decided that the group need a demonstration on wet exit and t rescue so I slide back out, and come up beside my boat. Elizabeth was there, I up right my boat, she pulled it up and empty the boat, and I am in my boat in less then 2 minutes. A very efficient rescue.

I manage to stay up right the rest of the trip. The wind was stronger then we expected but there was no problem getting to Mill Basin. We stop many time to let everyone catch up and rest. We explored the right inlet with all the expensive house. I was more interest in the Coast Guard cutter on dry dock. It was a beautiful piece of machinery.

We were supposed to explore the left inlet on the way back but it was decide by the majority of the group to start heading back since it was already 1PM, and exploring the left inlet will mean getting back to the clubhouse at 4PM at the earliest. Phil asked my to take point since I had a radio ( a very staticky one at that.) I take a slow pace and keep everyone very much together till pass Mill Basin Bridge. At the Mill Basin Channel, and the turn north east there is a sand bars that cause all kind of weird waves, normally I would preferred to go as far out as I can pass this send bar and the weird waves as possible but there was a boat full of fishermen pulling out so I decide to the shore side of the boat, which is a bit close to the sand bar but not onto it. I was cautions the people to my side to keep away from the sand bar, and staying head of the couple of faster paddles and rolling with with the waves that collide at the sand bar when the guy next to me, named Joe, capside. I yelled capsize right away and asked Severn to do the rescue because I don't want to lose control of the lead group. But in the confusion Severn did not hear me so I end up taking hold of Joe's boat.

Joe was standing in waist deep water so there is no danger of him floating away. He insisted on waking his boat 50 feet onto the beach, which I thought will take too much time but I decide not fight it. I let him dragged his boat onto shore, and see two other boat, headding right onto the sand bar. They end up end up beach and have to drag their boats where they can launch without being push against the shore. At this point there were a lot of yelling and confusion. I end up trying to round up the lead group before they get to far. I managed to catch up with the lead group and get everyone raft up so we can wait for the people that beached, and the group that went further out to get way for the crazy waves.

I had the group wait for 5 minutes before the wind blow us toward shore. It was decided that we should continue to our bridge rather then wait their for the rest of the group to sort themselve out. I don't know how that was decide because that wasn't my idea. I would preferred to maintain that position till I get everyone together but the group was nervous about getting blow to shore and fighting the wind and current which were getting worst. The group very much break up by itself and started paddle to Paerdegat Bridge. I wasn't able to catch up with the lead group of paddle so I told everyone to paddle to the last green nun before the bridge and wait. Of course everyone was eager to get under the bridge and into the protection of the inlet so I end up telling Elizabeth to make sure everyone wait on the other side of the bridge. We stayed there till Phil bring up the rest of the group. We did a head count and miraculously we have the same number of the paddlers as when we left the dock.

It was an interesting paddle, and a learning experience. I keep on re-running the trip over in my mind and trying to see if I should have done anything differently. I felt I lost control of the group after the capsize. I should have been more assertive in keeping the group together. It is not just in this paddle thought. In every group paddle I have been in, the paddle back always became a free for all.