Cold-weather blues can’t keep paddlers down

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Memo

To: Mother Nature

From: Strout

Re: What’s up with the weather?

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All right already! Enough of the poor man’s fertilizer! Turn off the snowmaking machine and let’s try something else, something a little warmer, PLEASE!

We’ve been trying to get this Paddle Smart from the Start safety symposium planned for Friday here in Bangor and you’re not helping by dusting everyone’s paddling enthusiasm with snow.

You do this every April. Just when we’ve really had it with the cold and we’re ready for warm we get dumped on. Daffodils, forsythia, and hyacinths in bloom get bent over with a wet, messy load, the grass disappears again, and winds howl out of the north (and with them the yucky smell of that Old Town mill). It’s too bad you didn’t get the winter antics out of your system this winter, but it’s now time for spring. How about some 50s at least? And a little sun, especially for Friday?

Gulf of Maine Expedition begins

In defiance of March-like weather, our paddling klatch belatedly celebrated ice-out last Saturday evening at Causey acres in Glenburn on the shores of pristine Pushaw Lake. Estate baron Robert Causey and paddling baroness Karen Francoeur allowed me to tag along on a wrestling match with the north wind on another paddling tour of the northern reaches of the lake.

We were entertained by another visit from the eagle of Pushaw, dubbed Edward, who watched us as we passed his domain. There’s something humbling about paddling beneath a perched predator. You can’t help but hope your little kayak doesn’t resemble lunch.

After surfing back to the estate we joined two other friends Kathryn McGloin and Bob Bayer, lobster institute director, for a champagne toast to the beginning of another paddling season. We munched (carefully) on smoked herring (or was that bait, Bob?), crackers, cheese, and dip, then headed for the fire pit to deplete Causey’s wood pile and ward off the evening’s chill while howling (quietly) at the full moon.

We eventually got around to warming some burgers and sausages, toasted “spring” several more times, and called it an evening just before frostbite lay claim to exposed flesh.

Ah, spring!

I can only hope that south of here, say Cape Cod, things are a little warmer for Natalie Springuel of Bar Harbor and the others in her Gulf of Maine Expedition that is beginning a kayaking journey today that will take them around the circumference of the gulf. The trip begins at 11 a.m. in Provincetown with a blessing of the fleet and a press conference. If all goes according to plan, the paddlers will be pulling into Clark’s Harbour, Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, on Sept. 28.

The expedition was organized to “raise awareness and caring about the ecology and culture of the Gulf of Maine.” Many community stops are planned and the group hopes to share results of air quality tests done with ozone sensitive patches, phytoplankton analysis results, and water quality tests done with electronic probes. The goal is to establish a picture of the Gulf of Maine that can be used as a basis for monitoring this huge watershed in the future.

The core expedition members are: Springuel, team leader and president of the Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guides and Instructors; Rich MacDonald, a New York guide who is on the science staff of the Nature Conservancy and a 30-year paddler; Dan Earle of Nova Scotia, an outdoorsman and 10-year kayaker; and Sue Hutchins, a retired teacher and avid climber and kayaker who recently married Earle. They will be joined by others at various stages of the trip north. You can keep tabs on their progress at www.gomexpedition.org. Or if you’re more athletic and want to get out on the water, check out the schedule and meet with the group on one of its stops.

Clinics offered for kayakers

While you may not be able to make it to Provincetown today, you should be able to drag your bones to Bangor this coming Friday from 5 to 9:30 p.m. and join me and a bunch of friends at the YMCA as we share information on paddling smarter and safer. It’s free and it’s called the second annual Paddle Smart from the Start PaddleSport Safety Symposium. While I know you’ll come away a little smarter, you might even walk away with one of the door prizes being offered. How about an AquaBound kayak paddle and bilge pump? Or a PFD from MTI or one from Lotus? There’s a Perception safety gear package and a Thule car top rack as well as a Paddleboy kayak cart. And I’m sure there’ll be other gifts added to the list come Friday.

If you didn’t attend last year’s event, here’s what’s up. The YMCA basically is being overrun with paddlers, want-to-be paddlers, and many of us who would like for you to get out and enjoy the water safely. There will be pool rescue and safety demonstrations, talks on choosing the right kayak, basic navigation and communication from your boat, and displays of kayaks and kayaking equipment for some hands-on experience. Not only will you get to do the touch test, you’ll be able to ask all those questions you’ve always wanted to but didn’t have anyone to ask. All this in a nonsales atmosphere so you won’t feel intimidated into buying anything on the spot.

There will be static displays and information on maps and navigation aids, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Marine Patrol, the Maine Island Trail Association, Maine Outdoor Adventure Club, Penobscot River Pilots, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Power Squadron, Fields Pond Nature Center, the Map Store, Dirigo Search and Rescue, Lyme disease, and information on classes offered by the United Technologies Center. Author Shelly Johnson will be on hand to autograph her books that include “Sea Kayaking Maine” and “Sea Kayaking: A Women’s Guide.”

The educational event is sponsored by the YMCA, Cadillac Mountain Sports, Castine Kayak Adventures, Department of Marine Resources/Marine Patrol, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

On Saturday morning at Gould’s Landing on Pushaw Lake you will get a chance to try out the new model kayaks by Wilderness Systems and Perception carried by Cadillac Mountain Sports. It’s the first demo day of the season for the stores which have on-water kayak demonstration days on sequential weekends throughout the summer.

Also on Saturday morning at Gould’s Landing, from 8 to 10 a.m., Castine Kayak Adventures will offer beginner paddling clinics in small groups to ensure personalized attention. There will be a signup sheet at the Friday night symposium. The cost is $40 per person or $36 if you bring your own boat. Castine Kayak Adventures will also offer kayak rescue clinics at the Old Town High School pool Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. The later session is offered for women. Cost is $55 per person or $45 if you bring your own boat and equipment.

Benefit paddle set for Casco Bay

One quick reminder while you’re in the paddling mode. Rippleffect and Maine Audubon are holding a benefit paddle on Casco Bay Saturday, June 22, to raise money and awareness of the two organizations. Maine Audubon’s 8,000 members are dedicated to preservation, conservation and enhancement of Maine’s ecosystems. Rippleffect is an organization that aims to promote youth development through learning adventures in living classrooms. It strives to build youthful self-esteem through experiential and environmental education and to help them develop decision-making skills that will allow them to create positive roles and lifestyles.

Paddlers will depart from Southern Maine Technical College in South Portland on three different routes into Casco Bay to explore Fort Georges, Cow Island, or Little Chebeague Island. Organizers hope to attract 200 paddlers who will wind up the day with an open-pit barbecue, live music, massages, and informational booths from area nonprofit organizations.

The cost is $200 per person, $350 for two, or $150 each for three or more. Here’s your chance to raise pledges for the day to benefit two organizations and have some fun as well. Contact Steve Gent, event coordinator at 773-6701 (sgent@maine.rr.com), Bree LaCasse, volunteer coordinator at 773-6701 (paddle@maine.rr.com), Ted Regan, Rippleffect, at 791-7870 (writeripple@aol.com) or Ginger Jones, Maine Audubon, at 781-2330 (gjones@maineaudubon.org).

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.