A big thanks to all of you, some 250-plus, who turned out last Friday night (May 10) at the YMCA in Bangor for the second Paddle Smart from the Start safety symposium. Those of us involved in planning and presenting came away with the impression the evening was well received and that there’s interest in holding third event next year.

As a matter of fact, we met briefly Thursday morning to do some postgame wrapup and began roughing out some thoughts for next year’s event that could include more seminar topics and a second day devoted to clinics and gear sales.

This year’s paddling clinic and boat demonstration scheduled for Saturday morning were called off due to the 25-plus mph winds howling out of the north on Pushaw Lake. Karen Francoeur of Castine Kayak Adventures and Brad Ryder of Cadillac Mountain Sports in Bangor and a few others on hand to help out decided that safety was foremost and rough water was not the place to take beginners. While frustrating for those who showed up to get a paddling lesson or try out a boat, it proved a valuable safety lesson in its own right. There are often days when the weather is the deciding factor in planning a safe trip. If there’s a doubt, call it off.

Winds blowing 25 mph make for some tough paddling at the least, and at the worst, combined with the waves that such winds stir up, can cause a capsize. And capsizing in cold, rough water could be fatal – certainly not the happy ending you’d want. It would put a crimp in your summer plans, that’s for sure.

My point here is not dark humor. It’s intended to drive a point home. If there’s anything we hope to have people take away from a safety seminar it’s to respect the inherent dangers associated with recreational paddling and to take as many steps as possible to minimize your exposure to them.

Weather, currents, tides, sunrise, sunset, other boats, safe places to launch or land, hidden obstructions, your paddling skills and those of your friends, your boat and equipment, safety gear, knowledge of how to summon help – are all factors in having a safe and enjoyable day on the water. The more you seek out information available at seminars such as Paddle Smart and through clinics and courses offered in the area, the safer and better informed paddler you will be.

That’s not a hard statement to make having numerous years of paddling in your wake. But it’s not hard to illustrate with a class of new paddlers. I asked Francoeur for some anecdotes from a beginner’s class she taught last weekend at the Old Town High School pool. One exercise was to have new paddlers bail out of their boats and try to get back into them. One student tried to climb in over the stern and failed, another tried to use a life jacket as a paddle float (the person removed his/her PFD) while attempting to right the boat and failed. In this situation, you have a person in the water without a PFD and an overturned boat. Yet another had an Old Town Loon that turned into a submarine lurking just below the surface.

And what’s really telling about this type of exercise is that most beginners haven’t thought about what could happen and what to do in the event of a capsize.

Hopefully, after last weekend’s seminar, there are 250 or so folks who will think seriously about the safety measures they should take before heading out on the water.

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

‘Island Splash’ hits Boston

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I wrote about the Gulf of Maine Expedition that began a 1,000 perimeter paddle of the gulf on May 4 in Provincetown, Mass.? Well the intrepid paddlers are in Boston today helping to kick off National Safe Boating Week.

The four paddlers making up the international team are: Natalie Springuel of Bar Harbor, Maine Sea Grant extension agent and team leader; Richard MacDonald of Bar Harbor, Science and Technology Coordinator; and Dan Earle and Sue Hutchins, of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

This four-month sea kayaking journey is organized, the group’s literature says, “to raise awareness and caring about the ecology and culture of The Gulf of Maine. During the journey, the Expedition will collect observations and information to create a unique and unprecedented perspective of the Gulf. Nineteen community visits and “Gulf of Maine Days” are scheduled, during which the Expedition will share information about the gulf, its watershed and natural history, and promote recreational safety, stewardship and Leave-No-Trace principles.”

During this first major community stop called “Island Splash,” the group will demonstrate sea kayak safety skills and rescue techniques and make a presentation about their expedition. There will be an open house of a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat, a Leave-No-Trace workshop for paddlers, partner exhibits/booths, scavenger hunts, Gulf of Maine Mural Project, island tours, music and concessions.

If you’re around Fan Pier at the Federal Court House, and Thompson Island, Boston Harbor between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., drop by and say hello to the team.

The expedition is making its way north and on May 25 will be in Rye, N.H., at the Sea Coast Science Center. Then on May 26 they’ll be at the Isle of Shoals, N.H., Marine Laboratory; June 7-9 at Biddeford for the L.L. Bean Kayak Paddlesports Festival at the University of New England; and June 10 at Boothbay Harbor at the Department of Marine Resources Laboratory.

On June 22 they’ll be stopping at the Casco Bay Kayak Rendezvous with Rippleffect, which is partnering with Maine Audubon for a day-long sea kayak benefit paddle. The next day, June 23, the group will join in the third Gulf of Maine Day celebration in Portland at Southern Maine Technical College coordinated by Friends of Casco Bay and a network of Portland-based non-profits. There will be education programs, coastal cleanups, boating safety workshops, bird walks and other activities.

June 25-27 looks like a good time to join up with the group as they spend a couple of days on Warren Island, just across from the Islesboro ferry landing. Esperanze Stanicoff (832-0343) is organizing quite a party, including on-water kayak activities, educational programs, bird walks, intertidal exploration, a scavenger hunt, a cookout and music with Blue Northern, a band with strong ties to the midcoast area.

On July 3 the expedition reaches Bar Harbor’s College of the Atlantic where a similar list of activities is planned (save for the live band). The stopover will give Springuel a chance to rest in her own home for a couple of days and reconnect with local friends.

By July 20 the expedition plans to be in Eastport for the last U.S. stop at Washington County Technical College. From there it will be off to St. Andrews, St. John and Alma, New Brunswick, and Kentville, Anapolis Royal, Belliveau Cove, Yarmouth and Clark’s Harbour, Nova Scotia. The group hopes to wind up its trip by Sept. 14.

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