Analyzing boats, adding skills main points of weekend demos

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If you’re a fan of mushing expeditions, jump down a ways. Right off, I’ve got to get rid of some stage fright.

The pressure’s on. I’ve got backstage jitters. On Saturday afternoon I’ll be at the University of New Hampshire for my understudy role as the sinker in the performance of “Sink or Float -Depends on the Boat” or “Watch Jeff Sink.”

I’m part of the last pool demonstration of the day during the New England Paddlesports show 2004 presented by Kittery Trading Post. This portion of the afternoon’s performances is brought to you by the Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guides and Instructors. Friends Karen Francoeur, a MASKGI member, and Paul Travis, president of the organization, will show the audience the difference in several types of kayaks (open cockpit, no bulkheads, to closed kayak with sealed bulkheads) and talk about where they are most appropriately used.

My part of the show is to demonstrate how easy it is to sink an open cockpit boat, and how a boat with only one sealed bulkhead may not be appropriate very far from shore – call me Cleopatra’s needle.

The stars of the show (Paul and Karen) will be riding the white horses and (hopefully) come to the aid (or not) of fellow guide John Rice and me when we sink beneath the waves.

We’ll do a slightly abbreviated version of the show for the Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show on Sunday at the University of Maine.

Our goal is to get people to look at the characteristics of different boats and analyze their inherent shortcomings as well as their high points. One strong message is to stay on warm water near shore in a boat you cannot right, empty, and reboard by yourself. There is a reason sea kayaks are called sea kayaks, but even so, you shouldn’t exceed your skill levels when heading out. Even though a sea kayak is made to remain afloat when capsized and allow for quick self rescue in cold water, if you do not have the clothing, equipment, or the skills to re-enter the boat, your goose will be cooked (actually, frozen – as in hypothermic).

The key in any outing is your good judgment and an honest assessment of your abilities and skills.

This is the underlying message of this weekend’s pool demonstrations, as well as that of the fourth annual Paddle Smart from the Start Safety Symposium at the YMCA in Bangor on Friday evening, May 21. Paddle Smart will be the best one yet, so plan to attend. I’ll keep you posted on the evening’s presentations.

Another paddling event you should note is the Maine Canoe Symposium June 4-6 at Camp Winona on Moose Pond in Bridgton. All things canoe are encompassed in this three-day event – from basic paddling to whitewater rescue, choosing a canoe to reading the weather, camp cooking to outdoor survival. You can even carve your own paddle during the event.

If you are looking for a comprehensive event wherein you can get saturated in canoeing, this is the place to be. I learned how to sail a canoe the year I attended. I’d have signed up for the paddle-making class if I’d remembered to do so early. By the time I got around to it, the class was full!

There are various lodging (tenting to bunkhouses) and meal packages (a la carte to a three-day, six-meal deal), so check out the Web site at www.MaineCanoeSymposium.org for the fine print and charges.

Lately I’ve written a few items about winter paddling, and I think I missed my calling. Of all the topics I’ve covered, this one has generated the most interest among my vast audience of readers (numbering now up into the double digits, I think…). I’m happy to hear from you.

This response came from Jonathan Sprague who remembers taking a rolling class with me a couple of years ago. (I’m still working on it, Jonathan. I think I’m closing in on it, though.)

All this talk about paddling in winter got Sprague’s spirit of adventure stirring. This and the fact that he bought a new Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 last fall and it had not been baptized in salt water combined to draw him to the coast last Sunday. He headed to Sandy Point for the ceremony.

“I couldn’t persuade my usual kayaking friends to go out, so I decided to paddle from Sandy Point to Fort Point by myself. Now you have to understand that I’m not Columbus, Leif Erickson, or Chris Duff. The idea of an icy hypothermic death leaves me cold (pun intended).

“I chose this particular trip because I could literally hug the shoreline for most of it. True I would be in danger of frostbite on my ankles and maybe even my knees if I dumped, but with head-to-toe neoprene under a fleece top and paddling jacket, I figured the risk was manageable. And it was – however, the man who told you that the chief danger of winter paddling was overheating was wrong – to avoid overheating simply allow your hands [to be in] frequent contact with the 34-degree water. Even through neoprene gloves, your hands will turn to ice cubes, and that, in turn, will cool the rest of your body.”

The first half of Sprague’s trip went well – calm water, light breezes. But that changed. “As usual with my kayaking trips [mine too, Jonathan] by the time I got to the halfway point, the sun had vanished, the wind had picked up, and the temperature had dropped.” He paddled to Fort Point, had coffee and a snack and headed back.

Sprague said the “first part of the return trip was in the lee of Fort Point with relatively calm waters. Once I reached the Sandy Point side of the cove however, the wind had increased and the chop was 2-3 feet.”

He reported that his new boat handled the conditions well. “There is nothing like the thought of taking a swim in hypothermia-inducing, arctic-chilled water to focus one’s attention on paddling,” he added. Thanks to that adrenaline-induced focus and the tail winds, the return took 10 minutes less than the outgoing leg.

“I enjoyed the trip and would recommend it to people who have sufficient experience and the right equipment,” Sprague said. The key words here are experience and equipment. Anyone contemplating a winter outing on the water must be properly outfitted and dressed for cold-water immersion. And if you plan to be out alone, file a float plan with someone who is responsible and will notify authorities if you are overdue.

And now for you fans of mushing. Arctic explorer Pam Flowers will share with us slides and stories from her record-breaking 2,500-mile dog mushing expedition in October 2001 from Barrow, Alaska, to Repulse Bay, Canada, alone and unsponsored. Her goal was to follow the route of Knud Rasmussen’s portion of the 1923-24 Fifth Thule Expedition.

In succeeding she became the first woman to do so and she was (in 1999) the 14th person to receive the Gold Medal from the Society of Women Geographers (others are Amelia Earhart and Jane Goodall) as well as the “Outsider of the Year” award by Outside Magazine. She has spoken to more than 400,000 students at more than 650 schools emphasizing life lessons, Arctic Geography and native culture.

She is the author of “Alone Across the Arctic – One Woman’s Epic Journey by Dog Team,” and “Big Enough Anna: The Sled Dog Who Braved the Arctic” (Alaska Northwest Books).

She has participated in nine Arctic expeditions, seven by dog team, two by snow machine. She has completed the 1,049-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race, reached the Magnetic North Pole three times, and has traveled over the frozen Arctic Ocean farther north than any other solo woman.

Ask her why, and she’ll probably tell you “It’s a dream that got out of hand. When I was about 11 years old, a man showed us some slides from the Antarctic and I harbored a dream about dog sledding for many years. Not until I was 35 did I finally get to Alaska and finally start mushing. … Eventually, after reading a book called Across Arctic America by Knud Rasmussen, I decided to retrace his route. It was the longest trip I could think of, to sled 2,500 miles across the continent. I was 46 when my dream came true. I like to tell students and their teachers, you’re never too young to have a dream and you’re never too old to make it come true.”

Here are the dates and places she’ll be speaking: 2 p.m. Sunday, March 21, Unitarian Universal Church Bangor, contact the Sierra Club at 761-5616; 7 p.m. Monday, March 22, Rangeley Public Library, Rangeley, contact the library at 864-5529; 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, Falmouth Memorial Library, Falmouth, contact the library at 781-2351; 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 24, South Portland Public Library, South Portland, contact the library at 767-7660; 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 25, High Street Church, Auburn, contact the Auburn Public Library at 782-3191; 7 p.m. Friday, March 26, Forest Hills School Commons, Jackman, contact the school at 668-7749; 2 p.m. Sunday, March 28, at the Pine Tree State Arboretum (extra parking at lot on Piggery Road, Mount Vernon, contact Lori Scott at 293-4447; 7 p. m. Monday, March 29, Bangor Public Library, Bangor; contact Anne Mundy at 947-8336; and 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, Skidompha Public Library, Damariscotta, contact Dave Schumacher at 563-5513.

Jeff Strout’s column on outdoor recreation is published each Saturday. He can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.