Break in rain allows 2 quick kayak trips

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Enough of this wind and rain already! My editor got me during Thursday morning’s torrents. He said he saw a kayak going down Main Street.

If it weren’t for the frigid temperatures, you’d think we had moved to the rain forest. You know that if and when the sun ever comes out, we’ll be in jungle-like humidity inland and fog galore on the coast.

I’ve had a couple of paddling windows this week, believe it or not. One that worked out for me was last Saturday after doing yard work. The wet weather held off long enough for a late afternoon-early evening paddle at Pushaw Lake. The mist returned toward the end of my circumnavigation of Moose Island.

The easterly wind was up around 20 mph or more and the waves were white-capped, so I had some fun surfing and playing around in the rough water off Hemlock Point next to Gould’s Landing.

Tuesday evening when I got out of work, the clouds had parted and the wind was down to 15 mph or slower, much more hospitable. My wife had a meeting to attend, so I made a beeline for Pushaw Lake to get in some more paddling. Turns out it was a good decision.

I headed into an easterly wind and let it set me into the lee of Dollar Island. From Dollar I crossed to Hardwood and then to the eastern side of the lake that was in the lee. The water was flat calm next to shore. As I lined up my bow on a distant camp for the return paddle, the sun broke under the clouds and I was treated to a glorious gold and orange display.

Horizontal lighting illuminated a flock of gulls that flew over and gave me the once-over. The orange orb lit up the southeastern shore in a brief display of reddish-golden brilliance. The wind at my back pushed me across the lake’s southern lobe in minutes and I had enough sunset left after getting back in the lee of Hemlock Point to bob on the waves and watch the finale of sunset’s fireworks. It was enough of an inspiration to get me through the rest of what would be another stretch of lousy weather.

Anyone know when we might dry out?

More canoe trail maps out

The Postal Service delivered another set of four maps of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail the other day. This brings to eight (of 13) the number of sections of the 740-mile trail from Fort Kent to Old Forge, N.Y., that are now officially open. The Mountaineers Books publish the maps as each section opens up. They are printed on water- and tear-resistant paper and break each of the trail sections into segments.

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail organization was founded in 2000 with the goal of creating a passable water trail along the entire 740-mile route, to create resources for educating and informing visitors and nearby communities about the trail, to stimulate economic development through eco-tourism, and to create a system for managing and maintaining the trail.

Available this month at $9.95 each are: Section 4 (Islands and Farms, Vermont, Lake Champlain to Missisquoi River; Section 8 (Rangeley Lakes Region: Maine, Umbagog Lake to Rangeley Lake); Section 9 (Flagstaff Lake Region: Maine, Rangeley Lake to Spencer Stream); and Section 11 (Moosehead/Penobscot Region: Maine, Moosehead Lake to Umbazooksus Stream).

Already published are: Section 1 (Adirondak North Country, West: New York, Fulton Chain of Lakes to Long Lake); Section 2 (Adirondack North Country, Central: New York, Long Lake to Sarnac River); Section 12 (Allagash Region, South: Maine, Umbazooksus Stream to Umsaskis Lake); and Section 13 (Allagash Region, North: Maine, Umsaskis Lake to St. John River).

The maps are coordinated and produced by the Northern Forest Canoe Trail organization. Volunteers first determined that the entire route was passable, located put-ins, and negotiated for portages where necessary. The organization identified overnight accommodations along the route, including motels, inns, and commercial and primitive campsites. They enlisted local sponsor organizations and volunteer committees for each trail section and developed a manual and a uniform sign system for trailheads, portages, campsites, and points of historical interest along the trail.

Maine Section 8 committee member Shelby Rousseau, natural resources steward at the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust in Oquossoc, is quoted as saying, “This map is the second edition of NFCT’s very first map, which came out in 1999. The map itself and the process of developing it embody a diversity of elements important in the region: recreation, tourism, conservation, history, and economic development. The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust is pleased to partner with NFCT in representing the Rangeley Lakes region through this map.”

For Sections 9 and 11, Linda Koski of the Natural Resource Education Center in Greenville had this to say: “A great group of local people spent many hours pooling their collective knowledge and images to help produce an accurate map and guide for the Greenville to Umbazooksus section of the trail. It was hard to decide which aspects of the area’s rich natural resources and human history to spotlight. Our several focal points became Native American legends, the logging and sporting history, the unique geology and use of the Kineo peninsula, and notable travelers like Henry David Thoreau.”

For more information on the canoe trail, call 802-439-2285 or go online at www.northernforestcanoetrail.org. The maps are listed for sale on the site.

Paddle Smart replay

I heard from another couple who attended the May 14 Paddle Smart from the Start Safety Symposium at the YWCA. Jon Young, his wife from Gouldsboro Point and another couple were first-timers. “We all were impressed to find the event so well organized and executed,” he wrote. “We went there to improve our safety awareness and rescue skills. The demonstrations in the pool were quite effective. Though we may not master the Eskimo roll, we do plan to buy a paddle float and become proficient in using it. We got what we wanted from the symposium, but probably would not feel we need to repeat it each year. So don’t despair over those of us who may not return. The show was excellent and we appreciate it.”

It’s great to hear we reached new folks, and I would encourage Jon and friends to consider returning for next year’s event. We always have something new in the static display and seminar sessions to keep the program fresh. Hope to see you there, Jon!

Aquaculture presentation

“Aquaculture Around the World and in Maine,” a presentation sponsored by the Friends of Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery Inc., will be made at 7 p.m., June 9, at Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery, East Orland. The speaker is Mike Pietrak of the Maine Aquaculture Association in Hallowell.

Pietrak’s talk will include a historic overview of world aquaculture as well as in the United States, including here in Maine. His talk will also address the industry’s research, regulations, and permitting, and current methods in raising fin fish, oysters, mussels, and worms.

Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery is located in East Orland, 6 miles west of Bucksport and 13 miles east of Ellsworth on Route 1. Watch for blue and white Maine DOT signs for the hatchery. Turn onto Hatchery Road at Toddy Pond. The hatchery is located 1.3 miles down Hatchery Road on the left.

For more information, call Bob Mushrall, president, Friends of Craig Brook NFH, at 469-2400 or the hatchery at 469-6701, extension 215.

Sea kayak visibility study

I’ve written about this kayak visibility study earlier this year, but we’re getting closer to paddling season when more boats will be out on the water. It bears repeating. The following I extracted from an e-mail sent to me this week.

If you are in a kayak a mile from another boat, you are all but invisible.

Maine sea kayak guides joined with the U.S. Coast Guard, got some backing from Maine Sea Grant, gathered some volunteer paddlers, and proved this during three trials in different locations and conditions. They tested a dozen radar reflectors – some home-made, others commercially available- and proved that even with a reflector, a kayak is rarely visible on a radar screen.

However, results changed at less than a mile where the presence or absence of a radar reflector mounted on the kayak or kayaker made a difference, according to Natalie Springuel of Maine Sea Grant.

Results in the tests showed that radar reflectors need to have lots of angles in order to reflect radar signals. Typical reflectors have metal plates angled like a tetrahedral. This is an impractical shape for sea kayakers who are low on the water and risk injury from sharp objects attached to the boat.

Reflective cloth material built into existing paddling equipment, such as the paddle float, yielded disappointing results.

According to Paul Travis of the Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guides and Instructors, “Kayaks by design present a low profile and are generally not detected reliably on radar. Reflector height is an important factor in generating quality returns.”

For the kayaker, radar reflectors currently on the market are cumbersome at best, unsafe at their worst. So paddlers need to be creative in devising ways to be detected. The reflector yielding the best results (at one-eighth and one-half mile) was a homemade foil hat reflector, the study proved.

Here’s one of the keys in this study: “While reflectors help make kayakers more visible on radar within the less-than-a-mile range, the responsibility for avoiding collision is a two-way street. Tuning the radar unit is an art in itself and radar, if the motor vessel has it, is only effective if it is watched.”

“In the ocean environment,” said Al Johnson, the First Coast Guard District’s recreational boating specialist, “whether you’re a commercial or recreational boater or sea kayaker, it is imperative to always know your location, the status of vessels in your area, and your course of travel.”

For more information about the radar reflector study, visit http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/extension/coastcom/raref.htm

My advice to paddlers is to think of yourselves as invisible. Stay out of the way of all boats. Cross channels directly and don’t dally where motor or sail boats are moving. The great advantage we have on the water is that we don’t have to have much water under us. Besides, the scenery is always better near shore.

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