Summer home project brings family together Ocean kayaking provides respite

Summer’s been a bit cantankerous, no? Can’t say as I miss 90-degree weather, but it would be nice to have a string of sunny, dry days, say in the upper 70s or low 80s, wouldn’t it?

I squeezed in a day or two of kayak paddling on vacation – in between a couple of major projects. The roof on the front section of my parents’ summer home was in dire need of re-shingling (and, as it turned out, replacement of a few rafter ends thanks to some rot).

We turned the project into a mini-family reunion. My two younger brothers, a sister-in-law, my daughter and her boyfriend and a niece converged on the seaside cottage and in one way or another had at the job. It looks great, by the way, and by our calculations we were able to save $6,000 or so compared to an estimate we had done by a roofer (who didn’t know about the repair work that needed to be done).

Maybe in the next year or so we’ll tackle the other roof. By the way, one of our major expenses, besides purchasing materials, was disposing of the old shingles. We got nailed for $160 disposal fee at the Cherryfield transfer station for what amounted to seven squares of material!

On Sunday, July 8, while waiting for the morning dew, fog and rain to evaporate so we could go back on the roof, I joined my daughter Elizabeth and her boyfriend for some quality time on the water. The sea was relatively flat, the fog had lifted and we had a great paddle, exploring the coves and shoreline near camp. It was the first time I’ve had my little fleet on the water all at once.

Common terns entertained us as they dove for fish at one point. The small, gull-like birds would swoop overhead and suddenly drop from the sky like a stone into the water to emerge with a small fish in their beaks. Eiders, which are beginning to raft up, would tolerate us to a point then flap off across the water. They’re beginning to molt, so some aren’t flying. The several loons in the area stayed well clear of us.

And the big flock of black-backed gulls hanging around the ledges near Smith Cove kept an eye on us as we passed. One by one they’d get nervous and take to the air as we got closer. They’ve now got a protected home, you probably read this week, since the rookery of Jordan Delight, a few miles out to sea from Smith Cove, has been given over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Jordan’s Delight is a couple of miles inside Petit Manan Island where the terns nest by the thousands. It should be interesting in the coming years to see how these two populations co-exist, given the tern’s fierce nest protection instincts and the black-backed gull’s appetite for eggs and hatchlings.

Androscoggin source to the sea

Sorry for the short notice on this, but I think you can squeeze in this exploratory trip from Brunswick to Bath if you get on the phone right away. Tomorrow, July 22, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay are off on a 15-mile trip down the river – the Merrymeeting Bay section of the Androscoggin River, that is.

They’ll depart from Brunswick’s Water Street landing at 8 a.m. and paddle approximately 15 miles to North Bath. Paddling time is estimated to be five hours. Due to trip length, wind, tides and strong river currents this trip is recommended for experienced paddlers only. Preregistration is required for the paddle and may be done by calling FOMB Executive Coordinator John Eder at 871-0317. Trip leader will be FOMB Chair Ed Friedman (666-3372).

Merrymeeting Bay, at the junction of six rivers, drains nearly 40 percent of Maine and is recognized as an internationally significant resource for its migratory waterfowl, anadromous fish populations including sturgeon and salmon, as well as its bald eagles and rare plants. Friends of Merrymeeting Bay works to protect and improve the Bay through land conservation, education, research and advocacy, according to Ed Friedman who sent me notice of this outing.

For those who may need a little more advance notice, the next summer outing offered by FOMB will be a History Tour of Swan Island Saturday, Aug. 4, 1-4 p.m. Trip leader will be Friends of Swan Island President Bruce Trembly. Call Eder at 871-0317 to preregister.

Paddling in memory of Taylor

Next Saturday, I’m told by Ron Chase (725-4342, ronancy@suscom-Maine.net), many of the state’s whitewater paddlers are gathering at The Forks for the 5th Annual Taylor Pelotte Surfathon in memory of one of its youngest paddlers to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine.

The Surfathon is sponsored by the Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society (PPCS) and the American Canoe Association New England (ACA NE). The PPCS is an outdoor recreational club with a year-round schedule of whitewater, canoe, sea kayak, hiking, biking and ski trips. Each year, the ACA NE operates a series of downriver canoe and kayak races and donates some of the proceeds to the Surfathon.

The Taylor Pelotte Surfathon was named in memory of the daughter of PPCS members Greg and Sharon Pelotte of Winslow. Taylor lost her fight with cancer at age 9 in 2003, which was the first year of the Surfathon. In four years, the Surfathon has raised nearly $70,000 for charities that help children with life-threatening diseases, Chase wrote. Paddlers solicit pledges for navigating the 16 miles of continuous rapids on the Dead River.

There will be a paddle on the Dead River, a boating gear yard sale, chicken BBQ dinner, and a Surfathon Ceremony. Everyone is welcome to participate. Those not interested in whitewater can paddle any body of water in a canoe, kayak or sea kayak, at any location. Or, they can simply collect pledges for someone who is paddling. Pledge forms and instructions can be downloaded from the PPCS Web site, www.paddleandchowder.org.

For more information, contact Kathy Cornwall at Nyarmouth4@aol.com or call (207) 829-9237.

Summer surfing

Ashley Knecht, a Marketing Assistant at Mountaineers Books, 1001 SW Klickitat Way Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134, recently sent me an e-mail to tell me about a new book that’s out, “Outdoors Online: An Internet Guide to Everything Wild and Green” (Mountaineers Books 2007).

Along with it came an attached list of “Best-of-Web Outdoor Sites” created from the new book. Knecht thought you would be interested in checking them out next time you got on line with some time on your hands.

Here, in the basic form Knecht sent me, are some of the suggestions – happy surfing!

. Walk This Way – www.thewalkingsite.com where you can brush up on walking tips for all levels of walking, check out the forum, find training exercises, nutrition and other walking clubs in you’re area.

. Hal Online – www.halhigdon.com where runners will find Hal Higdon’s site is packed with articles on every running topic from pacing to nutrition to injury prevention. Don’t take anyone else’s advice; follow his training programs (which he generously posts for free) for every distance from 5K to ultra marathon.

. You’ve Got Friends – www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk that is a backpacking forum with topics ranging from the best mountain peak climbs, Alpine lakes worth trekking off to find to friendly warnings to keep a lookout for trolls.