A Plethora of Trips

I've been remiss because of end-of-the-year stress. Wow, it really hits a person. You'd think it would be a pleasant, easy time, but between grading final exams and papers, getting in grade, last-minute housekeeping, both figurative and literal, it can be crazy. I have been paddling but not recording it. I'll sum up.

June 8: Went paddling with the Shmoo at Constitution Marsh in Cold Spring. He was on my pumpkin-colored kayak and I was on Big Red. I like paddling Big Red when I don't have to worry about going fast. It's easy to paddle and conforting that I don't have to worry about knocking it around. Gabriel really enjoyed the trip, and he's getting good control of the little boat. There were lots of large carp thrashing about in the clumps of water chestnuts. Often their fins or tails would break the surface with huge splashes.

June 14: I went SUP surfing at Long Beach (NYS) with a local MeetUp. I went with Tim, a prone surfer and Brian, a boy who hadn't surfed before. The waves were going about 3-4 feet and were a bit mushy. Time was on a 6'4" board, but was a bit smaller than me (about 150 lbs as opposed to my 200). I was on my NSP 11' with three fins.

He and I had a great time out in the water together, but the waves were a bit much for me. I've surfed 1–2 foot surf before but my board felt like a barge in the water with the waves. All the proners were on shortboards with a few longer boars, nothing as big as mine. I saw a few SUPers in the distance but we never crossed paths. We told Brian to practice bodysurfing, and since he was a strong pool swimmer, he did fine with that. The only problem was when a prober with serious attitude cursed him out when Brian “got in his way.” It takes a serious jerk to curse out a kid.

I was getting pretty knocked around. I got one terrific ride and a few okay ones, but the height of the waves combined with the shore break had me a bit spooked. I was fine mostly once I got beyond the breakers, but getting past them was work. I could really see how a smaller and lighter board would be good here, something about nine feet.

Tim and I traded once. He did okay and even stood up for a while, and he was surprised at how hard it was to maintain balance while bouncing on the waves. I borrowed his board and did nothing with it besides a few duck dives. It was so small it felt like a boogie board! How do people stand up on these potato chips? Brian took a surf lesson on a longboard and even got up a few times.

I did my “one more time session” shortly before we left. The waves were breaking a little further out because the tide was receding. As I got beyond the white, a big mother appeared right in front of me. It looked vertical and was about as tall as me. I figured I'd dive over it and just deal with a serious ankle drag as the wave took my board. As I porpoised over the wave, the wave somehow lifted my board and twisted it. I hit it with my thigh. That seriously hurt. I limped out of the water and back to my spot.

Today I'm sore as hell. I fell asleep at about 8 PM last night. I promised my friend to take him on his first paddle (Father's Day present to both of us), and I'm not going to cancel. It's going to be the only bright spot of my day, which will mostly be grading final exams. went SUP surfing yesterday at Long Beach (NYS) with a local MeetUp. I went with Tim, a prone surfer and Brian, a boy who hadn't surfed before. The waves were going about 3-4 feet and were a bit mushy. Time was on a 6'4" board, but was a bit smaller than me (about 150 lbs as opposed to my 200). I was on my NSP 11' with three fins.

He and I had a great time out in the water together, but the waves were a bit much for me. I've surfed 1–2 foot surf before but my board felt like a barge in the water with the waves. All the proners were on shortboards with a few longer boars, nothing as big as mine. I saw a few SUPers in the distance but we never crossed paths. We told Brian to practice bodysurfing, and since he was a strong pool swimmer, he did fine with that. The only problem was when a prober with serious attitude cursed him out when Brian “got in his way.” It takes a serious jerk to curse out a kid.

I was getting pretty knocked around. I got one terrific ride and a few okay ones, but the height of the waves combined with the shore break had me a bit spooked. I was fine mostly once I got beyond the breakers, but getting past them was work. I could really see how a smaller and lighter board would be good here, something about nine feet.

Tim and I traded once. He did okay and even stood up for a while, and he was surprised at how hard it was to maintain balance while bouncing on the waves. I borrowed his board and did nothing with it besides a few duck dives. It was so small it felt like a boogie board! How do people stand up on these potato chips? Brian took a surf lesson on a longboard and even got up a few times.

I did my “one more time session” shortly before we left. The waves were breaking a little further out because the tide was receding. As I got beyond the white, a big mother appeared right in front of me. It looked vertical and was about as tall as me. I figured I'd dive over it and just deal with a serious ankle drag as the wave took my board. As I porpoised over the wave, the wave somehow lifted my board and twisted it. I hit it with my thigh. That seriously hurt. I limped out of the water and back to my spot.

Today I'm sore as hell. I fell asleep at about 8 PM last night. I promised my friend to take him on his first paddle (Father's Day present to both of us), and I'm not going to cancel. It's going to be the only bright spot of my day, which will mostly be grading final exams.

June 15: I took my friend Greg on a paddle up the Croton a River. He'd never paddled before but did a remarkable job for his first time on a board. It helps that he was on Big Red, but still. I wish I had been that skilled my first time out. We had a really fun time, especially climbing around the rocks at the upper point where you can paddle.

June 21: which is today. I did four miles off Peekskill Bay, a little up river and then down. It was a leasurely paddle. I'm not really in the mood to go crazy. As long as I'm on the water, I'm happy.

I saw a hawk or osprey on my way in. It was flying around the channel marker right outside of the Peekskill Yacht Club.

Labor Day Early Morning

This is the first entry I've done with the new keyboard for my iPad Miini. I had tried out the Kensington keyboard but quickly hated it because I couldn't adjust the angle of the "screen", which is really the iPad which fit into a slot on the keyboard. This new keyboard is a sort or clamshell which the iPad fits into, and that works much bettter. It's like a mini laptop, which is cool. This can replace my laptop, as long at the damn people at Literature and Latte finally release Scrivener for IOS.

I feel sort of stupid writing about a session that happened yesterday because a lot of the impressions of the trip are lost. The morning was summery, and the water was about 63 degrees, s I deciided to ditchh the wetsuit. That was a good thing. I was sweating even in just my bathing sut and rash guard. if I had that 2.5 mm wetsuit on I would have been roasting. And I fell in: twice, which makes them falls number two annd three for the year. It's kind of silly to keep track of falls, but I just don't fall that often anymore, so they're noticable.

I fell in the really crazy parts of the river around Fish Island. For some reason, this is one of those places where the tide and current decide to do a crazy dance. Sometimes there are whirlpools, There are eddies and weird waves that come out of nowhere. It's nowhere near as bad a World's End, which is the curve of the river around West Point and Constitution Island, but the place is strange.

Easy Paddle I Paid For

Sometimes you just want to get out on the water and have fun. I dressed myself at school yesterday, giving my middle-school students a good laugh at seeing their teacher in a rash guard and wetsuit. Then I set off for a relatively short Friday afternoon paddle. The weather was rainy and ugly, and I was going to stay near shore just on case of lighting.

Sometimes you're just not in the mood to push it. I definitely wasn't, so I paddled easily. The tide was coming in rather hard and the light winds were from the other direction. As my habit, I had my GPS program running, but I regretted it. It kept urging me on -- Go faster, Ian! Go faster! But my heart wasn't in it. I just wanted to paddle.

The payoff was when there was almost no wind. Then I could hear the gurgle of my paddle dipping into the water and the dribble of the water rushing past the hull of my board. Yeah I could still hear Metro North and the cars on Route 9, but there was a lively sense of calm. Just me out on the water, feeling it.

There's that split feeling inside me. On the one hand I feel like I should be training and getting better. This has had a grip on me the past year or so, especially since I've been using that GPS app. But there are times when it's all about the flow, when it's all about just letting it happen out there on the water. If I want to go fast, that's fine. If not, that's fine too. At 46, I really shouldn't have to feel like I need to prove myself anymore.

That night I felt the paddle in my lower back. I actually regard that as a good thing. There was a little pain, but mostly because that's one of the parts of my body which chronically needs exercise. Hopefully I'll get out tomorrow too. Then it'll be almost a three exercise-session week.

Foggy Paddle

I've got to get a grip on my GPSy app. I like the automatic sharing, but it's out of control.

It was one of my shorter paddles. (I guess I'm starting to sound like a nut when 4.64 miles is a short paddle.) I put in at the Peekskill Waterfront. There was a slight drizzle. I decided to eschew a jacket, figuring I would roast with it, and that was a good call. With the limited visibility I also planned to keep near shore. I big freighter did slide by as I was unpacking my board. It looked erie.

My usual workout is from the boat launch to Fleischman's Pier, Fish Island, then go back. It takes a little over an hour at a reasonable clip. I don't normally stop, but I had to in the middle of Peekskill Bay to take these ghostly pictures:

Lovely. There were more pictures to be taken, but that meant pulling my iPhone from its waterproof casing. Got to remember my waterproof camera.

I'd like to see that average speed get up to about 4 mph. I know I'm slower than with the fourteen footer, but I could do better. I'm still not giving it my all on the water. I can feel that. God, did I let myself go to seed last winter.

Name:		Foggy Paddle
Date:		May 9, 2014 4:59 pm
Map: (valid until Nov 5, 2014)		View on Map
Distance:		4.64 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:14:20
Avg Speed:		3.7 mph
Max Speed:		4.7 mph
Avg Pace:		16' 01" per mile
Min Altitude:		0 ft
Max Altitude:		0 ft
Start Time:		2014-05-09T20:59:04Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 05" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 56" W
End Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 05" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 56" W

Everybody's Bothering Me!

I did my first Bear Mountain Bridge run of the year, and it was an odd experience. The weather and wind were working against me, but that wasn't the real issue. The issue was that people in other boats were stopping me.

The first was a sailboat. It was tacking up the narrows towards Bear Mountain Bridge and I was gradually catching up with it. I did right by the bridge, but then the people in the boat started shouting something to me on a megaphone. I couldn't catch what they were saying except when they we're calling out the guy with the red shirt and the khaki board. (My board is yellow, but my shirt was definitely red.) I waved my hand, then my paddle (which technically is a distress call) then turned around.

About 3/4 a mile down the river they caught up to me and blasted an air horn from the other side of the river. I stopped and waited for them to tack across the river and tell me whatever was burning, but they never did. A few minutes later a huge freighter came down the river, followed by a barge getting towed by a tugboat. So much for the sailboat tacking across the river. They never really did.

All I could figure out was that they were warning me about the commercial traffic. As if I never encountered a freighter before.

During this time a motorboat crossed the river out of the shipping channel to my side of the river. It stopped and seemed to be waiting for me. They probably didn't know what I was and thought they'd stop to help. As I got closer, they pulled away.

As I passed Fish Island, I heard another boat closing in from behind. It was a police boat. They slowed down and talked to me. They asked if I was okay and aware that I was paddling against the current (which I wasn't — technically I was paddling against the tide). I said I was peachy and after a minute or so they were convinced that I was okay, especially after I told them I was returning from the Bear Mountain Bridge.

Kirsten said to me that I should have mentioned to the policemen about the sailboat calling out to me, and they actually weren't too far away, less than a mile, as we spoke. I didn't think of it.

I pulled into Peekskill as some narsty clouds pulled in. It looked pretty.

Name:		Track 020
Date:		May 3, 2014 1:56 pm
Map: (valid until Oct 30, 2014)		View on Map
Distance:		7.33 miles
Elapsed Time:		2:12:04
Avg Speed:		3.3 mph
Max Speed:		5.1 mph
Avg Pace:		18' 01" per mile
Min Altitude:		0 ft
Max Altitude:		0 ft
Start Time:		2014-05-03T17:56:02Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 06" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 56" W
End Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 06" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 55" W

Pleasant Paddle with Kayaker

I had an afternoon paddle today, meeting up with Dan Thaler, a kayaker I know. I meet him at Annsville Creek. He was on a gorgeous wooden kayak he had made himself. We chatted and I enjoyed thoroughly having some company for a change.

Dan has a workshop in his basement where he makes these kayaks. This is part of a basement business of his called Moonlight Marina. I wish I had those kinds of skills.

The two of us paddled around Fish Island, then headed back to Peekskill. As I disembarked, Dan took this picture:

Yet the story isn't over. This evening I was perusing the Peekskill NY in Pictures Facebook page and I saw someone had posted this picture with the caption “Only in Peekskill”:

Hilarious! That made my day! It's a funny string too, especially after I posted, “Hey, that me!” What's cool too is that I so rarely get pictures of me paddling because I'm usually alone. Today I got two from different sources.

Name:		Track 019
Date:		Apr 28, 2014 4:16 pm
Map: (valid until Oct 25, 2014)		View on Map
Distance:		4.20 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:14:30
Avg Speed:		3.4 mph
Max Speed:		5.7 mph
Avg Pace:		17' 45" per mile
Min Altitude:		0 ft
Max Altitude:		0 ft
Start Time:		2014-04-28T20:16:04Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 07" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 55" W
End Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 08" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 55" W

Against the Wind — Both Ways!

Okay, maybe that's not completely true. I was against the wind heading down river, expecting to get a nice boost in the other direction, which I did not! Phooey on you, wind! And phooey on you too, tide! Work against me, why don't you?

The wind was coming from the south. What was interesting is that I generated fairly good speed 3mph+ while paddling into the wind. I feel like that has partially to do with my board's slim vertical profile. It doesn't catch much, which is nice. The nose also cuts through the waves very nicely with a minimum of board slap.

Heading south means paddling around the Indian Point no-go zone. This is a line of buoys a smart person must not cross or you may find yourself boatless, permanently, and an overnight guest of Homeland Security. The problem is that it's also right next to the bat channel for the river, so you have to carefully paddle near it. I only saw one barge on this trip, but in the summer the river can be teaming with traffic. Of course, when the wind is blowing and there are two-foot swells, paddling near the zone is a bit more of a challenge.

I had my first fall this season. I just slipped off and went it feet-first into the fifty-degree water. I was not wearing a wetsuit jacket over my farmer john wetsuit, which I Regretted. I was probably a little underdressed for the paddle, and paid for that fall for about twenty minutes afterwards until the winds blew me drew. Next time I bring a jacket.

I stopped at a little beach in Verplank for a few minutes, had some water, slurped a gel, then headed north. It's nice that occasionally you can find these little places to stop instead of just sitting on a rock wall.

The river doesn't look so bad from here. Do not be deceived. It is fooling you.

That's a paddlewheel boat in the last picture.

Name:		Track 018
Date:		Apr 25, 2014 4:13 pm
Map: (valid until Oct 22, 2014)		View on Map
Distance:		5.92 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:46:41
Avg Speed:		3.3 mph
Max Speed:		5.3 mph
Avg Pace:		18' 01" per mile
Min Altitude:		0 ft
Max Altitude:		0 ft
Start Time:		2014-04-25T20:13:30Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 05" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 56" W
End Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 05" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 56" W

Take Out the Amundson In (sort of) Good Conditions

Name:		Track 017
Date:		Apr 18, 2014 10:27 am
Map: (valid until Oct 15, 2014)		View on Map
Distance:		4.59 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:19:48
Avg Speed:		3.5 mph
Max Speed:		4.9 mph
Avg Pace:		17' 22" per mile
Min Altitude:		0 ft
Max Altitude:		0 ft
Start Time:		2014-04-18T14:27:27Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 06" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 56" W
End Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 06" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 56" W

Okay, finally got the board out in pretty decent conditions with the Gladiator fin. I averaged about 3.5 mph over 4.59 miles. A few things working against me were that I've barely been paddling since early fall, I was covered in rubber, and there was a variable wind.

The board is really stable on the water. It just doesn't want to flip. Considering it's small size, that's pretty impressive. The Allison fin made a big improvement in going straight. I don't even know why I had that factory fin on. What a difference!

Being out in relatively calm conditions (if you discount the breeze plus the tide and current working against each other) I learned a few things about the board. It throws up a nice bow wave which acts kind of like a speedometer. The faster you go relative to the water, the bigger the wave. A paddled an NSP 12' last year that threw an even nicer wave, and I figure that comes from the sharp, vertical prow. Also, if the nose actually does dunk, there's no problem. The board doesn't want to pearl. It just cuts through the water and pushes it off either side of the deck.

Jim K said that a 12'6" would be about 10-12% slower than a 14 footer, and I think that's about right. Once I get back into shape, I figure I can do a relaxing 4 mph without too much trouble, in good conditions of course.

The board turns nicely, although the Gladiator fin probably takes a little away from that. I did a pivot turn pretty easily and didn't have to stomp on the tail to get the nose up. It also responds pretty well to a cross-bow turn, although that felt a little slow.


Things I don't like about this board:

Only four tie-downs.
Slower than a 14 footer (although that's to be expected).
A little less glide than I'm used to.


Things I like about this board:

Relatively lightweight and easy to carry.
The improved carry handle.
Definitely sturdier than other models I've paddled.
Bright yellow color makes you visible for miles.
Maneuverable.

Anyone else paddling a flat water Amundson around here?

Hudson River Temperature Going Up

It's been chilly the last couple of days, but the Hudson doesn't really low it. I've never seen the temperatures shoot up so quickly. A few weeks ago the water was in the low thirties, now we have this:

River Temperatures on 04/18/2014  at  8: 3:15

Albany	41.2 °F
Poughkeepsie	48.0 °F
West Point	46.9 °F
Piermont	46.6 °F
Battery	46 ° F
Sandy Hook	*** ° F

These reading come from the Hudson River Temperatures Page.

The high forties is out of the real danger range for a SUPer or windsurfer. That's when I feel safe getting into my lighter wetsuits. Not that you still can't get killed by that water, but it's safer.

Amundson 12'6" TR: Water Review

I finally got my new Amundson out on the water. It was one of those strange spring days we get this time of year in New York. The air was 78 degrees and the water was 44 F. I went back and forth about what wet suit to wear, and finally settled on my light 2.5 MM farmer john. Anything else would have been a portable sauna, and I figured if I fell, I'd be okay. I wore my PFD just to be sure, although I think PFDs are mandatory anyway until May.

My board bag hasn't arrived yet, so I loaded the board on top of my wife's VW Routan. Down to Peekskill waterfront I went. The conditions looked placid, but that was deceiving. This would also be my first time with my new KeNalu xTuf paddle.

As I got on the water, I got hot with about a 10 mph southerly in my face. Not the most fun conditions, but it was a good test for the board. The straight nose punched through the light chop pretty easily with little board slap. I went on my standard loop, which is anywhere from 3-4 miles. Around  my first turn and my back was to the waves. This was when the flat bottom of the board became very obvious. As the tiny waves came from behind, I felt the board try to run with them on the bottom. I buried the nose a bunch of times, but that didn't affect the ride much. I think the extra buoyancy in the front had something to do with that too.

My KeNalu has been cut longer than my older paddles, and wow was I feeling that. There was a lot more load on my upper shoulders near my collarbone. I also realized that I had been crouching a lot with my older paddle to get it buried in the water. Now I could stand more upright! That was very nice! Plus, the paddle itself was a feather. It was weird paddling something so light. A couple other things I noticed was the funny, grippy texture on the shaft. My fingers made a funny sound as I switched the paddle from side to side.

Two things to say about the upwind paddling. The first is that the chop didn't bother the board that much. The second was that I could feel the smaller volume and smaller size of the board in decreased glide. I had to be more on my game than on a fourteen footer, especially since for about half a mile I was getting pushed up against a rocky embankment. Absolutely no relaxing or I'd get knocked up against the rocks. The nose also got knocked from side to side a bit, although I was impressed by the stability of the board when I had to paddle with the chop hitting me at ninety degrees. I figured the flat bottom would increase the chances of the board getting thrown, but it felt stable, even when getting rocked side to side.

I can definitely live with this board. It didn't knock my socks off with anything, but it behaved itself well in lousy conditions. On a rough 3.5 mile stretch I averaged 2.7 mph, getting up to 4.5 mph in the downwind section. I'm looking forwards to testing it out in flat water conditions, which happens rarely to never on the Hudson.

Next time I'm going to use that Gladiator fin. It seems stupid now to have gone out without it, although I wanted a feel of the stock fin.

A Subtle Curve

I took Kirsten's board out finally for a timed run last Tuesday. There was a lot of wind and that skewed to GPS results some.

Name:		4 Miles on Wife's Board
Date:		Sep 17, 2013 4:40 pm
Map: (valid until Mar 17, 2014)		View on Map
Distance:		4.36 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:23:34
Avg Speed:		3.1 mph
Max Speed:		5.1 mph
Avg Pace:		19' 10" per mile
Min Altitude:		0 ft
Max Altitude:		0 ft
Start Time:		2013-09-17T20:40:05Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 06" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 57" W
End Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 05" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 57" W

This was a good trip to get acquainted with Kirsten's board again. It's an older model Amundsen 11'3" bought in 2009. What makes it interesting are a few things. First, It doesn't have a center handle like most SUPs. It does hand a windsurfer mast track, however. It was made during the primitive years when people thought the only time people would standup paddle was when there was no wind for windsurfing, thus the board's dual nature. The fin is probably too small for good windsurfing, but no matter. I've only put a sail on it once, and that was in really light winds. You can squeeze a couple of digits into the mast slot for carrying, but that's only good for short distances.

The board also has padded rails, which I've never seen before or since. After several years of paddling these have gotten a little beaten up, but I don't know why more manufacturers don't use these. They sure save the rails better than anything else.

I don't have any shots of the board from my last trip, but here's Kirsten sliding aboard on Mirror Lake.

The colors are also pretty bland, almost ugly. I wonder why. This board was sold under the “AquaGlide” brand, which is not a high-quality brand for water equipment and the blue/grey scheme is their colors, but I'd think Amundsen could have made it a little prettier.

The thing I noticed most of all with this board was the concave deck. I think this is a relic from windsurfing again, where a concave deck means you have something to push against when you're on one side of the board, especially one without footstraps. What this does for basic paddling is make the board really squirrelly. It moved turned and moved around very easily, but sacrificed a little stability in the process. It took a little getting used to, but it had advantages. Pivot turns were really easy. I could also “foot steer” the board while paddling. That was nice. I imagine this would make turning in the waves pretty easy. but I've yet to try that. (I did get the board on a wave once, but that was before I knew anything about surfing.)

One last thing I want to mention is that this board is relatively fast. I notice when I paddle my own eleven-footer with Kirsten that I have to push it a little to keep up. Even with my stronger stroke (not boasting — I just paddle a lot more) I need that extra effort. It's a pretty good board. Right now it's the fastest in our fleet.

You can see the concave shape of the board at Kirsten's feet.

Sometimes You Don't Go Out

I was going to go out yesterday, but I bagged it. The weather was just too off. I was on the edge of a storm and the winds were high. Great conditions for a windsurfer, but not for me.

Believe it or not, it's raining pretty steadily in this sunlight.

Right on the edge of the storm.

Look what I saw as I left the parking lot.

So, I decided to rest a little and hang out with Monty, the newest member of the Berger clan.

(And I'm not as fat as that picture. I promise. That's call foreshortening.)

Paddle For A Cure

Yesterday was the Paddle for a Cure event. It was a great event but a hard paddle. I also learned some interesting things about SUP/kayak events I hadn't known before. But I'll get to that when the time's ripe. First, on with the event.

I got to Annsville Circle about 7:20 and dropped off Big Red and everything I needed to go paddling except for my big waterproof pouch. Then I drove to Cold Spring to drop off my car. I caught a return shuttle organized by the Paddle For A Cure crowd back to Annsville.

Annsville was getting pretty crowded:

There were ultimately fourteen paddleboards to over one-hundred kayaks. There was kind of a festive atmosphere. There were a table for registrations and another stacked with PowerBars. People seemed to be arriving constantly. The place was an ocean of multi-colored plastic.

Jerry from Standup Motion (Always a stand-up guy. Get it? Stand up? I make funny.) offered my the use of an NSP 11'6" for the paddle instead of Big red. I hemmed and hawed, but took him up on it, transferring my Allison fin to that one. This board didn't have tie-downs, so I couldn't carry as much stuff as I wanted, but it was a more suitable board for the river. later, I was very glad I did.

There were far more paddleboarders at this event than had ever showed up before, so Jerry and I were recruited as guides. We got hot pink guide hats and became one of the caretakers. It was probably a good idea that happened too.

Jerry from Standup Motion getting his NSP 12'6" ready. While another man, Leopoldo, had a Bic Wing 12'6", Jerry officially had the slickest board of the event. The rest of us were on all-arounds.

My new ride.

You may now be jealous of my pink hat.

I did a dumb thing before the event. I tried a PowerBar bar and a gel. I have been told since to never try a new food right before an event. Now I know why. You never know how your body is going to react. I reacted with stomach cramps, which plagued me the entire paddle. My wife informed me that what I did was “stupid”, which I guess it was.

It was decided that since paddleboards are mostly slower than a traditional kayak, that we would launch first. Jerry and I would take responsibility for this group, which made sense. So we did. I got the hang of the new board, which was a little longer and lighter than my personal NSP board. We launched and became the vanguard of the excursion up the river. I felt proud. 

As soon as we went under the rail bridge, trouble started. The winds were blowing between 10–15 mph from the north, right in our faces. Whitecaps were visible, which meant the wind was even going above 15. About half of the paddlers dropped down to their knees, which was a smart thing to do. It gives you more leverage on the paddle plus less wind resistance. Denise Smith took these pictures of us starting to struggle against the wind. the water looks calmer than it was.

Pictures courtesy of Denise Smith.

Pictures of the kayaks launching, by Peggy Navarre, one of the event organizers.

Right beyond the piling in the picture above we lost our first paddle boarder. She wasn't a very strong paddler and was moving at a pace that would take her all day to get to Cold Spring.  She was already in last place and falling behind rapidly. I felt terrible for her, but it was decided to get her out of the water.

Jerry's daughter got these shots of me. These are so cool, because I rarely get shots of me in action. You can see how chaotic the water is in these shots.

It didn't take long for almost all of the kayakers to pass us. They have a distinct advantage in the wind. A kayaker sits lower so there's less wind resistance. Kayaks are more needle-shaped (usually) compared to the jelly beans most of us were on. So our vanguard turned into a rear guard, but that was okay. I could have kept up with the kayakers, but my responsibility was to this group, not to looking macho.

We all struggled until the Bear Mountain Bridge (I was on my knees by Fish Island), where the wind magically disappeared on the other side. Suddenly our crawling up the river turned into a more leisurely paddle through Manitou and Garrison. The conditions were lovely. We marveled at the riverside houses in Manitou along with a battered seaplane. Of course we paddleboarders fell further behind, but the group was having a great time. Leopoldo and his son had to stop in Garrison. This apparently was his son's first trip, and the conditions were too much for him. One of the other paddlers, Deirdre, was also going very slowly, but someone loaned her a kayak paddle, and pretty soon she had scooted up with the rest of us, doing fine paddling her board like a kayak. Carrying one of those around might be a good idea for a group paddle.

Things got interesting again at World's End, which is where the Hudson does a narrow twist by West Point. This is where the famous chain across the Hudson was laid during the Revolutionary War. The water was completely chaotic by Constitution Island, so insane that everywhere I looked, the water was going in about five directions. It was almost like we were on top of a huge boiling pot. This was kind of  weird and exciting at the same time. Yet when we rounded the corner into Foundry Cove, things got worse.

The wind was awful, again blowing in our faces. This time the speed was closer to twenty, but gusting higher. I went partially across then returned to lead some paddleboarders in a roundabout way around Foundry Cove to take advantage of some shelter at the shoreline, but I got yelled at by other guides. So across the cove we went, against the vicious winds. For the second time I went to my knees and scratched my way up to the park just north of Main Street in Cold Spring.

It seemed we were all late to a big party. the kayakers had all eaten but fortunately there was still pasta and sandwich wraps. Prizes were given out and people relaxed. I was exhausted. Even now, the next day, my shoulders ache. Not only that, Kirsten has now taken possession of my pink hat. (I still have a white one in my car, though.)

Bannerman's Island Paddle

My friend Jim and I did a Labor Day paddle. This day has special significance besides the labor holiday (which I get), which is that it's the last day of summer. Waaah!

The weather was looking lousy with rain and ominous rumbles in the distance. Yet when I checked the satellite imagery, the storm was right over us but due to blow over. So we set out in my CRV with Big Red and Jim's 17 foot kayak on the roof.

We parked at Cold Spring. Usually on a weekend morning the parking lot by the Cold Spring railway station is a beehive of kayakers and other paddlers. This morning there was only us and two other paddlers (and a few parked cars with empty racks).

This is the launch site. Such gorgeous mountains.

We paddled north to Bannerman's Island and its famous castle, about three miles. The rain had completely disappeared. The water was almost glassy. (You can see that in the picture above.) Very easy and satisfying paddling. Of course Big Red was a turtle compared to Jim's sleek kayak, but I expected that. There's a good history of the island here. You can also take escorted tours.

The island from the south.

An arch. It seems the twisted metal below the arch was set deliberately to prevent paddlers from going underneath. Which was mean.

A very cool Jim. I meant like calm and collected, not at a lower temperature, because that kayak skirt keeps him pretty warm.

We debated going on the island until the third sign warning us to not do that. Okay. So we parked at the dock on the north end of the island (which we were also warned not to do) and ate our Kind bars. Those are good, by the way. I also ate the second of my Hammer Gels (Huckleberry then Vanilla). I'm beginning to like these more and more, even though they still remind me of slurping an oyster.

I'm looking pretty emo here. I think it was the glare.

I can see the Beacon Bridge in the distance. This and that peninsula sticking out from the right was the most southerly I got on my distance paddle.

Then we headed around to the other side and paddled back. A wind had began from the south and was pushing back a little. Not a big deal, but there was chop. Jim's sleek kayak slice through the chop like buttah. Big Red thudded over them for the most part. We talked about books, mostly. Jim and I both love Stephen King and he gave me a few new authors to look up.

A pretty dramatic view. These are the Hudson Highlands from the north.

Tomorrow I go back to school. We begin a new era with the Common Core Curriculum. Joy.