Mecox Bay Inlet - Constructed Berm Post-Sandy (8.15.13)

Mecox Bay is sometimes open to the Atlantic - but the Town has bermed the inlet recently. Scouting for openings to paddle through - seems at present the same is true for Sagaponack Pond  and Georgica Pond just east of Mecox.  Was out that way doing work for the power authority and did a bit of scouting.

Mecox Bay no longer open to the Atlantic, new-ish looking berm

The Best Sea Kayaking Sun Hat Currently on the Market – the Outdoor Research "Oasis Sombrero”

My current favorite hat is the Outdoor Research "Oasis Sombrero". Whether you’re a fair-skinned kayaker (like me) or not, a key feature of a good sea kayaking sun hat is a wide brim that will stay down when the wind blows.

In the past I've favored the Watership Trading Companie sun hats, including their “Vineyard Haven” and “Seabird” hats because of their wide, sun-blocking brims. So for years I kept my trusty thick-cotton Watership Trading Seabird alive with repairs to the head band and chin strap.  The reason I liked the hat was actually due to its stiff cotton fabric which helped the brim to stay down in wind, wet or dry. Eventually had to replace it, so bought the company’s newer version of the Seabird made from nylon fabric.  On paper it seemed great – new nylon fabric dries fast, new floating material in the brim, identical overall shape...  But it just didn’t hold up to the wind – despite fitting well, the brim would flip up in even a moderate headwind – eliminating its sun protection and making me look like the guy from F-Troop.  This is such a universal problem with sun hats (brims flipping up in wind) that I was psyched to find OR’s Oasis hat. Either due to the shape of the Oasis or the construction of the brim, wind has little effect on it. Looks a bit like the Gorton’s Fisherman style hat (downward facing brim) so that might be the key to its wind resistance. Unlike a fisherman’s hat though, the brim is fairly wide even in the front so it offers good sun protection.

My only word of advice to Outdoor Research is – could you make a Men’s version?  That’s right, the Oasis is listed as a women’s hat (?).  I’ve been secure enough to wear this hat in gender-neutral gray (despite the embossed flower in the back…).  Outdoor Research has a few men’s hats with wider brims but nothing equivalent to the Oasis Sombrero!  All of their men’s hats I’ve seen are the floppity kind – more than a light breeze will flip up the brim.

Paddling the New "Old Inlet" at Fire Island - Breach in the National Seashore from Hurricane Sandy

Several breaches in the Long Island Barrier Island chain occurred during Hurricane Sandy - one within the Fire Island National Seashore is known as "Old Inlet" because it has been alternately open and closed over the course of the last 2 centuries. A good thing for Bay water quality apparently and a really interesting place to paddle (not least because there's less danger of getting hit by a motor boat than at the official inlets).   Decided to paddle it with the GoPro Camera - click here for VIDEO LINK to "Old Inlet" Paddling Video. 

"Old Inlet" at Fire Island Paddling

Before and After Sandy - breach

From the Brookhaven/Southaven Blog: "On Fire Island directly opposite Brookhaven hamlet and the village of Bellport is a section of beach known as "Old Inlet." Between 1763-1827, this area had a wide inlet from the bay to the ocean. This inlet was important in the establishment of Bellport as a minor seaport. In about 1827, it closed up, apparently due to a ship becoming grounded in it. During the worst storms, minor ocean wash-over sometimes occurs in the region, running to the bay. And apparently, it has opened as a minor inlet several times since 1827, but mother nature quickly closed it up."

Short Videos of Moriches Inlet, Shinnecock Inlet, and a Defunct Old Marina in East Moriches NY - Long Island

VIDEO: Breaking out of Ebb Current at Moriches Inlet - Long Island

VIDEO: Shinnecock Inlet nearing Max Ebb Current on a busy July day


I wrote an article for Atlantic Coastal Kayaker magazine a few years back about Long Island Barrier Inlets (see link on the right Articles Bar), and wanted to revisit/stress something it mentioned. Which is, if you paddle out one of the inlets in the Long Island barrier island chain, do so mindful of the conditions offshore and your current level of "readiness" - especially near the time of Max Ebb Current!  My own paddling skills have waxed and waned over the years - now in a significant waning period after a substantial shoulder injury. I've learned from experience it's best to be cautious - get out and look at the conditions from the shore before you get in your boat. Ask yourself, "am I ready for that today?"  I've had a few times where I "went for it" but probably would have preferred to have a more mellow paddle, either because I was tired or assumed a level of fitness that I didn't have or just because I ate a bad breakfast.  Most recreational sea kayakers (like me) are probably in the same boat - not entirely sure of their changing abilities as the years pass, or their current level of fitness depending on the season.

Although there are many motor boaters heading out of Moriches and Shinnecock Inlets in summer, there are essentially ZERO kayakers at these two spots.  The wider inlets (Jones/Fire Island) yes, you'll see an intrepid kayaker or two heading out these days, but the times I've been at the narrower Moriches and Shinnecock inlets I've seen no other paddlers. Reason is these two are like narrow sluiceways which funnel the bay's water out fast and provide no places to find a restful eddy. If you enter these inlets around time of max ebb current, you have little choice but to go out and hit whatever surf is piling up against the current or struggle back through 3+ knots of water moving in the opposite direction (see a much abbreviated video of the final moments of my exit from Moriches ebb current above, the entire paddle took a long time as I inched slowly out of the inlet at a snail's pace against the current).  Shooting out with the current may be fine if the incoming waves aren't too big and you're feeling fit. But if you begin your exit and then have a change of heart you'll be in a bit of a crisis situation. With a strong body, healthy joints, good rough water paddling skills, and a group of seasoned paddling companions the room for error is wider.  In fact it could be a blast - surf some waves, stay in a relatively tight group, bring rescue gear. Worse comes to worse, you get exhausted and find yourself pushed out beyond the breakers, raft up or stay offshore until the current diminishes - then head back in.  But if you're paddling solo, or without good physical conditioning and a support group of paddlers, your margin for error can be very small.

Photo (below) and video VIDEO: Abandoned Marina - East Moriches, NY of an interesting dilapidated marina I've been to a few times located at the end of Bay Avenue in East Moriches NY - signs say it is (will be?) parkland, but I haven't seen any progress there in the last five years.

Aerial Photo of Abandoned Marina (parkland?) at Bay Avenue and Smith Streets - Hamlet of East Moriches

Jones Inlet and Fire Island Inlet, NY - some GoPro video samples in various formats

A sampling of videos from Jones Inlet and  Fire Island Inlet taken with an Original GoPro HD Hero camera (no longer available) and GoPro's suction mount.  I don't own the camera, just on loan - a coworker in the Planning/Engineering firm I work for got the camera for traffic work.  The latest model is improved - the GoPro Hero3 - and comes with a wireless/waterproof remote control (a key item not all action cams have).

Click the links below for short videos of Jones Inlet and Fire Island Inlet paddling:

VIDEO: Jones Inlet inside surf TALL angle GoPro video

VIDEO: Jones Inlet inside surf WIDE angle GoPro video

VIDEO: Fire Island Inlet Kayak Surf tall angle video

VIDEO: Near Fire Island Inlet Arm tall angle video

VIDEO: Clapotis by Fire Island Inlet north shore video

Jones Inlet Inside (near bay at beginning of inlet) Surf

Kayak Hull Design – Hard and Soft Chines – VCP vs. NDK

Thought I’d post an email I sent to a kayaking friend who’s looking to buy a new boat. I’ve owned a number of kayaks over the years and had the opportunity to paddle a good many others when working for AKT. These are just my observations – I’m a fan of a lot of kayak styles so this isn’t an argument for any one type over another:

“Good luck in Boston and when you get around to trying the Chatham 17 let me know what you think. I thought it was bigger volume and more straight running (less rocker) than I wanted when I paddled it 4-5 years ago – but I’d recently come from the Pintail aka “Pin-wheel” which is very low volume and low directional stability, so any boat would feel like a big change after that.

You mentioned the Nordkapp, which is actually a great rough water boat, and excellent at paddling straight distances in rough water. But it wouldn’t be my first choice for a “carving, surfing, edging style” of kayak for rough water, if you know what I mean. To elaborate - the Pintail and Nordkapp both have a softer chine and decent rocker (especially the Pintail and Nordkapp LV). Because of this, they have a wonderful feel in rough water – they feel very stable as the water gets chaotic because they have the rounded, soft chine design. Despite their somewhat reduced initial stability or “twitchiness” in flat water (as compared to the NDK-style boats), they become more secure to the paddler in jumbly water in part because they lack the chine.

However, when it comes to surfing in following seas, or catching waves, or putting out an aggressive edge to carve a turn – the NDK-style boats (like Chatham, Romany, Tiderace, Impex Force, etc.) are good at that because of their harder chine and flatter hull in the mid-section. These NDK-style boats have hulls that grab the water with their chine (hence they carve turns when edged) and also get “stiffer”, i.e. more secure, as you edge them. As the chine is depressed into the water when you edge, the portion of the hull’s displacement volume contained in the chine resists (pushes back) as it is submerged, thereby giving more resistance to the paddler (something about righting-moment or center of mass vs. buoyancy – check a kayak book for that). It’s all relative of course and boat width is a huge factor. But with the exception of the super narrow Greenland boats, I find that the chiney boats add support as you edge them.

By contrast, the Pintail is easy to edge and it just keeps getting easier and easier the more you edge with little resistance until it capsizes! In fact, VCP gave the Pintail more width than its sister boat the Anas Acuta specifically because it lacked a chine and needed more width to have adequate stability. So that’s what people mean when they talk about the “tenderness” or “twitchiness” of the Pintail or Nordkapp. They seem not to resist edging as much. With no chine, the act of edging doesn’t submerge much hull volume down into the water because there is no chine to submerge. BUT one can sit incredibly securely in jumbly water (clapotis) in the Pintail, noticeably more so than in the NDK boats in my opinion, because the round, chine-less hull just “gives” easily when buffeted by incoming waves hitting it in various directions. Pintail and Nordkapp feel very stable paddling through rough water or sitting in rough water. In that sense, they are very fun to mess around in rough water – but are not as good at carving and surfing.

Hope that makes sense – seems counter intuitive I know. Sorry for the long diatribe. I enjoyed writing it. Lastly, the Nordkapp LV is really a new boat, different from the classic Nordkapp – it’s somewhere in between a Pintail and Nordkapp. I thought it felt like a faster, looser Avocet. So it’s fun and fast and would be a good play boat that can also go distances if you need it to. (If you can fit under the deck that is – try it if there’s one around – although I absolutely loved the feel of the Nordkapp LV when I first tried it, when they switched to their plastic seat I found it too tight for my legs). In some respects, you might find a boat like the Avocet or Pintail most "forgiving" in rough water simply because these boats have less volume above the waterline and so less boat for wind/waves to affect. (That's my personal bias, I like smaller boats). All that aside, from what you’ve told me about how you like the Explorer, I think the Chatham 17 is probably a better boat for your needs overall than these lower volume VCP boats. Who knows, coming from your non-rockered and long-length Epic 18 you might find the Chatham 17 small!”



JIM

Solo Kayak Loading in High Wind – with the Yakima Boat Loader

When solo-loading my kayaks onto my car,  they've been blown off the roof by intense winds on two (2) occasions, once long ago and once more recently. And I’ve had a few close calls over the years too – usually prevented by soliciting the help of a nearby stranger. Yes, I am capable of learning from past mistakes, but evidently it takes me awhile to change my behavior. When the wind catches the boat, it can be a total nightmare - potential damage to the boat, the car, and my aging joints as I’ve tried desperately to stop the inevitable catastrophe unfolding before my eyes. Thankfully, thus far I’ve had no major damage that some epoxy/gelcoat can’t fix and no damage to other people’s property. So now these days when it’s very windy, I’ve been following a set procedure to prevent the boat from flying off as described below.

I’ve used the Yakima Boat Loader (photo below) for many years now, to help lift the kayak in two steps. It was the first load-assist device offered by Yakima and is simply an extra bar that sticks out from the front rack crossbar. It works fine – I’ve padded the bar with some $2 foam pipe insulation from Home Depot and I usually stick something under the stern (a rag or pfd) when I lift so asphalt doesn’t grind away at my fiberglass boat too much.

But like all other solo lift-assist “tools” (with the exception of Thule’s Hullavator which secures the boat before it’s lifted), using the Yakima Boat Loader leaves the boat in a vulnerable, unsecured position subject to the forces of the wind until you strap it down.

To prevent the boat from flying off the roof on very windy days, I now lift the bow onto the Yakima Boat Loader bar and secure it loosely with the front cradle’s webbing strap (see my sketch). This stops the boat from being blown off the bar during the next step. To be doubly safe that the boat doesn’t slide off forwards through the webbing loop, I also attach a short bungee cord with hooks from a deck line to the roof rack. Next, I lift the stern up into the rear cradle and secure the rear cradle strap while holding the boat against the wind (with my car, I stand on my rear tire and can do this entire step without removing my hands from the boat). Once this is complete, I can then take my time moving the bow over into the front cradle and then synch the front cradle strap tight. This method takes very little extra time and can be a life saver.

This description may seem like a no-brainer. I post it here for others to read in the off-chance it saves someone a real headache. If you have a better method, please comment – thanks.