Topics

1

Events / Key West to Portland, Maine paddle in support of Wounded Warriors

« on: March 05, 2011, 11:55:01 AM »

Hello fellow stand up paddlers. On March 1st, two RI stand up paddle friends of mine pushed off for a journey to paddle the east coast from Key west to Portland Maine. Mike Simpson and Will Rich will tackle this effort to raise awareness support for the Wounded Warriors project, and for SUP cleanup.

They have managed to obtain amazing sponsorship to help with their journey. I would like to ask those eastcoasters who would like to support Mike and Will contact their website via e-mail link. They are in need of land transport as thsy paddle the coast, and any provisions that coulud be donated. They are carrying all their equipment on board, it is a herculean task.
Any other standup paddlers from around the country and world. Please visit their website and feel free to donate to the linked Wounded Warriors
donation site (linked).

Please read their story and give these guys a hand, they are friends and everyday paddlers, like me, and most of you.

http://www.supthecoast.com/index.html

support supthecoast, support a great cause

Mahalo


http://www.supthecoast.com/follow-us.html

2

Gear Talk / Bark 12'6" DW video clip

« on: November 09, 2010, 07:37:30 PM »

October 2010 Rhode Island. 5 paddlers, 3 DW boards, 2 on surf style SUP boards ,(balsy and very bold considering the distance)

tale of the tape:    total distance: 14.97 miles
                            moving time:  2:47
                             max speed gps:  13.7 mph (I was piloting the bark 12'6")
                             max avg for 10 seconds (speedpuck):  8.9 mph
                             wind NW/W avg 30-35, gusts up to 40mph

the kind of run that defines the simplicityand efficiency of a Bark 12'6", a keeper forever         



                     

enjoy the Ramones, sick of hippy surf music..........

3

Sessions / New years eve snowstorm run

« on: December 31, 2009, 10:52:11 PM »

Couldn't resist a last distance run of the year in a New England snowstorm. pics are from a paddle mounted gopro (not HD). Air temps were only 30 degress F, paddled into 5-10 headwinds and the tail end of an outgoing current then the west passage of narragansett bay, no waves today so this was a really mellow solo run. Sno flakes were blestering my eye balls. The real big flakes made that faint mystical hissing sound as they hit the water. Great way to end the old year.

4

Gear Talk / using SpeedPuck to monitor speed and heading

« on: December 22, 2009, 08:09:47 PM »

So I bought one of these 2 months ago, been using it on my Bark in various flat water and rough water runs. I always use a Delorme GPS that is strapped to my camelback to record my distance, avg speed, and track of my runs. I rely on the "feel" of my craft gliding, not the gps. This SpeedPuck is really kind of of different. It has a large visual field of view reading from the deck of my board. It reads speed in knots, compass heading, and an average speed for 10  seconds, and the coolest is the lift/headed bar graphical. Most of my runs are long upwind/downwind runs, this is really helpfull to maintain steady but consistant strokes especially into headwinds. I really love it as I often paddle into filthy strong currents in the various estuary's and bays I often paddle in. It runs on 3 aaa batteries, floats, waterproof to 3m, and is a bit pricey (300-350 bucks), but I plan to use it as a back up compass for my pleasure boat anyhow. Been thinking if I order a custom race board I may want a recessed deck mount for one. I can use the paddle blade to press button to switch between the three modes (compass, avg speed, max 10 second speed), really cool.

5

Sessions / RI gale force downwind: slapped around silly

« on: October 19, 2009, 10:12:06 AM »

10/18/09 Launched solo from Compass Point park in Quonset, RI. Winds were solid and steady 28-35MPH with lingering gusts 35-45 MPH,my wife commented about the life insurance policy being paid up . Winds mostly out of North, however the land mass/topography has a venturi affect to the wind field  that creates wild wind shifts and super accelerated gusts, proved a significant factor in numerous falls and air-borne ragdolling.
1 winds N with shifts NE/ENE 28-35mph steady gusts 35-45, cold wind chills, needed full rubber.
2 rode the Bark 18', it was a rocket in the dead downwind with clean swell/no crosschop, only @ 2.5 miles of the total trip, more often than not the board was quickly whipsawed, resulting in a sudden and severe air-borne ejection. Fell at least 20 times, found the cross chop and radical wind shifts the problem for me.
3 Narragansett bay has very good downwind potential bearing in mind those would be Fall through Spring months, lots of launch/landing areas, can run long (up to 20 miles) to short trips depending on cold weather/wind chills ect.
4 Maybe this post and the pics would help to drum up some interest for those of you zoners in the NE who are up for the challenge
enjoy the pics, taken off my Gath helmet/Gopro setup

6

Events / RI downwind sunday 10/18, any one interested

« on: October 17, 2009, 07:51:05 AM »

been looking over the wind predcitions and graphs. tomorrows blow is expected 20-25 knots, gusts to 40 out of N/NE.  I've got a run in mind in the west passage of Naragansett Bay, I've done several of these, the run can be from @9 , 7.5  or 5 miles depending on drop off point.

Don't know if any of the RI/MA/CT zoners are interested, PM me. I know there will be surf as well, but this could be a fun and very nasty challenge

Sorry for the late notice, but life is very busy.

7

Downwind and Racing / Bark 18' steering/rudder modification.

« on: August 07, 2009, 06:40:31 PM »

So this is my  rudder/steering mod to my Bark 18' 6" that seems to work prettywell. ALthough I prefer to use a fixed skeg in winds from 0-12 mph, the reality for me in NE is that I'm usually dealing with gusty winds and really sloppy messy chop. The Board is an absolut blast to ride.

Design parameters.
1. Light, flexible, adjustable materials.
2. materials easily available.
3. need to be able to knee paddle and prone paddle without serious discomfort
4. sturdy enough to take a flailing fall.
5 Removable, and adustable in length.
6. Adaptable to the Bark fibergalss primary steering batten system.

The original Bark steering peddle/plate is one foot control at the sweet spot, however with 30 plus years surfing, I really like to move my foot placement back or forward on the deck, and the steering plate/peddle  can be awkwards in certain conditions. This system allows for quik steering adjustment of heel, midfoot or forefoot  regardless of my stance or foot placement.

The prosthetic foot is to show relative foot placement(s)