I think cancelling organized paddles is a good idea. Some of the groups that come up from more south have been over 20 paddlers when they go by an island in Muscongus that I have stopped on. That would get some attention.
Also, one of the common courtesies for groups coming into some of the smaller harbors to launch - which is pretty much all of that bay - is that paddlers to buddy up so the kayakers are taking fewer spots away from the regulars. Keeping the paddling group down to an informal few means that everyone can come separately and not blow out parking for people who have boats moored in the harbor.
I have suggested some distancing rules for where I stay, and one of them was that if we can rent cabins, there be a restriction on day people coming in to paddle with and use the enclaveās beach. I canāt be the only one thinking this way. This could increase traffic at some of the launches. I did not suggest this happily, but it is important to protect the long term relationship of the owners where I rent with the rest of the small town.
Iād actually suggest to my smaller group to avoid some of the tighter launches altogether like the narrow boat ramps with limited parallel parking on the road leading to the ramp. If a landing on an island isnāt expected, there are lots of paddles we could do from just a few of the more open launch points.
So far weather has affected my paddling more than C19. This morning it snowed and was very windy.
Tomorrow morning Iāll retrieve my Fathom from its winter spa and bring it home. The challenge now is getting it down to the lake so I can paddle here.
Canāt drive it down since the access site has been closed due to high water.
Canāt carry it down alone. Figure Iāll attach my tow line to the stern and let it slide down the bluff. Might get a few scratches on the hull, but I canāt figure out any other alternative.
I think as a class the crossovers tend to plow- my xp is even worse but I do have experience with the katana. I think each boat has a prefered hull speed, and you get very little advantage (speed) when you exceed that with additional effort. Of course what you gain with that type of hull is manueverability and stability. Everything is a trade off. I tend to keep my flatwater paddles short in a crossover or in a regular ww kayak. As long as my expectations are in line with the fact that conditions maybe less than ideal for that hull, I can stay motivated and focus on the workout and technique. Paddling efficiently becomes very important so you donāt wear yourself out.
& thatās how Iāve been approaching it.
These regular morning paddles on this low-current river were not my intended excursions for this particular boat. However, given the unusual circumstances of Covid19 ā¦ cāest la vie.
Eventually, things willāhopefullyānormalize, & I can get this yak on its intended waters.
Gov Mills is contemplating how to open to some tourism. Now I know reading comments in the papers reveals the crazies but there is a real fear of people from away bringing with them the gift of CV. We have about 400 active cases less than 900 total with 37 deaths. There has been increasing vandalism of out of state licensed cars in the last few days as anger manifests itself out of fear. Not sure I would want to bring an out of state car here though kayaking is a really rotten way of communicating disease IMO
i would hope the retaliation would lessen over time.
Thatās a possibility since weāre supposed to get lake effect snow tomorrow. Brought the boat home this morning, gave it a bath and reinstalled the foam footrest. Might wax the hull later this afternoon.
Snowpants at the ready. Weāll see what tomorrow brings.
Per some earlier conversations I expect vandalism when they first open up lodging. Given that in many out of the way areas it was a risk before the pandemic. If I can go to my rental I am going to risk higher people counts on major highways rather than the back roads approach I was thinking of taking. And my out of state plate is not going to be parked anywhere that it does not have a lot of company, or a lot of oversight.
This situation is going to favor people who know an area well. I can name places where my NY plate will be safe to park for a bit during the day - many small boat launches are not on that list but I donāt need them anyway - because I have been going to the same spot for nearly 30 years. I can walk to the local market if needed, it is āhealthyā but so is any walk I take out of my place at home.
But it may be a tough season for anyone who wants to bop wide eyed around the region. And heaven help anyone unknown who asks to launch their kayak at a working dock like at a pound. I have never even thought about doing that, but apparently some paddlers do.
I donāt entirely blame the local folks. It is a tad frustrating since NY will have long since peaked. But this is a bad take on the Monty Python joke, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.
There isnāt going to be one peakā¦ It will be a ridge of summits. The CV is here like an unwanted stinking house guest. It will be here for years. How tourism industry survives is the subject of plenty of meetings that I have no insight into.
Tourists are supposed to quarantine but I suspect that that is not being done for the most part.
I do know the back way around Wiscasset. It is such a lovely town but not in the summer and I think the two new traffic lights right by Redās are going to generate their own special Hades.
Celia you will be OKā¦ What is more concerning is out of state cars at launch ramps while their owners are out kayaking. Just a thought that I hope never comes true.
Until we have a vaccine every place will be some peaks even after the initial round. I expect the distancing and density stuff to be with us for far longer than the rest of the provisions. I expect that the solo parts of my life will return sooner than the classical music, that it will be a long dry summer for things like the BSO at Tanglewood.
Up on route 1, the folks in line with me in a store usually think I am a long time local seasonal person. I get told the cracks about tourists. But in Ernieās market they know I am a renter even if very long term. So I will be extremely conservative for the sake of the folks from whom I rent.
Thanks for the heads up about new traffic lights in Wiscasset. I have used the back way at times on the way up, always get thru early heading back. Mostly less frustrating but there is that. But if they added traffic lights it could take a lot less to back it up. The longer way going up near Augusta is a yucky drive.
I mostly hope that the foolishness with the protesters doesnāt get long legs in Maine. They are trying here but I expect Wednesday to be a statewide bust compared to the support they get in other places. Mills is attempting to make good decisions in the face of a more atavistic response that gets too many cheerleaders.
Off topic here, but hey, itās a discussion after all. The new traffic lights in Wiscasset are intended to speed things up, and perhaps they will. Instead of cars having to stop whenever a pedestrian starts crossing the street, pedestrians are now supposed to go to one of the lights, push the button and then wait for the light to let them cross. So if it works, there will be less frequent stoppages for one or two pedestrians. But we may have to wait for a normal summer to see if it actually works. I imagine Camden will be watching to see how this works in Wiscasset.
The loud squeaky people are just that a little group of loud squeaky people 200 people making a lot of noise. Gov Mills listens to Dr Shah. No way is she going to be persuaded by noise.
We could open up of we do it more wiselyā¦ No theaters etc movies nor those horrid concerts in Westbrook that jam thousands in and rile the neighbors. ( One good thing about all this!). Nor ball games. Nor Lobster Fest in Rockland which I went to once and said Never Again. Etc. that sort of stuff. I most want to get a haircut!
We go to Morses Sourkraut often but never go through Augusta. We get off at exit 102 and then 126 to Gardiner then 226 to Chelsea and to 17 just past Togusā¦ Then down 220 to get stuff at Morses and wind up at Borealis Bread in Waldoboro Augusta isnāt a big town but annoying to me.Plus the route we take is shorter.
Because we do have a lot of sole proprietor small business that frankly never see crowds I do understand the need to open. If not they never will again.
What does not need to happen again is cruise ships. They are not a economic boost studies have shown. I donāt think we need outlet shopping either and it would be great if that went away but it would leave eyesore hulks of buildings.
Meanwhile we are working on the curveā¦It is flat now for new cases and maybe if we can keep it going for 14 days we can be cautiously optimistic. That is what we are working on. We have been blessed with few cases outside of confined spaces like long term care facilities. 40 percent of all CV have been there.
Yah I would like to go to Five Islands for a lobster dinner and stop at the Georgetown general store for the accompanying beer. Eat outside. But it is early in the season yet and they are not open this early anyway.
So far life around here save for a lack of cut hair and the library ( which I miss so) and eating out at a restaurant ( which we donāt have many of anyway) is pretty normal and paddling unaffected.
I hope kayak tour operators can open this summer.
On the Wiscasset thing - if the folks in line at Redās can manage not to dash randomly across the street it might work. I am not going to hold my breath that is possible. What may be most entertaining is if they are still trying to enforce distancing, in that line. Pity the local police.
Reopening but keeping distance may also mean cancelling the summer season for Bay Chamber concerts, the DuPonte Quartet, the Portland String Quartet, maybe this yearās Conductorās Symposium in Washington which has been going for over 20 years and is a fantastic event. Adult chamber camps in Camden and music events on Swan Island. Etc. Maybe portions of the art crawl in Rockport, lectures at the Farnsworth Museum, Puffin related events at the place in Rockland.
These things have been a part of my time in Maine for many years, or important to people I know there, and they will be missed. The income as well as the events. Most of these have already had to cancel their spring seasons. Some of them wonāt be around next year if they lose July and August as well, larger groups as well as many small businesses that rely on a more monied summer crowd.
Morseās can reopen by just limiting how many in the store at one time, so go early, and Borealis canāt hold more than 6 people at a time so itād be easy enough to wait for people to exit.
But this is why I am not too concerned about finding places to park my car safely. I am going to be surprised if much of the stuff I might normally go to after hours is going to be available to me.
We had a little meeting tonight of 20 people outside but with space between us.
Someone called the cops. The cops settled on two groups of 10 with a little space between the two groups and the meeting when onā¦
On Redās again - in fairness to the powers that be, the state has long since recognized that as a problem spot and has proposed at least three alternative routes over the years. Including being willing to build a new bridge. Every single option the state put forth was rejected by the folks in or near Wiscasset. It appears to me the state finally gave up a few years ago, at least I have not read of any new proposals in a while.
Barring a sudden drying out of that river, Wiscassett and Redās traffic jam will be with us for a long time.
Not with meā¦ I avoid that in the summerā¦ social distancing will be interesting.
Anyway Covid 19 continues not to interfere with paddling but who else is finding that winter refuses to leave? Woke up to a snow squall and whitecaps on the lake.
Glad my camp in Western ME, is located away from most of the big tourists mainstays. The idea/reality was/is to have a quiet place and venues away from the summer crowds. So, Iāll paddle Umbagog on the āshoulder seasons.ā and flyfish Androscoggin watershed usually around the crack of dawn to avoid any ācrowdsā that may show on my favorite sections of rapids and riffles.
Only time I run into crowds is when I forget the race schedule at the Oxford Speedway. Ugh. Getting caught behind a long line of RVs, giant pickups/SUVs and overly muscled cars on Route 26 is no fun. Not my scene at all.
I usually make it point to shop at the corner store in the center of town, just to support the local business. May not do that this summer to avoid any possible hassle. But, then most the folks in town - at the store and the library - know and recognize me. Could be positive or negative.
