Levity is definitely needed (up to a point), so I’d
like to see you make and install one for the front of the boat.
Spiritboat – like you I am one who is trying to figure out how to continue whitewater paddling while still maintaining social distancing, which really means without vehicle shuttling. I’m not sure that piling people in the back of a pickup is the answer either – people still sneeze, surfaces still get contaminated and you still need to get the owner of the pickup back to their truck after the trip. It’s better than piling people in a car, but far from perfect. On some of the shorter runs around here people are hiking back to the put in. I’ll bet it won’t be long before people start talking about bike shuttles.
I have to say that one of the best justifications that I have seen for social distancing came in my email yesterday from Doug Welch, Executive Director at the Maine Island Trail:
“Beyond the surface-level isolation, the act of social distancing is actually:
- a powerful, widespread act of love for friends, family, colleagues, and strangers
- an epic collective action to protect the weakest among us
- an opportunity to think differently for a while
- a chance to help people who really need it now
- an invitation to get outside and breathe the spring air
- a break in which to plan new adventures”
Leave it to a Mainer to get it right.
Lets see how long I last.
It seems like life here is going on as usual, if at a less frenetic level. I’m on my way to the grocery for food , then to the vet for doggie meds. My neighbor is having new gutters installed.
To be fair, our county has seen few cases and the only death reported was a very senior woman with a multitude of physical problems.
California is shutting down. Roads are great! no traffic at all. No chicken, tissues, TP, or bottled water either…
The virus wont really affect my paddling, since I paddle alone 95% of the time anyways (unless they in-house quarantine us, which is probably coming sooner than people realize nation wide).
I was out paddling last night in some of the best conditions of the year so far - 30kt west wind, 6’ average waves with 8’ standouts. 6 second interval. breaking open water waves. Good times! Hoping for more oceanic mayhem in the next 7 days or so too. Wind forecast looks good!
Stay well everyone!
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Eck, you’re somebody who’s opinions, trip reports, and experiences here on what used to be called “Pnet” I’ve always respected. That’s because you’re a decent fellow. One who first addresses the OP 's original topic for discussion, without immediately castigating/outright attacking the comments of others who’ve replied. So many people here who sanctimoniously pretend their own sheet don’t stink, always seem to feel the need to “correct” others with their so-called knowledge, with having only limited facts. (Many of these types, I wouldn’t trust to have my back on your average Class III.) Fact: I might be shuttling with others–Tomorrow event, when temps are s’pose to hit 70F locally…We have two flatbed open-air(non capped) pick-ups at our disposal, and even two pressure washers… So far there is only three of us who are “in”/up for the paddle. And that is on a fairly remote stretch of water, not near any towns, not near any stores/people, and not on your average “npmb.com” radar list of streams paddlers should frequent in the Northeast…We all live in the same surrounding rural, remote UPSTATE NEW YORK county; where as of this writing, there are exactly 3 cases of Covid19–These three cases are all second home owners from the NYC metro area, are known to our county officials, and are under strict home quarantine. (Sure, this does not discount the possibility that there probably are more unknown cases/asymptomatic individuals somewhere nearby–But right now, I believe one runs a higher risk of getting/ transmitting the virus from a door knob down at your local Rhode Island grocery store, than possibly getting sneezed-on by me or one of my non-symptomatic cohorts. If you know anything about me (from our mutual Northeast paddling acquaintances/other social media sites, you know that even in the best of times I don’t usually frequent nor like group paddling (especially with strangers). This is not because I’m anti-social, but would take a whole separate post to explain–But when I do go paddling with any group, the safety of all involved is always paramount with me (And, I might add, it hasn’t always been the case the other way around. Even with people I’ve met right off this very website "Getting Together…"board.) I’m also very heavily into survival as a family man, survivor of 9/11 in lower Manhattan on day of, and as someone who also once lost three-quarters of everything he owned to a flood caused by Hurricane Irene flood in 2011. (We all should know, what the power of water can do;-).
But continued happy water trails, buddy–This was positively my very last post on “paddling.com.” Pictures of my trip(s) and their outcome will only be shared privately from now on
We’re all in this together. Play nice.
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Paddling seems like it can be the perfect Social Distancing sport or pastime!
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I am getting out more. Since they closed Planet Fitness, I burn 640 calories in an hour and a half on my kayak versus the 400 I used to burn on the machines at Planet Fitness. More calorie burn, plus I’m on the water!
Well no concert last night, no dog show today and no camping/ paddling trip with the out of state paddlers tomorrow. Did glass a skiff this morning. Got more boat work tomorrow. Church will be virtual . The church campus is closed. Likely won’t paddle this weekend too many power boats. Our 4 ramp boat ramp was out of parking. Trailers parked on the street. The sign of spring…Will be better on Monday.
I live in the San Juan Islands and so far the virus is not on the island I live on. Our first case in the islands happened this week on Orcas Island. Here in the Seattle area it is really bad. We were the deadliest part of the country until today when NY passed us in deaths. Believe me, we are all taking this super serious. I am still paddling every day. Mostly alone like I always do. Weather has been stellar, sunny and warm. I am planning some group paddles, we will no longer car pool to the launch and will take care to stay apart while paddling. If things get worse we will probably shut the group paddles down too. Too much at stake, live to paddle another day.
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I follow Race to Alaska and so far they have no plans to cancel. The memo from Race Boss Daniel Evans gave a hint some changes may be made before the start, but he does intend to pull the trigger on the starting gun.
As usual, beautifully written: https://r2ak.com/news/
Unless, of course, the government steps in.
The Yukon River Quest (Whitehorse to Dawson) has been cancelled, but so far the Yukon 1000 (Whitehorse to the Dalton Bridge AK) is still a go. One concern is the possibility of infecting First Nation villages downstream. The YRQ is a shore supported race, but the Y1K is supposed to be totally self sufficient start to finish.
You are describing the last 1/2 hour of my long paddle around Anastasia.
1st, coming into the St Augustine Inlet, dodging power boats from all directions; coming in and out of Salt Run, coming in and out of inlet, and to and fro following the ICW - all crossing at the same location (not to mention the swirling currents, crazy waves; but I don’t have to mention them, because I was paddling the Illusion).
Then, landing & taking out at Vilano - a madhouse. Luckily, I just pulled out at the dock, loaded & left. The large lot was full, and the highway filled with trailered vehicles.
Qruiser just got back from a paddle with the dogs in the cheap inflatable. She says it’s not much fun when you know a real boat, but it’s a work out.
We are waiting for cure time then we go glass some more on the Riker boat.
Might go out near sunset. Water temp is mid to upper 60s.
Riker boat? I must have missed something.
Riker is a 10 year old Flat Coat Retriever (dog). A while ago he went to a charity paddle race and bought a $5 charity raffle ticket. He won an outboard motor. Four stroke, air cooled, about 2.5hp a nice skiff motor. We don’t have any boats suitable for that size motor or with the paperwork for Fla registration. Besides putting a motor on a canoe is just wrong. So we are building a skiff. Of course that cost $$$$. So be wary of “free” lotto winnings. So Rikers boat is inwork. Covid “isolation” has increased the production time. The marine store is still open.
Fortunately the contractors building the new garage have been showing up, unstopped by Covid, so Riker’s boat will have inside storage…$$$$$$. ** Beware of those $5 raffle tickets.
** tree fell on old one but it makes a good story this way.
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Thanks for the response. BTW, spring is a beautiful time to paddle the Edisto. Probably not this year.
The contagion has affected my pre-season paddling planning. I have a new “boat house” but have not yet moved into it, because virus.
Overstreet: I can do you one better on the hazards of that “domino effect” related to boating toys. My house is on such a steep lot that there is no way to build a garage or even a driveway. I have the whole boat fleet (3 hardshell and SOF kayaks, a pack canoe and 4 folding kayaks, plus all the gear and fooferaw) all stashed in a walk out basement which requires tripping over them to do laundry, jockeying boats around the columns over the back porch and hauling them uphill to the front yard, then up a flight of steps to the sidewalk to load on the car. So I paid $82,000 in 2018 for a rental house on a large level lot 3 blocks away, with the intention of the tenants’ rent paying the mortgage and me being able to build a garage and boat storage shop on the property (for which I reserve access in the lease.) It took me nearly 2 years and a lot of projects (grubbing, grading, excavation, concrete, then a 6 month wait for the pre-fab metal building to come in.)
But FINALLY last Monday the crew showed up and I now have the fabulous structure shown below which I can now fill with boat gear, including parking my kayak trailer, pre-loaded with a pair of boat, in one of the stalls for a simple get away whenever I want to paddle. I eventually hope to use it for building an SOF myself once I get it wired with lights and power. This fabulous structure cost me over $20K to build (including the structural foundation). On top of the cost of the property that is over $100K I spent just to make it easier to store and load my boats! So your skiff seems like a relative bargain.
So why is this yawning virgin space for which I lusted so long still empty of boats? Because two of the tenants in the rental house have been sick for the past 2 weeks with some sort of respiratory infection. Their 7 year old has been playing out in the garage all week. At 69 and having had a couple bouts of pneumonia in my past, I have become Jemimah Germophobe. The crew that built the garage were from the eastern end of the state and travel staying at motels so I didn’t even engage with them other than dropping off the final payment in an envelope I tucked under the windshield wiper of the foreman’s truck. I had even rented them a porto-john so they would not go into the rental house to use the bathroom.
Tomorrow I will probably go over and sanitize the door knobs and handles, sweep it out and start moving the armada from my basement to the new space, while asking the tenants (who are all home after being furloughed from their jobs) to keep their distance. I did just learn that my city is setting up the first drive-up infection testing sites tomorrow so I might ask them to go get swabbed. So I have to admit the realities of potential contagion have dampened the thrill of finally having this long-awaited space to revel in my paddling hoard.
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Half way through my second week working at home. Sick of being in the house, but glad I am able to do it.
Paddled last Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday I did my local park and play run in my whitewater boat - paddled down about a mile and carted my boat back.
On Sunday I did an “up and back” paddle that doesn’t involve a shuttle.
Around here people seem to be hunkering down hoping we can get through this quickly - doesn’t look like it…
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Do not know if it is true, they say the virus cannot survive in temps above 82 and it currently 86 in Tampa and if this is true the best place to be is out on the water. Was out on Sunday in Old Tampa Bay, there were about 15 kayaks on the water with plenty of distance in between. As long as the wind stays down I will be going out more often, working from home gets stifling real quick.
