Many of the kids in that picture don’t look like they’re having much fun. Just sayin’…
@Sparky961 said:
Many of the kids in that picture don’t look like they’re having much fun. Just sayin’…
That’s what kids do sometimes. Especially when the fun wasn’t their idea. Sometimes they get over it & have fun & sometimes they don’t.
Here is a picture of a replica Voyager canoe with a crew of 4th graders:
@Sparky961 said:
Many of the kids in that picture don’t look like they’re having much fun. Just sayin’…
I’ve had moments coming back from Isle Au Haut to Stonington in the rain when I wasn’t having fun either. Doesn’t mean I don’t like to paddle… LOL…
@kayamedic said:
Looking back at the itinerary… “meeting your Kroka teachers in Freeport ME” it seems ( surmising… maybe not putting the dots together accurately) that at least some of the staff is from the LLBean Paddesport school. They are all Maine Guides. The reason I say that is that they have a big paddling center and staff in Freeport. And I never have heard of Kroka in Freeport. They are in Marlowe NH. It may well be a cooperative effort.
They actually leave from Brooklin and make their way over to Deer Isle for camping. There are no Maine guides on the trip. Because the organization is a camp, the leaders only need “camp trip leader’ permits” – I don’t understand a law that would allow kids to have to follow safety standards less stringent than an adult, but I don’t make the laws.
It seems like almost every company in the area uses sea kayaks in these waters, not canoes, so it hasn’t been easy to get info on the stability of canoes in these waters, especially given some of the conditions lately. I know what capsizing in 45 degree water would be like – even if the leaders are prepared – so was just trying to get a sense of how stable these boats might be on big ocean swells , say sea level 3.
I’ve sea kayaked before – in gulf of California – and hit some rough seas but didn’t have to worry about cold shock if I went in.
Thanks
There’s quite a difference between windy/choppy conditions in saltwater(in the coastal zone(swells))…and on a freshwater lake…which is what canoes were designed for. A canoe in saltwater coastalzone…it’s a new one for me.
The weather is going to remain rather cool(which is COLD when you’re on the water), overcast…etc…for at least a week. If the type/brand of canoe isn’t mentioned and mandatory(in my mind) for each youngster would be a PFD, drysuit and helmet(during spring…in case of tipping and head contact, in any way, while exiting).
I’d try to contact them with a few[more] questions… The 7-day forcast is pointing to weather that isn’t going to be sunny and warm Sparky. The Group-Think mentality is more often than not FOR doing something. Maybe it’s just me but I just don’t see the life-experiences gained from what they’re planning this early in the spring…combined with Maine coast weather and normal coastalzone water temps/conditions…other than some type of water emergency/rescue training, involving coldwater immersion.
Thanks @BigSpencer
I reached the same conclusion as you, but unfortunately the company does not agree. They do get PFDs , but not drysuits or helmets. They even said kids can just wear t-shirts and PFDs on the canoes on warm days, which seems like a bad idea in 45 degree water.
I also don’t feel the leaders have enough ocean experience to really anticipate bad conditions – I’d feel better is they were registered guides with ocean certification, and a bit older than early-20s. I’ve pretty much concluded this risk is too high. (I’d definitely be ok if they were doing this on a lake inland)
I’d love to take the whole family paddling on the coast, but think I’ll wait until the weather is a bit warmer, work with a licensed guide and use sea kayaks.
Sam
Sorry. For years and years before kayaks were available recreatioinally, the Maine Island Trail Association was founded and pieced together something called the Maine Island Trail. It was a canoe trail… For several years we led Canoe trips out of Knubble Bay.
What is disturbing is that the company feels T shirts are appropriate attire. Luck is not a substitute for proper planning.PS I have never worn a helmet in 30 years of kayaking Maine. I am not surfing in rocks. Moreover in the same situations I haven’t ever seen anyone else wearing a helmet either.
I am going out tomorrow on the ocean in my canoe.
I’d contact them with more queries re back up… “How do you handle a capsize?” “Do you have a safety boat” “what are your means of communication”
Sam look up Naskeag Point… If they are looking for launching from Brooklin that is it… and the islands are not open ocean at all. Check out Google Earth. The only way swells would enter is if the wind is from the Southeast. There will be a Noreaster Sunday with small craft advisories
https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/naskeag_brooklin
the Windfinder site is what we use to plan in conjunction with NOAA weather radio
I looked up the Chewonki Foundation… They are right on the water in Wiscasset… Same target group of youths… They do have an island they use on the ocean but I see no mention of coastal trips on the ocean at all. Chewonki is highly regarded here.