The official electonic newsletter of the Sebago Club in Brooklyn, NY , , sailing, racing, rowing December 2008 Vol 75, Issue 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Commodore’s Report - page 2

Membership Report Frostbite Regatta 2009 My Sebago Experience - pages 3/11 (and General Meeting) 75th Anniversary Splash - pages 4-6 New Years Day 10am-4pm Catering the 75th Splash - page 7

Kayaking Committee Report Pool Sessions - pages 8-9 Join your friends and meet new members at our Sailing Committee Report - page 10 traditional New Year’s Day get-together. Bring Rowing Committee Report - page 11 food and drink to share. We’ll munch all day, from News and Notices - page 26 10 am to 4 pm, in the warm clubhouse. Some Club Contact Information - page 26 hardy folks will spend some time on the water. Articles: Around Long Island : We’ll have a general meeting at 2 pm to hear club Year Two, Leg Two by Bonnie Aldinger - pages 12-14 news and vote on senior members. Mayor’s Cup Race, 2008 by Joe Glickman - pages 15-17 Bring your cold water gear to join in on New Boatbuilding Project! by Jim Luton - pages 18-20 on-the-water activities. Check with activity chairs Sebago Trash Bash II – A Great Success! for scheduled events. by Mary Eyster - pages 21-22 New Physical Activity Guidelines from HHS by Louis Demarco - page 23 Recipe by Gary Gorman - page 24 Destination Photos by Steve Keller - page 25

EBLADE December 2008 page 1 Commodore’s Report – December ‘08 by John Wright

ail, Sebago members and friends in the water sports community at thisH holiday season and the beginning of our 2009 program year. I began a draft of this message with a recount and reflection on our club activity in 2008, but soon found it overwhelming to list and recognize the many who made a very busy season possible. We need to congratu- late ourselves on completing such a suc- cessful schedule, beginning with the packed Open House in May and rounded out during a joyful 75th Anniversary in November. Open and community outreach have brought us new and active members; the Youth Paddle program led to significant part- nership with our neighboring high school, the Academy for Conservation and the Environment; and training programs on the Bay and at Lake Sebago saw an increase in the cadre of safety certified assistant trip leaders. Sebago’s recognition in the community is built on the dedication of our activity committee leaders to develop member skills in boat handling, safety and rescue technique, and group leadership for trips and sail races. We are sustained by their enthusiasm and commitment, and the shared responsibility all members take on through their work commitments to keep the organization moving forward. 2009 will see the replacement of the Sebago dock and ramp, a multiyear campaign of permit approval, grant writing, planning and fund raising led by Phil Giller. We will begin negotiations to review our relationship with the NYC Parks Department as our current ten-year license comes up for renewal. Work has begun behind the scenes to update our financial and bookkeeping opera- tions to ensure compliance with tax and charities reporting as a 501c3 charitable organization. Our risk management committee is updating our operating and safety manual, and evaluating our insurance coverage, to ensure that our organization successfully and responsibly continues to provide safe and enjoyable and sailing recreation in the waterways of the New York area. Thanks to all for your ongoing contributions to this collective effort, whether by the financial support of your dues and fees, by intellectual and professional investment in management and planning, by sweat equity to maintain the grounds and facilities, and by your shared joy and enthusiasm in the experiences of being out on the water or engaged in a group project. You are the reason we continue beyond that 75th year celebration.

EBLADE December 2008 page 2 Membership Report – December ‘08 by Shari Berkowitz

reetings to all, and hope you are keeping warm and planning your paddling adventures for spring. I usually try to give you a pep talk in this space about how to recruit members, including brazenly giving out brochures and accost- ingG subway riders who look nautically inclined. For today’s column, I have asked some of our newer members to share how they ended up joining Sebago, with the hope that we will all take a lesson in how to build up the club’s ranks. I got responses from three members (see Vivian’s story bottom this page) and I invite all the rest of the conditional members to send me their stories for future columns. Amy Leland Hemphill writes that she had gone to some free Hudson River paddles with Blake Strasser (another relatively new member), and that these twenty-minute trips only whetted their appetite. When Blake found Sebago, they came and tried out some Open Paddles. Amy says, “Everyone was so nice, the club boats were really good ones, and we got to go paddling for three hours the first time we went out. I heard about some of the things the club does, like full moon paddles, paddles to pick up trash in the bay, and nature paddles. So I decided I better join Sebago before I’d done too many Open Paddles to be allowed to come back. My friend has already bought her own and become an assistant trip leader. I’m hoping to use the pool sessions this winter to get my skills more up to snuff so that by next season I can head out on some of the more advanced paddles myself.” (article continues on page11)

My Sebago Experience by Vivian Rattay Carter

I moved to New York City about thirty years ago. I became fascinated with the waterways surrounding the city about a year or two after arriving, when I was invited on a rather memorable date - a trip around Manhattan in a two-person inflatable boat powered by a small outboard motor. The name of the man who invited me on that excursion is lost to my memory, but the sights, sounds, smell and feel of experiencing Manhattan at sea level was unforgettable. In the past several years, I became interested in human-powered boating as an activity to strengthen my arms and core muscles. When I began teaching in a waterfront middle school in 2004, I was hoping we’d be able to start a rowing team, but that didn’t happen. Instead, I had my first paddling excursion in 2005, when my son and daughter and I were escorted by the Gateway Park Rangers on a canoe trip out of Barren Island Marina. I learned about Sebago from another participant at that paddle. After a few years of anticipation, we actually joined Sebago at the Open House in Spring, 2008. My personal goal is to become proficient enough to be able to paddle in the early spring and late fall, not just in the summer. I’m also working to help get some kayak/canoe/sailboat launch sites set up on the Rockaway Peninsula, where I live and work. The photo accompanying this article shows me kayaking out of Bayswater Park in Far Rockaway. I love going out into Jamaica Bay to see the birds and horseshoe crabs. An added plus to the club is the cool online communications network. I have gotten so many great tips about fun activities through the Sebago website. The only thing that would make the club better is plumbing! Keep up the great work, Sebagoans!

EBLADE December 2008 page 3 Sebago’s 75th Anniversary Splash by Phil Giller

f you missed the 75th Anniversary Splash, you missed a great party. We arrived at the Tennis House at 3 pm to begin to set up the tables and chairs and continue with the food prep which had startedI at Tom Anderson’s house early Thursday morning. The Gary Gorman express van arrived loaded with cooked food, sterno trays and everything else that a great kitchen staff would need. Chef Steve Heinzerling, along with his trusty assistants Tom Anderson and George Sullivan, were right behind Gary. Tom Potter arrived with the most important items, a truck full of beer and enough five-gallon buckets filled with ice to chill the beer and wine. Where he had room for the bread I do not know. Of course, our great Commodore John Wright was the first one at the doors waiting for us with his car stacked with tables on the roof, ice chests and supplies inside. There was no room for his wife; I’m glad he picked her up later. Laurie Prendergast arrived with DVD player in hand and began to set up the wonderful slideshow that she had created. Danielle Peterson and her boyfriend Joe McCauley ( I think I smell new member!) arrived with the tablecloths, paper goods, sterno, and a proclamation from the Borough President’s office and began to help Phil Giller and Mary Eyster begin the layout of the tables and chairs and to make the place look great! Our great African-Cuban-Funk Jazz Band, Metrotang, led by Chacho Ramirez, arrived next and began to set up on the stage. The kicking music they played was worth the price of admission. Just ask all the people who during dessert pushed some tables and chairs away and started to dance on the newly created dance floor. Fran Pignatello, Mary Eyster, Tom and Elaine Potter, Shari Berkowitz, Elizabeth Green, Tracy Komrich, and many others that I can’t remember tore up the dance floor. Mary Eyster, Holly Sears, Fran Pignatello, Ilene Levenson, Linda Peterson and Bonnie Aldinger made sure that the multitude of silent auction items we had were properly displayed and that everyone who won an item got the item they bid on. We had a wide range of items, from thirteen groups of beautiful coffee table and art books donated by Joel Feigenbaum and children’s books donated by Beth Eller, to conversational German lessons and women’s boxing lessons donated by Anja Rudiger and

EBLADE December 2008 page 4 Ben Braunheim. We didn’t forget this is a club that spends its time on the water, so we were stocked with items not to be missed like kayak carts from Empire Kayak, The Small Boat Shop and EMS, to a woman’s farmer jane from EMS and a hand- made Greenland paddle by Stevie McAllister, to a com- posite high-performance canoe paddle from We-no-nah Canoe. Instruction prizes where highly fought over, from sail- ing instruction on a Sunfish by Holly Sears, to private roll- ing sessions by Stevie McAllister and private instruction by Ilene Levenson, or a weekend at the Lake with instruction by Pete Peterson, and any one instruction class from Atlan- tic Kayak Tours. Trips were also highly desired, whether it was George Sullivan’s trip to The Wharf restaurant which included lunch, or bird watching at either Jamaica Bay or on Staten Island by Mary Eyster, our perhaps a tour of the Norwalk Islands provided by The Small Boat Shop. Safety is always first in everyone’s mind, and items like kayak safety kits from The Small Boat Shop and Hudson Valley Outfitters went fast and furious. A North Face Gortex paddling jacket donated by Tony Pignatello was a big draw. We also had the eclectic on hand, from handmade jewelry designed and created by Liza Eyster, to three hand-colored sailboat renderings by Jim Luton and a kayak photo donated by Blake Strasser, to a complete picnic basket with wine donated by the Pig- natello family along with a gift case of wine and glasses they also donated. How about the full case of Local One beer donated by Brooklyn Brewery? How about a very large quilt with and “Sebago” on it, hand made by Linda Peterson, or maybe a group knitting lesson for six donated by Shari Berkowitz and Mary Eyster? Memorabilia from the MTA and World Trade Center, along with glass bottles from the turn of the century were donated by the Schneider family. Alan Aldo and Eastern Mountain Sports came through and donated six bags of assorted items for door prizes, along with over- night bags and carts and pillows, not to mention the $10 free gift cards and 20% off coupons that were some of the free giveaways. In fact, Amy from the EMS store came down to make sure that everything was running smoothly. Holly Sears and Tracy Komrich were quick at the main table and made sure that everyone attending got a free raffle ticket for the door prizes and that those who paid at the door were not kept waiting. A couple of early guests, Jay Touger, Frank Becht, and Donald Lovell, Sr. were quickly put to work helping with the finishing touches. Assemblyman Alan Maisel, Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Julius Spiegel, State Senator Rhoda Jacobs and Principal Michelle Ashkin from our new local high school, the Academy for Conservation and the Environment, stopped by to wish Sebago their best and to enjoy a drink and something good to eat. The band started to play, we opened the doors to all of you wonderful Sebago members, friends and supporters, especially Ray

EBLADE December 2008 page 5 Fusco and the Mayor’s Cup, and the party began. The appetizers were ready, the wine and beer was cold and flowing all night long, and our great band was playing jazz while everyone was reading the wonderful program that Janna Passuntino had created. Appetizers of cheese, wine, hummus, vegetables, bread and crackers were followed by a main course of chicken, grilled fillet, rigatoni salad and fresh veggies. The large anniversary carrot cake was cut by the four commodores of the club who were present: Jim Luton (1995), Betty Henderson (1996), Phil Giller (2003-2004) and John Wright (2005 – present). Besides being a party to celebrate our 75th anniversary, this was also a fundraiser to raise money to put in a new dock and ramp before the start of the 2009 paddling season. I AM VERY PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO RAISE ALMOST $7,000 IN PROFIT, WHICH WILL HELP PAY FOR OUR NEW DOCK AND RAMP. I’m sure that I have missed thirty or forty people who helped out from bringing food to the serving tables, to emptying the trash cans, to sweeping the floor at the end of the evening. THANK YOU to everyone who helped if you only helped that evening for thirty minutes. A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO CHEF STEVE HEINZERLING for creating such wonderful food.

Check out the slideshow for the night by visiting the club’s homepage: www.sebagocanoeclub.org. and take a look at the 75th Anniversary Program at www.sebagocanoeclub.org/75thProgram.pdf

Remember, eighty is only five years away, so mark your calendars and be sure not to miss that event.

See you on our new dock in April, 2009!

EBLADE December 2008 page 6 Catering the 75th Splash by Steve Heinzerling

atering the food for the 75th Splash was a Sebago volunteer effort at its best. As the date approached, I put out the call for culinaryC volunteers. Phil Giller was busy with mountains of details on his end. He just needed assurance that I could produce the food and get it to the Picnic House on time and within budget. The plan went into effect the Saturday before the event. Linda Pe- terson volunteered to shop with me for all the food. We went with her van to Costco and Fairway for all the essentials. I was in good company: Linda loves to shop and we made a good team. Luckily, I have a large reach-in refrigerator in my garage to accommodate all the perishables. Outside of those purchases I had the free range chickens and patés delivered by Dartagnan, my employer. Tom Potter did a great job in getting the bread for the event donated by Tom Cat, one of New York’s premium bakeries. He also arranged for the beer donation from Brook- lyn Brewery. The night before the event, I had four volunteers show up at my house to start prepping the food: George Sullivan, Cindy Day, Rochelle Rubin and Bob O’Neill. We got busy cutting up chickens, vegetables and fruit salad. We dined on pizza and beer. Thursday morning, Gary Gorman showed up with his van and we transported everything a few blocks over to Tom Anderson’s house for the big cook- off. Tom has a big kitchen and a wonderful commercial stove. There we were joined by Jay Touger and Bob O’Neill. We got busy roasting, blanching and sautéing the menu items. By early afternoon, we were loading out with the prepared foods; Phil was picking up tables and props; John Wright was picking up the wine and the cake; Tom Potter was bringing the beer, picking up bread and loading out ice donated by my friends at Stone Park Café. We all met at the Picnic House and put the plan into action. Mary Jo Eyster had purchased all the paper goods and decorations. Many other volunteers came early to help set up. It all came together beautifully. We owe a big thanks to all those who attended and helped to make the night such a great success

EBLADE December 2008 page 7 Committee Report – Winter 2008 by Jerry Dunne

ell, folks, it’s now cold, so please remember all outdoor paddling requires a dry suit!! And in the winter, never, ever paddle alone!!! WSo, let’s have a great paddle together on January 1st at the Frostbite Regatta....with a dry suit! Thanks to Stevie McAllister, the pool sessions have started and will continue through the last Sunday in April at the pool in Flushing Meadow Park. The sessions will run from noon till 2, and cost about $20. The sessions are for all!!! We will cover basic skills and the advanced rolling skills, and rescues (see Pool Session article below). Swim caps are required, and it is best to inform Stevie at [email protected] if you’re coming! Group paddles will be scheduled for Jamaica Bay this winter for those with the equipment for cold weather paddling, so keep an eye on the Yahoo Group emails for time and dates. We will have a schedule of events for 2009 at the Frostbite Regatta, so see you all January 1st!!

Sebago Canoe Club’s Pool Sessions - Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatic Center -December 2008 to April 2009 by Stevie McAllister

ebago Canoe Club will be sponsoring kayak pool sessions again this year at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatic Cen- ter. They will take place every Sunday from noon to 2:00 pm, starting on December 7th and continuing until the last Sunday inS April. It is open to all paddlers. Sebago Canoe Club membership is not required. This is for ALL skill levels, including beginners. It is for people who would like to practice kayak and possibly canoe skills. There will be skilled paddlers to help you work on whatever you like or work on nothing at all. You do not have to own a kayak nor have any experience. We will bring as many kayaks as we can car-top and we will all take turns. There will mostly be sea kayaks, but whitewater and others can be brought as well. We’ll be practicing beginner to advanced skills and/or just have fun messin’ around in boats. RSVP IS REQUIRED, preferably by email, at [email protected]. The earlier the better; we do have a limit. Also, please notify me if you will be canceling. The cost is $20 per person. No cost if you just want to watch. There is an additional ACA insurance fee for those who aren’t already ACA members. Sebago members are already ACA members. The ACA is allowing a one-time $10 introductory membership good for all ACA activities for the next 6 months. Or, you can just pay an individual fee of $4 for a single event participation. We’ll be washing the boats out thoroughly before they get in the pool. A hose will be provided. For those meeting at the Sebago Canoe Club to load boats and car pool, we will meet at 10:00 am. Others meet at the rear of the pool before 11:30 am to help move/prep boats and get ready for our time slot. Please be on time, as it takes away from other people’s pool time if you’re late.

EBLADE December 2008 page 8 *Changes this year*

Swim caps will be worn by all this year. There will probably be loan- ers available courtesy of Phil Giller.

We will usually be limited to twelve people per session and will only have six boats in the pool at one time, so we will all be taking turns. The diving pool will not be avail- able on most days this year.

photo by Bonnie Aldinger

Info about the pool: http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_divisions/capital/parks/flushing_meadows_corona_park_pool_rink.html

For pictures from the first pool session, check out Bonnie’s post on the Sebago CC blog: http://sebagocanoeclub.blogspot.com/2008/03/inaugural-rolling-session-in-queens.html

Directions. Be aware that we enter from the rear: http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_divisions/capital/parks/flushing_meadows_corona_park_pool_directions.html

A map can be found at this link: http://brooklynkayak.com/flushingpool/Areal_map.htm

Thanks to Dorothy Lewandowski for this opportunity. [email protected]

EBLADE December 2008 page 9 Sailing Committee Report by Jim Luton and Holly Sears

t seems like we just got done with 2008, but we’re already looking forward to the 2009 sailing season. We switched the focus of the sailing committee about six years ago from sailing to one-design dinghies, and since then have worked very hard toI create a viable sailing community at the club. We’re always looking for skilled and experienced sailors to join our group, so this year in addition to our usual roster of sailing events (weekly racing, monthly scheduled cruises, and our annual sailing class for members), we’re hosting a Laser regatta for the NYC division of the Empire State Games (ESG)! The four top finishers from this re- gatta will then go on to represent NYC at the ESG this summer. This will be an interesting and challenging event for our club. We’re hoping that many Laser sailors from the NYC area will participate and so will have an opportunity to see what Sebago can offer to local dinghy sailors. We’ll need a lot of support from club members to run this event: helping participants with unloading/loading and launching boats, preparing food, running the race committee boats and also race organization. In particular, we’re going to need a race committee power boat that is more capable than our current safety boat. We’re hoping to borrow a boat and/or enlist the help from one of our adjacent boat clubs. Any suggestions? Like to help with this event? Let us know! Another program that we’d like to investigate is sailing instruction for children. This will require a whole different approach to teaching, and we will have new skills to learn and practice. To this end, we hope to work with several sailing members who have children and have expressed an interest in this program. This fall, Jim began building a new boat for himself (see the article in this EBlade). The new “peapod” will be lighter and handier for solo rowing and sailing, and should be a striking traditional small craft. Jim has also been talking with other sailors in our East Coast region who enjoy open boat cruising. This has been an interest of his for a long time, and our recent participation in the Small Reach Regatta in Maine really broadened that network. We’ve found sailors - many of them members of the TSCA (Traditional Small Craft Association) - who day-sail and camp-cruise regularly in the Chesapeake Bay, the Jersey Shore, and Great Lakes regions. At the moment, Jim and Matthew are the sailing members who have boats that are capable of this kind of sailing, but we’re hoping that we’ll become part of this cruising network and that it will be of interest to other sailors at the club. We need to be scheduling events and discussing details very soon. There will be a SailCom meeting in late January or early February, and we’ll publish the date very soon. Several of us would also like to do some racing-rules training over the winter, and this would also be great for those help- ing with the regattas in the upcoming sea- son. Any ideas, interests, or if you would like to be part of the SailCom committee - contact Holly or Jim at 718-633-5844 or at [email protected].

EBLADE December 2008 page 10 Rowing Report – December 2008 by Joe Romano

owing activity is a little quiet now, but pretty soon we’ll start taking advantage of those sunny, calm winter days to put some miles on our sculls, and more importantly on our bodies.R Being out on the Bay on a peaceful winter day is not only good physical exercise, but it can also renew our spirit, something we all need at times. There’s a lot to recommend rowing, so make a New Year’s resolution to check it out next spring. We’ll be glad to help you get started.

(Membership Report continues from page 2) I am betting that in the history of the club, this is one of the few times that someone joined because we pick up trash! Amy has already helped out the membership committee by working an EMS club day, and she has undertaken a project to streamline our publicity. Anne and Gary Gorman are members who joined recently as well. To hear Gary tell it, he bought a tandem kayak on a whim at the boat show, because Anne had rowed in an eight-woman shell in college. However, if you check the photo, you will see that Gary chose a tandem for another reason. Gary loves the convenience of Jamaica Bay, being a true Brooklyn boy, but says they will try the Lake this coming season. There is some speculation that one or both of them might learn to sail, if not this year, then perhaps in the future. Gary and Anne love the focus on safety, but bemoan the lack of hot water at the club. They have both become active, involved members this season. Doesn’t it already feel like they have always been a part of the club? To sum it all up, I will end with a quote from Gary. When asked what convinced them to join, he said, “Simple—the people. Thank you all for your friendliness.” Keep up the good work, Sebago, and keep welcoming newcomers with gusto.

Anne paddles a boatload of trash, while Gary relaxes. Isn’t that what tandems are for?

EBLADE December 2008 page 11 Around Long Island Paddle – Year Two, Leg Two by Bonnie Aldinger

n the morning of Friday, September 12th, at an hour best described as “oh-dark-thirty,” Sebago’s “To Montauk and Back” crew gathered to load boats and stuff and hit the road to continue our quest to break the record for the slowest (and possiblyO most pleasant) circumnavigation of Long Island ever achieved by sea kayakers. Year one had gone absolutely according to plan. Year two wasn’t quite as smooth! This year’s team included returning paddlers George Sullivan & Steve Heinzerling (the masterminds of the whole enjoyable endeavor), Pete Peterson, Ilene Levenson, Stevie McAllister, Anh Minh Nguyen, and myself. “Dr.” Tom Anderson was unable to join us due to heel surgery. We were originally to have had two new additions, John Huntington and Chalu Kim; unfortunately, Chalu had a skiing accident which left him unable to paddle for a while, so we ended up with the same number of paddlers as last year. Our ground crew (without whom this wouldn’t be possible) consisted of John Wright and Linda and Cody Peterson. The plan for the three days was Smith Point to the Shinnecock Inlet on Day One, continuing out the inlet to knock off a couple more miles if we were still feeling good; continuing to the Hither Hills campground (where we hoped to camp) on Day Two, and then rounding Montauk Point and finishing in Lake Montauk on Day Three, leaving us set up for the big Montauk to Orient Point crossing on the first day of 2009. The first day went fine. We put in at the Smith Point Marina, on the same beach where we’d taken out last year. We paddled “in the bays”, riding the current east through Narrow Bay, Moriches Bay, Monibogue Bay, the Quogue Canal, and finally out into

Round Long Island gang: John Huntington, Anh Minh Nguyen, Ilene Levenson, Pete Peterson, John Wright, Stevie McAllister, Cody Peterson, Linda Peterson, George Sullivan, Steve Heinzerling & Bonnie Aldinger.

EBLADE December 2008 page 12 Shinnecock Bay. It was overcast and cool (I was glad to have my wetsuit), and a south wind meant that the boats were be- ing pushed around quite a bit, but for most of the morning, the current made up for all that and we made great progress. We began to lose the current shortly after our last break, just as we entered Shinnecock Bay; the last mile or so before we got to the Ponquogue Bridge got to be a downright slog. There was no more talk of “heading on out the inlet to knock off a couple more miles.” That was clearly not physically possible. The cur- rent against us, as we neared the bridge, was enough that there was an eddy behind a navigation buoy we passed that was big enough to park a couple of sea kayaks in side by side. At the Top: Little horseshoe crab makes a good pointer to show where we very narrow inlet, it would have to be many times faster. We are. And look, just across the barrier island lies the Antic Ocean! Middle: Pete and Ilene do a little paddle-sailing. called for our pick-up. John and Pete and I played in the eddy Bottom: We ended up at the very pleasant Cedar Point. Here we are the next morning, huddled under a tarp while the drizzle went on. for a bit, then joined the rest at the beach to await John, Linda Things are being cooked on stoves in there - the wonder of it is that and Cody’s arrival. no one caught on fire! Teamwork. We were all tired and chilly, and the first night’s accommo- dations felt heavenly. Steve Heinzerling’s cousins have a place in Hampton Bays, and were kind enough to let us stay. Noth- ing fancy, but after a windy day on the water that ended with a drizzle that turned to a steady rain later, it was nice to be un- der a roof. Nicer still was the amazing lobster dinner (lobsters obtained by the ground crew) that Steve Heinzerling produced after we’d all had hot showers and gotten into dry clothes. The rest of the evening was spent watching Hurricane Ike thrashing Galveston on the Weather Channel. The next day, we packed up our stuff and headed back out for another day. Ground crew dropped us off and then went back to clean up the house. Ground crew then spent the entire morning driving around trying (without success) to find accom- modations. Ground crew didn’t have much fun this year. John and Cody had brought boats themselves, in hopes of doing a little bit of paddling – that never happened. Did I mention how deeply we all appreciate what the ground crew did for us? Conditions were better than they’d been the day before. Shinnecock Bay was glassy. At the inlet, we found breaking surf. Out on the Atlantic, instead of the one foot or less swells that had been forecasted, we found swells big enough to hide us from each others’ view – two to three feet, with the odd four-

EBLADE December 2008 page 13 footer, I’d say. Still, not bad to paddle in. At first we were moving along fine, George (our most experienced surfer) skylarking in and out of the surf zone, the rest of us further out. Gradually, though, the pack began to string out, the frontrunners finding themselves having to hold up for the back more and more frequently and for longer and longer times. The strangest part was that Stevie wasn’t one of those frontrunners. That’s unusual. Finally, there was a particularly long wait, then Pete came up to tell us what was going on. Stevie was feeling possibly seasick. We landed through dumping surf to take a rest break. We watched antique planes flying overhead, and enjoyed the whole pineapple Steve H. pulled out of his dayhatch, and watched the surf, and Stevie laid down to rest, and we all worried. Eventually Stevie was ready to give it another go. We were still moving slowly, though. We broke again for lunch after Mecox Bay, then set out again. A few miles later, it was over. Stevie was done, and after a brief discussion, we decided that we’d all call it a day. There’d been a number of rough surf landings and launches, we were missing our nice harbor and bay tidal assists, the logistics of a single takeout were just so much simpler, and that way, everyone still has the chance to finish the full trip. We called John and Linda and Cody and they met us at Georgica Beach. We loaded boats, they filled us in on their frustrating day, we filled them in on our frustrating day, and then we all piled into the vehicles and headed off for the Cedar Point Campground, which Ilene had recommended and which turned out to be awfully nice. Sites were selected, tents pitched, and John (with great foresight) set up a tarp over a picnic table. Sometime in the middle of the night, it started to pour. Our tents all kept us dry enough, but for breakfast the next morning, we all huddled under that tarp of John’s while breakfast and coffee were prepared on three stoves (amazingly no one was burned). Stevie had slept twelve hours and was looking slightly more alive than he had the day be- fore, but still not good. Between that and a lousy marine forecast (beam winds, pretty high waves and a small craft advisory for the afternoon), we decided, without much debate, that it would be best to skip the paddling and go scout Montauk Point for next year, instead. That scouting run turned out to be a lot of fun in and of itself. We went to the lighthouse, and I had a lobster roll at the famous lobster roll lunch place, and it was sort of nice looking at the surf and the wind at various beaches and knowing we’d made the right call. We did also gather some good information about Montauk Point, which should be helpful next year. A week or two later, Stevie was diagnosed to have Lyme disease. He’s much better now, and we’re all looking forward to next year, when the plan is now: Georgica Pond to Lake Montauk Day One; the big Montauk to Orient Point crossing on Day Two, and then Day Three we’ll start heading back towards Sebago. We’ll have some miles to make up on the sheltered Long Island Sound side, but we think we can do it.

Left: We all made it in through dumping surf. Right: You just never know what Steve the Paddling Chef is going to pull out of his drybag next.

EBLADE December 2008 page 14 Mayor’s Cup Race, 2008 by Joe Glickman

was 15 kilometers up the Hudson, my eyes fixed on the Little Red Lighthouse beneath the towering expanse of the George Washington Bridge, when Hank McGregor and Oscar Chalupsky paddled towards me looking like tourists who’d just had their pocketsI picked. Either they’re hopelessly lost or the race has been cancelled. Both notions seemed inconceivable. For the past hour we’d been bash- ing into a 25+-knot head wind; just ahead, the sheltered Harlem River beckoned and beyond, the East River where we’d have the current and wind in our favor. With 152 paddlers from 25 states and twelve countries vying for a total purse of $15,000 and enough swag to outfit Paris Hilton should she enter next year, the third annual Mayor’s Cup was on the fast track to becoming America’s premier kayak race (not located in Hawaii). The elite class, the last of seven waves, started at noon in the North Cove Marina at the southern end of Manhattan. Pad- dling with an incoming tide into a cranking head wind that grew stronger as the morning progressed, the question was which line was fastest: out in the middle bashing into the white caps or tucked on the Manhattan side in “quieter” water with less current? Seconds into the race, paddles and boats clashed and mounds of cold water dropped into my lap. Before I could say, “Golly, my genitals are quite chilly” a racer nearly fell into my ski. I rounded the barge tied off thirty yards past the marina entrance, paddled past the confused chop bounding off a ferry terminal and carried doggedly on into the wind. Only later would I learn of the carnage that I left just behind. Though my GPS said I was traveling at over thirteen kph, punching into the frothy rollers felt like having a fist fight on an escala- tor. Up front were four South Africans -- Hank, Oscar, Steve Woods, and Bevan Manson -- joined by two-time Olympic Gold medalist Greg Barton and Jaka Jazbec, a lean sprinter from Slovenia by way of Italy with four Ardeche Marathon titles on his resume, with former National Olympic Kayak Team member Sean Brennan, a New Jersey native who earned his surf ski stripes in Sydney, not far behind. The guys at the sharp end of the stick headed into the middle of the river; I hung further right, focusing my attention on the paddlers just ahead: Erik Borgnes, Patrick Hemmens, Derick Bezuidenhout, Frenchmen Frank Fifils and Olivier Tanton; to my left, John Hoogsteden, a lifeguard on Oahu’s North Shore. In other words, my heart rate was high, my bum chilly, but all seemed right with the aquatic universe. That’s why with most of the hard yards up the Hudson behind us, I was stunned to hear Oscar shout that the race was over. “The Coast Guard pulled the plug!” While I can’t recall exactly what he said next, I know he referenced a famous cartoon rodent, male re- productive organs and the American judiciary system. I do, however, remember exactly what Hank McGregor said -- nothing! Hank, who was leading when the call came, is a brilliant paddler even when he’s not firing on all cylinders, but given his recent dominance at the U.S. Ski Champs in San Francisco and the Fish River Marathon in SA, the 30-year-old from Durban clearly had a $5,000 check and healthy hang-over in his future. There was nothing left to do but paddle back to the start. With the wind behind us and the current on our nose, Oscar and I chased the short, steep runners stacked up across the river, complainingly bitterly in between. Oscar called the conditions “fun” and said that in Durban “we race in rougher water in our Olympic K1s.” Oscar reminded me that at the Durban World Cup in ‘07, there’d been huge seas, dozens of boats lost, and 44 DNFs...and the race continued. Simply put, he couldn’t fathom why the race had been called.

EBLADE December 2008 page 15 As a local boy and friend of race director, Ray Fusco, I had an inkling. The night before the race, Ray received a call from the Coast Guard informing him that with a small-craft advisory predicted, they had the prerogative to shut him down at any time during the event. Ray, who has a solid relationship with the Coast Guard, pleaded his case - stressing all the rescue boats he had along the course - and after another pow-wow in the morning, the Coast Guard gave him their blessing. Game on. What baffled me, however, was we were an hour into the race and the conditions were improving. The boys up front were flying; the recreational kayakers that I’d passed along the way were gamely going forward. Why pull the plug now? Whatever the rationale behind the day’s fateful decision, the question troubling me most was whether the cancellation would cause the elite paddlers to stay home next year? To my right was a large redhead, the eleven-time Molokai champion, who for the last half-hour had been picking apart my shoddy technique and shouting at the Coast Guard to let him ride their wave. I asked him: “Would you come back?” “No international will ever return!” he said without hesitation. Two and a half hours and more than 30k’s later, I climbed onto the dock at the North Cove Marina feeling as if my dog had run away. Three years ago Ray Fusco had shared his dream with me about launching a big-time race around Manhattan. Ray had been a kayak guide on the Hudson. He had more energy than Madonna’s road manager but precious little racing experience. I gave him my two cents (“prize money and Greg Barton”) and Ray did the rest. So, when the race bloomed from 43 entrants to 98 to 152, I felt like a proud uncle by marriage. However, talking to the mob that had been up front, my mood swung from angry to embarrassed to confused. South African Bevan Manson captured the feeling perfectly. “It’s like going to a wedding where the bride’s Auntie gets sick and they cancel the entire event.” Quickly, however, details began to emerge and the story grew more complex. Carrying my ski back to the staging area, Tim Burke, a solid paddler who completed Molokai last year, told me that seconds after our start, he caught his paddle on the bow of another boat and swam. He remounted in seconds but the current was shoving him straight towards a hulking barge moored just north of the narrow opening of the marina. Pinned by the powerful current, he used his boat as a buffer, scratched his way onto a tire hanging off the side and waited for the NYPD Harbor Unit to toss him a line. A brain surgeon by trade, Tim said: “I never really panicked, but I did go through a short retrospective on my life.” (Tim was unhurt but his ski lost plenty of gel-coat and his paddle dis- appeared.) Tim was part of a four-boat pile up; within seconds three other ski paddlers were trapped against the barge. Tim helped the rescue personnel pull the others quickly out of harm’s way, their precious skis and egos far more battered than their bodies. Since then, more information has surfaced, some true and some fabulous, including a story the next morning in The New York Daily News, complete with a picture of the good doctor struggling to keep his head out of the water, that erroneously reported that three kayakers were “pulled by the current into the path of a hulking barge” that was “traveling the river.” What follows is my best effort to provide the facts - what happened, when and why. I’ll start with the red flags that led to the decision to call the race. Red Flag #1: Before the stack-up at the barge, Lars Linde, a ski paddler from New Jersey by way of Sweden headed off in the fast-touring division in Ray Fusco’s Epic 18x sea kayak. Plunging over the back of a steep wave, Linde landed on a log and capsized. Unable to remount, he ditched the boat and swam unknowingly towards a ventilation pier for the Holland Tunnel on the Manhattan side. When he clambered on shore looking like a soggy commando (sans kayak or ID and with a pronounced foreign accent) he was greeted by Port Authority Police with guns drawn. Since 9/11, NYC keeps a close eye on its bridges and tunnels. R.F. #2: Further up-river, another sea kayaker capsized into a Port Authority ferry terminal, which forced another rescue. R.F. #3: The stack-up at the barge, which featured NYPD Harbor Police, frog men, Coast Guard, New York Fire Department, and NYPD helicopters.

EBLADE December 2008 page 16 R.F. #4: Adjacent to the Hudson is a non-motorized walkway with thousands of joggers, cyclists and coffee-sipping pedes- trians out for a Sunday stroll. According to Ray Fusco, there were roughly a dozen recreational paddlers who capsized along the route. Though no one was in danger and everyone accounted for, countless bystanders began peppering 911 with “man overboard” calls. R.F. #5: Though it was completely unrelated to the race, according to The Staten Island Advance a man jumped to his death from the lower level of the nearby Verrazano-Narrows Bridge shortly before 2 p.m. A wedding photographer who witnessed the incident called 911 and in minutes, police, fire fighters and a helicopter rescue unit swarmed the scene. Blood pressure was sky high across the board. Although Ray convinced the Coast Guard to let the race continue, the NYPD Harbor Police had the final say and voted to shut him down. The morning after the race, Ray and I spoke for more than an hour. While New York City is a complex, highly litigious city held together with ample red tape, it’s crucial to note that security has tightened dramatically since 9/11. “We’re in a different time in NYC right now,” Fusco said. “We got scorched, scorched hard, and these agencies got pushed to the brink, so it’s understandable if they’re quick to overreact. That’s just the way it is. I had ample safety vessels in place, and our rescue teams were flawless, but, in the end, too many things happened at once. I fought to let the elite guys continue, but as far as the cops were concerned that wasn’t an option.” Although he’d warned racers about the barge, it’s clear, he said, that the start has to be changed. But, that alone was not the straw that broke the race’s back. “What’s most disappointing,” he said, “is we were poised to deliver something huge. We had the racers, we had the media team, we had the safety team and then, we had nothing!” I asked if he planned to continue - a dumb question if you know the spirit of a guy who celebrated his second-year anniversary of being cancer-free the day before the race. “I’m going to make it right,” he insisted. “I’m going to learn from it; I’m going to look at other high-profile races around the world and put the systems in place. This is not a Mickey Mouse race. I love the sport and want to get it right. Some of the greatest lessons are learned in tricky times. So, no, I’m not a guy to shut things down. If you have a better mouse trap, hell yeah, I’m happy to hear about it and make it work. Right now I’m working hard to get the prize money to the racers; we’ll get it right. We have an exciting race with great potential. It just didn’t hap- pen this year. There’s only so much I can say right now. Actions speak louder than words and I’m an ac- tion-based guy. We’ll have a better start and a far better race. I’m on it, bro!”

Sebago quilt made and designed by Linda Peterson, shown with Linda Peterson and new owner John Santana

EBLADE December 2008 page 17 New Boatbuilding Project! The Matinicus Island Double Ender by Jim Luton

’ve been thinking for some time now about building a boat for myself that is light and easy to handle solo, bothI on shore and in the water; a boat that rows beau- tifully as well as sails, that is seaworthy, and of course beautiful. While we were up in Maine this past summer at Wooden Boat’s Small Reach Regatta, I had the chance to look over a wide variety of traditional small craft, and formed some definite opinions about what were good “sail and oar” boats. Perhaps the quintessential Maine traditional small- craft, the double ender, or “peapod”, as the type is com- monly known, was once found all over the rocky islands and ledges of that state’s rugged sea coast. Dating back to the late nineteenth century, the peapod was used in the lobster fishery, primarily to haul traps. Each region pro- duced its own model, peculiar to the area and the builder, and the builder’s molds would often be passed down The Matinicus Island Double Ender. Sail plan drawn by Jim Luton. through the generations. The double ender in general, and this model in particular, were extremely seaworthy, and rowed or sailed beautifully. The boat shown here is a Lobsterman Jud Young, Matinicus Island, Maine circa 1904. This photo is now in the collection of the Penobscot Marine Museum and was historically significant one, having been built by a promi- donated by Walter Simmons. nent family, the Youngs, on Matinicus Island for many gen- erations. This model dates back at least to 1900 or so. Wal- ter Simmons, a Lincolnville (Maine) boat-builder, acquired the molds from Merrill Young in the early 1970’s, and set down her lines to paper so they could be preserved. Wal- ter himself has built many boats from these molds, and also offers the design for sale to other builders (he also offers a wonderful Matinicus Double Ender CD, which is both historical record and building guide). So, I bought a set of plans for myself, and have started building her. Before the first piece of wood can be cut, the boat must be “lofted”. That is, her lines must be set down full size in three views and faired or “proved”. Long, fair strips of wood called battens are used to draw the longitudinal

EBLADE December 2008 page 18 curves, while splines and spline weights or ”ducks” are used to draw the tighter body plan and buttock end curves. There is a lot of drawing and re-drawing to get all the views to agree. Move a waterline here, it affects a diagonal there, or changes the body curve somewhere else. In addition to the lines, many construction details such as stem profiles, keel widths, and bevels are generated. Once the lines are fair, and all views are correlated, the building molds can be lifted from the full-size body plan, and the backbone can be built. The lines for this boat show a hull with fairly slack bilges and a moderate rise of floor, which coupled with her hollow lower waterlines, will produce a form that is very easy to push through the water. She will be tender, though, particularly when lightly loaded, and will not have a high top end speed. But she should row effortlessly, and her flare will provide a healthy range of secondary stability. One interesting note about peapods is that they were often rowed with the rower facing forward and standing up! It is much easier to navigate rocky ledges while looking where you are going rather than where you’ve been. And when it comes time to haul a trap, you’re already on your feet. This requires a long and very strong oarlock, quite different from the normal variety. Walter Sim- mons made new patterns for these locks, and is having them cast in limited quantities at a foundry in Maine. He sold me a pair, and I’ll be very interested to try them out when the boat

Top: Splines and ducks are used to fair in the buttock end curves. is done. I can see myself on some misty, winter morning, Bottom: Body plan. pushing through the marsh along with the buffleheads and mergansers. These boats were traditionally built of cedar on steam bent oak frames. The keel and stems were also oak. While many of the double enders were smooth-planked or “carvel”, some were also built lapstrake. The lapstrake boats were quite a bit lighter, though they all were rather heav- ily built for long service. I am building mine lapstrake, but with glued occume ply instead of riveted cedar. I may still use the steamed frames, but I might choose to use more widely spaced sawn frames, joggled to fit over the laps. There are two keel types to choose from as well. In one type, the keel is set vertically, with the rabbet for the gar- board plank land chiseled out by hand. This is sometimes called a “scantling” keel. The other type is the flat plank keel. This type of construction is typical for wherries, but was sometimes used for the double enders as well. The flat plank keel is much easier to fit a centerboard to, being quite wide on their inboard surface amidship. I will use the latter, built up from two 12-millimeter layers of occume ply laminated together. There is, additionally, another 12mm external shoe, which sets proud of the garboard plank, and brings the backbone structure to a little less than 1-1/2” thick. This applied shoe creates the rabbet that would be

EBLADE December 2008 page 19 chiseled in on the vertical keel. The stems and their knees are quite hefty. I got mine out of some old construction grade fir that I salvaged from a dump- ster. I first made thin ply patterns from the lofting, and arranged them on the stock to best advantage, working around knots or other defects. The knee notches into the stem, and I glued this joint with epoxy. The two pieces are also bolted together with bronze carriage bolts, and the whole assembly will be glued and bolted to the keel as well. This is where I stand now at this writing. I’ll be cutting molds soon, and setting up for planking. Stay tuned for later installments!

Top: The keel is glued up from two layers of 12mm occume plywood. It takes a lot of clamps! Bottom left: The stem patterns are laid out on the stock, cutting around knots and other defects. Bottom right: Stem and knee are glued up, then sawn to shape on the bandsaw.

EBLADE December 2008 page 20 Sebago Trash Bash II – A Great Success! by Mary Eyster

he weather for our Second Annual Jamaica Bay Trash Bash was perfect (it was, to be fair, our rain date, but worthT the wait). Two groups, comprising over twenty trash collectors, paddled out to Canarsie Pol to count, bag and re- move as much of the human-created debris as we could man- age in a few hours, before the tide crept up to the edge of the beach grass. In that time, we tallied and removed 57 bags of trash. The American Littoral Society sponsors the beach clean-

Top: Mary gathering the forces... up each year. Throughout the metropolitan area, generally Middle: Boy Scout Troop 96 with tire baricade. Bottom: Beach bundles during the month of September, volunteers congregate on stretches of local beaches in all five boroughs to document and remove the litter that clogs our shorelines. In the past two years, Sebago volunteers have been joined by Boy Scout Troop 96 in our assault on the trash on Canarsie Pol. We paddle in kayaks and canoes, armed with clip boards, trash bags, gloves and pencils. The purpose of our mission is not simply to re- move the trash – although that would certainly be a worthy goal. The Littoral Society has been collecting and disseminat- ing data on what type of trash is most prevalent on beaches, to assist in lobbying efforts to control the creation and spread of harmful and unsightly litter. http://www.alsnyc.org/ Canarsie Pol trash is different from the more common beach litter because most of the trash arrives via currents, rather than being deposited by beach-goers. Hence, there are fewer cigarette butts and less paper debris than would be expected on “peopled” beaches. Most of what we document is plastic, and of course, virtually non-degradable except over an extremely long period of time. (I have read on several web sites that plastic bottles and bags may take 1000 years to break down). What we have observed on Canarsie Pol is plastic in many forms: on the sand, imbedded in the muck, wrapped around plants and stuck on snags. The number of bags we counted exceeded 900, while the plastic bottles numbered in the 500’s. There were hundreds of metal drink cans as well,

EBLADE December 2008 page 21 with those three items topping our list. While much of the debris may come from careless or indifferent boaters, it seems clear that a lot of it simply washes into the Bay through the storm sewers, after hard rains flush the streets. The bottles dropped at the curb in Windsor Terrace, Flatbush and Kensington will eventually find their way into Jamaica Bay waters. Fortunately, in addition to the serious garbage (the 1000-year junk), we also were able to enjoy some fun trash. Bonnie Aldinger had a nice handbag by the end of the day, along with an exotic (and possibly magical) figurine. David Berreby had a commode to take to his probably all too small Park Slope dwelling. One of the Boy Scouts paddled back with a skull affixed to the bow of his kayak. And many of us added to our shoe wardrobes, though only by ones, not twos. The Boy Scouts also found a way to put the numerous “spare” tires to good use, building a fortification to guard the shore from further invasions. It was not our job to relocate the bags of garbage to the mainland, but we did need to assemble all of our collection in a spot near the osprey platform, to be picked up later by Don Riepe. Our hearty crew included some paddlers who use a sixth sense for directional guidance, and can paddle from behind a mountain of garbage, never straying from the intended course. Don is not only the Jamaica Bay Guardian, but has been active in the American Littoral Society clean-ups, as well as nature walks and other activities, for many years. He was a featured guest and speaker on one of our open paddles earlier in the summer, and we are always very grateful for his assistance in moving the bags off Canarsie Pol. This was a serious, quasi-scientific undertaking, and that meant a typical Sebago feast at the end of the day. It was a delight to have a “ground crew” of one, furiously turning hot dogs and burgers over our blazing hot Sebago grill. Potluck salads, side dishes and of course desserts complemented the burgers and dogs; the ravenous clean-up crew could not have been happier. Ultimately, we were all pleased with our effort to help maintain the shore of the Pol, and to help in the fight against the ongoing litter washing into the Bay with each downpour.

EBLADE December 2008 page 22 New Physical Activity Guidelines from HHS By Louis DeMarco

he U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recently released the first-ever comprehensive federal guidelines on physical activity and its health benefits. The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans includes attain- ableT goals: for substantial health benefits, adults should do at least 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 to 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity with activity at the high end of the range providing more extensive health benefits. An open paddle and some work each week around the club put you in the healthful range of moderate-intensity aerobic activity. Physically active occupations and transportation choices (walking or bicycling) also contribute to your physical activity totals. The health benefits payoff? The evidence points to a reduced risk for many adverse health outcomes, including premature death, coronary heart disease, stroke, some cancers, type-2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression. Attaining this medium level of physical activity is easy enough during the height of the kayaking season, but what about the other eight months of the year? You’ll need a year-round plan for weekly physical activity to get the health benefits we all want. Healthy adults typically can begin a program of weekly physical activity without consulting a health care provider. Visit the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports website at www.fitness.gov and take the President’s Challenge. You’ll get tools for staying active, including a personalized fitness log. Take the Adult Fitness Test and use your score as a baseline against which your progress is measured. Expect improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness after only a few weeks or months of recommended levels of physical activity. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports website will also link you to the HHS 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans homepage and with it much more information than I can include in this brief article. For additional and more extensive health benefits, adults should train at a high level of physical activity, defined as more than 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or more than 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity, aerobic activity. Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that are moderate- or high-intensity and involve all major muscle groups on two or more days a week for additional health benefits. If you’re already at a high level of physical activity, then keep up the good work and remember to include a variety of activities in your fitness program. The Guidelines make the point that there’s more to physical activity than just health benefits. Train at this high level of physical activity and you may even see your kayaking and other sports performance improve. Planning on going for the next level award in the kayaking skills program this summer? Then start your individualized program of physical activity now during the winter months.

No, this photo was not taken in a gallery in Soho. This is our very own styro pooch with a new look. She's ready to attack any geese or gulls that dare to land on our dock over the winter. Watch out for her when you carry your boats down and she'll keep the float clean in return.

EBLADE December 2008 page 23 Recipe - One-Bite Bacon & Eggs & Toast Recipe by Gary Gorman

This is basically having your bacon, scrambled eggs and toast in every forkful of food you eat. Recipe and ingredients per person/serving:

Ingredients: Two whole eggs or egg beaters or egg whites One or two strips of bacon or ham or two links of breakfast sausage One slice of white bread 1/3 cup of milk or cream Pat of butter or PAM Salt & Pepper

Cooking Instructions: Toast bread, then cut into small crouton-size 1/2" squares. Fry in frying pan bacon, ham or sausage until cooked. Remove and reserve some oil/grease to cook eggs or use pat of butter or PAM. Beat eggs and milk together and pour into preheated and oiled frying pan on low heat. As eggs begin to cook, crumble up the bacon or chop up the ham or sausages into small pieces. As eggs start to tighten up, drop in meat and toasted bread croutons and mix together. Finish cooking, add salt & pepper to taste and serve. If you’re really adventurous, add some home fries, too!

Every forkful of the mix should give you the taste of eggs, bacon and toast.

Greenland Paddle-Making Workshop #2 with Chris Raab of Tuktu Paddles.

EBLADE December 2008 page 24 Pictures from former Commoder Steve Keller and Mary Keller - western destinations for kayaking: Top left: Whiskeytown Lake with Steve, Top right: Fin Lake with Mary, Left middle: Sand Harbor Tahoe, Bottom: Tahoe Water Trail

EBLADE December 2008 page 25 News and Notices

Conditional Members up for Senior Membership: John Santana Tom Holland Matthew Schindler Gary Silverman

Help Wanted: The Blade is looking for editorial, writing, proofing and layout helpers for upcoming issues. The next issue of the Blade will be published in May, 2009, prior to our annual Open House. A volunteer who can sew is needed to make covers for a daybed/couch and bolsters at the Lake Sebago cabin. Hours spent helping out will count towards your club work requirement.

Contact [email protected] to volunteer for these jobs.

EBlade: Thanks to Beth Bloedow:Editor, Holly Sears, Andy Novick (picture contribution), John Wright, Joan Byron and all contributors. All content in this issue is from individual contributors and does not necessarily reflect the veiws of the Sebago Canoe Club. Next Issue: May 2008

Sebago Canoe Club Board of Directors: Board Members: Mary Eyster Commodore - John Wright Phil Giller Jay Touger Vice-Commodore - Pete Peterson Tony Pignatello Holly Sears Secretary - Beth Bloedow Walter Lewandowski Dennis Quigley Treasurer - Zachary Abrams Matt Waldo

Activity Chairs: Kayaking - Jerry Dunne [email protected] 718-478-6096 Cruising - Tony Pignatello & Walter Lewandowski [email protected] 718-353-8018/718-894-2637 Sailing - Jim Luton & Holly Sears [email protected] 718-633-5844 Flatwater Racing - Mike Boxer [email protected] 917-670-0336 Rowing - Joe Romano [email protected] 718-680-4574 Canoeing and - Andy Novick [email protected] 718-434-9417 Membership - Shari Berkowitz [email protected] 718-428-7636 Publications - Beth Bloedow [email protected] 718-241-9130 Cabin Stewards - Beth Bloedow and Mike Boxer [email protected] 718-241-9130 General Information [email protected] 718-241-3683 Website - www.sebagocanoeclub.org

EBLADE December 2008 page 26