BlazingBlazingNewsletterNewsletter ofof LongLong PaddlesPaddles IslandIsland PaddlersPaddlers Spring 2008 Disclaimer The views expressed in this newsletter are strictly those of their respective authors. Information offered on any topic should not be assumed to be authoritative or complete. On all paddling issues, it is important to base one’s practices on multiple sources of information.

Bruce Mulligan in St. Joseph’s Pool March 9th Photo by David Thaler President’s Message: “A Look Back Before Looking Ahead” By Steven Berner April is here and most of us are looking forward advertising space for future sponsors which will to warm weather and putting our back in help pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the the water. Perhaps some of you have taken Frank website. Two skills’ days have already taken place. Chillemi’s advice and are already paddling before Seventy members practiced everything from wet the power boats have started their engines. exits to rolling at the pool at St. Joseph’s College. Wherever you find yourself, I want to take a Club members Ed Luke, Barbara Fontana, Ken moment to look back at what the club has Doxsey, Justin Freund, Bruce Mulligan, Ken Fink, accomplished in the first three months of 2008. John Giuffre, Ray Smith, Mike Matty, Liz The club’s By-Laws were amended and three Marcellus, Frank Chillemi, Ray Clarkson, and Dale changes were made. First, the decision making Clarkson volunteered their time to help their fel- process has been concentrated with the elected low paddlers practice these important safety skills. officers – the Executive Committee. Secondly, the More skills’ days are scheduled for this summer - officers’ term was changed to December 1st – one at Sunken Meadow State Park in July and one November 30th which enables the Executive at Stony Brook Harbor in August. Committee, elected in November, to begin plan- In January, seven trip leaders - John Giuffe, Ken ning for the upcoming year in December. The final Fink, Frank Jackson, Fred Hosage, Barbara amendment change insured that no club money is Fontana, Alan Mindlin, and I - got together at spent without the approval of a majority of the Frank’s house and planned twenty-five club Executive Committee. The By-Law amendments paddling trips beginning in May and ending in were passed at the February General Membership November. Ken has been in contact with the Meeting, 33 – 1. Dave Thaler, our Membership Sebago Canoe Club and is trying to arrange a joint Coordinator, has renewed over 100 members and paddle with them at the Jamaica Bay National signed up over twenty new members. Liz Wildlife Refuge in August. And Roberta Samet has Marcellus, the Conservation Coordinator, has led offered to host a potluck barbeque/paddle at her her first trip of the new year - a clean-up of the house in Noyac this summer. If you are interested Upper Nissequoque River through Caleb Smith in becoming a trip leader and want to know what State Park. Denise Caparatta, the Newsletter it takes, a workshop just for you is in the planning Editor, has already published a great winter edi- stages. Conrad Rybicki donated a wooden paddle tion of the newsletter. Mike Chachkes, our a the December holiday party that we raffled it off Programs Coordinator, has already arranged three at the March meeting. It was won by Sal Franco very exciting programs – a slide show of Dennis and raised $117 for the club. Sal Franco, our resi- Riordan’s trip to Alaska, the special Vacation From dent Boy Scout leader, is going to be organizing Hell at the Dinghy Shop, and Frank’s program on activities for our junior paddlers.Bruce Mulligan Cold Water Paddling last month. The next three designed and ordered hats for the club which are programs are already listed on the website. Laurie on sale at our general membership meetings for Schaefer and Jan Hayes arranged a January bowl- $12. Sal Franco and Suzanne Story led a group of ing party in Smithtown, planned our first picnic for L. I. Paddlers, including Fred and Edie Burian, June 1st in Centerport, and are working on anoth- Donald Gorycki, Conrad Rybicki, Ray Smith, and er one for September 21st as our Special Events Margaret Foster, to the First Annual Cold Spring Coordinators. Frank Jackson, our Librarian, has Harbor Fish Hatchery and Aquarium Canoe and purchased two more copies of the book, Sea Expo on March 29th. Turn-out was light, but Kayaker: Deep Trouble, and two more DVD’s, This they did manage to sign up one new member. is the Sea Two and This is the Sea Three. Exciting things are happening with the Long Island Suzanne Story, our Website Coordinator, has Paddlers. I invite everyone to get involved with supervised the redesign of our website, adding our club. Come to a meeting, offer suggestions, several new pages including a classified page. help out at the next weekend festival, plan a trip, Hopefully, you will find it much easier to navigate or just plan to attend one. I am looking forward to and find what you are looking for. It also provides seeing everyone on the water soon. 2 Lions and Polar Bears, Pack Ice, Oh My! By Jim Koehler from the Dinghy Shop On February 16th and 17th, the Dinghy Shop mile trip will be challenging. Many obstacles was pleased to host the Long Island Paddlers for will present themselves as they undertake the the "Vacation From Hell" presentation. mission. There will be two open water passages First, seventeen of us went out on the bay for a of forty and sixty miles. During these passages, morning paddle. Afterwards, over 100 enjoyed if conditions turn sour, the sea and ice could the presentation by Tim Keen, a member of the present life threatening hazards. There will also Sweetwater Paddling team, as he unraveled be a fifty mile portage across Devon Island! stories of the upcoming expedition. He and Although dangerous, the trip will be truly three other paddlers will kayak in the Canadian breathtaking. Highlands to the fringes of the Arctic Circle. We are please to say that Long Islanders This trip was awarded as an expeditionary grant contributed $200 for the mission. Tim joked from the paddle sports’ industry. with us at the beginning that he would rather Details on the mission can be seen at the walk naked through a shopping mall then speak immersionresearch.com website. The candidates’ in public. Actually, we all enjoyed a warm and resumes were evaluated and the Sweetwater friendly time together. We are pleased that Tim Paddling team, comprised of renowned looks forward to returning here to paddle with international paddlers, won the trip. This 390 us again and to present a post trip report. Meeting Programs By Michael Chachkes When: Additional 2007-08 Meeting Dates: Thursday, April 17th, 2008 at 7:00pm The June meeting: Location: We will have Paula Valentine, Public Affairs Suffolk Community College, Grant Campus, Specialist for the Nation Parks Service, who will Wicks Road, just south of the LIE, Brentwood present a program about the current resources Program: and facilities within Fire Island National Our own Alan Mindlin will give a slide /photo Seashore, and the opportunity to help plan for presentation of several of the club sponsored its future through a new General Management paddles that were held in the last two or three Plan. For members who what to see the Fire years. If you have been on these paddles come Island National Sea Shore web site they can visit: and see if you made the photo gallery or come > www.nps.gov/fiis and see the fun that you missed. The July meeting: We are also working on getting the USCG When: Auxiliary to do a presentation on GPS and VHF Thursday, May 15th, 7:00 p.m. radio use and operation and general boating Location: safety. Suffolk Community College, Grant Campus, Looking for your help and suggestions Wicks Road, just south of the LIE, Brentwood All club members who have an interesting trip Program: that is related to kayaking and would like to Mike Bottini, our guest speaker, will be talking share it with our club or anyone who has a about the results of his Otter survey, future idea on what would be an interesting presen- research on the species and how paddlers can tation for one of our meetings please contact get involved. He will also talk about his book, me via E-Mail [email protected] so we Exploring East End Waters, written in 2005. The can see if we can schedule. book lists more than 35 places to paddle on the Thanks, Michael Chachkes East End of Long Island. 3 Skills’ Days at St. Joseph’s College On January 13th and March 9th several LI Paddlers Thank you, Steve Berner, for organizing these practiced wet exits, self-rescues, assisted rescues successfull and valuable skills days. and more in the warm, clean waters of the pool at Also thanks to the volunteers that assisted the St. Joseph’s College (in Patchogue). We all enjoyed members in the water. a fun-filled morning of learning!

Photos taken by David Thaler

4 Kayaks At War Today, “name” kayakers make extended crossings, waterline of the merchant ships at anchor. A then go on to write books of their adventures, German sentry spotted the two craft but the com- give lessons and lecturing at kayaking events. mandos hunkered down and remained motionless, You’ve probably never heard of Major “Blondie” the sentry mistaking the craft for floating debris. Hasler or Marine as neither became an The plan was for them to then flee , author, instructor or lecturer. However, they are abandon their kayaks, hook up with the French the only survivors of perhaps the most dangerous resistance and work their way back to the coast paddle in kayaking history. and eventually to the UK. The mines detonated, Kayakers with an interest in history might be sinking one vessel and severely damaging four surprised to learn of a forgotten commando raid others. More importantly, the wreckage created carried out with kayaks during the early days of blocked the harbor and rendered it useless for World War II. It was December, 1942. The Allies months. The two remaining teams paddled toward had been kicked out of Europe, France had fallen, the ocean before abandoning their craft. One U-boats menaced the North-Atlantic and the team was captured by the Germans and put Germans were just beginning to suffer the before a firing squad. Of the original ten men, grievous losses that the Russians would inflict only two survived the mission, working their way upon them on the eastern front. into Spain and eventually to the UK. The Port of Bordeaux was a major supply point Winston Churchill credited this kayak raid with for the Germans., especially for their U-boat materially shortening the war by greatly operations. The Brits, desperate to inflict some disrupting U-boat operations out of Bordeaux. losses upon their enemy, hatched a scheme to send mine-laden kayaks into the port of Bordeaux. Historical accounts vary. As the term “kayak” had not yet entered the daily lexicon, you’ll find some accounts referring to the craft used as canoes. A more authoritative account refers to them as Cockle Mark 2 kayaks or cockleshells, a foldable craft made of leather and plywood. These were two-man craft with a single large cockpit and using two-bladed paddles. Illustrations depict the occupants wearing spray skirts. The , HMS Tuna deposited six craft ten miles south of the River , a full eighty-five miles from Bordeaux. One kayak was damaged exiting the sub, leaving five to paddle into history. A second kayak and its two-man team were quickly lost in a tidal race with seas exceeding five feet. The Germans captured a third craft and its occupants were shot, leaving three craft to finish the dangerous paddle. A forth crew had to abandon their kayak after it was damaged. They too were caught and shot by the Germans. The two remaining crews finished the eighty-five mile paddle under cover of darkness and under the noses of the wehrmacht, laying up and hiding This daring raid was the subject of the 1955 movie during daylight. “Cockleshell Heros.” If they had “K” ratings in Once in the harbor at Bordeaux, the teams those days, this paddle would have been off the attached six-pound “Limpet” mines below the charts. 5 A Short Message By Frank Chillemi For 2008, Long Island Paddlers is instituting a information that, for some reason, has evaded question and answer column here in the pages your own search. Paddling is a lifelong learning of Blazing Paddles. Our plan is to provide process, and there are a lot of good sources of members with a way of getting important reliable information out there (the club library information about kayak/canoe related subjects. comes to mind right off the bat). The second If you have a question, you can phone Frank request is that you refrain from asking questions Chillemi directly at 516-379-3177. Frank has that require a subjective opinion. As an agreed to research your question and get an example, a question about why a paddle answer back to you promptly. For each issue of manufacturer might use Carbon Honeycomb in our newsletter, Frank will pick the question that a paddle blade is fine. A question about who he feels is the most important, informative etc. makes the best blade using this material, and share it with the entire club. however, is simply beyond the scope of this While there are no restrictions on your column. questions, we do ask you for two courtesies. We appreciate your cooperation on this. The first is that you limit your requests to So…without further delay…we introduce: Frank Answers Dear Frank, chart, such as a buoy or a lighthouse. When you I’m trying to learn to read a Predicted Tidal and your kayak are any distance away from the Current Table and I’m having a little trouble. listed position, the Slack Water time will be Exactly what does the term “Slack Water” different as well. mean? The second factor is that even though you Thanks in advance, S.L. might be at the exact stated position at the exact listed time, the water might still be moving. Wind and/or residual water pressure Dear S.L. can, and do, exert their own forces on any As you know, the tide in most parts of the world body of water. comes and goes twice a day. The moment at Lastly, please understand that a Predicted Tidal which the tide stops moving in one direction… Current Table is just that…Predicted! All and just before it begins flowing in the opposite predictions are, by their very nature, estimates. direction… is known as Slack Water. The term is Well measured and calculated estimates to be the same at both High and Low Tide. Simple, sure, but estimates nonetheless. Please use the right? Well, yes, and no. There are a few other information derived from your Tide Tables as a factors that are important here for our under- guide, not a rigid schedule, and you’ll be way standing of how best to use this information. ahead of most of the other boaters sharing the The first is that each Predicted Tidal Current water with you. Table is created for just one spot on a nautical Best Wishes… Frank Chillemi

Practice Session By Ken Fink Come practice, or take a lesson, now is a good Friday nights at the Aquatic Center in time to practice what you might have forgotten. Eisenhower Park. Cost will be $15.00 if you use Enhance your skills in the largest pool on the your own boat, $20.00 if you use my boat. east coast. Starting at 8:30PM till 10:00PM on Lessons are $35.00. Telephone: 631-467-5163 or e-mail: [email protected]

6 You might be interested to know...... By Sal Franco RUB A DUB DUB, THREE MEN...... were rescued from the waters of Long Island Sound after their canoe over- turned off a Stony Brook beach. After receiving the report police dispatched a helicopter and to rescue the three local men aged between 19-23 years old. The three were on the water about a mile off West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook with another friend accompanying them in a kayak. None of the four were wearing a PFD. The canoe overturned approximately 6:20pm. The three canoeists were able to hold on to the kayak for what they described as between “half an hour to 50 minutes” in 42 degree waters before Sixth Precinct units arrived and directed the Suffolk police chopper to drop a life raft to the men. The boaters were taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center and treated for exposure and hypothermia. One victim’s body core temperature had dropped to a precarious 91 degrees. All four men were issued summonses for failure to possess life jackets. This was the second canoe accident in Suffolk in less than four weeks... LOCAL FISH CLIMB LADDER OF SUCCESS Long Island’s first permanent fish ladder made its official debut yesterday at Southaven County Park in Brookhaven, where a dam has long prevented migratory fish from swimming up the Carmans River to spawn. Installed just north of Sunrise Highway, the ladder is a gently sloping metal chute that slows the flow of water, allowing alewives and other fish to swim up into Hards Lake from the river below. It took nearly seven years and almost $200,000 to complete the project, a collaborative effort by the state transportation and environmental conservation departments, sportfishing, environmental conservation groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Alewives spawn in fresh water in early spring, then move out into oceans and estuaries to live their adult lives. Once plentiful, these river herring have declined due to over-fishing, worsening water quality and the blockage of their spawning grounds by dams, roads and other development. They have been declared a species of special concern by the National Marine Fisheries Service, and coastal fisheries managers are weighing whether to ban their harvest altogether. Alewives serve as food for ospreys and the big predator fish beloved by anglers, including tuna and striped bass. The Carmans River has the biggest and most consistent alewife run on Long Island. Thousands gather each year to spawn as best they can in the brackish waters of the lower tidal reaches. The gentle waters of Hards Lake could give the population a much-need boost... YOU CAN’T FIGHT MOTHER NATURE A dangerously shoaled channel through Shinnecock Inlet into the Atlantic Ocean is being re-marked to a previous location by the U.S. Coast Guard to provide a greater measure of safety. A recent Coast Guard survey showed the old channel had opened again naturally and was almost 13 feet deep at low tide, about three feet deeper than the currently marked channel and nearly 200 feet wide. Now that boats have greater access, users of human powered watercraft need to pay even more attention... 7 Spring Paddling By Marge Tuthill Dress for the water, not the outside tempera- animal approach you. . .they are only defending ture, if it ever gets warmer! The wildlife are their territory and we are encroaching on them. now returning from southern climates, mating Besides, it's wonderful to watch them. May and and preparing their nesting territories. . .they June the little ones will be with them, and that's can be very aggressive so honor that, please. a treat to behold. . . again honor their space. Keep a good distance, when you hear or see an

Photo taken by Alan Mindlin New York City Water Trail New York City is rich in water. If you're looking alike can enjoy skyline panoramas, riverside for a few hours of tranquil paddling or a full- parks, bird sanctuaries, tidal marshlands, and day expedition, you'll find it here. The NYC boundless vistas of one of the world‘s premier Water Trail connects 160 square miles of rivers, harbors, all from a prime sea-level vantage. bays, creeks, inlets and ocean in the five bor- For more information see their web site: oughs suitable for kayaks, canoes, and openwa- http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/f ter rowing craft. Novice and experience paddlers acilities/kayak/

New York State Paddle Craft SAFETY Check By Michael Chachkes There will be a boat and equipment safety 4:30 PM. Additional information may be check by an approved paddle craft examiner at obtained by calling 631-563-6654 or 518-486- Captree State Park on 5/17/08 from 11:00 AM - 1880.

FOR SALE 2007 Old Town Adventure XL • 13' 9"Rudder and Extras • Asking $800 or Best Offer MIKE CHACHKES (516) 319-4431

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To learn and see more of what Long Island Paddlers is all about, visit our website www.lipaddlers.org Tentative 2008 monthly meeting dates • Always check website 3rd Thursday of every month 7-9:30 PM April 17 • May 15 • June 19 • July 17 August 21 • September 18 • October 16 • November 20 LOCATION: Suffolk County Community College Brentwood (Grant Campus) Captree Commons - C114 - Cafeteria Building From the east or west take the Long Island Expressway to Exit 53. Follow signs to Wicks Road. Go south on Wicks Road to campus entrance on right-hand side.

Long Island Paddler’s Advertising Policy Long Island Paddler’s Publication Dates Advertisements published herein do not necessarily April 15 • July 15 • October 15 • January 15 reflect the endorsement or approval of Long Island Paddlers Club. Long Island Paddlers cannot guarantee Deadlines for submission are one month prior to the accuracy of information given by the advertiser. publication date. All copies submitted must be All advertising copy is subject to the editor’s typewritten. Members are encouraged to submit approval. Long Island Paddlers reserves the right to articles, letters to the editor Newsworthy Notes, trip refuse advertisements. Advertisements must be sub- reports or future trip information, etc. to editors. mitted in copy ready format and must be prepaid. Editors reserve the right to editorial privileges. Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed Advertising Rates are those of the authors and do not represent official 1 Issue 4 Issues position statements of Long Island Paddlers Club. Full Page $250 $800 Half Page $150 500 Submit all newsletter articles, Quarter Page $85 275 letters and advertising to the editor Business Card $459 150 [email protected] 2 Lines $25 85