Mid-Hudson ADK holds 11th Annual PaddleFest on June 8th

Mid-Hudson ADK holds 11th Annual PaddleFest on June 8th The PaddleFest is back! Grab a paddle and get cool. The Mid-Hudson Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) will hold its 11th annual PaddleFest on Saturday, June 8, 2013, at Plum Point Park in New Windsor, NY, from 10 AM to 4 PM. (Rain or shine - the Lodge will be open.) ADK members, as well as, the public are expected to attend. The Chapter warmly encourages the public to attend. All activities are free. This is a family day for those who have never paddled and who wish to see what all the excitement is about. There will also be activities for more experienced paddlers. There will be free kayak and canoe instruction for beginners, as well as, free kayak lessons for experienced paddlers. Boats and gear will be provided for the beginner lessons and sign-up will be on site. Beginners should wear shoes and clothing that can get wet. (Synthetic fabrics dry much faster than cotton and are more comfortable when wet.) For the more advanced lessons, kayakers will need to bring their own boats and gear and sign-up in advance at The River Connection (see below). There will be a wide variety of kayaks for beginners to practice what they've learned in their lessons or just with which to do their own thing. There will also be guided paddling trips on the Hudson River and up Moodna Creek, some will be accompanied with a presentation on the ecology of the river. Some trips will be for experienced paddlers with their own boats and gear. On other trips, boats and gear will be furnished, as these trips will be for first-timers and novice paddlers. Have you ever wondered what lurks below the water's surface? Seine netting will offer you a peek at exactly what lives in the Hudson River. A licensed NYS Guide will present a hands-on demonstration on kayak-camping, e.g. types of boats, paddles and what a campsite might look like. There will be a paddling-camping-hiking used gear sale. Vendors (ADK members & non-members) of used gear are welcome, but need to pre-register with Ralph at ralphpollard@verizon.net (preferred) or 845-462-3389. Bring a picnic or BBQ lunch. Grills and picnic tables are on site. Otherwise, you can buy dogs, burgers, soda, etc. Visit www.midhudsonadk.org/paddlefest for driving directions and more information. PaddleFest is brought to you by members of the Mid-Hudson Chapter of Adirondack Mtn. Club (www.midhudsonadk.org), with the generous and expert assistance of Eastern Mtn. Sports (EMS) in Poughkeepsie, NY (845-463-3207; E0139ST@ems.com), The River Connection in Hyde Park, NY (845-229-0595; 845-242-4731; marshall@the-river-connection.com; www.the-river-connection.com) and the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve in Staatsburg, NY (845-889-4745; jgherrin@gw.dec.state.ny.us; www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4915.html). Mid-Hudson Subaru in Wappingers Falls, NY (845-296-1152; fsantoianni@gmail.com; www.midhudsonsubaru.com) is a generous and proud financial sponsor of PaddleFest. Questions can be addressed to Russ at 845-297-5126 (before 9 PM) or russoutdoors@yahoo.com.

Thimble Islands Paddle - 9/25/2010

I paddled with two meet up groups through the Thimble Islands in Long Island Sound. We had a leisurely paddle through all of the islands and out to the park on the last island about 3 miles out. We had a fairly large group of around 40 - 45 people. About 10 of us went out beyond the islands into the open waters. Waves were about 5' high and we had a great time as you can hear in the video. Here are a couple of pictures and a LINK to the video.

My new white water boat

Here are a couple of shots of my new white water Pyranha Fusion. It is not a full out white water boat but rather a cross between a flat water and white water boat. It has a drop skeg so you can actually go straight on flat water but turn really quickly when the skeg is up.

I haven't been in any white water yet but plan to take some lessons in the spring and then find some rougher water with some friends.

Free Kayaking at Pier 40 in NYC - 08/15/2010

I went down to pier 40 in NYC to meet a group of people from the http://www.meetup.com/The-New-York-City-Free-Kayaking-Meetup-Group/calendar/13956218/

It turned out that the people kayaking were doing it for the first time so we didn't do a tour or anything. I helped out the leader by keeping people from going out into the river beyond the pier and also giving some basic lessons on how to hold a paddle and how to do a basic stroke. I managed to paddle about 6 mi just chasing people around and taking a short paddle down the river. The wave were 3 - 4 ft and I was alone so I decided to turn back after about a half mile.

We had a pot luck lunch at around 12:30 and we had some really great food that people had made for the lunch. All in all it was a good time.

Here are the pictures:

The 22 Mile Long Run - 08/14/2010

I went on a 22 mile paddle with 5 people from the kayaking-the-liquid-skies-list@meetup.com group.
We left from Cold Spring at about 10:30 and headed towards Annsville in Peekskill.  We paddled against the tide and a fairly strong head wind.  We averaged about 3 mph and stopped at the Bear Mountain bridge for lunch.  We decided that it would be better to head back towards Cold Spring and up to Bannerman's island to get in our 22 miles.  We averaged about 5.5 - 6 mph on the way back since we were going with the tide and wind.  The trip back from Bannerman's was rough with 2 - 3 ft waves and 10 - 20 mph winds.
It was a great trip and we all had a good time.
Here are some pictures from the trip.

Bannerman2 Moonlight Paddle - 07/22/2010

This was the second paddle that we did from Cold Spring to Bannerman's Island in the evening.  This paddle was much easier as the water was fairly calm and paddling was easy.  We left about 6:30 and got to the island at around sunset.  We had a snack and then paddled around the island until dusk.  I didn't get any pictures after dark because it was fairly cloudy most of the way back.  We did get to paddle by moonlight for the last mile or so.

Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Walkill River - New Paltz to Perrine's Bridge - 07/11/10

Skip Doyle led a great leisurely paddle down the Walkill river from New Paltz to Perrine's bridge in Tilson.
Skip had everyone introduce themselves and describe their kayak experience.  Sherry and Marty both had some past leader experience so they also became leaders of the paddle.
We planned to launch at 2:00 after shuttling cars to the take out point at the bridge.  However, some large thunderstorms came up to our south so we decided to wait for a while to see what the storm would do.  We almost canceled but decided to launch and see how things were at the next take out.  At the next take out, about 3/4 mile away things had cleared and we decided to press on.
The river was very calm with a very slow current.  We stopped to regroup several times along the way so that everyone could go at a pace comfortable for them.  We saw many great blue herons and one black capped night heron.
We reached the bridge in about 3 hours with a total distance of about 8.5 miles according to the GPS.  We averaged a little over 3 mph.  The take out was at the bridge so people took their boats out and headed home after a great paddle.
A BIG thanks to Skip for organizing and leading the paddle.

I decided to paddle back up river to get some additional exercise.  It took me 2 hours going back and the GPS said I had covered a total of 17 miles.  I was very glad to see my car when I got back to the launch.


Here is a slide show of some of the great views and people on our paddle.