14.45 East Derby

This month's edition of my kayaking adventures was supposed to deal with my marsh trips - but instead, I'm going to go back to the topic of Sea Kayaking - because since my last post - I made another trip towards the Middle Grounds - and matters started going horribly wrong real fast.

I knew I was already taking some chance even though the small craft advisories were lifted because the wind was still howling out of the SSE.

As I was setting all the equipment up on my Tsunami 175 "Tara J Sullivan" a boater came up to me and told me that he had to turn back because it was too rough.

me: define too rough
him: 3 Ft sea's at least.

Ok, I'll give him that - in a small boat 3 ft seas is rough. But I was stubborn - I was going out to the Middle Grounds and that was that. Almost immediately after I left the Birdseye St dock in Stratford, I realized I left 1 of 3 water bottles behind. That's ok I thought to myself, because I had a thermos filled with Sanka. As I was passing the jetty - I noticed that the sea was rather rough and at the very end of the jetty it was wicked. Not helping matters was a sport fishig boat which roared right by me then made a port turn across my bow. Great, I now have two sets of moderate waves to deal with - and once they came up to me - off the bow and my starboard side - not too mention what was already going on - I knew I was in trouble but I remained calm. Whew! I thought to myself as I got through several soild 3 ft walls of water coming at me. And this was just the beginning!!

So, about 2 miles out I began to question if this was really a good idea or not. I had my VHF reciever on (to conserve the batteries for my VHF transciever) and I was listening to these boaters talking about having to turn back because either somebody is turning green or it's simply too rough. Once I had the Stratford Light in view (8 miles out of Bridgeport Harbor - 5 miles out from Port Jefferson) I was faced with if I should go the full distance or turn back. I had already pumped out the cockpit at least once - and it was so rough - the seas were coming in two directions - off my bow and off the starboard side - to the point where I was having a hard time maintaing my balance. I thought about Philip Petit the man who walked on a wire between the twin towers so many years ago. He did not walk, he danced, lied down, he performed an absoulte work of living art. I took my paddle and held it like a balincing pole - and it worked. But now I had to pump out the boat again - so I used my paddle as a sea drouge AND IT WORKED!!

I was now getting a little worried. Lucky for me the decision to go the full distance was made by a sea going tug pushing an oil barge. I was not going to make it before them and there was no point in hanging around waiting for this boat with it's load to pass. I stood my ground and looked through my binoculars - and was surprised to see the crew on board doing the exact same thing - they were watching me.

As I watched 8 feet of kayak now routinely go under water right before my eyes in front of me - I saw that the same thing was still happening with the stern of the boat too. Man, this is not cool. And of course, when the sea poured right into the cockpit - this was not cool.

(I elect not to use a spray skirt - instead I use a cockpit dashboard - which thanks to my now long gone girlish figure - provides a very snug fit)

Ok - I'm going home. This is not cool. I estimated I was atleast 3.5 to 4.0 miles offshore and the winds were a steady 15 mph out of the SSE. What a ride the trip back was going to be...

...and it was - like the typhoon scenes in Victory At Sea.

The Tara J. Sulivan was surfing the whole way back - being countered with waves coming from both the starboard and port sides. When the waves would meet it would provide a spectular sight - and ride if I was unluckly enough to get caught on top. The boat was living up to it's model name (Tsunami 175) as the whole boat was going under water at one point or another, and the closer I got towards the shore - the more I feared I would not make it back.

I pumped the boat out two more times - then when I was going to pump it out again - at about 2.0 miles off shore my worst nightmare came true: The pump was gone. It got ripped off the side of the boat when I took a breaking wave off the starboard side. Now I did something I should not have done. I got scared. I started to panic, and as the boat filled up with water - it became more difficult to keep my balance...

But somehow I did - and to the credit of Wilderness Systems, the bulkheads never leaked a drop.

I arrived in the mouth of the Housatonic River with the entire cockpit filled with water - and I was still floating. I was still under control. And man was I happy once I was ashore!!

15.13

I provide this story not only because it's a good one but because it's a reminder that being stubborn can get you in big trouble real fast. During that same trip, the GPS compass went down - which was bad because I was having a tough time determining exactly what course I was tracking. Moral of the story: If it's real windy - even if there are no small craft advisories - keep in mind that wind makes waves - and out here - anything out of the SE is bad. SW can be bad too.

What's interesting is two weeks later I was heading out again - in very windy conditions - but with a self bailing boat: my Ocean Kayak Trident Prowler 15 that's all tricked out. "Sunshine X" is the name of that boat and I had an absoute ball in the rough conditions where the mouth of the Housatonic River meets with the L.I. Sound. But the wind was out of the N, maybe N.E. - and this provided for a totally different type of sea. Not big rollers or anything like that but lots of close breaking waves in the 2 foot range...

The Coast Guard Aux asked me when I came back how I thought it was and I told them the truth: Not bad. I told them that two weeks ago it was far worse even though there was no small craft advisories posted.

But it's cool though, because even if I did flip on that trip out to the Middle Grounds, I carry a ton of safety / lifesaving equipment - so I'd be found. Next year, I'll be using a SPOT system so interested parties can track me through GoogleEarth.

15.37

So with October rolling in - actually rolling out now - my sea kayaking adventures kinda stop and my marsh adventures start. One thing I do year round without fail usually at least 1x a week is my river clean-up / wildlife monitoring / rescue work.
The area I watch the most would be all the waterways which are within the City of Derby limits as far as the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers go - but I also cover area's in towns like Ansonia, Shelton, Orange, Milford, and Stratford.

Once thing which disgusts me to no end is how in this country (I am from Germany after all) no matter where you go - there is always litter. There is always some sign that man leaves behind. You don't find that in Germany or Poland, but I guess the Europeans see thing's differently.

I get asked why I clean the river. (my official title is Caretaker of the Waterways around O'Sullivan's Island) My response is usually "Because I'm the only one who cares" and this is not a lie, it's the truth. Nobody around here puts in the amount of work that I do when it comes to the ecology - and I am 100% volunteer and pay for everything out of pocket. I've taken loans to pay for my boats - and unlike most of the so called enviromental goups - I wouldn't dare to ask for a single cent. If folks ask what they can do for me I tell them to get directly involved. This is why I get no help - because work is a bad word - but I could get people to give me money - then these same people would feel good that they are with the cause - while they litter out the windows of their Saudi Utility Vehicles...

15.46

The reason why I'm late with my October installment is that my private life has changed. A beautiful woman named Julia Barge-Siever has entered into my life - and along with her - because she's into mountain biking and hiking - well, I've branched out and have gotten my Raliegh M-50 back in action along with taking time out to walk in the forest with her even in the rain. Julia has expressed interest in seeing what I see as far as my kayaking adventures go - and see she shall via my Wilderness Systems Pamlico 160T named Magnification.

A while back I came very close to buying a Northstar tandem sea kayak - which is also made by Wilderness Systems. But while out in the rough sea with my Tsunami 175 - I started re-thinking this and went back to the idea of getting an AIRE Sea Tiger - because it's a hell of a lot safer as far as stability is concerned - but then wind becomes a factor. You can get sail kits for them - and this is an option I will exercise when the time comes. And the name of the Sea Tiger?? It will be christened the "Julia Barge-Siever"...

15.53

November will see a trip to the Charles E Wheeler salt marsh. It will also see a trip into the marshes by the defense plant which boarders the Housatonic River. Surprisingly these two marshes are very full of life and are quite beautiful. A couple of river tours from Derby south to the Merrit Parkway will also be on tap.

15.55

I sincerely hope you enjoy reading my writing's here and look forwards to being back real soon and remember that if you see a piece of trash that's not even yours pick it up and help make the planet a better place for us all.

For the Air, Trees, Water, and Animals...
Give-Love-Each-Day,
Big George aka Earth xoxo