NYCkayaker Trip report: "Paddle Wiser with Lee Reiser" at Orchard Beach

[MaryroseW at aol.com]

Trip Report: "Paddle Wiser with Lee Reiser" at Orchard Beach
Saturday, September 15th, 2007

Hi, all! As my first post to the list, I wanted to offer a trip report of a 
truly fantastic day spent on the waters of the Long Island Sound. I'm Maryrose 
Wood, a novice paddler, and I was lucky enough to share Saturday's outing with 
three experts: Lee Reiser, who organized the trip, Bill Menke, and Lois 
Goldberg.

Our trip started at the Orchard Beach lagoon. After a stormy morning, the 
weather turned just gorgeous by our scheduled meet time of 1 PM, though it was a 
bit on the windy side. Before heading out for our adventure, Lee wanted to 
make sure I knew how to do a wet exit, so we found a sheltered spot in the lagoon 
and I got wet! The easy part was being underwater; the harder part was 
hoisting my soggy self back into the boat. More practice is needed.

But then we were off -- out of the lagoon and into the Long Island Sound. We 
crossed to Davids Island first and then continued east about 3/4s of a mile to 
Huckleberry Island, where we stopped and had lunch. Huckleberry Island is a 
roughly ten+ acre wooded island that's known as a nesting site for a large 
variety of waterbirds. We put our wet gear in the sun to dry, took turns peeing in 
the woods, and shared snacks and stories. Most notably, Lee found a pirate's 
hat. Not the tricorn type, more like a baseball cap with a pirate emblem on 
it, but it was sufficient to let Lee's inner Jack Sparrow come out. Way out.

After lunch, we rounded the island and did a challenging (for me) crossing of 
about a mile against the wind toward Davenport Park in New Rochelle. Then we 
headed south, hugging the shore closely enough to spy on two different 
weddings as well as a photo shoot of a chilly-looking woman in a tiny red bikini 
lounging on the rocks, while her sweatsuit-and jacket-clad photographer snapped 
away.

Mother Nature offered entertaining sights as well! We saw blue herons and a 
white heron, osprey, geese, ducks, gulls, and many monarch butterflies working 
up the nerve to migrate. Lee picked wild asparagus on Huckleberry Island and 
gave us a taste. We crossed open water, noodled around grassy marshes, rested 
in rocky coves, paddled through a yacht marina filled with boats that cost 
gazillions of dollars (but you can't even paddle 'em so what's the point?), and 
enjoyed the glorious September afternoon. We paddled from the Bronx to 
Westchester and back again, no passports required.

I learned:
wet exit and assisted rescue (note to self: get thee to gym and work on 
upper-body strength!)
how to paddle forward, turn, and stop
how to get my spray skirt on and off the cockpit
how to use a rudder to help track and steer in windy conditions
the difference between feathered and unfeathered paddling
and that I could cross open water on a windy day and have a good time doing 
it!

More importantly, from my paddle-mates I learned:
That Bill can go faster paddling with his hands than most people can with the 
aid of motorized propellers,
That Lois is a kayaking goddess who has actually circumnavigated the globe, 
or maybe it was Manhattan, one of those two, and was once told that "there are 
two kinds of kayakers: those who pee in their wetsuits, and those who pee in 
their wetsuits and are willing to admit it,"
And that Lee is not only an excellent and patient teacher and generous lender 
of boats and gear, but he can also do an awesome pirate voice.

Aaarrrgh, maties!

Boundless thanks to Bill, Lois and especially Lee for a terrific and 
challenging day! Thanks also to Jerry Blackstone for arranging the loan of a PFD for 
me for the day. The Orchard Beach lagoon, western Long Island Sound and nearby 
islands are a beautiful and fascinating area to explore. I look forward to 
next time.

best,
Maryrose


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