NYCkayaker City of Water Day reflections

[Jeff Folmsbee]

Rob,
Well said & incredibly thorough, as usual. I was happy & proud to
participate in COW Day because, well, it was a great idea, and I think we
all should do whatever we can to support Carter & his people, since they are
so supportive of us and their mission is so unassailably important. That
said, it is a pity that many of Jim's and others' points are valid.   Love
the idea of a very peaceful, wet "critical mass" event.  Can anyone think of
a name for the human-powered boating verison of "Critical Mass"? I'll bring
the marshmellows (if we can have a campfire).
jf

On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 1:57 PM, <erikbaard at gmail.com> wrote:

> I return to one of my favorite acronym coinages with which I tweak
> authorities:
>
> Community Harbor Access, Ownership, and Stewardship.
>
> C.H.A.O.S.
>
> :)
>
> I employ it to make officials see their own attitudes.
>
> I think Jim's too ideological in this case. I don't think MWA's accession
> to a safety boat requirement for this kind event (something akin to MIF
> events) sets too strong a precedent that could hamper routine outings. I
> worry more about the Manhattan circ on Saturday, for example, trickling down
> requirements. But even that - over 50 boats - is extraordinary. And
> admittedly if I didn't get a peach like Trevor as a motorboat escort, I'd
> likely be less sanguine.
>
> As for names going to Homeland Security, since the USCG is in that
> department, what can be done? I would like to see the USCG shipped out
> again, with the restrictions on civil actions by the military returned in
> full force, black and white clarity.
>
> Carter knows how I resisted the motorboat requirement for the 5Boro Harbor
> Ramble. But I hope our ethos will be more like Critical Manners (it exists
> as a movement, really) than Critical Mass. We get further by exceeding
> safety requirements and carrying radios, nav lights, etc. We earn a place of
> respect at the table.
>
> Critical Mass does what out walk up programs do: they introduce people to
> an activity that might otherwise intimidate them. But on other counts these
> days, it's a political model to avoid.
>
> Erik Baard
>
>
> Sent from my BlackBerry(R) wireless device
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rob buchanan <robbuc at aol.com>
>
> Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:33:22
> To: jim wetteroth<j.duffy1 at rcn.com>; nykayak<nyckayaker at rockandwater.net>
> Cc: Carter Craft<ccraft at waterfrontalliance.org>; Roland Lewis<
> rlewis at waterfrontalliance.org>; Raymond Fusco<raymondfusco at optonline.net>
> Subject: Re: NYCkayaker City of Water Day reflections
>
>
> I hope there will be some kind of followup discussion with MWA about these
> things. I thought Roland, Carter and Ray did a great job, and I was willing
> to put up with all the paperwork this first time around. But I do think
> there is something sacrificed in agreeing to all the safety protocols,
> event
> permitting, and waiver signing--after all, one thing we are all pushing for
> (I hope) is the idea that we human-powered boaters are able to take
> responsibility for ourselves.
>
> To me the ideal to which we should aspire is something like a maritime
> version of critical mass,  a true convergence in which all of the rowers
> and
> paddlers in the harbor who want to participate simply agree to meet on
> governors island on a particular day or, if we could get them to allow
> camping, a particular weekend. How each boater gets there, and when they do
> their channel crossings, is his or her own business. I'm sure to official
> ears that might sound potentially chaotic, but I don't think it would be at
> all. Larger groups, like the 30 people erik brought, could work out their
> own escort vessels if they felt they needed one, and even seek an event
> permit from the coast guard. Smaller groups and individuals could do what
> they always do--just go, and form their own safety plans amongst
> themselves.
>
> I don't know if that's an achievable goal for next year or not, but here
> are
> two specific changes we should definitely push for now. First, let's get
> rid
> of the fricking waivers. I spent hours tracking down the 16 people who
> wound
> up rowing in our two gigs, faxing and emailing stuff all over the place and
> carrying the dumb things up to the MWA office two days before the event,
> and
> in the end I still had to forge four or five signatures. Why are we even
> going through this charade? We're in our boats, not MWA's, and we're
> climbing onto land that belongs to the city and state, not MWA. Many of the
> organized groups who participated have insurance agreements in place with
> GIPEC already, and we already require waivers from our participants. Do we
> need to sign another waiver on top of that? It's too much.
>
> A second and related point: we really need to lean on GIPEC to get rid of
> their insurance requirement for human-powered boaters. You can take the
> ferry over to the island for free, even ride your bike onto it, and you
> don't have to produce any kind of paperwork at all. Yet if you show up in a
> boat your boathouse/community group needs to have $1 or $2 million (I
> forget
> which) of general liablity insurance. If you're an independent, forget it,
> you can't come ashore. That's nuts. Governors Island is public property,
> and
> we should enjoy the same rights of access to it as our walking and biking
> compatriots. Indeed, I think that's one big message 'City of Water Day'
> could aim to send next year.
>
>
> Rob Buchanan, Village Community Boathouse, Pier 40
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 7/30/08 8:10 AM, "j,duffy1" <j.duffy1 at rcn.com> wrote:
>
> > I don't see much to celebrate about the City of Water event.  The
> > enforced motor boat "safety boat" program that so many of us have been
> > opposing for so long has been accepted and ratified by Carter and Ray,
> > and more importantly a limitation on the number of boaters in a trip.
> > Apparently there was also a list of individual participants delivered to
> > Homeland Security.
> >
> > Carter Craft and Ray Fusco are both nice guys, but they both make a
> > living out of promoting this kind of event, which puts them in a very
> > conflicted position when it comes to our rights as boaters and members
> > of the public, when they deal with the various authorities.
> >
> > There will be more events like this because Carter and Ray have to make
> > a living, and if they don't, someone else will, but in future "include
> > me out".
> >
> > Jim Wetteroth,
> >
> > erik Baard wrote:
> >
> >> Ahoy'all,
> >>
> >> I didn't see any celebration of our community's success on "City of
> Water
> >> Day" here, though it's richly deserved. The joy and effectiveness of the
> >> gathering is a testament to the care and enthusiasm given to it by
> Carter
> >> Craft, Ray Fusco, Roland Lewis, Jennifer Stark-Hernandez, the
> Metropolitan
> >> Waterfront Alliance team, safety boat crews, and boating group
> coordinators.
> >>
> >>
> >> All of us who paddled the East River thank LIC Community Boathouse
> >> volunteers Ted Gruber, Monica Schroeder, and John McGarvey in particular
> for
> >> their great work, where our boathouse was the kayak source. Staten
> >> Island/Yonkers paddler (and list regular!) Steve Blumling attended to
> the
> >> needs of the Urban Divers and other Harlem River people, who encountered
> >> logistical problems.
> >>
> >> Some terrific photos of the event can be seen here:
> >>
> >>
> >> http://paddleandknit.blogspot.com/
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> http://picasaweb.google.com/mainyo72/CityOfWaterDay
> >>
> >>
> http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=652r6on3.3c9jhe8j&Uy=h1uuku&Upos
> >>
> t_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=165553855445_547697010211&m
> >> ode=fromshare&conn_speed=1
> >>
> >> The LIC Community Boathouse sent 30 paddlers in about 20 boats. A
> special
> >> treat was being able to provide one boat to Damian Griffin Sr. and Jr.
> from
> >> the Bronx River Alliance, our role model for the nascent Newtown Creek
> >> Alliance. Thanks to the pace set by East River C.R.E.W. we got to leave
> a
> >> bit early in perfect conditions. Our friend, Matthew McGregor-Mento
> joined
> >> us a bit later, launching from the Stuyvesant Cove beach at East 20th
> >> Street. The formation was tight (thanks to having ample marine radios --
> >> Carter kindly lent us one to boot), and our safety boat performed
> perfectly
> >> under the guidance of Trevor Harris of Rocking the Boat, keeping enough
> >> distance to let us enjoy ourselves while darting about to head off
> >> threatening traffic.
> >>
> >> We were sad to not have the giant Urban Divers canoe with us; it's
> always a
> >> festive addition, and the crew always includes both excited newcomers
> and
> >> vital contributors to our estuary's recovery. Floating the Apple,
> however,
> >> made good use of the day to remind officials of what a great launch
> Dumbo
> >> Cove could be. We hope for equal success in future years at the beach on
> the
> >> Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge.
> >>
> >> There was plenty of time to chat while paddling, pose for silly photos
> >> (without getting pushed into the Brooklyn Bridge waterfall!) and just
> enjoy
> >> the gentle play of the water. We pulled into the the southern Brooklyn
> >> waterfall to gather for our crossing, do a final wrist band/boat band
> >> inventory, and enjoy ourselves. A NYPD Harbor Unit boat was there, and
> we
> >> chatted with the crew, who had a great sense of humor and
> >> were surprisingly supportive regarding the waterfall dunking of a few
> weeks
> >> back.
> >>
> >> I didn't realize that our group was leading the landings at Governors
> Island
> >> until Roland called out to me as the first kayaker to reach the dock
> (Monica
> >> and I took point and sped ahead to case the joint, to smooth our group's
> >> dock off-loading). We were directed up to our plot of grass, and
> terrific
> >> volunteers helped carry the boats. After our boathouse's paddlers hauled
> >> their craft onto the grass we ate watermelon with such a lust that it
> nearly
> >> insulted the Sabbath. I returned to the dock and can proudly say I
> carried
> >> boats for every kayak boathouse that day! The highlight in that was a
> >> surprise kiss on the cheek from Pat Slavin of Yonkers. I worked the dock
> for
> >> the public paddling program, which Rob Buchanan and his Floating the
> Apple
> >> colleagues generously and cheerfully took up as a rowing event when
> kayakers
> >> had to start leaving.
> >>
> >> The return trip home was a breeze...literally. We had both current and
> wind
> >> pushing us home. Once or twice we had bouncy waters, especially at
> >> what might be called the Spider East. That mosh pit of Buttermilk
> Channel,
> >> Upper Bay, East River, and Hudson River currents seemed to be a bit over
> >> from its usual position, and cow licked up by the wind. Re-entering the
> >> embayment containing the southern Brooklyn waterfall was a challenge,
> though
> >> it was glassy only a couple of hours before. Katie DeRoberts told me
> that
> >> the western approach to Governors Island was choppy, so maybe the
> >> not-so-itsy-bitsy spider crawled to Brooklyn?  :)
> >>
> >> We spread out a bit more than I would like once we reached Williamsburg,
> but
> >> traffic was nil and we were hugging familiar shores, in good part
> drifting
> >> with the calm flood. Matthew headed back over to Manhattan and Trevor
> saw us
> >> to our pier at Anable Cove.
> >>
> >> My suggestions for the future:
> >>
> >> 1) Aspire toward an overnight stay. As Jerry Blackstone put it, "I felt
> like
> >> Cinderella at the ball, always watching the clock and worrying that my
> kayak
> >> would turn into a pumpkin!" When Roland suggested Governors Island as an
> >> annual confluence point for all the harbor, to succeed the 2007 5-Boro
> >> Harbor Ramble, I immediately thought it would be overnight. That's
> partly
> >> because of the Clearwater-like possibilities and partly because the
> tidal
> >> currents wouldn't allow for extended mingling.
> >>
> >> 2) Have more exciting shirts. I mean, the bright orange excited my
> retina,
> >> but we have a wealth of artistic water mavens: Christina Sun would be
> >> perfect and Harry Spitz's reliefs and sculptures could also be adapted,
> for
> >> example. As much his antics might drive me nuts sometimes, Phil Riley
> (aka
> >> "Duke") could also design an attractive and funky shirt derived
> >> from/inspired by traditional nautical motifs.
> >>
> >> 3) Have the speeches at the top of the hill, in the shade, rather than
> >> fighting to get people to stand in the sun on asphalt.
> >>
> >> 4) Worry less about food. We're all adults and can feed ourselves, plus
> >> vendors (including more free samples) might come in.
> >>
> >> 5) Allow major boathouse on each "thread" to cooperatively choose their
> own
> >> overall paddle leader in the months before the event, instead of
> appointing
> >> people the night before. This is more of a factor on the Hudson River,
> where
> >> there are several large organizations. And this is not an insult to the
> >> chosen thread leaders; it's simply true that a leader chosen from within
> the
> >> ranks and elevated by consensus will have easier authority when all are
> >> deployed.
> >>
> >> 6) Question the CG's demand of individual names of paddlers. Leaders,
> sure,
> >> and total numbers, sure. But each paddler's name? The system as it stood
> was
> >> far more labor intensive than necessary. I do understand, however, the
> need
> >> for waivers in advance. The CG can draw a list from the waivers.
> >>
> >> It was a wonderful day!
> >>
> >>
> >>
> > **********************************************************************
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>
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> public service offered to the kayaking community by the Hudson River
> Watertrail Association. Learn more about HRWA at www.hrwa.org
>
> To unsubscribe or change delivery options:
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