NYCkayaker City of Water Day reflections
j,duffy1
j.duffy1 at rcn.com
Wed Jul 30 14:53:08 EDT 2008
I think that Critical Mass has reached a point where it creates more
heat than light, and as a comparison would contribute the conflict and
controversy of the original, and blur our own reasonable objectives.
Jim,
Jeff Folmsbee wrote:
> 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
> <mailto: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® wireless device
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rob buchanan <robbuc at aol.com <mailto:robbuc at aol.com>>
>
> Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:33:22
> To: jim wetteroth<j.duffy1 at rcn.com <mailto:j.duffy1 at rcn.com>>;
> nykayak<nyckayaker at rockandwater.net
> <mailto:nyckayaker at rockandwater.net>>
> Cc: Carter Craft<ccraft at waterfrontalliance.org
> <mailto:ccraft at waterfrontalliance.org>>; Roland
> Lewis<rlewis at waterfrontalliance.org
> <mailto:rlewis at waterfrontalliance.org>>; Raymond
> Fusco<raymondfusco at optonline.net <mailto: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
> <mailto: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
> <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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