MITA suggestions

[chinooktrail]

Just got the latest newsletter and am thinking about a trip, finally.

Any suggestions for a person new to ocean kayaking, who will be going solo, for a 1 or 2 night trip?

Preferably some protected'ish' area so I can get used to the difference in water from lakes and rivers to the ocean... Not quite ready for big waves yet!

Really looking forward to learning some new techniques and putting them into practice.

 

[Brambor]

Trott Island in Cape Porpoise

Beautiful area for southern location, a few very close islands to hop to. Protected. You should put in around high tide.

 

[daxs]

Jim and I put in at Old Quarry campground in Stonington ME.

http://www.oldquarry.com/index.php

They charge you a small fee for launching and parking your car. We camped there after our paddle. Nice sites. There is a hose so you can wash down your boat after the paddle and nice hot showers. The owners can give you alot of good information on paddling the islands in that area. I would take a map/compass/GPS. Because of the tides, the seascape looks drastically different at high and low tide. The water was choppy but not bad to handle. I've been in worse water on the Delaware Bay. There is alot of boat traffic in the area due to lobstering. The sunrises and sunsets were awesome. It was also great to have a small campfire on the beach ( low tide mark). I think we got a permit for the fire but can't remember. We paddled mid week in mid sept and only saw 2 other paddlers. Have you purchased the MITA guide yet? I have pics. If you are interested I'll send you a link.

 

[Jay H]

Stonington is nice, it does have a mixture of somewhat protected paddles (Check out Crotch Island!!)... and you have the option of longer sites and camping if you're a MITA member...

Jay

 

[chinooktrail]

I did join the MITA, and have the 2010 book etc...

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll take a closer look tonight!

 

[AMF]

when are you going?

 

[chinooktrail]

not sure, hopefully late august, early september.

have a few vacation days to use, so want to do a 3 or 4 day, non holiday weekend.

 

[daxs]

I am going to be in western Maine 9/6 - 9/16. Maybe we will run into each other.