Sam, Kaitlyn and PJ are heading out to The Run of the Charles today (4/29) quick vid of their packing the truck.

Yay!!! Another season. 2012 has started and we have some great things lined up. From a new website (coming shortly) with some new offerings to Osprey hosted races. We are keeping some plans on the DL until they are ready but I am personally excited for a bunch of them. Hope to see you soon!

-Hugh

Right...So yet again

Second trip of the season had me out on the Slocum...for the second time this season. Brandon and I had 9 fresh paddlers out for Mother's day. The wind was gusty but the day warm enough to really enjoy. The only problem, I neglected to wear sunscreen but that didn't really sink in until much later.

St Mike's 2010 - Columbus Day

Low Tide on the East Branch

I wasn't expecting to see this much of the river bottom.

Gunderson Going Greenland

Delphins, Day and Gunderson

Here fishy fishy

Between launching renters and cleaning boats on Sunday I fished. In truth I didn't expect to catch anything, despite a few pictures I would starve if left to my fishing.

I caught this Shiner first. They have been feeding on huge schools of minnows and often get trapped in the grass after high tide. On the next cast after this picture was taken, something sucked this guy off my hook





I kept trying to catch the Perch that are all over the place but they would only strike the lure but not take it.

I caught this baby Bluefish a little later in the day.









Shortly after I caught a baby Striper and that was the last fish I caught though the river continued to be active well into the outgoing tide.

Carl Hoopin It

Recess

Adam Rolling SUP

Parker Balancing

and a dog named Blue

Blearily we arrive at the shop shortly after 6am. The Coalition for Buzzards Bay is having their swim and we are safety boats. Adam meets us at the shop unexpectedly. He flew into Boston Friday night, took the train to Providence and a taxi to the shop. He has been waiting since 4. His day is going to be longer than ours.

The swim has gone well and we are moving on to the rest of our day. Rentals are strong and I have a private coastal instruction. We head to East Beach. The seas are up, Allen's Pond is emptying and the client is ready for the challenge. I love introducing people to 1-2 foot seas. It is all about decision making, alternatives and pushing boundaries/skills. The SUP team is competing in a race around Aquidneck at the same time (they finish in just under 12 hours).

Sunday Team OSKA is at it again. Renters and more are ready to get out and enjoy the day. Caffeinated, I am set for another class. Adam, the pro from Greenland is joining me for a Basic Strokes and Rescues class. It is supposed to be out front at the Gooseberries but the wind is a little high and people are fishing where I want to be so we switch to the harbor.

The water is clean, fresh and incoming. The students are excited and ready. We work on skills and experience as we travel to Canoe Rock for lunch. We are all having fun. Lunch is short and it is time for the rescues so we hop back into our boats briefly. The wind is up and changing direction, the harbor choice is proving perfect as is the sandbar we are training over. 

The class continues up the West Branch to Adamsville. The students are exhausted but happy when we get to the van. The tide has turned and with the wind they were able to see how it effects them and learn they are now capable of handling it. The shop has been active and of course there is a dog named Blue visiting for the day.

Say It Aint So

White flickers in the sky over the highway picked out by the morning sun. Snowy Egrets are flocking, heading into the marsh to feed. A Plover flops around on the sand pretending injury. It draws our eyes from the ping pong ball sized fluff on stilts that are its young as they cruise across the beach to the safety of the dunes. A man and his children walk across the packed dirt soccer field as my train rumbles past. He sends his dog out after a flock of Canada Geese who freak as they scramble into the sky. Several other flocks of geese watch from the river. Great Blue Herons surround a marsh pool deciding which morsels will be their appetizers.

Migration is starting to happen. Hot as it may be and hard as it is to admit there are few weeks of summer left, one of the better times to be on the water is here.

ex-Luther

8AM on a Sunday morning the tide is coming in and the sun is beating down. The river is brown with sediment kicked up by yesterday’s storms up river. Small fish and eels roil in the water as something larger comes calling, never quite breaking the surface itself. I am casting…hoping to catch whatever is cruising unseen. Luther eyes me as he wanders up, hugging the canal walls. He is looking for something easy to eat and watches me and my lure. He hops up on the granite ten feet away, examines my fishing technique for a bit then takes a nap, unimpressed. Cormorants are masters at fishing, I am not.

Luther’s sleep is deep, undisturbed by our setting out boats and prepping for a SUP class. He wakes again when the tide laps against his feet. He eyes us once more before settling back into the water for a final circuit of the landing and a mosey up river. He is an older, experienced bird sharing one last morning with us.

Pahker

SUP Action

Run of the Charles and Herring Run Race

The Osprey Sea and Surf Team has officially throw their hats into the Stand Up Paddle Race scene. Will Rich and I did the 19 mile course with 6 portages through the streets of Boston Suburbs. Mimi did the 6 mile race and was the only woman to enter the paddleboard division. She beat 3 men to the finish and received 1st place womans. Will and I survived the 19 mile course finishing 1st and 2nd with awesome times! Mimi was only 20 min behind guys with displacement hull boards. Way to go girl! Hank and Marion Simpson met us at the finish with food and drink.

The Herring Run Race took place on the Mystic River. Will and I did the 12 mile course and Ami and Rachel joined the team with Mimi on the 3 mile course. All of us were real fast even with the stiff head wind.Way to go Ami and Rachel on your first race ever!

The next race is June 12 at home here on The Mighty Westport River East Branch. Following that Will and I are doing The Blackburn Challenge. That is a 20 mile race around Cape Ann. July brings the Aquidneck Island Circum-Navigation 38 miles. We are going to do that one as a relay. Last year I solo'd that one but I want to share the pain with friends...
We are also planning a down wind run from Block Island to Little Compton. A full moon run of the Elizabethan Islands. Also a Run from Westport to Nantucket Island. Stay tuned for our adventures.
Times:Charles River 19 mile
Mike~3:29:20 1st
Will~3:57:23 2nd
Time:Charles River 6 mile
Mimi~1:45:08 1st
Times:Mystic River 12 mile
Mike~2:24;43 1st
Will~2:54;00 2nd(un-official time)
Times:Mystic River
Mimi~1:09:37 1st
Rachel~1:19:00 2nd
Ami~ 1:19:00 2nd

Spring Races

In the next day ,be on the look out for an update on what the Crew has been doing out on the Stand Up Paddle Race scene. I'll post some times and a brief follow up on how we did.
Mike

24 mile Osprey Biathlon

Just after 7 I stepped onto the paddleboard and headed towards the harbor. The sun had been above the horizon for a little bit and was still lower than the trees, the sky held the last colors of dawn. Birds were everywhere and fish swirled the water. There are very few ways to have a better start to the day.

I was starting a little earlier than planned and had to step towards the nose of the board to ensure the fin cleared the bottom until I reached the channel. A fisherman reeling in a Striper and I nodded to each other. The sun soared into the sky and I started hoping for a little wind.

The incoming tide slowed my progress but once I hit the harbor it pushed me along well enough. The North/East wind was strong enough to cool me down as I passed the 88 bridge on schedule. Music thumped in my ears. My iPod sat in my backpack piping out the tunes that kept me motivated. Hix Bridge soon passed as did my first wind. I dug for my second one and was thankful the breeze was light.

The shop came into sight and I breathed a sigh of relief. 12 miles finished and another 12 to go but it was time for lunch and a rest.