At long last, after a couple of cancelled trips early in the season and a long string of social and family obligations (all of which were fun), I was able to get out on the water yesterday. A low-key Annsville Easy trip out of Peekskill was exactly what I needed to get back into the swing of things – a very slow pace with time to play around and lots of newbies anxious for low-impact instruction. There’s still half of the season left, but I’m a bit doubtful of achieving either of my goals for this season. I haven’t fully conceded that fact, but at this point 4 Star Sea is far more likely than Coach 2, provided I can build a little stamina quickly and can find a BCU certification program in early fall.
I demo-ed an Dennis Nigel Explorer LV for the day. Not nearly as playful as its little brother the Romany, but as fast and smooth as its near 18ft length would suggest it should be. Unlike the full volume Explorer which has tons of room and sits very high in the water for a paddler of my stature (unless seriously loaded), the cockpit of the LV is surprisingly snug for a boat of its length (3.5inch shorter and 1inch narrower than the regular Explorer) and I was able to re-enter and roll it easily (also not bad for the first try in months). All in all, not a boat I’d buy for my regular paddling (the Romany is hard to beat), but definitely would make the short list of candidates for a moderate to longer expedition.