Release Date 7/30/2006

Released this bottle in the middle of the Hudson River in New York City around 28th St on an ebbing tide around 16:00.

We were paddling South waiting for the cruise ship in the background to pass. Once it passed we shot across the River and continued South to Pier 40.

Truth:
It's easy to 2nd Guess an important decision you made in the past.

Release Date 7/27/2006

Released the Bottle around 14:00 on an Ebbing Tide, just North of the 79th St. Boat Basin in the Hudson River.

I was doing a trip for the Downtown Boathouse for Kids from Recycle a Bicycle.

It was a beautiful, but hot day. The kids all had a great time, and we even let them all go in the water to cool off.

Truth:
Sometimes a song can have a powerful and personal meaning to you.

Release Date 7/24/2006

Released the bottle on an outgoing tide at about 12:00. We were kayak surfing at the sandbars out near Breezy Point.

The best time for surfing depends on the swell size and tide, but its usually best a few hours before low water. The ebbing current hits the incoming swell on the sandbar and makes a nice break.

I launched the bottle but just putting it under the bungees, then playing in the surf. Eventually a big wave washed over the deck and launched it.

The surf was good, and we all got a number of good rides. Unfortunately I broke my new greenland paddle. The paddle was on the front deck, and I was caught in a very violent side surf/broach. The force of the water on the part of the paddle that extended out past the bow snapped the shaft and broke the elastic bungee.

Truth: Taking Vitamins on an empty stomach is not a good idea.

Release Date 7/23/2006

Released this bottle off of Breezy Point on 7/23 at about 11:30AM. A group of us volunteered to do kayak swim support for the CIBBOWS swim race, see http://www.cibbows.org.

The weather was slightly threatening, but fortunately the rain held off, and the wind was only about 5 kts.

We launched at plumb beach, and paddled over to Brighton for the race. After the race we paddled out to Breezy Point to play in the surf.

I let the bottle go around 11:00, about 3/4 of a mile South West of the breakwater on an ebbing tide.

Truth: Not getting enough sleep can make you feel bad.

Release Date 7/21/2006

Released off of Riverside Park in the Hudson River in South Running current, but wind from the South, so it was holding steady in the middle of the river when I last saw it.

I was doing a trip for a group of artists from the Kitchen http://www.thekitchen.org/. They were a good group young and enthusiastic.

There was a very heavy storm that we had to wait for before we started the trip, so we had to wait for it to blow over before we could start. This caused us to miss the current, so we paddled into an increasing ebb on the way out and didn't get too far North.

It was amazing to see how the day cleared-up in just 30 minutes. From torrential rain with 50 yard visibility to clear and sunny.

Truth: Art Makes the World a Better Place.

Release Date 7/17/2006

Went for a short paddle off of Breezy Point to try and do some surfing. We launched from Plumb Beach and paddled out to the sandbar.

The tide was high, and the swell wasn't very big, so there was no real surf to speak of, but it was such a hot day it felt great to be on the water.

Released the bottle on the paddle home about 17:00 just as the tide was slacking from ebb to flood.

Truth: Time makes everything feel better, eventually.

Release Date 7/9/2006

Paddled from Orient Point on the North Fork of Long Island to Watch Hill Rhode Island and camped out. Then came back along Ct coast to New London and took the ferry back to Long Island.

I released the message right off of Race Rock off the South West of Fishers Island around 14:00 in a substantial ebb. It was headed toward Cape Cod.... I found the dolls arm, and bottle on Little Gull Island.


This is a great trip, we went along the string of islands Plum, Great Gull, Little Gull, and Fishers, so the longest open crossing was less than 3 miles.

The trip didn't start well. I missed all the bucolic scenery on the drive out because I was making meticulous notes of the current in a variety of places every 2 hours over the course of the 2 days we would be out. I always do this for a big trip, since we can't keep the tide charts on the deck. While we were packing the boats somebody stole my chart case out of the car which included the chart and current table. I had to take an extra 1/2 hour and regenerate it. Fortunately we had a back-up chart...

We started the trip just after the ebb started between Orient Point and Plum Island. The current wasn't running too strong, so there was no tide race there, and conditions were pretty flat.

We went along the Western shore of Plum island. It looks cool, but there are a plethora of US Govt. warning signs. I didn't see any security guards or cameras. Because I was cool in the morning, and the conditions were supposed to be so intense I was wearing my trilaminate wetsuit, but I got overheated. We stopped under a cliff on the North tip of Plum island, and I changed to shorts.

Great Gull was full of bird researchers. We ate lunch at Little Gull. The island was full of agressive nesting seagulls, so we couldn't explore.

We got into the race around 13:00, and finished around 14:00. There is a substantial tide race with a series of standing waves. We hit it right at the peak. The current was strong around 3kts, and because the crossing was so wide, our boats were heavy, we didn't really play in the waves until we were almost at Race Rock on the other side. By ferrying across we made really good time, our speed peaked at 7.5 kts on the GPS because the current was supplying all the eastbound speed. The tide races in Wales had steeper waves, but this was impressive because it was several miles long. I need to come back on the springs with more people and it will be even more impressive. Seemed like the cleanest and best standing waves were 1/2 mile off of Little Gull Island.

The paddle along the South side of Fishers Island was a bit of a slog, and the current actually seemed to be against us, contrary to what the tide charts showed. Next time I'll try and stay out further from land, I can only assume it was a huge eddy, since the current was still clearly going west to east once we cleared Fishers.

We landed around 16:00.

We camped on Napatree. This is a nice rock beach that was fairly deserted. There is an interesting fort on the very tip of it. It is called Fort Mansfield. Wes, the owner of a boatyard told us it was last used in World War I. You can barely see it from the beach, because of the overgrowth, but by bushwacking we were able to explore it. Looks like lots of kids come to party here. If there is some wind to keep the bugs down, it might be a good place to camp.

We left around 10:00 in the morning.We had run out of water, so we visited the nice people at the Watch Hill Yacht Club. A bunch of rich white kids were learning how to sail in little prams, which is the kind of boat my Grandfather got me when I was a kid. The instructors were berating the poor little kids. I had already drunk some of the water, when I asked the old guy on the dock if it was ok to drink.

We went back along the CT coast because the current was against us all day. Lots of expensive homes and interesting architecture along the shoreline.

We had a nice lunch in Nohank and got back to the ferry in New London around 17:00.

I had a sinus infection on both days, and didn't feel well for both days, but it was a great trip, with great weather and a lot of fun.

Truth:
Its almost never safe to leave you car unlocked...

Release Date 7/5/2006

I released this bottle about 10miles out at sea off of the Jersey Shore near Belmar. I was on a scuba diving trip.

We had a great time. We were diving for lobsters in rock piles. I only caught one keeper lobster, but some of the others got 3 or 4.

We did 3 dives all at about a depth of 80ft for 20 minutes or so.

It was very different than the tropical diving I was used to. Its very hard to keep from getting lost because the visibility is low. Its also very cold, in the high 40s on the bottom.

I ate the lobster, and a couple of black sea bass my friend caught and gave to me, for dinner.

"Every day you wake up really is a new day full of opportunity"

Release Date 7/1/2006

Still using cellphone pictures....

Paddled with a greenland paddle all day. In the morning took the Boathouse trip down to Governor's Island. We had a nice trip down, but a little trouble getting back. The current was weaker on the flood because of the rain we had the week before.

After going to Governor's Island I paddled up to the North to meet some friends who were going around Manhattan. I released the bottle around 17:00.

The current was against me, so I snuck right along the seawall. It was kind of cool to interact with the people in the park, and to watch the demographic change from all white to minority as I went north. At one point paddled right-up on two people having sex in the underbrush, that was kind of embarrassing, I just looked away.

I found a 2 gallon can full of gas floating in the water. I put it up on the seawall, and came back by bicycle that night to collect it to keep it from spilling in the river. Now I don't know what to do with it, put it in car? It might have water in it....

I was kind of tired, so I took it very easy, and eventually met my friends, who had been waiting at Spite-n-Dival just inside the Harlem river for me.

We had a nice paddle down in an increasing current, against the wind that was substantial. I peeled off and returned to boathouse at 20:00.

Truth, inspired by gas...:
The earth and mankind will eventually run out of oil, and that could be a serious situation.

Release Date 6/25/2006

Had to return 2 boats to the pier 96 boathouse. The boats were left there after the marathon swim the day before. I paddled the Romany Explorer, and Towed the Shanai.

It was a funny weather day. It had rained on and off during the day, but seemed clear enough when I left.

The sky was a funny gray color, and really pretty. There were a lot of police boats monitoring the gay pride festivities on the pier, which seemed really unusual. They stayed way out near the middle of the river. At one point a Coast Guard boat came and asked me if I would be back before dark. There was plenty of time, but the overcast made it seemed like it was going to get dark sooner than it did.

Message:

The US Government is out of control.