[Announce] Hell Gate Crashers

[lic boathouse]

Ahoy'all,

Here's this week's Saturday Adventure:

What: A voyage through New York Harbor's infamous Hell Gate! Okay, so the
name is a corruption of the Dutch for "bright passage" but this section of
the strait can be a great challenge: currents clash, chop is frequent and
heavy, rocks are still a danger near shore, and vessel traffic of great
tonnage squeezes through the narrow gap. This is a wikipedia entry written
largely by our volunteers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Gate

Of course, sometimes Hell Gate is placid and empty of barges.

On the other side of the Gate are the North Brother and South Brother
islands, where harbor herons, egrets, and other birds can be seen. We'll
visit the beach on one of them for a little picnic.

One time factor and a special treat is that we'll welcome to Hallets Cove a
group of 50 or so kayakers who are circumnavigating Manhattan from Inwood.

When: Assemble at 8AM, launch before 9AM. Return by 1PM (approximately,
depending on water and wind conditions).

How: Email licboathouse (at...) gmail (dot...) com with HELL GATE in the
subject line. You will be notified by email on August 1 if you have a seat
on the trip. If you are not notified, assume you'll need to try for another
trip. You may come down in case of a vacancy, but we offer no guarantees.

Who: Eight adults over 18 years old who know how to swim and have kayaked a
little. We strongly recommend that novices try our boats in Hallets Cove on
a Sunday before undertaking any of the open water trips.

We reserve the right to turn away paddlers. We don't accept paddlers
bringing their own boats unless they are signed on days ahead of time as
volunteers. In that case, you and your craft must be approved for that work
by those coordinating the trip.

Veteran volunteers will accompany public participants, who would be wise to
defer to the wisdom of their experience in these waters and vessel traffic.
Stay close to the group for safety.

Where: The LIC Community Boathouse is on Anable Cove, at the end of
44thDrive in Hunters Point. We're inside the Jeffrey Dietch (
http://www.deitch.com/ ) gallery's brightly painted building.
Salty regards,

The Crew
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