Annapolis Wherry Tandem Log book: Difference between revisions
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Annapolis Wherry Tandem Log Book | Annapolis Wherry Tandem Log Book | ||
Richard Pellessier | Richard Pellessier | ||
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==2025== | |||
===April=== | |||
April 11, 2025. Maiden voyage. With Staci at Lake Martin. Talked with people at the landing who wanted to admire the beautiful wooden boat. Met Ted Spillers, who keeps several boats in a hangar near the Lake Martin landing. Found rowing to be difficult. Ted offered rowing suggestions and advised practice. Saw Black Bellied Whistling ducks. | April 11, 2025. Maiden voyage. With Staci at Lake Martin. Talked with people at the landing who wanted to admire the beautiful wooden boat. Met Ted Spillers, who keeps several boats in a hangar near the Lake Martin landing. Found rowing to be difficult. Ted offered rowing suggestions and advised practice. Saw Black Bellied Whistling ducks. | ||
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April 15, 2025. Stored boat upside down by hanging from rafters in the farmhouse garage. | April 15, 2025. Stored boat upside down by hanging from rafters in the farmhouse garage. | ||
===November=== | |||
November 25, 2025. Took boat down from storage with assistance from Maurice Martin and placed it on trailer. | November 25, 2025. Took boat down from storage with assistance from Maurice Martin and placed it on trailer. | ||
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Took Tracy rowing. Suggested that learning how to catch and recover oars was more important when learning than pulling on them. This seemed to be good advice, Tracy was very smooth. Saw and photographed a White Ibis feeding from shore. | Took Tracy rowing. Suggested that learning how to catch and recover oars was more important when learning than pulling on them. This seemed to be good advice, Tracy was very smooth. Saw and photographed a White Ibis feeding from shore. | ||
===December=== | |||
December 7, 2025. With Staci at Lake Martin. Staci practiced oar feathering from the bow seat. I got my feet wet in 18” boots while launching. Might need waders or wet sandals. Solo launching in trailer’s current configuration would be difficult. I got help from two Indian fellows to put the boat back on the trailer. | December 7, 2025. With Staci at Lake Martin. Staci practiced oar feathering from the bow seat. I got my feet wet in 18” boots while launching. Might need waders or wet sandals. Solo launching in trailer’s current configuration would be difficult. I got help from two Indian fellows to put the boat back on the trailer. | ||
Longest row yet. Saw lots of Great Egrets and a few Great Blue Herons. Two blinds were being used by duck hunters, did not hear any shots. Saw a curious activity by dozens of waterfowl flapping loudly without taking off, like they were trying to make a disturbance in the water on the north west side. Saw a flock of a dozen ducks, maybe teal, but they were not interested in the many dozens of decoys the hunters were showing them. Saw a brownish bird something like an ibis, walking on the shore near the landing. When leaving saw a Pileated Woodpecker. Brownish bird turned out to be a Limpkin, a fairly recent immigrant to Louisiana. | Longest row yet. Saw lots of Great Egrets and a few Great Blue Herons. Two blinds were being used by duck hunters, did not hear any shots. Saw a curious activity by dozens of waterfowl flapping loudly without taking off, like they were trying to make a disturbance in the water on the north west side. Saw a flock of a dozen ducks, maybe teal, but they were not interested in the many dozens of decoys the hunters were showing them. Saw a brownish bird something like an ibis, walking on the shore near the landing. When leaving saw a Pileated Woodpecker. Brownish bird turned out to be a Limpkin, a fairly recent immigrant to Louisiana. | ||
==2026== | |||
===January=== | |||
January 7, 2026. With Oscar at Lake Martin. Rowed across Lake Martin to other side. Saw a Bald Eagle, and a Greenwing Teal. Saw a tornado of soaring birds in the direction of Anse La Butte to the north. Rumors of good fishing, there were about 8 trailers at the landing, a guy said the fish were biting. | January 7, 2026. With Oscar at Lake Martin. Rowed across Lake Martin to other side. Saw a Bald Eagle, and a Greenwing Teal. Saw a tornado of soaring birds in the direction of Anse La Butte to the north. Rumors of good fishing, there were about 8 trailers at the landing, a guy said the fish were biting. | ||
January 16, 2026. Rich, Staci, Oscar and Tater at Lake Martin. Ate at St. Johns Restaurant in St. Martinville before going to Lake Martin. Heard of another wooden rowboat in New Iberia. Conditions were windy with waves. Boat performed well with heaviest loading yet. Staci used her cane chair and liked it. | January 16, 2026. Rich, Staci, Oscar and Tater at Lake Martin. Ate at St. Johns Restaurant in St. Martinville before going to Lake Martin. Heard of another wooden rowboat in New Iberia. Conditions were windy with waves. Boat performed well with heaviest loading yet. Staci used her cane chair and liked it. | ||
===February=== | |||
February 2, 2026. Oscar and Rich at Lake Martin. Saw Ted Spillers at his hangar, went and chatted. Ted and his son, Aaron, were working on a 6 cylinder Honda motorcycle. Ted has started a stitch and glue "Chesapeake Racer," a narrow racing shell. Rowed across Lake Martin and back, had rowing station in the forward position and Oscar on the back deck. Not enough weight to keep the skeg down in the water, boat had a tendency to fishtail or wander. Saw a Great Egret and possibly a bald eagle. Saw several cormorants. When loading boat onto trailer I talked with a fellow who was loading several dozen decoys. He said he was picking up the decoys for the season, the season ended Saturday. He commented that it was the worst season he's ever had. | February 2, 2026. Oscar and Rich at Lake Martin. Saw Ted Spillers at his hangar, went and chatted. Ted and his son, Aaron, were working on a 6 cylinder Honda motorcycle. Ted has started a stitch and glue "Chesapeake Racer," a narrow racing shell. Rowed across Lake Martin and back, had rowing station in the forward position and Oscar on the back deck. Not enough weight to keep the skeg down in the water, boat had a tendency to fishtail or wander. Saw a Great Egret and possibly a bald eagle. Saw several cormorants. When loading boat onto trailer I talked with a fellow who was loading several dozen decoys. He said he was picking up the decoys for the season, the season ended Saturday. He commented that it was the worst season he's ever had. | ||
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February 17, 2026, Mardi Gras Day. At Lake Martin. Saw 20+ boat trailers and huge parking lot overflow. Fishermen we talked to were catching bass. Rowed with Dolly, Rick Hermann accompanied us in his kayak. Rowed perimeter of Lake Martin, longest row so far, about 1.5 hours of continuous rowing. Saw several nesting Osprey. Saw Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, small alligators. Noted barrels nailed up in trees, probably hunting blinds. I saw a fast moving small duck, perhaps a Teal or Wood Duck but couldn't positively identify. Dolly saw a Whistling Tree Duck. Dolly had some trouble adapting to rowing, no more than I had on my first attempt. She resisted using the sliding seat at first, after beginning to use it, she felt it made a big difference. That suggests that it is probably best if I don't tell beginning rowers to just row with straight legs. Introduced Dolly and Rick to Ted Spillers after the row; I gave Ted some plastic cups for mixing epoxy for his upcoming project. On the drive back Dolly showed me Big Nanaan's house, still standing on Rees Street. | February 17, 2026, Mardi Gras Day. At Lake Martin. Saw 20+ boat trailers and huge parking lot overflow. Fishermen we talked to were catching bass. Rowed with Dolly, Rick Hermann accompanied us in his kayak. Rowed perimeter of Lake Martin, longest row so far, about 1.5 hours of continuous rowing. Saw several nesting Osprey. Saw Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, small alligators. Noted barrels nailed up in trees, probably hunting blinds. I saw a fast moving small duck, perhaps a Teal or Wood Duck but couldn't positively identify. Dolly saw a Whistling Tree Duck. Dolly had some trouble adapting to rowing, no more than I had on my first attempt. She resisted using the sliding seat at first, after beginning to use it, she felt it made a big difference. That suggests that it is probably best if I don't tell beginning rowers to just row with straight legs. Introduced Dolly and Rick to Ted Spillers after the row; I gave Ted some plastic cups for mixing epoxy for his upcoming project. On the drive back Dolly showed me Big Nanaan's house, still standing on Rees Street. | ||
===March=== | |||
March 13, 2026, Friday the Thirteenth. At Lake Martin with Oscar. Rowed halfway around lake, clockwise, then rowed across to finish. Saw a pair of white ibis and a great egret south of the landing. Saw a large swimming alligator on the west side of the lake. Tried rowing with straight arms. It was a good change of pace, forcing me to focus on reach and leg coiling, but not sure if this is good form. Oscar felt the boat was rocking too much; I felt the boat was fast, but jerky. Light winds, about 74 degrees, paused in the shade a few times. Did not mount oars to start; used an oar as a paddle to move away from landing and mounted oars after moving away from the landing. Approached landing stern first, Oscar jumped out on command and ran and stood on the pier while I brought boat to pier and moored it. Then he heeled unleashed while we walked across the parking lot to the car! | March 13, 2026, Friday the Thirteenth. At Lake Martin with Oscar. Rowed halfway around lake, clockwise, then rowed across to finish. Saw a pair of white ibis and a great egret south of the landing. Saw a large swimming alligator on the west side of the lake. Tried rowing with straight arms. It was a good change of pace, forcing me to focus on reach and leg coiling, but not sure if this is good form. Oscar felt the boat was rocking too much; I felt the boat was fast, but jerky. Light winds, about 74 degrees, paused in the shade a few times. Did not mount oars to start; used an oar as a paddle to move away from landing and mounted oars after moving away from the landing. Approached landing stern first, Oscar jumped out on command and ran and stood on the pier while I brought boat to pier and moored it. Then he heeled unleashed while we walked across the parking lot to the car! | ||
Revision as of 05:45, 14 March 2026
Annapolis Wherry Tandem Log Book Richard Pellessier
Started April 11, 2025
2025
April
April 11, 2025. Maiden voyage. With Staci at Lake Martin. Talked with people at the landing who wanted to admire the beautiful wooden boat. Met Ted Spillers, who keeps several boats in a hangar near the Lake Martin landing. Found rowing to be difficult. Ted offered rowing suggestions and advised practice. Saw Black Bellied Whistling ducks.
April 12, 2025. With Staci at Lake Martin. Saw an Anhinga sunning itself, Great Blue Heron, Alligators, and Osprey. Visited Ted Spillers at his boat hangar.
April 15, 2025. Stored boat upside down by hanging from rafters in the farmhouse garage.
November
November 25, 2025. Took boat down from storage with assistance from Maurice Martin and placed it on trailer.
November 26, 2025. Added second Piantedosi rowing station.
November 26, 2025. With Maurice and Tracy Avant Martin and their son Ben at Lake Martin. Took Maurice rowing, he had many of the same problems I did on my first attempt. Saw a Great Egret. Maurice declared fun level 3 on a scale of 10.
Took Ben rowing. Went across lilies. Saw a Great Blue Heron land near and startle a Great Egret. Ben declared his fun level to be an 8, which he later upgraded to 9.
Took Tracy rowing. Suggested that learning how to catch and recover oars was more important when learning than pulling on them. This seemed to be good advice, Tracy was very smooth. Saw and photographed a White Ibis feeding from shore.
December
December 7, 2025. With Staci at Lake Martin. Staci practiced oar feathering from the bow seat. I got my feet wet in 18” boots while launching. Might need waders or wet sandals. Solo launching in trailer’s current configuration would be difficult. I got help from two Indian fellows to put the boat back on the trailer.
Longest row yet. Saw lots of Great Egrets and a few Great Blue Herons. Two blinds were being used by duck hunters, did not hear any shots. Saw a curious activity by dozens of waterfowl flapping loudly without taking off, like they were trying to make a disturbance in the water on the north west side. Saw a flock of a dozen ducks, maybe teal, but they were not interested in the many dozens of decoys the hunters were showing them. Saw a brownish bird something like an ibis, walking on the shore near the landing. When leaving saw a Pileated Woodpecker. Brownish bird turned out to be a Limpkin, a fairly recent immigrant to Louisiana.
2026
January
January 7, 2026. With Oscar at Lake Martin. Rowed across Lake Martin to other side. Saw a Bald Eagle, and a Greenwing Teal. Saw a tornado of soaring birds in the direction of Anse La Butte to the north. Rumors of good fishing, there were about 8 trailers at the landing, a guy said the fish were biting.
January 16, 2026. Rich, Staci, Oscar and Tater at Lake Martin. Ate at St. Johns Restaurant in St. Martinville before going to Lake Martin. Heard of another wooden rowboat in New Iberia. Conditions were windy with waves. Boat performed well with heaviest loading yet. Staci used her cane chair and liked it.
February
February 2, 2026. Oscar and Rich at Lake Martin. Saw Ted Spillers at his hangar, went and chatted. Ted and his son, Aaron, were working on a 6 cylinder Honda motorcycle. Ted has started a stitch and glue "Chesapeake Racer," a narrow racing shell. Rowed across Lake Martin and back, had rowing station in the forward position and Oscar on the back deck. Not enough weight to keep the skeg down in the water, boat had a tendency to fishtail or wander. Saw a Great Egret and possibly a bald eagle. Saw several cormorants. When loading boat onto trailer I talked with a fellow who was loading several dozen decoys. He said he was picking up the decoys for the season, the season ended Saturday. He commented that it was the worst season he's ever had.
February 8, 2026. Oscar and Rich at Lake Martin. Saw alligators sunning in south east of lake. Saw a whitish bird, possibly an osprey, hunting. Saw dozens of turkey vultures soaring to the east, and several perched in trees above.
February 10, 2026. With Howard Martin at Lake Martin. Saw a very large alligator in NE of Lake, osprey on nest, cormorants. Saw Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons. Enjoyed a long, strong, row, and Howard and I told lots of stories. Left farmhouse at 9:20 am, had no traffic and very fast travel to lake. Had launched boat before Howard arrived at 10.
February 17, 2026, Mardi Gras Day. At Lake Martin. Saw 20+ boat trailers and huge parking lot overflow. Fishermen we talked to were catching bass. Rowed with Dolly, Rick Hermann accompanied us in his kayak. Rowed perimeter of Lake Martin, longest row so far, about 1.5 hours of continuous rowing. Saw several nesting Osprey. Saw Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, small alligators. Noted barrels nailed up in trees, probably hunting blinds. I saw a fast moving small duck, perhaps a Teal or Wood Duck but couldn't positively identify. Dolly saw a Whistling Tree Duck. Dolly had some trouble adapting to rowing, no more than I had on my first attempt. She resisted using the sliding seat at first, after beginning to use it, she felt it made a big difference. That suggests that it is probably best if I don't tell beginning rowers to just row with straight legs. Introduced Dolly and Rick to Ted Spillers after the row; I gave Ted some plastic cups for mixing epoxy for his upcoming project. On the drive back Dolly showed me Big Nanaan's house, still standing on Rees Street.
March
March 13, 2026, Friday the Thirteenth. At Lake Martin with Oscar. Rowed halfway around lake, clockwise, then rowed across to finish. Saw a pair of white ibis and a great egret south of the landing. Saw a large swimming alligator on the west side of the lake. Tried rowing with straight arms. It was a good change of pace, forcing me to focus on reach and leg coiling, but not sure if this is good form. Oscar felt the boat was rocking too much; I felt the boat was fast, but jerky. Light winds, about 74 degrees, paused in the shade a few times. Did not mount oars to start; used an oar as a paddle to move away from landing and mounted oars after moving away from the landing. Approached landing stern first, Oscar jumped out on command and ran and stood on the pier while I brought boat to pier and moored it. Then he heeled unleashed while we walked across the parking lot to the car!
