2008 North Branch of the Potomac Armada May 30-June 1

[sbroam]

I'll probably head up Thursday p.m. as well - not sure when I'll leave or which route I will take yet, but this time I will get all of my vehicle maintenance addressed ahead of time instead of en route! The loop sounds fine by me.

[KNeal]

Sounds like a great opportunity for taking pictures of sinking battleships

Was that a weight comment?

Oh well. Watching several of us "highly buoyant" and "cold-water insulated" paddlers may end up being just that!

KNeal

Or was that a shot at Martin and me paddling c-2 together for the first time?

[Kelly-Rand]

So I guess we will witness C2 mystery moves on Friday. That would be a real first descent.

Jim

[KNeal]

Hmph! Me thinks ALL y'all are getting excited over the wrong thing! Personally, I'm eager to get ahold o' mo' Blenheims. eh, Scott?

KNeal

[space-katet]

I'm going to be a first-timer at the armada and I just reserved site 89 for Fri. and Sat. Does anybody want to put an extra tent on the site?

Planning to drive up from Baltimore first thing Friday morning if I can get out of work, and then probably leave early Sunday morning- does anyone want to carpool?

oh and if t-shirts haven't been ordered yet I'd like a small (or medium)

-katie

[Sir Adam]

Well, we're about to order the T-shirts! GREAT BIG image on the front that Sara has worked up of lots of CBoaters surfing on the North Branch of the Potomac...and the event name and year. Looks very cool!

T-shirt price will be $12-$15, depending on shipping to me.

So far for shirts I have:

PAC
Big AL
Martin
Sbroam
Jim P
C1 Dub
Jim Graham
Space Katet
Scott C
Gail R
Jim Norton
A Mollohan

If I'm missing someone, or you'd like one, please e-mail me or post here to let me know!! I will likely only order a few extra, as I'm keeping the CBoats "profit" to a minimum (as in a dollar or two a shirt) as I know we're all cheap;) The design may be for sale after the armada as well, but the price will be $5-6 higher, as it will no longer be eligible for the bulk discount I'll get for the order.

I will also be doing a Cquirt event shirt...let me know if you want one of those as well. I'm fairly sure they will be $15, as it is an ultra-cool front and back design, and we'll be printing on organic cotton (what cotton ISN'T organic, right?).

[Mike W.]

Put me down for one of each shirt. I want them in XL.
Thanks!

[cmnypny]

Put me in for a shirt XXL or XL if pre-shrunk already.

[DaveM]

ALL:
I was hoping to join you guys this year..been lurking but not posting and was going to surprise everyone.

Well.....Last weekend, I turned around in the kitchen, knee buckled and I tore cartlidge in my right knee for the 3rd time.

I have chikened out on rebuilding the torn ACL for 20+ years with the worry that I would lose flexiblity in the joint and not be able to get in a C-boat.

This time I'm not gonna pull the trigger and get the ACL rebuilt with a cadaveor ACL. I understand that is the quickest recovery time and the best chance for full range of motion and no increased sensitivity on the knee cap (Center third patela tendon fix can result in painful kneeling...not a good option)

Anyway...got an appointment with the sawbones tommorow at 2:30 and am going to try and get the surgury done ASAP.

Neal: I'm sure I will be hitting you up for some good exercises once I get back from the knife.

It looks like there will be some new faces this year...to those first timers, I would just like to say you are about to meet some of the most amazing people in the world....The river is good fun, the people are great fun!

Next year will be coming up on the 10th anniversery of the Concordia..I can't believe it's been that long...I think we need to do something a little special.

Dana Chladek is starting a slalom class for little ones this spring and I am hoing to get my guys into a boat with the hopes of bringing them next year on Armada trip with all of you guys.

Think of me when you guys start down the river and someone please eat an extra slice at Foxes.

I will never forget the look on that young ladies face when I asked her if she had enough room for 20+ people and she kinda chuckled and then her face turned to stone when she looked out the front window and you all were coming across the street...that was priceless!

Hope to see ya soon on the River...just remember what Sandy Williams told Cathy Hearn some 40+ years ago...."Kayaks are for women and children"

C-boats rule!

David Miller

[huge]

Is a jacket and tie required with an Armada or Cquirt shirt?
I would like one of each please.
Size? Huge of course. But I could make do with a large.
Looking foward to sinking a bunch of boats soon.

huge

[Brendan]

I will make all effort to be there this year- Due to starting up a new job I had to miss last year ( the first time to miss out on an East Coast event since I went to the inaugural Concordia), and I really regretted that. I got a voice mail from Gunst today that indicates he wants to carpool. Any info on the Fireman's parade? That would be a hoot to see again.

[Mike W.]

ALL:
going to try and get the surgury done ASAP.

Think of me when you guys start down the river and someone please eat an extra slice at Foxes.

David Miller

Dave, sorry to hear that you're not going to make it. Get it fixed right & do what the physical terrorist says so you can get back in the boat.

I'll have an extra slice for ya...it'll help my squirt boatin

See you next year.

[jnorto01]

Hey Dave, Bummer about the knee. Best wishes for a as fast as possible recovery. Also I'd like to send out a big thanks for teaching me how to roll at Aronoff's poll sessions several years ago. Take care of that knee and come back paddling strong. Jim Norton

[kenneth]

Hey Dave, for what it's worth, at age 28 I popped my ACL straight through. I got exercises from a PT to help strengthen and prepare for surgery. 6 months later I had surgery and opted for the mid-partite patellar tendon option.

I'll make this short and say that I took rehab VERY seriously and made a fast recovery. I worked on strength and flexibility. Like clockwork, at almost exactly one year from surgery, the numbness in my knee (from the patellar tendon) disappeared and I could kneel on it no problem. It's been a few years since surgery and the knee is stronger than ever. It didn't take long for me to get flexibility back either, and I'm the type who can not only touch my foot to my butt but go beyond that to bring it up to my quad.

I do admit that the nerves on the front of the knee are a little "off" when compared to the other knee, but not in a bad way. I also have to admit that even though I built and maintain CBoats with Adam I don't kneel in a boat a whole lot. But at least I attended the Armada 6 months after surgery with one of Adam's inflatable Duckies and had a blast. Oh, and a year and a half after surgery I hiked all 2200 miles of the Appalachian Trail and my "new knee" behaved a lot better than my "old knee" - neither one really gave me any problems.

Good luck with the surgery! Gosh, almost 10 years since the Concordia, time really flies. Maybe it's time to eBay my Concordia window stickers...

[Kelly-Rand]

Well I've been hesitant in posting my intentions for this years armada but now I must commit.
First, accommodations, does anyone have space on their site that I can share for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night? PM me and we can work out $$ and details.

Second, I want a T-shirt 'Large'

Third, I will bring the Viper and Atom with me. I can grab a C2 in McHenry if anyone is interested in doing that Saturday.

Jim