> On topic, I can confirm that the Chesapeake is a fast, fairly maneuverable
> boat. Off topic, I'd like to hear more about Mike's trip around Manhatten.
> It's something I've had in the back of my mind for a while. I've read a
> published description but would be interested in a first hand account.
> Perhaps a posting on the "Trips" BB?

A friend and I paddled around Manhattan last summer in a two-person Klepper. We put in between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, went up the East River and Harlem River, down the Hudson and back around the tip. It was fun, but I'm not sure I'd do it twice. It's nice to have done it -- and to be able to say you did -- but vast stretches of the trip are not very exciting and short stretches are quite treacherous -- drunk powerboaters, commercial barges, tourist ferries, etc. We could have done a slightly better job timing the tides/currents.

The Downtown Boat Club goes out on weekends (they have free kayaks to borrow). And I think people there organize occasional round-Manhattan trips.

Finally, there was an article in the New York Times late last summer or early last fall about nighttime kayaking around the island. This seems inadvisable. We took some dumb risks when we went, but at least it was daylight.