I head out from the Bowdoin Coastal Studies Center in my fourteen and a half foot Old Town kayak. The water is calm, the sun is glimmering off the water’s ripples, and I am planning to paddle seven miles around Orr’s Island. The west side of Orr’s Island in Harpswell Sound is well protected from the day’s southeasterly winds.
I make it down to the bottom of Orr’s Island and pass under the Cribstone Bridge connecting to Bailey Island in record time. I must admit, my speed is partially due to the current flowing out to sea that pushes me along.
As I turn to the east the wind hits me, and I have to fight to cross through the waves. My boat can just handle this size wave as the bow rises and drops off each crest. In the strong, steady wind, I push my paddle thoughtfully with each stroke, feeling confident. I imagine what would happen if I accidentally capsize. I run through a self rescue in my mind, which I have practiced many times before.
I have heard countless stories of kayakers who are unprepared or just unlucky and get stranded in hypothermia-inducing waters, hoping for a lobsterman or the Coast Guard to come to their rescue.
“I know personally, being a guide myself, that you can do everything right, and still things happen. There is always risk involved,” says Cathy Piffath, a sea kayak guide on Orr’s Island.
Not only is Cathy a sea kayak guide, but she is an instructor trainer educator. She can teach people how to be guides, and she can also teach guides how to be trainers to teach people how to be guides.
“So that means I’m at the top.”
Cathy, who grew up in Auburn, Maine, started her paddling career in college at the University of Maine - Orono. She took a course in her last semester called Outdoor Preparedness. Half of the course was based on whitewater canoeing, thus her paddling started. After college, she worked at LL Bean’s outdoor program which included whitewater canoeing, whitewater kayaking, and eventually sea kayaking.
She is a small person, with small eyes and slightly crooked front teeth. She wears graying dark brown hair pulled back in a braid and tan skin from hours on the water. Her hands are strong and sturdy with neatly cut fingernails. She wears a staff t-shirt with “Head Honcho” printed on the back where “Staff” would be.
Cathy and Jeff Cooper, now known as the “Director of Fun”, originally got certified as whitewater kayak instructors through the American Canoe Association (ACA) in the early 1980s. They then moved to Orr’s Island and would take their whitewater kayaks out in the sounds of Harpswell. They applied what they knew from whitewater to the ocean environment.
“We heard about sea kayaks and thought, ‘Oh, that makes sense. We’re on the ocean -- we should use sea kayaks.’”
They started teaching friends in a very informal setting. Then, in 1983, it became a part time business called H2Outfitters. Both Cathy and Jeff were working full time jobs at LL Bean at the time, and they would teach part time when they could. Around 1989, Jeff was in the process of leaving a different job and the business was busy to have someone run it full time.
H2Outfitters is located at the southern tip of Orr’s Island, just north of the Cribstone Bridge to Bailey Island. The business runs from half of a large red barn on the water’s edge. The other half holds the Salt Cod Cafe owned by the landlords and property owners.
In the early 1990s, there were no sea kayak certifications. The ACA wanted to add in what they call coastal kayaking certifications because the sport was becoming so popular. They actually asked Cathy and Jeff to develop a curriculum for a sea kayak certification.
The ACA was founded in 1880 by a small group of canoeists. It is now the national governing organization of paddle sports in the United States. The paddle sports include whitewater and flatwater canoeing and kayaking, marathons, canoe poling, canoe sailing, and others you have probably never heard of.
Sea kayak certifications have now developed into five levels of expertise. The first level allows people to teach basic kayak skills on a flatwater pond. The second level is similar but it can be on very protected open water such as a cove, marsh, or bay. Levels three and four are what most people get in order to lead coastal kayaking trips. The fifth level of certification is called Advanced Open Water. Few people get that level of certification because it requires rough weather -- twenty-five knot winds and four foot waves -- and most people don’t go out in those conditions anyway.
“It’s kinda for the really hard core people that want to do that. I have no desire to do Level Five,” says Cathy.
When Cathy and Jeff first developed the curriculum, you either passed or you didn’t. Over the years, the ACA has added in more certification levels, likely in an attempt to get more people certified. Cathy doesn’t necessarily agree with that move.
“I think if you’re going to be on the ocean, you’re going to be on the ocean. It doesn’t matter if you’re fifty or a hundred feet from shore. Fifty could could be more dangerous depending on geography, what the wind is doing, and everything else.”
If you have, say, a Level Three certification, you are qualified to teach within a half mile of shore in ten to fifteen knot winds and one to two foot waves. You could, however, go out in the morning with good conditions, then the weather could change.
“You as an instructor should have the skills for anything on the ocean because you never know. That’s my feeling. Everyone should be able to handle Level Four conditions.”
“A lot of people these days don’t really want to invest the time they need to invest to get better at something. They want instant gratification. Unfortunately, that happens across everything, not just outdoors. I think that’s kind of scary especially when there are lives at stake. But that’s society these days.”
To guide in Maine, you also have to be a certified Maine Guide with Specialized Sea Kayak training from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. To get the certification, you have to pass an oral and a written exam. There is no practical test. Cathy says that part of the reason they don’t include a practical test is due to a lack of staff, but she thinks that’s a weak excuse.
“Just because someone says they’re a Maine Guide, that doesn’t mean anything to me until I see them on the water, handling themselves and handling groups. To me that’s the crux. Yes, it’s important to know the laws, but if I can’t paddle, how can I control myself, let alone a group?”
Group management on the water is by far the number one biggest challenge in sea kayaking. It makes sense. On land, when a group is caught in a thunderstorm or other situation, a guide can just tell them to stop. On the water, however, in rough conditions, people are more comfortable paddling. As soon as they stop paddling, they become much less stable. It can quickly become chaos.
When Cathy and Jeff first started their sea kayaking business, they focused on teaching. Back in the 1980s, their customers were really interested in learning because sea kayaking was a new activity.
“We figured that if we could teach someone how to kayak well and be safe out there, then they wouldn’t have to hire a guide and could do things on their own. We’ve always been about the instruction part of it.”
At the request of some customers, they then started leading camping trips, though very participatory ones.
“It wasn’t like we waited on them hand and foot.”
They continue to lead skill based camping trips as well. Cathy just went on a three day trip that ended up being a private trip with only one customer. It worked out well because there was thick fog the whole time and the customer was especially interested in learning how to read and use a chart for navigation.
These trips are aimed toward customers, generally with their own kayaks and camping gear, who want an experienced leader who knows the coast of Maine. A favorite story at H2Outfitters is of a five day trip in downeast Maine which turned out to be five days of fog. Tom, a customer who is now a guide for H2Outfitters, said he had to come back and do the trip the following year so he could see all the places he had paddled to the first time.
“On a camping trip like that, if you have really bad weather, it would not be fog, but wind. We’d just have to sit tight on an island. I think people understand erring on the side of safety is most important, and they’re willing to buy into that.”
In the early 1990s, H2Outfitters was approached by a big adventure travel company from San Francisco to offer a week long kayak trip on Maine’s coast, but staying at bed and breakfasts rather than camping on islands. These trips were for people who wanted to go kayaking, but also wanted a shower and bed.
“They didn’t want to rough it. It was a pretty high end program.”
As H2Outfitters continued the B&B trips and kept adding more trips, they started eight day international trips. Now, they have taken people overseas for the past fifteen years to places like Japan, Italy, and Iceland. The trips are not strictly kayaking, but rather kayaking is one of the activities of the trip. They feel that if you go to a place and only do a single activity, you will miss out on a lot of the country. For that reason, they spend about half the trip kayaking and do other activities like cooking workshops and photography workshops.
“That’s the evolution of everything.”
Recent history, however, has forced H2Outfitters away from a focus on teaching to offering boat rentals. Originally, people started seeking instruction and skill development. In the past decade or so, however, kayaks have increased significantly in popularity.
“We never wanted to do rentals because it’s dangerous. The coast can change so quickly. There’s a lot of risk involved. But in a business like this, in order to survive, you have to do some of the rentals.”
They now offer sit-on-top kayak and paddleboard rentals. These boats are fairly safe because if someone falls off, they can climb back on. They don’t need to know how to empty the water from a boat and get back in. These rentals cater to people on vacation who don’t really want to learn, but rather go out on the water for an hour or two. Most customers are from the northeast and mid-atlantic, and about three-quarters are also repeat customers.
“The rental market is huge. It’s changed the model a lot. We had to do a few rentals, otherwise we would totally go out of business.”
H2Outfitters also has to compete against the growing allure of paddling clubs. Cathy and Jeff used to run a lot of indoor pool clinics in the winter to focus on a progression of strokes, rescues, and even rolling. Unfortunately, spending $200 for ten hours of high level instruction is a hard sell when people could pay $20 to a club. There they could go fool around in a pool and learn from other club members.
“It’s hard to get those folks to realize that they could benefit from instruction and have an even better time if they go out with a guide.”
The courses H2Outfitters offers include skill development of strokes, rescues, rolling, navigation, and how to pass through a shore surf zone. They do a lot of private instruction tailored to what a particular customer needs to work on, but most people don’t think they need to know anything beyond the forward stroke.
In the basic stroke class, they focus on making the forward stroke as efficient as possible. They also work on backward and turning stroke efficiency. Generally, a paddler is focusing on going somewhere and staying on course using the forward, backward, or turning strokes 95% of the time. In the more advanced stroke class, called Combine & Refine, they add in the draw stroke, variations of strokes, and they introduce the concepts of bracing and leaning. In these courses, they spend the morning focusing on technique then go out on a tour in the afternoon to integrate learning into their practice and muscle memory.
The rescue clinics may be among the most important as the Maine waters are so cold. Because of that, on the coast of Maine, getting someone back in their boat as quickly as possible after they capsize is the main goal. H2Outfitters focuses on teaching rescues that are quick and clean. They include techniques such as the T rescue, eskimo roll, scoop, and stirrup.
“The simpler and easier the better. It’s better without all the strings and straps and doodads because it all gets in the way. It all takes time.”
Even in a wetsuit, people get cold very quickly in cold waters. Most people wear only t-shirts and shorts on a sunny day even though the water is cold. Good advice is to always dress for the water temperature rather than the air temperature.
“In our rescue classes all the people get cold even in wetsuits. And that’s in a controlled setting. Then add in that if you go in accidentally you’ve got adrenaline going and you’re scared. All of that will sap the energy from you quicker.”
This year, they offered a free safety and rescue seminar for Harpswell residents. Cathy says that there are so many people kayaking who could really benefit from at least learning what to do if their kayak flips. Many people at the clinics also realize that they really need to work on their paddling and maneuvering skills to be better paddlers. The free clinic was so popular that they are offering a follow-up clinic to work on strokes with Harpswell residents.
They teach kayaking to anyone ages six to one hundred six, according to Cathy. For kids, they run a program through the local recreation department. For these programs, they focus less on teaching strokes and more on paddling around, developing a comfort level in the boats. The idea is that eventually the kids will be at a stage where they want to learn and improve their technique.
The sea kayaks the H2Outfitters has are mostly plastic, from brands like Necky, Perception, and Old Town. The Old Towns are particularly popular -- they work well for a lot of people because they are very comfortable and stable once you get in. Often, when people aren’t comfortable, they are just not fitted properly.
“You have to feel the boat, wear the boat. When I do a sweep, the boat is reacting to what I do, it’s not me moving inside the boat.”
Cathy uses different boats all the time, but makes sure she uses a plastic boat on trips.
“I think the coast of Maine is ideal for plastic. There are too many rocks. You don’t want to have to worry about it.”
She also has a couple, more fragile, fiberglass boats. The paddles they use include those with plastic and fiberglass blades as well as straight shafts and breakdowns. They always carry safety equipment including a VHF (very high frequency) marine radio, cellphone, flares, dye markers, smoke, emergency flag, pump, first aid kit, chart, compass, spare paddle, and tow belt in case they need to tow anyone. H2Outfitters staff also carry extra non-cotton clothing such as fleece in case someone is wearing cotton and gets wet. The expression “Cotton kills” would lead to someone wearing wet cotton getting extremely cold. Even these precautions though, cannot necessarily keep everyone safe.
“It’s tough because it’s easy on nice sunny days to let your guard down, but those are the exact kind of days that I’ve had problems arise.”
Wind is the scariest element on the water because it can go from dead calm to twenty mile per hour winds in minutes. In those conditions, boats may behave differently and groups can quickly get separated. Cathy said she has talked to helicopter pilots who experience the same thing. It’s called a wind shear, a spot with a severe and sudden wind gradient, which can come out of nowhere.
“It’s a little freaky,” says Cathy, “In those situations, I’ve looked around and said, ‘Is there something in the sky I should have noticed?’ And the sky is just perfectly clear.”
After talking to Cathy, I will certainly be more vigilant on the water. Especially on clear sunny days.
I make it down to the bottom of Orr’s Island and pass under the Cribstone Bridge connecting to Bailey Island in record time. I must admit, my speed is partially due to the current flowing out to sea that pushes me along.
As I turn to the east the wind hits me, and I have to fight to cross through the waves. My boat can just handle this size wave as the bow rises and drops off each crest. In the strong, steady wind, I push my paddle thoughtfully with each stroke, feeling confident. I imagine what would happen if I accidentally capsize. I run through a self rescue in my mind, which I have practiced many times before.
I have heard countless stories of kayakers who are unprepared or just unlucky and get stranded in hypothermia-inducing waters, hoping for a lobsterman or the Coast Guard to come to their rescue.
“I know personally, being a guide myself, that you can do everything right, and still things happen. There is always risk involved,” says Cathy Piffath, a sea kayak guide on Orr’s Island.
Not only is Cathy a sea kayak guide, but she is an instructor trainer educator. She can teach people how to be guides, and she can also teach guides how to be trainers to teach people how to be guides.
“So that means I’m at the top.”
Cathy, who grew up in Auburn, Maine, started her paddling career in college at the University of Maine - Orono. She took a course in her last semester called Outdoor Preparedness. Half of the course was based on whitewater canoeing, thus her paddling started. After college, she worked at LL Bean’s outdoor program which included whitewater canoeing, whitewater kayaking, and eventually sea kayaking.
She is a small person, with small eyes and slightly crooked front teeth. She wears graying dark brown hair pulled back in a braid and tan skin from hours on the water. Her hands are strong and sturdy with neatly cut fingernails. She wears a staff t-shirt with “Head Honcho” printed on the back where “Staff” would be.
Cathy and Jeff Cooper, now known as the “Director of Fun”, originally got certified as whitewater kayak instructors through the American Canoe Association (ACA) in the early 1980s. They then moved to Orr’s Island and would take their whitewater kayaks out in the sounds of Harpswell. They applied what they knew from whitewater to the ocean environment.
“We heard about sea kayaks and thought, ‘Oh, that makes sense. We’re on the ocean -- we should use sea kayaks.’”
They started teaching friends in a very informal setting. Then, in 1983, it became a part time business called H2Outfitters. Both Cathy and Jeff were working full time jobs at LL Bean at the time, and they would teach part time when they could. Around 1989, Jeff was in the process of leaving a different job and the business was busy to have someone run it full time.
H2Outfitters is located at the southern tip of Orr’s Island, just north of the Cribstone Bridge to Bailey Island. The business runs from half of a large red barn on the water’s edge. The other half holds the Salt Cod Cafe owned by the landlords and property owners.
In the early 1990s, there were no sea kayak certifications. The ACA wanted to add in what they call coastal kayaking certifications because the sport was becoming so popular. They actually asked Cathy and Jeff to develop a curriculum for a sea kayak certification.
The ACA was founded in 1880 by a small group of canoeists. It is now the national governing organization of paddle sports in the United States. The paddle sports include whitewater and flatwater canoeing and kayaking, marathons, canoe poling, canoe sailing, and others you have probably never heard of.
Sea kayak certifications have now developed into five levels of expertise. The first level allows people to teach basic kayak skills on a flatwater pond. The second level is similar but it can be on very protected open water such as a cove, marsh, or bay. Levels three and four are what most people get in order to lead coastal kayaking trips. The fifth level of certification is called Advanced Open Water. Few people get that level of certification because it requires rough weather -- twenty-five knot winds and four foot waves -- and most people don’t go out in those conditions anyway.
“It’s kinda for the really hard core people that want to do that. I have no desire to do Level Five,” says Cathy.
When Cathy and Jeff first developed the curriculum, you either passed or you didn’t. Over the years, the ACA has added in more certification levels, likely in an attempt to get more people certified. Cathy doesn’t necessarily agree with that move.
“I think if you’re going to be on the ocean, you’re going to be on the ocean. It doesn’t matter if you’re fifty or a hundred feet from shore. Fifty could could be more dangerous depending on geography, what the wind is doing, and everything else.”
If you have, say, a Level Three certification, you are qualified to teach within a half mile of shore in ten to fifteen knot winds and one to two foot waves. You could, however, go out in the morning with good conditions, then the weather could change.
“You as an instructor should have the skills for anything on the ocean because you never know. That’s my feeling. Everyone should be able to handle Level Four conditions.”
“A lot of people these days don’t really want to invest the time they need to invest to get better at something. They want instant gratification. Unfortunately, that happens across everything, not just outdoors. I think that’s kind of scary especially when there are lives at stake. But that’s society these days.”
To guide in Maine, you also have to be a certified Maine Guide with Specialized Sea Kayak training from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. To get the certification, you have to pass an oral and a written exam. There is no practical test. Cathy says that part of the reason they don’t include a practical test is due to a lack of staff, but she thinks that’s a weak excuse.
“Just because someone says they’re a Maine Guide, that doesn’t mean anything to me until I see them on the water, handling themselves and handling groups. To me that’s the crux. Yes, it’s important to know the laws, but if I can’t paddle, how can I control myself, let alone a group?”
Group management on the water is by far the number one biggest challenge in sea kayaking. It makes sense. On land, when a group is caught in a thunderstorm or other situation, a guide can just tell them to stop. On the water, however, in rough conditions, people are more comfortable paddling. As soon as they stop paddling, they become much less stable. It can quickly become chaos.
When Cathy and Jeff first started their sea kayaking business, they focused on teaching. Back in the 1980s, their customers were really interested in learning because sea kayaking was a new activity.
“We figured that if we could teach someone how to kayak well and be safe out there, then they wouldn’t have to hire a guide and could do things on their own. We’ve always been about the instruction part of it.”
At the request of some customers, they then started leading camping trips, though very participatory ones.
“It wasn’t like we waited on them hand and foot.”
They continue to lead skill based camping trips as well. Cathy just went on a three day trip that ended up being a private trip with only one customer. It worked out well because there was thick fog the whole time and the customer was especially interested in learning how to read and use a chart for navigation.
These trips are aimed toward customers, generally with their own kayaks and camping gear, who want an experienced leader who knows the coast of Maine. A favorite story at H2Outfitters is of a five day trip in downeast Maine which turned out to be five days of fog. Tom, a customer who is now a guide for H2Outfitters, said he had to come back and do the trip the following year so he could see all the places he had paddled to the first time.
“On a camping trip like that, if you have really bad weather, it would not be fog, but wind. We’d just have to sit tight on an island. I think people understand erring on the side of safety is most important, and they’re willing to buy into that.”
In the early 1990s, H2Outfitters was approached by a big adventure travel company from San Francisco to offer a week long kayak trip on Maine’s coast, but staying at bed and breakfasts rather than camping on islands. These trips were for people who wanted to go kayaking, but also wanted a shower and bed.
“They didn’t want to rough it. It was a pretty high end program.”
As H2Outfitters continued the B&B trips and kept adding more trips, they started eight day international trips. Now, they have taken people overseas for the past fifteen years to places like Japan, Italy, and Iceland. The trips are not strictly kayaking, but rather kayaking is one of the activities of the trip. They feel that if you go to a place and only do a single activity, you will miss out on a lot of the country. For that reason, they spend about half the trip kayaking and do other activities like cooking workshops and photography workshops.
“That’s the evolution of everything.”
Recent history, however, has forced H2Outfitters away from a focus on teaching to offering boat rentals. Originally, people started seeking instruction and skill development. In the past decade or so, however, kayaks have increased significantly in popularity.
“We never wanted to do rentals because it’s dangerous. The coast can change so quickly. There’s a lot of risk involved. But in a business like this, in order to survive, you have to do some of the rentals.”
They now offer sit-on-top kayak and paddleboard rentals. These boats are fairly safe because if someone falls off, they can climb back on. They don’t need to know how to empty the water from a boat and get back in. These rentals cater to people on vacation who don’t really want to learn, but rather go out on the water for an hour or two. Most customers are from the northeast and mid-atlantic, and about three-quarters are also repeat customers.
“The rental market is huge. It’s changed the model a lot. We had to do a few rentals, otherwise we would totally go out of business.”
H2Outfitters also has to compete against the growing allure of paddling clubs. Cathy and Jeff used to run a lot of indoor pool clinics in the winter to focus on a progression of strokes, rescues, and even rolling. Unfortunately, spending $200 for ten hours of high level instruction is a hard sell when people could pay $20 to a club. There they could go fool around in a pool and learn from other club members.
“It’s hard to get those folks to realize that they could benefit from instruction and have an even better time if they go out with a guide.”
The courses H2Outfitters offers include skill development of strokes, rescues, rolling, navigation, and how to pass through a shore surf zone. They do a lot of private instruction tailored to what a particular customer needs to work on, but most people don’t think they need to know anything beyond the forward stroke.
In the basic stroke class, they focus on making the forward stroke as efficient as possible. They also work on backward and turning stroke efficiency. Generally, a paddler is focusing on going somewhere and staying on course using the forward, backward, or turning strokes 95% of the time. In the more advanced stroke class, called Combine & Refine, they add in the draw stroke, variations of strokes, and they introduce the concepts of bracing and leaning. In these courses, they spend the morning focusing on technique then go out on a tour in the afternoon to integrate learning into their practice and muscle memory.
The rescue clinics may be among the most important as the Maine waters are so cold. Because of that, on the coast of Maine, getting someone back in their boat as quickly as possible after they capsize is the main goal. H2Outfitters focuses on teaching rescues that are quick and clean. They include techniques such as the T rescue, eskimo roll, scoop, and stirrup.
“The simpler and easier the better. It’s better without all the strings and straps and doodads because it all gets in the way. It all takes time.”
Even in a wetsuit, people get cold very quickly in cold waters. Most people wear only t-shirts and shorts on a sunny day even though the water is cold. Good advice is to always dress for the water temperature rather than the air temperature.
“In our rescue classes all the people get cold even in wetsuits. And that’s in a controlled setting. Then add in that if you go in accidentally you’ve got adrenaline going and you’re scared. All of that will sap the energy from you quicker.”
This year, they offered a free safety and rescue seminar for Harpswell residents. Cathy says that there are so many people kayaking who could really benefit from at least learning what to do if their kayak flips. Many people at the clinics also realize that they really need to work on their paddling and maneuvering skills to be better paddlers. The free clinic was so popular that they are offering a follow-up clinic to work on strokes with Harpswell residents.
They teach kayaking to anyone ages six to one hundred six, according to Cathy. For kids, they run a program through the local recreation department. For these programs, they focus less on teaching strokes and more on paddling around, developing a comfort level in the boats. The idea is that eventually the kids will be at a stage where they want to learn and improve their technique.
The sea kayaks the H2Outfitters has are mostly plastic, from brands like Necky, Perception, and Old Town. The Old Towns are particularly popular -- they work well for a lot of people because they are very comfortable and stable once you get in. Often, when people aren’t comfortable, they are just not fitted properly.
“You have to feel the boat, wear the boat. When I do a sweep, the boat is reacting to what I do, it’s not me moving inside the boat.”
Cathy uses different boats all the time, but makes sure she uses a plastic boat on trips.
“I think the coast of Maine is ideal for plastic. There are too many rocks. You don’t want to have to worry about it.”
She also has a couple, more fragile, fiberglass boats. The paddles they use include those with plastic and fiberglass blades as well as straight shafts and breakdowns. They always carry safety equipment including a VHF (very high frequency) marine radio, cellphone, flares, dye markers, smoke, emergency flag, pump, first aid kit, chart, compass, spare paddle, and tow belt in case they need to tow anyone. H2Outfitters staff also carry extra non-cotton clothing such as fleece in case someone is wearing cotton and gets wet. The expression “Cotton kills” would lead to someone wearing wet cotton getting extremely cold. Even these precautions though, cannot necessarily keep everyone safe.
“It’s tough because it’s easy on nice sunny days to let your guard down, but those are the exact kind of days that I’ve had problems arise.”
Wind is the scariest element on the water because it can go from dead calm to twenty mile per hour winds in minutes. In those conditions, boats may behave differently and groups can quickly get separated. Cathy said she has talked to helicopter pilots who experience the same thing. It’s called a wind shear, a spot with a severe and sudden wind gradient, which can come out of nowhere.
“It’s a little freaky,” says Cathy, “In those situations, I’ve looked around and said, ‘Is there something in the sky I should have noticed?’ And the sky is just perfectly clear.”
After talking to Cathy, I will certainly be more vigilant on the water. Especially on clear sunny days.