Archive for June, 2005
Days of Whine & Roses (oh, and off-side rolls)
June 29th, 2005 | 
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It don’t come easy,You know it don’t come easy. – R. StarkeyI was just reading another blog from Bonnie over in NYC and thought I would steal her theme. (It’s the least I could do since she linked me!) That’s the neat thing about this blogging bit. I think we can all feed off each others thoughts and ideas and grow out into other perspectives and maybe between us all put together information that may be worth reading about.
When I started this blog, I really had never thought anyone would read it. That made it much easier to just ramble. Now with about 30 to 40 people stopping by the blog each day, and after meeting a good number of you at the Inland Sea Symposium, I tend to feel more pressured to be more useful. Just like Tomas the Tank Engine. By the way, Tomas was great with Ringo Star narrating and continued to be fun with George Carlin, but now it just bites. Oh well, It’s probably about time I find more mature entertainment anyway!
Today is my 40th birthday. I know I’m supposed to feel something about that but I don’t really. It did register in my head that John Lennon was 40 when he was murdered and his son Shawn was 4. So now I’m 40 and my son Gryphon is 4. So there is a meaningless yet ominous comparison. I think the only feeling that is lingering is that I’m not looking “young” anymore. Maybe that’s ok. Frankly I’d much rather look like Bono than Mickey Rooney, but I don’t think it’s in the genes. I have that build that seems to be part of the Wisconsin gene pool. We call it “Short and Stocky”. I call it genetic sabotage!
It was interesting to hear Bonnie lamenting blowing an offside roll. I’ve got a friend who suddenly started having the same issue. Now I’m feeling a bit nervous about it myself! They’re psyching me out! This is one of those odd little things about kayaking that everyone experiences from time to time. For awhile Mary suddenly lost here “launch” when doing paddle float rescues. I had half a summer when I suddenly could not pull off a re-entry & roll. I’d get in the boat OK and then just hang there upside-down in the water dumbfounded, and after a few moments of having no idea what to do next I’d have to bail. It’s odd how that can happen. Your brain just randomly constructs a wall and will not allow you to pass. Yet you’ve been doing this every day. It can leave you feeling stunned. My experience has been that you have to just walk away from it. It can be quite a shock when we suddenly lose a skill that we had “hands down”. It can shake our confidence. Normally the first inclination is to try to push through it and keep working the problem. You find yourself thinking, “What the hell is wrong with me?” But each time you blow it again it can just compound the problem. Then when you come back at it another day, you just FEEL you’re going to fail. . . It’s a wicked cycle. Luckily we all get past it. Sometimes in a matter of minutes and sometimes it can take months. Personally, if I blow a move I just shouldn’t blow, I’ll try it one more time and then skip it. I may not even try it again for a week or two. I don’t want that “thing” to start happening in my mind. I don’t want to practice, because whatever caused me to blow it will still be there and I may just re-enforce it. This may be the only time in life I’ve found that for me, if I just ignore the problem it will go away. As Ringo said in Yellow Submarine, “It’s all in the mind”. .
This blog is dedicated to Bonnie & Ringo by the way!!!
BITS & BOBS!
First I want to do my bit to help send off “Paddle Press” which is a new paddling magazine. In their first issue I hear they took another stab at reviewing Justine’s film, “This Is The Sea”. I’m glad I don’t have to sweat out reviews! Luckily unlike Hollywood, the paddling press never has a bad thing to say. So everyone go grab a copy of Paddle Press. In our area it’s available at: Bear Paw Adventure Resort, Rutabaga, Carl & John’s Paddlin, Scheels All Sports in Appleton, Watertrail Adventures among others. Thanks to Brendan for sending me the list so quickly!
Also worth noting is that Gail Green & Grant Herman of Living Adventure in Bayfield have put together a very thoughtful review of an accident in Lake Superior last year that has been published in the latest issue of SeaKayaker Magazine.
In the “commercial” realm I can’t help but plug SILVERWAVES. Lisa Flemming & Alejandro Romero have created some of the most beautiful kayaking themed Jewelry you can imagine. Much nicer gifts than that silly kayak magnet!
The Door County Symposium is sneaking up fast. See you there!
dm
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Turning Your Kayak In Wind – A First Step
Spin it on, don’t stop. Take it back to the top. ‘Cos I gotwhole lotta love for you I wanna spin it on. Spin it on! – P. McCartney
I’ve heard many stories of folks padding straight out into a lake on a windy day and not being able to turn around and get back into shore. This is because the wind rarely seems to be “going our way”. It’s always coming at us at some crazy angle and pushing us exactly where we don’t want to go. When facing directly into the wind it can exact equal pressure on both sides of our boat and esentially “trap” us facing right into the wind. It’s really not all that unusual for new paddlers to get caught in this “fly-trap” and soon find themselves being towed back into shore which can really be embarassing to say the least. But let’s be real, controlling your boat in wind and waves is difficult at any level. I can remember situations myself where I thought I was going to be stuck facing out to sea forever. I knew the wind would NEVER let up and just hold me prisoner forever. 50 years later, there I’d be with my long beard dragging in the water behind me . . .
For the sake of this little primer we are not going to go into edging to keep your kayak on course, or turning “on-the-move”. I’m also not going throw big waves into the equation for the moment either. What I do want to cover are some basic ideas that will help us to turn back to shore when facing into a headwind and hopefully keep us out of the “fly-trap”.
This whole turning in wind thing is really simple in concept. Notice I said “in concept”, in practice it can be a real pain in the arse! But let’s keep this happy and sunny! Basically what we want to do is use the wind to turn the boat. I’m sure you’ve noticed that often the wind wants to turn your boat anyway. So we want to use that to our advantage.
But before we even get out on the water we want to take a moment to talk a bit about a thing we call “trim”. If you have not heard that before, it’s basically referring to how we have the weight distributed in our boat from front to back. If our boat is out of balance, say we put all our gear in the front hatch and left the back hatch empty, (assuming we have a front and back hatch) our kayak would be wildly “out of trim”. All that extra weight in the front will act as an anchor and our boat will do unusual things in wind and waves. In fact it would make it a real pain to turn your boat when facing into the wind. Always remember to think about trim when you load your boat. You don’t want to discover that mistake when you are out in the middle of a lake struggling in rough conditions.
So Tip #1 is, Balance the weight in your boat. Heaviest stuff close to the center cockpit as possible. If the weight in your kayak is not equally distributed, the wind will most effect the lighter end of the boat and least effect the heavy end. So trimming out your boat will allow you to better control your kayak. (Extra Credit: How would trim effect how your boat handles in waves?)
Have you inferred the solution to turning in wind yet? If so, just skip my silly blog and go paint your mail box. You know it needs it!!
Anyway, we now know that the wind will push on the lighter end of our boat. Why? Well there are two reasons. One is that the lighter end is often sticking up further and makes a better sail. The other reason and maybe the more important of the two, is that less of the boat is in the water. So it’s much easier for wind to push that end. Conversely we know that the heavier end will be anchored deeper in the water and less effected by the wind. (Water, being denser than air will always win that battle) So in order to turn the boat in wind we want to anchor one end in the water, allowing the wind to push the other end of our boat around the anchor point. Just like a door on a hinge. Follow?
Let’s say my boat is facing into a bit of a wind and I want to turn to the right. What I’m going to do is lean back significantly to put more weight to the rear of my boat. This is my anchor. Then I will sweep on the left side of the boat, thus giving the wind more of my bow to grab. The wind will then begin to push on the bow and as I continue my sweep, the wind will assist me in turning the boat. In moments I can be turned around and facing the other direction. Pretty simple concept huh?
But now that I’ve turned 180 degrees the wind is now at my back. How to I turn back around to face into the wind again? If I just kept doing the same thing (leaning back and sweeping) I would stop turning and most likely go forward. (Extra credit: why is that?) With the wind at my back I have to change my anchor point. I will need to lean forward digging the nose into the water and allowing the rear of the boat to rise up and catch the wind. Now as I continue my sweep the wind will push on the stern and assist me to turn back up into the wind. As you can guess the wind is hardly ever right at your nose or at your back. But the concept is the same. Anchor one end by leaning forward or back, then sweep away from the wind and let the wind help you turn your boat. Once your comfortable with that you can begin to edge your boat as well. Hopefully you have already practiced this on flat water.
Now there about 100,000 provisos and quid-pro-quos to this subject. Boat design, paddle length, wind strengh, wave conditions. . . The intent again is to just introduce the idea and allow you to explore from there. But this a good place to start. Don’t go out to practice this is a screaming gale! Find a day when you have just enough wind to be irritating for you, and see if you can’t get the upper hand. As you practice, pay attention to wind direction and speed as neither is completely constant and even minor changes may effect your efforts.
As you know we all have our own little methods. Personally when I’m in any kind of rougher conditions I pay attention to getting my paddle as low as I can as I sweep. This will keep the wind from grabbing my paddle and forces a wider sweep. Also probably because I play around with Greenland paddles, I’ve broken a cardinal rule and will slide my hands along the paddle shaft and extend the paddle out much further which gives me a stronger sweep that requires less strokes to turn the kayak. Remember, you need to do what works for you and everything I said here could be complete hogwash!
Here is some more info that you may find useful;
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Inland Sea, Islands & Wreckage. Part 2. Manitou Day Trip
That I need to move on
So I pack a bag
And move on – d.bowie
Probably the single biggest single draw of the Inland Sea symposium in Washburn, Wisconsin is the guided tours. Being that the symposium is located near the Apostle Islands it’s no wonder that attendees want to get out and explore.
I spent my first day of the symposium on a day trip out to the Manitou Island Fish Camp along with 2 other guides; Jon Stackpole, who has worked with Living Adventures in Red Cliff for some time and is now at Rutabaga in Madison, and Laurie Levknect, who is an ACA and BCU coach with Black Parrot Paddling, as well as one of the organizers of the West Michigan Kayak Symposium. We had with us about 15 other paddlers for the day.
From the midway point of Oak Island we cut another northeast angle to cross calm protected waters over to Manitou Island. If you look at a map you can see that this crossing is protected from almost every angle. Only a slight roll hinted at the power of the lake. In no time it seemed the weathered little shacks of the Manitou Fish Camp emerged from the wooded shore and soon our kayaks were sliding up the cobblestone beach. A “fish camp” is a place where commercial fisherman built temporary shacks on remote islands near their fishing areas. The Manitou Camp has been restored and preserved by the National Park Service. We had a quick lunch on Manitou and could have slept the afternoon away under the warm sun if not for the infamous biting flies that soon discovered us on the old dock. Soon enough we were back on the water and heading south for a 5 mile crossing to Hermit Island.
It wasn’t until this long crossing that wind and waves cutting in from the southeast finally found us. Nothing too nasty mind you, just some small chop under a foot, but enough to make this crossing a bit of a work out. I’d much rather have bigger waves than that irriating windy chop! Since we were on a day trip my boat was empty. I missed the rock-steadiness provided by a fully laden boat. When my Explorer is loaded to the rims with gear it plows through small waves like an ocean liner and I need to do very little correction. However when empty I find myself edging and sweeping the whole way. As it was we needed to battle a bit through the wind and chop until we reached the protection of Hermit.
After a few minutes rest we again took off for “home”. We made the now protected crossing to Basswood in a short time and followed Basswood’s forested western shore south until we could see the sun reflecting off the distant roofs of the Living Adventures complex. From there we made our final crossing. In all we covered about 22 miles in a little under 7 hours (including stops).
Photo Gallery (Apostle Islands Day Trip)
More to come. . .
Inland Sea, Islands & Wreckage. Part 1. ACA UPDATE
Now is as good a time as any to sit down here and write. Yesterday’s darkness will carry on for a time, but one cannot possibly stay under water for ever. So here’s the bit where I resurface and re-focus for a moment.
We drove the 6 hour drive north to Washburn in a mere 7.5 hours due to some crazy detours worked out by the apparently inebriated folks at the Wisconsin DOT. At one point we were weaving through industrial parks and residential streets for no apparent reason while crossing obviously more direct routes at every intersection. All I could guess is that a large number of Hyacinth Bucket wannabes would just not have cars going up and down their streets.
We were lucky in that we showed up at the camping area a couple days early and could still find a spot on the symposium grounds. That first evening passed in a tired blur of setting up the tents eating something I can’t remember and falling asleep in on a tent floor quickly molding in the mud below to become a form-fitting mattress. Luckily the storms that caused the ground to be mucky had passed and the Symposium weekend would be blessed with sun.
ACA UPDATE
Morning came quickly and just as quickly I was pulling in the driveway of Living Adventures in Redcliff to attend an ACA instructor update. Which is basically a one day jam where information is passed down from on-high to all of the “troops” on the ground. Gale Green and Grant Herman are blessed with a beautiful location right on the shore of Lake Superior and yet sheltered by Basswood Island. From their beautifully landscaped grounds you can quickly be on the water and exploring the world famous Apostle Islands. Which by the way, I got to do on Friday but more about that later.
What was billed as a classic ACA instructor update was actually an invitation to witness to a renaissance. Lead by Dale Williams of Sea Kayak Georgia, this was the first introduction to the new “kinder, gentler” approach to instruction. As this “new” religion is SO new, I don’t want to interpret or mis-interpret the new scrolls here. But soon new emails will be traveling out to instructors across the country. I can say with confidence that they will tell us in essence to “lighten up”. I truly look forward to that.
Another fun bit is the new “Awards” program that is being introduced. Interestingly similar to the BCU Star program, when fully implemented the ACA awards program will give you a pretty good idea exactly where you are in your learning progression. This is one of the main draws to the BCU for American kayakers in addition to the fact that the BCU has always had some very highest caliber coaches from around the world. By conforming to a more standard program I bet the ACA will much more easily keep many good coaches “at home” as it were.
We were also treated to a Canadian perspective as well. Dave Wells, founder and owner of Naturally Superior Adventures in Wawa, Ontario and AECSKO instructor, shared with us the many unique teaching methods and ideas from the great white. By the way don’t miss the great picture of Dave and his hula-hoop in the Symposium gallery.
On a more personal level I was again feeling out of place amongst so many skilled paddlers. It was a real honor to have some instruction from Dale Williams. Barring the fact that every time I have to perform in front of such skilled personalities I forget which way to edge my boat! For the first time in a long while I had one of those “epiphany” moments where you gain a skill you had no real grasp of before. For me this was having Dale demonstrate turning in wind and using the wind to turn your boat while you assist with sweeps and trim. WOW! Suddenly the wind is not an aggravation but an assistant, a helper. Thank you wind for turning my boat for me instead of making me do all the work!! ( I will certainly write more about this skill in detail in the future)
In kayaking as in all things really, understanding the environment is a very important part of the puzzle. You need to understand that you cannot dominate it, you must understand your place in natural world to survive. Our superstitious side may come to believe that the sea will understand our benevolence. Poseidon will know we are trying to honor his power and he will cup the liquid hands of the sea around us and keep us safe. However, we also need to get the hell out of the way when his trident is slammed into the surface. When Poseidon is angry the time for sacrificing horses is over. Just get the hell out of there!!
In the following days the thing that stuck in our minds and was most often repeated was from the Dave Wells. So allow me to pass on to you his great words of wisdom. . . “Just Give’r!”
Ravens
Barefoot children in the rain, Got no need to explain, We’d be swingin’ on a ball and chain,
It’s always understood by those who play the game Barefoot children in the rain – j. buffett
Mary and I got back to Baraboo Sunday after a great time in Washburn at the Inland Sea Symposium. (Gallery is here) We were happy to meet a good number of people who stop by the website regularly. Thanks for coming up and introducing yourself!
Sunday morning we had an early phone call and had to return as quickly as we could as Mary’s mother has been ill for some time. This morning she has passed. So suffice to say it will be a couple days before we get back to normal around here.
- dm
Yikes! Summer!
I can see you, Your brown skin shinin’ in the sunYou got your hair combed back and your sunglasses on, baby
After the boys of summer have gone – d. henley
So if it’s blazing hot on the beach, it’s like Dante’s inferno inland! Sunday morning after a final “Kayak Week” play-period in the baby surf we packed up our incredibly large tent for the 3 hr drive back home. We only needed to come inland a short ways from Point Beach State Park to go from bake to broil. Now we only have 2 days at home before we are off again to the Inland Sea Symposium in Washburn.
The NEWSeakayaker’s “Kayak Week” event is an informal gathering where folks drop in and out to share in big fires, good food and of-course, constant kayak trips along the Lake Michigan shore line. Mary and I had a great time. We chose to bring Gryphon along so we did not get to paddle together at all as one of us had to stay on the shore at all times but often we would just be playing in the surf anyway so this was not at all inconvenient. It’ seems this summer I’ve been off working, kayaking, instructing etc., so much that we need to take any time we can as a family.
I took a lot of heat for the size of our new Kelty tent (Mantra 7). Thanks for that guys!! However, I’ve learned I can be a minimalist when ever I like, but there is no reason for skimping when you don’t need to. Kayaking is about fun after all. Last October when Mary and I attended the BCU Skills Symposium in Bodega Bay CA we found many if not most of the other attendees had massive tents in comparison to our little 3 person jobber. And we soon learned why. In a large tent you can hang gear inside on rainy days. You can also create a “transitional” zone where you can get out of your sand covered gear, brush off and then enter the “less sand-filled” zone of the tent. You basically have a gear area and a living quarters. Another consideration when choosing a tent is if you will be bringing children. When the weather does not cooperate, a larger tent will give children some in-door play space which can make all the difference in whether they remember a rainy trip as a good time or a time when they would have rather been home watching TV. On an expedition I’m content to eat and sleep in sand, wear one set of clothes, and put on a damp drysuit, but when we can we’re going to enjoy a little convenience.
Looking ahead to our trip to the Inland Sea symposium is pretty exciting. This symposium is held in what is arguably the most spectacular kayaking destination in the Midwest, the Apostle Islands. We are heading up on Wednesday as there is an ACA Instructor update beginning at 8am in Redcliff, WI some 6 hours from home. Although I don’t “need” to take the update this year I’m really looking forward to it. If you have the opportunity to spend time learning from coaches like Dale Williams (Sea Kayak Georgia) and Gail Green (Living Adventures) you certainly want to take it. In addition we are going to get our first real look at the new proposed ACA Award Based Program that will bring ACA coaches more in-line with the BCU and other international certification programs. When I went for my ACA certification I was a bit confused by the grey areas between coaching levels and it looks like this new program will clear that up and better define expected skills from on level to another.
When the symposium begins in earnest I really have no clue what I’ll be doing. I expect to find out when I get there. I only know I will be teaching or guiding on Friday and Saturday. That’s one of the fun things about teaching at symposiums, there is a lot of improv involved. . .
Someone Took The Salt From The Sea
Look ahead, look a stern, Look the weather in the lee,
Blow high! Blow low! And so sailed we. – Francis J Child
So this afternoon we are again taking the 3 hour drive up to Two Rivers to play in waters around Point Beach. It looks to be calm water for the weekend which is really a mixed blessing in that I did want to get out and play in some surf. Even if it is the smaller Great Lakes kind. In saying that, I should add a proviso that often ocean kayakers tend to under estimate the great lakes. This can be a serious mistake.
The great lakes and particularly Lake Superior, Lake Michigan & Lake Heron, may look small on a world map but are “Lakes” in that they are not salty. I most often refer to them as the inland seas that they are. Lake Superior goes to a depth of nearly 1,333 feet covers 31,700 square miles. (That’s about 82,100 sq. km). Lake Baikal in Siberia by comparison is 12,209 square miles and is over 5370 feet deep. Another interesting fact is that if spread evenly across the continental US, the Great Lakes would submerge the county under about 9.5 feet of water! Wave heights on Lake Superior can exceed 26 feet and have been recorded at 31 feet. Interestingly on Lake Michigan wave heights from 5 to 10 feet are recorded 35% of the time from November to March and waves up to 22 feet have been seen on the lake. So although it’s not the ocean you certainly have to take the great lakes seriously.
I was ecstatic to get my replacement PALM drysuit. I will get a nice chance to review it this weekend. One cool improvement worth noting right away is that they have changed the collar and removed the cord that caused so many of us either not buy a PALM, or in my case modify it by cutting the cord. The new collar is similar to other drysuits and is no problem to get over your head. Great!
Monday evening I had my first of a two part CPR and First Aid class intended to get me re-certified. Although I have not been an EMT for some years the memories sure come rushing back when you’re doing CPR on the dummy. CPR on a dummy by the way is nothing like real life. I’ve had more than my share of real-life CPR experiences and although I’m glad to know what to do, I’ll be happy to not have those experience in the future.
