If your’re going to San Francisco
You’re gonna meet some gentle people there
For those who come to San Francisco
Summertime will be a love-in there
In the streets of San Francisco – Scott McKenzieIt’s hard not to think about California this time of year. Mary and I are doing all the math and fiddling all the schedules to see if we can get back out to Bodega Bay for the BCU Skills Symposium. Originally we thought we may save a few bucks going to Georgia, but actually it does not look like much difference either way. The truth is, that northern California also seems to have hooked into us a bit as well. We’ve missed it. We can only hope that plane ticket prices don’t take on space shuttle proportions.

Look who else is heading west! Justine Curgenven & Simon Osborn. 2 of my personal favorite Nigel Dennis Sponsored Kayakers! Ah, it’s easy to make the “Personal Favorite” list by the way. Just write “Personal Favorite” on a 3×5 card and send it to P.O. Box. . . . Friday night Simon Osborn will we talking about is solo circumnavigation of the United Kingdom and Ireland in order to raise money and awareness for Leukemia research in memory of his brother, Mark. You NDK owners will also know Simon as the guy who answers all your emails at NDK. Justine’s presentation will include video and slides from her 850 mile circumnavigation of Tasmania as well as some sneak peaks from her upcoming sequel to “This Is The Sea“. I sure hope that by now everyone has their own copy of Justine’s Video. (A real one, not a copy that some dude made for you. . . .) The West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium is held from September 8th to the 11th in Port Townsend Washington.

Here in the middle of Wisconsin I’ve managed to put a hole in the stern of my boat!! I’ve got a feeling it was a camouflaged weak spot from last December’s adventure that may have just been overlooked. Then with a little more stress it came through. So now it’s time for a keel strip. My poor, poor kayak!! Well, as you all know I am NOT a DIY person other than the occasional messy patch job. Luckily a local body shop in Baraboo has been working with my on my boat from time to time and is becoming pretty efficient at sea kayak repair. In the case of the keel strip I was able to take him the Sea Kayaker magazine article by Brian Day which walks you through the process. Oddly, I’ve been seeing that boat from the article a lot recently as one of my paddle companions from Milwaukee now owns it. I also saw Brian’s old yellow Nordkapp (See; a Valley Catalog) at the Inland Sea Symposium. I’ve got a picture of that bright yellow boat with the red keel strip in my gallery. Brian must not get too attached to his kayaks. I on the other hand, have a personal bond with my boat and just keep patching him up. The warhorse keeps me safe.

NEW VIDEOS

ARMPIT ROLL – First is a close up shot of the “Armpit” roll. Since much of this roll happens under the water it seemed silly to video the roll from a distance. The big points here are 1. don’t trap the blade under your armpit, but actually place it against your shoulder like a rifle butt, next to your PFD, and 2. This is a very slow roll. Twisting your body and sweeping slowly will make your roll more successful. I found the armpit roll to be pretty easy. It was just a little weird learning the motions. I did however get right up on my first go.

STANDARD ROLL – You know what I noticed? All the videos of the standard extended paddle Greenland roll I’ve found are shot from the wrong side! Especially if you are trying to figure it out on your own. Both the Pond Scum guys and the Qajaq USA site show the roll from behind the paddler so you don’t actually see the sweep. So ok, my video is not much better. I shot it just before sundown. But you can see the other side of the boat. I want to re-shoot it again when I have time.

You can expect that I will add more videos and different angles as I have the chance. I know that stuff can always help self-learners.

So now that the long summer is winding down and soon the water will get colder again, it would be a great time to check out all your gear. Change out batteries and so forth. Just a friendly reminder for those folks like me who tend to forget everything!!

Cheers!

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