Archive for September, 2005
Posted by derrick on
September 28, 2005
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars - 5th dimension
Many folks have read my “Zen of sculling” post and I’ve got a lot of good feed back. Thank you for that. However, as we all know there are many much wiser folks than I out there. (many, many, many, many. . . .) So if I can share something from a Greenland style kayaking champion I’m going to shut up and let him do the talking.
Greg Stamer is from Orlando Florida and in 2000 and 2002 he participated in two Greenland National Kayaking Championships, winning two gold and two bronze medals. In fact in both events Greg earned the most points in the individual rolling event for his age group. One of the cool things about Greg is that his rolling skills are self-taught, having spent a good amount of time learning from books and videos. Keep this in mind when you’re feeling out of the loop because you can’t make all the symposiums or find good instructors in your area.
Posted by derrick on
September 26, 2005
Let’s take a breath, jump over the side
Oooh, that’s right
How can you know it if you don’t even try
Oooh, that’s right - Cold Play
“Epiblog”
Ok, I sit down to write about yesterday feeling a bit pressurized as Sam Crowley had taken time to tell everyone at the I.C.E. about my website. I wish I could offer something enlightening or for that matter remember all the names as well as I can remember the faces. But as those who know me have come to recognize, I tend to often be slightly off in my own little dementia. From there I can only write down where my brain was going and often I’ve found it travels it’s own crazy path. .
Posted by derrick on
September 24, 2005
Some times you just have to be domestic. Yeah, it’s a drag. But at least now the Jeep has a new battery and 4 shinny new tires. Around here that means running to Farm & Fleet at 8 in the morning to beat the inevitable long lines that show up by nine. Then spending an hour or two of forced imprisonment within their odd yellow concrete walls. For someone like me who cannot find the joy in “browsing” this truly is a punishment far grater than the $400 bill for new parts.Looking forward to tomorrow’s I.C.E. on Lake Michigan I was determined to get out on the water to acclimate. You have to do that if you’ve gone more than a day or two without paddling. Everything gets rusty fast. I’ve went about 4 days off the water which for me is like forever. I certainly felt like I was drying out. Given the time of year I thought I had better work out with the drysuit on in preparation for Lake Mich., tomorrow. Warm water days are few and far between now. The Great Lakes forecast is calling for rain and 2ft - 4ft waves. I’ve got a story to tell about my Palm Drysuit, but that will have to wait for when I have more time. So. . ok, moving on. . .
Posted by derrick on
September 21, 2005
But I’m warning you, don’t ever do those crazy, messed up things that you doIf you ever do, I promise you I’l be the first to crucify youNow it’s time to prove that you’ve come back here to rebuild. - Bare Naked Ladies
One topic that has been very popular in my journal has been the information and photos about the seat repair and up-grade in my Explorer. So this post is for us NDK Owners. . .
Posted by derrick on
September 20, 2005
Summer has come and passed The innocent can never last Wake me up when September ends - Greenday
After letting loose with another atrocious pun, Groucho looked right into the camera and said “hey, they can’t all be funny. . .” So with that in mind . . .
A fighter pilot has to keep track of every dot on the radar. If a warning light is coming on and garbled radio transmissions are also screaming for attention he can’t tell the enemy pilots to take a time out. Somehow you have to manage the mini-crisis’ while staying alive AND accomplishing your main objective all at the same time. This weekend some regional sea kayakers are going to jump into the cockpit for their 3 day ICE assessment culminating on Sunday with scenarios off the shores of Milwaukee on Lake Michigan. This year I will have the privilege of sitting in and watching the last day of the ICE from my own cockpit with the luxury of not being assessed. Having done my ACA assessment last year and seeing a few miles under my keel since then I really feel a lot of empathy for this year’s candidates. I was lucky enough to meet and work with a few of them over the summer and wish them all the best. I’m excited to be able to be there to watch them take this final step toward their certifications.
Posted by derrick on
September 16, 2005
Welcome to what I hope will be come a quasi-regular fun addition to my journal. In an endeavor to keep bringing new interesting content to this blog I’m going to try to add little 10 Question interviews now and again. Hopefully I’ll be able to find some willing victims. . ."10 Questions" is something I’ve stolen (and bastardized) from James Lipton. (Minus the "favorite swear word") . . So for this first interview I went to Phil Rohrer of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Phil has been a major driving force behind the promotion and growth of the North East Wisconsin Kayakers. So without further adieu. .
Posted by derrick on
September 15, 2005
When I first met you girl
You had fire in your soul
What happened your face
Of melting in snow?
Now it looks like this! - bonoYesterday, the day after my little storm paddle, not to be confused with a little Storm Paddle, I went out for a long hike through the bluffs around the lake. After stepping over about the 3rd fallen tree I started thinking maybe I had taken a bigger risk than I thought.
Greg Stamer is from Orlando Florida and in 2000 and 2002 he participated in two Greenland National Kayaking Championships, winning two gold and two bronze medals. In fact in both events Greg earned the most points in the individual rolling event for his age group. One of the cool things about Greg is that his rolling skills are self-taught, having spent a good amount of time learning from books and videos. Keep this in mind when you’re feeling out of the loop because you can’t make all the symposiums or find good instructors in your area.
