Flickers
Published February 3, 2006 | 
We’ve lost our good old mama
And must have whiskey, oh, you know why. . . morrison
How’s The Sea Feeling Today?
On The Edge
Medium Sunset
I was driving home from Madison last night and as I drove I realized that sometimes a sunset can only be painted in watercolors. I don’t paint, but I knew that if I were going to try to catch the moment, I would put big sloppy lines of blues and reds across the top of a blank page and then just spray the page with a light mist until the colors blended together then soaked through and ran to the bottom of the page.
Madison City
And speaking of (here I go with that line again) Madison, For some reason no one has mentioned to Canoe & Kayak Magazine that Madison is just plain “Madison”. Not Madison City as they mention in their web feature. Somehow “Madison City” sounds like a place where gun fights may break out in a dusty old saloon.
Justine Time
And speaking of “Canoe & Kayak”, in the new March 2006 edition they ran a nice little interview with my personal kayaking roll model. Now I want to know what people “impolitely call” her distinctive laugh!
Sometimes Guys Just Suck
There was a day when this bullet head kayak coach could not stop sharing with me his bizarre opinions about women kayakers and coaches. Then one day weeks later I walked in on a conversation in a convenience store where 3 women were ending some conversation saying, “yeah, men are bastards.”. So in the midst of a variety of uncomfortable smiles I paid for my gas and left. Then recently I read this joke about called “how to shower” that proceeds to point out what total schmucks some guys can be and ends with, “If there is anyone among you who did not laugh at the truth behind this, there is something so very wrong with you.” Obviously there’s never been a question that there is something wrong with me! No wonder I saw it as just another reason for women to explore alternative lifestyles. Sometimes guys just suck!
Eye of the Beholder
So I got an email recently and in the midst of another converstation the writer mentioned that she had been told I was the guy with the “coolest boat”. Well, I love my warhorse. It looks out for me. But I don’t think I’d ever thought of it as “cool”. Beat, cracked and fading sure, but Cool??
Captain Underpants
So, I knew the first time I met Nigel Dennis I would be awed and unable to speak coherently. Mary thought so too. But fate and bad timing meant that the first two times she saw him, he was somewhat un-attired. (2 different years, 2 different coasts) Well, they say if you’re nervous just imagine the audience in their underwear. . . Now we have a little inside joke. . . So if you guys in Anglesey are reading this and feel like saying, “Captain Underpants” within ear shot of Nigel, that’s ok. . . just please don’t say where it came from. . .
2220 Round Sweden, The Story Continues…
Published February 2, 2006 | by Louisa and John Paul Bichard.
“We encountered winds over 12m/s, seas of over 3m, people who were kind and generous to us and all sorts of wildlife: harbour and grey seals, a snake and a toad, horseflies the size of bumble bees… We were surrounded by a flock of sheep, invaded by a herd of woolly cows and came across the jumping pike of Haparanda!”.
2220 was a 2392 km sea kayaking expedition around the coastline of Sweden by adventurers Louisa and John Paul Bichard. They paddled in everything the wind and sea offered them: from chilling out on glassy seas, coasting on long rolling swells, to navigating in thick fog, battling for hours on end into strong headwinds or slicing through high fast waves. They were soaked, chilled, baked, wind dried, tumbled about in confusing roller-coaster seas and enjoyed hours speeding down surf waves. At times, after days of paddling into the wind, the journey seemed endless, then a strong following wind, a breathtaking sunset or waking up on a beautiful sun-drenched sandy beach would make it all worth it.
There were a few close calls: a night paddle when the skies darkened, the wind picked up and they had to head out around a breakwater; the longest 5km ever paddling along the sea wall in Helsingborg harbour amidst ferries, currents, a strong side wind and big refracting waves; there were a few near misses with dozy speed boat drivers and two flash gales when in force 6 winds the paddles felt like they would be ripped out of their hands.
After 56 days of paddling, around 1.5 million paddle strokes, 5700 documentary photos and dozens of mosquito bites, they were lean, tanned and in surprisingly good condition. When it was good it was very very good and when it was bad they wondered why they weren’t in the tropics sipping margaritas.
Since getting used to dry land again and after much head scratching, photo editing and log transcribing we have completed our new and improved hydropia kayaking website. The main features of the update are two new sections for our ’2220 Round Sweden’ expedition area:
1 Photo Essay – an artwork comprising photos and text that explores the relationship between self, land and sea.
2 Interactive log – based on Google maps the log allows access to photos, log entries and exploring our journey via a fully interactive satellite map. (We recommend you use the Firefox browser)
The new sections can be found at http://www.hydropia.org/hydro/expedition.htm
- John and Louisa
* Text & Photography used by kind permision.
A Community First. . .
Published February 1, 2006 | 
Well, folks. . This is what the first (ever?) indoor rolling lessons look like in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Weird. Thankfully we have a few crazy people who want to learn more and a giant community pool in the local middle school. And thanks to John for coming over from Milwaukee keep the class structured and informative.
A basic or “intro” to rolling class will hopefully teach proper boat fit, wet exits, and bow rescues leading up to the mechanics of rolling and lots of time in the water. Because we were working a ratio of 3 to one with the students, we had to be as efficient as possible. Students ranged in experience from years on the water, white water, and new to kayaking! So that makes for a lot of targets to hit in a short time. John worked on sweep rolls with 2 students and I having one student with C to C experience, worked with him on that and with 2 others as well. As you would expect we had one guy who took to it right off and was rolling on his own with less than 20 minutes personal time. The rest of us “real humans” worked hard on fundamentals, banging away at snappy hip-snaps and clean horizontal sweeps.
Now the fun part begins. Everyone gets to take home what they learned and practice it on, in, and under the water. . With a bit of luck and a lot of work there will soon be a lot more kayaks rolling in the Baraboo area!
Click here for the basic ACA Kayak Rolling syllabus
Here’s the guy who got this class started, gathered people and organized the pool. Thanks Jack!
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