Archive for February, 2008

Well, it took forever to locate Derrick.  Why?  Well, he of course was hanging out with Silbs and JB.  Now the truth was he did actually try to get back to his room, but no one was there, the door was locked and he was under the influence.  It’s always the Whiskey!  - That little look back at a past symposium brought to you by the good people at. . . (well, not really)

We’ve talked a bit about the new “wave” in sea kayaking which is sort of a hybrid between sea kayaking and playboating  where all of us adrenaline junkies have moves beyond the surf to take our sea boats in other active water spots such as whitewater rivers, races and such.  The real change in conditions has to do with working currents.  Riding the current can be something smooth and elegant or screaming havoc depending on conditions.   Of course once you start  seeing more paddlers taking their sea boats into the currents you also see more boats designed with just these conditions in mind.  One of the new boats targeted at coastal play is the new Whisky 16 from Point 65.

The Whisky 16 was designed by Nigel Foster to be perfect for play but also to be a comfortable, stable kayak for beginners as well.  He describes the Whiskey 16 as,  “Quickly Responsive, light on the water and easy enough to spin without edging. . . .”.  The kayak is 16 feet long and 22 inches wide. It weights 57 lbs and has a capacity of 341 lbs.  That’s a big number for a boat of this size!  In addition to the three more standard hatches, the Whisky 16 also comes with a knee tube day hatch called interestingly the “Whisky Hatch”!

Now don’t make me tell you what NOT to put in it. . . .

Click Here For More Information on the Whiskey 16

I first met Bryan Smith a few years back in Bodega Bay, California when he was teaching at the BCU Symposium there.  He among many other coaches that fall, changed my whole perspective of sea kayaking and of coaching.  Their love of the sport was so infectious that addiction to kayaking just seemed like a normal part of the progression. From those guys I first leaned that fun & inspiration were just as important to coaching as teaching braces. These days Brian has turned to filmaking to spread the kayak gospel.  He has been busy over the last few months promoting his new film, Pacific Horizons and will be attending Canoecopia here in Wisconsin in just eleven days.  I asked Brian if he’d do a little interview for us as a warm up.   So, here we go. . . .

d – I want to talk to you a bit about your DVD, “Pacific Horizons” but first I wondered if you could just share a bit of your paddling background?

b – I grew up and lived in Traverse City, Michigan until I was 18.  I did quite a bit of flat-water canoing as a kid, but didn’t start kayaking until I moved west.  The San Juan Islands hooked me on kayaking.  I started as a guide, then moved onto teaching with Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme, started training in the BCU, and it just kinda blossomed from there.  I gained a solid set of fundamental skills by pursuing sea kayaking and then I took my passion to the river.  I can’t say enough about using different disciplines to advance skills.  It has been the key for accelerating my learning curve and keeping paddling very diverse and exciting.

d – You were with Body, Boat, Blade for quite some time.  Could you tell us a bit about that and what you do when you’re not making videos?

b – Shawna, Leon, and I all started BBB out of a true passion for sharing the sport with others.  We had so much fun teaching programs together, developing our coaching and paddling skills, and trying to squeeze as much personal paddling into a season as possible and still keep the business floating.  I miss Orcas Island, but I had good reasons for moving on.  It had nothing to do with not wanting to teach or continue building BBB.  When a single American guy meets a beautiful Canadian women…well let’s just say it changes everything.  I moved up to Squamish, British Columbia to be with Lise-Anne and it gave me the opportunity to reconsider what it was that I wanted to do with the sport.  I decided to pursue making videos.  That is what I’m doing full time now.  When I’m not working on a video project, I’m out paddling for myself!

d – Do you have a background in filmmaking? What was it that started you on the path to making Pacific Horizons?

b – No real background per say.  I have always had an interest in images, photography, and video.  I got started with video when I traveled to India in 2003 for the first descent of the Lohit River.  A lot of the team members had still cameras, so I purchased a video camera and decided to film the trip.  I’ve learned a lot sense then!  I’ve just honed my skills by working on short whitewater videos, learning the editing software, asking lots of questions, and going for it.  By the time 2007 came around I was ready to make a go at a feature length film and DVD.  Since my roots were in sea kayaking and I felt like I had a line on some of the best locations here in my backyard, I went for Pacific Horizons.

d – I wanted to give you a moment to talk about what it takes to see a project like this through. Obviously it takes a lot of time and money to get from that first shoot until the time you get it on the shelf.  What was the most difficult part?  Did you ever feel like it was not going to come together?

b – You keep telling yourself the whole way through the project that you just finished the hardest part.  Then it gets a bit harder!  It is a massive undertaking to get the project to a finished product sitting on the shelf.  For me, the most stressful part is the shoot.  Until you have the shots and story nailed you have nothing.  While it is certainly the most fun, it requires super long days and you have to stay really focused and driven otherwise the shot slips out from underneath you.  For me editing it is the part I actually like the most because it is when it all starts to come together and you start seeing the product.  Then you have to master it to DVD, create the artwork, replicate the DVD, advertise, submit to film festivals, get distributors on board, promote, and then start it all over again for next project.  It is a never-ending cycle that I think few people really understand until they have tried it themselves. There is always something to do.  I can see why a lot of films take longer than people imagine or never get completed.  You have to see it through and keep the ball rolling every step of the way.  There was never a moment that Pacific Horizons felt like it would not come together, but there where plenty of moments that I was thinking “what in the world have I gotten myself into!”  I owe a lot to all the sponsors and people that stood behind me on this project…P+H, Kokatat, Werner, Snapdragon, Yakima, Alder Creek, BBB, Lise-Anne, and countless others.  That collective support goes a long way in making it happen.

d – The digital revolution has make video pretty commonplace these days, hundreds of clips on YouTube and so forth.  Do you think that affects more commercial projects like this?

b – I think it is affecting the viability of DVD output projects for sure.  Mediums for media are changing quickly.  There is so much entertainment out there for free on the web that people are getting a lot of satisfaction out of web-based media.  Just the way it is in 2008.  I’ve tried to keep pace with that by offering tons of whitewater media for free on The Range Life, You Tube, and others.  I think the next revolution is happening right now for DVD media.  Blue ray is becoming standard now and that move will shift DVD duplication in the High Definition direction as more and more people invest in new DVD machines or chose to play them off their computer.  You can view all kinds of things off the web, but you can’t get the high quality HD image.

d – On my blog we’ve talked a bit about how people may either emulate what they see on a DVD like Pacific Horizons or push their abilities just to be “on film”.  What are your thoughts on that?

b – Nothing we did in Pacific Horizons is a “stunt” and unachievable.  Everything is real paddlers with real skill using real judgment.  If people choose to emulate that I think it is great.  The trouble is when people emulate it without all of the boxes on safety and judgment ticked.  Overall I think it is good for the sport to have media that pushes others to try new things and become better paddlers.

d – Now you’re traveling quite a bit to promote the film including coming to Canoecopia here in Wisconsin in a couple weeks.  How’s that been going? Do you enjoy the “marketing” side of things?

b – The best part about traveling around to promote the film is hanging out with all my friends in the industry and meeting new ones.  The kayaking community is a great group of people to be around in general. We are all pretty spread out and events tend to pull the paddling community together.  I enjoy the marketing side of things and have always felt that putting that energy in always pays off.  If you are not out there marketing and promoting what you do, people don’t find out about it.  It’s fun because the stress of production is over and it is your chance to be out there showing it off.

d – What do you have planned for Canoecopia?

b – I will be showing Pacific Horizons and talking about the film on both Friday and Saturday as well as signing copies of the DVD at the Kokatat booth on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm.  Other than that, I’ll be trying to take in as many other things as possible.  It is the first time I have ever been and some people have warned me to bring my helmet.  I have not decided if I’ll bring the full-face helmet or just my regular.  Should be a great time.  I’m really looking forward to it.

d – Ok, here’s the spot where I ask you what’s next on the ah, horizon? New projects?

b – I will be spending most of my spring and summer on the east coast.  Lise-Anne and I are busy working on script, story, and locations right now.  Off course it would be easy to say the next project is “Eastern Horizons”, but I think this one will have a different style than Pacific Horizons.  We are really looking to step it up even further with this one and develop the story line around the Atlantic’s strong history.  It will move away from the travel log style of film that Pacific Horizons and TITS have utilized and be a more complete story from start to finish.   Georgia, Virginia, New York, Maine, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Newfoundland have a lot to offer!  We’ll be launching a new website and keeping everyone posted as we get closer to leaving.

d – Alright, last question.  For those of us who have not been there. Is the Skooks as scary as it looks?

b – It all depends on the size of the tide!  It is never seems that scary at slack.  Put 13 knots of current into the equation and it starts to get a little intimidating in a sea kayak.  The smaller tides are more manageable and less intimidating, but Skooks demands a healthy respect and solid skills no matter what speed the current is running.

- – - – -

Thanks Bryan!  See Ya Soon!  Btw, stay tuned the rest of this week as we look at a couple new kayaks and have a couple more chats in store as well.

For more information about Canoecopia Go Here.

For more information about Pacific Horizons Go Here.

*photo provided by Bryan

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you? Don’t you? Don’t you?
-carly simon

My math skills suck. If I wanted to advance my math skills I’d read a 9th grade text book.  On the other hand, if I want to be inspired by the possibilities of math I read Einstein or Hawking.  Yeah, I may not quite get every point, yet I’m inspired to try to understand. I’ve never thought of them as "elitist".

A readers letter published in the newest issue of Ocean Paddler magazine did suggest that OP was a bit elitist. Why? Because they did not carry enough material for the novice paddler.  Of course the reader misunderstands the definition of the word elitist.;

e·lit·ism or é·lit·ism n.

Simply targeting an audience with more advanced skills is NOT elitist. Taking pride in knowing more than someone else, showing it off, and rubbing their nose in it,  is.  Assuming that anyone who knows more than you is arrogant is in itself an arrogant point of view.  Humility and knowledge often do not correlate as one would think.

OP for their part is actually moving to introduce good content for beginners. This month by example, they provide an article on how to use a VHF Radio. They plan to do more of it.  Good.  ON the other side of things,  I’ve been pleased that OP is providing articles for those of us in the more intermediate area. That’s really a first. The other magazines out there don’t spend much time addressing in detail subjects such as Incident Management and so on.  Apparently people interested in such things are not a large enough part of their readership. 

That’s the thing with magazines,  you have to sell enough of them to live.  In order to do this you have to be all things to all people, ruled by generic volume. In fact if you take a bit of time to look around at most kayak magazines, you’ll see how each has developed a format where they produce sections that reach out to each part of their readership. The upside is that they do provide something for the widest possible audience, the down side is that they all start looking the same. For the magazine this more generic approch has it’s own risk that people will tend to be less loyal.  In the end they are not so much unique or elitist as they are struggling for market share.

Another issue of course is that "beginner" content is fairly static.  Once you write about "How to use a VHF" for example, chances are you won’t have to write that article again for a very long time. In addition, many other publications will have written on the same beginner subjects multiple times as well.  By it’s nature information for beginners will be repeated and rehashed everywhere. This is because the information is changing very little, but new people are continually coming into the sport and don’t have a simple way to find all that back information. To address these new folks magazines often just re-write & re-package it. Beginners in anything are of course the best customers. It’s just simpler and more profitable to re-write it every so often.

I’ve faced this a bit on my blog as well.  Over time I’ve written many posts on beginner issues. In fact many visitors each day arrive here after searching for something like "rolling" or "how to pick a kayak", etc.  As an instructor I most enjoy teaching folks who are brand new to sea kayaking. Still, these days I don’t write much about novice issues unless there is really something new to add.  Often I’ve written it before. It has crossed my mind to write about these same topics every year, but why keep re-writing them? Unlike a magazine, I have no profit motive. I don’t need to sell issues. . . What I’d much rather do is organize a better way for beginners to find that material which tends to get buried in the archives.

To avoid continually re-writing the same materials, magazines can (and some have), publish a "beginners" issue every year separate from their normal circulation that covers all the basics and adds a bit here and there as well. Most of the material year to year would be the same, but you could edit it keep up to date.  The problem with that is now your regular publication lacking this beginner material, would become "elitist", and that’s where the whole problem started in the first place.

I certainly back any way we can help paddlers be safer.  It’s something we talk about quite frequently actually.   So when I got a funky little card for the North American Safe Boating Campaign I was certainly interested.  But does this really save lives?  I often wonder.  

In politics people who think too deeply about an issue are called “wonky”.  (in the UK of course, "wonky" has more to do with that broken wheel on a shopping cart) These are the folks who browse about 20 websites an hour and read the fine details of every position paper and know the ins and outs of every scandal.  This year a simple test is to ask someone if they’ve visited the website, “Obama is your New Bicycle”.  If they have, they are defiantly a bit wonky!  Now there is nothing wrong with being informed but political wonks are also living in a very insular world.  They are a minuscule part of the population.  Most voters on the other hand vote based on party allegiance or the "bread and butter" issues. Decisions are usually based on "talking points" and not any sort of real detail. It’s just the way it is.  Wonks, no matter how well intentioned are often having conversations about things that no one but another wonk would care about.

That leads me of course to this little card from the Safe Boating Campaign.  Of course I’m going to visit the website and read all the details.  By the way that weird blue guy that looks like a combination of a 1950’s instructional animation and that frozen angel from Akira Kirwasawa’s “Dreams” is pretty cool.   But as a paddler, I’m also a bit well, wonky.  Chances are that the person who’s most apt to not wear is PFD is never going to actually see that fun flash animation saying it’s “Easy to wear it”.   They will never actually visit the website or listen to the speeches. The problem with many outreach programs is that they tend to be preaching to the choir, and to really improve safety we have to reach out to those who will NOT be looking for the information.   Speeches, posters, stickers and websites I fear just won’t do that.   They all just become part of the clutter of our over stimulated lives.  The word “safety” is just one of those dead phrases that sounds good but does not translate very well to those people who most need the message.  I really wonder that those who are most at risk will actually take part in a  “Be A Survivor” contest.  

It seems to me that there are a few problems with promoting boating safety.  First is that we don’t take into account why paddlers don’t take proper measures.  Rarely is it because they’ve never heard of a PFD. Awareness is not, in my opinion, the issue.  Usually it’s because they justify not having one.  Second, like seat belts and motorcycle helmets it’s an issue of individual rights and habit.  In America maybe more than other places, we just don’t quite accept authority.  Individualism is part of our core character.  Nothing particularly wrong with that but it can close ears. As soon as someone get’s all “wonky” on us, we shut off.  A recent article I read (can’t find the bloody link at the moment!!) pointed out that many of us will tune out to education or details.  Smart people after all, are often thought to be just trying to show off or “think they are better than the rest of us”.  That is just another psychological barrier to teaching many adults to change lifestyles. Remember the whole “seat belts are just uncomfortable” argument?  How about, “No one’s telling me to wear a helmet!”?  Of course we hear that in boating as well. Many will just argue that PFDs are uncomfortable and that there is no risk.  No matter what you tell them or how many posters you sell.  On the other hand if you tossed everyone out of their boats into 35 F water for a few minutes, you’d probobly have many more conversions.  Another issue is that people are just frightfully impatient. They just are not going to read the materials.  The ones that do, were never really at risk in the first place. (That’s why they are reading. . .)

Honestly I think the Safe Boating Campaign is a great start and yet in some ways I think we need to find a way to get that message to those those who are at risk in a way that they will want to listen.  I’m afraid we spend too much time preaching to the choir. (me included)