Archive for September, 2008

The sweet things in life, to you were just loaned
So how can you lose what you’ve never owned?
Life is just a bowl of cherries,
So live and laugh at it all.

I know we’re all about paddling but it’s pretty much impossible to avoid all the bad news recently. It reminded me of something John Steinbeck once said, “If you’re in trouble, or hurt or need – go to the poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help – the only ones.”

* photo credit: encyclipedia Britannica

Low Head Dam Hidden Under Flood Waters

I don’t believe in wake up calls. The problem is that in order to “wake up” to something you have to be paying attention in the first place. Usually the folks who need the wakeup call are not the folks paying attention. . or they wouldn’t need the wakeup call in the first place. Quite a carousel ride if I do say so myself!

So I had mixed feelings when I read about another kayaker’s death in the Flint Michigan area. The article talks about another educated, skilled and safety minded person who lost their life doing what they loved. Of course many experienced paddlers will cringe when they hear he took an Old Town Otter over a low head dam. . during a period of high water no less. A little bit of experience, reading and preparation should be telling paddlers that low head dams are dangerous at the best of times. This is something I’m quite familiar with. As a child I grew up near one. (pictured above in flood). It seemed at least once a year some canoeists would attempt to shoot the dam when the river was well past flood stage. Usually resulting in a tragedy. When you saw those flashing lights out the window, usually in the spring, you could guess what had happened. In fact one time we had paddlers at our door wrapped in wet blankets looking for a phone. They were lucky. Since then that dam along with 4 others on the river have been removed making the lowly Baraboo river the longest river in the country to be restored to its pre-settlement condition.

The problem is that paddlers come into the sport with different mindsets. Usually folks who purchase those fat, stable recreational boats are not the same folks who read the magazines, take classes, or even slip into the kayak blogosphere. Kayak Manufactures are way to focused toward selling the “safety” of recreational kayaks to slip in the “downsides”.  Imagine a salesperson at a chain store saying,  “This boat could be a potential death trap without the proper education and training.”.  Or those glossy brocures listing all the places NOT to take your new kayak. (Ain’t gonna happen!) What makes things worse is that these new paddlers build up years of false confidence paddling in benign conditions. Then over time they start pushing the envelope. The confidence they’ve acquired over all that time on flat water tends to blind them to saftey  information that is readily available if they looked for it. I mean, “It’s just the river after all”. They wore their PFD, (Oops, I mean “LIFE JACKET”)  and heck, even the dam is under water “so it will be a straight shot”. Simple and safe. Of course it’s not. But knowing that depends on seeking out the information before you take the risk. Something that often will just never happen in the recreational market. I don’t know. Maybe there is a “wake up call” in there after all.

instert lyrics by Deep Purple here. . .

So the question you ask when someone’s feeling a bit timid is. .”Where’d you hang YOUR balls today!?” Well, the answer is, ” Out on the clothesline by the fence.” of course!

For the sake of those who’ve not heard this story, I picked up using tennis balls to help teach edging from the folks at Body, Boat, Blade a few years back. You basically have the student drop a tennis ball in their cockpit, right between their knees, then have them move the ball under one knee or the other by lifting and relaxing their legs. The concept gives them a mental image and a bit of physical feedback as well. Of course there are those occasions where the hull is not quite made for this sort of thing. .

So the question you ask at the end of every class. . . “May I have my balls back?” Hardly worth the effort sharing the other reasons you might ask that question. . . (like shooting fish in a barrel. .)

Sorry. . . one of those days!

12mg video may take a few moments to load. Click the “play” button once the video loads to black screen.

You may have already watched the new This Is The Sea 4 promo clips over at CackleTV.com but here’s a little treat. Justine Curgenven has kindly allowed me to share with you guys a higher resolution, widescreen version here at Quix.  I think the bit of extra wait for the download is worth it.

For Details & Ordering Information Click Here.

I’ve been searching for just a little more
But the days girl, just slip away
- wolfmother

A writer can be inspired by many things; The last bit of a red sunset slipping away to hide from the darkness, life’s inspiring victories and overwhelming defeats, tragedies large and small, and of course a paycheck. How the story comes out is not just filtered by the mind of the writer, but also the atmosphere in which it was written. Most writers build their own “writer’s nest”. A place and atmosphere that is conducive to thought transcribed.

Some writers need a place of no distraction. A place void of sound and even image. Others cannot function without a background of white noise. Some, like myself, need a sort of meditative mixture of music, light and aroma. Often the writers chosen atmosphere tells you a lot about their inspirations and natural leanings, often more so than what they have written. The written word after all is often influenced by bias & imagination then translated through the bias and imagination of the reader.

Some cannot find any inspiration in process. Writing manuals and safety articles for them would be a chore if not impossible. Others can only write in an un-tempered flow. They “blurt” if you will. Then when everything running through their minds has been emptied onto the paper, it’s complete. Correcting and editing it, would be “process”, something a “blurter” can’t easily do. Just one reason for editors. Some writers are like mathematicians. Writing to them is simply & logically stringing together an organized series of facts. On the other hand some very imaginative writers find “factual” material a wonderful challenge. A text book well written is after all, a masterpiece of mind over blandness. Expedition Kayaker and man of legend Stan Chladek said once in Canoe & Kayak Magazine, ” I need to drink about a half-litre of wine to get my imagination working. Then, I write very fluently on human sacrifices and bloodletting.” For my part a good “bloodletting” is inspiration in of itself. Of course a bit of wine never hurt.

Blogging has restated a simple truth. Anyone can be a writer. In fact, most anyone can be quite adept with a pen or keyboard. The most important thing is not the person, but that they find the subject that inspires them. I encourage everyone to face the blank screen (or white sheet) and write. No matter the subject. One thing I do believe is that only in a small way does the writer influence what is written, while the act of writing can have a profound influence on the writer.

The problem is all inside your head, she said to me
The answer is easy if you take it logically
– paul simon

So continuing the conversation about rolling classes, David asked, “Is there a better way?”.  Well, he knows the answer to this of course, but it eggs on a good discussion.  From my perspective I’d bet there are a hundred other ways to teach the kayak roll. The trick is to find what works best for both the student and the instructor. I think as instructors we have to be pretty flexible and prepared to teach whatever way, or whatever roll is best for each student. Yup, that is a challenge for sure. However we do it, I’ll bet we could agree on some basic ideas. . .

Here’s my short list. . .

1. Students should enjoy themselves and not leave feeling helpless, hopeless and stupid.
2. Rolling does not hurt.  (unless the coach gets a paddle in the head or that other sensitive spot)
3. There’s lots of ways to roll. Most do not require “muscle”.
4. Boys are NOT better than girls. . . . in fact. . . .
5. Boat fit is more important than fitness. (unless it’s not!)
6. Teaching a roll is at least as important a challenge to the coach as learning the roll is to the student.
7. Fear of water is common. Fear of not breathing is universal!
8. No cookie cutters allowed in the water! Each student (and coach for that matter) is different.
9. Coaches should have better than 50% success rates with new students.

Obviously I’m no uber-coach and I’m just thinking aloud. . so if you like, jump in and share your thoughts!

Don’t be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south
Every now and then
You’ve done it why can’t
Someone else?
You should know by now
You’ve been there yourself
- b. joel

I saw this image on a hike the other day. Funny thing about a shadow is that it often tells you very little about the thing it reflects. By looking at the shadow alone, you’d never guess the plant itself was dying.