Road Trip UP
Published July 15, 2010 | 
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are
- gabriel
It’s almost 4 am and we’re just about out the door to drive up to Grand Marais, MI., on the south-eastern shore of Lake Superior. We’ll be up there for the Great Lakes Sea Kayaking Symposium through the weekend. Now here’s a hit… If you live in a world where it’s hard to get people moving in the morning… just tell them you are leaving at 4 am.. That way they prepare the day before.. (Like they should have in the first place..) I’ll do my best to post some updates from the event.. but for the moment, I am OUTTA HERE!
Arms Down
Published July 13, 2010 | 
You can poison my cat / Baby I don’t care
But if you talk in the movies / I’ll kill you right there
It’s just the little things
Yeah it’s the little things
That drive me wild
– alice cooper
Rolling a kayak is easy. Learning it is hard. Teaching it, even harder. As instructors we know how easy rolling is, which can make us blind to all the little things you need to do right to get your roll consistent. My major focus as an instructor has always been body control. I hate the C to C roll for sea kayakers because I find it disappointing for the students and way to much fun for the instructors because they get to spend so much time talking and demonstrating. The C to C is also all about testosterone in the beginning which runs totally against many students natures.. I could go on and on, and I will (I’m sure) but for the moment I want to tell you where I was cocking things up… Continue reading
Facebook Face-Off!
Published July 13, 2010 | 
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who? – the who
A Facebook page is a free, no brainer way to market your company. Not having a Facebook page today suggests either a unique marketing mindset or lack of it… Some companies see social media is a way to really connect with their customers, provide better customer support and as a way to reach out to the next generation as well. Some companies simply feel they don’t need or have the time to deal with social marketing. I’m in the first group in that I think some companies will be regretting their lack of connection now in about 10 years or so.. but that’s my opinion and I could certainly be daft as brush… Continue reading
Lightning, It’s so “Very”!
Published July 12, 2010 | 
I was caught in the suction
By a face like a truncheon
I was down upon one knee
Stroking her vanity – e. costello
We’re back from the symposium at Door County here in Wisconsin. We’ve only got a couple days of “down time” before we head back up to Grand Marais, MI for the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium. For the moment let me just share a few pictures of the best kayak art work I saw at Door. This Valley Anas Acuta was at it’s base black or very, very, very dark blue with lots of purple and red glitter. Lightning stripes were inlaid into the gelcoat. I could be a fussy pain in the bum and critique the detailing but all in all this is a darn pretty boat! Continue reading
Cherry
Published July 8, 2010 | 
Life is just a bowl of cherries / Don’t take it serious / Life’s too mysterious
You work, You save,You worry so /But you can’t take your dough
When you go, go, go – gershwin
I’m heading out this morning to drive (About 5 hrs) to Door County for the annual Door County Sea Kayak Symposium. Door County is more than just open water and lighthouses of course… they’ve also got this weird fixation with Cherries & Fish Boils 
Sea Kayaking UK (NDK) Romany. In Review.
Published July 7, 2010 | 
We can never know about the days to come
But we think about them anyway, yay
And I wonder if I’m really with you now
Or just chasin’ after some finer day
– carly simon
I’ve had the old white Romany for some time, but as I said it was not “my” boat so I rarely paddled it. In fact until recently the only time I paddled the Romany was when the local river was in flood. At those times I’d take the boat out to play in the currents and surf since I was not worried about banging it up. Now that I’ve repaired the hull and have it seaworthy again, I’ve been paddling it quite a bit which offers a great opportunity to share some fresh thoughts about the Romany in general. Continue reading
Posted in Kayaks, Paddling, Reviews | 
aled williams, ndk, Nigel Dennis, Reviews, rockpool, romany, seakayakinguk, Tiderace
In a churchyard by a river / Lazing in the haze of midday
Laughing in the grasses and the graze.
Yellow bird, you are alone in singing and in flying on,
In and in leaving. Willow weeping in the water,
Waving to the river daughters,
Swaying in the ripples and the reeds. – pink floyd
I was considering the other day whether sea kayaks were going to disappear, or at the very least slip off into the fringes of water sports. I wondered if it will soon become unprofitable for all but a few specialized companies to produce “real” sea kayaks. I also asked myself.. how many people really need 17 foot sea kayaks? Today there are so many paddle craft options that better serve the needs of paddlers who once had little choice but to buy a sea kayak or canoe to get out on the water. Continue reading →