Archive for the ‘Learning’ Category

Now the first thing we have to do is define whether that thing you wear to stay afloat in the water is called a Life Jacket, Life Vest or PFD (Personal Flotation Device.) Well, no we don’t. You can call it whatever you like. One thing is sure, wearing one, whatever it’s called, gives you a much better chance of survival in the water than simply depending on the fates or rescue by human loving dolphins. Read the rest of this entry »

Paddler on Lake Michigan at the Door County Sea Kayak Symposium. Door County, Wisconsin.

In the last “Paddling From The Beginning” post I gave you just some of the reasons we paddle.  Today I want to talk just a bit about paddling for fitness.. for us average non-super athletic types.

I’ll never forget reading an interview with Israeli expedition paddler Hadas Feldman where she said something to the effect that she had to go on a major expedition every so often to simply avoid getting fat.  Obviously she wasn’t serious, but that’s athleticism I understand!  Certainly there are paddlers who go for the most efficient strokes, amazing speeds and all that. Bless their little souls! But most of us define fitness by simply staying active, alive and not getting too fat! Read the rest of this entry »

Today on KayakQuixotica we start by going all the way back to the beginning.  After being online 5 years and traveling every wandering road in those years it seems a good time come back full circle and meet up with all the folks just coming into the sport here in 2010.  It’s also a good reminder for me as a paddler and a coach as to why I got into this gig in the first place.  So for the old sea dogs, I invite you to jump in and give your thoughts and advice as I travel down the road from considering paddle sports for the first time to insanely jumping into whitewater or a tidal race.  For those of you new to paddling or even just wondering what it’s all about, welcome to page one of a new pre-season series.  Along the way I’ll chase down athletes, instructors, shop owners and more. We’ll talk gear you need, and the gear you may want to avoid.  We’ll answer questions and share lots of pics from around the world.  So join us as KayakQuixotica goes back to the beginning…

What is paddling?  Whatever you want it to be…

Paddling is a lot of things. It’s the history of exploration, it’s a multi-million dollar business, it’s a competitive sport, It’s a social activity and for some it’s how you to get away from it all.  For each paddler the reason they do it is different.  Many have come to paddling from the seat of their parents canoe, while others like me, came to it much later in life.  Some got into paddling because it gives them a relaxing way to fish the shallow waters, while others fish for the big one on the open sea.  Some find joy is running wild whitewater, others in exploring distant shorelines. Some never go anywhere at all and just sit in one spot and roll, and roll, and roll.  Paddling is Canoeing.  Paddling is Sea Kayaking.  Paddling is taking a small recreational boat out on the local lake. It’s surfing. It’s racing. It’s even done standing up. It’s all paddling.  The first lesson of paddling then, is that it’s YOUR thing.  Don’t let anyone tell you that you must do this or that or the other.. Find your own place on the water. Make paddling your own.

Discussion… I know there are lots of very experienced paddlers out there.  Help me out and share how you got into paddling in the first place..  It’s O.K. Commenting doesn’t hurt!

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe
- lennon

No need to pontificate. Well other than to fill a bit of space and to satisfy the RSS feeds that ignore pictures.  Did I say there was no need to pontificate? Oh, ok then. Sorry.  Well, here’s the thing that there is no need to rabbit on about, but which can be addressed with 2 pictures.  If you’re new to a Greenland paddle and you are trying to learn that whole sculling thing there is one common mistake you should avoid right off. It’s where you put your inside (my left, your right in the picture above.) hand.  You should grip the paddle around the blade and not…

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i hope that everybody can find a little flame
me, i say my prayers
then i just light myself on fire
and i walk out on the wire once again
- county crows

“The truth is that longer boats offer little to no advantage at touring speeds, which for the vast majority of sea touring kayakers, rarely exceed 4 knots.  In fact drag data among many kayak models illustrates that shorter boats often have less drag at these speeds.  Add to this the effect of wind and waves and a small paddler can find themselves struggling with a kayak that is just too much for them to handle.  Where’s the fun in that?” – notes from Necky Eliza designer.  Read More Here.   Thoughts?

For somebody who don’t drive, I been all around the world. . .
– melanie

Ok, so hopefully Mountain Hardwear won’t be peeved that I’m using them for an example.  I just KNOW somebody won’t catch on when I say, “old”, “out of date” or “example” repeatedly below… Thing is there was still a link to an old sponsorship form active on a Mountain Heardwear blog post from September of 2008 (Nothing every goes away). Now what makes the old sponsorship form special is that it offers all those potential, future, world class, climbers, paddlers and other adventurers out there a chance to see in good order what sort of questions they should be answering before they send emails and letters out to companies asking for props.  And let’s face it, we can’t all be Freya…

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The bow rudder is that mystical move that takes what we were doing before with the stern rudder/draw and brings it up to the front of the kayak.  Why would want to do that?  Well, it makes you look pretty cool and that’s important of course. Maybe more useful is that you may find a bow rudder is also the best way to make a fast, sharp turn in your kayak while on the move.  In addition a bow rudder is often the solution to turning kayak into the wind on those days a stern rudder results in your kayak simply going straight.  There’s more too.. but that’s for another day… Oh, and have a look at that grip in the picture above because it will not appear in the rest of the pictures..

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