Something In The Water
Published December 30, 2011 | 
Each year when the ice is beginning to form on inland lakes there is still time for the hearty paddler to get in a few good days on the water. You simply need to be more cautious. Not only should you be properly dressed for the occasion, but you also need to keep your eye out for nearly transparent floating obstacles. Paddling along at a good clip, floating ice can be nearly invisible. An awkward run up the side of one of these floating chucks or even a direct hit can quickly send an unprepared paddler right over. Most of us would call that a bad day at best. Continue reading
The Gift That Keeps Them Living…
Published December 8, 2011 | 
Ok, so I took this idea from a paddleshop’s Facebook adver-post (My new word of the day), but I can’t deny a good idea. Each year paddle bloggers write about great holiday gift ideas and inevitably that means gear, but here’s a better idea.. give a lesson.
It’s natural (and wise) to feel a little apprehension when your friend or family member decides to take up kayaking as a new hobby. It’s not a particularly dangerous sport, but when things do go bad, it almost always involves folks who are very inexperienced. Continue reading
Netarts Bay Incident
Published November 1, 2011 | 
I’m certainly not going to wade into the second guessing game that goes on with these sorts of incidents, but if you’re a sea kayaker or coach it would be worth your while to read this incident report about the events of October 4th in Netarts Bay off the coast of Oregon. Personally, I only have two rather general impressions; The first is that I feel for the author of the report, I totally hear where he’s coming from. Secondly, the sea is very big and we are very small. Nothing brings that closer to home than when we’re trying to solve a scary problem out there.
Bone Head Paddling
Published September 29, 2011 | 
A kiss on the wind and we’ll make the land – k. bush
You could probably guess I was running a bit scattershot the last few days. It sure showed up this morning I can tell you. I ran the morning obstacle course out the door with the intent to be on the lake for day 8 of my 100 mile paddle. Getting to the lake was the easy part. Yeah, I was wearing my sexy base layers.. but what I didn’t do was bring my outer layers. Oops! Well, I was there wasn’t I? So with the sun shining through some broken clouds to the east I figured I could get away it. Continue reading
Pay Attention Idiot!
Published September 24, 2011 | 
Pay Attention Idiot!!! Has anyone ever yelled something like that at you? Maybe they did but you just weren’t paying attention? I can’t remember ever taking that sort of abuse when I’ve paddled, but I’ve had my share of one finger solutes when driving I’m sure! Most of the time, the shouting has to do with simple human error being witnessed by someone of low intelligence, but sometimes, well, we should pay more attention.. Continue reading
Imagine You’re Alone…
Published August 29, 2011 | 
don’t give up
‘cos you have friends
don’t give up
you’re not beaten yet
don’t give up
I know you can make it good – gabriel
Learn to know what you don’t know. Then know it. In some ways our lives are way too simple. We get up, we eat, we drive the same route to work each day, we do a job we’ve done for a thousand years, then drive the same route home, eat and then veg in front of a television. Days pass. Weeks turn into months and months into years. There’s nothing wrong with that exactly, but it may lead us to feel way too secure in what we think we know. Then suddenly, shockingly things can go very wrong. Continue reading
“Is it worth risking your life for a fish?” Good question from a spokesman for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission a day after authorities rescued 6.. Let that sink in… 6, Again, 6! capsized fisherman from Chesapeake Bay a couple weeks back. [ Read the full story here. ] No wonder there are so many folks who think kayaking is crazy. Well, no. What’s crazy is going out into potentially dangerous situations without any clue how to deal with it if something goes wrong. In the vernacular of the day, “Really?” Continue reading →