Sea Kayak With Gordon Brown V2
Published August 19, 2011 | 
As with my review of the first edition of Sea Kayak With Gordon Brown, let me cut to the chase here. Volume 2 includes a new trip, a bit of a history lesson, and lots of new skill work in real world conditions. V2 is a fun, tight presentation that will add to your skill set and keep you sitting in front of your TV from beginning to end… Well, unless you find yourself impulsively loading up the kayak to rush out and try something he’s just presented. For my part, I was able to take away and apply one new-found method to a class almost immediately. The new (to me) gem gave 2 students a much quicker success than they would have otherwise. For one student, it was the only answer that worked. As she was sitting back up in her kayak and smiling ear-to-ear.. I told her, “You have Gordon Brown to thank for this one.” I don’t think I can give the DVD a better compliment than that. There’s a lot of good stuff in there, even for us coaches and more experienced paddlers to take in. Continue reading
Posted in Learning, Paddling, Reviews, Video | 
dvd, gordon brown, Rowland Woolven, sea kayak with gordon brown, Simon Willis | 
6 CommentsSea Kayak Essentials DVD
Published July 25, 2011 | 
The Sea Kayak Essentials instructional DVD with BCU level 5 coach Nick Cunliffe joins an ever growing list of paddling DVDs. If like me you simply can’t buy every DVD out there, you have to be choosy. I’d certainly recommend that beginner and intermediate paddlers put this one on their wish list. Coaches might find a few gems as well.
Let me start out by telling you up front that I see lots of videos and lots of coaching styles. To be honest, I sometimes get a bit blurry eyed when I sit down to watch another instrutional video. Sea Kayak Essentials by nature does walk a lot of the same paths you’ve come to expect in an instructional video. The DVD moves through a series of skill building chapters that eventually lead you into real world situations and rough water paddling. ( I received a PAL version, so I found myself moving through a series of DVD players until I found one that would play it. ) Here’s what you get; Continue reading
Mega Squid Versus The Giant Lake Stugeon
Published April 29, 2011 | 
Now somehow (That I can’t even begin to explain!) this story weaves its way from Australia on to Charleston, South Carolina and through the mind of Moulton Avery, before landing on the blog of Helen Wilson before totally spinning out of control and landing here. Here at Quixotica, where I dare Moulton to bring his evil Humbolt Squid with their tentacles, barb-wire type hooks, and fearsome parrot-like beaks to battle my genetically modified, radioactive & radio controlled Giant Lake sturgeon. I’ll soon have those squid sorted!
If all of this has a sort of Mystery Science Theatre feel about it, well it should. Because I think a lot of people spent the frozen winter months watching movies like Mega Shark Versus The Giant Octopus & the amazing sequel, Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus. Kayaker types mainly. All I can say is that the careers of Lorenzo Lamas & Debbie Gibson has taken an amazing turn in recent years. Chances are they will be seen in This Is The Sea 5 battling various rubber suited monsters from the cockpits of a fully armed Tahe Marines. If William Shatner is any guide, these 2 will soon be up for the ACTRA Montreal Award of Excellence within a year and on their way to Emmys.
Now you have to admit, this scene from MSVGO is better than anything Cecil B. DeMille could have pulled off in his wildest dreams…
Yeah, that’s the way we do it downtown!
What It’s Like
Published March 31, 2011 | 
Sometimes love is all flowers and romance.. sometimes it’s well… You know. Sea kayaking is like that….
Sometimes it’s all nature and beauty and all that sort of thing. Sometimes though it’s … well,
Sometimes you get out of your kayak, stand up, wipe the water out of your eyes.. spit, then go sit in the car with the door open and put this on the stereo….
very…
very…
loud…
Yeah, eventually you’ll carry gear and load the boat..
You will.
When you’re damn good and ready.
Slough
Published September 8, 2010 | 
A slough can be a muddy marsh, a river delta, a swamp, a pond or a secondary stream, basically it’s water that does not fit into a more obvious category. Gallus Slough is located just a few miles south east of Devil’s Lake State park and about 10 minutes from my home. The whole of the slough is quite large but it never really gets more than a foot deep. At some times of the year it’s simply un-paddleable (I don’t think that’s a word actually!).
To get into the slough you need to launch from a spot called the Moon Valley Landing which is used heavily by powerboats and jet skis working their way out onto Lake Wisconsin. Continue reading
Don’t Stop The Rain
Published August 14, 2010 | 
Long as I remember The rain been coming down.
Clouds of myst’ry pouring Confusion on the ground.
Good men through the ages, Trying to find the sun;
And I wonder, Still I wonder, Who’ll stop the rain. – ccr
After a successful day of rolling on Thursday, you wouldn’t be surprised if Mary wanted to get back out and lock in her roll the following morning. Now, some could say that the weather didn’t cooperate but I’d say it did exactly what it should have done. It upped the ante… Continue reading
Mary’s New Found Roll
Published August 13, 2010 | 
Come here mama….and dig this crazy scene
He’s not too fancy….but his line is pretty clean
He ain’t no drag.
Papa’s got a brand new bag
– james brown
So I know lots of folks who’ve been following along with the “Low Impact Roll” series are not rollers, or at least are not confident rollers.. yet. Since it’s Friday I want to take a break and share with you a bit of encouragement by way of example. Normally in the “biz” we’re in the habit of showing you experts and athletes who’ve got rolling down to an art form. While that can be encouraging it can also be a bit intimidating as well. So here’s a “real people” example of where we’re going.
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