The Waiting Is…
Published March 23, 2011 | 
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
- tom petty
So Freya Hoffmeister is sending some of her kayaks to new homes before she begins her South American odyssey. This one, is coming to live here with me. The Black Beauty #2 is a folder that you’ve seen her use to perform her crazy head stand to bow gymnastics. I’ve got the head stand down, but the rest… fuggitaboutit! Freya put the beast into its little bag and sent me a photo-by-photo diagram of how to get it back together once it arrives here in the frozen north. Now we just have to get that shipping thing down. It would sure be fantastic if I knew someone who was flying back from Europe in the next couple months.. but in the end I might just have to spend the $$ and tell “brown” what to do for me…
Vancouver Island Record Attempt
Published March 16, 2011 | 
It’s the memory that hides / Take your photographs back
For the love of all gods / Our gas hed marches on
– live
So… I have it under pretty good authority that Leon Sommé & Shawna Franklin…no.. wait.. I mean Shawna Franklin and Leon Sommé of Body, Boat, Blade International are going to be attempting to set a new Vancouver Island sea kayaking record. A record that, if achieved, will not only be a true first, but I’ll dare anyone to beat it as well. Of course I can’t tell you any more than that without unduly exposing my contact at Kayak-Wikileaks. What I can tell you is that Canadian Joe O’Blenis holds the current speed record of 16 days, 12 hours and 14 minutes beating a previous record set by Sean Morley. Is that relevant? Probably not.
original photo by Keepitsurreal. Retouched by yourstruely.
Whoomp There It Is…
Published March 13, 2011 | 
Upside down and inside out
I’m about to show all you folks
What’s it’s all about.
-tag team
Today at Canoecopia in Madison, WI., Danny Mongo of Werner Paddles was demonstrating… well… I’m not sure actually what he was demonstrating, but I think it was something about paddles. I hope it was about paddles. Either that or he’s making a topical observation on current state of Wisconsin politics… I’ll just be done now, other than to say you can listen to Danny talk about selecting your perfect paddle on this podcast.
10 Useless Tips For Canoecopia
Published March 9, 2011 | 
There’s a brand new shopping center seven storys high
There’s bound to be a sale or two–something we can buy
There’s four floors of parking and we’re sure to find a space
We’ll spend all the money that the government doesn’t take
– warren zevon
It’s hardly worth me adding to the din surrounding Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin this weekend. Still, after working the show for years, maybe I can give you a little useless advice… You know what they say about experts…
1. Don’t Buy A Kayak… Unless..
The folks at Rutabaga will tell you the same thing (I hope!). Don’t buy a kayak unless you’ve paddled it before. Your butt is not a good tool for testing kayaks. Yeah, there are great prices and the sales ppl will get you all buzzed up for sure. Walk away.. go sit in your car and get really cold for awhile. Then, if you still need to buy a boat that you’ve never paddled before.. go back in. Put money down on the kayak, then test paddle it at Rutabaga once the snow melts. Yeah, you can do that. Well, you used to anyway. Ask! Oh, and by the way.. Plastic kayaks are OK… really. (*See darren’s comment below!) Continue reading
Yeah, Whatever, But It’s Hadas!
Published January 20, 2011 | 
Uh, oh, many, many, many nights go by, / I sit alone at home and I cry over you.
What can I do. / Can’t help myself, ’cause baby, it’s you.
Sha la la la la la la la
– beatles
So Reed has a new website!! Ok, yeah, whatever, but that’s Hadas Feldman on their header!! See, I know what’s really important! The picture dates all the way back to 2003, when Hadas, Justine Curgenven & Alexey Sitnokov paddled their way up the Kamchatka coastline. The 600 kilometer journey was featured in the first CackleTV, ‘This is the Sea’ DVD. Ok.. to be honest I’m a total fan of all things Reed and it’s soooo about time they had a new website. Very cool. Still, seeing Hadas on the top made my day.. almost made me want to buy a Reed Storm Cag… but then I realized.. I’ve already got one!
I didn’t really do anything altruistic…
Published January 12, 2011 | 
I’m going where the sun keeps shining
Thru’ the pouring rain,
Going where the weather suits my clothes,
– nilsson
Like many of you I get my share of kayak related emails and newsletters almost daily. (I apologize to the dudes who try to make money with them, but I get so many that I rarely read them any longer.) That however, brings me to something I did read through the PaddleWise mailing list recently. It started out saying, “I didn’t really do anything altruistic or with team spirit,..” which was more than enough to catch my eye. 
I then realized it was from Duane Strosaker who many of us know through his shark encounter in 2010. The subject of the mailing was sharing your 2010 paddling highlights. Here’s the rest of Duane’s entry…. Continue reading
You Must Be Trippin!
Published January 4, 2011 | 
All along the icy wastes there are faces smiling in the gloom.
Roll up roll down, Feeling unwound? Step into the viewing room.
The cameras were all around. We’ve got you taped; you’re in the play.
– tull
Our friends Justine & Barry, or as they are officially called “Expedition Paddlers, Justine Curgenven and Barry Shaw” have arrived in Punta Arenas. As you can see in the license plate above, Punta Arenas is in Chile. Cool. Justine and Barry are preparing to circumnavigate Tierra del Fuego by sea kayak… that is.. when their sea kayaks actually arrive.. but that’s another story! Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago (or island group) that makes up the southern tip of South America. Continue reading
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