walk in the woods
Posted by derrick on April 23, 2008
Some days are just a walk in the woods!
This is Mirror Lake State Park near Wisconsin Dells.
Posted Previously Under places
a year goes by
Posted by derrick on February 9, 2008
In a house draped in net
In a room filled with coral
Sails at the window
Forests of masts
Put your hand over the side of the boat
Put your hand over the side of the boat
What do you feel?
- kate bush
A year goes by so quickly. On February 9th of last year a garbled distress call was the beginning of some dark days in the kayaking community. What was to be a celebration of an amazing accomplishment turned quickly into deep sadness. Andrew McCauley we learned had lost his life just miles off Milford Sound on New Zealand’s south Island.
Posted under places, expeditions
The Martian Chronicles
Posted by derrick on December 31, 2007
Sailors
Fighting in the dance hall.
Oh man!
Look at those cavemen go.
It’s the freakiest show.
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy.
Oh man!
Wonder if he’ll ever know
He’s in the best selling show.
Is there life on Mars?
- bowie
When Cassini-Huygens sent back the first pictures of Saturn’s Moon, Titan, it was somewhat shocking. There in grainy black and white images were mountains, coastlines, lakes, rivers and oceans. The first time humans had seen such “earth-like” features on another world. Of course Titan is not a vacation spot. It’s average temperature is around -289F (-178c) and it’s lakes are filled with liquid hydrocarbons. Titan is not the next paddling Mecca.
Posted under places
Brit different??
Posted by derrick on December 14, 2007
So here is how the BBC is trying to entice us Yanks to visit on BBC America. It’s pretty sad when you see a kayak in an ad and start wondering what kind of boat that is. Well, I think the blue one’s a Valley Skerry. . . Is he bracing with his paddle from the famous "upside down and backwards" position? Oh, if you’re interested here’s the link.
By the way Kayaking is NOT on their list of 11 Unique ways to connect with Scottish culture. . .
Posted under places
the suck zone
Posted by derrick on December 14, 2007
Ev’rytime I get hot
You wanna cool down
Ev’rytime I get high
You say you wanna come down
You say it’s enough
In fact it’s too much
Ev’rytime I get a
Get down get down get down . . .
- queen
Well, I have to say I find big surf a bit scary. But this little bit of joy looks down right terrifying. This is the Naruto Straits in the Tokushima prefecture in Japan. The straits between Naruto and Awaji island have a total width of about 1.3 km. Through here the Pacific Ocean is sucked in and out twice per day producing the 3rd fastest tidal current in the world reaching around 20km/h. (averaging 13-15km/h). If that’s not scary enough massive whirlpools are produced 4 times daily on each side of the high and low tide, that expand and disappear constantly within the flow and often reach 10 to 20 meters in diameter. The funnel of a 10 meter whirlpool can sink 1 to 2 meters below the surrounding water and can last around a minute or so before breaking up. However, when the funnel disappears on the surface the vortex can continue much longer. Ok, who’s first??
Posted under places
Kayaks To Schools
Posted by derrick on December 2, 2007
Here’s an interesting project. Starting December 1, 2007, Greenland Kayaks (Inuit Qajaat) has begun a Kayaks to Schools project which aims to provide Kayaks, gear and training to schools in remote parts of Greenland.
This is from their website:
Our first aim is to support schools in Appilatoq (Cape Farewell) and Isertoq (East Coast), total about 50 children.
The hunting villages in Greenland are the poorest areas of the country. Poverty leads to cultural erosion and kayaking as a living part of our culture is coming to an end. This project brings traditional equipment and training to some of the worst off villages, in the hope that cultural appreciation fosters self esteem in the young. Help us give a little back to the people of the kayak!
Pacific Horizons Available Now
Posted by derrick on November 13, 2007
Hey kid, rock and roll
Rock on, ooh, my soul
Hey kid, boogey too, did ya?
- david essex
I’m not sure if sitting her under a dim yellow lamp and listening to Mendelssohn is the perfect atmosphere to write about this new DVD. One thing is sure, this gray November weather does make me want to watch it.
Pacific Horizons, is a new DVD from west coat kayaker and filmmaker Bryan Smith. It’s his first foray into the kayaking DVD market and as far as I can tell, the first shot in HighDef. His film takes us on a journey around the northwest coast of the United States and includes segments such as; Dubsides “Commando Kayaking”, The Bunsby Islands with the folks at Body Boat Blade, Keirron Tastagh & Jeff Norvill’s 14 day circumnavigation of Vancouver, The Columbia River Gorge, exciting tidal race play, beautiful Skooks footage and much more.