Record Rainfall hits Midwest

The rain started on Thursday and didn’t stop until Monday. Kalamazoo experienced significant flooding in some downtown areas. I was biking through mud puddles up to my knees on Monday morning. Consequently my bike shoes smell very funny. I suspect they always will.

I managed to drive out to Lake Michigan on Sunday to paddle towards the South Haven Lighthouse.

Deer Lick Creek which is normally about 3 feet wide even at the mouth, was around 40 feet wide and running as a class II/III rapid. I managed to get my sea kayak into the creek and surf a standing wave!

Here is a picture in low water:

From Family Trip to Lake Michigan

Here is the creek in high water:

From Rainy Lake Michigan Day

The storm drain that rests between Deer Lick Creek and the Lighthouse was putting out a record amount of water. The lake waves were being held back by the current from the spout. I surfed my Silhouette in on the lake waves, and then spun behind the spout, and was spat back out to surf in again. I did this about ten times for fun!

The only downside was with the biblical amount of rain and fog, it was hard for the eye and therefore the inner ear to get a good idea of what was up and what was down and I was getting seasick if I wasn’t surfing.

Check out the videos and the pictures in the PicasaGallery.

Ocean Paddler TV has been showing some awesome footage of both paddle sports and surfing in Hawaii.

This video of both the sailing canoe and the surf ski race had my blood pumping wishing to hell I could be out there catching a ride like that.

Surf Skis being 20 feet long and 19” wide and typically propelled with a wing paddle will make a well conditioned paddler fly!! And as there is little I like more, (ok I love surfing) than flying downwind in a long boat with the wind at my back this video made me want to buy my ticket to the big island in the pacific.

Check it out!!

How to Select a Sea Kayak Tow Belt

Towing a sea kayak is risky business. Ropes and boats connected to people is indelibly linked, (pun intended) to trouble. Once you have a rope connected to a boat shenanigans can not be far behind, literally. Having done more towing in the last two years than I did in my first five years of paddling combined is probably a tell-tale sign that looking into a good tow belt is a good idea.

There are three basic systems for towing available to sea kayakers.

• Deck mounted rig: these take some epoxy work on a glass boat to get it set up but works really well the strain goes to the boat, and not the paddler. Downside is, you can’t trade off. and if you sell your boat time to epoxy up a new tow rig. My friend Jim Svensson has one on his NDK Explorer. It’s a sweet rig that he used often on our Apostle Islands trip. Also when you have to unlink, you have to depend on a good float to find your line again. The rope is behind you and restowing it is a pain at sea.


• PFD Mounted Rig: these are great because it’s one less piece of gear to have strapped on. Problem is the strain on the body is too high for long tows.


• Belt Mounted Tow: these systems seem to be the most flexible with the strain on the paddler coming at the right part of the body. They do have disadvantages to the deck mount. But a good belt tow can be traded off and will work really well in a variety of conditions.

One note that I always like to offer is to mention that Inuit Kayakers had a couple of things right. They put the weight on the boat, not on the paddler. So all the lines, the harpoons, the norsaq all went on the kayak. This presents its own problems, entanglement, windage etc. I am personally not a fan of deck mounted tows, despite this claim. Mainly because once you have it installed you’re guaranteed to need a belt to swap with another paddler, or you’re going to get a new boat. May as well buy a good belt system.

Here are a few things to consider when selecting a tow rope belt.

First and foremost is the storage of the rope when not in use. Believe it or not you aren’t towing most of the time. Thank God. So the storage of the rope has to be compact and flat so as not to interfere with your paddle stroke, your roll, and your general mobility. Bulk is friction and therefore resistance to all of your strokes. This said if you can make what you put on your body small and compact do it. This was my main complaint with the Salamander rig I bought almost seven years ago. Very bulky, very big, and interfered with everything, it was literally always in the way.

Second the carabiner should not have hooks, teeth, or other obstructions that otherwise interfere with cleanly clipping in to the deck lines of a sea kayak, or in the case of surf boats-the end toggles of a boat. The carabiner should be at least stainless steel, if not aluminum. We are in the Great Lakes obviously and so we don’t have to worry about corrosion of the components quite as much. The aluminum will be lighter and won’t sink the line as much. A big biner will be easier to operate in cold conditions with gloves, mittens, or cold hands. Brian Nystrom has a great web album of some modifications he performed on his Northwater rig, the picture below is of the carabiner he replaced.

Third length of tow, a good length is probably somewhere between 30-40 feet. There is certainly some debate amongst coaches on 40 being too long, and 30 being too short, but all would agree that 50 is way too long. Longer lines than 40 presents problems for distance between the victim and the sled dog. Shorter presents problems in surf when towing a sea kayak. Sometimes you want a wave between you and the boat, but not quite two waves. If a sea kayak you’re towing is surfing towards you on a short rope less than 30 it’s not a good day.

Fourth if you can find a rig with a floating line get it. But not at the expense of the other items I mentioned. It saves time to not have to haul line up from the deep.

Fifth, make sure there is a good quick release. Being able to let go in a hurry is sometimes very critical. You may have to customize it to make sure you can find it quick. Some industrious souls have rigged wiffle balls and other devices to make them easy to find. Just make sure they don’t get in the way of paddling and cause you to release the belt accidentally.

After watching some other folks use their tow systems, and bemusedly scratching my head at my reluctance to replace my old Salamander rig, I decided to get a Sea Tec from Northwater. Its gotten rave reviews from a number of BCU Coaches, and a number of folks I paddle with use them. The bag seems big enough to re-stow quickly, (biggest pet-peeve of salamander) and when re-stowed on land it repacks small enough to be out of the way for paddling.

If I’ve forgotten or overlooked something please feel free to add a comment to the post.

Here’s to hoping I won’t have to use it-yeah right!

Continued from Days One and Two

Day Three

We suited up to work on doing open water rescues. We headed out of the channel with around 8 students. We teamed up to do t-rescues. The swells were gentle and slow, but fairly sizeable for the Great Lakes 3-5 feet. Only sizeable in that they weren’t breaking. I teamed up with Louis from Montreal. He had a beautiful Skin on Frame kayak he built. The kayak had flotation fore and aft. Louis exited and he and I worked together to empty it, and get him back in. Louis aided me by holding on to my boat and helping to pull it over my lap. From there I emptied the kayak by rotating the kayak towards me. After that it was a pretty standard re-entry. We rafted up with the group and I taught Louis to rescue me. His job was substantially easier with my hardshell Silhouette. As a surf kayaker I don’t have any particular problem with craft that have no bulkheads. Sometimes they just don’t make sense. A skin on frame kayak is a very elegant craft that can be very sea worthy when paddled by a very competent paddler. Swimming doesn’t have to be catastrophic. If the paddler is skilled and stays in the kayak really there is no problem other than holing the kayak. But some of the same problems exist for a hardshell kayak when it is holed. However it is easier and quicker to rescue a hardshell boat with bulkheads.

This is when things got interesting. One of the students became sea sick while we were bobbing up and down on the swell. Doug quickly made the decision to tow her in. Bonnie rafted up with the victim and Doug started to paddle for the channel. I was ignorant of whether or not this was a real emergency or an exercise so luckily I treated it as if it was real. I was left to guide six students through the surf in the channel. I would be lying if I said I was completely calm in guiding students through a surf landing. There were several students who felt very uneasy coming through the channel. One was to my left and the rest were to my right. I was firmly indicating to the one on my left to keep off the rocks as the waves rolled in. She hadn’t developed the coordination to look over her shoulder and brace at the same time yet. So I was giving her the signal on when to backpedal and when to sprint to avoid getting munched. The other students were perilously close to the crib light and it’s rock. Waves were coming in that could have swallowed them whole. I gave some simple guidance to paddle hard, back paddle, or change direction to avoid the crib light dumpers. One student should never know how close he came to getting swallowed whole. I saw his stern lift, and I shouted for him to back paddle. He dug in and came off the crest and onto the back beautifully. I gave him some encouragement to paddle for all he was worth. He sprinted ahead and the next wave washed him into the channel, thankfully upright and intact.

Afterwards we found out that it was indeed a real rescue with a sea sick victim. While Doug and Bonnie got the heroic high fives for performing the assisted tow, I thought about the ducklings I just brought through the jaws of the beast. It is great to see students developing the skills they need to work up to navigating open water and surf. I certainly would have done things a little differently in retrospect. I probably would have gone through first to show them the line, and then given them signals to paddle left or right, backwards, forwards. Instead of having them go through all at once. If nothing else then for my nerves.

We then went through a few more rescues before everyone started to pack up. Again this is where things get really interesting. Louis wanted to go back out. We paddled back to the mouth and discussed which way to go. I voiced the option to go for the deep water between the crib light and the rocks and to stay off the spilling surf over the sand bar. It seemed everyone agreed. We all started paddling and then I looked over and I was the only one going through the deep water. I look over and Louis is over and out of his kayak. I paddle over and Doug is getting him back in. I have my towline ready to clip in and tow Doug and Louis out of the spilling surf. Suddenly my kayak is lifted and almost parked on top of Doug’s Valkyrie. I back off and then come back in. By this time Bonnie has them towed to deeper water. This is when I notice Doug’s nose bleeding. I was terrified that I had clipped him with my boat. As it turns out that same wave punched Louis bow into his nose as he tried to empty the boat. Doug put Louis back in in short order. Bonnie gave Doug a sterile bandage from her life vest first aid kit, (endlessly useful item as it turns out). We agree to head back in. This time we agree to let me pick a line and we will all follow me in. I pick the deep water channel again and jet through. Louis makes his run beautifully, but in the turbulent water on the inside he misses a low brace and goes over. We are literally 300 yards from flat water. I put Louis at my bow empty his boat as much as I can and tell him to climb on. Bonnie clipped and begins towing me. Louis is on his back deck. Doug then clips in for a linked tow and we are moving pretty well. Unfortunately this is where that useless OPP boat comes into the story again. The OPP patrol boat comes through at twenty knots and forces Doug further in towards the rocks. Louis gets washed up on the rocks and it looks like I am going to be next. His bow is wedged. I tell Louis to let go so I can grab is bow and free him. He doesn’t know what’s on my mind though and gives me a panicky, “Please don’t let go!” I tell him it’s ok “I won’t leave you”. It was all very cinematic and could have been a line from the terrible Into Thin Air made for TV Movie. Luckily he let go, I jetted forward, and grabbed his bow and pulled him off. Bonnie and Doug towed us back into the beach.

Doug got an icepack for his face. I still haven’t found out how bad the injury was. He didn’t break his glasses, but he might have gotten a couple of black eyes. We had a good laugh over lunch. All in all this was the most fun I’ve ever had at a symposium! Action packed baby! I can’t wait to go back next year!!! The kids and Laura had great time watching the band playing in the river and Lake Superior. Vince in addition to rescuing fisherman also made a horde of delicious food. I hope the surf is up next year. Gabe even got a Wawa Salmon Derby Baseball Cap from the Search and Rescue team!!

Sand River Falls

The whole family decided to do the Circle Tour of Lake Superior for our end of summer vacation. We loaded up the van with all our gear, four kayaks, (alas and ironically no room for the mega maverick) and drove up to Wawa. We made a quick stop over at the Sand River Falls. We hiked with Gabriel and Isabella up to the falls. The kids scrambled over the rocks and oohed and aaahed over the falls. Sand River Falls come very close to highway 17 and allow easy access to their beauty to kids who normally aren’t real keen on hoofing it for hours to see a bunch of rocks. We ate a bizarre lunch of crackers, salami and peanut butter.

Day One at Rock Island Lodge

We arrived at Rock Island Lodge to building weather. The wind was beginning to howl, white caps were visible across Michipicoten Bay. We went paddling in the Michipicoten river with the kids. Kids are amazing, funny creatures. One can never tell what they will be interested in or want to do. Gabriel and Isabella immediately paddled across the river to the sand bar and began running up and down the steep bank, collecting driftwood and rocks. Then Gabe got the idea to start jumping in the river from the bank, Isabella quickly followed suit. Laura pulled her kayak over and began rock hunting. No one was going anywhere. So I headed out to play in the waves.

The Michipicoten River mouth is not unlike the areas where tidal races form. The river which is dam controlled pushes water out that stacks up against waves directed across Lake Superior by wind. If the wind is strong, the waves begin to form in deep water. This makes for a fairly fun, safe, and invigorating surfing environment. The waves were becoming steep beyond the crib light in a wide triangle. Doug Van Doren and I headed out to surf the triangle.

2008 Wawa Salmon Derby 2008

This is where the Wawa Salmon Derby comes into play. Fishermen competing in the 2008 Wawa Salmon derby were heading out to catch fish near the river mouth where the surf was becoming interesting. The salmon fisherman were starting to come back through the channel as the surf was really beginning to build. The channel is not entirely straight forward for a motor boat. The sandbar to the south side of the channel makes the surf dump. The north side is a narrow deep water run by the crib light and the rocks where Rock Island Lodge is situated. The motor boats typically pick up speed and try to jet through the deep water section by the rocks. Most of the boats made it except for the boat pictured below. The Ontario Provincial Police boat was seemingly nowhere to be found that was helpful. The OPP boat was really to big to be of any use. The full Wawa news report is available online.

Ray, a guide for Naturally Superior and Jean-Fillipe a participant from Montreal aided the fisherman who failed to navigate the channel by pushing them off the rocks into deeper water. All of this ironically happened while I was getting cleaned up for dinner. A rare event took place where the surf continued to build. I managed to recruit Doug, Ray, Conor, owner David Wells, and a few others to head back out to surf after dinner. We made a few runs out and back trying to avoid the fishermen jetting through the channel at 20 knots.

Doug and I had one of our now infamous near collisions in surf. Doug was surfing the center section of the triangle where it was steepest. Doug dropped into the trough ahead of me, started carving diagonally towards the lodge and then the wave closed out on him. I was perched right at the peak of a fairly good sized wave that had substantial power to it to surf me right over Doug. I back pedalled furiously as Doug was munched by the wave. His boat was held almost in place by the contradicting forces of river current and the waves washing in from the open lake. His first roll attempt failed as another wave broke on him. He valiantly submerged fully and set up carefully to roll up successfully into the incoming face of the second wave. I managed to side slip past him on a down wave run.

As a side note about safety. Doug had right of way on the wave as he caught it, I was responsible for my path as he was down wave. Also I can’t stress the importance of helmets enough in these conditions as boats colliding is way, way more likely than hitting your head on something.

I caught several beautiful slicing diagonal rides from the middle section where my Foster Silhouette carved at what seemed to be about 15 knots towards the rocks. Ray who said he was just getting comfortable with his roll in surf, was on fire! Everytime I looked over to see his white Valley Aquanaut he was blazing a furious down wave path, or rolling up from having had a nasty close-out munch him and drag him onto the sand bar on the south side of the river.

Normally I prefer to surf in a small surf kayak, but the conditions in the river mouth were actually perfect for long kayaks. If timed just right, a very long stable ride could be caught in the center of the channel right by the rocks. It is however a little perilous due to the giant table rock the crib light sits on. The waves tend to break and close out on this spot.

Day Two

We divided the students up into smaller groups. I took a small group of three students, Wally, Dorothy and Jean-Fillipe. We worked through a progression of forward stroke technique for torso rotation I’ve been using. In this progression the forward stroke is broken down into it’s three parts, reach and catch, rotation, and release. I have the students experiment with differing postures, (slouched and upright), allowing them to discover how much further they can reach with good posture vs slouched. We also experiment with a shallow plant vs a deep plant and see what happens. Then we begin to work through some rotation exercises. These are a particular favorite of mine. I have students experiment with doing rock-em-sockem robot arms, (locked elbows) paddling where you have to figure out how to get the paddle in the water and rotate without using your elbows at all. This usually gets a few chuckles. But pretty quickly paddlers are rotating their torsos to reach the water. Often students have no prior experience with the use of the muscle groups needed to paddle efficiently. There is no direct biometric result for a correct rotation. So by removing the elbows, (the bendy part that primarily allows arm paddling) the student gets a feel for what it feels like to paddle with their torso. The next step is to remove the arms almost entirely. I then have the students do T-rex, (picture the tiny little arms) paddling. With elbows locked in at the side completely the students paddle by rotating their torso to reach the water. These exercises are somewhat silly, but they do give the idea of how to get the body working properly.

After lunch the students headed out and began surfing the waves that managed to make their way into the river. The students did surprisingly well. All of them demonstrated elementary ruddering and bracing while their hulls planed out. It is great fun to see folks who are newer to the sport surf. Their faces light up like christmas trees when they gain speed and start to really carve. When you see someone surf for the first time, you get really stoked and feel like it is your first ride too. You can tell how much people enjoy it because they come back to the beach and are telling tall tales about how fast they were going, how long their ride was, and how many times they wiped out. For my part I encourage them to exaggerate, elaborate and enjoy. The three e’s of kayak surfing.

Continued in Day Three

Sea Kayak Day Trip with Doug Van Doren-Lake Michigan

Waves were predicted to be 3-7 feet out of the Northwest. Wind was gusting to 30 knots. Doug Van Doren and I suited up at Dog Beach near South Haven. We paddled out through the breakers with some effort. Doug almost immediately started to lose his spare paddle on the back deck of his Betsie Bay Valkyrie. He got it secured and we started paddling into the wind.

We were paddling into steady gusts, but were somewhat sheltered from the wind in the troughs of sizeable swells. We tried to stay somewhat close together, but we were forced to shout even when only a few feet apart due to the wind. I was trying to get a few pictures snapped off and by the time I got my first picture off Doug and his kayak would disappear behind a swell. We chatted back and forth for a while, but as we got closer to the pier, we started talking about when to turn around.

The sky was bright blue. The water was a wonderful Homeric Mediterranean green. The scale of the waves and the winds was such that I had been focused on what I was doing, but I noted how calm I was. I think the three or four years of Surf Kayaking has mellowed my freak out about the wind and the waves. Some would say I am an adrenaline junkie and that if Force 7 winds don’t get your blood pumping you’re messed up, but I was enjoying myself and did not feel terrorized as much as very alert and engaged.

Certainly the Great Lakes and their storms are nothing to be trifled with. And if anything, anything, had gone wrong paddling almost a mile from shore in those conditions it could have been very tragic. But in the end that is life isn’t it?

After an hour of paddling into 20-30 knot winds we turned around. We immediately began flying with the wind. I was catching rides so easily that all I had to do was keep my boat pointed towards shore and take a few strokes and my Nigel Foster Silhouette would start to plane out. Doug and I started doing neck and neck pacing with each ride. After I stopped to take a picture Doug raced for nearly 100 yards on one ride. I didn’t catch up with him until we were looking at the impact zone on the beach. I picked a line and tried to do a diagonal run and successfully carved my way into the beach. Doug followed after and a steep breaker picked up his stern and and his bow plunged down deep into the water. The wave broke and Doug, Valkyrie and all cartwheeled end over end. He wisely pinned himself to his back deck and flattened his paddle to his side. I was unable to get my camera out in time to get a picture.

Doug surfed in to the beach. I continued to catch a couple of rides. I got one beautiful diagonal ride, and then got worked heavy on another where I caught a good ride, but then got window shaded pretty hard. I rolled up about three times before finally getting the kayak turned seaward. I tried breaking back out for about twenty minutes. I eventually decided to call it a day and surfed back to the beach.

There Doug and I were asked to the do the unthinkable, we were asked to help jet skiers. We helped two young guys carry a three hundred pound jet ski up the hill to a trailer. I think we may awaken at the next sea kayak symposium to find ourselves chained to a fence with our heads shaved.

Are You a Kayak Asshole? Video

I am off to Grand Marais for the GLSKS Symposium tomorrow morning. I hope there is surf like last year. I am excited to do some instruction and work with Steve Scherrer on a class.

I have been trying to write more articles and do less “posting”. However this particular video found through questionable means is possible the best thing I have ever seen from user submitted video.

And to answer my own non-paddling friends inevitable question, yes I know I am the person described in the video, minus the SUV.

So for those of us who are too focused on paddling, maybe go out and drink some beers, play some frisbee, and chill the hell out!!!

Sea Kayak Trip Lake Michigan, Saugatuck

After several months of feeling sub-standard, experiencing new low ebbs of my fitness and strength, and consequently feeling very low in spirits; the wind began to blow. Unfortunately it did not howl, but spirited breezes across Lake Michigan were quite enough for me to be getting on with. After being a complete ass and forgetting about dropping off my Isabella at camp (I suck), I negotiated a penitent truce at home. Paddle time with Lori and Doug and getting Isabella off to Van Buren Youth Camp became a settled armistice between all parties.

We paddled out of the harbor and into the wind. This particular day was overcast and the wind was veering from the southwest to due west, to northwest. We made the call to head directly out. We paddled at a steady four knot clip due west for almost two and a half hours. I felt some of my old strength and fitness returning. Nothing ached for once. Lori unfortunately was taking my bad mojo. She was hurting but keeping up.

As we neared the time for turn around the wind had begun to veer completely to the northwest. The waves had been tidied up and began to form tidy swells. The blue green freshwater sea began to hiss as the cat’s paws of white caps skittered across the surface. Mist closed in around the land. My paddle blades caught the wind as we tacked towards land. I dug in for all I was worth feeling the muscles in my back and my abdomen pulse, twitch, and burn.The Foster Silhouette began to plane and surf on the small wind driven waves. I was leaning well forward trying to free the stern and allow it to catch the swells. I began to fly with my old grace again. As my kayak spilled down wave, I was edging hard and allowing the hard chines to catch and then pivot the kayak down wave again.

Doug and I have a tendency to try and ram one another while surfing, I actually parked my Silhouette over the top of his Valkyrie deck on a crossing between North and South Manitou while surfing wind waves between the islands. I tried to keep the distance healthy, but as we surfed, I had to drop a few emergency hanging draws to pull us apart.

I enjoyed feeling the powerful fluid bite of the Werner Ikelos. I found myself using a fairly high cadence for my forward stroke. I would spin hard and then sweep and edge to stay on course and then dig in with a rudder to keep the lighthouses marking the harbor on my bow. Doug and I would trade leading the surge towards land like two motorcycle riders on a starting line, goosing the throttle, he would spin dig his blades deep, spin hard, and then catch a ride. Doug’s Valkyrie would scoot ahead fifty or one hundred yards until he would have to start paddling hard again. Then I would dig and spin until I caught a ride, perhaps even getting on the back of another waves, and then smelling another ride, dig hard to climb over the top and spill down wave again.

As this sprinting continued I forgot about the hernia repair, work, and all problems, and only about the next ride. In some small way this is what being in a sea kayak on open water is about, the distance between land and sea is a thin tether that needs to be broken every once in a while. If I stay too long on land the tether seems to grow in thickness and weight until it becomes hard to bear. Nothing in life that I have done thus far has felt as beautiful or as free as flying before a tail wind 5 miles from land.

We all know surf kayaking is obviously very freeing. It is however a different feeling. Heading out to surf storms has a certain amount of sheer dread with brief moments of pure bliss. The pit of dread in your belly as you break out on a 25 knot wind day from a beach with 10 foot surf is a bit much at times. But that dread is rewarded with a carving green water bliss that you couldn’t top with a shot of heroin in the eyeball. Burt Monro said it best about his motorcycle, “I live more in five minutes on that bike than most people do in their whole lives”. This is especially true of surf kayaking. Sea kayaking wind driven waves is not as thrilling, but it has beauty and grace. It also has a different pace, it is slow enough to be able to enjoy it while you’re doing it. While surf kayaking I am so completely in the moment, I have to think back while in the car on the way home about the rides I caught, rather than while I am paddling out to get the next one. Suffice it to say, I am still in love with both mistresses.

Is the Euro Paddle the power of the Dark Side?

I am going to try using a euro paddle for some of my day trips and maybe even longer trips to see how I do. Is this the power of the darkside at work? I am not going to make any grand predictions. My experience with the towing demonstration at the WMCKA Symposium 2008 has shaken my belief that the two paddles are really equal in all things. I love using a Greenland style paddle. I love the simplicity, the natural ergonomic weight of it, the symmetry, and of course the natural buoyancy. I really enjoy working on the rolls, and all of my strokes with the traditional blade. But after three years kayak surfing, and using a white water blade, first a Double torque Lendal XTI 194cm, and now a Werner Sidekick 194cm straight shaft, I am finding I like the quick application of power the really big spoons provide. The Iggy and the Stooges Raw Power.

I will share one anecdote about one tight spot I was in about 3 years ago in a sea kayak that might demonstrate what the key differences are between the paddles. Jason Roon and I were out kayak surfing in long boats on Lake Michigan in summer in 2005. It was a rip roaring day with steep vertical faces. Wind was around 15-20 knots. Waves were 3-5 feet. I was surfing my Nigel Foster Silhouette using a home made western red cedar traditional paddle. Jason was in a P&H Sirius with a Lendal Kinetic Crank Shaft 210cm paddle. Near Deer Lick south of South Haven there is a small cove built out of truck tires and concrete pilings, rebar and a bunch of other lake refuse. As nasty as it sounds, this is an excellent place to surf because of the depth and the reflection waves. It’s a good play area. The only danger is getting caught on the inside because if you swim or get surfed in you are on the rebar and concrete.


Jason and I surfed in on the same wave but spread out by at least 50 yards. I surfed about twenty yards and pitchpoled my sea kayak. (There were no board surfers in sight and Jason was 50-60 yards away). I surfed in upside down the rest of the way, and then rolled up. I edged my kayak and turned around. In this process I managed to capsize again. I rolled up again. Now that I was pointed the right way. I tried to break out. The reflection waves and the pounding that cove was taking kept knocking me sideways and back. I was coming dangerously close to the concrete and rebar sticking into Lake Michigan. Each time I was ready to punch through I’d get knocked back and over again. I’d roll up each time and be forced to start over. Jason had already broken out, and was contemplating coming in to tow me out. Finally I started using a sliding stroke and used every ounce of strength I possessed to punch out.

In summary Jason and I are fairly equal in paddling skill and strength, but he managed to break out, where I was struggling. I think a bigger spoon blade might have allowed me to break out at least on the second try.

I have not really used a Euro blade to do any serious distances since about 2001. So I might be in for a real eye opener there. The traditional paddle is something I have likened to granny gear on a bicycle, high cadence, or high rotation of strokes with continual movement. The paddler does not have to lift their arms very high, and can sink the blade deep with minimal effort repeatedly. I think this is really the benefit of the paddle. You can go all day at high repetition with minimal effort.

I’ve been using a 85” Superior Carbon Fiber for about three years now. I think it is a really excellent paddle. It is scary light, super stiff, and very buoyant. My only complaint is the sound of loose foam rattling around inside from my abuse of the paddle over three years on Lake Michigan and Superior.

I’ve selected a 205 cm Carbon Crank shaft Werner Ikelos for a trial run, it is the big spoon of Werner’s Touring Line and I hope to give it a spin in the near future to see if I can put it through it’s paces. I think the real test will be over distances if the higher angle stroke with more catch can be sustained.

I have not fallen out of love with traditional paddling by any means. But I have had more experience using both now that I have been surfing with one and touring with the other. I would like to give the euro paddle a try again on some longer trips and see which is right for me. Curiosity and continuous discovery are important. Questioning what you know, and what you believe are always good things. These questions lead you somewhere, and for me I think these questions like a lot of searches may only lead to more questions, but that’s ok. Being able to teach effectively with both I think is also crucial. Not having a bias may provide some of my guinea pigs with a little perspective.

Also I’ve been practicing all of my Greenland competition rolls with my surf paddle and I think it works pretty well. Storm rolls, reverse low brace, shotgun, and even spine rolls do work with the modern blade. Zero feather angle is really important.

WMCKA Sea Kayak Symposium 2008 My Home is the Sea

Every year I attend the WMCKA Sea Kayaking Symposium it takes me a few days to absorb the impact of what it means to me. It is easy to say this happened and that happened. It is also easy to say this is the one thing that it meant, to go for the grand recit. What is infinitely harder is to say what it meant in smaller terms that make up the big picture. For my part WMCKA means a lot to me, as it is a culmination of planning efforts and coordination with the Symposium Committee, the WMCKA governing board, and a governing of my own desires for a great symposium.

I’d been trying to get Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme to come to our symposium since about 2005. Finally this year it worked out for both parties. This alone made me very happy in my heart. We decided to plan an instructor update prior to Symposium. This event was very well attended by our instructor group.

Shawna and Leon suited up and got us all out on the water asking us to paddle across Duck Lake and turning upwind. Their approach was to allow us to find our own way. They asked us to find five ways to turn upwind and simply let us paddle. We all came back with about seven ways to paddle upwind. The objective here it seems was to give us an objective, and allow us to interact with our environment, and then come up with our own conclusions. Based on the level of skill and experience each person has, they will come up with a variety of ways to deal with the environment. Only after we had tried a few things did Shawna and Leon call us in to have us give our ideas about what worked and what didn’t. Then after we had told them what we thought, they finally gave us their input. It was a really interesting way to teach a class. They barely spoke and allowed all of us to teach ourselves, each other, and finally when all that was done they gave us some pointers.

Derrick and a lot of the instructors were very juiced up about the bracing and rolling progression Shawna and Leon were sharing. This progression starts in a low brace, then high brace, and finally rolling. It focuses on starting the paddler on their back. Shawna and Leon have been using it with a high success rate in Washington. I would love to see a video of this progression a couple more times.

One of the more interesting points of the instruction for me was a paddle power demonstration. Shawna and Leon had us pair up with another paddler and link in tail to tail with another paddler on a contact tow. One paddler would use a euro paddle, the other would use a wing paddle or a euro paddle. The objective was to see who would tow who with the different paddle. I was paired off with Alec Boyd Peshkin who is my size and of equal power and skill. We started out with my carbon fiber greenland paddle and his werner shuna. Invariably the euro paddle would quickly overpower the Greenland paddle. We switched back and forth with the same results. We then used an epic wing and the Greenland paddle. It was dead even on these two paddles, I was surprised by this. We then switched to the wing and the euro. Again the euro paddle started dragging the paddler with the wing around.

I’ve held a not very scientific or empirical bias that the Euro and the Greenland style paddle were pretty much the same under these conditions. But after this I am not convinced. Doug Van Doren and Steve Bailey experienced the same results. Though Steve Bailey is a very powerful paddler and much bigger than Doug. Food for thought!!

A few of us headed out to Lake Michigan to paddle in the wind and waves afterwards. My inguinal hernia let me know pretty quickly that it was too soon for this type of exertion. I was left in the dust within a few minutes. I managed to take a few pictures regardless.

This was the point of the weekend where my mental state went in the drink. As a person I am competitive, gregarious, and outgoing. I found it very hard to be the slowest man on the water. It was a knife like jab in my belly to be unable to lead the pack when there was wind and waves to be had. My greatest joy in life is to be flying down wave with the wind at my back. To watch others easily out pace me felt like a clumsy root canal from a sadistic dentist with no anesthetic. I find I am a very poor spectator.

Once on sight at the Symposium in my spectator status I observed that the energy and enthusiasm Shawna and Leon exerted was as palpable as the pollen in the air. They were the first to be suited up to paddle and often the very last off the water. They were omnipresent and engaged in a way I have not seen any other instructors behave. You could tell that they loved being on the water, loved kayaking. And this enthusiasm melted over to the instructors, and the participants.

They also participated in the rodeo, and I saw kindred spirits, (I love a rodeo) in their competitive fun loving nature in the races, rolling contest, and passion to be involved, in the thick of things. Leon may have been channeling my wounded spirit when he and two other racers tackled one another into the shallows. What more could one ask for besides a rugby style tackle in a drysuit?

My grand recit for the weekend was observing Shawna and Leon as a couple. They spent every moment happily in each other’s company. I can say with some authority that this is very rare. You rarely saw one without the other. This sort of affection and dedication was so genuine one could hardly not feel it’s contagious gravity. I found myself more calm, more open towards friends, Laura, and the symposium in general. It seems to be the sort of bond you only read about in books, or see in movies. And perhaps this is not unlike kayaking, where you only get out of it what you put into it. And if this is any indication, the relationship and their kayaking seemed to have an effortless grace. Meaning there has probably been a lot of hard work on both ends.

Their slide show presentation on the Queen Charlotte Islands or Haida Gwai was fantastic. This expedition took place on the inside and outside of this island group. The outside is right on the edge of the continental shelf. The unbroken Pacific Ocean has no barrier between swell generation and the islands. So the full force of the world’s largest ocean breaks on these islands. Justine Curgenven went with Shawna and Leon and filmed the trip, so look for it in the next installment of This is the Sea.

One of Leon’s opening statements about the trip has been firmly cemented in my mind.
“You will never have enough money, you will never have enough vacation time, you just have to go.” Too bad that is too big to get as a tattoo.

I actually had many many participants and beginner paddlers come up and tell me how great the presentation was. That was a first. It is further proof that the energy you give to something is very real and palpable.

I hope to be able to find someone, or somebody as dedicated, enthusiastic and as skilled as Shawna and Leon for next year. I know there are some folks I would like to ask to visit us on Big Blue Lake. Some small part wonders if this may have been the proverbial summit of our little symposium.

I will leave you with a song by Will Oldham (aka Bonnie Prince Billy) that probably explains the energy we all feel about kayaking, instruction, and a life full of adventure, either small or big.

My Home Is the Sea-Bonnie Prince Billy Lyrics

I have often said
that I would like to be dead
in shark’s mouth

a woman swimming under
her warm breath sendin’ a thunder
on two parts south

and love is stripped and frayed
and duty is delayed
until next life

someone has my mind
holding yes so kind
it is my wife

and my home is the sea
my home is the sea
look not for me

my home is the sea
disaster flies upon me
and i sleep
we can see the house lights
colored from a distance
for a party as a dream

my tongue will into me
my arms unfold these seeds
cause im a strong man

and do not love my tummy
is round and firm and funny
and thats what i am

my home is the sea
my home is the sea

i am under your spell
you will have me i reckon
and the drowning this town
as a drowning i welcome

i know nothing and im over joyed
i know nothing and im over joyed
i know nothing and im over joyed

god gave you life and thought
now its ours to waste
i have the finest love
and the finest taste

see her when im home
i am home

you are home