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.

tags: betsie bay   great lakes   lake michigan   Nigel Foster   sea kayaking   silhouette   surf kayaking   valkyrie  

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.

tags: euro paddle   greenland paddle   lendal   Nigel Foster   Nigel Foster Silhouette   P&H   sea kayaking   Towing a sea kayak   werner  

Travel Log Post from Rapid Transit Blog

Surf and Travel. What better combination? Every Surf Paddler’s deepest dream is to surf a virgin break, with very little competition.

The photos from this surf trip to Morocco are really beautiful. Travel and surfing is something that I long to do. Laura and I keep talking about going to Costa Rica. I would love to go in winter to do some kayak surfing.

Morocco is very beautiful, and I had no idea it had any good surf at all. But I guess it makes sense if the Atlantic side has big swells you’re likely to see surf like they get in the Basque country. I remember getting excited when I saw how big the surf was in Baiko and Mundaka this winter.

It would be great to do a Paul Bowles Sheltering Sky type mosey through Africa to do Kayak Surfing on the west coast. Granted I would pass on catching a horrible disease and dying. But the traveling sounds great.

Check out the full Rapid Transit Post and all the pictures.

On a usability note: the notepad entries on the bottom of the pictures look cool, but are completely illegible.

tags: africa   blogging   kayak surfing   morocco   Paul Bowles   surf kayaking   surf photography   surfing   The Sheltering Sky   travel  

Job Prevents Kalamazoo Man from Kayak Surfing

The surf is building on Lake Michigan. To quote Ben Stiller, I feel the need to grab some time in the green room!

I have ordered a composite Mega Neutron. I am hoping it is delivered and available by the time fall rolls around.

Until then I feel like a cuckold, my beautiful lake is out generating waves while I am away.

tags: kayak surfing   lake michigan   lake michigan storms   paddle surfing   south haven   surf kayaking   surfing  

This may answer or unfortunately actually raise more questions!

You decide!

To me it looks like the boardie was having to duck for cover as the sea kayak was coming at him.

tags: board surfing   paddle surfing   right of way on the wave   sea kayaking   surf kayaking   surf zone etiquette   surfing  

WMCKA Sea Kayak Symposium Memorial Day Weekend 2008

Our West Michigan Coastal Kayakers’ (WMCKA) Annual Sea Kayaking Symposium is fast approaching. Memorial day Weekend at Big Blue Lake North of Muskegon. We will be heading out to Big Blue Lake to endure the wind, the rain, and hopefully the sunshine. There will be three days of sea kayaking instruction, a full fledged kids program with kayak polo, harpoon throwing, and the best kayak rodeo in the United States. The WMCKA Symposium is famous for its family atmosphere, great instruction, fun and camaraderie. Also let’s not forget the Band!!! Betsie Baye and the Groove Engine will be making a return for dancing on Sunday Night.

Sign up Now for Symposium

WMCKA is lucky enough to have two guest speakers this year.

Shawna Franklin will be one of our featured guest speakers and instructors. Shawna Franklin was the first woman to achieve the lofty BCU (British Canoe Union) 5 Star Sea Award. She and Leon Somme circumnavigated Iceland, and Queen Charlotte’s Island together, as well as being featured numerous times in Justine Curgenven’s now ubiquitous This is the Sea Videos.

Leon Somme will also be attending. From what I can gather so far, he will present a Wind and Waves slide show, but don’t hold me to that. Leon also holds the BCU 5 Star Sea award, the 4 Star Surf award, and the 4 Star Inland award.

Shawna and Leon got their start on the Great Lakes on Lake Superior in Minnesota, (I sure hope I have my facts right). So hopefully we can get out on Lake Michigan when it’s textured before their departure back to the San Juans in Washington State.

Shawna and Leon will also be hosting an instructor update, which if you missed instructor email missive and want to attend, add the event here. Please note: this is not part of the official WMCKA Symposium and is only open to the Symposium Instructor Staff.

Directions to Camp Pendalouan:

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Have a look at this photo:

I am by no means a surf safety nazi. But having been on the receiving end of bad vibes for no good reason while paddle surfing in both northern california and southern california, this sort of thing makes us look pretty careless.

A 170 lbs paddler endoing an 18’ foot long sea kayak in a mixed break is asking to get himself creamed by some meth-heads and as a result the rest of us will pay the collective karma on this.

Of course it looks cool. Of course he might be further away than he looks in the photo. But even I will be the first to say a sea kayak has little place in a crowded break. I can just picture him high bracing and bongo sliding his way through the break zone wiping out boardies left and right.

Sigh. After the articles in the Santa Cruz Newspaper we need to be getting better, not worse.

Your thoughts!

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Kayak Surfing Santa Cruz

I was fortunate enough on my SMX west conference to swindle two days of kayak surfing near Santa Cruz into the mix.

I did some research about where to rent a surf kayak, but then remembered the flippant offer from world surf competitor Sean Morely to give him a call if I wanted to surf. I managed to get a hold of him and he offered to take me out, but it didn’t work out, and he had a class to attend for a new ACA surf instructor certification. So he benevolently lent me a carbon kevlar Valley Rush and a paddle.

Sean gave some advice that Davenport, about 10 Miles north of Santa Cruz would probably be the best place to try as it is more paddle surfer friendly. Laura and I loaded up the surf kayak on our tiny rental car and drove north along California Highway 1. The drive is beautiful with a dramatic coastline and lots of open space unlike a lot of Southern California. We found Davenport Landing quite easily. I walked down the beach and checked out the break. A medium size swell was breaking in a manageable fashion off of some offshore rocks. But the waves came right up to some cliffs and rocks. On the other side of the break and further out, there were some very large faces that appeared to be more dumpy. I was clearly not going to go near that.

Day 1 Davenport Landing

I suited up and headed out. Again, paddling out on flat water is always a treat for a midwestern boy! Once out I was quite cautious because of all the rocks. but once I started catching rides I calmed down a bit. I caught a number of excellent rides and scooted off the back before they crashed into the onshore rocks. Faces were 4-6 feet at most. I managed to only wipe out once or twice. I can say that I had forgotten how awful it is to use a straight shaft white water paddle for rolling, the indexing is very iffy and I felt pretty rushed to get some air a few times.

Day 2 Davenport Landing

This day was far windier than the first. Wind was peaking at about 20 knots. This is more what I am accustomed to kayak surfing on Lake Michigan. The faces were smaller and harder to catch. I still caught some great rides. I even managed to paddle with some other kayak surfers, which is a first for me. And as it turns out fortuitous. I had the bum luck of a dumb swim. The wind and the rip carried me to the far end of the break, and I had to stand cold, tired, and feeling a little stupid on the beach. The surf was not even as big as it had been on Lake Michigan on days when I had stayed in the boat. I keep reminding myself that for a beginning kayak surfer on Great Lakes Surf with no training, maybe I should be more forgiving of my follies. Hopefully I get to make a few more mistakes!

The Valley Rush Surf Kayak

The kayak was excellent! I’ve never surfed such a fast surf craft. Once downwave this boat was unbelievable. It’s far and above the sweetest ride I’ve had yet. The power pocket tail was really helpful in getting a good takeoff. Though it seemed a little loose in the tail on some turns where I got squirted out of the whitewater. I think the fin placement could have used a little adjustment to the back to allow me to grab a little tighter.

Many Thanks to Sean for the opportunity to paddle the Rush!

Check out the picasa picture gallery:

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In the three times I’ve kayak surfed in California there’s always been a bad vibe from board surfers. Until you sort of creep out and slowly surf the premium part of the break. You have to show them that you aren’t going to kill them when you wipe out.

There was an interesting article with some editorial comments posted in the Santa Cruz Sentinel
about the Surf Kayaking Competition in Santa Cruz.

It sounded like the editorial was fairly balanced, but that the comments got a little out of whack.

For my part as a visitor, I always approach with humility, but if I lived there I am not sure where I would fall on the militant line of rights to surf where I like.

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Had my first sub twenties commute of the year. I felt much warmer than last year. Ninjaclava from Outdoor Research was a plus, as were the Cyclone Booties from Pearl Izumi.

However as I had some new gear on that seems to be working out, I thought I would point out a few losers from last year that I thought would work out well but ended up failing miserably.

The Bad and the Ugly

1. The EKG Base layer from Pearl Izumi
I bought two of these as base layers. They were comfy and next to skin good for about two days. Both of them developed holes in the armpits that grew in size. Either I have acid in my sweat like a Geiger alien, or Pearl Izumi needs some QC/QA.
2. Thermafleece Tights Pearl Izumi discontinued. These started out warm, snug, and terrific. They now have developed a hole in the arse and in the crotch. Again is it acid eating sweat, or poor QC/QA? Do the people that rave about Pearl Izumi all the time actually use their gear at all? For the price, almost double HIND or Sugoi gear; they better last more than a season.
3. Louis Garneau Cycling Gloves-these things suck as cycling gloves. They do not block wind in anything below 45 degrees, and they are not water resistant.

1. Lendal Paddle Kinetic XTI White Water paddle-Previously posted

   Editorial note, they are shipping me a new paddle that has as of yet not arrived.

   The Good

2. CW-X Lite-fit Top
I bought two of these to replace the Pearl Izumi tops. One year on, they are still taking the abuse of my acidic alien armpit sweat. I’ve worn them under drysuits, ski jackets, and cycling jerseys. No rips no runs, still like new.
3. NRS Toaster Mitts

Great 30 dollar investment.

1. Mega Maverick

Great carving machine, many many fun rides in this downwave maniac. I can’t say enough good things about Mega’s surf boats. More fun than I am legally allowed to have.

1. IR Custom Drydeck

Great heavy duty rubber randed sprayskirt custom made to my kayak. No more cold water ejections. No Tag