Greg Stamer will attempt to circumnavigate Newfoundland by Sea Kayak starting June 1st 2008. He needs a little assistance getting his Nigel Dennis Greenlander Pro kayak transported there.

Greg is now a veteran of an Icelandic circumnavigation with Freya Hoffmeister. Their circumnavigation set a record for the number of days (33 days).

If you think you can help transport Greg’s Kayak read the request below from Greg Stamer himself. Leave a comment on the blog here or head over to the Qajaq USA site and comment on the forum post.

All,
I’m preparing for a solo circumnavigation of Newfoundland starting this June and need some help with kayak transport. The container with my kayak (NDK Greenlander Pro) is delayed. It might arrive in time, but I need to make alternate plans just in case. Plan “B” is to use a kayak from Tom Bergh’s stock in Maine. I need help getting the boat from Tom’s shop to Newfoundland (ideally St. John’s but anywhere will do).

If anyone is traveling from Maine to Newfoundland between now and the second week of June, and would like to help by transporting an extra boat, please give me a shout! Depending on when you are traveling, I might be able to join you in Maine and help with gas and expenses, but if this is not an option, just getting the kayak to Newfoundland will be a major help.

Alternatively, if anyone knows of another economical way for me to get the boat from Maine to Newfoundland (short of renting a car), please let me know.

Thanks!

Greg Stamer

Is Sea Kayaking a Commercial Sport?

I was asked by my good friend of LuckyKitchen.com Aeron Bergman’s father a good number of years ago when Turtleneck.net was still in action if I felt that the internet was over-saturated with content. It was a really interesting question. I didn’t really have the context at the time to answer the question, it was 1999 for pities sake.

In the sea kayaking blogosphere and especially in the expedition blogs there seems to be a plethora of dynamic people creating top flight content. Unfortunately it seems mostly created out of misery, breakups, arguments, failed partnerships, failed romances, divorces, but surrounded, if not wrapped like a falafel sandwich in the pita bread of spectacular paddling trips and seasoned with heroic efforts. Of course people like Shawna and Leon break that rule.

Greg Stamer has created his first Blog for his trip around Newfoundland as a sponsored paddler. In his post on blogging he stated that he doesn’t enjoy reading blow by blow travelogues of kayaking trips. I can understand the aversion to the gory details. But I also wonder if this is also an aversion to the medium due to the seeming over-saturation of kayaking expeditions to the same four places: Iceland, New Zealand, Australia, and Newfoundland. Do we need another one?

Who wants to read another blow by blow of a trip round New Zealand? Chris Duff pretty well had that covered in his spectacular book, Southern Exposure. I wonder though if Chris might have been tempted to blog if it had been available as a mass consumed medium in 2003. In five years so much has changed about the web. Certainly the overused phrase of Web 2.0 and consumer generated content is paramount here.

Sea kayaking has seemed to me; as an athlete of both running, cycling, and soccer a sport that is horrifically uncompetitive. Before this comes off sounding terrible, there are some very athletic, talented sea kayakers that are very impressive. But in order to become sponsored as a runner, or a cyclist, or as a soccer player, one would have to be so much better than everyone else that it would stagger you to think about it. I’ve played soccer against a few semi-pro and professional players in pickup matches and I can tell you that despite years of training the difference between us was night and day. Running and cycling again are perhaps even worse. My marathon time of 3:40 while quite fast for an amateur and a first marathon is still one hour and thirty minutes slower than the guy who won the race. Cycling again is so competitive that in order to stay in the game performance enhancing drugs have become the norm not the exception.

So where am I going with this? I think with Greg Stamer stepping into the realm of professional kayaking, his blog, and his trip Sea Kayaking might be entering into the realm of professional athletes. As strange as this might sound to Greg, I see this as the end of amateur night. For better or worse. And before you say it this is not so much about Greg, but about the trend. Greg whom I’ve never met, and only emailed with occasionally when debates got heated on Qajaqusa.org forums. He seems to me to be a terrific person and a very dedicated paddler, and who is a great ambassador for paddling in general, not just traditional paddling.

Justine Curgenven’s This is The Seavideos over the last few years, Brian Smith’s Pacific Horizon Video all lead to an increasing marketing push to fund bigger and better trips for more people over a year. This is great in that it brings visibility to the sport, but maybe sad in a way. I think it may eventually lead to a decline in accessibility to good informal training from people as great as Greg Stamer, Leon Somme, Shawna Franklin, Justine Curgenven, Jeff Allen, and Simon Osborne.

Because I help plan a small symposium I’ve noticed that most of the professional paddlers in the years between 2003 and 2006 were fairly accessible and inexpensive to consider, as the years have gone on there are more and more symposiums every year, and a growing number of great paddlers with very booked social calendars. This is great! But also I fear the beginning of the end for smaller local symposiums with low budgets.

For those that might not know this, these symposiums have traditionally been run by local clubs with no profit at the end. The object is to net out at 0 so that the symposium pays for itself. And this may be how all symposiums are run, certainly no one is getting rich, not even the sponsored paddlers. There aim is solely to get their name out to do more symposiums, support their sponsors, and because it is fun. My worry is that the little, out of the way symposiums, in non-glamorous places like Muskegon Michigan may no longer be part of the whirlwind tour. I hope I am wrong.

William Gibson said at the release of his previous novel (2003), Pattern Recognition, that life these days doesn’t seem to be so much about the avoidance of marketing, but the inevitability of it. And for Sea Kayaking that time may have come. White Water paddling has certainly been there for ages with a small number of inapproachable stars who compete for small pots of cash at events. Eric Jackson being the most notable. Surf Kayaking also has its stars, note the wrap up of the Santa Cruz Surf Kayak Festival.

Because Sea Kayaking is more about journeys than pulling of sweet tricks in a hole, (this is the sea notwithstanding), I think climbing may be a more accurate partner for the commercialization of sea kayaking. Who knows perhaps it is this approachability to the amateur that makes Sea Kayaking so great. Anyone can get in and do it. And unless we really are talking about circumnavigating Iceland it is a relatively low impact, easy going sport with little risk.

The people I’ve met through paddling have been some of the greatest I’ve ever met. I certainly am not calling up old soccer buddies to crash on their couch and play pick up games when I have free time. But I certainly will call up just about anyone I’ve met paddling even once to go paddle, sleep on their couch, eat their food, and vice versa.

I think this may be that moment for paradigm shift, or a nodal point where everything seems to change, but who knows maybe some people saw this moment 10 years ago. Paddle sports are quite unusual.

Trip dynamics are a difficult relationship to manage. When selecting a paddling partner you’re sort of looking for that sibling/spouse/wing man vibe from the person you may have to share a tent with. I’ve been relatively lucky on my trips to have really good vibes from my tent mates. We comprise separate elements of the Aubrey/Maturin dynamic. For those not in the know, Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his particular friend, (no don’t read gay lover) Doctor and Natural Philosopher Stephen Maturin are the protagonists of author Patrick O’Brian’s wildly popular Napoleonic naval warfare novel series. 21 Books in all.

Captain Aubrey of whom I’ve written before is at sea, a leader of the James T Kirk variety. His presence commands respect among both the officer gentleman class, as well as the foremast jacks. He is a gifted navigator and seaman. He is blessed with a keen tactical sense that has provided his crews and his career with bountiful wealth in prize money. He is friendly, open, and eager. On land, though he is a bit of a buffoon. Incapable of managing his money, or political maneuvering against his best interests. He is his own worst enemy on terra firma.

Dr. Stephen Maturin on the other hand is an Irish Catalan who signed on as a ship’s surgeon in Jack’s first command, the Sophie. His temperament is moodier, more introspective, and mercurial. He knows nothing about the sea. Even after years aboard a square rigged man of war, he is deeply ignorant of the mechanics of sailing. He is however deeply interested in natural philosophy in the vein of Darwin. Because of his natural hatred of tyranny in any form he has swallowed his Irish pride and decided to work against the common enemy of Napoleon. But his linguistic gifts, Latin, Greek, Catalan, French, Gaelic, and Portuguese have provided him with a natural inclination towards clandestine work. He is a keeper of secrets and confidences by nature. And as the popular author, Daniel Silva has said, “to speak another language is to possess another soul”. His various souls have allowed him to thwart intelligence activities of the French and her allies in many countries during the HMS Surprises voyages across the world.

The relationship between Stephen and Jack is rooted in their love of music. And they encourage and entertain one another through cello and violin duets while at sea. The relationship has weathered many storms and come back to some basis of respect because of music.

No one person is really all Stephen, or all Jack. But possess traits in kind with each. We recognize parts of ourself in each. And certainly I identify with Jack deeply at times. Feeling ungainly on land, unnecessary and lost. But while at sea, alive and finally whole. But I also see a great empathy with Stephen in his need to understand every thing that walks and breathes, and what they mean to one another. His intellect serves him well in most ways, but makes other things both unavailable and impossible at times.

Jim Svensson and myself form our own Aubrey and Maturin in this way. Each of us in our own way both inept and competent. Certainly I can’t explain why we as two men apart in years and temperament choose to continually go to sea together and put up with cold, rain, danger, confined living quarters, sub-standard food, and lots of insect bites.

Suffering is just part of the joy I think, one is intrinsically linked to the other. So we venture out again on the premise that there is more joy to be had on Lake Superior, more beauty, and to paddle because it is hard, and slow. We leave family and comfort at home to have something to miss. So we can feel that longing for home at the end.

I can’t figure out all the reasons why it’s necessary to go, but I can say I know why we go together. The dynamic just works. And it’s a good thing. Having seen Derrick’s post on Kayak Quixotica, I feel for him. I’ve had a bad trip dynamic vibe myself. All I can say is from my minimal “expedition” tripping whatever experience, you do not want bad mojo at sea. Anyone can tell you that. The sooner you get that bad black voodoo in the open the better. It may seem ugly on land, but I guarantee it will be f#@!ing ugly at sea.

I don’t know Wendy, I do know Derrick. So I wish him the best of luck on his trip and hope the bad vibes run their course on land and are quickly forgotten once at sea. I hope he finds his Aubrey/Maturin voodoo soon.

The islands of Lake Michigan trip for me will be postponed indefinitely. I am still drawn to this trip. I wish Steve and Jim Viviano good fortune and tail winds.

I’ve been in San Diego for the last week with the family. Made it out surfing three times on the Pacific. For those who are curious, I have two words, Reef Break. I have some photos to share. I think I may have another trip up my sleeve for June. We’ll see…