Get Out And Howl

The moon is kinda like our appendix. We all know it's there but, unless we are song writers, mystics or paddlers, we aren't sure what it does. At his time of the year, as Robin Williams says, the moon hangs "like a testicle" in the sky...but I digress.

Some folks who rarely paddle will be out in the evening to watch the full moon loom over the horizon where it appears ten times larger than when over head. At the same time some song writer will get inspired to pen a love ballad while a mystic or two will "OM" away the evening hours. It's all good and, around here, that's about it.

But those of you who dwell on the coast know how this unplayable ball in the sky can really mess with your trip plans by making the entire ocean move with or against you. So forceful is this movement that they named a laundry detergent after it.

Tides on Lake Michigan are minuscule and virtually never mentioned. In fact, I've never seen a tide table show up around here, even at an after-paddle coffee meet. On the coast, however, it is a big deal and a huge element in planning times of launches and all sorts of things. When these tides oppose a major current unique standing waves are produced which, in turn, lead to wonderful DVD's of kayaks playing in them being produced.

So, hat's off to that little ball of Gouda in the sky and, remember, don't forget your moon screen.

Paddle safe...

DS