A Few Last Images of

Canoecopia

Kokataks Ronin

 Megan always has a smile

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Some very famous people need no introduction (hint: the man always in black)

Paddle safe
DS

More Images of Canoecopia: 

Products you may or may not want

 

And best of all...

Paddle safe...
DS

 Lightening Up

Faces and Sights

of

Canoecopia

There have been some heavy discussions and responses of late, especially to the question on speed v. length of water line. BTW: to follow up on yesterday's post, I went out with the Cetus with a Greenland paddle and never experienced an easier or faster paddle.That narrow beam ahead of the hips is made for a traditional stroke. Better than a SOF...but I digress. Here are some things that I found of note, interesting or just eye-catching at the big show: First, the testers...

And, some faces you will recognize (and some you won't):

Hint: He is an instructor from Wisconsin

Sam (Marquette, MI)

Hint: Another Wisconsin instructor

And, finally (for today, at least), the most beautiful face I never saw.

Paddle safe...
DS

The Learning Curve

   When I first starting paddling the Swede-form Cetus, I was all over the place. I has some problems that have been documented here (one still about to be solved), and Brian from P&H was there to support me. Still, I was having problems with performance. Let me rephrase that: the boat wasn't doing what I thought it should.
    Mixed into all of this was my obsession with longer and longer paddles (?shaft envy). I had, in the past, gone from a 220 to a 230 low angle blade and was thinking it worked better. In any event, I began to change things recently.

   First, I lost almost 8 pounds of belly fat (I had to brag about this to someone). Then, I accepted the fact that real men do ask for directions and even use the skeg at times. This past few paddles I began moving the foot pegs further away. I have always had them up and tight to jam my thighs under the braces. I believe this came from the feel of my skin on frame boats and the desire to always be locked in and ready to roll. The answer, of course, is to get the legs in the proper position and to pad the braces to meet the thighs (another on the to- do list). Now my torso rotation increased. About 24 hours ago I watched Danny Mongo's You Tube video on high v. low angle paddling.

    Danny always told me to use a shorter paddle. So what? I mean just because he lives and breathes paddles doesn't mean he knows it all. I added this to everything I've seen Ben Lawry do. Finally, yesterday, I really took a look at the boat. As you can see in the picture, it is narrow just ahead of the cockpit, especially where the blades enter the water. Would it not make sense that the most efficient stroke would be right along the beam of the boat? Yes!
    So, I took my 210 high angle paddle out with me yesterday and put the 220 low angle on the deck as a spare. (Maybe now would be a good time to confess that I had talked to the folks at Rutabaga about testing out some 215 high angle paddles). Out I went paddling into a NE wind and into the outer harbor where there was a 1-2 foot confused chop. All the while I concentrated on good form and keeping the blade close to the hull. Then out the gap onto open water where it was rolling 3-4 feet with a few breakers. All this time, mind you, I am adjusting the skeg to match the direction of the wind. Then I looked at the blades as I paddled ( I know, that's a no-no, but this was a scientific experiment that required observation. But I digress). I wanted to be sure I was burying the blades and noted that I was, indeed. In fact, I was putting a bit too much of the shaft under the surface.
   I still plan to go to 'baga to try out paddles, but it will be a shorter (205) high angle one I will be interested in testing. So, there it is, the learning curve. Can you believe how much smarter my boat is now?

Paddle Safe...
DS

Canoecopia Products

I saw some new products this year, some good and some just interesting. This is not an endorsement of any of them, however, I did take home a 3-boat Suspenz storage rack. The "lip" of the rack lays flat. When you put the weight of the boat onto the strap the lip is pulled vertical. You then connect the safety strap.

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Another interesting product, which I did not buy, was the OZ tent. The photos show how it can be put up in, literally, seconds. Unfortunately, when taken down you are left with a roll that is several feet long and cannot go into a kayak.

Then there was this button. I didn't bother to ask.

Paddle safe...
DS...

Ben...Again

For the second year in a row I got to be "ticket taker"  in the atrium, the open space atop the balcony where Canoecopia takes place. It meant seeing a lot of fine speakers and teachers including Ben Lawry who I think is incredibly innovative. You have likely seen him demonstrate his on land rolling technique. This time he was doing the 4 Ps of paddling (I'll never tell).

In any event, I decided to apply some of that info today when I went out for a paddle. I ended up moving my foot pegs 2 stops further away, and I felt I had a much better forward stroke with more rotation. Of course, there was a gap between my thighs and the braces, but that can be remedied with some padding. Good stuff. Good teacher.

Off to Dallas tomorrow to lecture. Hope to post next Monday.

Paddle safe...
DS

Dispute Resolution @ Canoecopia

Here is Nancy, a.k.a. the Boss, and she doesn't look happy. She ran a marvelous show and showed great talent, tolerance and ability as she moved this mega-monster event along. So what is she so mad about? Well, probably the same thing JB is going off on.

Seems JB's wife didn't separate the colors and the whites, and he ended up with this pink shirt coming out of the laundry. Since it isn't a regulation show shirt, we now see what the Boss is upset about. JB is practicing the speech he hopes to deliver when he gets home. In the end, he dons a conservative shirt that says, "I work at Canoecopia" (or infers it anyway...but I digress). Result? Everyone is happy.

Paddle safe...
DS

Do You Know This Man?

(take another look)

Other than the facts that he was tall and wearing a kilt, I didn't take notice of this fellow, although I had met him before and own some of his DVDs. It wasn't until he sat down in the University of Seakayaking booth that I reasoned, it must beWayne Horodowich. And it was.

I reintroduced myself and asked what had happened to change his appearance.He explained (remember, he has a backround in exercise physiology, but I digress) that about a year ago he decided to lose 90 pounds. Using an i phone app that keeps track of his caloric intake, he exercised and lost about 2 pounds each week up until he reached his goal. Incredible.

He states that he feels great and is never hungry (he does drink Diet Dr. Pepper, but I digress...again).

Just one of the interesting things I came across at Canoecopia.

Paddle safe...
DS
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Personal note: Leslie, please re-post, your comment got inadvertantly deleted. DS...

The Really Big Show

Canoecopia 2010 drew huge crowds and was as good as ever. I didn't see the old friends I'd hope to meet up with. I don't know if they skipped this year or if I missed them while hosting speaker rooms.

I have to mention the fantastic staff at Rutabaga (again). They really took care of business. They went beyond competent and, much to my delight, gave wonderful good old-fashioned customer service.

Moving on, the show had the usual suspects including the now famous U-tube star.

And the well known biggies.

There were some new products, and I will get to those this week.

Paddle safe...
DS

Force v. Size

Back from Canoecopia which had huge attendance. Unfortunately, I didn't bump into a lot of the folks I had looked forward to seeing. I will be posting pics and comments soon.

Meanwhile, I have been driving myself nuts while mulling over an issue around boat size and speed. For starters, we all agree that a longer boat (all else being equal) can go faster than a shorter one. So far so good. In addition, we know that that longer boat will need more horsepower (muscle) to hit those higher speeds. Correct? Here's where the waters get muddy. 

Say a paddler is capable of putting out, oh say, 5 units of power. If we put this paddler into a long boat that needs 6 units of power to hit top speed, he will fall short. Okay? Now, let's put him in a slightly shorter boat that tops out with only 5 units of applied power. Hurray, the paddler hits hull speed in that boat.

The question is, in which boat can he go the fastest?

Now, I have a headache.

Paddle safe...
DS

Group Therapy

Tomorrow, JB, Sherri and I are off to Canoecopia where (see Roy's comment last post) I hope to reunite with old friends and make new ones. Hopefully, the fires will be rekindled, and I will be good to go. More next week.

Paddle safe...
DS

OK, So I'm Back

The good new is that I got out for a short paddle today. Lovely ice formations and fog were the setting. I have other pics, but photo shop may have died on my computer.

On the other hand, the vacation did little to refresh me or, for that matter, cheer me up. The fog today was appropriate and symbolic. I do not know when it is supposed to clear.

Paddle safe...
DS

Homeward Bound

Supposed to get to 70 F here today. Plans are to fly home to Milwaukee this evening where the word is that all launch sites are open. Paddle tomorrow?

In my abscence, my former partner (medical practice) has had surgery with severe complications. I await word to see how he is today and am anxious for his recovery.

Like the song say, "I wann' 'go home."

Paddle safe...
DS

Water, Water (even boats) Every Where

and not a kayak in sight. Alas.

Paddle Safe...
DS

I Joined Linda in Floridaxx

To relax and enjoy warm weather. But I forgot to bring my

fleece and cag.

Paddle safe...

DS

No MASK

To our south is the CASKA, the Chicago Area Sea Kayak Association. West of here, in the capitol city of Madison, are the HOOFERS ( U. of Wisconsin outdoors organization) and the MAD City Paddlers. Even the small towns north of us have organized into a dynamic North East Wisconsin group that gives assistance to those wanting to become instructors and organizes events and lessons year round. But, alas, there is no Milwaukee Area Sea Kayak anything, just a Yahoo Group site.

I am told that before I ever joined other paddlers in this area, they actually thought about forming one. If I understand correctly, a few lawyers in the group (remember, 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name; but I digress) feared the legal ramifications and liabilities of having something on paper. It never happened.We do have BS Squared, or BSBS, the Badgerland State Boating Society, which organizes the local winter pool sessions. I am told that over the years, the meetings have lost energy and the group has become one of mostly white water paddlers.

We have several instructors in our area, some of us level 4 ACA certified: but only one, Sherri Mertz, has developed it into a business. It was she who brought all this up at the pool session this past Sunday. Her thought was to reactivate the sea kayak "section" of the already existing BSBS. Not a bad idea. Certainly, she has a business interest in such a concept, but (let me be clear) Sherri has been around the retail end and teaching end of the business longer than I have been paddling. She has taught a whole bunch of people to enjoy safe paddling. She is one of the folks I go to when I need someone to watch me and diagnose when something isn't going right. She knows products and is an invaluable source of info for new paddlers looking into buying a first boat. She is not attached to any retail outlet (she does teach at her former employer's store on occaision).

First, and fore most, clubs are a place someone can go to find out about paddling. When there is no club around they are left to talking to retailers whose interests may not align with the novice's. A club can introduce inquiring minds to our sport, suggest ways to get started and maybe even get them onto the water for a taste. It is a place to be with other paddlers both on the water and socially. It is a place to take an idea from concept to fruition. It is a nidus for trips and outings and so on.

We are an area of over a million people. We are blessed with a monstrous lake that is, in essence, a tideless free-of-salt ocean with all the conditions one could wish for. More over, we are surrounded with large numbers of lakes with clean water and public access. What we don't have is an organization.

(BTW: I teach tomorrow all day and evening and am off to Florida on Thursday. Will post next when I can).

Paddle safe...
DS