Can We Be Of Service To You?

(Disclaimer: Pics from 2008 event)

Most outdoor loving people try to do the right thing. They do what they do safely and they are respective of the environment. Many of these folks (including paddlers) go the extra step and offer some service, or give back, to the community. This weekend, as many of us have in the past, local sea kayakers will be volunteering for a local store's Paddle Fest on the Milwaukee River.

(Gary Simon teaching to the crowd)

Some will prep new paddlers and then lead them on a short trip that goes from out Lake Michigan launch site, into the harbor and up the river to the sponsoring store. Some will teach on the water and ashore.

Others will spend hours chasing down paddlers going "out of bounds" and offering tips to those trying kayaks for the first time. But, most importantly,

we will be there as safety boaters should the call come in. Now, that's service.

Paddle safe...
DS

Too Much of a Good Thing

It seems somewhat ironic to me that we spend a lot of time around torso rotation and not so much as what is, for me, a common problem. That being, carrying the stroke too far back. I still catch myself letting that blade stay submerged as it is passing my hip. Interestingly, it is usually an indication that I have gotten sloppy and that I am not rotating.

Using a cored, Werner paddle with light swing weight and a tendency to bob up to the surface has helped. Sometimes it feels as if the blade is reminding me that it needs air as it passes my hip.

I have noticed that students with this habit are often paddling at a high angle and keeping the blade right next to the hull (they are all arm paddling). I ask them to lower that top hand to chest level and to consciously make the blade drift away from the boat as they stroke. This often solves the problem. If not, I help them look for body clues that will give muscle memory that tells them it is time for recovery. This might be the angle of the elbow on the stroking side or where in relation to the mid line of the deck the top hand is at.

Shortening their (and my) stroke makes for a more efficient stroke as there is no lifting of water at the end of the cycle. It is also safer on the shoulders and prevents that awkward position that often leads to students (with no low brace) to go over into the drink.

Paddle safe...
DS

Show Me Your Bob

or your Sarah...

or your fluffy

I'm sure I didn't invent it, but I use it a lot when teaching torso rotation. It's really quite a simple concept. I ask the student to name their favorite person or pet and to then imagine that they have that person's/pet's picture on the front of their pfd.

Being proud of the person/pet, it is assumed they would want the world to see the pictures. I put paddlers on each side of the student (or, if in a channel, tell them to imagine people on shore) and tell the student to show everyone the picture. In order to do so, they absolutely have to rotate (turning the boat is not allowed), and it is amazing (at least to me) how well the vast majority do it and do it well. It is equally amazing how many don't once the imaginary picture is gone. Try it.

Paddle safe...
DS

We Remember

During our Sunday morning paddle yesterday, several of us (not all  pictured) gathered along the south break wall to remember Doug Winter, a friend, a teacher and a fellow paddler who died several months ago. We had held a memorial gathering before and had waited until now so those who don't paddle in winter could join us.

Leslie (r) had etched the memorial stone, and Greg agreed to place it on behalf of us all.

He chose a spot where storms are less likely to move it and where casual observers will not molest it.

That done, we went for a paddle, talked and felt a bit better about things.

What did Doug look like? His photo is always at the bottom of these pages.

Paddle safe...

DS

DS

Teaching

"Teaching is my passion" is permanently stated at the bottom of all my e mails. There is just something about the challenge of making something understandable in the classroom and doable on the water that brings out the best in me. Students (I teach medical sciences as well as kayaking) keep me sharp and creative. Unlike the classroom, kayak classes have a certain positive energy and excitement about them. Above is Jeff, one of the original owners of Rutabaga, who is now finding joy in teaching.

I was fortunate enough this season to start out with the two day class that sees students go from never having been in a kayak to having a full set of basic skills. We cover the usual strokes, escapes and rescues. As things went well with this last group, we had time for basic towing and (as pictured above) some advanced combination rescue-towing techniques.

The pay off for me was seeing a group that had begun with no ability to control or steer a kayak go on to complete their lessons with a pretty tightly executed game of follow the leader where they put it all together. Tomorrow, another beginning class. The passion continues.

Paddle safe...
DS

A Little and Nice Thing

It was back on the pond behind Rutabaga, about a week ago, and I was teaching a two day kayak progression (now called combo) class. It went well, and the students were great. It was during a break when I had just come ashore that this fellow walked up and asked, "Are you Silbs?"

I believe his name was Chris, and he just wanted to say hello and that he read this nonsense from time to time. It was a nice gesture on his part. Turned out that his wife was there to take a beginning kayak course. I appreciated the fact he took the time and made the effort to say hello.

Paddle Safe...

DS

Bigger Just Might Be Better

Paddled with JB on Sunday and got to try out some paddles. I use a Werner Tybee, a high angle paddle. JB had two versions of Werner's big blades and let me have a go with them. I have to tell you, it made a hell of a difference.

First and most obvious was the increased speed I expereienced, and with no apparent increase in effort. Then there were the control strokes. Forward or bow sweeps were highly effective and made boat control amazingly easy. It was enough to convince me that bigger blades work better for me. Now let's see how my shoulders feel in the morning.

Paddle safe...
DS

I Don't Like to Brag...But

Enough said.

Paddle safe..
DS

Bag Has Been Found

Nancy (The Boss) just called to say the bag has appeared in one of their rooms. The angel who found and returned it is unknown.

Paddle Safe...
DS

Imagine A World In Which...

...there are beautiful sunsets and skies full of fluffy clouds, and you cannot see them.

...there is an endless array of sounds such as birds singing and water flowing, and you cannot hear them.

...there are the aromas of flowers, baby powder and fresh baked bread, and you cannot smell them.

...there are friends and family, and you cannot be with them.

...there are lakes and streams and oceans, and you have no boat.

Then, imagine the world in which you do live, and realize what you do have...and be thankful.

Paddle safe...
DS

Losing It...Losing Everything

   Some think I have early Alzheimer's disease, and some think I am an absent-minded professor. Fact is, I am a focused and visual thinker and am more aware of what I am thinking than what I am doing. Because of this (and for most of my life) I constantly misplace stuff. I have it one moment and, in an instant, cannot find it. Eventually most of it shows up as I think through where I was and what I was doing at the time of the magical disappearance. I'm not so sure about the last time.
   I had a wonderful weekend teaching a 2-day sea kayak progression course. I was in Madison and stayed over night. For personal reasons, I took lots of stuff in addition to the usual kit, clothes and the like. When I arrived home last night I was dead tired and had only 10 minutes to shower, shave and dress for a 5 pm going away party followed by a family gathering for Lady Linda's family (her aunt had died). When I got home I unpacked the car, put the boat in the garage and fell into a coma and slept through the night.
   This morning (and all day today) I have been unable to find my small kit bag, the one that always goes into my day hatch. The same one that is always laying in that exact same place in my room. The very one I never misplace...never. Until now. I don't know where it is.
   I have searched my car 3 times and gone over all my gear 4 times, each time emptying all my bags. No kit. I thought that I lhad eft it on the picnic table during the summing up and hoped that one of the 'Baga staff would find it. I called the store today. They took time to look in all the possible places inside and out...no bag.
   So, I have lost it and, with it, I have lost my marine radio and Optio camera. Gone. If someone did find it, they apparently didn't bother to turn it in...yet.
   I write this with the ardent hope that the bag will turn up and I will have great material to write a blog entitled, "I am a damn (old) fool."

Paddle safe...
DS

About Time

Car is almost packed, lots of junk for an overnight in the hall and the alarm set. Saturday, I head to Madison for the first lessons of the season. I had a lucky draw and will be teaching the two-day kayak progression course. This takes folks from never having been in a boat through the basic strokes, rescues and whatever we have time to cover. The weather is a bit marginal with winds of 10-15 predicted, but we have a sheltered pond in which to work.

This winter seems to have hung on a bit longer...for reasons I am not sure I understand. No matter, we get back into it starting tomorrow.

Paddle safe...
DS

The Old Grey Mare
(She ain't what she used to be)

I paddled the old Romany today and was surprised how it felt after these many weeks in the Cetus. Or course there was less initial stability, but that feeling was gone in 30 seconds. What did strike me was how cramped I was in the smaller boat. Then, too, it didn't accelerate as does the Cetus. What surprised me most, however, was that it didn't seem all that much more maneuverable since I couldn't rotate my torso as freely.

The seat made me feel as if I were slightly leaning back, so I fatigued faster as I tried to hold a vertical position. Finally, the tracking without the skeg down was slightly better than the Cetus, but not all that much. After all, the Romany does have a good deal of rocker.

I will be going to Madison to teach a weekend kayak progressions course and need to decide what boat to use. In the end, I make take neither and use one of the shop's many kayaks.

Paddle safe...
DS

If I understand...

...correctly, I must now load pics either from picasso (where I don't store my pics) or use old photos from past blogs. I cannot directly access my own cache of images...unless there is something I am missing. If I have it right, I cannot accept this and will need to reconsider either blogging or not doing it via the Google dynasty. I am not sure I am up to starting and supporting a web page, but I will discuss this with others who know more about it.

Paddle safe..
DS

Screw It

Maybe I really have become an old comudgen, a has been and old fart who has out lived the modern world. Maybe it is time to stuff it.

First, without any choice on my part, Mozilla Firefox "updated" and destroyed the sweetist mail page I ever had. In an instant, everything I had set up in my tool bar was gone and, in its place, a Yahoo tool bar for which I have no use. Screw it, I use the Google sign on envelope instead.

Just now I sat to write a post and, when I went to upload an image (as I have literally done over a thousand times) there was a "new" system in place. No longer can I click browse and go to my personal photo albums. Oh no, I can only go to Picasso or enter a URL or whatever. The point is, it was easy  and now it is different, and I choose not to play.

Paddle safe...
DS

I Have To Get Back To It

   I haven't done any good photography for some time now. My Optio works part time, and it's somewhat loose battery cover makes me wonder if it is still water proof. That along with the long shutter lag make it less than an ideal on water camera for capturing that special moment.
   I do believe an SLR in a protected something or other would be best. I have one such bag from Aquapac but have never been comfortable with it.

   First, it has to be meticulously closed to be water tight, and I have been unwilling to actually use it on the water. Secondly, the tunnel for the lens is so snug that the barrel has trouble rotating, thus rendering it all pretty useless. A good water proof container would cost more than I paid for the camera.
   Still, season starts now, and I am teaching a two-day sea kayak progressions course this weekend. Perhaps I can take along a sketch artist.

Paddle Safe...
DS....

When It Gets Boring

  Lately, I have taken several short, solo paddles going over and over the same small area I have paddled for years. Some of these outings were for test purposes such as testing leaks or to see how different paddles felt. Lately, it has become unsatisfying. Thinking on it, I have reached some conclusions about my personal feelings around the sport.

  First, I generally like paddling with someone. I enjoy the company, the conversation and the added safety of having another competent person nearby. It is also a chance to have someone observe and comment on my technique.

I like paddling with a lot of people for all of the above reasons and more.

In a group I get to talk with different folks, paddle at varying paces and exchange ideas around boats and the like. I like group paddles the most when there is a destination, rather than the too often out and back routine. If I do have to paddle alone, I like conditions that make it interesting and a bit challenging or...

...I want something interesting to look at as the miles go by.

It looks as if, in addition to kayaking, I will be teaching and lecturing again this summer. That means making the available weekends special. Hopefully, I will find the energy (and perhaps the people) to drive to some of the fine places up north that make a day on the water more rewarding. It is there, as well, that I find camping places and the total out door's experience.

Paddle safe...
DS

Case Closed

(pre op photo)

Bandages off. The Cetus was on the lake yesterday taking waves over the stern (and bow). Back home in the garage, the rear hatch was bone dry. The procedure was successful. Case closed. Now, where the heck did I leave that toggle?

Paddle safe...

DS

x

Hull Proctology 101

(follow up on a recent case study)

It finally got into the 50s (F), and it was time to cure (pun intended) the patient with fiberglass resin.First, my son in law, Ben, served as the intern on the case, scrubbed in and helped position Mr. Cetus in the proper position.  (It goes without saying that Cetus' guardian signed an informed consent form).

A preliminary exam did not appear to reveal any abnormalities, however, previous diagnostic tests had indicated there was a rectal fistula down there and that liquid was inappropriately passing through it.

 Procedure:

Resin was mixed with a ton of accelerator as the temperature threaten to fall below 50. Next, all the gravity in the garage was swept into the area around where the hull stood.The mixture was poured down the hatch (pun intended) in the belief that it would find where it needed to go (where the sun don't shine...unless you count translucence...but I digress).

(black circle indicates area of pathology)

(a post procedure view indicates that the stuff got to where it was supposed to go)

(the patient complained of chills, so a hot pad was applied)

After several hours (few days), the patient was brought to the supine position. It was happily noted that some of the resin had actually oozed into the tunnel for the grab loop thus indicating that the diagnosis of a fistula was correct and that (in all likely hood) it is sealed from one end to the other. Wet water tests to follow.

Paddle Safe...

DS...

x

x

Behold: The Lowly Toggle

All the talk is of length, beam, cock pit shape, chines and what have you, but this dangling ditty gets no respect and is often passed off as a grab loop. Mostly thought of as a means of carrying a boat, these little seemingly-listless loops can save our lives. It is a wonder then how much effort is made to reduce their worthiness.

Many boats have clips (not shown) to keep these little guys on deck so they won't tap-tap-tap against the ends of the hull while afloat. Many are kept very small or short for the same reason. Both these maneuvers, unfortunately de-power one of the more important uses of these circular saints.

There may come the day when, in the biggest of blows, you are forced to wet exit. It will be then, as you clutch paddle and boat, that you realize how much windage the hull has while beam to the wind. The only way you may be able to hold on is to reduce that resistance by letting the hull lie along the wind. That is, you will need to hold it at one end or the other. Did someone say, "where's the toggle?" And, by the way, how easy will it be to grab that little stingy piece of line now?

My belief is that a generous piece of line to grab is a welcome safety devise and not one to be underestimated. I guess I need to replace the ones on my Cetus...just as soon as the end-pour cures.

Paddle safe...
DS

Here We Go!

"Perfect" day, yesterday. Temps in the high 70s (F) and a brisk off shore wind. It was a day to be on the water, and I was lucky enough to get out. All around me were signs of folks emerging from their winter dens to great the beginnings of the warmer season.

 (It's okay. You can't see her, but there is a mom watching them)

It was also a perfect set up for disaster. These are the days when rookies or folks in basic recreational boats show up with or without a life jacket and (usually) wearing one light layer of cotton. What they don't realize is that the water is barely 40 degrees and that the wind could carry them off shore should they fall in. The nearest shore is over 80 miles away. Even if they were lucky enough to get out on the break wall, there often aren't enough observant folks around to notice their plight (and their calls for help would be swept out to sea by the offshore wind).

These folks seem to have their own guardian angels. Disasters regularly happen, in part due to our local sea kayakers taking the time to walk over and advise these folks about the risks they could face. Even so, it is wonderful outside, the trees are budding, all the species of birds have returned and I'm psyched about paddling.

Paddle Safe...
DS

Weather or Not

 (Doug, in happier days)

It is to be a lovely day today with temps in the 70s (F). Alas, I teach all day and this evening. I hope someone gets out there and uses the day.

Paddle safe...
DS

In Honor of Fog

The bane of mariners, fog is nothing more than a cloud that touches the surface of the earth. Personally, I love the stuff. While a sailor, I found it peaceful and a challenge to my navigation abilities. More over, it hones one's senses as we strain to hear or see something "out there". Sometimes it gives one the heebie geebies as imaginary monsters swim just beneath our hull.

In a kayak, of course, the trick is to be the one seen and heard; and all that has been talked about ad infinitum.

I still have fond memories of the day I took the photo at the top. We were guests at a friends cottage in northern Wisconsin. Being the only early riser, I was on the water before sunrise. All around me loons popped up, dove and reappeared, apparently oblivious to my presence.I can say that fog has been very good to me.

Paddle Safe...
DS

When is Enough Enough?

Heaven knows I have paddled (and even owned) quite a few kayaks (I am presently impoverished with only 3...but I digress). Each has had unique properties and given me unique joy. Still, I keep looking at other hulls like a sex-addicted husband looks at girls walking down the street (I only know that from my scientific reading...but I digress...again).

Recently I saw a go-fast kayak advertised by a company in New York (sorry, I lost the website...extra fast kayak...west side boat shop.)

 It seemed to only have a rear hatch but promised speeds in excess of 6 knots (now I have your attention).

I see the new Rock Pools and the fiberglass Greenland models and think, "So many boats, so little time."

Then I ask myself when will I stop looking. Well, like the husband mentioned above, never. At least not as long as we are both alive. It is, I believe, the nature of the beasts.

 Every hull offers something better and does something worse than the one I am in. There is, in the end, no reason to stop looking for the perfect boat as long as I realize it is the journey that counts and that the boat doesn't exist.

Paddle Safe...
DS

Over My Shoulder

The only uniting factor among these pics is that they were all taken two years ago. Looking at them today, I am reminded how time flies and how things change...not always according to plans.

How many of us took that trip we were planning two years ago? What about that repair or boat modification? Has it been sitting and waiting for a few years? Did you ever get around to that CPR class you know you wanted to take? What about the symposium you were bent on attending next time around? Man plans, HE laughs.

By the way, Greg did finish his boat...and is working on another. Dreams and wishes are promises you make to yourself.

Paddle safe...
DS