I...we... Remember Doug

l to r: Doug, Vicky, Sherri, Me

It has been a while, it doesn't matter how long. It was on another October 19th that we found out we had lost our friend and paddling companion, Doug Winter. He was a school teacher, an able craftsman, a friend and a troubled soul. I do not know if he ever knew how much a part of our Milwaukee paddling community he was and how we loved his company and antics.

Doug is gone and his memory is still with us. I...we...remember...Doug Winter.

Paddle safe...
DS

Calm, calm, calmer...

I am a pretty calm guy, especially under fire. I first realized it back when I competed in Judo and relaxing was an essential part of the game. Then, as a cardiologist, I learned to think and remain calm when all about me was going to hell. Many of my quietest conversations occurred as I conducted code 4 procedures during cases of cardiac arrest.

so, I felt calm today as I launched just downwind of the small craft advisory flag flying at the yacht club. As I entered the outer harbor confused waves, 1-2 feet in height came at me from the north and east. Up ahead, I could see spray and even green water coming in over the outer wall...and I felt even calmer. Approaching the south gap it became obvious that the lake was in high spirits. It begins to shallow up a bit there, so things can really pile up as one makes the turn to the south. The calmness increased, and out the gap I went.

As the 4-6 foot rollers came at my beam, I rose and flowed with the energy of the lake happy to be on the water, elated to be alive. I never braced. I did, occasionally. tap a wave just to say hello and connect to the water, but it wasn't necessary. I tried to surf but things were too close together. The nearly 18-footer just wouldn't stay on them. As I made the crossing to another opening in the breakwater, the calmness peaked as I drank in the sun glinting on the sea, the rise and fall of the water and the game of peak a boo I was playing with everything on shore. What could have been better?

And to think some folks find this scary.

Paddle safe...

Yes, but is it exercise?

I have had a long interest in exercise and its effect on health. I grew up in the school of aerobics where long, slow distance (LSD) was the way to go (I even had a sub 2.5 hour marathon in my 50's). We knew that this improved maximum oxygen consumption (MaxVo2), usually resulted in a leaner person and (maybe most importantly) reduced belly fat.

Our nation is now plagued with an epidemic of diabetes and young folks with the metabolic syndrome (fat, borderline fat levels and blood pressure and most of all....INSULIN RESISTANCE). This insulin resistance is what causes type II diabetes. Folks with this (often older and over weight) actually have high levels of insulin...but they are resistant to it. This, in turn, leads to atherosclerosis and heart attacks. So, we ask, how do we cure this? Run marathons? Paddle?

New research now shows that doing intense (really intense...maximum all out) exercise for 3 30 second repetitions 3 times a week will improve your insulin resistance in a matter of weeks. Amazing. What about your aerobic capacity?

It turns out that that is entirely determined by Mom and Dad; i.e., its genetics and you can get a test to see if you will respond greatly or not at all. Sorry, it's the cards you are dealt.

Meanwhile, keep paddling. It pays to be happy. One last thing: the most fatal thing you can do is sit and do nothing. Sitting around correlates with shortened lives along with high blood pressure and more than anything else.

Paddle safe...
DS

Basics all over again...

So, the rolls have seemed rough and sloppy lately (unless in a Greenland boat). I thought about that and how I used to tell my residents and fellows to always think of the basics. I told them that I more often stopped a medication rather than add another and to think in basic terms (perhaps I digress a bit).

Today, I took the Romany, inserted my closed cell Masik and headed out with a Greenland stick in hand and a euroblade on the foredeck. The rolls were smooth and effortless and, as I analyzed them, I realized it was all about the basics. Since I am more confident of hitting a roll when using the GS I relaxed more and that, in turn, resulted in my head laying way back (I do a very basic sweep roll).

After hitting a few with the stick, I got out my Werner blade and immediately rolled with grace and a relaxed posture. My head stayed back just fine, thank you. I just need to keep all this in mind the next time the roll starts to get bumpy.

Paddle safe...
DS

No Gimmes...

In golf, I guess, if you have a very short putt they just presume you can sink it. You don't even have to put the ball in the hole. Just take the stroke. A give me or gimmee...as I understand it. (But I digress...wait, there is a point to made).

Having rolled my (comparatively large) Cetus MV this past week, I decided to jump into my Romany for some "gimme" rolls (No, the damn seat from Nigel still has not arrived after months of waiting. I used a foam seat and a foam block in back..now, I am digressing).

Out onto Lake Michigan, set up and confidently tip over, and miss the freakin' roll. Is there nothing left to live for? Finally got up right and had a talk with myself. Yes, I explained to my elderly friend, it is a Romany and easy to roll, but there are no gimmes in kayaking. You still have to roll the boat.

I am not dumb, so when someone as smart as myself talks to me, I listen. I paid attention and knocked off a ton of rolls. Turns out the Romany wasn't broken. It is old but apparently still has some rolls left in her old hull.

Paddle safe...
DS

1. The Time Line...

I was lucky when it came to the timing of my career in cardiology. I began as bypass surgery was being developed and, as a consequence, grew up in an environment of constant challenges and discoveries. I had the first patient in Milwaukee to have an artificial heart as a bridge until (a week later) a proper heart for transplant could be obtained.
As the years unwound, I began doing angioplasty, stenting, pacemakers, heart biopsies and more. It was stimulating and there was always a new fire to fight. Today, in this mornings newspaper, I see where the hospital in which I practiced (and which was a pioneer in all this work) just did its 800th heart transplant. One of the surgeons interviewed indicated how one is expected to survive this type of surgery and how routine it has become.
It was this article that sent me down memory lane and to the appreciation for the story book career I enjoyed. (Never mind that all of these discoveries ignore the fact that they are aimed at putting out fires rather than preventing them). The bigger question that comes up for me is as follows: If we can do all this, why can't I buy (for around $100) an eighteen foot sea kayak that rolls like a SOF, tracks like a train, turns like a bicycle, carries as much as a semi trailer and weighs less than 25 pounds?
Paddle safe...
DS

Today I was helped by DUBIK Therapy...

With decades of clinical experience, way too much training and having been there before, I had not trouble realizing what was going on. The diagnosis was simple: I was in the dumper, and something needed to be done.

I used my medical knowledge, my martial arts training, some info from aerospace medical school, etc. to analyze the situation. Then, realizing I still have an active Wisconsin Medical License, I wrote myself a prescription: D.U.B.I.K.  Sig use liberally (prn). Yes, I prescribed Dumb Ur Butt Into a Kayak Rx.

But how? I didn't feel like lifting the Cetus (I am still sans Hullavator...more on this will follow) and Nigel still hasn't gotten my new seat to America. Hmmm. Well, I took my 13 year old/looks 70 years old (actually, we're the same age if you count kayak years like dog years) Romany and an old formed foam seat that I had obtained before my memory stopped recording such things and headed to the lake.

As soon as I D'd my B IK I knew something was different. I had never sat so low in that boat. It felt unusually stable. Then I paddled and realized I needed just a tad of a back rest. I pulled onto a beach and put my dry bag (was in rear hatch) behind my back and enjoyed a lovely after noon of braces, turns, draws and sculls. I even gave it a go with the big Ikeolos paddle which felt unusually tame. It did drive me nuts not to roll, but I had promised the surgeon that I wouldn't expose his expert weaving to the e. coli soup in which we paddle. Anyway, the cure worked

Paddle safe...
DS

Healing and Moving on...

Last Friday I "enjoyed" the other end of the Dr.-Patient relationship. Actually, I slept through it as a parathyroid adenoma and thyroid nodule were removed (on the left). About 24 hours later I was home with orders not to experience "immersion". The surgeon was, at first, willing to let me get back in the boat earlier if I wore the neck gasketed-garment I had described to him. Then I told him about he e. coli count at our beach and I was dry-docked for a week. I see him Thursday and am prepared to negotiate.

Today I tilted my head back with plans of imagining doing a lay-back roll. Instead, I felt the steristrips pulling on my skin and figured it wouldn't be much fun out there just yet. Still, I have memories of my "pre-op" rolling session in my SOF and hitting all my rolls.

Mow, I am content with ingesting large numbers of Tums to replace the calcium leeched from my bones by the high parathyroid hormone levels. My sleep has been horrible as I am not yet exercising. Still, I am grateful and looking forward to staffing (and learning) at the up coming ICE. But how to fill the time between?

Hmmm: My calendar mentions something about a happy hour for the group over at the university where I teach.

Paddle safe...
DS

The Comforts of home.

It came in this little container. JB took out

the parts and began to assemble his new cot. He worked hard and struggled mightily. 

With intention he slowly created his vision, believing in what he was doing would result in something wonderful.

As we watched the miracle of creation, his vision took form before our very eyes.

And Grew!

Until...behold...he had made something that promised great comfort. He hurried to insert it into his humble living quarters.

Then, humbly, he invited us to look into his home to see what he had created with his own hands. And it was indeed lovely.

Paddle safe...

DS

Pain Ain't Weakness Leaving the body!

Face book has had a lot of exercise postings  including one that claims pain is weakness leaving the body. Perhaps it is meant as a spiritual metaphor, but it is lousy physiology. First, one must understand what exercise/training really is: controlled injury.

Take any system (muscular, cardiovascular, pulmonary) and you will find that it has its limitations. The combined limitation of, say, your running muscles determines how fast and/or how long you can run. When you train you slightly exceed that limit (not to the point of pain). That is the first step. The next, and equally important step, is to allow the insult (training) to mend. If you wait long enough and have not overloaded the muscle too much it will heal stronger than before and you will be able to work that muscle harder and/or longer.

If, however, you overload any system too much or (as surprisingly frequently happens) you do not allow a long enough rest interval before exercising again, the system will start to break down. The ultimate in this area is the over training syndrome seen in runners. It can take up to a year off for a healthy young individual to recover if they rest.(I have, sadly, seen this in my cardiology practice in young school athletes pushed by their parents).

Now we have lots of information, formulas and other things to let us know how hard we are stressing our symptoms. Heart rate for one (and our breathing pattern) can tell us when we go from aerobic to anaerobic levels of exercise. Another is pain.

Most stimuli (hot, cold, pressure, etc.) if applied in a high enough amount will be interpreted by our evolved brains as pain. It is not weakness leaving the body...it is your body begging you to stop!

So next time you decide to go for a 10 mile paddle and at 1 mile into it you just don't feel like it, trust your guts and go home. You haven't recovered from your previous training. Going to the gym to "work out the soreness" from yesterday's training? That's like walking on a broken leg until it heals. Doubt me? I'm sure the autopsy will show I am right.

Paddle safe...

DS

IDW

I am still returning mentally after an intense IDW workshop in Big Bay, MI. It was led by Sam Crowley who was kind enough to allow me on staff as an IT candidate. Jeremy Vore, a talented Level 4 ACA certified instructor was also a huge part of the event.

My first take away was the sense of organization and the thought put into the sequence of topics and events. Sam made me aware (I finally got it) about the difference between the staff presenting (to model teaching, not so much to teach the skill) and the candidates presenting (practicing what staff was modeling). Still with me? Time was precious and Sam showed me ways to keep things moving and getting from A to B with the minimum gnashing of teeth.

I was assigned classroom topics and spent a good deal of time writing lesson plans, gathering info and props and practicing. My chart presentation, intro to the ACA , talks on crossings and rules of the road all could have been better; but I felt that I got to the bones and passed on what the IC's needed. I intend to continue to improve on all of that.

On the water Sam taught me when he didn't know he was teaching me (yeah, I know, he always knows).  All I had to do was watch him model ways to engage a group, keep them moving and to remain STUDENT FOCUSED (heard you, Sam). Every time I gathered a nugget I made every effort to incorporate it into my very next lead role.

The students ranged from their early 20's to a young guy who was in his 50's. By the end of the workshop, as they did team presentations, I saw a bonding of colleagues with common goals supporting one another. As we did a final one on one, I (and I suspect Sam and Jeremy) were impressed by the insights of the IC's feedback. Most of them got it, knew what their future work needed to be and were positive around all we told them. That is a successful workshop (Kudos to Sam).

I cannot end this without a word about Jeremy who, although many years my junior, has much more butt in the boat time than do I. He is an accomplished paddler (was once a BCU Coach) and an effective (if sometimes poly-verbal) instructor. Far more importantly, in my judgment, he is a fine person with a remarkable sense of who he is, insight into what others need and integrity beyond what I see in most people these days. He is the future.

So, now it is time to organize all the notes and thoughts  that returned with me so I don't repeat my old mistakes. Oh yes, I must get to a book store and buy something for Sam. Anyone know of a book titled, "Jokes Guaranteed Not To Make Intelligent People Groan"?


Paddle safe...
DS

My Dirty Little Secret

&

Basics, Basics, Basics

   So, just as accomplished musicians practice scales each day, skilled athletes practice basics and do so frequently. As I've commented before, I generally paddle alone and use some of that time to practice all the strokes. As a level 4 instructor working on more advanced certifications you might think that I have all the basics pretty much nailed down. Not so fast.

   Since getting my Cetus MV (a regular Cetus before that) I have had trouble with my paddle float self rescue. Now, remember that the boat is Swede form and widest behind the cockpit where, incidentally, is where I get aboard during a paddle float rescue. Well, I started missing more and more attempts until I was failing more than succeeding. Alas, was old aged (I am only 32) catching up with me? What to do?

  Too ashamed to attend a support group, I did what any intelligent 29 year old would do: I went on line. I read articles and watched videos. I listened to how some push the boat under themselves and how some pull themselves onto the back deck. And, after each research session, I went out to try what I had read only to find it didn't work for me. There I was at age 25, all washed up and (literally) adrift.

   Then I thought about how I had taught interns, residents and fellow and how I had always emphasized the basics. And I thought, what is basic to all these methods? Well, they begin by "swimming" to get one's legs to the surface. SWIMMING!

   Boat on car, drive to shores of Lake Michigan, paddle downwind to a cove where I wouldn't hurt myself or anyone else (or be seen if I screwed up again). Got in the water; float on blade (always first); inflate float (only after on blade); into position. Then a little self talk: remember all your judo and what you tell all your students: "If you're working hard at it, you are doing it wrong." I told myself to forget that I am an amazingly muscular 40 year old and that it would be technique (not force) that would get the job done.

   So, I relaxed, kicked and, like a catfish relaxing in the mud, casually swam onto the back deck and hooked a foot on the paddle shaft. Unbelievable. Back into the water, swim, back on the boat...over and over. My 35 year old heart beat with joy. I had not only found my way, I had done it with introspection and the wisdom of a 45 year old wizard. Now, if I could just do a head stand like Freya.

Paddle safe...

DS

Back to Basics

   As I have frequentlly noted, I paddle mostly alone and begin each on water session by practicing my basic strokes. What sometimes gets forgotten are the self rescue techniques. I see others practice them in the pool over winters (as do I); but I rarely see anyone do them in real conditions.

   Add to the mix that I am waiting for NDK to ship me the seat for my Romany. So, I made a temporary (read: sloppy) closed-cell foam affair and took it onto Lake Michigan yesterday. After a little playing in what waves I could find, I went near shore, got out of the boat and practiced paddle float rescues. They went well and it felt good to be in the cold water (in a dry suit) for practice.

   Now, I have to get out with someone else so I can practice in conditions, something I generally don't do aggressively when alone.

Paddle Safe...

DS

Surgery is always serious:

Seeing a loved one go into surgery is always hard and how one feels at that moment depends a lot on the faith one has in the operating surgeon. So, as I wished my beloved Romany well, I was a bit worried by the organization and level of sterilization of the operating room. Then, I reminded myself that my HMO wanted it done in my garage, a poor second choice.

Dr. Leslie seemed to have the fine surgical instruments needed for such delicate surgery and, when I peeked into the OR, she was using the most delicate of techniques to gently remove one of the Romany's organs...its seat (seatectomy).

All went well and Romany is fine. The seat was sent to the pathologist for diagnosis. We have yet to learn whether we need to try and repair the seat (stem cells anyone?) or get a closed cell foam donor. More to follow.

Paddle safe...

DS

Going into the (kayak) hospital...

I took the old, often patched, Romany to the pool Sunday and was enjoying the easy to roll boat when something wasn't right. I set up to roll and did not feel the paddle was parallel to the hull. Well, it wasn't. The seat had broken from its port anchor under the rim of the cockpit tearing away a thin layer of glass. The seat was turned on its axis.

Then there was the day hatch. It has been cracked for some time and I actually have a new one yet to be installed. The old one was doing fine with a duct tape repair. It seems that the cold garage followed by the warm pool water was enough to end that Rube Goldberg arrangement.

Now, I have something to do if I can find heated space. I have had kind offers and advise regarding repair and am leaning toward replacing the seat with a foam one. I need to really look hard at the repair needed to be sure it is within my skills.

I still prefer the higher speed Cetus MV for group paddles; but, for teaching, you cannot beat the maneuverability of the Romany along with an easier boat to perform a paddle float self rescue. It all balances out.

Paddle safe...
DS

Crunchy Water

It was in the teens (F) and almost windless when Bob Bertram and I decided to do a short paddle. We actually thought it might be too cold, but we were dressed and the boats where off the cars. So off we went for what turned out to be a delightful sojourn through floating slices of ice that crunched as our hulls pierced a pathway. To tell the truth, I thought that when we got to shore and lifted our boats up that the hulls would separate where the ice was pressing on the hulls.

Stuff was frozen and did not thaw until my boat was back in the garage; but it was worthwhile getting out there today in the sun and surprisingly comfortable cold weather. The coffee afterwards was especially good.

Paddle safe...
DS

Kokatat = Integrity

I tore the neck gasket on one of my Kokatat dry suits. I got a repair number from them and sent in the suit and then a check.

Today I received an e mail stating that they had found a flaw in the Gortex and were replacing the suit. I am delighted with such service and business integrity and feel it deserves a shout out.

Paddle safe...
DS

It's remains a Great Mystery...

Okay, so there have now been 1,324,674 blogs on how to choose the non-existent "perfect" boat. What still alludes this paddler is how to find the right length paddle. Never mind about shaft shape, blade size, etc.. We are talking about length here.

Too many times students have come for their first kayak lesson with an already purchased (sometimes expensive) paddle recommended by an expert at the store and, in at least one case, a real expert with one of the paddle companies. What was similar among all these hapless folks was that the paddle wasn't the proper length for them and their boat. They just did not look comfy out there.

I would have different students exchange paddles, often with their spouse, and would sometimes loan them one of mine and....Shazam! They looked good and paddled faster with less effort. Sometimes an average sized lady would end up with a 220 and another similarly sized person with a 205; and both would love their paddle. The thing is that after running all the data through a NASA Craig computer, I have found no detectable correlation between anything including paddler's height, paddler's arm length, boat width or astrological signs.

So, what do I tell my grandson when the time comes?

Paddle safe...
DS

Doug

You live on in

our hearts and memories

Paddle safe...

DS

All it took was an e mail...

It is my belief that we who paddle (along with other outdoor-type groups) share some basic values. Among those values are honesty and integrity. Speaking for myself, I have always expected  these values in the business with which I deal. Sometimes I have been disappointed, but I have rarely been disappointed when dealing with those companies that deal with paddlers.

So, when I had a problem with my Brunton 70P compass, I dropped them an e mail and explained the problem. I wanted to know how to get it repaired. Return the compass, they promptly answered. They would replace it.

Today, an new compass arrived by Fed-Ex. No hassle, no charge. Thank you Brunton.

Paddle safe...
DS