How Not to Use A Paddle Float

This Youtube video is an excellent reason why paddlers should take lessons before heading off on their own. At least this fellow is trying out his skills in a controlled environment with at least two people on the dock that could assist him if necessary. A paddle float reentry is quite easy when you do it right and there are a number of things that this fellow is not doing right. Come join me for a paddle sometime and we can talk about it and practise before you need it for real.

Edit Update:
So now that we've seen how NOT to do the paddle float entry, let's have a look at doing it in a better way:

For more videos like this, see the Sea Kayaking TV channel on YouTube.

Photos from September Canoe Trip

I've posted some of my photos from September's NorthStar Expeditions canoe trip on the NSE blog. You can find the posting at http://northstarexped.blogspot.com/2010/10/nse-2010-trip-few-photos.html.

Here's a handful of photos to whet your appetite:

Saskatoon Snowshoe Club

Hi folks, with the absolutely gorgeous fall weather that we are having here in Saskatchewan at the moment (finally!) I thought I'd post to point out that the Saskatoon Snowshoe Club is getting ready for another season of fun. Mark has moved the web site over to blogger to make it easier to update. At the website you can find a link to the membership form. There are currently no fees so sign up and join a group of like-minded winter enthusiasts.

National Drink Beer Day!

Thanks to the good folks over at 365 Foods, I now know that it is National Drink Beer Day! Woohooo!

Thankfully, I am always prepared for this sort of contingency. Currently I have some very nice Paddockwood beer chilling in the fridge to enjoy this evening. The toughest part will be deciding whether to choose the 606, Czech Mate, Black Cat or Béte Noir. I also have some homebrew in the fridge, but supplies are getting low. I need to set up a system to brew all grain like they show in the post at 365 Foods.

Cheers!

Flight Delay

The above photo (click for a larger version) was taken while we waited for the fog to clear in Missinipe before starting a recent fly-in canoe trip. This was a NSE trip and I'll be sure to post a link here once the reports and pictures go up there.

Canada Nature Escapes

I came across this promotional video recently from Canada Nature Escapes, a Saskatchewan-based group of small businesses that are offering "nature-based" tourism. I thought the video was pretty interesting because I have canoed, skied and tobogganed at many of the locales depicted in the video. Watch it in HD if you can.

Land of the Living Skies

I came across this video for a song by Nathan Rogers and thought I would share.

The Case for Eating Insects

Here is a recent article that was forwarded to me by the President of the Entomological Society of Saskatchewan. I found it interesting and thought you might too. On a semi-related note, I found this past weekend that peanut butter & Nutella on a bagel makes for an excellent camping breakfast, especially when washed down by some fresh unfiltered Okanagan apple cider! So, what do you suppose the insect component of that meal was?

The case for eating insects – Eatocracy - CNN.com Blogs

Lessons Learned From a Bad Day on Blackstrap

Here is an interesting article that appeared in the recent Star Phoenix. It makes the case for, among other things, receiving proper paddling instruction and interviews Kevin from Eb's and Viki from Kingston Kayak Instruction (see here for a recent post relating to lessons I took from Viki).

For those not from the region, Blackstrap Lake is a long narrow prairie lake set in a valley. Winds can come up quickly and would be funnelled and intensified within the valley.

Lessons learned from a Bad Day on Blackstrap

View Larger Map

How NOT to Pack a Kayak, Part II

A couple of months ago I posted this short Youtube clip about a fellow that exercised poor judgement in their approach to kayak packing. Well, after seeing a photo on Lee's blog, apparently they are in good company. Head over to the link for the second instalment in the developing series of how not to pack your boat.

One Helluva Sock

A while ago Fiona over at Badger Paddles sent me a sample of one of their "paddle socks" to test out and review. Well, I've been using the sock a bit now and am pretty happy with it. It's long & stretchy and easily accommodates my very long voyageur canoe paddle. It even contains about 3/4 of my greenland kayak paddle, with the kid's kayak paddle thrown inside too.

Soon, the sock will be protecting a couple of my paddles all the way to the west coast and BC's Broken Group Islands and back again. I'll post a follow up report on the sock at that time and let y'all know my thoughts on it then.

I Rolled, I Rolled! - I mean it this time!

I Rolled! No really, I mean it this time! (See my post from a couple of weeks ago.)


Last night at the tail end of the pool session for some kayak lessons I was assisting with there was time to just mess around in the kayaks. I was again playing with the paddle float for bracing and pseudo-rolling. I was concentrating on not putting much pressure on the float end of the paddle and bringing my head up last. At the prompting of one of the students I tried without the float, and it worked! I had full success about 6 times rolling on the right side! I'd screw it up some of the time and always it was because I forgot to bring the head up last or was otherwise putting too much pressure on the paddle. When it worked, it worked very well. I could not believe how effortless it was. It was a VERY good feeling.

Now, to practice, practice, practice until it becomes totally natural on both sides and in all conditions.

In the meantime, I gotta go finish getting my stuff together because I have kayak lessons to teach in the morning.

Bryan H. says I should start working on my butterfly roll next. (The video below is of some random person on Youtube doing a "butterfly roll".)

A+S+T/RC+c=X

In the name of passing along valuable information of use to the canoe & kayak tripper, I am sharing this with all of you. Skuntz over at the Canadian Canoe Routes forum has come up with a formula to calculate and quantify the age old decision, "repair or replace?"

A+S+T/RC+c=X

where A=age, S= sentimental value, T=time to dick around with repairs, RC=replacement cost and c=comfort.

There you go. Plug in the number and find out if fixing up that bit of camping gear is really worth it. Let's see now, I have a leaking MEC sleeping pad. A=3, S=0, T=0, RC=$100, ....

Again?....Sheesh!

I can't believe it happened again, for the second time in a row excluding the pre-season. Sheesh.

On the other hand, it was one helluva game and their inability to count just added to the drama. My brother had called me to ask if I wanted to go and an hour later we were on the road to Regina.

I Rolled, I Rolled!

Last night I taught the second half of an introductory kayaking clinic at Erindale Lake (a local suburban pond). After the class I decided to spend a little time out playing on the water. I went through some of the exercises described in the book Sea Kayak Strokes by Doug Alderson (I have access to an online version through the library at my workplace). These exercises had me progressively building the motions to perform a kayak roll, with a paddle float on my paddle throughout. Initially I was in a high brace, then laid on the back deck while in the high brace, then moving my body out beside the kayak, then eventually tipped right over and moving back to the upright high brace position. This progression of movements worked very well for me and allowed me to work toward building these motions into my muscle memory, so that they can hopefully become automatic. The next step was to be completely upside down, then using the paddle (with paddle float) to get back to that upright high brace position, rolling the kayak underneath me using my hips and trying to keep my centre of gravity low and remembering to bring my head up last. Rolling up from completely submerged proved quite easy when done this way, however I was still reliant on the paddle float so was cheating.

I'll be heading out to practice again soon - this time I'll be focussing on reducing the amount of pressure that I'm putting on the paddle float. Hopefully Jay can come out with me and we can work through some of the exercises together. With any luck, after a couple of sessions we'll be rolling our kayaks without the cheat of using the paddle float.

If you have any tips or tricks, please leave me a comment!


See an update at this link!