Paddling Planet

At the mouth of Loch Breachacha two magnificent 6m basking sharks cruised past our stationary kayaks.The water was full of plankton and after cruising past each of us in turn, the sharks resumed their feeding.At the head of Loch Breachacha there are two castles. The new one was built in 1750 as a more comfortable mansion house for the MacLean chieftain. In 1773 Boswell and Johnson were guests of

Leaving Cardiff on a sunny Friday morning Eurion and myself had high hopes for our weekend in South Devon organised by Mark following the success of last year's launch of his South West Sea Kayaking book.The further we drove south though the worse the weather got and on arrival at the campsite at East Prawle visibility was down to about 100 yards and it was raining, marvellous!After sitting in

Igår var det prova på paddling och ikväll kvällspaddling.

Kvällssol, varmt (vissa ville nog kalla det kvalmigt), massor av folk på vattnet (segelbåtar, motobåtar, vattenskotrar, bråttompaddlare, kanadensarepaddlare och paddlare i havskajak).

Ända negativa man kan komma på är myggen, Uppsala har invaderats av myggor, nere vid kanothuset är det ett rent h......, men även innne i stan dyker finns de i mängder.


Paddlade Skim igår, alla kallar den för getingen, och Streamliner idag. Att ligga på vågen bakom motorbåtar med Streamlinern är kul, bra respons i Smarttrackrodret gör att man kan hålla sig kvar.

 

 


By Newfounland cove naming standards it is indeed a tame name....Alison and Tony enjoying everything kayaking and sun......

 

Peter and Tony entering MAggoty Cove...

One can only wonder......about the name that is...

 

Tony effortlessly gliding down the side of Sound Island.

Just recorded phone call with Mick and Patrick.They estimate 45 nm to go but their progress is down to 2kn due to unforecast wind. As we spoke they were inside their sleep system, sheltering from a F5-6 wind which was making them rather wet.Both sound very tired to me. Patrick reckons the muscles ache a bit but he's prone to understatement! I've told them how many people around the world are

 

July 1st Canada Day paddle put-in. I actually think this should be a KNL annual event for sure.

 


Crossing from Garden Cove to Sound Island an over the shoulder shot, ya never know who may be lurking behind.lol

 

The beginning of our July 1st Canda celebration of paddling life with Peter, Tony and Alison. What a day, what a paddle....what a life......as you all who paddle well know!

 

Alison up to full speed with North Shore in the distance.

 

Well she made me pose for one so I thought she'd return the favor....she did.lol

 

A Typical summer day. Just happens to be in Newfoundland for a change. lol This Spring has been spectacular. If this was all summer had to offer thus far I would be grateful.

 

Alison said the water was cool but refreshing. I'll take your word on that! Tony said his dip was cool as well, I deleted that picture Tony..lol

 

Back Cove was our lucnh break on our Canda Day sojourn. What a soft landing. Not use to this on many of our outings. Woody Island is a resettled Island there use to be about five thousand or so soles living here during the robust fishing days but I'm not going to spin that spun out tale. People move on and now the Island offers many a get-a-way from the mainstream life on the mainland. Intersting cabins and homes on the Island as well.

I'll just take this Little Island.......

This nice little kayak here.....


and be on my way.......

 

Playing with the sun.

Murdo Campbell makes then 28 nautical miles to destination.

 

Back at ya. lol

 

Not a noisey Island at all. In fact we were probably the gist of the noise on this day as we did not share the water with any humans at least. Lots of wildlife though which I will post about tomorrow.

 

Peter taking a small break with Sugarloaf Islet in the background looking south out Placentia Bay at the south west corner of Woody Island.

 


Rounding Woody Island on July 1st, 2009.

 


Rattling Brook.

 

To answer that often asked question, Does Newfoundland have a rain forest? We have a forest and we have rain, except for today! Our boats are resting in our rainless forest under our treed canopy. Oh glory days at Rattling Brook.

 

Upper Rattling Brook Pool a nice warm dip on July 1st.

 

It might look like Peter is in a birthday suit but not really. I know one thing for sure......this picture tells the whole story of what our whole paddle was pretty much like today. Rattling Brook north of Pearce Head providing a welcomed cooling oppotunity from the days long and hot paddle. We basked and swam in the sun here for about 40 mins enjoying the freedom and solitude of a warm NEwfoundland summer's day with Woody Island in the distance.

I've not heard from Mick and Patrick, but I have heard from Murdo Campbell, cox of the Stormoway RNLI lifeboat.Based on their Spot transmitter, he plots their position as 45-50 nautical miles off Sumba, as of 11am.That's still a heck of a way to go, especially at their most tired and as the tide becomes most difficult. However, the weather forecasts look in their favour.They expected the

Well this ribbed remnant of a small fishing boat sits grounded on the shores of Plancentia Bay which during this paddle, up this small stream, felt more like being on a lake than a salt water bay. Sorry looking now, however I am sure this vessel was pride to someone in it's hay day.

 


Kind of hard not to soak in the sun's rays as Alsion and Peter exit Bob Sprier's Cove.

 

The Big Head Hug, nothing like a long hug on a hot summmer's day, especially on Canada Day. Happy Birthday Canada!

On l’attendait avec impatience et la voilà, toute fraiche sortie du studio de Gruuz Production, la vidéo récapitulative du forum de kayak de mer de Kersaliou organisé par kayakdemer.eu qui s’est tenu à coté de Saint-Pol-de-Léon début juin 2009.
Philippe a travaillé dur en collectant les images de différentes sources et a réalisé cette compilation très très sympathique.
J’y ai découvert des choses car on ne peut pas être partout à la foi. Je vois aussi que le foulard sur la tête ne me va pas si mal, je ne trouvais plus mon chapeau …

Merci à Philippe pour cette vidéo

 

Crossing the Tickle from main land NFLD at Big Head overt to Bloody Point on Sound Island and then on to our take out at Garden Cove. What a day to be alive and be paddling. One of the best Canada Days' for me in a long while. Thanks again Peter for organizing and of course Alison, Tony and Peter for the superb company.

The folks on the northwest coast always warn you that when the sky is dark and gray for days you simply have to get out and stay active. So yesterday under the pressured, claustrophobic squeeze of heavy clouds I drug everyone along to explore another section of the 400 Trail. Of course the problem with me and clouds is my perspective get's a big ah, filtered...

The new kayak and I are ready to go! The boat is customized to my needs and sealed, the gear is cleaned and repacked and my skin is healed (well enough) to get going again on the long haul down to Perth. I'm launching tomorrow from the same spot where I landed before my break. ...

Agfaphoto DC600uw heter en ny vattentät kamera, denna gången är det Agfa som ligger bakom. Jag trodde faktiskt att Agfa var nedlagt och igenbommat sen länge, men på nåt vis finns märket kvar i alla fall.

Agfa har lyckats hålla sig lite när det gäller antalet pixlar och inte ryckts med i den allmänna pixelhysterin, kameran har 6 megapixels. Den har heller inget zoomobjektiv vilket skulle kunnat ge ett skarpt och i övrigt bra objektiv eftersom det är lättare att göra ett objektiv med fast brännvidd än en zoom. Tyvärr har den inte autofokus utan bara fixfokus vilket känns så där skojigt. Nu är det förvisso väldigt stort skärpedjup eftersom det är liten bildsensor och därmed kort brännvidd, men ändå…

Objektivets bildvinkel motsvarar 36mm på småbildsformatet.

Måtten är 87×161x225mm och den väger 131 gram. Materialet är enligt Agfa “high-end plastic” så det så.

Kamerans baksida är relativt ren, med inte alltför många knappar. En stor röd knapp är i alla fall för att snabbt och enkelt komma in i undervattensläget. Känns som en väldigt enkel digitalkompakt som dock är vattentät ner till 10 meters djup. Den lär säkert ge bildkvalitet som är “bra nog” för väldigt många.

www.agfaphoto.com

Liknande:

1. Fotpump - pumpa med fötterna så kan du paddla och stötta samtidigt [caption id="attachment_2003" align="aligncenter" width="660" caption="Lyxvarianten; fotstöd med inbyggd fotpump i...
2. Pentax W80 ny vattentät kamera [caption id="attachment_5660" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Pentax Optio W80 finns i tre...
3. Tre vattentäta kameror [caption id="attachment_5185" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Panasonic exponerar bra i de flesta...

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Its the Seaward Quest. The same exact kayak on the cover of these two mags. The kayak was owned by Richard Alexander(Pres of Paddle Canada) at the time these covers were shot. Colours are the same with blue and blue/green trim, white hull. The kayak has rudder, pro neoprene spray deck, built-in on-deck marine compass, a kevlar keel/bow guard and an internal footpump. Price $1900.

Entirely unrelated to kayaking, but somewhat with the great outdoors and everything "Kiwi-like", I can't resist revealing this fabulous air safety video from Air New Zealand cabin crew.

Thanks to Dana for bringing it to my attention.

Aun sin poder haber estrenado mi nuevo juguete, he estado investigando las leyendas urbanas acerca de si tal marca es fabricada por tal otra y tal y cual. En concreto, la que decía que las Nishiki son fabricadas por Dahon. Lo mejor es ver unas fotos.

Mi Nishiki. En la foto no se aprecia, pero en la web dice que lleva cambio interno de 5 velocidades y la mia lleva 7.


Y dos versiones de la Dahon Impulse D7, con cambio externo.

¿Quién fabrica el cuadro? ¿Es la bici el cuadro? ¿Y los acabados?

Si las ruedas son las que quieras.

Los cambios, frenos, etc vienen todos de 2 marcas mayoritariamente.

Y la persona viene aparte.

¿Dónde está el valor añadido de una bici?

Gaman að segja frá því að Gísli Friðgeirsson er nú á Húsavík og hefur verið mjög heppinn með veður á ferð sinni umhverfis Ísland og því gengið mjög vel. Margaret frá New York fór fyrir þremur dögum frá Ísafirði og ætti því að vera við Strandir núna. SPOT staðsetningartækið er mikið öryggistæki og hefur sýnt sig að er að virka vel, á myndinni má sjá síðasta legg hjá Gísla, frá Eyjafirði á Húsavík.

After two nights of bad insomnia (cause unknown), I got 12 hours of sleep last night before waking to the wonderful sounds that only a 2+month-old grand daughter can make. My grandson and his mother are due into Milwaukee in a few hours. Sun in law #2 is due tomorrow. My house, like my life, will be full of wonderful gifts. Suddenly, I feel great, relaxed, in the flow, bliss...okay, a few more cliches. Life is good. Kayaking is wonderful and there is so much more.

So, I sits and take it all in and feel gratitude. I don't know who wrote it, but it must have been a wise person: A poor life this when full of care I have no time to sit and stare.

Paddle safe...
DS

Kayak Skill of the Week…The Petrussen Maneuver – http://tinyurl.com/mt84hu 07:06:09

Happy Birthday to us -- we're a spry 142 years young today!


Paula, Louise and I put in at the Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club to enjoy a leisurely kayak down the Gorge. Every Canada Day, this section of Gorge Road is closed to traffic for the annual Gorge Canada Day Picnic and the street turns into a 1.5 km long block party.
We put in just as the small parade passed us to start the day's festivities. First Nations drummers were followed by bag pipers, a few small floats, and a couple of fire trucks blasting their horns and setting off their sirens brought up the rear.


All of the noise didn't bother this heron, who was much more intent on finding some breakfast.



I paddled over to look at Iron Man, a sculpture watching over The Gorge on a nearby dock. He's dressed up in Christmas lights and he's lit up every night.
I wonder the if the artist is a Dan Simmons fan. The Shrike, from Hyperion...?


As we headed up The Gorge, we could see from the crowds that the party was in full swing. Thousands of people had descended on the area, and they all seemed to be trying to park in front of my house.


At the far end of The Gorge, small stages were set up for musical acts. Food vendors, artists and artisans were also displaying and selling their wares like a giant one-day farmer's market.


Even the geese were enjoying the day, although they are under the mistaken impression that the holiday is called Canada Goose Day.


We ducked under the bridge into Portage Inlet where we finally saw these year's batch of baby swans.


We puttered around the Inlet for a while...

...then headed back and passed the swans again.


As we kayaked back down The Gorge, some unseen force was tempting me, urging me to get out of my kayak and walk among the crowds.


And so we did.


After all, what could be more Canadian than catching a little hockey?




Trip length: 7.22 km
YTD: 147.36
More pictures are here.
The Google Earth kmz is here.

John and I got up at our usual kayaking time of 7am to partake of a Canada Day paddle with Paula on the Gorge Waterway.

As we were preparing to launch John spotted a heron and was the first on the water to capture photos. I followed with Paula and got one with the Canada Day parade in the background.



Besides having a Canada Day paddle, John wanted to show his patriotic streak by displaying his Canadian kayak and flag



Here's Paula checking out the Canada Day celebration along the Gorge which we took in on foot after our paddle.



I captured my own patriotic photo -- Canada geese parading past a Canadian flag.



John in his Canadian (B.C.) made Delta kayak with his Canadian flag.



HAPPY CANADA DAY EVERYONE FROM THE FOLKS AT KAYAKYAK!!

In honor of Tugster Will's Swim Day on the Net, I would like to share a few pictures from one of my favorite swimmin' holes in the whole wide world.

Ladies and gentlemen, Hanauma Bay:

Me, possibly even happier than I get in a kayak or a sailboat. I LOVE snorkeling, and TQ was the one who took my picture. What's better than snorkeling in Hanauma Bay? Snorkeling in Hanauma Bay with him. I honestly don't know if I ever would've taken up paddling if I'd ended up back in Hawaii - kayaking was a means to an end for me, and the end was just plain being on the water.

Uhu, or parrotfish. This one is having lunch. They're called parrotfish both because of their beautiful coloration and because their teeth are fused into a hard beak, with which they literally chew on coral. The coral polyps are digested; the ground-up coral goes through the fish and comes out as sand.

A fish of many names - people call it trevally, crevalle, but in Hawaii, it's the ulua.

A pair of Achilles' tang (orange spot by the tail), a couple of butterflyfish (ornate, I think) and I think that's a filefish that's alone & behind one of the tang.

I'd actually planned to share the story of how getting competitive with a squad of Marines at one of the on-base pool finally cured me of my attachment to my "bubble" swimming aid, way way back in "small-kid time", but it was yet another long long long day at work & I got home pooped & still needing to pack (heading off to see TQ for the holiday weekend). I hope this glimpse of one of my favorite places in the world to swim will suffice!

DP Review rounded up the available waterproof cameras for a thorough review. For Kayaking it is a constant question as to which unit offers the best image quality, waterproofing, and durability. In my experience I am 2 Pentax Optio’s into my digital photography career. I am considering a switch to an Olympus. Looks like the 8000 Tough Might be worthwhile.

Check out the review and let me know what you think!

Leaving the Sound of Gunna, we entered the great sweep of Crossapol Bay at the SW end of Coll. The shifting dunes (white dunes) between here and neighbouring Feall Bay, to the north, have been designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). This magnificent dune system is one of the largest in the Inner Hebrides and is maintained by a plentiful supply of beach sand and the high average wind

Rowing, like success, is a journey, not a destination. — Rick Clother, rowing coach, U.S. Naval Academy For July’s selection of wallpapers we focused exclusively on our recent journey to Alaska. Truth be told, we’re doing it as much for ourselves as for our readers. Please enjoy the sights from such far off places as Sumner Strait, [...]

Igår tisdag kväll blev det en paddling från Långholmen till Alvik (stranden). Det var en hel del farkoster på vattnet så det var ett ypperligt tillfälle att trimma gruppen i att korsa farleder. Gruppen består av 9 paddlare som jag och A-id skall umgås ...

Just paddling along minding my business, enjoying a lovely day on Loch Leven, when out of nowhere

This is the second one the first was probably somewhere over Fort William before i got the camera off my neck. i could almost feel my insides vibrating as the sound passed overhead.

 

She was looking haggard as she walked up the side of the highway towards me. Normally I wouldn't have thought of picking up hitchhikers but she looked at me as if to say "Please help, this isn't fun.". 2 young ones followed her doggedly.

After briefly looking around to see who was about her head dipped as she started tucking into a lush clump of grass. A proud young cowboy on his likewise proud looking horse had seen what she was up to and moved in to shoe her on. She glared at them in irritation and turned back to eating.

The horse looked at her as if she should have known better. For her part, the cow glared back and stood fast until the cowboy's boot swung out and gave her a kick in the side. She moved on with the rest of the cattle drive.


A big thanks should go to Montana Whitewater for not calling me back. As much as I would have loved to have had a whitewater lesson, their lack of interest allowed me the immense pleasure in driving the Beartooth Pass towards Cooke City and then swinging around through Wyoming desert. I loved my time on the road today more than you can imagine. Enjoy the brief video of the top of the pass.

Hoppsan, nu har det gått en månad till och ett helt halvt år… Juni bjöd på 119 paddelkilometrar och 7 tältnätter. Inte mycket det inte, men vi har i alla fall lite frisk luft och haft det gött ute.

Valöträffen i helgen var ju supertrevlig och midsommar trots att det blev en kortis. Turen med studiebesök på Känsö var mycket intressant. Jag hann med en kort, men skön runda i Misterhult och en ännu kortare morgontripp på Almesåkrasjön.

Nu är det snart semester, vi får hoppas vi kommer ut och paddlar lite då, men det kan ju också bli så att vi bara sitter och myser utanför tältet i ett par veckor… eller kanske i soffhörnan.

Tokvarmt är det i alla fall just nu, har precis varit nere och tagit ett dopp i Rössjöholmsån några hundra meter bort, mycket skönt, dock inte så djup, men tillräckligt om man ligger ner

Åskar lite en bit bort, får se om det kommer hit. Läste hos Björn Thomasson att de hade haft lokalt busväder i Lund igår och Sydsvenskan rapporterar om några som hade paddlade kanadensare från busshållplatsen. Verkar ha kommit en hel del fukt på flera ställen i skåne i går. Här skulle behövas lite så det blir lite mer vatten i ån…

Liknande:

1. Lunnamöllan och Rössjöholmsån [caption id="attachment_5744" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Fint att cykla längs med Rössjöholmsån"][/caption]...
2. Blomstervandring på Valö [caption id="attachment_5722" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Var är de? Och vad kan...
3. Valöträffen 2009 [caption id="attachment_5711" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Pia paddlar västerut"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_5696" align="aligncenter"...

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A couple of things popped up over the past couple of weeks that made me scratch my head once again. One was the big '350' formation made of over 100 kayaks at the Inland Sea Society Kayak Symposium and the other seemingly unrelated event was the relisting of the gray wolf on the Endangered Species list.

The 350 formation was one of the highlights of the symposium for many people. 350.org is a group dedicated to reducing carbon in the atmosphere to the acceptable level of 350 ppm. There are a number 'actions' have been or will be executed over the next several months to bring more public awareness to the issue. Pulling this one off was a combination of hard work and pure luck. The formation was laid out using rejected webbing that CharlyR, head of the ISS, had scrounged . Field Marshal Gail Green orchestrated the setup, 10 boats at a time, a job much akin to herding cats. The weather cooperated by not blowing up the northeast wind, a wind that RonO and I used for some fine surfing, until two hours after the formation had been completed. It went perfectly but a couple of environmental purists in the crowd questioned the use of an evil, internal combustion powered, fossil fuel burning airplane to take pictures of the event.

On the wolf front, even though all of the state and federal agencies involved as well as noted wolf researchers Rolf Peterson, David Mech, and others agree that the Great Lakes population has recovered robustly and should be delisted, a number of interest groups won a lawsuit which plopped the wolves squarely back on the Endangered Species list.

Two "environmental insiders", Mike Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus wrote and published an essay, The Death of Environmentalism in 2005 and followed it up with a book, Breakthrough: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility. In a nutshell, they contend that confrontational techniques and a strategy based upon restricting growth and development just doesn't seem to strike a chord with anyone, developing nations or the industrial ones. They argue for a new kind of development, one that takes ecological, economic, and social change into account and actually has an optimistic view of the future. Instead of the politics of fear and restriction, they suggest that we need to galvanize people and institution's creativity and enterprise to meet critical environmental challenges.

In other words, maybe if we can work together on some of this stuff, rather than flaunt and revel in our perceived ideological purity, there will be some significant progress. A prime example was two very different acquaintances that attended the Renewable Energy Fair in Steven's Point the weekend of the symposium. RangerMark, a guy who walks the walk on environmental issues and doesn't even own a soapbox and my cousin Joe, a pickup owner and Harley rider who's idea of fun is restoring old Ford Mustangs. I would have to say that the boys are about 180 degrees opposite politically but both took the long drive (in fossil fuel burning vehicles....likely solo....gasp!!) to explore possible alternatives. RM is working on implementing wind power at his place of employment and Joe is planning on building a flat plate pellet mill when he retires to use biomass to heat his house. A former colleague, the ZumbroFallsImpressionist, is passionate about land use and is a Sierra Club diehard. She helped negotiate a land use issue by reaching out to Ducks Unlimited, an organization not normally spoken of in the same breath as the Sierra Club. Different people with different backgrounds and philosophies finding that there is common ground on many of these problems.

Bottom line: we need to figure out how we can work together on issues like the two mentioned above and cut the ideological crap. The people whimpering about the airplane on the 350 formation probably drove their car up to Washburn with one or two people in it. The wolf huggers would probably think differently if they had a hobby farm in wolf country or their precious purebred mutt were attacked. Get off the soapbox, reach out to someone who it NOT like you, and let's git er done. As the Duke once said, "We're burnin' daylight".

Bilden från dagens sydsvenska

Igår kväll fick "lokalt väder" en ny mening och förståelsen ökade en aning för att SMHI ibland har svårt att homogenisera sina rätt stora prognosområden.

Norra och mellersta Lund: Åska och skyfall med inställda tåg, översvämmade vägar och gång- och cykeltunnlar, översvämmade källare och en mamma som hämtades vid busshållplatsen i kanadensare!

Södra Lund, två-tre kilometer därifrån: grillning i trädgården med barn och barnbarn - visserligen med ett vaksamt öga (och öra) på åskmolnen i norr, väster och öster, men med uppehåll hela tiden och sol mesta tiden - och varmt, varmt, varmt!

Ett i sammanhanget irriterande problem är min åskrädda bredbandsuppkoppling. I gårkväll var det väl OK eftersom åskan säkert var tillräckligt nära för att kunna orsaka skador i en dator online (överspänningsskydd finns naturligtvis inkopplat, men jag vet inte hur effektivt det är vid ett blixtnedslag nära). Men vanligtvis räcker det att jag hör någon enstaka åskknall på stort avstånd - tre mil bort eller så - för att min uppkoppling skall lägga av och inte komma igång på ett par timmar. Funkar alla Telia-bredband så, eller det något lokalt fel? Funkar även andra operatörer så?

Sea trials are complete and the Romany S forward hatch is bone dry after multiple rolls, braces etc.

Also had some time in the Tahe Marine. Amazing rolling machine, but very small cockpit, small enough to hurt. This would be a fine day paddler for anyone small enough to fit.

Turns well, rolls like a thought, static braces are easy, accelerates quickly and I believe would sustain a four knot speed with ease. I'd really like to see it in rough water.

Not sure if I want to be in the cock pit in rough conditions as it's such a tight squeeze I had serious misgivings of being able to get out should the worst happen. Mike Jackson is sold and I can't fault him for falling in love - fickle man that he is!!!

Mike looks on as Pete M. slides in for a test. For my test we had to call upon our companion with the longest arms to adjust the foot pegs. I could just reach the pegs with my finger tips but could not slide them further into the cockpit to accommodate my legs. If you're long legged, set them up, then don't move them unless you're a real knuckle dragger. Sorry Dan!!!

To do a static brace, which I have always struggled with, Dan and Mike simply leaned back onto the very low back deck then while twisting the torso, so the back will lay flat on the water, let the boat slip out from under them and they were doing a static brace. I'm inspired to try this in the Romany S.

Test and trials where conducted on a great day trip from Oak Bay Marine out around Discovery Island and along the shore of Chatham. I swapped my Romany S for Dan's Gulfstream for the return trip. The trip back reinforced my impression that the Gulfstream is the best kayak built by Current Design. Now if this earlier model only had a lower rear deck.

Here's a link to more photos Tahe

Just a quick note on a british kayak expedition, a major crossing from northern scotland to the Faroes - check it out here. On this second attempt at the crossing, the