Via @SeaKayakStMarys and @bryanhansel ... a selection of short video clips demonstrating a retinue of kayaking strokes.
UPDATE - May 18: Check here for animations of various paddle techniques.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
ECCKF Wrap-Up
UPDATED: Apr 26 - added the pictures
Kathleen and I had a great time at the East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival in Charleston SC. We are definitely going again. We tried to take advantage of everything available, made several on-the-fly plan changes, and had some unanticipated coordination challenges. We took our two Italian Greyhounds and rented a 1 room cottage on Folly Beach for a week. Ray and Dorothy, some paddling buddies, were going and we wanted to hook up with them. Here's what we did - commentary follows.
The movie was my first exposure to top-flight sea kayaking. Beforehand, I was more leery than interested, now I can definitely see the appeal. Will, of Coastal Expeditions, led the sunrise paddle. It was a nice jaunt through a tidal marsh area. We saw a bottle-nosed dolphin. We had signed up for 3 of the 6 classes offered by H2Outfitters and ended up adding a 4th to round out their complete set on various strokes - very useful, since all of our previous stroke knowledge came from our watching DVD's not people watching us & providing feedback. H2Outfitters had a bunch of boats for the lessons. We were in Perception Sea Lions on Friday and Prijon Catalinas on Sunday. The Prijons felt very wobbly to us newbies - a good lesson to avoid hard chine boats until we're more advanced. I flipped mine while going gonzo practicing low braces - but it gave me an opportunity to try a heel re-entry seen demoed by Cathy Piffath the day before. Kathleen has gained a lot of confidence and now wants to step up from her Pungo 120. Since we didn't plan on buying a boat there, we are waiting. However, it probably won't be too long before we're looking to sell & buy. In retrospect, we regret skipping the BBQ dinner on Friday night. I salivated at Dorothy's description of the beer and others told me the food was better than Saturday's. We returned for the Vacation from Hell presentation - very interesting for capturing the on-shore experience, not nearly as much on-water shoots as in Eastern Horizons; overall, a good pairing though. On Saturday, we wanted to catch a variety of sessions. Nigel Foster is freakin' amazing in a kayak - now we know how graceful kayaks can be on flatwater. Jeff & Cathy's demo of rescues was interesting, informative, and, as already mentioned, timely. After Ken Fink's talk, we knew what a Sea Kayak Carolina staff member meant when he warned us on Monday about the fetch near the mouth of the Folly River. Danny, of Werner Paddles, was entertaining during his talk about paddling styles. Who knew that competition between paddling vendors is a trash talk sport? Actually, that was a tiny percentage of his session, he was very informative discussing technique and paddle/shaft shapes. Unfortunately, I left the dinner tickets at home and, unbeknown to us, had to fight Folly Beach Sea & Sand Festival traffic back to the cottage. I was an hour late to dinner, the crowd was thinning, and I missed Ray & Dorothy. I did have a nice, but short, chat with Steve, the Charleston Co. paddling program director, his wife, and the guy who was directing the festival. After dinner, and after bumming some bug spray, Alison Sigathy and Karen Knight were incredibly graceful in their greenland kayak and canoe respectively. After the second set of lessons and Sunday, we tried sea kayaks by Nigel Dennis, P&H, and Wilderness Systems. The Current Design folks had packed up, so we missed trying theirs.
We only missed one component this year - master classes offered by experts, but not necessarily for experts. With the basics under our belt, a season of practice, and we'll be signing up for a number of these next year. We didn't get to do any other paddles due to high winds. I look forward to paddling to the Morris Island Lighthouse next year.
Here's Kathleen at the H2Outfitter's location for on-the-water lessons.
And fellow paddlers on Folly Creek in the tidal marsh:
Kathleen and I had a great time at the East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival in Charleston SC. We are definitely going again. We tried to take advantage of everything available, made several on-the-fly plan changes, and had some unanticipated coordination challenges. We took our two Italian Greyhounds and rented a 1 room cottage on Folly Beach for a week. Ray and Dorothy, some paddling buddies, were going and we wanted to hook up with them. Here's what we did - commentary follows.
- Thu evening - Eastern Horizons movie
- Fri morning - sunrise paddle on Folly Creek
- Fri afternoon - lessons: Basics and Beyond the Basics
- Fri evening - Russell Farrow on Glaciers & Narwhal (Vacation from Hell)
- Sat morning - Nigel Foster demo on kayak control; Ken Fink on wind & waves
- Sat afternoon - rescue demos; vendor viewing & gear gathering; Danny Mongno on low/high angle paddling
- Sat evening - dinner ticket & traffic fiasco; late dinner; "ballet" with kayaks & canoe
- Sun morning - lessons: Combine & Refine and Support Strokes
- Sun afternoon - more vendor viewing; kayak demoing
The movie was my first exposure to top-flight sea kayaking. Beforehand, I was more leery than interested, now I can definitely see the appeal. Will, of Coastal Expeditions, led the sunrise paddle. It was a nice jaunt through a tidal marsh area. We saw a bottle-nosed dolphin. We had signed up for 3 of the 6 classes offered by H2Outfitters and ended up adding a 4th to round out their complete set on various strokes - very useful, since all of our previous stroke knowledge came from our watching DVD's not people watching us & providing feedback. H2Outfitters had a bunch of boats for the lessons. We were in Perception Sea Lions on Friday and Prijon Catalinas on Sunday. The Prijons felt very wobbly to us newbies - a good lesson to avoid hard chine boats until we're more advanced. I flipped mine while going gonzo practicing low braces - but it gave me an opportunity to try a heel re-entry seen demoed by Cathy Piffath the day before. Kathleen has gained a lot of confidence and now wants to step up from her Pungo 120. Since we didn't plan on buying a boat there, we are waiting. However, it probably won't be too long before we're looking to sell & buy. In retrospect, we regret skipping the BBQ dinner on Friday night. I salivated at Dorothy's description of the beer and others told me the food was better than Saturday's. We returned for the Vacation from Hell presentation - very interesting for capturing the on-shore experience, not nearly as much on-water shoots as in Eastern Horizons; overall, a good pairing though. On Saturday, we wanted to catch a variety of sessions. Nigel Foster is freakin' amazing in a kayak - now we know how graceful kayaks can be on flatwater. Jeff & Cathy's demo of rescues was interesting, informative, and, as already mentioned, timely. After Ken Fink's talk, we knew what a Sea Kayak Carolina staff member meant when he warned us on Monday about the fetch near the mouth of the Folly River. Danny, of Werner Paddles, was entertaining during his talk about paddling styles. Who knew that competition between paddling vendors is a trash talk sport? Actually, that was a tiny percentage of his session, he was very informative discussing technique and paddle/shaft shapes. Unfortunately, I left the dinner tickets at home and, unbeknown to us, had to fight Folly Beach Sea & Sand Festival traffic back to the cottage. I was an hour late to dinner, the crowd was thinning, and I missed Ray & Dorothy. I did have a nice, but short, chat with Steve, the Charleston Co. paddling program director, his wife, and the guy who was directing the festival. After dinner, and after bumming some bug spray, Alison Sigathy and Karen Knight were incredibly graceful in their greenland kayak and canoe respectively. After the second set of lessons and Sunday, we tried sea kayaks by Nigel Dennis, P&H, and Wilderness Systems. The Current Design folks had packed up, so we missed trying theirs.
We only missed one component this year - master classes offered by experts, but not necessarily for experts. With the basics under our belt, a season of practice, and we'll be signing up for a number of these next year. We didn't get to do any other paddles due to high winds. I look forward to paddling to the Morris Island Lighthouse next year.
Here's Kathleen at the H2Outfitter's location for on-the-water lessons.
And fellow paddlers on Folly Creek in the tidal marsh:
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Consensus on Warm-Air Cold-Water Wear?
I posted a question on the Mecklenburg Regional Paddler's forum about recommendations for clothing or "behavior" when the air temperature is warm and the water temperature is not. I'd previously speculated that I'd carry a scooper and pour cold water down my shirt if I wore my current gear - an 3mm Farmer John and a 0.5mm longsleeve top (both from NRS).
The general consensus was towards a "shortie" farmer john - single piece wetsuit with mid-thigh shorts and vest-like upper. The idea was ... protect the core in the water, allow the extremities to sweat to release body heat generated by paddling in the warmer air. At the ECCKF, we'll be talking with other folks too. Stay tuned!
The general consensus was towards a "shortie" farmer john - single piece wetsuit with mid-thigh shorts and vest-like upper. The idea was ... protect the core in the water, allow the extremities to sweat to release body heat generated by paddling in the warmer air. At the ECCKF, we'll be talking with other folks too. Stay tuned!
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