Sea kayaking with SeaKayakPhoto.com: Is it worth tacking upwind with a Flat Earth Kayak Sail?

Sea kayaking with SeaKayakPhoto.com: Is it worth tacking upwind with a Flat Earth Kayak Sail?

I really like what he is saying here, but I do want to add that the Flatearth sail really opens up your options because most of the time you can at least make your waypoint sailing. If you cannot, I agree that it is time to drop the sail.

Why won't P&H Fix their skeg design?

They make great boats but unless you have a really old one or one that is less than a year old, the skegs don't work well on theor boats.  It baffles my that they continue to do this so poorly given that every thing else about their boats is really nice. 

If I bought a brand new boat I'd want the one moving part to actually move like it is supposed to without using two hands and getting help from others paddling nearby.  I sure wish they'd fix this.  Let me know when they do and I'll start saving my pennies for a new Delphin 155.

Skilling Up

This weekend three folks from the Carolina Kayak Club Got their BCU 3 star certification from Lamar at Barrier Island Kayaks.  That represents a significant amount of time spent on trianing and probably a significant amount of money on coaching as well.  Congratulations Ginger, Lee, and Virginia for a job well done. 

Getting the BCU 3 star puts you smack in the middle of the rigorous BCU rating system and ranks you near the top of most paddlers I know as far as skill level.

You can check out the requirements here:

http://www.bcuna.com/pages/Main-Pages/Syllabi.shtml#Syllabus

http://www.bcuna.com/pages/Main-Pages/Syllabi.shtml#Syllabus

Fall Is here!

Fall is here and so is the rain and the cold.  The weekend before last, it was in the 90's.  This last weekend was in the 60's and it has rained almost every day this week.  It's time to get the cold weather gear into your car.

Here we are being surprised by the cold.

Instructor Training

Last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I spent time at Jordan Lake with other club members working to get ACA instructor training.  It was a lot more fun than I expected and a lot harder work than I expected too.

Nancy at Carolina Kayak Club brought in Mike from Canoe Kayak and Paddle as our instructor trainer.  Her husband Larry and Robert from Watersmyth kayaking in Wilmington volunteered as assistants to Mike.

I sure wish I had taken a class from Mike the first time I had been in a kayak.  Now we have 9 more intructors in the club who can help beginners get the improtant skills they need to paddle better from the beginning.

While taking the class I noticed that their was a lot for me to learn to improve and refine the basic skills.  Advanced skills are useful and good, but I think I'd be a much better paddler if I focused on being really good at the basics.

Wow, I sure got it wrong about the Cobra Revision

Nigel at Savanah Canoe and Kayak has just ordered some and will be ordering more in March!

http://www.savannahcanoeandkayak.com/cgi-bin/mivavm?/Merchant2/merchant.mvc+Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SCAK&Product_Code=CobraRevision&Category_Code=SitOnTops

Surfing Safari

Last weekend we took a class from Paul from the Carolina Canoe Club. Paul is an ACA level 5 surf instructor and we learned a lot! I surfed in an RTM Disco and a Dagger Kaos. The Kaos is a much better surfer, but the Disco is much better all around.

This weekend I surfed at Bogue inlet with the Expedition and had a blast, but it was impossible to turn in comparison to the shorter boats I used a week ago. I also learned that sideways in the soup is great bracing practice. My friend Lee was there with a Romany and he looked and surfed like a pro.

So I have had a lot of adventure and I only had to make some small sacrifices to the sea. Namely a paddle and rudder were broken and another pair of glasses were washed away.

Sorry I am not yet confident enough to take pictures in the surf, but I want to do it so please share any surf photo tips you have.

This coming weekend we are taking instructor training. Ha, imagine me actually teaching folks how to paddle. I'll let you know how it goes.