I usually handle the technical end of this blog, but Becky is on vacation this week so she asked me to write the post.
For the San Juan trip we now have 11 ladies who have paid their deposit and I can easily see having 12, the maximum per group allowed by Sea Quest Expeditions , by the time it is all said and done. This means we are assured of having our own private kayak tour, as there was a 10 person minimum for private tours, and it assures us of the discounted group price we have been figuring on. It also means we are going to have an outrageously fun time!!! Bring your Depends if you have bladder control problems because we are going to laugh our heads off.
Becky also asked me to report on the paddle trip Charlotte, Wendy and I took last Saturday. It started off with me baptizing Charlotte in the icy cold Sprague River. Well, not exactly, but when I “seal” launched her off the bank she went bottom up in the river. Charlotte is an experienced paddler, but this is the second time she has gotten wet. Both times I guess I had a little something to do with it, but she forgives me. The first time was last October when we took a group of ladies to Lake of the Woods. She let a lady use stable little “Kermit” while she paddled our sit-on-top “Flipper”. True to his name, he flipped her off. This time I told Charlotte that if she was going to keep “goin’ under” we ought to make it count for something - like maybe we could capitalize on these immersions to rebaptize her. Anyway, back to the Sprague River, it was low (304 cfs). It was at half the flow of this same time last year when we went with Peg (592 cfs), which made for a lot of rock dodging and a slower and less fun ride. However, one thing about the rivers in our area – the Williamson, Wood and Sprague – they are great practice for learning to control your boat. Maneuvering through the tight turns on the Wood and around the shoal shelves and rocks in the Williamson and the Sprague lends confidence for successfully paddling Class II rivers like the Rogue.
In the Training Topics section to the right, I have posted an article on the use of a whistle, its necessity and limitations, when used in kayaking. I have also added a "Fun Stuff" section.
Last but not least, it’s time to buy a sail for my kayak. I have consulted Peg about this because she has sailed a kayak. She owns a tandem Klepper kayak (which is for sale BTW) which we sailed to Doe Island in Howard Prairie Lake a couple of years ago. I drove to my office late on Wednesday and when I saw the wind kicking up white caps on Lake Ewauna, I felt the adrenalin rush and decided my next purchase needs to be a sail. The question is, which one to buy as there are several on the market. I am favoring the Spirit Sail but the jury is still out. Here is a short You Tube video of a guy rippin’ along with a similar sail. Pacific Action Sails (They even used a white Prijon Seayak exactly like mine in the ad. Think that’s a sign?) With as much wind as we have and with the lake nearby, Peg and I decided that having sails mounted on the hard shell kayaks would be a heck of a lot of fun. These are downwind sails so basically you point your boat down wind and let the wind carry you – not a lot of technical sailing experience needed. The next best thing to paddling rapids is to paddle swells and troughs - compliments of the wind. -Mary
No comments:
Post a Comment