Spring's Here -- and So's the Sale

If it's mid-March, it must be time for Ocean River's Spring Gear Up Sale.


Every year, Ocean River takes over the parking lot across the street from the store and celebrates the unofficial start of the paddling season by separating kayakers from their money. And they do a darn fine job of it, too.


I arrived first, looking about as white as I feel as I'm now into day 10 of this rotten cold that I can't get rid off.


Louise couldn't come -- she had previously booked a hair appointment. You gotta look good in your kayak, right? But Paula and Richard were there...

...and Bernie, too. He's coping a feel on a Current Design Libra XT. This is the boat Bernie and Paula took out -- or at least tried to take out -- on a blustery day a couple of weeks ago.


Over at the Delta Kayaks area, they had their new 16' model on display (That's it on the bottom.)

The hatches on the new 16' are held in place by small twist-locks.

The 16' has two small day hatches as well as two regular hatches and Mark from Delta says they're going to start putting a day hatch into their 18' model. He even said that they could probably retro fit a day hatch into my 18'. I'd be up for that. (And I still want a hat, Mark!)

Ocean River has started carrying Tahe Marine kayaks. These Greenland-style kayaks are made in Estonia and looked really nice. They seem well-built and stylish, and the store reps said they are great.


Miraculously I escaped mostly unscathed, spending only $30 for a couple of drybags.

See you next spring!

The Real Reason That I Love to Kayak

This is an old Douglas Borgstedt cartoon from the 9/21/1935 issue of the New Yorker, and passed on to me from Robert Runté. Be sure to check his blog. You won't find much there about kayaking, but it's still highly entertaining.

Island Eagle Nest Cams

It's spring, and that means that Vancouver Island's Eagle Nest Cams are back in action.
As reported by the Times-Colonist, several eagle pairs have nested and laid eggs, and they are visible with just a few mouse clicks 24/7. (Except at night, of course. It's dark, not much to see, really. But you can listen to them. And that's pretty cool, too.)
This is the nest cam for a pair of eagles that have nested in the same area just north of Victoria for the last 20 years. They've produced 17 eaglets in that time, but not all have survived.

Another Baby Orca in J Pod

Another new baby orca has been spotted among the local resident orca pods. This is the second new calf in seen J Pod this year, and the third new calf seen in the three local pods this spring.
Infant mortality rates in the local resident pods are about 40-50%, however this year's infant orcas all look well and healthy.
Last year, seven orcas including two newborns died, and the local resident groups are considered endangered.

Shaun Baker vs. Niagara Falls

Extreme kayaker Shaun Baker is possibly thinking about taking his jet-propelled kayak over one of the most famous waterfalls in the world: Niagara.
According to this story in the Niagara Falls Review, Baker thinks that his jet kayak could launch him clear of the danger zone of churning water at the bottom of the Falls. According to the article:

To take on big waterfalls, stunters need to propel themselves far enough out to clear of the “soft” churning white water. But the danger in going too far is landing in the green water downriver that can be like landing on concrete, he said.
While Baker doesn’t have any immediate plans to take on Niagara, the most famous waterfall in the world, he wouldn’t rule it out completely.

His jet kayak can reach 40 kmh on a flat lake which could be enough speed catapult him a fair distance out of the danger zone. Of course, that's what a jet-ski rider thought in 1995 when he rode over the edge, planning to open a parachute so that he would glide to safety. The parachute never opened.
Another person tried to kayak over the Canadian side of the Falls in 1990. The kayak is now in a local museum. His body was never found.
Performing stunts at the Falls is illegal.
Is Baker really serious about it? Again according to the article, his response is so cryptic that it would make any politician proud: “I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it. I’m certainly not saying I would.”

See That Dot? That's a Kayak

Last week, Pedro Oliva broke the record for the largest waterfall run in a kayak with a 30-metre free fall over Rio Sacre in Brazil.
The fall took less than 3 seconds and he is believed to have a reached a speed estimated at over 110 kmh during the plunge.

Kayaking Protesters Make the Front Page

Yesterday's protest by local kayakers against the proposed marina for mega-yachts in Victoria's harbour made the front page of the local paper.
While the developers have tried to appease local paddling groups, they haven't succeeded. The marina will offer only a 7.5-to-15-metre wide clearance from the float plane taxiway in the already crowded harbour.
Stay tuned -- this story is not over yet.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Kayakers.....

At the beginning of the year, I set an unspoken goal of breaking my record of 49 paddles in one year and go for the half-century mark of 50 paddles. So far, things have not turned out so well.
January brings storms, of course, and not as many chances to paddle. While I did manage to get in one paddle in mid-January, my elderly mother became gravely ill a few days later. Paddling time became visit the hospital time, and worries over whether I could afford a new paddle gave way to concerns over my mom's health and future. Then in February, I had a second eye operation as the cataract was removed from my left eye, which resulted in another lay-off from paddling.
But that was then. Now, after more than a month my mother has left the hospital after what even the doctors call an amazing recovery, and plans for her future care are in place and in motion. My eye has healed up quite nicely, thank you, and now that both eyes have had their respective cataracts dealt with, I am actually able to see where I'm kayaking (and I might even be able to catch some of thoze speelling mistakez that kreep into the blog with an annoying frequency).
So I happily looked forward to this weekend and to be finally back on the water. Instead, Louise sprained her ankle at the gym, and another winter storm blew in bringing snow, wind and cold temperatures.
Sigh.

Rally at Songhees

Well, the weather blew, it shone and it snowed. And that was before Bernie and I went on the water.
We turned up this afternoon at Ocean River's dock on the Upper Harbour for the rally against the proposed marina for mega-yachts in the Inner Harbour. Yes, Victoria's harbour has a confusing series of names, starting with the Outer Harbour, the Inner Harbour, the Upper Harbour and on through the Selkirk Water and the Gorge to Portage Inlet (which is an odd thing to call a tidal salt-water lake). But I digress.
When Ocean River put out the call to their e-mailing list about the rally, the note included a promise that rental kayaks would be available at no charge for those attending the rally. This was a terrific offer -- I'd recommend that anyone planning to rent a kayak consider renting from Ocean River as a "thank you!" for these free rentals. I booked a double right away, figuring Bernie and Lila would use it and I'd follow along in an inflatable.
But as Bernie and I hopped off the bus and trudged along with two knapsacks full of paddle gear for us and Lila (and the Dragonfly trundling along as well) we felt a distinct chill and a stiff breeze. "Let's go down this way, close to the bridge" Bernie said, "and get a look at the water before we get to Ocean River." We could see whitecaps off our launch beach at Songhees.
Lila doesn't paddle often, and was allowed to back out of paddling this windy day. She became our ground crew instead, guarding the packs and inflatable at a Chinatown restaurant. "No, Mom, you can't take your little boat out there," she insisted. "It will be a balloon." It's so nice when kids grow up and start looking after you...
The Upper Harbour was pretty well sheltered, behind Songhees Point, but it was still choppy. Bernie said the wind was gusting to 40 klicks. We geared up and launched the big Libra XT double, which we'd never tried before. That made today a boat demo as well. It's always interesting to try a new model, and this one had never been rented before.
I don't know if we'll try it again, either. Maybe on a calm day. But it sure wasn't the boat for us on this windy day -- it felt like we were trying to paddle one of the container ships we see going through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Libra XT has a big deck humped high between the paddlers. It felt like it caught every gust of wind.
We couldn't turn that barge for love nor money till the wind faltered for a moment. The Libra came around slowly and reluctantly. It was all we could do to keep from being blown onto the rocky shoreline. When the Libra returned to its dock below Ocean River, we took that as a sign and got out.
So, out of the two dozen or so kayaks we saw gathering for the rally, our part was an abbreviated one, taking in about two hundred yards of conditions we would have enjoyed in our own boats but just couldn't take in this one. I feel like such a jam tart, when others were sporting in the waves and all; but I did hear one paddler in a surf ski comment to her friend about how careful she was being in these conditions.
We weren't the only paddlers who had a brief participation in the water part of the rally. One of the people launching flipped his rental kayak about ten feet off the dock and wet exited. His dignity was harmed more than anything else. Of course it was the only guy wearing blue jeans! But he scrambled onto the dock and was helped into the boatshed immediately, out of the wind.
Mike Jackson has written about the rally as well, on his blog so go there and see the viewpoint of a paddler who actually showed up in his boat as planned.
What a day for a rally scheduled to be on the water! And what better way to celebrate International Women's Day as well, than at a rally speaking out for the environmentally-sustainable use of our Inner Harbour?

Hundreds Attend Global Warming Protest

Only Seven??!?

Some well-known kayakers (including Doug Alderson, Tim Shuff, and Serge Savard) were asked to name their favourite kayaking spots in Canada. How they whittled it down to seven final choices, I'll never know. They pick some of the usual suspects like the Broken Group Islands and Desolation Sound, but also reach a little further afield for places like Kane Basin, Nunavut, and Burgeo, Newfoundland.
The bad news is that I have never kayaked at any of the chosen locations. The good news is that I have never kayaked at any of the chosen locations, so that means there's plenty more kayaking for me to do. :)

Sublimation

And here I sit, not having seen liquid water for months except when it has had enough salt dumped on it to form a toxic boot-melting slurry. Violating whatever commandment prohibits envy. Gazing longingly at the fishing shows on the TV screens in the gym. Sublimating my water and kayak deprivation by looking at old paddling photos and doodling in 3D ...

Calling All Local Paddlers

Local paddlers are being asked to participate in a rally protesting the new marina for mega-yachts proposed for Vitoria's Inner Harbour. This project is a huge proposal that will drastically re-shape our harbour and curtail all most paddling acticites in the harbour.
Here's the plan via an email for Ocean River:

When: Saturday March 7th 2009, 3:00 PM. Please be sure to meet at the site well before starting time.
Where: We will meet on the water at the proposed Community Marine Concepts Ltd Mega Yacht Marina Location - directly in front of the Songhees Condominiums (see map in the attached PDF file).
Why: To demonstrate the paddling community's profound concern regarding Community Marine Concepts Ltd's Marina proposal, and to show our support for access to shared public waterways - including our Harbour!
Who: Everyone who loves getting on the water in human powered vessels - canoeists (marathon, tripping, voyageur), kayakers, stand-up board paddlers, OC6, OC2, OC1 paddlers, dragon boaters, rowers, surf ski paddlers... All are welcome and encouraged to come paddle with us!

If you can't be there in your boat, an on-land rally will be taking place at the same time on shore.

Kayaks for Review!

Two kayaks have just arrived for review, and I'm so excited to be trying them out. Advanced Elements makes the best inflatable kayaks I've seen. You can see them at advancedelements.com and decide for yourself. Try them out at Paddlefest in Ladysmith this May or Victoria this June and see what you think. They've got three different lines of products, and with these two samples I've got one from each line.
The Dragonfly that can be seen in several photos on the Kayakyak site is one of their most popular boats. With a few changes, the new model is called the Lagoon. It's a bit like an inflatable dinghy in a rec kayak-shaped bag, 8'4" long, very manoeuvrable and easy to handle.
The AdvancedFrame line is different. This is more like a folding kayak with inflation chambers instead of wood or metal rods. Our friend Dennis paddles the 10.5 foot version. I've just received the 13 foot Expedition version, and am itching to see how it handles for various sizes of paddler. Our group has one of just about every size of person, so we'll each take a turn.
The second kayak that arrived for review is the StraitEdge2, a sit-on-top that adjusts for one or two paddlers. This is the first sit-on-top in our paddle group's fleet, and it rides very differently from what we're used to handling. If sitting in my Eliza feels like wearing a well-fitted hiking boot, the first outing in this felt like borrowing my husband's shoes. Notes are being made!
There will be photos as well. Stay tuned!

Just Around the Corner

Yep, it's February all over. Even the sunny days are pretty chill. So on Saturday the 21st, when Richard and I went paddling, I just had a short trip while he did a second, longer loop before going back to shore.
Launching at Gyro Park is easy for me, with the wheels to roll my Eliza from the house down to the water. Lucky for me, Rich was willing to meet me there instead of at a new beach, and lately, he's been ready at a moment's notice to go kayaking because he's been keeping his boat on the roof of his van.
The tide was just ebbing from high, so there was no current to speak of. Out we went, past Flower and over to look at Cadboro Point. There was a bit of a breeze over the calm water that picked up as we got closer to the point, and through the gaps in the rock we could see chop and whitecaps on the other side. Amazing how one side of a point will have such different conditions from the other side...
Turning around, we went towards Jemmy Jones Island until the chop got me unsettled. Back towards Flower Island, then, no seals or otters in sight, though I saw both earlier that week. That's where we split up, so I could get back to shore before getting chilled and Richard could do another loop and get a good workout.
It was a good moment to get back to the beach, by the way -- saw my neighbour who gets on the water 200 days a year, in his kayak or on his paddleboard. The evening before, Friday, he'd been on the paddleboard out by the Chathams and surprised a male Stellar's sea lion. "Yep, the heart monitor was showing my heart rate at a steady 120 beats per minute until I saw him," he reported. "Then it spiked up to 170." No kidding -- bull sea lions are 18 to 20 feet long! Now he was on his way in his kayak with a camera to see if he could get a picture. What a man, what a man...
After Rich got back to shore, there was coffee, there was hot cocoa and hommous at Olive Olio's, there was sundry scanning of Volume one of the BC Atlas for Coastal Recreation Kayaking and Small Boats and various plans for attending Ladysmith's Paddlefest and doing some day trips around Nanaimo, but that was all after the fact. Getting on the water was what mattered, out under the bright blue-and-white bowl of the sky.

New Babies

After losing 7 members last year, the local orca pods have two new babies this spring. One was born to J Pod, the other to L Pod and they bring the population of the endangered local resident group to 85. However, one adult male, 31 year-old L57, hasn't been spotted yet this year and is missing.
The new orca calves were first spotted off Victoria on February 6, then off Nanaimo a few days later, and were probably born sometime in January. It's unusual for the resident pods to be in the local waters at this time of year. Also unusual is that all three pods J, K and L are wintering together.  Usually they winter independently off California, so their early return suggests to some researchers that they are following a food source, probably chinook salmon. Salmon stocks are dropping, raising fears that the local resident orcas, already endangered, could be facing starvation.

Marina Follow-Up the Third

The T-C has a story here about last night's public hearing on the proposed harbour marina.

Marina Follow-Up Follow-Up

The Victoria Times-Colonist has a story today about the proposed marina for mega-yachts in the harbour and tonight's public hearing here.

Paddling to be Banned From Esquimalt Lagoon?

According to this story by the Victoria Times-Colonist, The Canadian Wildlife Service in co-operation with Esquimalt Lagoon Stewardship Initiative is considering banning paddlers from Esquimalt Lagoon. While officials are saying they won't ban all paddling in the lagoon, they want to restrict paddling in the north and south ends of the lagoon. Since the entrance into the lagoon is at south end, this will result in canoes and kayaks not being able to paddle into and out of the lagoon, although presumably one would still be able to launch from the shore as long as one avoids the "off limits" areas.
The Esquimalt Lagoon Migratory Bird Sanctuary has been in existence since the 1930s. Check out some of our paddles at the Lagoon here.