Fun on the Range

Here's a short film by a group of kayakers from California called Neptune's Rangers as they play and paddle in the big surf of California rock gardens.

Save Like Spring. Feel Like Winter.

Louise and I headed down to Ocean River this morning to check out their annual spring gear-up sale. There were a few changes this year as this sale was billed as the Spring Splash rather than the Gear-Up Sale, and the boats and reps were set-up in Ocean River's dock area, rather than the parking lot across the street. I gather the idea was to get more boats closer to the water to encourage demos and such, but it came at the cost of the very visible parking lot sale which I'm sure must have brought in a lot of walk-by traffic. The crowds certainly seemed down. Of course, the weather wasn't cooperating either, as a light drizzle was coming down and wind gusts were causing havoc with both the tents and kayak stands. It felt more like February than April.

We checked out the boats, briefly examining the recent models from Delta kayaks. I really like the new Delta 17 (second from the bottom) in that great new orange colour. Maybe when I win the lottery.


Feeling the wind, we ducked into the Kayak Distribution trailer with Mark Hall. We had a pleasant chat catching up, and Mark sold me another three kayaks as long as my lottery ticket won. And since I'm showing you pictures of someone's trailer and not my new kayaks, you can guess how well that lottery ticket plan worked out today.

This Bore Ain't Boring

Check out this clip of SUPs and kayaks on this tidal bore near Bourdeaux, France. It's pretty much the water-sport version of line-dancing!

Post by Federación de Surf de Costa Rica.

Planning for Dog Rescues -- Part Two: Your Own Dog

It came to mind the other day, after seeing a dog in distress on a rocky cliff at Cadboro Bay, that some paddlers bring their pets along on the water. It's a good idea to make plans for how you would rescue your dog (or cat, or other pet) if there were any problems.
Since it's a safety law for humans to have life jackets or PFDs, you'll probably want to have a life jacket for your dog. This choice might seem optional, as some dogs are very strong swimmers. There are plenty of styles of life jackets, as you could see on this Google search page. The most practical designs have a sturdy harness with a handle for lifting the dog -- two handles on life jackets for big dogs! This design is a good reminder that it's very hard to grab hold of a wet dog and lift it out of the water. Even if the dog is a strong swimmer, a PFD is stronger than an ordinary harness, and will make rescuing the dog easier.
While some dogs might be assisted with a paddle float tied on a rope or some other improvised float, most will be less able to assist in their own rescue than a human. Our paddle group does safety practise, learning how to assist each other on the water. It's a good idea for a pet owner to do some safety practise with the dog. Maybe you already do lots of swimming with the dog, or maybe it's never gone in the water before. Take some time in safe conditions to try some of the ways you might have to help your dog if there's a problem. Start simple, make it fun, and maybe you'll feel prepared in practical ways for your time on the water with your dog.

Rescued Sailor Spent 66 Days Adrift

The next time you think you've had a good long day paddle or camping trip, remember Louis Jordan. He's just been rescued off the coast of North Carolina, after spending 66 days adrift in his wrecked sailboat. Details can be read here.

Ocean River Spring Splash

Ocean River Sports' spring sale, this year dubbed the Spring Splash Event, will be next weekend, April 11 and April 12. Head on down to demo boats and talk to industry reps. And as an added bonus, if you see me there Saturday, you can wish me a Happy Birthday!

Planning for Dog Rescues -- Part One: Whose Job IS It?

Paddling the other day in Cadboro Bay, I heard a dog barking along the rocky side of the bay. Coming closer, I could see a large wet dog standing on a bit of rock at the base of the cliff below a house -- either he had swum there or slipped over the steep slope, fallen in, and scrambled up on the rock.
He was much too big and energetic a dog for me to offer him a ride in my little inflatable kayak, even though his barks communicated his interest in getting a human to come rescue him. Instead, I paddled along the shore to a construction site four houses down. There I waved over a young man with a chain saw.
We chatted for a minute about the barking dog, and the worker put away his chain saw and went to go knock on the door of the house above the stranded dog, to see if it was their animal.
The next day, when I went by there were big scuffs in the green scrubby plants on the cliff. It looked like somebody had gone to some effort to rescue the dog before the tide came in. Good!

The whole incident brought something to my attention: Whose Job IS It To Rescue Dogs?
On the water and shorelines, who do we call to rescue a dog? We certainly do NOT call 911 for local police, fire or ambulance. They rescue people. So who do we call? Is it the job of the Coast Guard, or local Marine Rescue? Could it be the job of the Pound? How about the SPCA?
There is no one answer. It's a darned good idea to find out ahead of time who you would call in your own area. In some cities, it is the duty of the Pound to rescue dogs; in others, the SPCA co-ordinates volunteers to rescue dogs. Some places have Search-And-Rescue programs which will rescue a dog. Start by calling the Pound, and be sure to dial the Non-Emergency number. Calls to the Pound are sometimes routed directly to the local police station.
Be prepared for nobody knowing the answer. You might have your call forwarded many times, or be sent on a wild goose chase, or in circles during your search. You might become part of a new committee in your community setting up a plan for animal emergencies.

Photo by Jeremy Cohn @JeremyGlobalTV

Often it's the local firemen who will come to a dog's rescue, as in this story from Brampton.

It's awfully tempting to try to rescue a dog in distress. But think carefully before trying to do so by yourself. Is your kayak big enough to hold the dog? What if the dog struggles? What if it scratches or bites you, just because it's in distress?


We know whose job it is to rescue marine animals such as a whale, seal or marine turtle -- that's the job of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The DFO people have toll-free numbers to call in various regions across Canada. Check out their website page with hot links for reporting problems such as fuel spills or marine animals in distress.
We can also pause for a moment to review DFO regulations for whale-watching and for the safety of marine mammals and turtles. Check out their website, but it boils down to:
-Don't come any closer than 100 yards or metres to a whale.
-If a whale comes within 400 yards or metres, slow down and watch out for it!
-Don't get in the whale's path or follow it.
Bottom line is, we are the humans. We are the ones who can go many places and eat many things. We must make room for the whales to feed and travel where they need to be. New boat users must be helped by their friends and associates to understand that these DFO rules are for our safety as well as the safety of whales and other animals.

How Not To Steal a Kayak

Planning to steal a new kayak? This video offers some tips on how not to do it.

How Many People Does It Take to Paddle an SUP?

Apparently, the answer is 7. That is, if you're the Jamie O'Brien SUPquatch Team and you're SUPing in some crazy surf in Hawaii. Check out the fun clips below:

Re-enter and Roll

Tying to master your re-enter and roll? Here's a couple of videos that may help you master this rescue technique.
In this first video, Dympna Hayes from the Ontario Sea Kayak Centre shares the starightforward tips to perfroming this roll:


In the second clip, Gordon Brown demonstrates two versions of the re-enter and roll, including one using a paddlefloat.

Hydrospeeding A Glacier

The latest craze in crazy things to do is called hydrospeeding which is basically boogie boarding down glacial rivlets. Photographer David Carlier followed Claude-Alain Gailland and Gilles Janin hydrospeeding down a seven-mile stretch of the Aletsch Glacier, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Switzerland.
Check out more his photos here and here.

Ends and Beginnings

The latest issue of Coast and Kayak magazine has wound its way to me through the mysterious vagaries of the Canadian Postal Service, along with word that this issue will be its last. Sort of.
After the recent demise of the much-missed Sea Kayaker magazine, this is the second kayaking magazine to paddle into the sunset over the last couple of years. Changes in the magazine market have once again made publishing a “kayaking only” magazine a losing financial battle.
The magazine has a long history as it spent two decades being published under the name Wavelength Magazine before changing names a few years ago. And the name is changing again, as editor John Kimantas had announced the magazine will continue publishing as Wild Coast Magazine, which will focus on many aspects of west coast recreational life, and not exclusively focus on kayaking. Essentially, this is the return of the Wild Coast name as Kimantas previously published a single issue of Wild Coast Magazine in 2008 but he discontinued that magazine when given the opportunity to take over Wavelength. The new name of Wild Coast also ties in nicely with Kimantas' excellent series of Wild Coast recreation guidebooks.
So we say goodbye to Coast and Kayak, but welcome the return of Wild Coast.

Kayak Rescue Off Metchosin

A pair of people in a tandem kayak and three people in an inflatable dinghy were rescued off Parry Bay in Metchosin near Victoria yesterday.
Royal Canadian Marine Search & Rescue - Station 35 Victoria was dispatched to perform the rescues; they've posted up some pictures and a quick write-up on their Facebook page. The wind was gusting heavily yesterday which presumably played a part in both incidents. No one was injured.

2105 MEC Victoria Paddlefest Date Annouced

Mark your calendar! The date for this year's MEC Victoria Paddlefest has been announced -- Saturday, July 18, at its usual location at Willow's Beach. Check out the details here.

Ron The Seal

A kayaker in England has made friends with a seal, and has had three encounters with it over the last few months. In the latest, caught on the video embedded below, the seal tries its best to climb onto the kayak, falling off and spalshing into the drink a few times before it finally succeeds. Apparently many local kayakers have had encounters with the seal, so many that the locals have given it a name, Ron.

Look Out Below

Wanna show the world how tough your canoe is built? Why not throw it off a building!
That's what the guys at Nova Craft Canoe did. You can find out how that worked out by checking out the clip below:

Kayaking the Aleutians

Last year, Sarah Outen was rowing across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to British Columbia as part of her London2London human-powered global circumnavigation adventure. She had already kayaked from London across the English Channel, rode a bike across Europe and Russia, and had kayaked from Russia to Japan. Now, she was making her second attempt to row across the Pacific; her first attempt failed when her specially-designed row boat started leaking and she had to be rescued. Her second attempt was faring better, but the weather gods were not cooperating. After weeks on the water, she realized that the winds and currents were making eastward progress almost impossible. In fact, they were pushing her north towards Alaska. And that's when she improvised Plan B. Enlisting the aid of adventure kayaker and filmmaker Justine Curgenven, Sarah decided to put her rowboat ashore at the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian Islands, and kayak the length of the archipelago, up the Alaska panhandle to the nearest road so she could continue her human-powered adventure by bicycle. She and Justine spent 101 days kayaking 2500 kilometers in one of the most remote places on earth. Fortunately for the rest of us, Justine took along her cameras.
Highlighted by the incredible and magnificent scenery of the Aleutian Island chain, Justine's new DVD, Kayaking the Aleutians, simply proves again what the kayaking community already knows: she is a marvelous filmmaker. Not only does she deftly capture the astounding natural environment such as the wild storms, the bear encounters, and the sea lions encroaching on their camp, she is equally adept and bringing out the human side of the story: her friendship with Sarah, the charming encounters with the locals, the joy at the end of a day of successful paddling, and the anxiety when the paddling day is on the brink of going seriously sideways. There were many such days, as Justine and Sarah had to deal with uncooperative currents, raging winds, and equipment failures, but, buoyed along by Sarah's seemingly unfailing optimism, the two friends completed a journey that the rest of us can only dream about.
The DVD also contains four short bonus films; a windy paddle in Wales, kayaking in the Bay of Fundy with whales, and two films about kayaking in the waves at Tofino with The Hurricane Riders. Don't hesitate to check it out if you have a chance.
(And here's a little bonus: Justine being interviewed on Toronto morning tv. Sorry, no embed available.)

Whitewater Kayaking 1957 to 1963

I'm not all at all sure of the ancestry of this video, but it has great photos and clips of vintage whitewater kayaking from nearly six decades ago.
Check it out:

Justine Curgenven at Ocean River Sports

Earlier this evening, Louise and I saw adventure film maker Justine Curgenven speak about her latest kayaking DVD, Kayaking the Aleutians, at Ocean River Sports in Victoria.
Creator of eight paddling films, including five in the terrific This is the Sea series, Justine's latest film about her adventures paddling the Arctic archipelago of the Aleutians has won all sorts of awards since its release.
Last year, Justine joined adventure traveler Sarah Outen for part of Sarah's human-powered round-the-world journey. Outen had planned to row from Japan to Vancouver, but weather and currents were pushing her north towards Alaska, so she changed tack and decided to kayak along the Aleutians and invited Justine along for the paddle. Justine presented a slide show as she described her amazing adventure, punctuated by both clips from the film, and her famous cackle.
What a treat to hear Justine tell her story in person as she is just as engaging a storyteller without a camera as she is with one.
Her North American Tour continues through the month of March, and you can order all of Justine's DVDs here.
We'll publish a review of the DVD soon. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer: