I’m pleased to announce that it is once again time for the Sea Kayaker magazine Readers Choice Awards survey.

It’s hard to imagine that we’ve already been hosting these awards for seven years! By design, the survey leaves it up to our readers to choose their favorites from every product in each category. It gives them a blank slate upon which to cast their vote. The manufacturers who win our Readers Choice Awards receive the highest honor: the un-biased approval of the people who buy their products.

There have been a few changes that have taken place since we started this process. In 2004 the ballots were printed and bound into the magazine. Our readers filled out the forms and sent them back to us by mail. It took months to tabulate the results by hand.

Now we have a number of technological changes: on-line surveys, an e-mail newsletter, social media, etc. Those advances make it less time consuming and more economical to host the award. However, with those technological changes it also becomes more important to protect the integrity of the survey. While we are big fans of social media, we recognize that for an award such as this to remain meaningful we need to provide some control on who fills out our survey. We’ve incorporated a code into the process to limit access to the survey to our readers.

The survey itself can be found on our website. The code required to open the survey is published in the Readers Choice Awards ad in the magazine. We ask that only readers of the magazine fill out the survey. Circulating the code without the magazine is prohibited and survey entries submitted as a result will be disqualified.

We invite you to cast your vote and enter to win the prize. We only ask that you get the code from the magazine whether you subscribe to it, buy it at a newsstand or borrow it from a friend or library. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping the selection process fair.

The Readers Choice Awards will be presented on June 25, 2011 at a special ceremony here in Seattle, Washington at the Northwest Paddling Festival, a new event co-sponsored by Sea Kayaker magazine.

The 2011 Kayaking Calendar offers a year's worth of stunning photographs of some of the most scenic waterscapes around the globe. Each day has enough space to write in your schedule too! Order one for family, friends or yourself!

Only $9.99. While supplies last! Order at seakayakermag.com!

Feature
     A Trans-Atlantic Paddler

     Getting Started

Tide Races
Our first-year sea kayaker, Melissa Spangler, made her first foray to Deception Pass, a favorite playground for thrill-seeking paddlers. The ebb tide can pour through the two channels at the pass at speeds over 8 knots on a spring tide. Rocky points at the margins of the pass and Pass Island in the middle generate lines of eddies that can easily spin a kayak around.  Instructor George Gronseth introduced her to the wild waters there and after some initial apprehension she had a great time. The class she took at the Pass was to prepare her for a local race, The Deception Pass Dash, a short time later, but an injury to her neck prevented her from entering. She expects to return to paddling after taking a few weeks off.

We first met Melissa at a Christmas caroling by kayak outing last year. That was her first time aboard a kayak. Less than a year later she has an admirable set of skills, rolling among them, and is enjoying the challenge and fun of paddling in wind, waves and whirlpools. Much of her paddling time has been under the watchful eye of guides and instructors and their advice and instruction has contributed to her rapid development as a paddler. They helped her make the best use of her time on the water and her enthusiasm.

For the latest on Melissa’s story as a new kayaker visit the Getting Started blog on our website.

Sea Kayaker Store
     February 2011 issue ~ Available Now!

Click here to subscribe

This issue is currently available on the newsstands or from Sea Kayaker in print or digital (PDF).

	Stepping Stones by Nigel Foster Nigel Foster recounts his kayak trip among the Stepping Stones islands of Hudson Strait north of Labrador in 1981. Fall storms forced him to cut his trip short, but he vowed to return.
	Canoe Boys by Alastair Dunnett Scotland in the early 1930s: Messrs Adam and Dunnett paddle the West Coast to the Hebrides and write about their journey in hopes of paying off the debts owed on a defunct publication, The Claymore.
	Southern Exposure by Chris Duff An extraordinary account of the author’s 1,700 mile circumnavigation of New Zealand’s South Island by sea kayak.
	Sea Kayaking from Mountains to Ocean by Dan Baharav Pacific Northwest zoologist and paddler writes about his trips in the North Cascades Watersheds of Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, and the Olympic Coast Watersheds that flow into the Pacific Ocean.
	Around the Rock, by Ken Campbell During a 1700 mile circumnavigation of Newfoundland the author encounters icebergs, whales, pristine wilderness and grueling open-water crossings.
	Unclaimed Coast by Jones, Waters & Charles Graham Charles, Mark Jones and Marcus Waters offer an account of their Adventure Philosophy expedition-the first successful circumnavigation of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean.

More Info
     What’s Cooking?!

Portabella Mushroom Tortellini with Spicy Sausage

This recipe is incredibly flavorful, filling and great in cold weather. Takes only 25 minutes to prepare in one pot!

Click here for the recipe.

From: Hey, I’d Eat This at Home!: A Fresh and Fearless Approach to Wilderness and Home Cooking
By Michael Gray
www.uncommonadv.com

Michael Gray has been a kayak guide and instructor for nearly three decades. He’s well known for his camp-cooking presentations at sea kayaking symposiums.

Sea Kayaker magazine, independently owned and operated since 1984

PO Box 17029, Seattle, WA 98127–0729
206.789.9536     sknewsletter@seakayakermag.com
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