Surfin’ Safari RWA Style

Date: 19 Jun 2013 Comments:0

by SK Team Paddler Christine Burris

 

Three-foot seas in the Washington coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With three-foot waves it may not feel like surf season, but summer in the Pacific North West still has potential. Last weekend Rogue Wave changed up our classroom to a slightly steeper beach, allowing our beginning students to encounter glassier wave faces and less reform during the lower wave heights of summer.  Our winter venue is a gentile spilling beach which allows the often 20+ ft outside to provide reform waves creating a dynamic yet safe learning environment. The summer beach has special benefits such as eliminating the long carry in exchange for a drive in to off-load parking option.  Hooray for no long carry at the end of the day!

IMG_6131

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although last weekend’s class was surf zone basics, each student had some experience in ocean waves. It was a great day with every member of the class attaining new skills and reaching personal bests.

Jason Learned came along to test out a Sterling Kayaks Reflection that he planned to bring to Skookumchuck Rapids the following week.  Toward the end of the day Bob took it for a spin and eventually endo’d it knocking the stern hard into the bottom before rolling up. Lest just say we promise it will be fixed properly before it is returned.  Jason’s video should be online soon. Sorry Nick.

 

IMG_5710

IMG_5920

IMG_5646

IMG_6112

SK Team Paddler Helen Wilson Blog Update

Date: 14 Jun 2013 Comments:0

Qajaqs in Copenhagen, classes in Denmark

After leaving the West Coast Water Festival in Sweden, Mark and I made our way to Copenhagen. Copenhagen is a wonderful city and one of our favorites, so we spent a couple of days there between classes. Among the places we visited were The Natural History Museum and Tivoli Gardens. The Natural History Museum has a wonderful and extensive traditional qajaq display. No matter how many times we visit it, we always learn something new. Tivoli Gardens is good fun, and we spent an afternoon riding the roller coasters and playing in the fun house.

The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen.

The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen.

Copenhagen has a very active biking community.

Copenhagen has a very active biking community.

The Lego store is a great place to stop and play.

The Lego store is a great place to stop and play.

An Umiak on display at the Natural History Museum.

An Umiak on display at the Natural History Museum.

Mark checks out the traditional qajaqs.

Mark checks out the traditional qajaqs.

There was lots of gear to check out.

There was lots of gear to marvel over.

One of many beautiful norsat.

One of many beautiful norsat.

I was intrigued by the Inuit games that were on display.

I was intrigued by the Inuit games that were on display.

After leaving Copenhagen we met up with Michael Schuh from Kajakgaarden. Over the weekend we ran two Yoga for Paddlers sessions and four rolling classes. The weather was gorgeous, and despite a little wind and a thunderstorm or two, the sun dominated the weekend. When off the water we had a wonderful time hanging out with Michael and Jane, who took very good care of us. Thanks to both of you!

A little wind wasn't going to faze these enthusiastic paddlers.

A little wind wasn’t going to faze these enthusiastic paddlers.

Mark talks about hand position.

Mark talks about hand position.

A happy paddler.

A happy paddler.

Learning the Balance Brace.

Learning the Balance Brace.

Working on a Butterfly Roll.

Working on a Butterfly Roll.

A successful Storm Roll.

A successful Storm Roll.

Photos by Michael Schuh, Mark and Helen.

Becoming a Sea Kayaker at 80, Article supplied by Pygmy Boats

Date: 4 Jun 2013 Comments:0

You’re Never Too Old to Start

Al decided to build his very first kayak at age 80.

Al began kayaking at 80 years of age.

Al Villa was 80 when he first began paddling. Since then he’s built 6 kayaks and has helped a handful of other folks to build their own kayaks.  We always enjoy hearing from Al and find his story both impressive and inspirational.

The first time Al Villa decided to build his own kayak was at the age of 80.  He’s now 87 and 6 boats later his wife, Gwen, has put her foot down.  He admits that she’s right and that he really doesn’t have room for another boat, but even speaking to him on the phone I can tell he’s not completely convinced.   He sounds spry and speaks eloquently.  I’m not really convinced he’s 87.  But then he mentions the first time he set foot on a boat during WWII, only then it was a submarine, and I realize he’s telling the truth.  “He’s lived 87 years and really lived them,” I think, contemplating the fact that he took up kayaking at the rather nontraditional age of 80.  That’s not the kind of person who lets any moss grow under his feet.

I ask him how he got into kayaking in his 80s.  He explains that his wife “started it.”  She was getting into kayaking and took him with her to look at a four hundred dollar plastic kayak.  He said he knew a good boat when he saw one and objected to the cheap plastic boat before him.  “I said, no way if you’re going to go for it, let’s go for a good one.”  Soon thereafter he saw a Pygmy somewhere and said to himself, “I think I can build one of those.” So he gave Pygmy a call and we gave him the name of a guy in Petaluma who had built a Coho  and an Osprey. “He had done a nice job on his boats and I said, hell, I could build one of those with my eyes closed!” Al chuckles as he recalls the day.

“I started with an Arctic Tern 14 and my daughter loves that one (she only weighs 100 lbs soakin’ wet).  And I liked it too.  I’m not a big guy.  So we got that one and got it built.”

Then Al started looking at the other models and said the Osprey with its slightly larger beam and stability caught his eye.  He waited until his wife was about to go on vacation for a few weeks and ignored her warnings not to order anything while she was gone. “I talked to Kelly (at Pygmy) and told her to hold it till such and such date.  Well, it arrived right after I dropped my wife off at the airport!  We must have passed the delivery guy on the way.”

When Al’s wife, Gwen returned from vacation she found the Osprey underway with a big sign on it that read: “I’m building this from my heart to your heart.” Of course she couldn’t object to that.  “It brought tears and it got me back in good graces again. But she still wasn’t sure if she was going to like it, so I got it built and we took it up into the Sierra Mountains and put it in the water. I pushed her away from the dock and after one circle she said, ‘I love this boat!”  After taking it for a spin himself, Al decided to build another Osprey.

Overtime Al became buddies with the man in Petaluma who first showed him his boats.  Then Al became the guy showing future builders his hand built kayaks and he ended up befriending those people as well.  He tells me about two young ladies that contacted him to see his boats, “They called me and came down and checked out my kayaks and I told them who to talk to and let them sit in my boats. We even kept in touch and I saw the finished boats and they did a really nice job!  So I hand-shaped some handles for them…” He continues on, “I’ve had people call me from Wisconsin, California, Michigan, and I have met a lot of people over the years.  People send me pictures when their boats are completed, and I’ve kept in touch with most of them.”  It seems Al makes friends everywhere he goes and after only 10 minutes of talking to him on the phone I’m smiling broadly and completely understand why.

“My wife goes bananas… the minute we go to launch the boats, people see all 6 of our kayaks on the trailer and have to come around and ask, ‘Where’d you get them? You built them?’ And my wife would get so damn mad that I wasted 30 minutes.  So finally I had you guys send me catalogs so I can just hand them out.”

all-gwen

In some ways Al has become a Pygmy spokesman.  But mostly it’s clear that he just enjoys having some projects and meeting new people.  And paddling with his wife and dog, Tipper. “Tipper loves the kayaks.  If I put one down on the beach he’ll jump in and sit in it.”

Al chuckles as he recalls the story of how the sixth boat came to be. “After I built the fifth kayak, my wife Gwen put her foot down.”  But then while visiting his daughter, Patti,  she asked him what the next boat was going to be.  This was about a month before Christmas and Al mentioned that he’d been eying the Pinguino Sport but didn’t think he should, given Gwen’s admonitions.

Christmas rolled around and Patti arrived at Al’s house in a van saying,  “We have a new van we want to show you!” Al didn’t think too much of it, except for a passing thought that he wasn’t very fond of the van, but when it came time to open presents his daughter reiterated, “Hey, come on out we want to show you our new van!” When she opened the door to reveal the Pinguino kayak kit box, Gwen “let out a scream you could hear up the canyon!” Al and Patti both still chuckle about that day, and he is still laughing as he concludes, “So, anyway, that’s how the sixth one got here.”

When I ask Al which one is his favorite he quickly responds, “They’re all really nice boats. But I’d probably say my favorites are the Pinguino and the Osprey.  They both handle nice and those two are both really stable.  The Osprey was my favorite for quite awhile but since I built the Pinguino I’ve really enjoyed that one.  Especially since the dog can fit more comfortably in the larger cockpit.  I have two other boats that we got before building these and they are really nice but they weigh around 45lbs and, besides, I enjoy the quiet of the wooden boats.  Those other two have been sitting on the shelf ever since.  The wood kayaks are also faster.”

al-villa-and-tipper

“Tipper (Al’s dog) really likes the larger cockpit on the Pinguino 145!”

Despite his wife’s objections to a seventh boat, Al is sure to mention how much she helps and quick to throw in some building tips to any new builders that might benefit. “My wife really helps me… she is super.  She helps with the varnishing.  Jim told us how to roll the varnish on and then take a dry brush and follow-up behind.  I’ve found the best temperatures (for Flagship Varnish) are 62-70 degrees Fahrenheit.  Under 62 it runs and over 70 it sets up.  We’d wait for the temperature to be about 65 and I’d roll it on and Gwen would dry brush it.”

Gwen helping with the varnishing.

Gwen helping out.

While Al may be finished building kayaks he has no intention of taking a break from paddling anytime soon. “My aunt lived to 100.7.  And my grandmother was 95. I’m going to try to make it to 100.  I don’t see too many my age out there kayaking.”

 

 

arms-overhead

“It’s been fun and people go crazy when they see the kayaks.” – Al Villa

Women Only Kayaking Retreat on Orcas Island

Date: 30 May 2013 Comments: 2 so far

by Christine Burris

Rogue Wave Adventures

The Nurses’ Health Study from Harvard Medical School found that the more friends women had, the less likely they were to develop physical impairments as they aged, and the more likely they were to be happy throughout their life. The outcomes were so significant, the researchers concluded, that not having close friends or confidants was as detrimental to a woman’s health as carrying extra weight or smoking.

A 2001 UCLA study suggested friendships between women are vital. It proposed that women respond to stress with a surge of brain chemicals that cause us to make and maintain friendships with other women. Researchers deduced that women have a larger behavioral inventory than just fight or flight. According to Dr. Klein, it appears that when the hormone oxytocin is released as part of the stress responses in a woman, it buffers the fight or flight response and encourages her to tend to her children and gather with other women instead. When she actually engages in this tending or befriending, studies suggest that more oxytocin is released, which further counters stress and produces a calming effect. This calming response does not occur in men, says Dr. Klein, because testosterone, which men produce in high levels when they’re under stress, seems to reduce the effects of oxytocin. Estrogen, she adds, seems to enhance it.

It is this enhanced oxytocin response in women that’s prompted me to promote and teach women’s only kayaking classes. Not only do women learn differently than men, they often learn faster and more effectively within an exclusively women’s group. To add to that, females have specific learning needs because their bodies fit differently into boats most often designed by and for men. Insert the need for alternative potty practices (see below our version of a Female Urinary Device, carved from Bull Kelp) and you have a great reason for “chick classes.”

Last weekend was not however initiated by me.  The planning began several months ago as Jo Lee intended to create a paddle weekend where we could surround a struggling friend with the support of a group of women and some on the water time. She had invited several other girl kayakers and everyone was committed to the event. So when the guest of honor couldn’t attend, we decided to have the retreat anyway. Graciously Lynn Paquett offered Wild Riley’s, an amazing place on Orcas Island with a great house, a guest house, lots of seclusion and a private pond.

 

We began with girl conversations in small groups during the carpools and the ferry ride. When we arrived, Lynn had already prepared dinner.

After dinner we reviewed options for the three days paddling and discussed currents during the magnificent spring tide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first paddle was a crossing, exploration, and circumnavigation of Sucia. We practiced ranging to experience the effect of the current threads across the channel. Seat of the pants navigation became a theme of the weekend.  Once across the pace slowed as Jo Anne Moore, a Marine Biologist attempted to answer our myriad of questions about the beautiful rock formations and sea creatures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We tested out what to do when you forget your “freshet” at home.

The girls’ version of the Female Urinary Device, honed from a bulb of Bull kelp.

 

We observed the influence that locations like Parker Reef, Danger Reef, and West Bank had on the developing current.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The return trip at about 2 knots was like crossing a 2 mile wide river. The motion parallax created a beautiful dance as we responded to the varying current maintaining our course.

On day two we launched in Deer Harbor exploring the Yellows and Wasp Passage.

Oxytocin and estrogen in full effect

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped on Yellow Island to visit with the caretaker and hike the hills through the wildflowers.

 

During our lunch break Jo Ann spotted a humpback and her calf in San Juan Channel. We saw tail slaps, fluke down dives and pec slaps.  It was breathtaking but sad.  We watched from the gravel beach as the whale and her calf were surrounded by dozens of powerboats large and small. We finished the paddle eddy hopping against 2.5 kts. around Crane Island.

Back at Wild Rileys Jo Ann tore down to her undies and jumped in the pond for a refreshing swim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That night we dined at the famed Doe Bay Resort with fabulous local fresh dishes and great conversation.

 

 

Our final paddle was through Obstruction and Peavine Pass. Lots of current and a few nice boat wakes made for a good skill development day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished up working on rolling before take out. Our last night after another great dinner we played a card game and Lynn multitasked baking chocolate chip cookies, a unique pairing with Cabernet Sauvignon.

In today’s busy world with so much to do, this weekend was not just about an escape or a kayaking class, or a marine biology exploration. It was about taking time to build relationships. It was about developing life skills.

Sources

Taylor, S. E., Klein, L.C., Lewis, B. P., Gruenewald, T. L., Gurung, R. A. R., & Updegraff, J. A. Behaviorial Responses to Stress: Tend and Befriend, Not Fight or Flight” Psychol Rev, 107(3):41-429. (Full text of article in PDF format)

Geary DC, Flinn MV. Sex differences in behavioral and hormonal response to social threat: commentary on Taylor et al. Psychol Rev 2002 Oct;109(4):745-50; discussion 751-3

Cousino Klein L, Corwin EJ. Seeing the unexpected: how sex differences in stress responses may provide a new perspective on the manifestation of psychiatric disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2002 Dec;4(6):441-8.

*For additional information on the studies, you can get reprints of the above referenced journal articles (Taylor, et al., Geary and Finn, Cousino Klein and Corwin) and ask the authors any questions you may have regarding study participants, methodology, etc. In the case of Taylor, et al., , read the abstract online and download the full text PDF of the journal article).

 

 

West Coast Water Festival with SK Team Paddler Helen Wilson

Date: 29 May 2013 Comments:0

West Coast Water, Tanumstrand, Sweden

by Helen Wilson

Last weekend Mark and I headed to Tanumstrand, Sweden to instruct at the West Coast Water Festival. It is one of three symposiums that Outside Magazine organizes. This was the first year of this symposium and it was a fantastic weekend! The sunny weather, enthusiastic paddlers and superb location all added to the fun.

A superb location for a kayaking event.

Throughout the three-day event I ran two Yoga for Paddlers sessions, and Mark and I instructed several rolling classes together. Mark also made his way around part of the archipelago during his Coastal Navigation class. Sunday afternoon we joined in the fun in Nigel Foster and Kristin Nelson’s “Fun with Foster” class, then we headed out for a paddle around the islands.

Yoga for Paddlers

Yoga for Paddlers.

One of five rolling classes.

One of five rolling classes.

Mark helps a participant achieve her first roll.

Mark helps a participant work through the steps to get her first roll (she got it)!

James Stevenson discusses incident management before heading out on the water.

James Stevenson discusses incident management before heading out on the water.

Nigel talks about wind.

Nigel talks about wind and its effects on a kayak.

The event had demo boats to try out, as well as several vendor booths.

from Outdoor Research and from Teva enjoy the sunny day.

Guido from Outdoor Research and Mats from Teva enjoy the sunny day.

There was a full schedule, which included an on-water show.

Nigel demonstrates boat handling skills during the on-water show.

Nigel demonstrates boat handling skills during the on-water show.

After Nigel's act I rolled a Hobie kayak.

After Nigel’s act I rolled a Hobie kayak.

Then Nicolai Ilcus demonstrated some incredible balance.

Then Nicolai Ilcus demonstrated some incredible balance.

The on-water show ended with Nigel, Nicolai, me and Adam Hanson rolling a four person kayak.

The on-water show ended with Nigel, Nicolai, me and Adam Hanson rolling a four-person kayak.

There were evening presentations as well, which included an informative presentation by Adam Hanson of Greenland on the Greenland National Kayaking Championship.

Adam talks about the championships.

Adam talks about the championships.

Thanks to Glenn Mattsing and Ulrika Larsson for keeping us fed and watered and taking such good care of us!

Glenn, me, Kristin and Nigel.

Glenn, me, Kristin and Nigel.

Pictures by Helen and Mark.