Blah Blah Blog

Kayak Design

2008-05-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

A few wireframe pictures of what I plan to be the first build of a surf kayak. I'm using a freeware design software that is making it easy to make design changes. It doesn't make one any smarter on the aspects of surf craft design though...

Dimensions:
7' 5" LOA
24" Width
10" Rocker up front
4 inches rocker in the back

Westport and Daylight Savings Time

2008-03-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since I've posted here, so here's a quick write-up about my trip last week.

Jeff and I left from my house around 7:00 last Saturday and spent the night at Twin Harbors state park in Jeff's van. We got to Westport around 9:00 and shared some good wine and a campfire on the beach. After a late night BS session, we finally got to sleep. Sunday morning started extra early because in addition to setting my blackberry's clock forward an hour, the damned thing went ahead and adjusted itself as well. So at 6 am we're scouting the groynes and the jetty in the dark. After a little breakfast and some coffee the sun finally came up and we decided on the jetty.

I've been a little psyched out in bigger waves lately (probably because I haven't been out that much) so it was big and scary for me -- overhead and half, 11 second interval and a nice off-shore wind. However, it was a surprisingly easy out and we were the only guys in the water for the first 1 1/2 hours. It was a clamming weekend, so there were lots of people on the beach. It was spooky out past the break and I got the ride of my life dropping into what was probably my biggest wave to date. I had a nice ride down the line and as the wave started to wall up, ready for the closeout, I tried to get up and over the back of the wave. I got up to the top and got sucked over the falls -- a good 8 ft free fall hanging upside down from my kayak. I was maytagged for a while, but finally got let go...then caught again, and finally let go for good. Interestingly enough that seemed to be the cure for my timidness. I caught a couple more screamers and saw Jeff drop into a few as well. In these bigger waves, it's clear to me that I'm ready for a new boat. The plastic tub doesn't give me enough speed to make it to the next section and I'm also suffering from a lack fin. On a big steep wave, the boat just slides sideways down the wave.

We were out of the water by 9:30 so I could get back to Bremerton in time for a social commitment...which was cancelled via cell phone while we were on the way back. Too bad, the groynes were looking clean and chest high and I would have loved another session. I'm glad I didn't read this post until I got home from surfing. My morning session might not have been as enjoyable had I read it beforehand.

Yellow Banks

2007-09-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

Last year while Ed and I were on our Lake Ozette canoe trip, we hiked out to the beach just south of Sandpoint where I “discovered” a very surfable beachbreak. My thoughts immediately turned to how I might manage to pack in my boat and have some of those waves all to myself. Visions of carrying my kayak and paddle while wearing my wetsuit seemed daunting at best. The trail out to the beach is 2 miles, and that’s if you take the trail from mid-way down the lake, which would involve a few miles of lake paddling just to get there. It all seemed destined to become one of those things I just talked about forever and never got around to actually doing.

Then, a few months ago, Jeff bungied his board to his backpack, hiked the trail from the ranger station out the Sand Point, and camp/surfed for a couple days. My head was back in the game. So, after some research, I found a kayak harness/backpack device at NRS and planted the seeds for my birthday present. Sure enough, I got my birthday wish and the planning started. Unfortunately, summer activities and trips kept me away from making this happen until just last weekend, when Jeff and I not only hiked the three miles out to the beach, but another 3 miles south of Sand Point to a beach called Yellow Banks.

Challenges associated with this overnight trip included not only carrying a 30 pound, 6’ kayak and a paddle, but also packing in my camping gear, wetsuit, pfd, and helmet. It all looked like so much stuff to fit into my kayak. Some decisions had to be made – decisions that included not taking my camp stove or my tent (just the rain fly and footprint), or even a change of socks. I’d come to regret the change of socks, but more of that later. Jeff offered to carry the food and the mandatory bear canister in his pack.

We left town at 8:00 Friday evening and made the 3 hour drive to the Ozette Ranger Station to spend the night in Jeff’s van. We made the mistake of having a couple beers before bed, which had us getting up a few times to deal with excessive hydration. The alarm went off at 6:30 and we were up and packing our gear. After some discussion about what we could leave behind, we agreed that it was OK to be redundant in our gear when it came to the tarps. Jeff brought his and I brought the one I got for Christmas and hadn’t had a chance to use yet. All my gear went into the kayak, which I put on my back. We started down the mist covered trail and hoped to avoid the crowds.

does this kayak make my butt look big?

The trail out to Sand Point primarily consists of a 3 foot wide boardwalk made of cedar planks. It was a bit slick in the early morning dew as we silently made our way out to the beach. The kayak harness seemed to be doing the trick nicely, although there was no way to ignore the weight and bulkiness of the boat. After a while, it started to slip and slide a little and I had to make a few adjustments. This was Jeff’s third surf/camp trip, so he’s got his system dialed in. I’m sure I slowed him down a bit, but nevertheless, we made the trip out to the beach just fine with only a couple little breaks. As we made our way down the beach, the mist turned into rain – and the rain turned into a downpour. Within a minute, it seemed we were soaked to the core. I had made a conscious effort to avoid wearing cotton (with the exception of my socks and underwear), but Jeff had a cotton T-shirt that really set a chill into his bones. After some discussion, we stopped for a short break while Jeff traded the t-shirt for his rash guard. His mood instantly improved. Hiking the beach was relatively easy compared to the boardwalk, but our greatest challenged came in the form of a rocky headland through which we had to navigate slippery rocks, kelp and tide pools. This is treacherous hiking when one has a bunch of bulky gear on his back. I nearly lost it a few times, but was redeemed when we came to a break in the action and saw a nice clean swell breaking on some rocks. A few steps further and Yellow Banks revealed all of her beauty in a sweeping panoramic view of pristine Washington Coast beach.

Although the downpour slowed a bit, we still had some rain to deal with as we set up camp, hanging our tarps from ropes and trees and making sure everything would survive another big rain. Jeff had his hammock and I had my rain fly/footprint all in the upper level of the two-level campsite we found in the trees. We’d be using the lower level of the site for our campfire. After making some solid investment in our comfort, we put on the surf gear and headed toward the north end of the beach where the waves were breaking. On our way, the rain slacked off quite a bit and Jeff said, “OK. That’s it for the rest of the weekend.” I agreed and suggested we shake hands on it. We must have been blessed, because the clouds started to part and we didn’t see another drop of rain until the drive back on Sunday.

The waves for our first session were a on the smallish side, about waist high, but clean and peeling. It was also all ours, which made it that much better. We caught wave after wave for an hour or so and just enjoyed the fact that were finally doing what we’d come here to do. A few hikers came by while we were out and another couple watched us from their campsite up above the beach. We wondered out loud if we were entertainment or an eyesore. After some time the sky turned blue and the sun came out, so we thought it best to get back to camp and dry out some of our gear and our cotton clothing. As we were getting out of the water, two black-tailed deer were grazing on the hillside. They didn’t seem to mind our presence and quickly went back to their work.

Back at the campsite, we started a driftwood fire using some toilet paper smeared in Vaseline to keep the flame while the wet wood dried out. It was a team effort and in silence, we finally got a nice hot fire going. We roasted a couple of sausages and put the socks and other gear near the fire to dry.

After a walk to the other end of the beach and a couple sips of blackberry brandy, we got back into our surf clothes and made our way back to the waves. Along the way, we talked to the couple in the campsite above the surf spot and they verified that we were indeed entertainment, which made us feel good about our spot in the wilderness. The waves for our second session were quite a bit higher, closer to chest high, and still nice and clean. We surfed to near exhaustion and started the, “one more wave” talk that lasted about another hour. We finally dragged ourselves out of the water and headed back to the campsite. After another dinner of sausages, we got into our now dry clothes and settled in for a long night of conversation and brandy. Late in the evening, we took a hike down to the beach and saw one of the coolest sights of my life – bioluminescence in breaking waves. We watched forever at the long, glow-in-the-dark waves crashing on the beach.

The next day dawned bright and sunny. The waves were quite a bit smaller than the day before, so we broke camp and started the long, sweaty hike back to the ranger station. Before leaving the beach, we stopped for a snack and enjoyed the sunshine, then slowly made our way back via the boardwalk. Once at the lake, we took a quick and refreshing swim in the chilly water and tipped a couple beers to celebrate our adventure.

Needless to say, I think 6 miles with a 66 pound pack (good thing I weighed it after the trip) is pretty much as far as I’d want to take the current set up, but I’m thinking of ways to improve the situation and lighten the load a bit. Who knows where this will take me.

Monday Evening at Wesport

2007-07-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since I've last surfed and I'm on travel next week, so Laurie talked me into a Monday evening surf trip to Westport. We left the house around 2:30, Laurie doing the driving while I did some work on the trip down. We were in the water by 5:00.

The south swell was small, but created some 2-3 ft faces. The wind was non-existant, so even though they were small and close together, they were glassy and clean -- perfect for Ryleigh to get outside the break and try to catch a few green waves. She's coming along nicely, I just wish we could get out more so she could progress a little faster.

My kayak session was enjoyable, I had a few nice rides and just enjoyed being in the water for the first time in a month. I also tried to catch some waves on Ryleigh's 6' 2", but didn't have much luck.

We finally got out of the water and were on the road back to Bremerton by 8:30. We got home around 11:00, but it was lots of fun for a workday.

One Day in Santa Cruz

2007-05-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

I had to travel to the SF bay area for work last week, so I thought I might try to fit in a quick surf session. Initially, I thought I'd rent a board, but I decided to inquire on BoaterTalk to see about renting a kayak. I had a few recommendations for rentals, but I also received a post from Dave Johnston, who offered to rent me one of his boats -- and he'd go out paddling with me to boot. Dave is a world class surf kayaker and a Santa Cruz local, so I gave him a call and we made plans to meet on Tuesday morning.

Dave Johnston

Tuesday started early for me. I left the house at 4:00 AM and drove to the airport. My plane landed in San Jose a little after 9:00 where I picked up my rental car and made my way over the hills to Santa Cruz. I got to Dave's house a little after 10:00 and we headed North to find a place to surf. We scouted a few places along the way, but ended up getting into the water at Scott's Creek. The conditions weren't great -- a healthy chop on the water and on-shore winds -- but the swell was OK for me providing some nice 5-7 footers peeling to the right at a cool little reef break.

Dave paddled out and caught a few waves as I got used to his Mega Neutron. It was so cool to watch him surf, that I just hung out and watched for a while. After I got used to the boat a little bit, I caught a couple waves and learned the real difference between a full-up surk kayak and the Squashtail. This thing was fast. After dropping down the face, the fins would start to hum and I'd suddenly find myself out on the face of the wave with nowhere to go. It takes a pretty agressive bump to get the kayak to turn back to the pocket and I ended up leaning to my left while the boat was still headed to the right. After a few tips from Dave, I started to get the feel for it a little bit more and I had a few great rides.

Dave has a great eye for catching wildlife and he pointed out a few grey whales, and elephant seals that were hanging out. I also say a harbour seal, California sea lion, and a sea otter. After a few hours, I was wiped out and Dave had to get back, so we called it a day. So, if you're a kayak surfer and looking to rent a boat in Santa Cruz, give Dave a call or check out his website @ http://www.kayaksantacruz.com/index.html

After heading back into town, I gave my Uncle Terry a call and met him for a couple hours at the Seabright Brewery, where I had fish & chips and a great IPA.

Uncle Terry

Not a bad day in Santa Cruz.

Birthday at the Beach

2007-04-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

The girls asked me where I wanted to go on my 39th Birthday. To that I said, "somewhere surfy, of course." So we made plans for Crescent Beach. For a week, the forecast was so-so, a 10 ft NW swell, and the weather was looking like a cold one. Nevertheless, we left the house this morning (a half-hour late, because I had to open my birthday presents -- a new kayak helmet and the Wolf Mother CD) and headed to the North Coast. Our van has been in the shop for some repairs after it was backed into by a big pick-up with a trailer hitch, so we didn't have the roof rack for my boat. We have a Dodge Caravan for a rental, and we managed to fit my kayak, Ryleigh's surfboard, and Zoe's boogie board in the back.

Our arrival at Crescent was pretty disappointing, the wind was up and created a chop that sometimes seemed bigger than the little wavelets hitting the beach. So further west to Twin River. Twin wasn't any better, so we headed back to Crescent and suited up for what we thought would be a quick session. A couple people were there as we pulled up and I made a connection with someone I've been communicating with via Boater Talk for a few months. Hamp had his daughter with him, so we both went out for surf lesson before we got out past the break. Ryleigh caught some great little waves and had a great time while Laurie and Zoe set up camp on the rocks and took pictures from shore. Although it was windy, the sun kept everyone fairly warm.

After a while, Ryleigh decided to get out and grab a snack while I fought my way into the on-shore wind and the chop. There was a nice little rip along side the island which brought me out past the break. Hamp was already out there and we took turns catching sloppy waves. Except for a couple of board surfers, we had the place to ourselves. Hamp's Cyclone was a great boat for the conditions and he caught wave after wave. After a nice session, I headed back in to drain the boat and let Ryleigh paddle up Salt Creek a few hundred yards. Hamp headed in for the day, but we made plans to connect at the Hobuck Hoedown Festival on Memorial Day weekend. Soon after, Gary and Rob showed up in their hand-made Freerider kayaks. So it was back out for another session. The ebb-tide seemed to hold the waves up a bit and they gained some size. I managed to catch a few more before I got tired out. I chatted with Rob and Gary a little bit, then headed in. We loaded up and hit the road, stopping for coffee in Port Angeles and tried to make it to the Sequim Game Farm. By the time we got there it was closed, so we made the trip home, stopping by to pick up some Thai Food on the way.

Not a bad day for my (first) 39th birthday.

Easter on the Oregon Coast

2007-04-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

The girls had spring break that ended on Easter Sunday, so we took a four day weekend and headed to Seaside, Oregon. Seaside is a nice touristy beach town about 4 hours south of Bremerton. We left home on Thursday morning and made it to the beach around noon. After a stop at Cleanline Surfshop to rent Zoe a wetsuit, we hit the beach at Avenue U (The Cove). The waves were about 4 feet, but pushing pretty heavy. After spending some time with Ryleigh, pushing her into waves, I went out in the kayak. My first wave was a rough one and I got tossed a bit, but I rode it out only to find that I had cracked the shaft of my favorite hand-made (home-made) paddle that I've had for a few years. So, it was back to shore and up to the van to get the spare paddle. As I got back to my boat, Laurie noticed that I was also missing a fin. It had broken on that first wave, so back to the van to get another fin. After some repairs, it was back into the water for some great surf. I was one of only a few people in the water on a Thursday afternoon and the weather was as warm and sunny as a summer day. After some time, we were visited by our friends, the Westlakes, who have a vacation home in Seaside. Their two girls are the same age as ours, and they had a blast playing in the waves. After the beach, we enjoyed dinner at the Westlakes'.

The next day started with a rollerblade/longboard adventure on the promenade, a few miles of concrete boardwalk that runs along the beach the entire length of the town. The weather was great and after a quick breakfast, we headed out of town to check out Ecola state park. Just a few miles out of town, the fog got thick and the temperature cooled a bit more than we had hoped for, so we kept going south to scout Short Sands another great surfing beach. Unfortunately, the warm sunshine of Seaside was to alluring, so we made our way back to the cove for another couple hours of surf. In her nice warm wetsuit, Zoe couldn't stay out of the water. She and her friend Natalia made for a kids photo-shoot in their matching wetsuits.

My first wave was another mishap. I had forgot to put in my drainplug and by the time I was in position for my first wave, I was sinking fast. I managed to catch a wave and ride it in, so I could drain the boat and put in the plug. Of course, as I carried the boat out of the water, Laurie cringed as she mentioned that I had indeed lost another fin. At this point, I was frustrated enough with my gear that I took the other fin off and headed back out into the water. What a difference those fins make. I had beautiful peeling lefts all to myself, but without the fins, I was sliding sideways down the waves and missing sections I could have made but for the fins. In any case the weather was warm again, it was Friday and I wasn't working. I still had a blast. After a few hours, it was back to the hotel for a swim and a dinner of Mexican food with the Westlakes.

Saturday was rainy and miserable, so we spent the day doing the touristy thing at Seaside. bumper cars and shopping, pronto pups and the carousel made for a long and expensive day. We made it back to the surfshop though and made the investment in a used wetsuit for Zoe and some new fins for me. After a day in town, we spend some time in the pool and had a late dinner of pizza.

Easter Sunday started with Easter Baskets left by the bunny and a swim while mom hid eggs in the hotel room for a little hunt. Then it was the Easter Sunday brunch over which we debated the merits of surfing in the sloppy mess that was the Oregon Coast. We finally decided on a hike on the beach at Ecola, so we checked out of the hotel and made our way south again. It was rainy but warm and as we suited up for our hike, I changed my mind and instead got suited up for surf. The waves were total chaos and I was the only kayaker in the water again, with just a couple of surfers. I caught a few waves, but mostly had fun trying to manuever through the slop. After about an hour, I left the water and met up with the girls. We loaded up the van and headed north, stopping for coffee and fastfood on the way home. We got home late in the evening on Sunday and just had time to unpack and rinse the gear before bedtime and work on Monday.

Lewis River

2007-03-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend ended a hat-trick of baby showers over the last three weekends, which has kept me away from the surf for a while. However, this last baby shower was for Laurie’s sister, Bethann, who lives in Vancouver, Wa. Laurie’s Dad and step-mom live about 15 minutes away from Daybreak Park on the East Fork of the Lewis River, and there’s a rapid there at high water that I’ve been wanting to run for the last couple years. They’d received a lot of rain over the last week, so Sunday morning Larry, Eric and myself got up early and headed to the river.

It’s the first time I’ve had the Squashtail in the river and most of my river boating time has been spent in canoes, so the little hole created by the water flowing over the boat ramp created a perfect spot to play and get used to the action. After putting in and practicing some eddy turns, I ferried my way onto the wave and started to surf. What a blast. I’d catch the wave and maybe make a turn or two before the bow of the boat would pearl into the upstream slope of the hole, making me do an endo of sorts. Sometimes I’d pop out and stay on the wave, but more often I’d fall off the back of the wave and ride the train, catching the eddy and doing it all over again.

It took some getting used to the current and I’d do the classic lean upstream, when I should have leaned downstream kind of thing, which flipped the kayak more than a couple times – all part of the learning curve. After about 45 minutes of continuous wave play, I was wiped out and dragged myself out of the water. In the end, I left the river wishing for bigger waves and more of them, so I think this provided for a great transition from the ocean to the river. Next weekend I plan to do the Elwha River with my friend, Ed. If we’re lucky we may get some ocean surf in at the end of the run.

River surfing is fun (and the water tastes better), but at this point I prefer the ocean wave.

San Diego

2007-03-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

I had to travel to San Diego last week for work. I love San Diego and always have a great time with my friends Dave and Jennifer who moved there a few years ago.

When I mentioned to Rob Sweet that I was headed down, he he demanded that I take one of his longboards out in the surf. The boards are at his friend Abe's house in Carlsbad, so I got Abe's number and gave him a call and made plans for me to pick up the board on Saturday and we'd meet out in the surf when he was done working for the day. Since I was staying downtown in the Gaslamp district, I had planned to rent a car on Saturday and drive up to Carlsbad, but Dave insisted that I use his truck instead. So I drove up in the free truck to pick up the free board and surf in the free ocean.

I met Abe's wife, Shannon, picked the yellow 9' ish longboard and headed to the beach. I bought a new rashguard and rented a wetsuit in Carlsbad and got in the water at Tamarack. The waves were about chest high and well shaped. The paddle out was easy enough with nice intervals between waves. During my first session I caught three waves right after another and had nice rides back into the beach. It's been a while since I've been on a board, but it felt great -- probably the best boardsurfing I've ever done.

During my second session, I had a short-lived score as I saw a fin break the surface of the water about 50 feet away from me while I was waiting for another set of waves. I instantly got all my appendages on the board as my heart rate accelarated. Within a split second, I realized I was looking at dolphins, but that initial shock kept the adrenaline pumping for a while. The dolphins hung out for a while and I realized how luck I was to be surfing in California on a beautiful day in March.

After a few hours of surfing, I was exhausted and hauled myself out of the water. I still hadn't connected with Abe, so I thought I'd call it a day and return the board. As I was walking to the truck, I heard someone calling my name and there was Abe.

So after some introductions to his family and their friends, I found the energy for one more session. I was wiped out and made some half-hearted attempts at catching some more waves, but didn't have much success. The dolphins came back and even caught a few waves of their own. I finally caught another wave and rode it in for the perfect end to a perfect day.

Hobuck 2-10-07

2007-02-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

Had a great day learning to paddle the new Dragorossi Squashtail. It was my second time out in the boat and while it's been a steep learning curve, I felt a lot better this time around. There was a 9 ft SW swell and big strong off-shore winds that held the waves near vertical. The wind made it a bit hard to paddle into all but the steepest waves. I got worked a few times, but did manage to get a few nice rides. I also pulled of my first intentional 360 spin in the soup. My board surfing buddies, Jeff and Rob, had a great time on their shortboards. They did the smart thing and camped overnight--surfing again on Sunday--while I did the 12 hour day trip to get in a 2.5 hour session.

Snow Day

2006-11-28T22:29:00.000-08:00

We got about 6 inches of snow on Saturday night and Sunday, which has kept us close to home. We got out for a little fun on Sunday morning, so the girls and I made a snowman of sorts.

Baker Lake 9/15/06 - 9/17/06

2006-09-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

Ed arrived early Friday morning and we loaded up his Suzuki with my gear. It was a school day and Zoe had woken up sad because she thought I’d already left. She was happy to be able to see us off on our adventure and wished us a pleasant journey. We caught the Kingston-Edmonds Ferry, stopping for coffee while we waited for the next boat. We saw a bunch of kayaks rolling off the incoming ferry – headed up to the symposium up in Port Townsend. From the ferry we made our way up to Darrington where we bought the day’s lunch at the IGA and visited a dug out canoe display across from the ranger station.

Every year, Ed and his family take a week to attend the Darrington Bluegrass Festival and paddle the Sauk River. A few years ago, Ed went in his solo canoe and took a swim just before the take-out. He had to abandon his canoe and spent the next day or so tracking it down. It was a good piece of detective work and a great story, so we re-lived the experience on our way up to the lake. We started the re-enactment at the put-in near the mill with a small toast our to upcoming adventure. I’d smuggled a couple of airplane bottle of Jaegermeister for just such an occasion.

We then followed the Sauk to the takeout at a county park about 16 miles down the road, scouting the river where we could. The county park is where Ed lost his canoe and since he’d never been down river from that spot, he did the right thing and let it continue downriver on its own. Further down the road, we made a brief stop at the boat launch where Ed had recovered his canoe just a few miles out of the little town of Concrete.

From Concrete, we made our way up to Baker Lake. The lake is about nine miles long, running north to south. There’s a dam at the south end. In our current climate of national security paranoia, it was refreshing to see that we could actually drive out across the dam. The lake had already been lowered to handle the winter rains, so it was about 100 foot drop down the lake. On the outlet however, it was a long way down, with only a chain link fence to keep us back. We drove out across the dam and back, and then made our way to the put-in at Baker Lake Resort.

The resort consists of a camp ground and a store. When we pulled into the resort, a number of Puget Sound Energy employees (they run the resort and the dam at the end of the lake) were sitting down to lunch. Because the lake was so low, they suggested we scout the put-in before committing to leaving from there. We decided it was doable as long as we put in on the little creek running into the lake and floated out that way. After a little bit of our own lunch, we loaded up the canoe and paddled off. With the low lake level, we were able to look down through the water to see huge old growth stumps that were left behind after they logged the forest for the dam. The marvel of these stumps would be a theme for the rest of the weekend.

We paddled a short crossing to the eastern side of the lake, scouting for campsites along the way. The lake is in a valley between some pretty steep mountains, providing us with a picture postcard view of Mt. Baker to the west and Mt. Blum to the east. According to my GPS, we were only eight miles from the peak of Baker – so close we could pick out glacial features with the naked eye. The low lake level left behind plenty of rock (and stumpy) beach between the lake and the forest. The no-burning signs posted along the beach also signified potential campsites. We got out to scout a few sites, including a huge sandbar in a little cove where Noisy Creek runs out into the lake. Although an ideal spot in it’s own right, we kept moving north in search of the ultimate campsite. A little further down the lake we finally found our new home. We’re picky and didn’t want to camp in the woods (and lose the view of Mt. Baker), so we chose a nice patch of packed sand in the middle of a stump field. Ed suggested that maybe the stumps came alive at night and moved around, which added to the surreal setting in which we found ourselves. This is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been.
After setting up camp, we settled into dinner. Since campfires weren’t allowed, we spent an evening around the Coleman lantern. Although we saw some deer tracks on the beach, we didn’t come across too much wildlife – except for a ton of little tree frogs making their way to the lake, and a couple of beetles who scurried around our campsite. At one point in the evening, I felt myself relax and slow down to pace of the world around me. With only the lightest rain coming down, we retired to our respective tents at 10:00 and fell asleep immediately.

We woke with the sun at 7:00 next day and had breakfast consisting of coffee and instant oatmeal. Our plan for the day consisted of a hike along the eastern side of the lake to Maple Grove Camp. The 11 mile, round trip, hike would take us about halfway down the lake toward the dam. We took our lunch and a water bottle in my day pack and hit the trail. About a mile into our hike, we met a couple of runners on the trail. They told us they were in training for an upcoming 50K race around the lake. A few miles later, we met another group of runners doing the same. We apparently timed our weekend perfectly – imagine trying to navigate the trail with a race in progress. After wading through seemingly endless patches of wet overgrowth on the trail, we finally made it to Maple Grove Camp where we had a lunch of beef jerky, chunks of parmesan cheese and a little gorp for desert. We saw a group of kayakers out on the lake exploring a little island that is likely not there when the lake is up. After just a short break, we followed the trail back to our site on the north end of the lake. In total, our hike took about five hours.

Exhausted after our hike, we changed our socks, put on some sandals and brewed up a batch of coffee, Ibuprofin, and a can of Fosters. During our respite, a small plane flying up the lake, came over our site and tipped its wings at us. Luckily enough, I had my camera ready and got a few shots as the plane banked at the end of the lake and headed back south. The visit from the plane rekindled our adventurous spirit, so we suited up for a paddle to the mouth of the Baker River a short distance away from our camp. After paddling up the mouth of the river a few yards, we decided to explore by foot – apparently 11 miles wasn’t enough for the day. Beaching the canoe, we both immediately stepped into seemingly solid sand and sank just deep enough to get our fresh socks soaked. Thankfully we’d both put our sandals on, so we took off the socks, and traveled amphibiously up the river for another ½ mile. The siren’s call of every new turn kept drawing us up the river, but alas the setting sun reminded us we had to get back to the canoe – another part of the world left unexplored.

Back at camp we settled in for dinner and another night around the lantern. Over another can of Foster’s (they travel well and pack out nicely when crushed) we alternated between planning our next adventure, reliving old adventures, stargazing, and listening to blues on the radio. It being our last night in the wilderness, we hung on as long as we could, but finally retired to our tents at midnight.

Sleeping in, we were up at 8:00 on Sunday, had our breakfast and broke camp. We loaded up the canoe and crossed to the west side of the lake. We followed the western shore through a forest of partially submerged stumps, drawing ever closer to the resort. We’d noticed on Saturday that the lake had been lowered through the dam by a good foot. This kept us from paddling up the creek as far as we would have liked, but we were able to get out and line the canoe back up to the boat launch. With little desire to do so, we loaded up and left. Working our way down the mountain back to the freeway and a little lunch stop at the Skagit River brewery in Mount Vernon, we began planning our next adventure – a combined paddle of the White River into Lake Wenatchee.

Surfer Girl

2006-07-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

One of Ryleigh's goals for the summer was learning to surf. No way I'm passing that up, so we packed the family in the van, threw the kayak on top and headed to Wesport. We rented a wesuit and a board for Ryleigh and hit the beach.

Now, Ryleigh has grown pretty comfortable in the lake, swimming most days, jumping off the dock and riding boat waves on the innertube, but she's never been all that interested in saltwater (dead crabs and other yucky stuff). Well, it might have been the full wetsuit or maybe is was just her time, but she took to surfing and playing in the waves like a natural. After pushing her into a few waves while she lay on the board, she decided to stand up. She'd get tired or a little cold occasionally, but would say, "just a couple more waves, dad. Just a couple more waves."

I surfed a couple waves and got out for a little while in the kayak, but it was Ryleigh's day and she couldn't get enough. So, needless to say, I'm excited for our Oregon Coast vacation coming up in August.

Here's a few more pictures from our day:

Blake Island

2006-05-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

My friend Jeff and I recently did a quick overnight kayak camping trip to Blake Island. Paddling across from Illahee State Park, I met Jeff -- who left from Bainbridge Island. Interstingly enough, we both read the tide tables incorrectly and bucked the current through Rich Passage. It wasn't too bad though, about 6.5 miles out to the island. Blake is an interesting spot in that it it's kayak camping within full view of Seattle. We camped in one of three sites reserved for paddle-in campers only (part of the Cascadia Marine Trail -- a network of over 50 similar campsites that range from Olympia to the Canadian border) and met a couple of representatives from Washington Water Trails, an organization dedicated to the development of water trails like the Cascadia Marine Trail.

Jeff and I hiked the Island, shared a couple bottles of wine and had smoke salmon with pasta primavera for dinner. Not exactly roughing it, eh?

I got to try out my new tent (father's day gift) and my new backpacker guitar.
After a beautiful night under a clear sky, we packed up and paddled home.

Zoe Loses Her First Tooth

2006-02-27T21:05:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago, Zoe announced that she had five loose teeth. Well sure enough, at least one of them was really loose. She was awfully proud of her tooth and wiggled it every chance she got. She even took to taking mom's make-up mirror to the dinner table so she could see it wiggling around in her mouth. On the final day, she decided that she didn't want to have it come out and was a bit "shaky" about it. It finally did come out while she was buying a pretzel at the mall.

The tooth fairy came and brought a dollar bill, a Sacagawea dollar coin, a coin from Georgia (Russian), and a coin from Jamaica. That tooth fairy is one global traveller; she always leaves foreign currency for the kids.

The Maiden Voyage of the Arctic Tern

2006-02-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

On what was quite possibly the coldest day of the year, I finally launched the Artic Tern for her maiden voyage. The Arctic Tern is a sea kayak project 1 1/2 years in the making. I started building her in May of 2004 and got about 90% of her done in about 3 months. Due to many factors, mostly laziness, I hadn't done much to move it along until after Christmas. Anyway, I've finally completed the hatch project (well, completed enough to paddle anyway) the other night and hadn't yet had time to get out. So, before the sun went down and the wind picked up too much, I threw on the paddling jacket and PFD, got the boat out of the workshop/kids play room, and headed down to the dock. With little fanfare, I put the boat in the water and was only a little surprised to see that it actually floats. I climbed in, pushed off and took a few strokes with the paddle, headed in to a chilly North wind. She tracks nicely into the wind and has a great glide--especially in contrast to the Perception 3D (my whitewater kayak) that I use for surfing and river trips. She's also much lighter than my 16 foot Royalex Mad River Canoe. I know it’s not fair to compare the Tern with a river boat, but I spend a lot of time in the 3D, so it’s my own point of reference. Since I'm used to spinning the 3D around pretty easy, the Tern took a little bit more to turn, but with a solid lean to the outside and a nice little sweep stroke, she comes about nicely. Some would say to add a rudder, but I want to keep it simple and I think I’ll become a better paddler for not having one. She ran pretty straight down wind too, but the waves weren't big enough to see how she'll handle a following swell. The lake water is freezing--literally--and I lent Ed my sprayskirt, so I didn't attempt a roll. I'll wait until I spend some more time in the boat and I'm in warmer water.

All-in-all, I love this boat and look forward to taking her for a weekend kayak camping trip once the weather gets a little nicer. Sometimes I wish I had decided to build the 17 foot version instead of the 14 footer, but realistically, the 14 will suit my current needs (mostly day trips and the occasional weekender) a little better.

After a few trips up and down the lake, I headed back in as it was getting dark. I lifted her out of the water with one hand (she only weighs about 30 LBS), and set her on the dock. I took a few steps back and finally got a look at her in her natural state. In that setting, I couldn't help but admire her lines. And, there's nothing so beautiful as the bright shiny expanse of wood that makes up this boat. I have a lot to do to outfit her, but she's finally a boat. I’m going to paddle her for a couple weeks, then take her down to my friend Steve’s shop and varnish her in his paint booth. I have a few paddles that I want to make, a few home improvement projects, then it’s on to the next boat—a wood strip solo canoe. Let’s hope it’s not another year and a half in the making.

Flat Water Fun

2006-02-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

A while back, my friend Ed from across the lake, called me to let me know he'd bought himself a new boat--at least to him. The boat is a Perception Pirouette, a previous generation whitewater boat. I had to laugh, because of all the boats out there, he got the exact boat I got for my first kayak. I still have the Pirouette, though I pretty much keep it around for guests to play around in here at the lake. I love it though, it's the boat I learned to roll in. Ed's boat is in really good shape and will make the perfect downriver kayak for him. I'm looking forward to some river time. While Ed is a pretty accomplished open boater (he has both a tandem and solo canoe), butt-boating is a bit new to him, so we spent a day on the lake.

We left from my dock and headed south against the wind to a the mouth of a Grata Creek. Grata Creek is typical for streams in Kitsap county--it's dry for the majority of the summer and little more than a trickle for the rest of the year. However, we've had quite a bit of rain the week before, so there was actually a nice little current running out into the lake. A couple of gravel bars created nice little eddies, allowing us to practice our eddy turns. It doesn't happen often, so we got a little treat. I also managed to practice a few pivot turns in my Perception 3D.

After a while, we headed up into the conservancy at the South end of the lake, navigating between old stumps and the beaver hut. The shallow draft of the kayaks make them quite possibly the best craft for poking around in the bog. After circumnavigating the little island, we paddled over to check out the dam. With all the rain, we kept a safe distance from the lip to avoid going over. I wish I had the cajones to go for it, but I'm really in to self-preservation, so I'll leave it to someone else.

We continued our trip around the lake and up another short inlet that I've seen, but have never been up before. This is Ed's secret spot and once again, the short little boats made for easy work in the tight little creek. From there it was back to the house to warm up over coffee, nachos and a paddling video.

Ed's planning on taking a roll class soon, and we're also talking about a whitewater course, so hopefully we'll see some rapids this year. In the meantime, I'm still focused on surfing and getting the sea kayak done, so I can take a couple weekend kayak camping trips this summer.

Currently listening to - Jack Johnson (Thicker than Water)

Currently reading - The Historian

LaPush

2006-01-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

After nearly a two-month, holiday induced hiatus, I finally made it back up to the surf. The forecast was looking pretty sad for the Straits and Jeff was looking to head out to the coast with a board-surfing friend of his, Rob. We all met on the West side of the Hood Canal Bridge at 7:00 Saturday morning and consolidated into two vehicles. Our first destination was Rialto Beach, just north of the tribal village of LaPush. Because it looked pretty sloppy, we made the short drive south to check out first beach at LaPush. It was a little cleaner (slightly), especially toward the north end of the beach where the Quileute river runs into the sea, with 2-7 ft waves. Rob's dog, Abby escorted us down the beach and bid us great surfing by barking from shore. She's a great dog, just hanging out on the beach until we came back in.

In spite of the surf being a little less chaotic than Rialto, I still spent a good portion of the first session getting beat up by extremely unpredictable waves. I expect some of my issue was having not been in the water since November, but it didn't help that the break kept moving around at will. Every once in a while, I'd realize I was too far out to catch anything and would move back toward shore. Just about that time, I'd get caught on the inside by a huge wave and would find myself getting Maytagged, hanging upside-down in my kayak. At one point, I was stuck in a side surf, headed straight toward Rob. With no other choice, I found I had the presence of mind to roll and pulled myself off the backside of the wave.

After a quick psychological break on shore, we headed back out for another session. The waves seemed to have gotten a bit smaller. I caught a few and was able to ride a few until they got into a deep spot and petered out before forming again closer into shore.

After another couple hours in the waves, we had a couple beers on shore and chatted with a local while Abby and I bonded over part of my turkey sandwich. All-in-all it was a great day.

Working on the Kayak

2006-01-14T14:33:00.000-08:00

For my birthday in 2004, I got a build it yourself kayak kit--something I've been wanting to do for at least 10 years. There's something about building your own boat that I had to get out of my system. I made great progress for the first couple months, until the weather started getting nice. The way I see it, you could either spend a nice day in the garage, building a boat or you could be out paddling one that already floats. The short story is that the boat has been about 90% complete for almost one and half years and it's been sitting there--in the kids playroom. So after our Christmas guests packed up (it's also a spare bedroom at times), I got started back at it. After this last little bit of work on the rear hatch, it's mostly finish work. My friend Steve has a paint booth in his shop, so the plan is to get it buttoned up and ready for varnishing. I'm going to have to take it out for a paddle at least once before we make it all pretty like. Maybe next weekend? Maybe in another year... Even though I'm not done with this one, I find myself thinking about the next project--a woodstrip canoe.

Day After Christmas

2005-12-26T17:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture Ryleigh took with her new camera. After being cooped up in the house for three days, I felt like we needed to get outside, so after Laurie and Bethann got back from their after Christmas shopping trip, we took Grandma Patty and Grandpa Larry on a hike to Guillemont cove. Rosie came with too. She walked almost 2 miles today and now she's wiped out. We stoppped for coffee and hot chocolate. Now we're waiting for the pizza dough to rise so we can build our own.

Christmas Eve Eve

2005-12-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

We're officially kicking off Christmas weekend. Santa just came by on the firetruck and gave the family candy canes. Laurie's family (Dad, Patty, Michelle, Tomm, Bethann, Eric) is showing up a little later tonight and we'll have guests through Monday. I'm looking forward to relaxing a little bit and will unplug my work computer for a couple of days. I will be working a little bit over the week between Christmas and New Years, but it won't be full time. The kids are excited and I think Mom is too. So Merry Christmas everyone! I'll try to post some pictures of Christmas morning.

Ryleigh's New Specs

2005-12-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

Surprise, surprise! The girl who can't take her nose out of a book is near-sighted. Although we suspected it, the results of her school vision testing told us Ryleigh needed to see the eye doctor and get some glasses. Much to Ryleigh's delight, she can see again--and doesn't have to sit in the front of the class anymore. Kids don't seem to have the same issues with glasses that we had as children. Ryleigh thinks they're cute. So do I. One boy told her she looked goofy in them, to which she replied, "and now I can see how goofy YOU look." Go Girl!

Nutcracker 05

2005-12-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

Here's Ryleigh in her role as one of the "boy cousins" in this year's Nutcracker. The Nutcracker and it's many weekend and late night rehearsals has taken it's place amongst (hell, effectively replaced) the many other events we have during this time of the year - like Laurie's Birthday and our Anniversary. This is Ryleigh's 7th year of dance (she's 9) and her third year in the Nutcracker. Last year she played a mouse and a bon-bon, and the year before that she was "The Naughty Bon-Bon" who refused to get back under mother Ginger's skirt.

SnowDay

2005-12-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

We got a good amount of snow last week. Here are the girls sitting on the first layer of our snowman. The kids had a couple of late starts, but not a full day. I worked from home most the week, but we only got out for the session you see here. I'm hopeful for more snow, since we didn't get any last year. I never did get up snowboarding, so my new snowboard is now two years old.

Currently listening to - System of a Down (Hypnotized)
Currently Reading - The McKinsey Way; Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation

Getting the Tree(s)

2005-11-27T16:54:00.000-08:00

Today we got the trees - a Grand Fir for the living room and a Noble Fir for the entry way. Even Rosie got in on the fun. Isn't that a cute sweater? Mom took the picture. We had hot chocolate and espresso drinks while warming up after getting our trees and spent the rest of the day putting them up and decorating. I got the lights up last weekend, so we're in full on Christmas mode. Cheers!!!

Arctic Winds on the North Coast

2005-11-26T21:10:00.000-08:00

Up at 4:30 this morning to meet Jeff and David and do some surfing at Crescent Beach. COLD! We drove through some snow on the way up to Port Angeles, but arrived at the beach to a beautiful, sunny (albeit, windy as hell and COLD!) day. We were the first ones in the water today and had the beach to ourselves for about an hour. On the incoming tide, it was chaos. David and I got beat up for awhile until we moved down the beach. Up to now, my 1.5 mm gloves have been plenty warm, but with the wind and cold, my hands got a little chilly. No matter, we caught some nice rides once we moved down the beach and the outgoing tide seemed to smooth things out a bit. At the busiest point, there were no more than 10 people in the water (and most were kayaks, including myself). We passed on the hot showers at the RV park, had a Pacifico, then kept the Mexican theme going with tacos and beer in Sequim. With the early morning start, I still made it back to Bremerton to catch Ryleigh in an abbreviated version of the Nutcracker at the Festival of Trees. Man I love the North Coast dawn patrol surf trips.

Day after Christmas 04

2005-11-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture from the day after Christmas last year. My Father-in-Law, Larry, and I went for a paddle near the great bend of the Hood Canal. The day started warm and calm -- summerlike conditions. By the end of the 2 hour paddle, the wind picked up and the 2 ft waves created a great paddling challenge for the team.

Falling off the board on the Oregon Coast

2005-11-17T22:46:00.000-08:00

I forget the name of the break -- it's right by the Devil's Punchbowl a few miles north of Newport.

Happy Birthday Laurie

2005-11-15T21:37:00.000-08:00

We had a surprise visit from Laurie's Dad today. He decided to come up to Bremerton for Laurie's birthday. We went shopping at the mall and had dinner at the Olive Garden. A nice little birthday gift.

Paddling Out

2005-11-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

This is my first post - just testing the waters. I'll use this blog to post pictures, trip reports, and general rants and raves as I see fit.

Here I am paddling out on the Western coast of Washington State.