The Dash Point Pirate

Highlights from Kayak Academy’s Greenland Rolling Competition

Dash Point Pirate TV caught up with Dubside for a brief interview in the middle of Kayak Academy’s Greenland Rolling Competition at Lake Sammamish on August 23, 2009. Dubside discussed the importance of maintaining tradition by learning the Greenlandic names of the rolls, given the explosive popularity of Greenland Style and its adoption by “mainstream” sea kayaking in the United States.

Dubside also outlined plans for a much bigger competition on Lake Sammamish, based on the National Greenland Kayaking Championship, that will include rope gymnastics, races, rolling, and harpoon throwing. No other country other than Greenland holds a serious traditional kayaking competition, so hopefully Kayak Academy will be able to pull off this very ambitious project. The challenge of traveling and shipping kayaks and gear to Greenland discourages a lot of highly skilled American kayakers from competing in the Greenland games. I’m betting that these people will be crawling out of the woodwork to attend an event like this. When it happens, remember that you read it here first!

Kayaking legend Maligiaq Padilla also judged the event. In addition to teaching skin−on−frame building classes he has been building kayak models during his stay in the Pacific Northwest. Tom Sharp displayed one during the event −− an exquisitely crafted frame carved from yellow cedar, based on Maligiaq’s own racing kayak. It takes Maligiaq about the same amount of time to make one of these models as it does to make a full-size frame. They will sell for just as much, probably even more. Expect to see this work of art featured at the Inuit Gallery in Vancouver, BC. 

Oh, by the way, I guess I should mention that I won the highly coveted Golden Harpoon Head with a score of 165! Competition was stiff, and I was very lucky Warren Williamson didn’t show up (he was busy surfing his Illusion at the tidal race at Skooks). I had practiced norsamik masikkut, kingup apummaatigut, and ikusaannarmik niaqoq/pukusuk patillugu all month, but when the time came I didn’t score with these at all. Having to wear a bulky PFD (for insurance purposes) really hurt me. I think it’s time to get one of those small inflatables! Many thanks to George Gronseth and Barb Sherrill of Kayak Academy, Dubside, Maligiaq, John, KayakGrrl and all the other volunteers who put together such great event!

NEW VIDEO: Scenes from the 2009 Puget Sound Sea Kayak Symposium

It's only a four and a half mile paddle from the beach by my house to Owen Beach at Point Defiance, where the Puget Sound Sea Kayak Symposium was held. I landed on the demo beach around noon on Saturday, this time paddling my Shooting Star cedar-strip baidarka (because I like all the attention it gets). Ricardo paddled his Greenland skin-on-frame from the Thea Foss and we sat them next to each other on the beach and talked about wooden kayaks with curious passers-by. One big reason I personally like to show up at kayak symposiums is to help represent wooden kayaks and Greenland Style.

Stand-up paddle surfboards had a big presence this year. Lately I've seen more people trying this in the Sound. I couldn't resist trying it. Compared to sitting in a kayak, it presents a bigger challenge to your sense of balance and gives your legs a workout. It must take a lot of practice to be able to use it in rough windy conditions though, not to mention actual surf.

I met Chris Cunningham at the Sea Kayaker Magazine booth. I picked up a free copy of the 25th Anniversary Issue, the one with a picture of a traditional Greenland kayak frame on the cover. Chris said that it was actually a picture of a kayak frame that he had built. I felt a little awkward picking up a copy of the magazine there in front of him, because it obviously means that I don't have a subscription to it! He knows I'm a serious kayaker too. I wanted a copy of this issue though because Chris had written another article about Freya Hoffmeister for it. I really only have room and the attention span for one magazine subscription in my life, and this year it was to Wooden Boat. Honestly, I hardly even read that anymore. Who reads anything in print these days, seriously?

Sterling Donalson offered a number of his kayaks for demos, both the IceKap and Illusion design. He brought along an interesting device which looked like an adjustable kayak cockpit. I suspect it is for fitting people for custom deck heights for his kayaks. 

Although the IceKap has gotten a lot of attention because of Dubside, the Illusion is gaining a reputation for being a fantastic rough water boat. One thing that Sterling discovered recently was that the Illusion handles well with a cockpit full of water. Because the upswept ends and rocker give it a low center of gravity, it remains remarkably stable and easy to maneuver. I recommend you try that with the kayak you own right now. I think paddling with a flooded cockpit really should be an essential test when trying out a new kayak. It simulates a real rescue situation such as following a wet exit or re-enter and roll.

In the video: Ricardo tries out the Hobie Mirage Drive and a stand-up paddle surfboard, and gives a glowing review of the Sterling Kayaks Illusion.  

Kayak Log Racing with Cape Falcon Kayak

Last weekend Ricardo and I drove down to Nehalem, Oregon to attend a kayak log race hosted by Brian Schulz of Cape Falcon Kayak. The race was Brian’s clever way of getting a bunch of people to pull some very large logs 3.5 miles down the Nehalem river for him for nothing. Actually he offered a number of prizes, including either a skin−on−frame Greenland kayak or red plastic river boat (winner’s choice), a used copy of Harvey Golden’s book Kayaks of Greenland, model kayak frame, and a bottle of beer. 

My purpose there was to serve as a videographer and safety boater, so Ricardo and I actually didn’t pull any logs. Brian equipped us with his expertly-crafted skin−on−frame Adirondack guideboat, which worked perfectly as a stable platform for photography. For its size the guideboat is amazingly lightweight, maybe a little over 40 pounds. It has an incredible capacity for gear. We sat on the ends with a crate between us filled with extra tow ropes and a bilge pump.  We also had a chainsaw, and my personal bag with my cameras, extra dry clothes, shoes and snacks. That boat can really move! The only thing I didn’t like was how Brian had fixed the oars to the oarlocks, which kept them from popping out but prevented you from rotating them along the long axis to angle the blades. 

You couldn’t have asked for better weather for an event like this: a little frosty in the morning but dry and sunny with a perfectly clear sky. We had over a dozen people pulling 7 very large logs. I didn’t really get a sense of how big the logs were until the end when Brian had them roped together at the dock at the Nehalem public boat launch. The plan is that Brian and Mark Whitaker are going to somehow pull them out of the water and then process them using Mark’s portable sawmill.

I wish we had had more time to spend down there. Ricardo and I were drooling over Brian’s workshop (the big red barn you see in the beginning of the video) and all the tools, stacks of wood, a few steam−bent kayak coamings, and completed kayak frames he had lying around. Brian says he can knock out a frame for an experimental prototype kayak in a day. He will find out quickly how it paddles with a Saran Wrap test, then tosses it onto the pile of other old frames when he's done.

Here is another link to the video on YouTube, also available in HD!

Deception Pass Dash 2008 Movie Part 2: Finish Line

This is the view from Bowman Bay dock of the finish line, filmed by Dubside.  As paddlers glide in on a wide variety of sea kayak, surf-skis and canoes, you can see the agony/ecstasy on their faces (well, it's a little blurry on YouTube).  

Deception Pass Dash 2008

Here is a picture of my new kayak. It is the first production kayak I've ever owned. All my others were skin-on-frame or homemade wooden composites. So yeah I actually did make that paradigm shift after all.  I think the whole time I was looking for that perfect playful low volume rough water kayak I must have really wanted a fast touring boat. When a friend let me try his Epic Endurance I was so impressed by the comfort, speed and maneuverability that I knew that this was the type of kayak I needed to go farther and faster. Hey if it's good enough for Freya Hoffmeister it must be good enough for me!  My skin tight Reed Chill Cheater outfit is in the mail and should be arriving in time for Christmas (just kidding). I know this kayak is ugly as hell but I think once I start covering the deck with corporate logo stickers it will look much better.

I had my Epic for week before the Deception Pass Dash and had only paddled it 4 times. During that week I switched back and forth between using my Werner Ikelos blade and my Superior Kayaks carbon Greenland paddle. I think I hadn't used my Werner for at least a couple years (since the Baja Incident), but I convinced myself that by using it I could paddle something like 0.2-0.3 knots faster. It was actually not very easy to determine that because of all the confounding currents on Puget Sound. 

Using my Werner in the race turned out to be the biggest mistake of the day. For one thing I am pretty rusty with it for rolling. For another the conditions turned out to be pretty challenging.  Lisa J recently posted the recorded wind speed in knots on the SKSB-NW message board:

"The strongest conditions of the last 48 hours reported by Smith Island were: Sun 12/07/08 SW 7 @ 956, W 14.77 G20.855 @ 1056, SW 13.9 @ 1156, SW 19.11 G26 @ 1256. That was right about the time of the race and probably consistent with the carnage, including a jet skier at the end. Patrol boats reported 5' breaking at that south end of Deception Pass Island before the last boater came though and we all came back through 6+' cresting waves from all directions half the way back into Bowman at about noon."   

The steep waves reflecting off of Deception Island demanded a lot of bracing.  Just after rounding Deception Island I pulled out into a protected spot and switched to my GP. That cost me a couple minutes but WOW did I feel so much better! I felt like I was ready for anything and I was finally able to take advantage of the Epic's speed on flatter water. Pushing against the ebb current was not a problem this year compared to last and being able to precisely control tracking with the rudder was a real pleasure. 

There was a brief moment of relief when the safety crew around Strawberry Island told us "It's all downhill from here!" Of course they didn't count on the wind channeling through Canoe Pass, the steep standing waves in the channel, and all the chaotic water around Deception Island that we had just gone through before. It was actually a much tougher fight back with the wind and waves in your face but totally exhilarating.  

There was a guy surfing the standing waves in the middle of Canoe Pass. I don't know if he was part of the rescue team or what.  It wouldn't have surprised me if he was a racer.  More than a few people must have been tempted to forget the race completely and take advantage of the rare opportunity to play in such fantastic conditions.

Some results:

There were 126 racers.

Thirty-two did not finish.

I finished 12th out of 16 in my class ("fast sea kayak") with a time of 87 min 12 sec.  I was the last in my class who finished.

According to my GPS the course was 5.93 nm.

Fifty-two percent of those in high performance kayaks ("surf-skis") did not finish compared to 25% of those in fast sea kayaks and 22.5% in sea kayaks.  

The preliminary results can be found here. 

Deception Pass Dash is Coming Up

I just sent in my registration for the Deception Pass Dash.  I think they'll be starting a half hour earlier than they did last year so that so many people don't get swept away by the ebb this time.  Send in your registration before November 28th and get a free t-shirt! 

"This is the Sea 4" premieres at Seattle Raft and Kayak

I finally met Justine Curvengen and bought an autographed copy of This is the Sea 4 from her!  At $27 it was an awesome deal.  Plus the pizza and beer at the premiere was free, so it was an all around great experience.  Also spotted at the event: Leon Somme and Shawna Franklin, George Gronseth, and Nigel Foster.

Ricardo got into a nice long chat with Nigel Foster without knowing who he was, then proceeded to tell him all about the kayak he was designing.  

I tried to tell Ricardo: "You know, Nigel has also designed a few kayaks himself."  But he didn't get the hint and kept right on talking.

Afterwards I filled him in on who he had been talking to.  

"Oh, you mean he was that Nigel!"  Boy did he feel stupid.

Dubside and Maligiaq

I spent all day yesterday with Dubside, Maligiaq and George Gronseth doing the Greenland thing.  It was a good review of paddle strokes, and I learned a few things too.  Maligiaq and Dubside worked with me on my forward finishing rolls.  The key is a really powerful "hipsnap".  More later.  Right now I need to lie down and watch a movie because I'm so sore!

Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2008

Here are a few pics I took yesterday at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival.  You can view the rest of my album here. 

Aboard the Hawaiian Chieftain

The latest on Dash Point Pirate TV: My own little video of the "battle sail" aboard the Hawaiian Chieftain on the Fourth of July during the Tall Ships Festival 2008 in Tacoma.  There is no better way to enjoy the Tall Ships Festival than this, and now it's available for you to experience on YouTube in HIGH QUALITY (be sure to select the "watch in high quality" option under the video on it's own YouTube page if your browser allows it).

From the Historical Seaport website:

The topsail ketch Hawaiian Chieftain is a replica of a typical European merchant trader of the turn of the nineteenth century. Her hull shape and rigging are similar to those of Spanish explorer's ships used in the expeditions of the late 18th century along the Washington, Oregon, and California coasts. Built of steel in Hawaii in 1988 and originally designed for cargo trade among the Hawaiian Islands, her design was influenced by the early colonial passenger and coastal packets that carried on coastal trade along the Atlantic coastal cities and towns. 

I'd seriously consider volunteering on one of these square riggers (as long as they let me be the gunner).