Rounding Manitoulin - Day 10

During the night and unknown to us, we'd had a visitor walk up close to our camp before suddenly changing its mind, turn and run off! A wolf? A coyote? We weren't sure, but it did give us yet another feeling of the closeness of wildness on Manitoulin Island. The previous evening an egret quietly flew overhead and began feeding in the shallows off our beached kayaks. We seemed not to be there. It returned to see us off in the morning.


The sunshine returned as we made our way along the Huron coast. We'd previously been concerned about paddling this long exposed coast where the prevailing winds can blow strongly from offshore, building up huge wave sets. Landing sites are rare along the way, gradually changing from lumpy rocks as seen in the above picture to the only slightly friendlier mix of sand and rock seen below.


Another hazard which seemed to repeat itself over and over were shallow areas, perhaps ancient eskers, composed of boulders, which extended some distance offshore. Time and again we were forced to paddle far out into the lake to get around the breaking waves at these places. At one of them I took a chance and tried to sneak through what I thought was a deeper break. As I tried to zip through, I found my timing was off leaving me at the bottom of the wave trough rather than the top. Scrambling out of the sudden 'hole', my Greenland paddle hit a rock and the tip broke off.


Later when we landed on one of the few partly sandy beaches for a break, I was able to carve a new tip, one of the advantages of making one's own wooden paddles!

That night coyotes were heard yelping inland and more tracks were found near the tent in the morning.

60/100

Rounding Manitoulin - Day 9

Waking up, we found the weather had changed. Gone were the calm seas and sunny skies. It was overcast and foggy. By the time we'd packed away breakfast and broken camp and launched the kayaks, it had begun to rain and it continued for most of the day.

Rounding the point in the top picture we discovered we'd camp nearly on top of a huge quarry operation! Limestone was being crushed and poured into huge laker ships for transport to who-knows-where. We were totally taken aback as we'd had little clue such an enterprise was so close to us. It all seemed so un-natural after our week of virtually wilderness tripping. Paddling past the slab-sided laker, we headed a few more kilometers down the shore to the lighthouse where we'd promised ourselves a shore-side meal, our first since launching.



Landing just below it, the shores once again made of flat shelves of limestone, we made our way upwards where we had an early lunch. Asked whether we had peddled in to the place we said "No", we'd paddled. The reply was, "Had we peddled far in the rain?" Again, we replied, "No, we'd just paddled around the corner." The waitress now totally confused, retreated to get our order. It was clear kayakers were not regular visitors in the area!


The afternoon found us paddling in a mysterious world of rain and mists, where eagles and ravens called out to us from overhead and along the shores. None of the coastline seemed to be in the right place due to the flatness of the shore. This was exaggerated by the fact that Lake Huron's water level had dropped about 6 feet since our charts had been made and thus whole bays had disappeared and new islands had risen from the depths. Fortunately east was still east, so we kept Manitoulin on our left and paddled on, eventually coming to Burnt Harbour where we camped for the night.

59/100

Rounding Manitoulin - Day 8

We pushed off again the following day, the start of the second week of paddling. It was almost a repeat of the day before as far as paddling conditions went. At times we followed the coast when it looked interesting, but mostly it was low rocky beaches backed by dense forests. There were no houses or other signs of human presence. Manitoulin Island, it turns out, is a place of interior villages and farms. Only in a few places have people begun to build on the shore lines. One tower built of rocks attracted our attention at the mouth of a bay, but shallow water prevented a close inspection of its purpose.


As the day passed, we headed offshore to explore some smaller islands along the way. In the picture above, on Vidal Island, we had lunch. Note the use of the pool noodle under my kayak protecting it from the nearly submerged rocky shore! On the island in the photo below, there were two bird rookeries, one for gulls and another for cormorants which built nets looking like 10 gallon pails made of twigs. All in all, it was a noisy, smelly place with very unfriendly shores composed mostly of gelcoat munching fragmented boulders. Perhaps that's why the birds found it so attractive!


Heading onward once again, we pointed our bows for the last cape, the one that led around the western corner of Manitoulin into Missassagi Strait. Once more the cobble stone beaches returned, this time higher and steeper than ever! A few fishermen were doing their thing in power boats out in the strait. When we decided to bathe in the chilly waters, the fishermen suddenly decided to try their luck closer to shore, but it didn't seem to improve the fishing no matter how close they got!

58/100

Rounding Manitoulin - Day 7

Click on map to enlarge.
Okay, I had now been paddling for a week, so where have I been? This Google map of the island gives an idea of my route, beginning in South Baymouth and working around the island in a counter-clockwise direction.

We were now within easy distance of the next lakeside town, Gore Bay, so we headed in for a re-supply stop. Arriving this time in mid-morning we were finally able to get all the things we had missed in Little Current. Heading back out soon after, we stopped for a brief lunch break and then kept right on paddling through the afternoon. The weather was sunny, warm and dead calm. Our boats cast perfect reflections of themselves on the water. We saw no people, heard no boats. Only a few deer at the water's edge saw us passing by. The fact that Manitoulin Island seemed so wild and deserted a place impressed us as it is really within a few hours drive of some major population centers.

That night we camped at Cape Robert facing the sunset. For a long time we could hear an ATV chugging along in the woods behind the beach, but it never seemed to be making any progress. Suddenly it appeared on the beach beside us driven by a young Indian man. We were all quite surprised to see each other, but after taking a moment to recover we said our hellos and he headed off down the beach. He and the lady the previous night were the only visitors we had during the whole trip.

57/100

Rounding Manitoulin - Days 5 & 6

When we awoke on Day 5, there was silence. Not a breath of wind. Without wasting a moment we loaded up the kayaks and headed westward on still, calm water. What a relief to be paddling on smooth water again. We still ached from the previous day's hard push to Little Current.

By mid morning however, the wind was back. We made it to tiny Wabos Island, some rocks and a few trees and bushes was all it really was. The wind was back with a vengence. As we ate our lunch, we watched the waves build and build. It was obvious that this tiny outcrop was going to be home for the night. Find a place to camp wasn't easy. There was hardly a inch of level ground that wasn't covered with poison ivy or crags of broken limestone.

The next morning the wind had dropped somewhat, but the huge waves continued to roll by the tiny island. Feeling we were now experienced in the waves, we shoved off, heading southward into a big bay. We figured as we got down into it the wind and wave height would drop and we'd be able to take advantage of the shorter reach to turn westwards again. We did just that and finally reached the western side of the bay mid afternoon. It seemed too early to stop so we rounded the point and began looking for a spot to stop along the shore further westward. We were again facing the huge waves and some islands marked on the chart were completely awash beneath them! Staying within sight of each other wasn't easy either as, at times, our kayaks would be invisible in the waves.


We finally found a spot to camp after checking several rocky coves. Supper never tasted so good as it did that night! I used a compact butane stove on the trip. It's advantage was its instant-on feature allowing meals to be ready quickly without much fuss. Definitely an advantage after a long, tiring day of paddling!

We'd no sooner settled into the tent when a four-wheeler appeared out of the woods. It turned out to be a friendly neighbour curious about who had arrived next door! Thank heavens. We couldn't have faced those waves another minute had we been forced out into them.

56/100

Rounding Manitoulin - Day 4

Slipping through the Hole in the Wall the next morning we ran bang into a strong head wind which hammered our boats all morning as we crossed over to Heywood Island. Once again we were dragging our boats up cobble beaches. After a brief break, we chose to paddle around the leeward side of the island as we made our way towards Little Current, the first of two re-supply points on the trip.


It was on the east side of Haywood that we encountered one of several little miracles that occurred during the trip. We found a bright neon coloured pool noodle lying on the beach, just the thing for saving our hulls from their inevitable fate! We cut it up and rolled up the beaches scratch-free from then on.

The remainder of the day became a race into the wind. We wanted to hit the stores in Little Current before they closed. As it happened, we made the grocery store, but nothing else of interest. We might have made a few more, but the high dock walls everywhere in town, designed for the power-boat crowd, prevented us from landing. After searching for a while, we finally found a sailboat slip where a kind lady agreed to watch over our kayaks while we were in town.

Thwarted by our shopping venture, we headed westwards through the narrows and camped for the night near the ruins of an old mill on Picnic Island. While it was a quiet spot to camp, we soon discovered the place was also covered, like many parts of Manitoulin, with poison ivy! We walked around with care!

55/100

Rounding Manitoulin - Day 3

Another sunny day and this time there was almost no wind as we paddled. The further along the east coast we got, the higher the limestone cliffs rose beside us. It's these same heights that further to the east create the falls at Niagara.


After stopping for lunch, we began the crossing over to the rounded granite shores marking the entrance to the North Channel. On the way we threaded our kayaks through a number of islands, some larger than others. One tiny island, no more really than a bit of gravel beach poking out of the shallow water looked interesting. Terns were swirling above it and something yellow seemed to form its hidden interior. Stopping we discovered a little miracle which you see me pointing at...


The terns had chosen to lay their eggs inside nests made of clumps of yellow flowers. It's an image that remains with me even today, it charmed us so completely.


We crossed over to the mainland and began looking for a place to camp. I had sailed this area several years previously and remembered a spot called Hole-in-the-Wall and it turned out to be a perfect spot. Having had some geology training at university, I was interested to find the site was right on the contact zone between the limestone to the south and the granite to the north.

Had time been on my side I would have liked to stayed in this area to explore places my sailboat had been too large to visit. Alas, we moved on. It made me yearn for my retirement when no schedule would bind me and my children would be successfully launched into their respective worlds. Then I would be able to paddle on open-ended trips taking as much time as I wanted to satisfy my explorer's urge. Of course, now that I've reached that fabled time, finding others willing to make longer trips isn't always easy. Oh, that everyone could be free!

54/100

Rounding Manitoulin - Day 2

Swinging around the southeast corner of Manitoulin put the big waves directly behind our boats and they started to surf. It was here that I started to learn what the designer John Winters had been thinking when he created my QCC hull. The rounded center section allowed the boat to surf alright, but there wasn't the flat mid-sections required to leap off waves and accelerate like the Current Design boat beside me. It really took off down the wave backs, easily out-accelerating my boat. At the bottom of the trough however I had the advantage. The CD boat would bury its nose in the leading wave while the QCC, having a much fuller bow, rapidly rose up and began climbing the water up ahead. A couple of strokes allowed us to arrive at the next wave crest together, ready to head back down.


A few hours of this and we were ready to have lunch. In fact, we began losing the waves after passing through the narrows caused by an island and we headed to shore. In the picture, you can see the fist-sized rocks which composed the beach. They were nearly impossible to walk on and gave almost no purchase for hauling our heavy boats up out of the water. These beaches occur at both the east and west ends of Manitoulin and tested our back muscles every time we stopped.

The rest of the day passed quickly with a varied coastline of rising cliffs and hanging forests, all an Indian reserve where camping wasn't really permitted. The day dragged into the early evening as we paddled in search of some level ground to pitch our camp. That blessed moment arrived just as exhaustion set in. It had been a long day and I wasn't in the best of paddling form at that point in the trip having decided to use the 'paddle into shape' formula rather than its reverse (get in shape to paddle).

53/100

Rounding Manitoulin - Day 1

I paddled my kayak around Manitoulin Island, the largest island in the North American Great Lakes in 2004. It was a trip done as a substitute for not going around Prince Edward Island that summer - a trip I have still to do! At the time, there was only one hint that anyone had ever done the trip before us, but I was never able to confirm this one way or another. Since then I have not heard of anyone doing it, but It's a great paddle if you have about two weeks free and the urge to paddle some interesting waters.


Once I was back home, I made this logo and put it on a T-shirt to celebrate the adventure. Other than a little article in a local newspaper, I have never published an account of the trip. To correct this, and to fill in a somewhat dull paddling period at the moment, I thought I'd post an account of the trip over the next few days.
• • •
Departing from Tobermory, Ontario, we took the ferry over to South Baymouth. Leaving the car in the care of a local camp-ground, we launched in the late afternoon and headed out counter-clockwise in search of a first camp site. It was my first experience paddling in waves big enough to hide one boat from another, but within a short time my fears of capsizing disappeared and I settled in for a fun ride down the coast.

As dusk approached we began looking for a place to camp. Entering a small cove, we had our first encounter with Manitoulin's limestone shorelines. Rough, flat and strewn with erratics, it was going to be difficult keeping the kayaks from losing all their gelcoat! I don't have pictures of this nasty stuff, but this trip did teach me the value of having a decent waterproof camera. Take my advice however and bring along pool noodles to protect your hulls!

52/100

Getting Sucked In

There is something about headlands. They beckon. They suck me in, pulling me onwards. I felt it strongly in Newfoundland and I felt it again yesterday. I had no particular destination as I paddled, but as I passed the point in the picture, that headland further south called to me. Naturally I headed for it. Then another and another until I came to the lake's end. A two hour paddle. With nowhere left to go, I turned about and two hours later I was back where I'd began.

51/100

Turning The Corner At 50

After I finish posting this I'll head out for my daily paddle. It will be the 50th paddle I've gone on in the past 53 days in my attempt to paddle every day for 100 days. I have missed three days since I started. Two were the result of traveling to Delmarva and the other was a scheduling problem which gave me no free time to paddle.

The first 50 days have been the easy ones. While the weather has ranged from glorious, warm, sunny days to cold, blustery, rainy ones, it has always been a pleasure to get out there and launch. The past few days have not been as easy however. When it's cold and rainy on the lake, it's very tempting to take a 'shore day' and not go out. Staying by the warm fire and reading a good book seems so much more interesting. However, each time I head out on the lake something interesting takes place. Yesterday, for example, a Great Blue Heron burst out of the trees just ahead of me and flew off across my bow. I knew there were a few of these large birds on the lake, but I've never seen one in a tree before. I'm beginning to see migratory ducks now as well. Common mergansers are almost everywhere and I have seldom seen these migrants until I started paddling daily.

So I head now into the second half of the challenge I made to myself last August. These 50 paddles will get tougher as the weather changes slowly into winter. The water is still relatively warm, so I haven't had to switch into my drysuit, but soon that will come and just getting ready to paddle will take longer. Snow and ice will force me to move to another launch site. I will have to begin car-topping my boat as the boat-house will be out of reach by car.

Wish me luck!

50/100

Blog Action Day - The Environment

I've joined the Blog Action Day group today to blog about their chosen topic, the environment. One of the reasons I thought this would be a good idea came as a result of some things which have been happening to my neighbours. I'll deal with each one at a time.

For years we have bought turkeys from a small local producer. We chose this farm because it raises its birds in a natural fashion, feeding the birds food which doesn't have to be laced with anti-biotics and keeping them in a place where they can forage by walking around. The government has recently tried to put them out of business. Why? Because they don't conform to their regulations designed for the huge factory style producers who house their birds in confined spaces and feed them trash food.

Another neighbour produces goat cheese from their own small herd. This small operation has also been forced to curtail its operation to the point where they cannot make even a modest profit. Again this operation doesn't have the thousands of dollars it would cost for them to meet the government regulations put in place to make the giant milk and cheese operations safe for the public.

Finally a local dairy producer has also stopped producing. Why? Again, because he is too small to afford the constant upgrades in costs to meet ever changing regulations in place to protect the food supply coming from the giants.

All three producers have been told the changes they have been asked to make are for the public benefit. Simply speaking, the regulations are supposed to reduce the chances of disease being spread. Disease? The fact is that there have been no incidences of illness being spread by these producers or similar small operations. What is really happening is the big producers don't like competition from the small speciality farmers who grow a better product and who maintain a diverse gene pool. Big producers tend not produce food in an environmentally sound fashion in many instances. They usually grow in mono-culture lots, to produce not for taste, but for transport and shelf-life, they lace their produce with a chemical soup designed for factory style farming and they produce waste products which foul our streams and fields. Do the regulators care about this? Generally they don't. It usually takes a crisis to wake them up to their short-sightedness and foolishness. Clean-up tends to be superficial and designed mostly to quieten the outraged public.


Our wild places are being over-run by our foolishness. Even a high school biology course will alert one to the dangers of these practices, yet we allow it to persist in our environment. We do it to our peril. Don't let the traffic circle be our only wilderness!

So my environmental plea today is to become an informed consumer. Buy your food locally, pay attention to how it was produced and support farmers who care about the sustainability of their farm practices. Finally, a good book to read on this topic is by Barbara Kingsolver. It's called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I highly recommend it!

Lower photo from the site The Big Wild.

49/100

Kayak Questing?

In olden days, knights were said to go out on quests. The search for the Grail, it was often called. In these stories, the hero would set off, usually by himself, leaving the known world and the old ways behind in search of renewal. There were monsters to fight, labyrinths to explore and endless ordeals to overcome before that missing something was found and the knight would be transfigured, finally bringing something of value back to both himself and ideally, to the known world as well.

Well, it seems that kayakers often go out on quests too. These are the adventurers who head out searching for something about themselves. They seek answers for the questions their lives have become. They hope to return with some new knowledge which will give them the peace and happiness they seem to be missing in their lives. In a way these people feel that to go out into the wilds is to find the answers to all the questions within themselves.

Does it work? Are these people more enlightened than the rest of us? Do they get their questions answered? Are their lives changed for the better? My guess is no, not really. Some may think so, but the ones I know seem to be troubled by the same questions they had before they left. A few were actually worse off, having returned embittered or even more confused by all their travels! None I've yet to meet have brought back much more for the rest of us than perhaps a good story.

Still, I recommend we all go on quests. You see, I'm wondering whether I've got enough good stories lined up to get me through the long winter up ahead! Besides, the answers to my questions and doubts are most likely locked up inside my head somewhere and that's where I ought to be searching if I really want the answers! That leaves me free to kayak, just for the shear joy of it.

48/100

The Lower North Shore of Quebec

Paddling home today in rainy, cold weather.

Funny how things ebb and flow. In 2005, I was all set to paddle down the Lower North Shore, the interesting coastline of Québec which faces Newfoundland. I actually left on the trip only to see it come to an abrupt halt in Sept Isles, one day before we launched. We'd set aside five weeks for the trip, more than it takes, but giving us plenty of time to do some exploring and hiking along the way should we wish. In a flash, I had five weeks with nowhere to go and a bucket full of questions about what had happened.

Since then I've had no bites from others interested in making the trip with me. I was beginning to wonder if I really was going to have to make the trip solo, not my first choice, but if that's the only way to go, I'd consider it.

Suddenly two people have expressed interest. Both have one or two others who might also be interested. I'm beginning to think the coast might get crowded if a few of us don't go soon! As I begin to see this year's paddling season come to a close, I'm excited to think I might get to do a trip I'd had to cancel. There's always something special about grabbing hold of something that has slipped one's grasp on the first try!
• • •
Monday, October 15th is Blog Action Day. It's a day set aside for bloggers who wish to post something about the Earth's fragile environment. If you're reading this and you have a blog, join us in posting an environmental posting.

46/100

Changes

I'm back home after my brief trip to Delmarva and points in between. In the short time that I've been off Lake Massawippi, lots of subtle changes have taken place. The driveway to the cottage still winds its way through the hardwood trees, but leaves now clutter the ground. A yellow light now filters down, brighter than the somber green of summer. Birds flicker ahead of the car in migrating numbers. They too sense the changes.

On the water, Canada geese crowd the shallows, up-ended, feeding for those last few carbohydrates they'll burn flying further south. I've noticed the mallards have been pairing off. Loons still cling together with their nest mates, their plumage nearly changed into adult colours. Docks are disappearing. Rafts have been anchored close to the take-out area. I am nearly alone on the lake. Soon it will be all mine. It won't be long before even the angels will fear to paddle.

45/100

Delmarva Greenland Paddling Retreat - 2007

The kayaks of the clan, await.
I had several things in mind when I left to go to the Paddler's Retreat this year. First was to meet friends I'd made previously and whom I get to visit with so seldom. Second was to again work on my paddling skills, especially in my new SOF boat. The last was to film. I wanted to take some video footage which would celebrate what traditional paddling brings to people's lives, especially how it works to enhance their life experience. I especially wanted to make a film which I can share with Canadian Inuit living in northern Canada. I want people there to also feel and experience what those who go to Delmarva feel and experience.

Over the next little while I will work to edit the raw video footage I now have. I'm really excited with much of it, especially an interview with an elequent Greenlander which I filmed on the last day. I'll be posting exerpts when they're ready!


Getting ready for a day on the water.


Greg and Freya paddling away from the moving ceremony held on Sunday morning.

44/100

Skinny Stick Helpings

The early mornings were misty, still and already warm. As I slowly realised I was awake, I would hear mist drops which, having condensed on the pine needles high above my tent, had now reached a size too large to hang on. Down they fell, bouncing off the fly and telling me it was time to meet the world of Delmarva. Poking my head out, I'd head to breakfast, but others were already on the water, communing with whatever it is that draws us to paddling in traditional boats.


The rest of the days were filled with helping. Helping me with my new boat, my balance brace, my sculling braces and rolling. Helping wherever help was wanted, people were beside you lending a hand, a paddle, a quiet bit of encouragement, a cheer when you got it. Help paddling, rolling, speaking, making paddles, hanging out, skinning boats. Whatever. Even getting married!


Delmarva. Special people doing special things, sharing a cultural experience that's spread far from its roots without losing sight of where it came from. Makes your spine tingle!

43/100

It's Not Pink, Okay?

I've been busy painting the re-skinned SOF this week. I began with white, but have now switched to a brown tint. I wanted the skin to look white on the inside and dark brown on the outside, which is why I began with white. In the picture here, the boat looks pink, but that's just an illusion caused by my poor photographic skills. Actually the colour is New-born Walrus Brown or what is called, for some bizarre reason here in southern Canada Industrial Brown. It's clear the paint manufacturers haven't much imagination when it comes to paint colour names...

I should get at least 3 coats on the hull before leaving for Delmarva and 2 coats on the deck. That ought to keep me dry while paddling, but I'll probably put some more coats on when I return next week as I like to have a smoother finish than the 3 coats provide.

So, I'm off early tomorrow morning, driving south to Delaware. I will return early next week. Take care of yourselves while I'm gone!

39/100

Flags

With the trees beginning to show off their Fall colours, these people have decided to announce their allegiances. It seems that Canada, France, Italy and the USA all get the nod.

I have no idea why those countries have been favoured but it's good to know that there are such wide-flung connections in our area. I personally enjoy the multi-cultural aspect of Canada and the willingness of people to openly display their heritages and perhaps also their dreams.

38/100

Noodle Magic

When paddling around the rocky shores of Manitoulin Island a few years ago, it very quickly became apparent that my brand new kayak was not going to survive the abrasion abuse it was getting every time I landed. There was nothing that I could do about it except be extra careful. Oh if I only had a pool noodle to roll the heavy boat up the limestone beaches! On the third day, Providence provided. A neon green pool noodle magically appeared on a deserted beach! It didn't take long to put it to good use. I still have it today and use it now and then.

Yesterday, Lake Massawippi provided me with another noodle. I had been wondering what to use for floatation in the re-skinned SOF as I paddled along. Suddenly the Lake answered, "Here's a pool noodle!" Amazing indeed. Is it me, the places I paddle or the pool noodle god that seems to be in touch with my needs? In any event, I tucked the noodle under the rear deck bungies and paddled home.

37/100

Nearly There

Here she is, all white and pretty in her brand new skin! The first coat of paint is white, but the remaining coats will have a brownish tint in it to simulate a sealskin colour. I'm using a alkyd polyurethane industrial paint. It looks like it should bear up to most of the beach gravels around here!

My fingers are recovering. It's the sewing and the tightening of the thread that does the damage. I'd forgotten how nasty putting on the cockpit coaming can be on the hands as well, but I came away with only minor wounds. I'll live another day or two, perhaps even get to bounce my grandchildren...











I'm still plugging away at my challenge to paddle every day for 100 days. The weather has been awesome and really helped me get so many days in back-to-back so far. The experience has been interesting and I've learned a number of things about the lake and myself which have been good to know. For example, I've come to know the lakes moods more at different times of the day. I have had a bad knee for several months, but the 75 stairs down and back up from the boathouse have done wonders to bring the knee back to its old self. Exercise, exercise...

35/100

Mystery Spot

Something nasty appears to be at work! A dark and mysterious spot has appeared on the Monarch's chrysalis. My wife thinks the roundish brown object is related to the spot in some way as is, perhaps, the orange item. I think otherwise, but nevertheless, trouble is afoot for sure. We'll keep the chrysalis for a while yet, but I think it may have been parasitized and nothing will develop. Sad, but nature can be that way, one thing living off another...

I paddled today between the rain showers. It was still, warm and calming on the water. Several people waved, people I don't know, but they seemed to sense I'm out there for some reason having seen me day after day for a while now. Yesterday a man called out that I seemed "devoted" to my kayak. He's right! I am, very much. And I'm a third the way to my goal of 100 days of paddling, back to back.

34/100

Suddenly, Rain!

While we have not had the drought which many seem to have had, September has been dry, warm and sunny for the most part, especially these past two weeks. I've really appreciated the weather given I head out at some point every day to paddle. Today, we had rain and presently we've got some crackling thunderstorms passing through.

A good day for tackling the long center seams of my SOF. I really like using this style of seam as it draws the material up nicely. The skin is nearly drum tight. The little black threads you see are the anchor points for the zig-zagging cord holding the canvas skin tight. Once the seam is finished I'll cut the threads and release the cord. It's arranged so it can be pulled into the cockpit and re-used on the next boat. This is the third time the same cords have done this job for me: real loyalty and devotion!

In the close-up below, you can see I'm using a pair of clamps to maintain the tension on the seam thread while I add another set of cross stitches. There are other methods, but the clamps were handy (I've got lots of them!) and they do the job well. The piping stitch is made using 1/8 inch nylon cord turned inside the canvas on either side of the seam. Unlike the tensioning cord, it will remain in the seam when I'm done.


At this point, I just have the two ends of the boat to finish sewing, then the cockpit rim will get sewn on. Sounds odd, but the rim actually 'floats' above the frame in these boats. With any luck, I'll get the first coat of paint on tomorrow afternoon.

33/100

Paddling on the Wild Coast

For day 32, I paddled Massawippi's 'wild coast' this afternoon. It's a section of the lake's western shore that appears not to have any cottage life. In fact, there are a few cabins, which I define as cottages without road access, as well as some camps, they being small cabins, hidden from view with neither road access nor docking facilities. In a real sense one can paddle this shore imagining one is in the far north of Québec miles from civilization. Of course, one isn't, but like so many things, perception is everything.


On the home front, our Monarch caterpillar changed itself into a chrysalis overnight, dropping its former attire on the counter in a tiny packet for us to dispose of. As most of you know, it will remain encased for several weeks before stepping out, utterly transformed, as a butterfly. Unfortunately, poor timing will probably result in it missing the annual migration call. The only hope is that this warm weather continues for a few more months. Somehow, I fear its fate is sealed far from that mountainside in sunny Mexico...

After a long summer recess, I've also started writing my Ilatsiak story again on my sister blog, ctories if any of you are still following. David is looking for his family and coming to grips with the news of the disaster that is slowly overtaking his former ship-mates. The question is, can he save them or is it too late?


32/100

They're Baaack!

I got out for paddle #30 early yesterday. As I was carrying my boat out of the boathouse, a flock of Canada geese went honking past the dock a few meters off the calm water. They're back from spending the summer in the far north. It's a mixed blessing. While we all love to see their flying wedge formations in the sky, they can be a nuisense as well.


Monarch butterflies have enjoyed a great year from all accounts. I was speaking with my aunt who lives in London, Ontario (on the banks of the Thames!). She had been down to Lake Erie and seen trees full of the butterflies. I suppose they were massing for the flight across the lake and like all good kayakers, see safety in numbers...

Meanwhile nearer to home, my wife has been feeding a monarch caterpillar for the last few days. This morning it seems to have decided to change gears and build its chrysalis, but what a strange site to choose! It crawled along the kitchen counter and attached itself to a tin pie plate. I guess we won't be having apple pie out of that plate for a while!

Finally, Alison Dyer and friends went on an unforgettable paddle the other day in Newfoundland. Make your day by visiting her blog and then follow her links over to Kayak-the-Rock and to Stan's blog. You'll understand why some people live in Paradise while the rest of us have to die to get there!

31/100

Don't Ya Just Love Tight Skin!

We've had a string of July weather days recently and I've been outside working of the re-skinning of the SOF boat. In the picture on the left, I've already stretched the material about 10 cms from end to end and sewn little pockets to hook it over the end posts. Next I've marked the material's center line and stapled it to the keel stringer. This prevents it from slipping to either side as I tighten it in the next step. Here, I've flipped the boat up-right and begun to cut away the excess canvas.












There are a number of methods to get the skin tight, but I like using the traditional one seen here which is commonly used by the Inuit. Here you can see the zig-zag tightening cord which holds the fabric once I've given it a pull. Going back and forth pulling from either side eventually gives one a nice tight skin. Ya gotta love it!

I ought to finish this tomorrow and start sewing the long seam down the decks. Then it's installing the cockpit coaming, slapping on some paint and the decklines and go paddling!




30/100

Playing in the Waves

In the summer just past, I can remember very few windy days out on the water. I got a few in Newfoundland but almost none here at home. Today was an happy exception, with a good steady breeze fetching down the lake building up lots of breaking waves. It provided a good classroom for learning about one's boat and how it handled in waves.

I mounted up my video camera and headed out with the intention of filming my boat in various situations ranging from directly up-wind, to down-wind and the angles in between them. Most people prefer to be headed into waves as it's perhaps the most comforting. You can see what's coming and take appropriate action. Going down-wind is often the scariest as you hear breaking waves, but it's not always easy to know if you're about to be swamped by one. Paddling at an angle to the wind also presents challenges requiring braces and remaining flexible. I practiced every which way looking for uncomfortable situations and working them to gain greater experience with my boat control. Conditions were perfect for exploring and learning.

One interesting effect I hadn't felt before was how my boat would find a groove in which it was most comfortable heading up-wind. Bear off too far and the wind began pushing the bow of the boat off the waves setting it into a slight sideways spin requiring correction. Head up too far into the wind and the boat would begin pounding into the steep waves and burying its bow. But a happy groove existed at a point just below the angle where the bow was caught and pushed downwind yet off the wind enough to soften out the steepness of the on-coming wave. At that spot the boat was really happy. Cutting the waves at this angle was pleasant, the boat maintained its heading with little correction and my progress upwind was considerably easier. It was like that spot when you're wind-surfing and everything comes together perfectly. Finding the same groove on the opposite tack enabled me to rapidly move up the lake to my destination. I hadn't realized such a spot existed before, although reflecting back to my paddle in big waves going around Manitoulin, I recall something similar. I just never was conscious of it until now.

A great day on the water, full of learning and satisfaction!

28/100

Playground Earth

I got one of those emails today requesting me to sign a petition to get the Canadian government off its butt and commit to doing something serious about global climate change. Even the dead have begun to feel its effects which says a lot about the powers-that-be in Ottawa these days. Arctic graveyards are being reclaimed by the sea, rising ocean temperatures are creating monster storms. The list of nasties goes on.

I know we all love to paddle, and many of us Westerners are fortunate enough to be able to fly to distant places to do it, but should we be adding to the planet's woes by doing this more than once in a while? My take is yes, go on your trip, but travel with moderation in mind. Once a year ought to be enough most of the time. There are people who regularly fly overseas several times a year to paddle, present or teach. They are a minority, granted, but I think it's time even they stop and reconsider. Could the presenting and teaching be done more locally by equally competent people? Would it be as effective to present your 'talk' via a real-time video link or simply as a DVD home-theater style show? Do you really need to paddle more than once a year in an exotic locale?

It's always easy to point the finger at the 'big carbon users' and say "naughty, naughty", but if we all change our habits slightly and think about new ways of doing things which reduce our personal carbon footprint, the net change in emissions will benefit us all, much more than if a few big offenders stop and we don't.

Okay, I'm off the soap-box. What do you think?

27/100

Some Days...

Do you have days every now and then, when nothing seems to go right? I went to get my rack set to put on the car. I was all set to head off to a new lake for a paddle. I found one of my car kayak racks on the floor of the shed. It had somehow fallen from its hook. Picking it up, I was surprised to see the plastic foot which rests on the car roof had broken. How could such a thing have happened? It seemed impossible, yet there it was in pieces just when I needed to use it.

I got the various part numbers and called SportRack using their 800 number. I spoke with someone for a few minutes and was told my part would arrive in a couple of days! Great service, to be sure. I was amazed at their service.

I happily headed out of the house to work on my SOF, only to discover while I was on the phone our puppy had managed to chew into the rubber pad on the bottom of the rack's foot! Back to the phone. Yup, they would include the pad with my order. What else was going to go wrong...?

So, I will be paddling on Lake Massawippi for the next few days. Meanwhile I'll be keeping the puppy away from the rack and I'll be checking to see why it fell off it's hook!

I put tung oil on the finished frame today and gave it a light sanding, checking especially that it was smooth wherever the canvas will touch the wood. Cover gets stretched on tomorrow and then comes the nasty job of sewing the long seam down the centerline. Pray for my fingers. They will suffer!

26/100

New Skin For SOF-2

Back in April 2006 - ya, '06! - I removed the skin from my second SOF boat. I wanted to reduce the volume and to give the boat a tighter fit and also lower the freeboard to make it an easier rolling boat by permitting more comfortable laybacks. I took off the old skin and reduced the ribs along its length, but then I stalled.

The more I worked with the frame, the less happy I was with it. The gunnel wood was heartwood and was beginning to split here and there and some of the ribs were iffy at best. So I hung the boat from the rafters of my workshop and went on to other projects. Two paddling seasons have passed with only my original SOF boat to paddle and frankly, I miss having a boat that I can happily mess about in (my original SOF is fine, but it 's very tippy, hates rolling back up and is way too high volume).

Yesterday, I took the frame down and in spite of its problems, I'm going to put a skin on it, paint it and take it to Delmarva in October. The picture shows me about to sand off the paint which worked its way through the original canvas cover. I'll add some slats under my feet to make it more comfortable to paddle and I'll redo the stern shape a bit. Hopefully the changes I've made to the hull will reduce its weathercocking tendencies as well.

25/100

Wonderful Children

Children have a special way of getting their parents - and other people as well - into doing the most incredible things. Yesterday morning my daughter wanted to bicycle to university. To do this meant getting up earlier than usual, and getting a lift to within an hour's ride to school. I was appointed 'driver'. Up we got at some ungodly hour and off we went to the dropoff point. A hug goodbye and off she went, leaving me out of the house, on the side of the road, miles from my warm bed, with nothing to do.


Or was I? Of course not! I drove over to the boathouse and was on the lake by 7:30 am. What a scene presented itself! The lake was still boiling off, the 'steam' caught in the glowing heat of the rising sun. The scat of over-nighting ducks and gulls drifted here and there, bubbles and downy feathers sailing down wind. I headed to town thinking that a shoreside coffee would be the final touch although I doubted anything could improve the morning. That meant paddling down stream a bit, passing under these two bridges. Beautiful! Incredible! Thanks, Erica!

24/100

All Kinds of Weather

Going paddling every day no matter what puts a person out in weather which, at first glance, suggests warm fires, good books, mulled wine and a hound at one's feet. Of course paddling for a minimum of one hour in that sort of weather, allows for all things. It was mindful of these thoughts that I headed out to joust with the wind and waves on Lake Massawippi the other day. Great fun! The wine was carefully mulled with a dash of lemon and cinnamon, the hounds - French Spaniels - respectfully quiet, the book, something Italian in the vein of Bocaccio's intrigues of the Rennaisance. A wonderful day.

23/100