It's Time to Go Messing About.

Do not sit and stare at this screen... I am not here.
I'm with the thousand winds that blow.
I'm with the diamond glints on the waves.
I'm looking at the sunlight on the hills.
I'm standing in the gentle rain that falls.
I'm listening to the morning's hush, the quiet birds in circling flight.
I'm basking in the soft star shine at night.
So don't stare at this screen.
I am not here...
I'm paddling!

Yup, it's time that I went messing about in my boat. I'm heading off to Canada's maritime provinces to paddle for the next six weeks or so, maybe more. Posting will be sporatic at best, if at all. I suggest you all go paddling too! In any event, take care of each other, paddle well!

Why Are You Out There?

Two ships belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company trading with some Inuit in the Savage Islands in 1819. Robert Hood did the drawing. I suppose he had a reason for being there, but what would you have answered to the same question, 'Why are you out there?'

William Longyard in his book A Speck on the Sea attempts to answer that question. In fact, he gives 8 possible places to go looking for a reason. Here they are. You can slot yourself in wherever you find a good fit...
.
1 - Survival - Being out wasn't your idea, but staying alive is.
2 - Curiosity - You had to finally learn what was around that point in the distance.
3 - Money - That's why the Hudson's Bay Company was out there!
4 - Political - You're escaping from a regime that's oppressing you.
5 - Technical - You just have to test the new gadget you've designed.
6 - Personal - Tired of being a whimp, you're going to prove them wrong.
7 - Quest - Tired of your dull life, you set out on a quest for something better.
8 - Fame - You hunger to be known and admired by others.

So there you have it. Slot yourself in and wonder no longer. We all fall into one or more of these categories at some point or another. We may even slip from one to another as time and trips go by. That's okay, just as long as you're out there, having fun, building skills and confidence with a smile on your face and a fire in your heart.

This and That

Remember the syllabic writing on the new In-uit kayaks I wrote about a while back? It's been bugging me as I couldn't translate them into anything meaningful. I appealed to friends better equiped than me with the Inuit language. Here's one of the replies I've gotten back...

As for the inscription on the bow of the kayak...masaitila...there are no
diacritical marks inserted between the syllabics; but I know there is a word
from the Pond Inlet area "maksaijuq" meaning to put a child to sleep by
singing a lullaby. "ti" is the infix for a person or the means to do
something. So up to now that would give "the singer of lullabies". The last
syllable, "la"...if we had the final diacritic, it would be easier to
decipher. It could be either one of the diametrically opposing things.
If it is "laaq", then it would mean "small", the "smallest" and it could
have connotations of endearnment. If it is "laq" it would be the "biggest",
the  "best".  So, we have either "the sweet little lullabier" or "the best
lullabier of them all".  This is, of course, pure speculation. The root of
the word might mean something completely different and of which I am totally
ignorant.
In Nunavik (northern Quebec) there are a couple of similarly written (in syllabics) roots:

    masak - wet falling snow
   
    matsaq - can, as far as I know, mean three things:
 
                - water-logged snow - "slush"
                        which gives matsaatuq - to ice the sled runners
                        to make them slide easier onver the snow -
                        Could this be it? The little kayak that glides over
                        the waves. or The fastest kayak???
            - it can also mean the "earlobe"
            - it can also mean the "spleen"
Needless to say, none of these possible meanings suggests the 'Excite' idea which I understand is the English name for this particular boat. So until Aled gets in touch, the mystery of the syllabic lettering will remain. If you haven't, check out Simon Willis's blog (see right column) to hear his podcast with Aled and others about this new boat.

On another front...

After learning about the very interesting new Ocean Paddler magazine coming out of England, I wrote enquiring about a possible electronic version which would save me some clutter at home and possibly a few dollars as well. Here is the reply I got from Graham Beckram...

Hi Michael,
 
thanks for the feedback, and the support. I'm sorry that the magazine is a little expensive - it would be useful to know where you are? I suspect the US/Canada? If so, yep, we have a problem with the high value of the pound to the dollar at the mo.
 
Online magazines are in their infancy in the UK and at least one canoeing magazine has faired badly with experimenting with them. However, it's something that we're keeping an eye on, and your feedback will encourage this.
 
Anyway, thanks once again.
 
Bertie..

Fair enough, I guess. Hopefully if enough people show interest in receiving the new magazine in digital format, then they'll be willing to satisfy us.

Oh, the photo? Just a cloudy, cold, miserable day today, good for staying close to the fire blogging about nothing in particular.

Glen Villa

This is a short video I made the other day on Lake Massawippi where I keep my kayak and frequently paddle. It films the remains of an old pier which was once the steamer dock for the Glen Villa Hotel, a well loved watering hole which was destroyed by fire in the early 1900's. The boat house located at the end of the pier housed a casino and bar and remains of pottery can still be found along the shore from time to time.

I intend to film various places of interest around the lake and put them together on a DVD once I've done. Glen Villa Brook, the Cliffs at Black Point and the Bridges in North Hatley are the beginning of this effort. I hope to do something similar with the videos I make on my travels this summer.

This clip was filmed with my Oregon mini-camera mounted on the Sticky-Pod post. The film downloads in AVI format which I then edit using iMovie, adding the title etc. Once the editing is finished, I 'Share' the results in the highest resolution setting to the Desktop and then open it as a Quicktime video. From this point, I use QT to compress the film in this case for YouTube. I use QT's 'Export' MP4 setting using the optional H.264 format with a frame rate of 30 fps. Once saved, I then upload to YouTube. What you see is the result after they arrange it for viewing.

Thought you might like to know what I've learned. The quality seems to be improving... I believe.

Stern Wheels

I bought some wheels for my kayak recently made by Washburne Marine Products of Seattle. I took them for a spin today to see how they'd perform. They're not the heavy duty folding kayak cart available elsewhere, nor do they cost anyway near as much. However for a compact, lightweight, take-apart cart made to support only the stern of the kayak, I was pleased with how well they performed. I pulled the unladen boat over some grassy beach areas as well as along a rutted gravel beach, all without any problems or difficulty.

I noticed that Paddling.net has posted a couple of reviews of the Washburne 'Stern Wheels'. One of the reviews was favourable, the other not. I suspect the latter reviewer did not attach the cord running from the axel to the cockpit correctly and this may have caused the problem.


As the wheels easily detach, I might look around for some slightly bigger diameter ones and perhaps fatter ones as well, especially if I find myself in sandy areas like in Prince Edward Island in the next few weeks. From what I've been told, tidal flats can result in long carries, so I'm hoping fatter wheels will work better than the standard skinny ones might.

I wouldn't suggest stuffing the cart into the cockpit like this while paddling, but enclosed in a suitable bag and pushed up against the forward bulkhead, they ought to be out of the way, yet easy to reach when needed. All the parts are made of a tough plastic. The exception is the axel which is a non-corroding solid metal bar.

Go Camping, Go Cheap!

Like to go RVing, but, like me, you've no money to do it with? Here's a possible answer, the Go-Camp trailor. I've never seen one of these mini-campers, but if standing headroom isn't a necessity, this might be the answer. I assume one can eat, sleep and so on in one of these things, at least when the outside weather turns completely foul. Personally, I'm looking for something a bit larger...

Multi Camera Filming

The video I posted earlier in the week was taken with my 'calm weather' camera set-up. In the picture on the left, it's the video-cam sitting on top of the post. Unprotected from the elements, it produced quality images, but would never survive a dunking or a rainy outing. The other advantage is that I can turn it on and off with a remote which I keep in an AquaPac case. Very handy.

Lower down on the post is my mini-cam sold by Oregon Scientific. It, on the other hand, is totally waterproof, easily able to take a roll or two or a wild surf landing. The quality of the image is not as high, but that is the price one presently pays for protection these days.

I filmed the cliff scene with both cameras simultaneously to see the difference. The video-cam was able to capture a better picture as it uses multiple points of the image for detecting light levels and adjusts accordingly. The mini-cam seems to use only a single point light level detection system so that a mix of cliff and sky in the image results in the cliff being very dark and the sky being very bright. This was the difficulty I experienced in Florida during the winter with the Viosport lens. Both the Oregon and Viosport lenses can be improved slightly using a polarizing filter, but only marginally in my experiments with them to date. Each time I go out, I learn new things. I guess I'm still a young video dog!

Both cameras have a 'quick-release' feature which enables me to attach and un-attach them quickly.

Tuesday's Cliffside Paddle

Enjoy.

Not Too Terrible

Dan Simmons, in his novel The Terror has written an interesting account of Sir John Franklin's last voyage, the one where he and his two ships the Erebus and Terror and all the crew vanished into the arctic ice back in 1845. I say interesting because he does an admirable job of arranging the few known, but often confusing, facts into a somewhat logical story sequence. Much of what he writes could have been the way it actually happened.

At the same time, Simmon's use of the fantastical and mystical, his bear 'monster' and the interplay of Inuit mythical stories takes much away from the account. It makes for a good story, but one that most Franklin fans will toss out after reading. For myself, I'd read it again for the assemblage of facts, skipping over the rest. As I bought the 'electronic' paperless version of the book, I might just do a little re-writing of my own!

Paddling in the Rain

I went kayaking today in the rain. Yesterday was sunny and breezy and would have been a better day to be out on the water, but I had other obligations. Anyway, the lake was probably full of motor boats and so on, just the sort of thing I like to avoid.

As I was getting the boat in the water and setting up my video equipment, a canoe and kayak passed me and called out, "Are you the 'web-kayaker'?" At first, I wasn't sure what they meant, but after we spoke for a bit, it was clear they'd visited this blog, but had no idea who I actually was. We chatted for a while and then paddled off on our separate ways. It gave me an odd feeling, being recognized like that! I suppose some people get that all the time, but it was a new experience for me. Interesting.

I was anxious to try out a new camera set-up I'd made for filming my little videos. After paddling around for about an hour, I returned back to boathouse for a look. Everything was upside down! I headed out again with the lens properly orientated and tried again. This time, the camera must have stopped filming early as I captured only a few moments of video, mostly getting the camera set-up on the deck, and so on. Not really vintage footage! I'll have another go next time I'm out. I'm anxious to improve the quality of these little films so they're worth seeing. I'm getting closer, but still have a ways to go before I'm happy with the results.

Update! Since posting the picture above and given some of the goings on in the small world of kayak blogging, it's interesting to look again at the picture. Clearly it suggests to us that there's 'My Point' of view, 'Your Point' of view, the 'Observers Point' of view and finally 'What's-the-Point'. Four points, four opinions. Time to move on, I think. It's rained long enough.

Diversity, the Food of Life

Nice little stream, wouldn't you say? It could be one of the streams that made up the old Indian canoe routes that criss-crossed northern New England and my part of Canada in the old days. Last evening, my wife and I walked our dog along an old rail bed now converted to a biking trail that parallels the stream for a good part of its length. As pretty as it is, it's not really suitable for paddling on. It's full of nasties, some left over from industries now long since closed and today farms pump tons of nutrients into it by refusing to provide buffer areas along its banks. These nutrients were the major cause of the cyano-bacterial outbreak on my lake last summer which prevented whole towns from drinking the water.

The book cover pictured to the left is by Barbara Kingsolver. It is a wonderful read, but a sad one as well. It describes how we are ruining ourselves, depleating our planet of its diversity and its food sources. Like the stream, it tells the story of our greed and thoughtlessness. At the same time, it holds hope. The stream could be repaired and brought back to its pristine glory, if we want. Kingsolver talks about how her life and that of her family were enriched by searching out 'real' food sources, grown and bought locally, in season, then cooked and eaten for its taste. They discovered that eating food shipped from one side of the planet to the other was ill-advised, unnecessary not to mention, tasteless!


Finally, like this marsh, life can become rich in its diversity. The trend towards mono-culturism,


agri-business and long shelf-life vegetables for pill-popping couch potatoes doesn't have to happen. But it will if we do nothing.

Lineages, Yours or Theirs?

As many of you know, a new kayak manufacturer has appeared in England called 'In-uit Kayaks' From what I gather, the boats being produced by this company have an excellent lineage running from Nigel Dennis boats, to the Rockpool 'Alaw' boats. I suspect the new 'In-uit' line will carry on the fine reputation these earlier designs enjoy.

As I have an interest in the Canadian arctic and the Inuit who live there, some time ago, I wrote to Aled Williams, the man behind this new company asking for some information regarding the company name and the appearance of the syllabic script used on the boats. I have yet to hear from him, but perhaps he'll eventually get around to writing. It would be interesting to know the answers to my several questions. For example, I wondered why the company would chose to use the word 'In-uit' and to borrow (and perhaps copy-right) the inukshuk symbol for a company logo when neither is of English origin (nor Polish, where the boats are made). Surely these belong more properly to another culture which does not seem to have any involvement with the company. As well, my Inuit friends tell me the syllabic scripts used do not seem to make any sense, at least in the Canadian Inuktitut dialects they know. The two words appearing on the prototype read masaitila and pirinatinatijapila, but what do they mean? Why are they written on boats designed in England and built in Poland?

Perhaps I'm being picky. Like many others, I'd like to see this company enjoy success in the kayaking world, but I'm concerned about how they seem to have begun that journey. Surely taking something they don't own to promote that success is not wise.

Working On The 'List'.

I received news recently that my plan to paddle for several weeks in Georgian Bay, Ontario has run into doubt. While I have not heard from two of the participants, the third has regretfully had to put the trip off for at least a year. The remaining paddlers may still wish to do part of the trip, although neither was committed to it in its entirety, a complete circumnavigation of the bay.

This leaves my August paddling plans up in the air a bit. However, like many people I have a 'little list' of potential paddling trips I'd love to do. I mentioned the Lower North Shore of Quebec a while ago, a trip I'd dearly love to finish one day, given a suitable paddling partner. Here is another trip on my list, the lake formed when the Manic 5 dam was built on the Manicougan River which drops down to Baie Comeau on the St Lawrence River in Quebec. The impoundment lake thus formed has created a circular body of water, the result of an ancient meteorite impact. From what I've heard, the area is a geological wonderland well worth the time it would take to paddle. The distance around is roughly 120 miles or 200 kms making it a great week's outing. This would provide sufficent time to see all the wonders reputed to exist on the shoreline.

Interested in coming along? Or are you having trouble with your 'trip list' as well a list as well?

Like 'Inuk' Father, Like 'Chinese' Son

My son (on the left) has spent the last university year on an student exchange in Singapore. During his New Year break he and his cousin, also on an exchange, spent some time hiking in the mountains of Yunnan Province of southwestern China. At his age I was learning to hunt with the Inuit, another sort of adventure entirely. I think it is such a wonderful experience to get out and 'rough it' while you're young. Once the die is set, a lifetime of pleasure will be gained from knowing how to travel and how to mix with people very different culturally from yourself.


At this point, they have managed to hike the gorge practically up to the Tibetan border. The building here is in Lijiang and is typical of the Tibetan style found in the area.


Hiking back in Montreal? No. The boys flew over to the city of Chengdu in central China to meet up with a young Chinese lady they both knew when attending McGill University. She had gone home for the holidays and offered to show the boys around her home town. Chinese students are also getting out and exploring the world and then bringing home their skills and memories to fashion their lives with. Good for them!

Incidently, both boys took it upon themselves to learn to speak Chinese. Between the two of them, they managed to meet all their needs, one filling in the missing word for the other. My son is now back in China for the summer using his new language skills to make his way in the hustle-bustle of the land.

Massa-Rip-Pi!

This photo is another in my little historical series from Lake Massawippi. Again the time period is the late 1800's, a time when there were several steam boats on the lake. Some were privately owned. Others were owned by some of the large hotels on the lake and used to transport guests - mostly Americans coming from the southern States to escape the summer heat - from the village train station to the hotel. Several of these boats sunk in the lake and, in younger days, my brother and I learned how to scuba dive while exploring the depths looking for them. We found one and spent many hours playing 'Jacques Custeau' games with it.

By the turn of the century, many of these Americans began to buy property and build summer homes. In fact the northwestern side of the lake seen here in the background, became known as the 'American Side'. Many of these cottages still stand today and a few are still owned by the descendents of the original Americans.

Besides steam boating, canoes were very popular and the 'American Club' was formed to take advantage of the canoe with various outings and racing scheduled each summer. Over time, they discovered sailboats and held weekly races on Sunday afternoons. Much of this sport is now gone, replaced by water-skiing and jet-skis. I paddle one of the few kayaks to be seen on the lake, but rising gas prices might soon add to the numbers shortly...

Well, Lookie, Lookie!

For years we've caught fleeting glimpses of the colourful Baltimore Oriole around our place, but we've never seen one long enough to be captured one on film. They would often nest in the copse across the road, but again we only knew that by finding their nests in the late fall when they'd long since left. They seemed impossible to find in the foliage at other times of the year. That all changed today.

I mentioned at dinner last night that I had caught yet another glimpse of this elusive bird.This morning after walking the dog, my wife cut an orange in half and nailed each half to some liliac branches I had trimmed last fall. Within a few minutes we had success. The picture tells the tale. What a beautiful bird!

Historical Views

North Hatley - 1893
I recently came across some old pictures of North Hatley, the town at the outlet of Lake Massawippi where I paddle so frequently. What suddenly struck me was the old railway bridge. Could this bridge be the same bridge I paddle under so often? Certainly the design remains the same, but as there is a 114 span between the two pictures, so surely the posts have been replaced during that interval, but no one I've asked can remember it being done.


North Hatley - 2007
Another interesting feature is how the early settlers in the early 1800's managed to cut most of the original forests down and create fields. These fields still existed at the turn of the century, but today the forests have grown back especially around the shorelines.

Moody Lake

A quiet day, rainy, moody, awkward,
Sun denied, filled with remembered
Smells of earthy richness.
Dreams of missing friends.

Un Weekend Par Excellence!

Saturday!

Sunday!

Doesn't Look That Warm to Me...

... But it's getting there! And that's not good news. This man, Simon Qamanirq, who had his picture taken on the trail out of Pangnirtung heading into the Auyuituq National Park recently, has just arrived in Igloolik along with the other members of Will Steger's Global Warming 101 project. I suspect he and his companions would have much to say about how rapidly the north is warming up compared to just a few years ago.

If you haven't already visited their site, check out Nunablog, Ian and Jennifer's blog from Igloolik. Lots of fun things have been going on there recently as well as the arrival of Simon and his friends.