Sea Kayak Specialists Blog

Spring has officially arrived in the U.P. (and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere). You might not notice it at first glance in the woods or down by Lake Superior or the numerous inland lakes – there is still lots of snow and ice. But, if you know what you are looking for, you can see spring everywhere.

The days are getting long – with the early daylight savings time, it is light till close to 9:00 p.m. already. The light is different in the spring than in the winter, so everything looks, well, just a little different. The snow is different – spring skiing and snow shoeing is some of the best of the season, in my opinion. Temps are more moderate, the snow is packed down, and you can often glide or shoe just about anywhere through the backcountry (as long as you aren’t in the middle of a tag alder swamp, where gliding is a bit tough). I also saw some snow fleas today when out skiing – a sure sign of spring. It looks as if the snow is just a bit dirty, or speckled with black pepper. But, if you take the time to look, you see the black specs are really little critters jumping about.

There are more sunny days – and my car will warm right up when parked in an open area. And when the sun shines and the sky is clear, the big Lake is so very, very blue. Contrasted against the white snow and ice pack on the edges and floating around, it is quite spectacular and inviting. I haven’t made it out in my kayak yet this season, and have some personal obligations which will keep me from getting out for a week or so yet. However, I did go to Presque Isle last week – walking along the ice pack and looking at potential launching sites. At this time of year, things can change fast – or slow – depending on the weather. A few warm days and a big storm will change things dramatically. More moderate temps and calm winds, and things could continue this way for weeks. It is always a gamble… when will the ice go out? Catching some good ice paddling is always a priority each spring.

Spring paddling is a good reason to go to a few pool sessions. I don’t want to be out in the cold weather and cold water amongst ice flows without having been in my boat for several months. A few pool sessions does wonders – get a bit of practice, a feel for the boat and it’s edge, some practice with rescues and rolling. The cold spring paddling becomes a bit less daunting.

Nancy

Yep that’s me among some of the 3rd graders from Superior Hills Elementary School here in Marquette. To celebrate St Pattys Day, they all wore green. As you know, everyone is Irish on St Pattys day and one of them even changed their name to Sean O’Johnson. This photo was taken after they saw my slide show on paddling around Ireland and had a boiled meal consisting of ham, potato, cabbage and carrots – just as one of their teachers had while growing up 2nd generation Irish-American.

Skellig Michael was the main reason for my wanting to paddle Ireland. Interestingly, the 6th century monastery was also their favorite and brought out the most questions – How many lived there? (about 12 they think) How did they cut the rocks? (with chisels probably) Were you allowed to go inside the huts? (yes) How many huts did you go inside? (all of them) I felt like that after I first heard about Skellig Michael at the 1991 Bayfield Symposium.

These kids surprised me by their interest in a place 3000+ miles away. But they also surprised with me with something else. You see, I instruct mostly adults or teenagers. These were 8 year olds. Most 8 years old I know I pick up and throw into the air. They laugh and then run off. Being around these kids showed me there really isn’t much of a difference between an 8 year old or a 46 year old like myself.

Except that it’s not as easy to pick me up and throw me into the air…

sam

During the month of August 2006, there were some incredible days for surfing in Marquette. The sessions have blurred together but I remember one ride where I barely caught the wave. It was steep for sitting on the lip with the bow below me, I was literally standing on my foot pegs before gravity took over and I hurled down the face. Waves on this day were big enough to allow me to carve turns and maneuver around on the wave face – a definite rarity in my 17.5′ NDK Explorer.

With waves this big, they punish you severely for making mistakes. One learns which way to turn at the end of a ride and where to avoid getting maytagged. But you still get caught from time to time and pay a heavy price. But catching great waves like this creates a powerful addiction, especially during the warm water and air temperatures of august. One surfs until sunset, fatigue or the waves start to diminish.

It was during another session on another day – something inside me was off. I caught an ok ride on my first wave but my performance sounded a warning. My timing, boat control and strength made it seem as if my body was in a fog. Turns out, I had food poisoning but didn’t know it until later. I headed out for another ride and by the time I reached the line up, knew something was wrong and made the decision to take out after this ride. But wouldn’t you know it, I caught a dream ride, one of many that august. It was a long, carving ride on the beautiful face of a 8′ wave.

As I pulled off the wave I was stoked, I immediately started to turn to go back out and catch another ride. But, I had trouble turning the boat. The final waves of the set made it difficult to turn around in the near shore break. Once again, my physical state became obvious – I shouldn’t be here. As a lull between sets started, I could have easily paddled out again. I was teased and chastised as the same time but more importantly, I was given a choice. Sitting there with my heart pumping, adrenaline flowing and strength ebbing, I turned to go in.

I consider that moment a warning about greed. Perhaps I could have continued surfing that day without incident. But I know what it is like to get maytagged in surf that big. One can get pulled out of the boat in the powerful hydraulics. The boat can get tumbled end over end. You can roll up only to be immediately knocked over by the next wave. Waves that big can feel like they are ripping your helmet, PFD and paddling jacket off. As a swimmer after getting pulled out of the boat, I’ve been pinned to the bottom by breaking waves despite the buoyancy of my PFD and neoprene wetsuit. All of that becomes a different situation when one is not at the top of one’s game as I was that day.

At times in life we dance on the edge of a razor, one fall away from a bad situation. I drove home that day happy with that one ride but wished for more. As the effects of the food poisoning grew, that changed – I knew I had gotten lucky dancing.

sam