Greenland Paddling in Fast Tidal Water

Here's a video clip that might cause envy in more ways in one.

Not only is the paddler remarkably cool in this localized tidal race, so too are the short video's keen production values: the transitions and use of archival clips, the music and pacing, the simple titles.

Andrew, the editor, is a west coast paddler. The video, of Warren Williamson was shot in the tidal race at Deception Pass, Between Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands in Puget Sound, Washington (U.S.).

Andrew keeps a blog at Dash Point Pirate:

Kayak navigation podcast: Lighthouses and NOAA Charts

Above: Gurnet Light at Duxbury Beach, a spit barrier beach on the south shore of Massachusetts along the eastern shores of New England, in the US. In the foreground, SPOT gps text and email messaging beacon (read related Sea Kayaking Dot Net posts).

Below: the generic NOAA nautical chart symbol for a lighthouse used on NOAA. The symbol is always accompanied by a code describing the lighthouse's flash pattern, height, and range of visibility.

I've just published on Associated Content an eight-minute podcast on NOAA charts and how lighthouses are marked and coded.

Lighthouses are as usefual an aid to navigation during the day as they are at night. Typically their associated shoals, island or mainland shorelines offer some sort of protection from heavy weather.

Podcasting is new to me. You can listen to the podcast at Associated Content and download or listen to it through Podbean.

copyright 2009 Just Another Guy Named Dave BlogCatalog

Kayak Lesson: Alaska, 1958

Color video footage from Alaska's state archives. Note how both father and son carefully scrape the sand and pebbles from their feet before stepping into the cockpit.

Note also the single-bladed paddle, particular to Alaska, as far as I can tell, and the badairka shape to the kayak's bow.

Skin boats have a long history in North America, and come in all shapes and sizes. Harvey Golden is the contemporary expert and documenter.

The other contemporary expert source is Adney's Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America, documenting and describing skin boats and showing lofted lines and construction methods.



The modern day kayaker can build a remarkably fast and able, lightweight skin boat. The skin boat's one disadvantage is the difficulty of fitting out with watertight bulkheads, to prevent the kayak from flooding after a wet exit -- which likely explains why skin boat enthusiasts are such avid rollers.



Skin boats are remarkably tough, as the video Don't try this with a wooden or fiberglass boat shows:



2009 Just Another Guy Named Dave
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Extended Paddle, one-handed and c-to-c rolls

Vintage footage (1928) from the Alaska states archives showing native skinboat sea kayakers demonstrating extended paddle, one-handed, and c-to-c rolls.

Note the remarkably short single-blade paddles akin to canoe paddles, a far cry from the lengthy and high-speed two-bladed paddles used by West Greenland hunters, and much in favor these days by modern-day Greenland style sea kayaking enthusiasts.

Speaking of life among native Alaskans, there's a new book out, a memoir, by native Inupiaq Alaskan William L. Iggiaruk Hensley: Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People.

Hensley was born to a native Inupiaq family in Alaska and grew up on the Bering Sea, 30 miles from the Arctic Circle, during the 1940's and 1950's.

Reviewer Dwight Garner, writing in the world's greatest newspaper, calls the book both harrowing and a sturdy primer on cold-weather survival:

Hensley writes observantly about the killing and cleaning of seals, about constructing sod houses, about making toys from the talons of an owl and brooms from its wings, and about the intricacies of making coffee each morning by chopping chunks of ice to make water.

Read an excerpt from the book or read Garner's review. Or better yet, take the bull by the horns and buy the book:


And if you like the soundtrack to the video, Suction, you can download it for the whopping sum of .89 cents.
video footage: Alaska state archives
copyright 2009 Just Another Guy Named Dave
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When We Get Rescued: Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers and Wire Hoists

A rough cut of a 3-minute movie I'm putting together on what to expect if the Coast Guard arrives via helicopter (as recently happened off Massachusetts and numerous times off California) to pluck us out of the water after we get into trouble and we broadcast a vhf 16 mayday or someone calls in a rescue on our behalf.

The AST (the rescue swimmer who jumps) waits for a clearing in the surf. The flight mechanic (at the helicopter door) runs the rescue by commands and updates to the pilot and co-pilot.

If we're rescued by helicopter, we are either pulled out of the water by wire hoist and horse collar harness, piggyback-style with the rescue swimmer (as shown here), or by other means, such as in a rescue basket, in a sequence to be shown later.

This footage and multiple takes were shot during rescue practice sessions in large surf off Oregon, the US Pacific northwest.

The rescue personnel are identified in the closing credits.

This is still a rough cut - I'm trying to learn how to edit video clips for continuity and pace.

Related books and gear:

John Lull on sea kayaking safety:
Sea Kayaking: Safety & Rescue
and
Sea Kayaking Safety & Rescue: the Essential Guide for Beginners Through Experts

US Pacific Northwest sea kayaking:
Kayak Routes of the Pacific Northwest Coast: From Northern Oregon to British Columbia's North Coast
and
Canoe and Kayak Routes of Northwest Oregon: Including Southwest Washington

Handheld submersible VHF radio:
Standard Horizon HX270S Handheld VHF Radio
a good deal, (under $100), on a submersible handheld vhf radio
copyright 2009 Just Another Guy Named Dave
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Massachusetts inshore kayaking: Chubb and Misery Islands

Above: King Island, Alaska native lands and prepares to dress his catch of a seal in the ice floes. Seasonal icepack renders kayaking in the area inshore during some seasons, offshore during others. Alaska State Archives photo.

Manchester, Massachusetts’ Chubb Island, Misery Island and West Beach

Chubb Island's shallows and perimeter are a scenic spot you'll pass on the way to West Beach from inner Manchester harbor. Heavily vegetated, Chubb is imprinted with the same signatures that mark all of the other islands (nearly a dozen) of nearby Salem Sound. Round, steep-sided, difficult to land on, Chubb Island is a lovely, magical spot close to shore.

Inland of the island, about two hundred yards to the northwest, lies empty shoreline broken by a creek which leads inland to marshes bisected by the rail line that connects Boston to Manchester, Gloucester and Rockport. (The rail line also serves Lynn, Beverly, Beverly Farms, Montserrat and other towns north of Boston, making the North Shore home to many downtown Boston office workers.)

There are few warnings or caveats for Chubb Island other than a reminder to be circumspect if you make the trip in a gusty northwest wind from the island to the Misery Islands about a half-mile offshore. The trip out will be fast, easy, quick, with a lively tail wind and nice chop pushing you along. The trip back can prove quite challenging, if you're not in good physical condition and are short of roughwater paddling skills. It’s a trip to consider carefully: if after paddling to the Misery Islands you take a break on the islands, you won't know how much the wind has increased until you’ve emerged from the islands’ sheltered coves. Northwest winds can pose a considerable challenge here to the inexperienced. Northwesterlies blow offshor, and if you get into trouble, that’s where you’re going to end up: offshore.

West Beach, about a quarter mile west of Chubb Island, can be a good place to put in during the fall, when the parking lot’s regulations are rarely enforced. Keep in mind that it's a long carry from the West Beach parking lot to the water. You'll want a friend or kayak cart to help make the carry easier.

An unnamed beach inshore and northwest of Chubb Island makes for a good place to land and stretch your legs. The best landing is at the westerly end of the unnamed beach, near the train tracks.

Chubb Island location:
Lat 42°33'38.12"N
Long 70°47'50.57"W

copyright 2009 Just Another Guy Named Dave
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