Wavelength Kayaking Magazine: Fall 2008

WaveLength
Your complete kayaking resource
MAGAZINE
8 Oceans
Chronicles of
Jon Bowermaster's
kayak journeys
across the globe
Water trails:
Paddling Florida's
PM 41687515
Great Calusa Blueway
Plus: Volume 18, Issue 4

Skills • New gear Fall 2008
Day trips • Conservation Free at select outlets
Ecology • Health and nutrition or by subscription
2 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCT0BER-DECEMBER 2008
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 3
The First Word by John Kimantas
WaveLength Wavelength enters a third era MAGAZINE
As I write this, all I have to show for being the new Wavelength editor
Fall 2008 Volume 18, Number 4
PM No. 41687515
is this one sentence.
And it couldn't feel more like home.
Editor – John Kimantas editor@wavelengthmagazine.com
About ten years ago or so I was a fledgling paddler on a press tour
Copy Editing – Darrell Bellaart of Discovery Island courtesy the now-defunct Oak Bay Beach Hotel.
Advertising sales – Frank Croft Alan Wilson, then-owner of Wavelength Magazine, happened to be
frank@wavelengthmagazine.com along for the ride as well. While being boated in comfort in a yacht on
Vere Shute
vere@wavelengthmagazine.com a particularly windy day across Plumper Passage, I remember chatt ing
with Alan briefly about the amazingly light carbon fibre paddle he had
Writing not otherwise credited is by WL staff. along for the trip. I seem to recall telling him about how I was planning on buying my fi rst kayak in
Cover Photo: Barry Tessman, the next few weeks.
permission courtesy Jon Bowermaster Who would have thought, a decade later, here I'd be, inheriting Alan's legacy. And what an
incredible decade it has been, all thanks to kayaking.
SAFE PADDLING is an individual responsibility. We
recommend that inexperienced paddlers seek expert Wavelength couldn't be a better place to end up. My fi rst stroke of luck was being transferred
instruction and advice about local conditions, have all the
required gear and know how to use it. The publishers of this
to Vancouver Island in 1993. I found myself in the midst of this outdoor recreation heaven, so
magazine and its contributors are not responsible for how naturally hiking, then kayaking, became my passion. In 2003 I took a chance by taking the
the information in these pages is used by others.
WAVELENGTH is an independent magazine available free
summer off work to paddle the outer coast of Vancouver Island. Eighty-six days of paddling and a
at hundreds of print distribution sites (paddling shops, lot of research and writing later, I had a publisher for The Wild Coast, a guidebook for the west coast
outdoor stores, fitness clubs, marinas, events, etc.), and
globally on the web. Also available by subscription. of Vancouver Island. Whitecap Books quickly asked if I'd like to explore the coast some more for
Articles, photos, events, news are all welcome. some follow-up volumes. Who could refuse? So in subsequent years volumes 2 and 3 of The Wild
Download back issues and articles online at
Coast series were born. Then a series of coastal atlases.
www.wavelengthmagazine.com With one more professional dream left to fulfi ll, a bit earlier this year I launched my own
creation, Wild Coast Magazine (you can read it at www.wildcoastmagazine.com; astute readers
SUBSCRIBE may notice some Wild Coast traits creeping into Wavelength, for which I offer no apologies. I
$20 FOR 1 YEAR – 4 ISSUES
$35 FOR 2 YEARS – 8 ISSUES think the two magazines create a great family). Around the time the fi rst Wild Coast Magazine
US$ FOR USA / CDN$ FOR CANADA came out I began an email exchange with Ron and Diana Mumford, the next owners of
TO SUBSCRIBE: SEE PAGE 41 Wavelength Magazine after Alan retired. A few more emails and a cup of coffee later we had a deal,
and so here I am. Knowing what I know now about magazines, I must thank Alan, Ron and Diana
ADVERTISING RATES AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES for all the hard work in gett ing Wavelength where it is today. So it's with a bit of trepidation and a
AVAILABLE AT WWW.WAVELENGTHMAGAZINE.COM lot of excitement I'm putt ing my own thumbprint on Wavelength. First is the change of agenda for
ISSUE AD DEADLINE DISTRIBUTION this issue, from warm-weather paddling to general interest. (Sorry, I had too many other stories to
Winter 2008 Oct. 15 Dec. 1 tell this issue. Watch for those articles soon.)
Spring 2009 Jan. 15 March 15 Some new things to watch for: more adventures; regular articles on ecology and conservation
Gear Guide 09 (new) Feb. 15 April 15 (two subjects close to my heart); a new Day Trip feature taking a practical approach on where
Summer 2009 April 1 June 1
Fall 2009 June 15 Aug. 15 to paddle (to eventually create a tapestry of trips across the continent); a look at amazing people
Winter 2009 Sept. 1 Nov. 1 (starting with Jon Bowermaster); a Health and Nutrition column (welcome Bruce!), and a new
feature called Options, which looks one step beyond the regular kayaking milieu to outriggers,
A product of: sails, whitewater, pedals or wherever else inventive minds take self-propelled watersports.
Wild Coast Publishing Of course, the many talented regular contributors to the magazine will remain Wavelength's
2101 Cinnabar Drive backbone. Watch for something for just about any interest – from new gear to kayak fishing.
Nanaimo, B.C., Canada, V9X 1B3 So welcome to the latest incarnation of Wavelength Magazine. I have a feeling it's going to be
Ph: 1-866-984-6437 • Fax: 1-866-654-1937
Email: info@wavelengthmagazine.com my best kayaking trip yet.
Website: www.wavelengthmagazine.com
- John Kimantas
© 2008. Copyright is retained on all material (text, photos and graphics) in this magazine.
No reproduction is allowed of any material in any form, print or electronic, for any purpose,
except with the permission of Wild Coast Publishing.
Printed on recycled ancient rainforest-free paper.
Some elements in maps in this magazine are reproduced with

the permission of Natural Resources Canada 2008, courtesy
of the Atlas of Canada. Also, our thanks to Geobase for some
elements that may appear on Wavelength maps.
Playing in Sansum Narrows,
Saltspring Island, with my partner
Leanne Chetcuti and paddler Carey Lockwood.

Contents
13 The eyes, ears and paddles of Cannery Row

Conservation REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS
by Meade Fischer 13
16 Cover feature: 8 Oceans Dan Armitage is a boating, fishing and
The journeys of Jon Bowermaster travel writer based in the Midwest. He is
by John Kimantas a licensed (USCG Master) captain, hosts a
syndicated radio show, and presents kayak
24 Great Calusa fishing and photography seminars at boat
Water Trails shows.
by Dan Armitage
28 A moment with manatees 16 Adam Bolonsky is a kayak fishing guide

Reflections and fitness expert, based near Gloucester,
by Matthew Crane Massachusetts.
30 Rigged out: outrigger canoes You can read Adam’s lively blog at
paddlingtravelers.blogspot.com
Options
by Sheila Porteous
34 Paddling Salt Lake City-style Dan Lewis operates Rainforest Kayak

Adventures in Tofino with Bonny Glambeck.
New Gear
250-984-2307
24
© Mark Hobson photo

by John Kimantas www.rainforestkayak.com
38 Paddle Meals
Go green with two fun salsas
by Hilary Masson
Hilary Masson, our Paddle Meals
40 A touch of Arizona in Nfld. contributor, is a guide and part owner of Baja
Kayak Adventure Tours Ltd.
Day Trip #1: the East Coast
www.bajakayakadventures.com
by Keith and Heather Nicol
42 Bliss near Seattle 40

Day Trip #2: Pacific Northwest
by Lisa A. Johnson Alex Matthews writes our paddling skills
columns. He has authored and co-authored
44 Launch from Nanaimo, turn left several kayaking skills books and has been
Day Trip #3: British Columbia involved in the design and development of kayaks.
by John Kimantas matthewsalex@hotmail.com
Columns and regular features:

Bryan Nichols is a marine biologist and
6 Letters 52 Ecology science writer from Vancouver Island who is
A kayaker's ode to the currently working on a PhD and a tan in Tampa.
9 News coconut He’d probably get done quicker if he wasn’t
trying to kayak around all of Florida’s Gulf Coast
46 Fishing Angles barrier islands.
A fish in the hand – 54 Skillset
and how to let go The sweep roll
Neil Schulman’s writing and photography
48 Navigation 56 Health and Nutrition have appeared in numerous magazines and
The ABCs of reading Food as medicine publications. He also does environmental work
© Wade Norton photo
charts in Portland, Oregon.

62 Books
51 Wildlife Dreaming in Nuchatlitz,
Appreciating the birds Fatal Tide and more

Feedback
Kayak fishing: I caught one! Now what?

To the editor,
In reviewing the article Trolling for Salmon? Letters to the editor are always
welcome. Please send them to 2101
Carry on, backwards
(Wavelength Summer 2007), Adam Bolonsky
made some good points but excluded one Cinnabar Drive, Nanaimo, BC, Canada To the editor,
or email to I was looking at some of the articles in
of the most important considerations when
editor@wavelengthmagazine.com. the Wavelength Magazine and noticed Alex
fishing from a kayak, that being where to put
the fish once you have caught it. Matt hews' article Getting Started – The Solo
Over the years of fishing cod and salmon I a dedicated dry bag between my legs in the Kayak Carry in the Winter 2007 edition and
have experimented with various approaches to cockpit. I prefer a tough 20-litre Baja bag for felt compelled to make a comment.
handling the catch while on the water. These this purpose. He writes about carrying the kayak so that
techniques varied from draping the fish across Th is method leaves the cockpit (and you) the bow is facing the direction the carrier is
my deck under the bungee, to simply dropping clean and only requires a quick wash of the going. Then he writes "Be particularly mindful
them into the cockpit. The fi rst method bag once back at shore. Here are a couple of of the stern of the boat, which is hard to see
resulted in an unstable paddling condition, as additional tips. over your shoulder."
the catch dragged in the water significantly, Always drop your catch in head fi rst to avoid I've been a paddler for over 30 years and
slowing the kayak. The second method resulted snagging sharp fi ns, and keep your skinny it didn't take me long to figure out that the
in a slimy mess that required a thorough shanks clear of the bag in the event that an balance point of the boat doesn't change
cleaning after each time out and left my unruly half-dead rock cod should seek revenge whether the bow or the stern is to the front.
kayak smelling way too fishy for comfortable with its dorsal fi n! Since the rudder is the most sensitive piece of
wilderness camping. Kelp beds and wind drift cost you in kit that I have on the boat, I want to see where I
After a few trips I discovered that the most lures, but fish and chips around a campfi re? am guiding it so when I carry my kayak, I carry
efficient system is to gaff the fish as opposed Priceless! it with the stern in front.
to nett ing it. "Bonk" it into submission at the Peter Brunning Food for thought.
side of the boat and then simply drop it into Vancouver, BC W.L. Bruce
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Doug ( CVK’s senior instructor ) and Jonathon ( CVK’s friend )

pictured 10 feet from successfully completing their circumnavigation of
Vancouver Island in their Nigel Dennis Explorers. (May 5th to July 6th, 2008)
Congradulations on this amazing accomplishment!And congradulations to
Anne and Penny (the significant others) for enduring all they did while
providing technical support for the voyage.
Read about it here: http://vancouverislandcircumnavigation.blogspot.com/
.com
kayakutopia
News
Work inches forward on B.C. marine trail

Imagine a network of landing and camping was ratified, raising the question of how this of First Nations, most of which still have
havens along the coastline of British Columbia could affect access for kayaking. It also raised unresolved land claim disputes on the coast.
within paddling distance of each other. That's the spectre that access to public land taken The Marine Trails Task Force has worked
the goal of the new B.C. Marine Trails Network for granted could be lost due to private land with the B.C. government to develop an
Task Force, a group with its eyes on 12,500 ownership and various types of commercial informational package to promote the
nautical miles of shore and the loft y dream of ventures – if steps aren't taken to preserve trails network to First Nations and coastal
creating the world's longest water trail. access. communities along the route, as well as other
An alliance of representatives of kayaking The fi rst meeting of clubs examining stakeholders.
clubs from across B.C., in partnership with the this issue took place in December 2007 Each club has taken on responsibility for
Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, in Vancouver. Shortly after the meeting, a section of coastline, with tasks involving
is working to develop this vision under the representatives of most of the largest identifying primary routes, some secondary
banner of the B.C. Marine Trails Network kayaking clubs on the Lower Mainland of B.C. routes and developing a campsite inventory. A
Task Force. A significant advantage in B.C. and Vancouver Island, plus a representative section of the West Coast of Vancouver Island,
is that 90 per cent of the land is owned by from Outdoor Recreation Council, formed the from Tofi no to Port Hardy, dubbed the West
the government. Sites on private land where B.C. Marine Trails Task Force. Th is affi liation Coast Marine Trail, has already been proposed
necessary will be included by agreements represents the interests of roughly 1,500 and presented to the province. It will be
between owners, communities and the kayakers and canoeists. The group's mandate proceeding through various channels in order
government. is to work cooperatively with government to to get the necessary sites designated as B.C.
Work towards a marine trail in B.C. develop a series of sites linking the coastline of Marine trails sites.
originally started in the early 1990s but B.C. to create a group of interconnected While the task force eyes greater local and
stalled due to lack of public awareness, and routes. An informational website will international support, political hurdles remain,
ultimately cutbacks within government. In fall eventually be developed as part of the trail particularly a changing political climate and no
2007 the fi rst coastal treaty between the B.C. progress. formal announcement of government buy-in,
Government and the Maa-Nulth First Nations Key to the development is the cooperation keeping the future of the trail in limbo.
Delta Kayaks Ltd.

2008
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604-460-6544

News
Island speed record eyed

British kayaker Sean Morley has a new goal itinerary calling for a launch from Port Hardy
in sight: a speed record for circumnavigating to await good weather crossing notorious Cape
Vancouver Island. Scott , then a counter-clockwise route to come
Morley, the current world masters surf into the cover of the Inside Passage on the east
kayak champion in the high performance side of Vancouver Island before the change-of-
category, made history in 2004 by completing season storms arrive in early October.
the fi rst solo circumnavigation of the United “Vancouver Island can present some of the
Kingdom, Ireland and all their inhabited most challenging conditions a kayaker can www.expeditionkayak.com and his blog
islands in a six-month, 4,500-mile (7,200-km) face including fierce winds and huge waves off htt p://riverandocean.blogspot.com/.
expedition – the longest undertaken by a the notorious headlands of Cape Scott and the
kayaker in British waters. Brooks Peninsula, high surf and treacherous Right whales, wrong speeds
The current record for rounding Vancouver reefs guarding the remote beaches of the west Commercial ships along the Atlantic coast
Island stands at 23 days 10 hours for a single coast and raging tidal rapids reaching speeds of may have to go slow to avoid collisions with the
kayak by Joe O’Blenis in 2007, a trip sponsored 15 knots in the myriad of channels separating endangered right whale.
by Wavelength Magazine parent company the Vancouver Island from the mainland,” The federal government is recommending
Wild Coast Publishing and sister publication Morley said in a press release from trip sponsor a five-year, 10-knot speed limit for commercial
Wild Coast Magazine. The record for a Kokatat. ships within 23 miles of major mid-Atlantic
circumnavigation in a double kayak was set Now based out of California, Morley runs ports, where collisions have been common.
earlier that year at 19 and a half days by Kieron River and Ocean LLC, a sales and customer Only about 300 of the whales remain, with
Tastagh and Jeff Norville. service agency in the paddlesports industry, their territory extending from their breeding
Morley's aim is to complete the 700-mile and is the western region sales representative grounds in the southeastern Atlantic to their
(1,100 km) journey in 18 days. He will be for Kokatat. feeding areas off the Massachusetts coast.
leaving immediately after the West Coast You can follow his progress by following the Busy shipping lanes cross their migration
Sea Kayak Symposium on Sept. 22, with his links on the expedition website route.

News
Hope floats higher at Kayak for a Cure

Kayaks have been mixing paddling with environmental groups, including the Georgia
charity in Vancouver for the past three years, Strait Alliance, found seven in ten British
with Kayak for a Cure successfully raising Columbians support a ban on oil tankers in
money for research initiatives at the Canadian British Columbia’s inside coastal waters.
Cancer Society. Kayak for a Cure III proved to Environmental groups are seeking federal
be another year of laughs, love and a great day legislation banning oil tankers along the waters
of paddling on the waters of English Bay as 60 of the newly created Great Bear Rainforest
kayakers made the trek across the bay. Conservation Area.
Th is year was special for executive director A young participant in Kayak for a Cure gives The poll’s release coincides with a renewed
and founder Mark Starkey. the event an enthusiastic thumbs up. push from pipeline giants to open up B.C.’s
“2008 was a record year for us,” he said. To learn more about Kayak for a Cure inside coastal waters to tanker traffic. Enbridge
“We certainly aren’t raising millions of dollars events in Vancouver and around North and Kinder Morgan, two of the industry’s
yet, but our events have continued to gain America, visit www.hopefloats.ca or contact largest players, have recently revived proposals
momentum and popularity and we were able to Mark Starkey at mark@kayakforacure.ca. to bring oil to the B.C. Coast from the tar sands
raise $50,000 this year as an organization.” by pipeline and then ship it to Asian markets
In its third year, Kayak for a Cure also held Tanker traffic in strait opposed by supertankers. If all the proposed projects
an event in Victoria, B.C. and Columbus, Ohio. A plan in the works to build a tanker port on go ahead, more than 300 tankers would travel
“We’re thrilled to have seen successful growth B.C.’s Inside Passage doesn’t have the blessing through coastal waters each year, Georgia
in two additional venues this year and are so of the Canadian public. Strait Alliance says.
lucky to have leadership in each city within The plan would see a natural gas facility Support for a ban climbs to nearly eight in
our staff . That’s what makes this special – we built on the north end of Texada Island, ten for people who live on Vancouver Island
have a fantastic team involved in running and fueled by as many as one tanker very five days and the coast.
organizing Kayak for a Cure events through traveling the Strait of Georgia to the facility. More coastal news can be found online at
North America.” A poll released by a coalition of www.wavelengthmagazine.com.
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Conservation by Meade Fischer
The eyes, ears and paddles of
Cannery Row and Elkhorn Slough

Lauren Hanneman knows
exactly why she became part of
Team OCEAN.
“Being surrounded by seal pups,
barking sea lions, endangered
otters and countless birds – isn’t
that every conservationist’s
dream? And to get paid to talk to
people about the things I love so
much,” she says.
“Or perhaps hanging out at
seal bend and being surrounded
by plunge-diving pelicans and
terns during a feeding frenzy.
I am a wetlands enthusiast; I
cannot imagine anywhere else I
would want to be, except for other
Dani Lori on wetland systems.”
R. Busman photo
patrol with
Team OCEAN.
Pelicans and cormorants at Cannery Row.

Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary
I ’D BEEN paddling the incredibly rich and

diverse waters of Monterey Bay for several
years, sharing information, helping people
and picking up floating trash, so when I saw a
notice in the paper in spring, 2001, it caught
my attention.
With the rapid growth in popularity
of kayaking in the area, the Monterey Bay
National Marine Sanctuary was starting a pilot
program and looking for people to staff it. They
wanted kayakers who had some background
or interest in environmental protection. The
plan was to patrol the most popular stretches
of water and serve as liaisons between the
sanctuary and the visiting public. It seemed
the perfect summer job. I applied and was
accepted.
When three of us showed up for the fi rst
Ron Eby has been leading Team OCEAN since 2006.
of several weeks of training, Team OCEAN
was born. One day a week for eight weeks we in 2003. Team OCEAN was thriving, with Before Lori signed on, we’d experimented
learned all about the sanctuary, its history and four paid staff and two dozen volunteers. It has with paddling Santa Cruz that fi rst season.
more importantly, its flora and fauna and how continued to grow since then, and there are It didn’t seem worth the manpower, so we
to protect them. now six staff members. established the current pattern of patrols
We learned the ecological relationship The fi rst new staff member in 2002 was Lori along Monterey’s Cannery Row and Elkhorn
between the kelp beds and the rich life off the Beraha, now starting her sixth year. She also Slough, a five-mile-long estuary at the center
Monterey coast and the incredible variety of works on a whale watching boat in addition of Monterey Bay. These are the most accessible
sea birds, invertebrates and fish found along to other jobs. She is a world traveler and sailor and popular of Monterey Bay’s many great
our shores. But most of all we focused on the who has crewed on boats to places I can’t even paddling spots.
threatened and endangered marine mammals fi nd on a map. Both locations are rich in wildlife. Cannery
that live in the area. Lori decided to join Team OCEAN during Row has massive kelp beds that are home for
One of the sanctuary’s concerns was that a career workshop that involved brainstorming snails, octopi, anemones, schools of small fish
since our seals, sea lions and otters (especially the perfect job. and the sea urchins that are a favored food
the otters) were cute, the tourists were loving “I imagined a ranger-like position, combing for endangered otters. The Monterey Harbor
them to death, chasing them about in attempts and monitoring the beaches and helping jett y is usually a mass of California sea lions,
to get up-close photos. injured wildlife. When I saw the job ad I and each rock along the shore hosts a napping
By the time the season started, the one couldn’t believe it. Kayaking was even better.” harbor seal. The air and rocks are fi lled with
woman in our group had to drop out, leaving
Jeffery and meto patrol Elkhorn Slough and Sea lions near the Monterey Harbor jetty.
Monterey’s Cannery Row four days a week.
Jeffery drove down from San Francisco each
day, so was clearly in it for more than the small
pay.
We had different styles. He seemed to
consider himself more a park ranger, while I
saw myself as a docent, a twist on the “good
cop, bad cop” game.
Six hours a day, four days a week was an
exhausting schedule for two, but the joy of
being out on the water, with the fog, wind
and sun along with the wonderful sights
and sounds we encountered daily, made it
worthwhile. At the fall debriefi ng we offered
our suggestions for the future. I suggested a
volunteer program to augment the paid staff .
After a summer off I returned as a volunteer

Conservation
gulls, pelicans and cormorants. from the navy, and is a man of unbounded
Occasionally migrating whales appear To Santa Cruz energy, often biking to the launch site before
beyond the kelp beds, and orcas patrol just a Kirby Park starting his six hours on the water.
couple of miles offshore. Moss Landing “I love the water, especially the slough,
Wildlife Area
The slough also has an otter population, love to kayak and wanted to learn more about
much of which congregates near the launch Seal what I was seeing, and to share my enjoyment
Bend
ramp at the harbor. I’ve seen up to 75 huddled of our wonderful sanctuary with others. I am
Otters
Elkhorn Rd.
together. Farther up the slough there is a Otters,
Elkhorn Slough absolutely amazed at how fulfi lling my time
sea lions
haul-out beach for seals. While brown pelicans Dolan
Rd.
with Team OCEAN is,” he says.
and gulls dominate the slough, it’s also home To Cannery There is also the camaraderie with fellow
to egrets, herons, avocets, willets, sandpipers, Row members and interacting with sanctuary
Moss Landing Elkhorn Slough
terns, grebes, plovers and dozens of other National Estuarine guests, “many of whom have become friends
coastal birds. At times we see white pelicans, a To Monterey Research Reserve and paddling buddies, and some who have
rare visitor in our area. These fascinating birds become members of Team OCEAN,” Ray
don’t dive for food like their brown cousins. Lauren is a veteran of five seasons with says.
They encircle a school of fish, creating a captive Team OCEAN, although she is still under Robert Scoles, a retired police officer, is in
pool of food. 30. Her college degree more closely fits the his third season. He remembers one particular
Elkhorn Slough is a favorite of our staff . job than anyone else, and she is still searching Saturday on the slough.
Lauren Hanneman is passionate about saving for that perfect career that combines what “The gulls were agitated at Pelican Berm
the slough, which acts as a nursery for young she loves about this program with a career. and Seal Bend because there was a fledgling
fish. She is a natural when it comes to engaging gull about a third of the way across the
“It loses more of it precious mudflats and and educating people about environmental channel. Apparently it had entered the water
pickleweed habitat due to erosion from tidal issues, and that, plus the marine environment, and was then washed away by the incoming
flow,” she says. “The migratory birds come motivated her to join. tide. The parents found it and started making
here because California has lost over 98 per Staff member Ron Eby took over the lead it swim back. The gulls flanked the chick and
cent of its coastal wetlands. We all need these job in 2006. His new duties include scheduling each time it tried to stop or change direction,
resources, no matter what our reasons are.” staff and dozens of volunteers. Ron is retired the adults would peck it. Once they got it back

Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary
on the berm, all the gulls quieted down.” litt le time for much else, and gett ing too close disrupts their survival
We all have favorite moments on the water. One of mine, from the schedules.
fi rst season, was being out on Elkhorn Slough at the end of summer, with The current group of staff and volunteers patrol both areas Friday
not a tourist in sight, but a sky fi lled with hundreds of pelicans, diving all through Sunday from early summer to early fall. All have returned for
around us in a feeding frenzy. this season.
Of course, there’s the people as well. “I think we actually do make a difference,” Lori says. “And I can feel it
“Perhaps the most gratifying and memorable aspect of this program every time I go out, even if some things work against us.”
is the wonderful people and volunteers I have had the privilege of
meeting and paddling with over the last five years,” Lauren says. “I Meade Fischer is a part-time educator, writer, radio commentator, artist
have had job offers, met members of Congress and some of the most and environmental activist. He lives near Monterey Bay and can be reached at
fascinating people.” eclecticpress@baymoon.com.
Ron feels he learns something new each time he paddles.
“Sometimes from other team members, sometimes from people on
the water, sometimes from things I discover, and also from the staff of the
kayak shops who paddle for a living. I see the sparkle in the eyes of guests
as I interpret the sanctuary for them and share my fascination with what
we are so blessed with.”
“We know our stuff”
T HERE ARE some downsides. For Lori it is having to reprimand
the public. I recall, during the fi rst season, fi nding a trail of oil at
Cannery Row from some local spill, probably a small fishing boat, but
being unable to track the source.
For Ron it's seeing wildlife being disturbed.
“While any one transgression may not seem to have a lasting impact
on its own, repeated disturbances by tens of thousands of guests in the
sanctuary can have a lasting effect.”
Robert has had some people become a litt le belligerent.
“They think we are the kayak police. By far I create my own negative
experiences when, after talking to someone, I realize it is not within my
abilities to make them experience what I am experiencing.”
Lauren unfortunately sees the same negative issues year after year.
People still disturb wildlife in critical areas, the various interest groups getting you out there since 1981
such as environmentalists, duck hunters and fishermen still can’t resolve
their differences, and most frustrating for her, needed signs are not being
replaced. A Proud “on water” Delta Kayaks dealer
Cannery Row and the slough have kayak outfitters, creating crowded
conditions on summer weekends. One of the favorite tourist att ractions
is the otter, and their playful antics make visitors want to get closer. Team
OCEAN members spend more time protecting otters than any other 1824 STORE STREET VICTORIA, BC. PH 250.381.4233 • TOLL FREE 1 800 909 4233
animal. We remind people that while these creatures appear carefree, WWW.OCEANRIVER.COM
they divide their time between feeding, grooming and sleeping, leaving

Cover Feature by John Kimantas
8 oceans
A look at
one writer's
journeys by
Y OU CAN’T PLAN on good weather
visiting Antarctica, but somehow Jon
Bowermaster got a lucky break.
Arriving at the peak of summer, the
National Geographic writer and explorer and
his team found themselves in the midst of
two and a half weeks of perfect blue skies and
temperatures upwards of a balmy (by Antarctic
standards) 40 degrees Fahrenheit – conditions
that isn't supposed to see rain.
Could this be yet another signal of global
warming? Bowermaster's concerns were
fortified by a visit to the Ukrainian Antarctic
science base Academik Vernadsky on Galindez
Island. Fift y years of weather data showed an
undeniable warming trend.
While melting ice is one concern – the
winter ice can extend 7.2 million square miles,
paddle to the that made the ocean and glaciers a wonderland

of blue and white hues.
or about twice the size of the United States
– rain is a new one. Bowermaster watched
But the Antarctic can be a tricky place, and the results take their toll on penguins, which
far corners of in time the blue skies turned to an unlikely
week of torrential rain. Widely considered the
have never had to deal with this phenomenon
before.
driest desert on the planet, the Antarctic rain “The chicks get soaked with rain and the
the world bogged down Bowermaster’s crew with slush,
winds and ice-encrusted kayaks – in an area
parents can’t dry them off, so at night they
freeze,” Bowermaster said. “So it’s not just
Continued on page 19.
Fiona Stewart photo
16 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCTOBER-DECEMBER

OCT0BER-DECEMBER 2008
Jon Bowermaster
8.
For five weeks in 2008
Bowermaster and his
team explored the
Antarctic Peninsula
by sea kayak and
sail – including rough
crossings of Drake
Passage, beautiful days
of blue sky as well as
storms and torrential
rains. The goal was
a look at how the
peninsula is evolving
thanks to warming
temperatures and
increasing numbers of
tourists.
(The numbers match the

order in which the trips
were taken. )
Barry Tessman photo
1.
In June and July
1999 Bowermaster
Peter McBride photo
was part of a three-

week long journey
halfway between
Russia and Alaska
on the Aleutians to
4. The search for water in one of

the driest places on earth in
a an area of active
volcanoes the Aleuts
South America meant days of called 'the birthplace
pulling kayaks rather than paddling, of the winds.' Two
including across southern Bolivia's 21-foot kayaks carried
Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest everything the four
salt lake, once the ocean floor and needed for five weeks.
later an inland lake.

Warm-water
Cover Featurepaddling
7. Bowermaster rates this one

of the most stunning views
he's had from a kayak – Cape
Pillar, a rock stack that soars
1,000 feet from the sea at the
Tasman Peninsula.
Gabi Mocatta photo

2008
Everglades
Jon National
Bowermaster
Park
The Croatian journey of 2005 started in the

6. Zrmanja River, which leads to the Adriatic
in a trip that required running rapids and
this 40-foot horseshoe waterfall.
Peter McBride photo
about ice. It’s about wildlife.” Argentina and Peru, where Bowermaster and his crew were forced to pull
The Antarctic trip was Bowermaster’s last in the Oceans 8 series of kayaks across the bone-dry Salar de Uyuni, a 40-by-120 mile salt lake –
kayaking expeditions that fi rst began in 1999 with a trip to the Aleutian the world’s largest.
Islands. The goal was to travel each of the seven continents, plus Oceania, The goal was South America’s Altiplano, the mountainous desert
over the next decade by kayak. Supported by the National Geographic region crossing the borders of all three countries. Pulling kayaks for
Expeditions Council, Bowermaster and his group of adventurers began much of the six weeks the group went in search of water in mostly dry
with a five-week journey to where the Pacific Ocean joins the Bering Sea, lake beds as old as 2 million years. Once covered by ocean and more
a place the Aleuts called the “birthplace of the winds.” recently as large lakes as litt le as12,000 years ago, they remain a treasure
The name was a hint of just one of the many hazards they would trove of corals and fossils left behind by the ancient sea life.
encounter, made tougher by the need for crossings as long as 17 miles. Hauling the kayaks across the salt beds became a symbol of the
Strong winds, cold water and more than the occasional storm slowed change in conditions in a land where rich lakes once resided.
their goal of reaching the remote chain of five volcanic mountain islands. Remarkably, people have lived here for 10,000 years. Inspired to fi nd
The highest, 6,000-foot-high Mount Cleveland, was tamed during a out how they have survived in such an arid climate, Bowermaster’s visit
15-hour ascent, where the most dangerous element became not the ended atop the tallest volcano in the region: Bolivia’s Licanbur, a peak
strong winds and snow but the poisonous gases blowing off the crater of that at 19,600 feet looks out over the Altiplano and Lago Verde.
the still-active volcano.
(Ironically, Mount Cleveland erupted just a few days after my A NEW HAZARD for the kayakers in the exploration of Loango,
interview with Bowermaster in July. “As beautiful as those islands and the new national park in Gabon, West Africa, was large land mammals.
beaches are, you would not want to be camped on them when Cleveland The 200-mile journey in 2004 around the park’s ocean shoreline was
sends ash three to five miles into the sky,” he wrote back after I emailed met by river-swimming elephants, manatees, surfi ng hippos and gorillas.
him about the news.) It was a chance for National Geographic Society member Mike Fay
to fi nish his explorations of the Congo, many areas of which can only
N OT ALL TRIPS Bowermaster took were quite as cold as the be explored by water. Earlier Fay had done an extensive land-based
Aleutians. Politics were a major hurdle in heading to Vietnam, where exploration – a 2,000-mile, two-and-a-half year walk through the
kayaks were not allowed until a “fi lming permit” was paid. The goal dense jungles of the Congo. His efforts helped create 13 new national
was to paddle the coast from near Mong Cai on the Chinese border parks in Gabon.
800 miles south to Hoi An, south of Danang. It was a chance to see the Hottest of all the trips, though, proved to be Croatia’s Dalmation coast
country post-war in a way few will ever get to see it. in summer 2005. Travel was possible only in the early morning and late
Ocean conditions were the last concern on the trip through Bolivia, evening as the crew paddled through the 1,246 islands off Croatia that

Cover Feature
5. Paddling upriver through Loango National Park in Gabon meant improvising

campsites, in this case setting up tents over the kayaks in a flooded forest. The
result was surprisingly comfortable – except for photographer Peter McBride,
who had his kayak flood during the night.
dot the Adriatic Sea. is a rising ocean and increased storms that threaten the atolls’ future.
The goal was to kayak the country’s length along the Adriatic. Elsewhere Bowermaster sees two recurring themes: climate change
Joined by photographer Peter McBride and videographer Alex Nicks, bringing increased storms and the worldwide plague of plastic pollution.
the group kayaked 400 miles, from Zadar to Dubrovnik, staying among Add overfishing, and Bowermaster believes the lives shared by coastal
the sun-drenched archipelagos. people from Chile to Croatia to Vietnam are not that different after all.
Of all the locations he’s traveled, Bowermaster considers Croatia's With the Oceans 8 series complete, Bowermaster is continuing to
coast the most accessible as a kayaking holiday resort. But he has turn his attention to the changing and tenuous relationship of humans
a personal soft spot for Oceania. The destination in 2002 was the and the sea with a new series of trips that has already taken him to the
Tuamotus, a group of about 78 coral reef atolls set in a string about 930 Galapagos Islands and will likely take him to Greenland, Mexico and
miles north-northeast of Tahiti. The Polynesian name means ‘Distant other locations around the world at later dates.
Islands,’ an apt description of what Bowermaster considers “tiny green But after dragging and transporting kayaks across deserts in South
oases floating in the desert of the sea.” America’s Altiplano and through political barriers, Bowermaster said in
“I’ve returned several times since, so it must have a special att raction future they’ll likely buy or rent kayaks at the locations rather than bring
for me,” Bowermaster said. them along.
The eight trips were not just adventures for their own sake. For His fi rst National Geographic assignment took place 20 years ago, an
Bowermaster they were a chance to document the relationship between adventure covering a dogsled expedition across fi rst Greenland and then
humans and the sea, and the changes occurring as the coastal human
population grows and the climate warms. In Polynesia, the problem Continued on page 22.
20 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008

Jon Bowermaster
3. The Tuamoto atolls rarely rise more than

a few feet above sea level thanks to a
low rim or coral. The remains of eroded
volcanos, Bowermaster considers the
Polynesian islands a paradise. Peter McBride photo

Cover Feature
2. One-third of Vietnam's 80-million people live near the ocean,

so getting around meant improvising in the population
centres. In Hoi An, hiring cyclos was the solution in getting to
the water's edge. Right: Jon Bowermaster.
Antarctica. Now Bowermaster is turning his attention to the story rather Even with adults – I don’t think people think often about what we do and
than the adventure. And he hopes the message from his efforts is gett ing how it impacts on all our oceans.”
through. Jon Bowermaster is a featured speaker at the Trade Association of
“I talk to a lot of schools and people don’t say kids care about Paddlesports’ 25th West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium Sept. 19-21 in Port
adventures anymore because they’re too focused on their Gameboys. Townsend, Washington. For more on his trips, DVDs and books, visit his
But when I show pictures and talk about life out there kids get turned on. website at www.jonbowermaster.com.
Ocean River’s Jon LaCroix.
getting you out there since 1981
A Proud “on water” Necky dealer

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Water Trails by Dan Armitage
Great Calusa
“W HOOSH!”
It sounded like porpoise spouting in slow motion directly behind me,
and I was startled as my kayak drifted across the quiet pocket of water
tucked back in the mangroves. Looking down into the stained salt water,
the bottom seemed to be moving past about a foot beneath my kayak.
What made this troubling was that I had drifted to a stop in water that
was about six feet deep. That “bottom” turned out to be the mud-brown
back of a thousand-pound manatee cruising right under my craft after a
noisy nasal exchange of air.
My fi rst close encounter with a “sea cow” took place on my fi rst day
paddling a 190-plus-mile water trail called the Great Calusa Blueway.
It flanks a particularly scenic stretch of sub-tropical, southwest Florida
coastline. It’s a route I fi nd myself recommending to fellow kayakers
every chance I get, and for more than mere manatee sightings.
Plans for the paddle trail began in 2003 when officials with Florida’s
Lee County Parks and Recreation Department and the county’s Visitor
and Convention Bureau both recognized the value of boating to visitors
and residents of southwest Florida. They wanted to create something
special for watersports enthusiasts who preferred to travel by paddle
power, while at the same time showcasing the value of the fragile near-
shore areas and the wildlife wonders available only to shallow water
explorers.
A waterways coordinator was hired to oversee and promote the
program. That job went to local outdoor columnist Betsy Clayton, who
was covering the trail development process as part of her boating beat at
the local newspaper.
The Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail is being developed in three Florida's Blueway trail
phases and, “in the end, its 190 marked trails meander through most of
our scenic waterways, but there are still unmarked parts left to discover,” a chance to mix paddling,
Clayton said.
The fi rst two phases were done by 2005, and encompass two camping styles, fishing and
distinct regions of the Gulf of Mexico coast. The fi rst portion meanders
through Estero Bay, while the newest section directs paddlers through even manatees
Stopped at a temporary tidal island;

above: exploring mangrove water-tunnels.

The Great Calusa Blueway
the scenic bays of Sanibel and Captiva islands,

and the waters around Pine Island. The third
leg of the trail created a paddle-friendly route
up the Caloosahatchee River near Fort Myers,
completed last October.
The Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival, which
will run Oct. 25 to Nov. 2, highlights all three
phases.
After consulting with Clayton, I decided
to tackle part of the Phase 2 section. The route
I chose would take me from a barrier island
to a stretch along the mainland, allowing me
to take advantage of four different overnight
accommodation options. It would also give me
the chance to experience what many residents
and visitors consider an oasis among the more
developed areas of the Sunshine State: Pine
Island.
The latter was a fitt ing jumping-off point
for my paddle adventure, and one of the most
popular among kayakers who have time to tackle
but one section of the water trail.
Cruising to Cayo Costa
Despite scheduling my trail tour during
the dry season, in January, I did get wet. Once.
Luckily it was on my fi rst night on the trail when
I opted for a rustic cabin rather than a tent while
camping at Cayo Costa State Park, across Pine
Island Sound from Pine Island.
Cayo Costa is a true barrier island, separating
the sound from the open waters of the Gulf of
Mexico, and is about as basic as you can get when
it comes to amenities. Campers must bring all
their food and water for their stay. The state park
there offers rustic cabins and primitive tent-
camping sites, and is accessible only by boat.
Tropic Star Cruises, based in Pineland on
the northwest shore of Pine Island, offers daily
ferry service to the island – including kayaks –
and offers rental kayaks at the state park. After
spending the night of my arrival at the historic
Tarpon Lodge in Pineland, Tropic Star’s Capt.
Ted Serrell met me at the Tarpon Lodge dock and
helped me load my kayak aboard the ferry. Once
the other passengers were aboard, Serrell pointed System Three SilverTip Marine products will help you make your boatbuilding dreams come true. Each
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an educational-yet-entertaining fashion – along product to help make your dreams come true.
the route as my fellow passengers and I made the “Ships are the nearest thing to dreams that hands have ever made.”
half-hour cruise to Cayo Costa and the state park – Robert N. Rose
dock.
Life on the Trail
From Pelican Bay at Cayo Costa, paddlers can
head south past Cabbage Key to pick up a leg of
the Blueway Trail leading south toward Captiva
s SilverTip Laminating Resin s QuikFair s GelMagic s EZ-Fillet s MetlWeld s
and Sanibel islands across San Carlos Bay and on

Water Trails
Boen GULF OF MEXICO Annie’s Cr.

Florida Grande
Boca Grande Pass
Gasparilla Sound
Jug Creek
celebrates Cayo
Costa Patricia I.
Bookelia
State
Blueway Park
Cayo Part I.
PINE I.
Pineland
Cape
Coral
Costa
with festival Wood Key
Sirenia Vista Park
Matlacha Park
The third-annual Calusa Blueway
Paddling Festival will take place Oct. 25
Captiva Pass Little
to Nov. 2 on the Great Calusa Blueway Pine I.
Paddling Trail in Lee County’s waterfront
communities. Paddlers, competitors, North McCardle I.
families and outdoor enthusiasts
Captiva I. Pine Island Sound
from around Southwest Florida, the Underhill Pt.
state and the nation are expected to
attend the one-of-a-kind eco-event. Tropical Point
Nine days of festivities will include Regla I.
competitive canoe/kayak races, a pro- Shell Pt.
am kayak fishing tournament, paddling
clinics and demonstrations, seminars,
family activities, archaeological and
environmental events, guided tours, a
Blind Pass San Sanibel
speakers series and more celebrations
Carlos Causeway Punta Rassa
along the Great Calusa Blueway. JN Ding Darling Bay
The 2008 Calusa Blueway Paddling National Wildlife Refuge Point Ybel
Festival includes areas of Pine Island, Tarpon Bay
Bowman’s Fort
Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva Beach Sanibel
islands, Bonita Springs and Estero, Cape Sanibel I. Myers
Coral, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers,
Beach
Alva and Buckingham. Many Lee County
hotels and motels are creating “paddling to Fort Myers Beach and the fi rst phase of the of the Blueway Phase 2, which directs paddlers
packages” for out-of-town kayakers and trail. After two days of exploring the coast of east toward the hamlet of Bokeelia on the
canoeists traveling to Southwest Florida Cayo Costa, which included several interludes northern tip of Pine Island.
for the festival. Such packages are listed with resident manatees, wild pig sightings and There, Clayton had recommended staying
before festival time at some excellent fishing, I chose the main stem at Jug Creek Cottages, which caters to
www.calusabluewaypaddlingfestival.com
and at www.fortmyers-sanibel.com.
Festival times, dates, locations and
more can be found online at
www.calusabluewaypaddlingfestival.com.
Free trail maps, outfitter information, and
more details on the trail can be found
online at
www.greatcalusablueway.com.
Don't type the links! Visit

wavelengthmagazine.com
and link with a click. Plus get
additional information such as
launch site descriptions online.
Working through a mangrove maze.

The Great Calusa Blueway
Paddlers relax at the Sun and the Moon Inn in Matlacha after a day on the Great Calusa
Blueway. The Inn is one of more than a dozen accommodations that cater to kayakers
along the 190-mile water trail off Southwest Florida.
paddlers and offers small housekeeping cabins within walking distance of several restaurants,
near the head of a canal right off the Blueway a seafood market and a bait and tackle shop,
in the heart of Bookelia. I was able to beach the and a “must stop” for anyone exploring that
kayak and leave it unlocked at the ramp located section of the trail.
at the end of the canal and walk to my funky, Owner Curt Peer is an avid kayaker and
palm framed, pastel-painted, one-bedroom doting host, the combination creating one
cottage. of the most paddler-friendly properties on
The following day’s paddle from Bokeelia to the Eastern Seaboard and a magnet for local
Matlacha was a delightful ten-mile cruise that kayakers as well as guests.
I took all day to tackle as I stopped to fish at In fact, rather than returning my rental
every chance. Ducking into shallow bays and kayak to Backwater Outfitters just up the street
exploring sandy tidal islets, I hooked several in Matlacha, I simply hosed it down and left it
sea trout and redfish along the route, one of on the lawn for the next lucky guest, arriving
the latter large enough to drag me around that afternoon with plans to pick up where I
Nantucket sleigh ride-style before breaking off . had stopped, and continue on down the trail.
The waterways coordinator was dead-on in That’s the spirit of cooperation that
selecting that night’s accommodation, which pervades this kayak-friendly corner of the
offered a waterfront swimming pool and hot Sunshine State, where it’s all about promoting
tub to ease muscles made sore by the past three paddle power and sharing its pleasures with
days’ paddling. The Sun and the Moon Inn in one and all.
Matlacha is right on a canal along the Blueway,
guide certification
FOR MORE INFORMATION: courses
Visiting Lee County: 800-237-6444; FortMyers-Sanibel.com
Great Calusa Blueway Trail: 800-237-6444; 239-533-7275; greatcalusablueway.com
Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival: 239-433-3855; calusabluewaypaddlingfestival.com advanced
skills training
Tropic Star Cruises: 239-283-0015; tropicstarcruises.com
Backwater Outfitters: 239-541-2532; backwateroutfitters.com
Gulf Coast Kayak: 239-283-1125; gulfcoastkayak.com
Tarpon Lodge: 239-283-3999; tarponlodge.com taught by dan lewis and bonny glambeck
Cayo Costa State Park: 941-964-0375; floridastateparks.org/cayocosta in clayoquot sound, tofino bc.
Jug Creek Cottages: 239-283-0015; tropicstarcruises.com www. rainforestkayak. com 877-422-9453

The Sun & the Moon Inn: 888-321-3192; sunandmoon.net

Reflections The spirit of kayaking by Matthew Crane
A LL I WANTED TO DO on my last
day in Florida was paddle, so, before
the rest of the family considered any other
options, my father-in-law Stacy and I were
dropping into the water. He had been a constant
companion on my paddling excursions during
this vacation. A long-time canoeist, he had
found a new passion in kayaking and was right
behind me as I crossed the channel from San
Carlos Island to Estero Island’s Ft. Myers Beach,
on part of the Great Calusa Blueway. Nothing
was planned; we just wanted to be on the water.
As we approached the inland side of the
island we began to explore the man-made
channels that formed watery subdivisions. We
floated through them discussing the changes A moment with
manatees
since Hurricane Charley had hit the area in
2004. Mansions were flanked by ramshackle
cottages and cleared lots, the island’s reminder
of that category four hurricane.
Stacy had mentioned that manatees were
routinely seen in these channels. We didn’t
expect to see any of the endangered species on
Chance encounter on the Florida coast
our meandering journey through the water-
alleys, but in one channel we noticed a woman
creates profound change for family
staring into the water, a forgotten cup of coffee gray form began to rise. The shape became We stared after them until they were gone and
in her hand. When we came broadside of her she defi ned, and I could see hair and a head and then we waited.
simply stated that two manatees had just passed a long round fluke with a single bite out of it. The pair came and went several more
by the pier. We immediately sat up and focused My heart stopped; my boat seemed so small times, sometimes staying down so long we
on the water around us. and insignificant to the expanse of what must thought they were gone, but they would
We peered into the green water, have been the manatee’s back. It rose slowly surprise us and reappear again. We called
continuously searching for anything that might up and another gray shape floated up out of our wives, who were rushing to meet us. We
be a manatee, and my mind obliged me by the blackness beside it. At about half the size hoped they could access the channel from
creating shapes rising from the gray depths. of the mother, it matched her speed and slow the street, but there was nothing we could do
Time passed and my anticipation turned to grace as they broke the surface and exhaled but float and wait for each precious sighting
impatience. Finally the water stirred and a together; they inhaled loudly and sank again. hoping the rest of our family would arrive

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just a glare with no manatees. Feeling that our time with them was over,
we slowly began to paddle to the bay, but a few strokes into our departure
a gray shape appeared behind Stacy’s boat. Baby had become curious and
was now investigating us.
Stacy and I began to slowly paddle back to the area we had last seen the
pair. We were afraid of separating the two and hoped Baby would continue
to follow us back to where we thought Momma was. Luckily, Momma
surfaced in front of us and Baby continued to follow us, drift ing from
boat to boat. Her intense curiosity and innocence touched my heart. She
bumped the boats and swam underneath us, seeming to play. She spent
more time investigating Stacy. When she surfaced near him he would
talk to her and she would look at him inquisitively. My father-in-law, the
manatee whisperer! Baby didn’t seem to mind me floating around trying
to snap pictures.
The rest of the family fi nally found us. Baby had rejoined Momma by
this time and they were back into their old rotation. We made a switch on
the kayaks while the manatees were underwater, allowing my son Jacob
and his grandmother Debbie a chance to be close to them when they came
up. My wife had paddled our third kayak across the bay to our channel and
showed up soon after we made the switch.
Stacy and I sat on the pier watching the rest of our family make their
own memories. I watched as my son’s body stiffened, much as mine
probably did the fi rst time I saw them. He turned his head slowly and
whispered that they were right beside him. Debbie was nearby and she
swung her head around and let out a quiet “oh.” Soon afterward they
surfaced beside my wife and she had her moment of awe.
We stayed with them until the hot sun fi nally drove us to return home.
The experience was behind us but something was different within us. We
have bonded rather closely since then. Our two families do things together
all the time now and for a while after the encounter we all had a litt le
different view on the world.
The unplanned nature of paddling creates moments that live forever in
memories: coming around a bend into view of a sunset silhouett ing a great
blue heron as it fishes for its supper, fi nding an eagle scraping the mirrored getting you out there since 1981
surface of a lake or floating with a manatee mother and baby – these are
the moments that paddlers carry with them forever. These experiences
change us and enrich our lives more than we may ever realize. A Proud “on water” Point 65 North dealer
Reflections is writing that captures the spirit of kayaking. Matt Crane is a
writer and outfitter. His paddling began in Italy and now he spends time on the
rivers and streams of the Midwest kayak fishing and introducing others to the 1824 STORE STREET VICTORIA, BC. PH 250.381.4233 • TOLL FREE 1 800 909 4233
sport. He dreams of warm blue water with frolicking manatees. WWW.OCEANRIVER.COM

Options Beyond ocean kayaking by Sheila Porteous
Rigged
out
Joanne Nicolson, left, and
Sheila Porteous take an OC2 through
the paces in Victoria's Inner Harbour.
Outriggers great for starting both fitness and friendship
B EING OVERWEIGHT and out

of shape makes it difficult to enter the
world of fitness. As a thirty-something
generation “Xer,” health and fitness have
become daunting concerns.
the risk of coronary heart disease, obesity,
diabetes, breast and colon cancer while
improving musculoskeletal strength and
mental health. Better yet, a consistent exercise
routine can reduce the amount of necessary
improving the overall management of chronic
disease.
I know all about chronic conditions: I have
a congenital heart defect that requires an
implantable defibrillator for backup, and knees
Yes, we all know physical activity reduces interventions and medications, while so riddled with arthritis that my tibia bones are
starting to bend like bows for fi ring arrows. My
VA BA Adventure Out f itters problem is fi nding a sport that will contribute
IL 250 247-8939 to a full body and cardiovascular workout.
Y
S
I am not prepared to join a gym fi lled with

the twenty-something, lycra-wearing crowd.
RE S
KAYA
Running does not agree with my ruined knees.

K Hockey, soccer and other team sports are often
U
A DV E N T difficult to schedule into a life full of work,

school and family. Besides that, team sports
www.silvabaykayaking.com or www.bajakayakadventures.com often have complicated rules, and worst of all
spectators.
KAY
JA
Swimming, touted as the gentlest sport, is
A something I can’t engage in without a certain
BA
Raffi song about belugas repeating in the back

of my mind – much to my chagrin.
ADV
Unwilling to give in, I searched for years

UR
NT O
to fi nd the right fitness activity. My strengths
URE T
E
are based on sitt ing, relaxing and enjoying

the scenery. I am also a social person who
We spend the winters
winte guiding tours in the Sea of Cortez in beautiful enjoys the company and motivation of others
Baja Mexico & summers in our home waters on the coast of British Columbia.
Come and explore the magic of these exceptional paddling areas!
while exercising. With such talents in mind,

Outriggers
I happened upon paddling. The sport of in the winter, when paddling after dark, there
outrigger canoeing is expanding worldwide is nothing but you, the boat and your paddle Join us for our 22nd year!
and it's not surprising: this physical activity to think about. Teammates typically chatter
is accessible, affordable, flexible, and offers a and joke while out in the boat; as a result,
complete body workout. friendships often develop (and sometimes even
There are seven clubs associated with the romance arises!).
Canadian Outrigger Association (CORA) Outrigging is a sport well-suited to rainy
here on Vancouver Island alone, making it West Coast winters. In Victoria, on days where
a convenient and accessible sport. There are the wind is blowing, a team can travel up the
three clubs along Victoria’s scenic Gorge Gorge in relative safety away from the wind.
waterway. Membership includes all the The Gorge waterway and the Inner Harbour
equipment you will need to get started in the are beautiful all year round. On sunny and
KAYAKING IN PARADISE:
sport, including use of the boats. The clubs calm days, a moderately skilled team can enjoy Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula
have paddles, personal flotation devices exploring Victoria’s breakwater and beyond. Remote rainforest paddling, lodge-based.
(PFDs), lights for the boats and, of course, a Generally speaking, paddlers are a friendly Corcovado National Park visits. Calm seas and
variety of racing kayaks and canoes. and welcoming group that is disinclined estuary rivers. Cloud forest birding tours. Small
groups (6 or less). Weekly departures Dec–April.
The OC6 is the most popular canoe. It seats to judge someone on their size or athletic
six people, is easy to get in and out of and is ability. Often the most important part of Plus year-round kayaking at Galiano Island
in BC’s beautiful Gulf Islands.
the most stable boat. People with disabilities, being a “good paddler” is simply showing up
including those who require wheelchairs, can with a positive att itude. People in paddling 250-539-2442
also participate in this sport with the willing clubs have a plethora of personalities, ranging www.seakayak.ca
support of their team. OC1s are boats suited from shy to incredibly outgoing. Outrigging kayak@gulfislands.com
to a single paddler, while OC2s are boats built offers someone striving toward fitness social
for two. opportunities as well as a way to gently
All you will need is some comfortable, wet increase their overall fitness level at their own
weather exercise wear and you’re set. pace.
The goals of individual paddlers vary. Some
thrive on racing and competition, others crave
personal fitness and achievement, and some Sheila Porteous has
engage in paddling for purely recreational been an enthusiastic e the adven
Liv ture
purposes. Even in an OC6, fitness goals can paddler for many years
vary for each person in the boat. A person can and divides her time
paddle at 100% effort while someone in the between kayaking and
seat behind them paddles at 50%; the boat still outrigger paddling. In
moves forward. People who choose to enter order to help people
paddling competitions will team up before with barriers enter the
races and enter events with individuals who world of kayaking, she is
have similar goals. For some people, racing is obtaining her Assistant
never a consideration. Overnight Guide
Once you have mastered the basic stroke, certification through
the sport itself is painless and meditative. Often SKGABC.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:

In Canada, an umbrella group is the Canadian Outrigger Racing
Association, www.canadianoutrigger.com. They have a list of member
clubs that are spread throughout British Columbia and as far as
Ontario.
In Washington and Oregon states, an umbrella group is the
Pacific Northwest Outrigger Racing Canoe Association,
www.pnworca.org. There's even a member club in Montana. The
"Outrigger Links" tab on the website will take you to other paddling Carly Harris
organizations along the East Coast and as far as Australia.

Another site with a comprehensive list of clubs is
www.ocpaddler.com/canoeclubs. Their list of canoe clubs around the
world covers from Asia to Latin America.
www.salusmarine.com

Your guide to the new
www.wavelen
1. Find your way home.
The main home page for Wavelength
Magazine is your gateway to all the new
online features. Most features can be 3
reached by a new menu (1) down the left
side of the page. From there you can find
information on where to paddle, how to
bl
paddle and what to paddle with. More on
that later. The home page is also your base
for downloading the latest magazine (2).
1 2
The home page will also let you know
what's new, but the menu options you have
will follow you through every one of the
1,500+ pages that make up the Wavelength
Magazine website. So you're never far from
home (3).
2. Catch up on your reading. 3. Search for specifics.

Did you know that the articles from the last 14 years of Wavelength Want to know how to repair gelcoat on
Magazine are available online? This makes it hands-down the most your kayak? Or how about finding out
comprehensive kayaking resource on the web. You can read individual about that offside extended paddle roll? No
articles in HTML or download magazines in PDF form. From the problem! We've developed our 14 years of
"Readers Welcome" tab (4) select the "Back Issues" tab (5). Once online articles into categories, so you can
there you'll find a new set of tabs (6) allowing you to browse all the search by specific interest. From the main
Wavelength magazines between 1994 and today. menu on any page select the "Paddling
info" tab (7), then take your pick of what
interests you. You'll find information on
safety, skills, ecology, gear, kayaks... But we're
especially happy with the section titled "Info
for Beginners." We've gone through our
8 archive and picked out the articles of special
interest to those just starting paddling. You
can also search the site by word (8), such as
4 6 Italy's Elba Island.
A tip for visitors:

9 We've worked a few state-of-the-art features
7 5 into our website – some so new that older
browsers may not be able to handle them. If
you cannot scroll down to read the text off-
screen, or do not see the scroll bar on most
pages (9), you are probably using Explorer
6 or another earlier version. By updating to
Explorer 7 you will get to use the advanced
features on this and other websites.

2008
gthmagazine.com
4. Join in. bk
Become a part of Wavelength's growing
online community by becoming a member
of our Wavelength Forum (bk). New as
of July 1, it's a chance to discuss issues,
share ideas, ask questions and share your
expertise. Look for it under the "Connect
Through Wavelength" tab (bl, left page) on
the main menu. It's the paddling club for
the independent paddler!
5. Plan your travels.

We've got a world of travel information
available for you online. And you can search
for it region by region. From the main menu
use the "Paddle the World" tab (bm), then
explore by area. You'll find lots of additional
6. Shop around.
information here not available through the Lots of great adventures are just a click away. So are the experts
magazine. that can make your travel plans a reality.
The main services are split under two headings. For tours,
courses, schools, destinations and accommodation, look under
the "Paddle with Pros" tab (bn).
The "Search for Kayaks, Gear and More" tab (bo) is your option for
getting in touch with manufacturers, retailers and specialists in
handy categories.
You can also buy, sell and trade through our free online Classified
Ads. It's right at the top of the tab (bp) that opens when you
bm hover your cursor over the "Search for Kayaks, Gear and More"
menu option (bo). You can even find jobs here! Or advertise one.
7. Visit regularly.
These changes at Wavelength Magazine online are just the
bn
first of many taking place on our website. Some great new
features will be up and running soon. So be sure to check
bo bp
back – there's bound to always be something new.

New Gear by John Kimantas
Paddling, Salt Lake City-style

S ALT LAKE CITY is an unlikely venue for a summer kayaking
destination. But every summer it becomes an outdoor lover's mecca,
att racting paddling gear manufacturers and retailers from across the
known as OR.
Wavelength Magazine also attended, shutt ing down the office for a
week and trundling down on a 3,000-mile drive to take a look at what's
world for North America's largest outdoor trade show. new in the industry (plus San Francisco, CA, and Newport, OR, as
Naturally, it's a great opportunity to show off the next year's new well, just to explain the 3,000 miles). The result is probably the oddest
product lines, with companies scrambling to get prototypes ready or showcase of new paddling gear we've ever accumulated – no reflection
production models out in time for Outdoor Retailer, affectionately on the high number of booths dispensing free beer, we assure you.
1. The kayaks
Epsilon
Boreal Designs
Boreal Designs has a new entry for the Boreal Designs

Brit-boat category with the innovative Epsilon. Or sales manager Guy
rather, six Epsilons, with a model catering to every size of Bourassa shows off
kayaker. The 16'4" P100/C100 is 22½" wide and designed the new Epsilon line
at Salt Lake City, a
for paddlers 90-160 pounds. The 17-foot P200/C200
comprehensive line
is 23½" wide and made for kayakers 140-225 pounds. of Greenland-style
The 17'6" P300/C300 is 24¼" wide and made for people kayaks that are sure
200-280 pounds. The P and C designates a choice of to add fuel to a new
polyethylene or composite, meaning Boreal has built an North American
Epsilon for every budget as well as every size of kayaker. Brit-boat war.
www.borealdesign.com.
Infinity
The Brit-style boat batt le is going to become very heated, especially with Current
Current Designs Designs' entry into the fray with its new Infi nity (above). Aficionados will appreciate
the classic Greenland style. But expedition kayakers will love the volume. Classed as an
expedition-grade kayak, it is designed to accommodate both larger paddlers and large
loads of gear. The specs: 17'9" long, 22 inches wide and a weight of 48/42 in fiberglass
and kevlar.
Isle
Not big enough? Need that super-sized? No problem. Enter the Isle (below): a
massive (18' long by 24" wide) boat designed for larger paddlers seeking a Greenland-
style kayak. It is meant to deliver the edging and rolling of a performance Greenlander
but with a hard chine.
Infinity These are just two of seven new boats by Wenonah under the Current Designs brand
name for 2009. www.cdkayak.com.
Great Salt Lake, Utah.
Isle

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008
New Gear
Walker Bay
It's not a traditional kayak, but Walker Bay/Airis knows what many
traditional kayakers may not: the fastest-growing market segment is
small, fun paddle boats geared towards families, fishermen and fun-
seekers.
Walker Bay has four new craft for 2009, including the Tender, a blend
of function and good old-fashioned kayaking. You'll fi nd a bow storage
compartment, holders to keep the paddle safe when ashore, a bow line
for docking, storage bungees, integrated foot rests and two removable
skegs for tracking and portability. The stern cargo space also has the
Versa-Track system for an optional platform and is ideal for a storage
cart, as the bungee restraints keep it in place when fully loaded. The
Tender also features Walker Bay’s exclusive Connect-a-Yak, a system
that enables you to connect two or more boats bow-to-stern to create a
tandem kayak. www.airisinflatables.com.
WWW.FEATHERCRAFT.COM / MADE IN CANADA / PADDLED WORLDWIDE
Hobie
Kayakers with an open mind to the non-traditional and an

eye for fun will appreciate Hobie's new i9S. For starters, there's
the MirageDrive – pedals to replace your paddle, leaving
Ocean River’s
your hands free for photos, fishing or any other water-based senior instructor/guide,
hobby you might have. Picture it working like the fl ippers of a Gary Doran.
penguin, a species that figured out long before kayakers what
works well in the water. Hobie tells us their system is faster
than paddling. We have to imagine it also has the potential to getting you out there since 1981
be a great core body workout.
The i9S deflates and stows in an airline-friendly travel
bag, and has a kick-up rudder that can lie flat on the deck for A Proud “on water” Current Designs dealer
shallow water or transport, with the rudder controlled by a
fi ngertip mechanism on the side of the kayak when you need
it. Add a rear cargo storage area, mid-boat plus bow and stern
carrying handles, and a multitude of accessory options to 1824 STORE STREET VICTORIA, BC. PH 250.381.4233 • TOLL FREE 1 800 909 4233
customize your craft . www.hobie.com. WWW.OCEANRIVER.COM

New Gear
Old Modern
The hands-down winner for both the unlikeliest and prett iest
kayak of the show went to the oddest of sources: Vietnam.
Old Modern Handicrafts has been building and exporting
mostly scale model boats for years. But it also turns out a full-size
(17-foot) cedar strip kayak that fans of wooden boat craftsmanship
will fi nd stunning.
It is truly an international project. The cedar is Canadian, the
fiberglass from the U.S. and the workmanship from Vietnam.
Worried it's a cheap Asian import? Well, the workmanship speaks
for itself. Each kayak takes about 200 hours of labor to build, we were
told. (And it would take me that long just for the model.)
Can't afford the full deal? Old Modern's line of model boats also
includes scale canoes and kayaks, with about as much attention to This scale-model (about 17 inches as opposed to 17 feet) shows the
detail as the full-size parents. A perfect Christmas present for the workmanship of the Old Modern Handicrafts line.
kayaker with everything. www.handicraftscan.com.
2. Paddles
Crystal by H2O Paddles
The clear pick for the prett iest new paddles at Outdoor Retailer had to
be the new Crystal series by H2O Paddles. Get ready to be bogged down
in jargon: the 2009 series of touring blades features lexan polycarbonate,
a multi-component blade construction, and the part that makes it look so
prett y: the industry's fi rst all polycarbonate translucent lexan blade.
The result is a strong, lightweight blade that will be interesting to test
for strength and performance. The model on show at Outdoor Retailer
was a pre-production prototype only. But an eyecatcher nonetheless.
Expect both high and low angle blade styles with both carbon and
glass and straight and bent shafts available. The translucent options for
color will be crystal red, crystal blue and crystal green.
Want to save a bit of cash? Solid colors will be available as well.
www.h2opaddles.com
Aquabound
The range of paddle options for kayak fishermen is growing by leaps
and bounds. The fight is on to create the perfect multi-purpose tool. The
standard feature now on fishing-oriented paddles is a measuring tape on
the handle. No more struggling for your tape measure! Another good
one was a hole to hang the scale on so you can weigh your fish while
still out on your boat. But the best of show among paddles designed for
fishermen had to be Aqua-Bound's Fin Stalker. As well as the mandatory
ruler on the back side of the blade and shaft , it has a matte blank fi nish to
minimize reflections – no scaring the fish with the shine from this blade.
But what reeled us in: the hook retrieval system built into the blade – you
can remove snags by reaching your paddle out and hooking the line with
blade. Defi nitely the catch of the day. www.aquabound.com.

New Gear
3. Fun stuff
Seattle Sports
Love it or hate it,
it's an iPod world now.
For those who love it,
protecting your iPod
from the elements
can be a problem.
Or rather, was a
problem. Accessories
for iPods seemed the
dominant new product among manufacturers for 2009, with all manner
of waterproof iPod covers to solve your portable music issues. But the
design of the show had to go to Seatt le Sports. Well-known already for
their line of dry stuff sacks, waterproof backpacks and dry gear bags,
Seatt le Sports has joined the mp3 craze with its Audio Dry Pockets and
Micro Dry Stuff Sacks. Take your choice of fashionable colors (warning:
the flowery pink may clash with certain PFDs). But what we liked best
was the audio jack that meshes with an internal cord that allows you to
plug in your headphones while your iPod
is snug and dry inside the pouch.
But what about powering your
iPod over the weeks and months of a
Congolese, Himalayan or Antarctic
expedition? If you can't plug it in but
must simply have music in the outback,
Seatt le Sports has that covered too – a
!6%-/.%9
USB solar charger with panels that slide
open, or fold back into a handle for the built-in three-function flashlight.
We could add the device's USB port could conceivably power a laptop
computer as well as your iPod, but we have to draw the line somewhere.
A public service reminder: the idea is to get away from it all, not take it
with you! With all this, you might forget. www.seatt lesportsco.com.
"59&!#4/29$)2%#4
Aerobed 3ECONDS!VAILABLE7HILE3UPPLIES,AST
If your traditional self-inflating sleeping pad leaves you with WWWNIMBUSPADDLESCOMsINFO NIMBUSPADDLESCOM
anything less than a desirable sleep, the Dry Gear Solo by Aerobed
may be your answer. Th is producer of inflatable stuff has created
a blow-up matt ress to compete with self-inflating sleeping pads.
Consider: an advertised weight of 4 pounds, an inflated height of seven
inches, a fit for people up to 6'6", and it
folds to the size of a standard self-inflating
pad. Plus no fear of gett ing wet if caught
sleeping below the tide line. You can
simply float away! (Not advisable, but
hey, it could happen.) And for the kayaker
with everything: also from Aerobed,
the inflatable sofabed couch! Can't wait
till they invent the inflatable hi-def TV.
www.thinkaero.com.

Paddle Meals by Hilary Masson
Go green with this fun salsa

M Y ANNUAL MIGRATION down
to the green waters of the Sea of
Cortez has inspired a lot of paddle meal
Discover the magic of tomatillos
creations. I have been fortunate enough to both in your Agua Verde green salsa
taste and watch the creation of many different
meals. One thing I have learned is that no
matter what the meal, a good salsa only makes
it better.
The fi rst of these two salsa recipes is the
most unique and in my mind the tastiest. Agua
Verde green salsa is as special and unique as its
namesake in Baja Mexico. There is something
special about the beautiful green waters of this
small fishing town and I have enjoyed many
memorable meals on its sandy shores.
Green tomatillos are the main ingredient
in this salsa and give it its amazing color and
flavor. Tomatillos are a baby green tomato with
a leafy casing. When choosing your tomatillo,
get the tiniest ones possible because they are
the most flavorful.
I fi nd green salsa goes well with anything;
you can make it as mild or spicy as you like.
The tart flavor of green tomatillos goes well
with any dish, especially seafood. Tomatillos
are quickly becoming one of my favorite
ingredients, and something that I think many sauces and stir-fries. rinse. Now they are ready for use, either cut into
people may shy away from because they don’t Preparing tomatillos is easy. All that needs chunks for a stir-fry or diced for a pasta sauce. A
know how to use them. For a twist on the to be done is to peal the thin green leaves off hand-cranked blender on the beach works well
standard huevos rancheros, try them sautéed the outside. Once pealed you will notice that for use in a salsa.
with onion and peppers then add them to they have an almost sticky feel to the inner skin. It’s just that easy. I hope these become a
scrambled eggs. They also go well in pasta Th is is normal and becomes better after a good memorable part of your next kayak adventure.
Agua Verde green salsa: as smooth as you like

Ingredients: works best to achieve a smoother salsa while still keeping some texture.
8-10 tomatillos Peal and rinse your tomatillos. They are great raw, but can be roasted
1 large roasted green bell pepper along with the other ingredients. Roasting the tomatillos, peppers,
1-4 jalapeno peppers (mild to fiery hot) garlic, and onion gives this salsa a much better flavor. You can roast
1 lime (or 2-3 key limes), squeezed them on a barbecue, a campfi re, a fry pan or even in the oven set on
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped fi ne broil. You know they are ready when the outer skin turns light brown
1 clove of garlic, pressed or diced and small bubbles are visible. Once roasted, remove the seeds and cut
Onion, ¼ cup diced into chunks. Depending on how spicy you like your salsa you may
Salt to taste decide to leave or remove the seeds from the jalapeno peppers; leaving
1 tbsp white vinegar them in will make it much hotter.
White sugar to taste (optional) Adding a litt le sugar to the salsa can enhance the salsa flavor. Some
Preparation: people also like to add white vinegar, but I usually prefer not to due to
Depending on how you like your salsa, chunky or smooth, you can the tartness of the tomatillos. Combine all ingredients into your hand-
use either a hand-cranked blender or mortar and pestle. I fi nd the latter cranked blender or mortar and pestle and have fun!

Paddle Meals
Play with mix Celebrating 36 Years

for Salsa Fresca www.easyriderkayaks.com
kayaks – canoes
Th is second recipe is a classic that no rowing shells
kayak trip, or meal at my house, would be catamarans
complete without. outriggers
Ingredients: sail rigs
6 large tomatoes, diced catalog package & video:
factory direct $20 ppd. (see website)
1 small onion, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced Canoe & Kayak Co.
½ orange/yellow bell pepper, diced P.O. Box 88108 Seattle, WA 98138
5-10 tomatillos, diced 425-228-3633
1-4 jalapeno peppers, chopped fi ne
1 lemon (or 2-3 key limes), squeezed
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped fi ne
Salt, to taste
Preparation:
You can really play with this salsa.
Add any extra vegetables you have; grated
carrot or diced cucumber go well. Also,
try adding fruit like mango or pineapple
for a more refreshing salsa. I prefer this
salsa chunky, so cutt ing everything into
uniform sized pieces works well, but it can
also be done in a hand-cranked blender or
mortar and pestle for a smoother texture.
Experiment, be creative and spice up
the meals on your next kayak adventure.
No matter what green salsa, it’s sure to
please!

Day Trip #1: East Coast by Keith and Heather Nicol
The first of Wavelength's

new feature offering
practical introductions to
paddling places around
North America.
Paddling with a view

of Gros Morne's Tablelands
behind Bonne Bay.
Inset: Trout River Pond.
A touch of Arizona in Nfld.

G ROS MORNE National Park, located
at the base of the Northern Peninsula in
Western Newfoundland, is the largest national
Shallow Bay
Sand beach
can be used for an overnight trip. Th is route
follows the coast so is not recommended in
strong west or northwest conditions, since
Cow Head
park in Atlantic Canada. Facing the Gulf of St. the shore faces directly into the Gulf of St.
Nfld.
Lawrence, you can paddle down inland fjords St. Paul’s Inlet Lawrence and gett ing off the water could
as impressive as any in Norway, or past sea be challenging. Expert paddlers may also
stacks and long sandy beaches.
Western Brook Pond want to try paddling Western Brook Pond, a
Gros Morne is best known for its unusual Sally’s Cove spectacular inland fjord with sheer rock walls
geology, which has made it a UNESCO World Green Pt. as high as 600 metres in places. Attempt this
Heritage site. A plate collision 300 million years Bakers Brook Pond only in good conditions and remember that
ago thrust the ocean mantle (peridotite) on top strong afternoon winds often make the return
of the land. Peridotite has an unusual chemical Bonne Bay Visitor Centre trip more than you bargained for. There are
composition and is toxic to most plants, Trout River few pullouts once you enter the fjord. You can
creating a barren appearance, and thanks Norris Pt. camp at the far end, which makes this a good

to the high concentration of iron, a reddish- Lomond overnight trip.
brown color. Th is tends to make this part of Discovery Centre Tips and Hazards: Tides are not large
Newfoundland look more like Arizona than Trout River Pond at Gros Morne, and currents are generally
KM 2 4 6
Eastern Canada. Gros Morne is known for its not much of an issue. More dangerous are the
Miles 2 4
hiking trails but less so for its sea kayaking. afternoon winds that often rise up suddenly,
Where to Paddle paddle around the Cowhead peninsula or out and if you are along an open stretch of
Beginners: Beginners can paddle in many to various offshore islands. Since this area is coastline you may have trouble gett ing off the
places in the park but a favorite is at Norris exposed be careful about wind and weather water. Get the marine weather forecast and
Point. Here you can paddle in the protected conditions. You can also try your hand at pay close attention to it. Water temperatures
waters of Bonne Bay. You can also put in at surf kayaking along the 4-km sand beach at are generally cool so a wetsuit is suggested,
Lomond Campsite or at the Trout River Pond Cowhead, if the conditions are right. A popular especially for any open water paddling or
boat launch. The former gives you protected trip with the West Coast Kayak Club (if early or late-season paddling. Whales make
paddling in East Arm of Bonne Bay and the weather conditions are appropriate) is a paddle a summer appearance so contact the Gros
second in one of the inland fjords. In either between the communities of Trout River and Morne National Park Visitor’s Centre to fi nd
case you can paddle for up to several kilometers Woody Point (24 km), but you will need to out what people are seeing and where.
(one way) along the shore with numerous work out a car shutt le. For more information: Visit
beaches to stop for lunch or a break. Advanced: Advanced paddlers can opt www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nl/grosmorne. Gros
Intermediate: Intermediate paddlers for longer paddles along the shore (from Rocky Morne Adventures rents kayaks and can also
can opt for paddling at Cowhead by putt ing Harbour to Cowhead), a distance of about 44 give you info about where to paddle
in at the community wharf. Here you can km. There are campsites at Green Point that (www.grosmorneadventures.com).

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Day Trip #2: Pacific Northwest by Lisa A. Johnson
S EATT LE IS a modern city of four million

located in a paddler’s paradise otherwise
known as the Pacific Northwest’s Puget Sound.
With its hundreds of miles of varied shorelines
and year-round temperate climate, Puget
Blake Island
Sound has something to offer to every level
of paddler. Public access of these islands, bays
and inlet areas was greatly enhanced in 1989
by the establishment of the Cascadia Marine
Trail, which has an expanding list of more than
50 campsites making it possible for human-
powered craft to explore the waters from
Olympia to the Canadian border.
One of the sparkling jewels of this trail is
just seven nautical miles southwest of Seatt le
at Blake Island. Busy Washington State ferries
make their way past all sides of this quiet spot.
Historic maps or charts may call it Smugglers
or Trimble Island. In 1974 it was renamed to Photo courtesy Washington State Parks.
become a 475-acre parcel of the Washington
State Parks system. The harbour at Blake Island – a refuge just a hop from the busy city.
Formerly an ancestral
camping ground for the
Suquamish Tribe, it is roughly
halfway between Bainbridge
and Vashon Islands and less
than a mile from the Kitsap
Bliss near Seattlethat provide a lovely contrast to the city skyline on the map). Be forewarned – the ferries are not
Peninsula to the west. With the exception of a of Seatt le. the only hazard. See below.
park ranger, the only inhabitants within its five All campsites charge a modest fee and Tips and hazards: A major shipping
miles of scenic shoreline are an abundance of accept cash or checks. You must be a member lane exists between the Seatt le side and Blake
raccoon, deer, bald eagle and other creatures. of WWTA or have a member in your group to Island. Kayakers must use extreme caution in
Tillicum Village, a replica of a Northwest stay at their site. Those sites are limited and all this area and it is highly recommended that a
native longhouse complete with restaurant, camping spots are fi rst-come, fi rst-served. marine radio be monitored at all times when
gift shop and tribal dancing displays, was Where to paddle: crossing. Seatt le Vessel Traffic personnel can be
established in 1961, and continues the native Beginners: If coming from the mainland reached on channel 14.
traditions today during the non-winter months. on the east side, beginners would do well to The tides flood south and ebb north in
Although a commercial boat brings visitors take a ferry. You can then launch from various Puget Sound. Use the Seatt le primary and
back and forth to the island’s dock, kayakers points, or close to the ferry dock on Vashon Seatt le, Elliott Bay or Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge
can reach the shores in a more traditional way. Island or the Southworth ferry dock on the Island as the secondary station when
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Kitsap side. consulting tide charts. Current tables list this
system has a well-established campground Intermediate: Intermediate kayakers entire area as “weak and variable.” However,
at the village midway on the east side and can start from Eagle Harbor or other places I have experienced a defi nite push on several
a primitive one just around the southwest on Bainbridge Island or from Manchester occasions, particularly eastbound on the ebb.
corner. Washington Water Trails Association State Park on the northeast side of the Kitsap While some of the crossings can be less than
(WWTA) shares the northwest point with Peninsula. All of these launch points are within two miles, be aware that the wind can rise very
power boaters on opposing sides of a sandy one to five nautical miles of the island. quickly, with whitecaps appearing suddenly.
head and spit. Advanced: More advanced westbound Th is is especially true in the fi nicky spring and
The rewards are many: beautiful mountain paddlers can exercise their options from areas fall months.
views of the Olympics, Cascades or Mt. such as Golden Gardens Park in Seatt le, West One of the nice things about this paddle
Ranier; quiet and isolated shores; hiking trails Seatt le, Alki Beach or Des Moines (not shown is the option to ride back on the ferry if
through forests of evergreen and madrona conditions change for the worse. Pack your
trees; exploring the rocky shores or wave-swept wheels! The Washington State Ferry system
beaches, and clean, established campsites. The requires them for all kayakers who opt to walk
WWTA site offers a hull-friendly sandy point on instead of driving on with their boats.
with its ongoing dune grass restoration efforts

Blake Island, Washington
BAINBRIDGE I.
Eagle Harbor
Manchester
State Park
Manchester
Colchester Dr.
SEATTLE
Kitsap BLAKE I.
Peninsula Tillicum Village

Southworth Lowman Beach

Lincoln Park
Vashon
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Heights
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VACHON I.
ho
Vas
Vachon
Lisa A. Johnson is an active member and trip leader in various Your Mothership Repair Specialists
paddling organizations in the Puget Sound area and is currently
the Programs Chair for the Washington Kayak Club. If you are
interested in finding out more about kayaking or the WKC, attend
one of the free monthly presentations in downtown Seattle. You don’t
have to be a member to attend. Lisa can be reached at lajbkayak@
yahoo.com.
Guided Sea Kayak Tours

Along the Coast of the
Great Bear Rainforest in
British Columbia.
Contact: Norm Hann
604.848.8792
norm@tantalusadventures.com
Kayak storage -
tantalusadventures.com
warm and dry

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Day Trip #3: British Columbia by John Kimantas
Launch at Nanaimo, then turn left

Y OU MIGHT know Nanaimo for the wrong reason – passing
through by ferry. After all, Nanaimo's Departure Bay ferry terminal
is a major link to Vancouver Island and all its various att ractions: Tofi no,
The cliffs outside Jesse Island.
Clayoquot Sound, the West Coast Trail, Johnstone Strait. It's easy to
simply slip by Nanaimo without a glance.
Some lucky kayakers know differently. There's one huge obvious
att raction: Newcastle Island. Its treed shoreline is a scenic backdrop
for the entrance to Nanaimo Harbour, providing trails, campsites,
picnic spots, viewpoints and a rich history – all within minutes of the
downtown, by either handy ferry or
paddling. Beaches,
For kayakers, paddling past the
dramatic cliffs and stopping at the islands
sandy beaches for a picnic lunch
makes a half-day circumnavigation of and even a
the island time well spent.
Often overlooked, though, is what cave make
lies to the north of Newcastle Island
(or to the left , if you will). Islands, reefs,
Nanaimo an
lagoons, sand beaches, cliffs, a nature
sanctuary and the Gulf Islands' only
unexpected
paddle-through sea cave can be found pleasure to
within just a few square miles. The
gem is Jesse Island, a private sanctuary paddle
well protected by two vicious dogs,
so be prepared for an aggressive greeting. However, offshore you're safe
enough, despite the show of bared teeth, so it is safe to paddle the fretted
sandstone cliffs and the caves – if you don't mind being under heavy
canine watch as you pass.
You can extend a paddle around Newcastle to the right (south) as
well, heading around residential Protection Island.
Where to paddle:
Beginners: The simplest launch site is at Brechin boat ramp, interesting shipyards and marinas in mostly sheltered waters.
southeast of the ferry terminal adjacent to Alberni Outpost's Nanaimo Intermediate: A trip around Newcastle Island is always
Adventure Center, which offers rentals. Once in Newcastle Island worthwhile, though a side trip to Jesse Island is an added bonus. The
Passage, novice paddlers can visit Newcastle Island (a beautiful beach north shore is one of the most interesting in the Gulf Islands, with its
awaits just across the launch site), or Nanaimo Harbour with its sheer cliffs and caves to explore. From there one can follow the shore
north to odd litt le Shack Island and the cliffs of Pipers Lagoon, a popular
local park with a long, sandy beach.
Advanced: If open water is an att raction, a trip to Snake Island is
worthwhile to see the unique limestone ridges and to paddle among the
island's many seal inhabitants. Be warned, though: the island is a seabird
nesting area and access is off-limits in the spring nesting season.
Tips and warnings: Winds can pick up in the afternoon, making
even simple trips along Newcastle Island Passage arduous. The prevailing
winds in good weather are northwest. Currents can also be strong
through here, potentially slowing progress.
East of Nares Point on Newcastle Island the conditions are more
exposed, with the possibility of wind waves and some swell. As the water
is shallow, waves can break well offshore towards McKay Point. Ferries
travel through Departure Bay and while sightlines are good, they move
quickly. Submerged rocks near Nares Point can also be a hazard.

Neck Neck Pt. Pipers Hudson
Point Shack I. Lagoon Rocks
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Shaft Pt. Kanaka Bay Taylor Bay
Departure Bay Malaspina Pt.
ferry terminal Intermediate Gabriola Sands
Brechin boat ramp Newcastle Island Galiano Gallery
Provincial Park Provincial Park
Adventure Centre
Newcastle I. Passage Power Squadron Reef
Descanso Bay
Mark Batchelor Pt. Regional Park
Beginner
NANAIMO Bay
Frequent
Mills Bate Pt. Dinghy Dock Pub ferries,
tone Descanso Bay
R. barges
Stuart Pt.
Swy-A-Lana Lagoon Gallows Pt. hannel
Commercial Inlet yC /BOBJNPTPOMZ%FMUB,BZBLEFBMFS
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Boat ramp Rail ferry ferry terminal
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and barge wharf (to Tsawwassen) Cliffs /BOBJNP #$
Kayak (cartop boat) launch
Log booms
XXXWQPDB

Fishing Angles by Dan Armitage
A fish in the hand – and how to let go

S IMPLY FINDING a place that fish
frequent is half the fun of angling by paddle
power. Engaging in activities such as fishing
compels us to explore areas that we might
otherwise overlook, and the rewards can be
awesome.
So is the culmination of all the effort
extended toward angling, expressed when a
fish is fooled by your offering and strikes your
bait. For some veteran anglers, the challenge
of fishing is fulfi lled the moment their target
takes the bait; I know several old-school tarpon
anglers in the Florida Keys who remove the
hooks from their lures to allow the fishermen to
enjoy the jarring strike and the dramatic jump
or two they get out of their “catch” before the
fish spits their hookless plug. They argue that
the best part of tarpon fishing is fooling them in
the fi rst place, followed by the initial jump; after
that it’s often a long, dogged sub-surface batt le
that wastes time when these guys would rather
be “jumping” the next tarpon.
For most of us, however, anything less than
actually landing the fish represents a degree of
failure – even if we intend to release the catch
in the end anyway. I think it has something
to do with gett ing up close and personal with Landing fish “freehand” and keeping them in
something that lives in that wonderfully
mysterious sub-surface world. Then again, the the water as much as possible while removing
allure may be something more primal: actually
handling the fish proves that, if we wanted to,
the hook reduces the stress on the catch, which is
we could keep and eat the catch. A fish in hand
being worth two in the water – that sort of
important when you want to release the fish.
thing. thing you must do is set the hook. To do that, know when a fish will attack. But when it does,
Regardless, some skill comes into play once you need a taut line between your rod tip and you need to be able to lift the rod quickly to pull
a fish has its maw around your bait, be it live the bait. Keeping the slack out of the line is the line enough to drive the hook’s point into
or lure, before you can get it in hand. The fi rst a constant chore while fishing, for you never the tough, cartilage-like mouth of the fish.

Kayak fishing
Once the hook is set, you should keep the Eventually, if the hook, line and knots hold, over and remove the hook without removing
rod tip bent and the line tight to maintain the fish will be brought to the side of the boat – the fish from the water, or ‘lip’ a tooth-free
pressure on that hook to stay in place as you which is where most fish are lost by over-eager species by putt ing your thumb in its mouth
reel in the fish. Depending on the size of the anglers. and crooking your index under its jaw to hold
tackle and the fish, most of the time you can Whether you want to keep the fish for it still in or out of the water while you work the
crank smaller catches right on in to the side of eating or not, you need to get control of it and hook free.
the boat. The fun starts when the fish you have work the hook free. The best way to land and But don’t be fooled. Some fi nned
hooked is big and/or strong enough, relative to secure a fish aboard a canoe or kayak is to use individuals that appear to have succumbed
the tackle you are using, to jump and pull, often a net. Nett ing fish single-handed takes some boatside can suddenly become very much alive
hard enough to tow the boat or pull line from practice, but once you master the method once you touch them or start poking around
the reel’s drag. The drag is an adjustable sett ing you’ll fi nd it’s best for both the fish and the their mouths to remove a hook. I’ve been
on the reel that allows line to be released before fisherman – especially if you intend to release drenched dozens of times and nearly capsized
the power of the fish pulling it breaks the line. the former. The trick is to sink the net and draw twice while trying to release a fish “freehand”
When fighting a large fish the angler often the fish over the hoop head-fi rst, and raise it from the side of my kayak.
must “pump” the fish in, steadily raising the around the catch. That way, if the fish lunges at But hey, gett ing a fish to the boat and simply
rod tip on a tight line to bring the fish toward the touch of the mesh, it will swim right into touching the leader counts as a catch in most
the boat, then dropping the tip to point back at the nett ing. big-game fishing circles. And when you’re face
the fish while reeling in the slack gained by the To cause the least amount of stress to the to face with any fish from a low-profi le kayak,
upward pulling to keep the line tight to the fish. fish while removing the hook, if possible, reach they all look like big game!
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Flat Top Islands and Drumbeg Provincial Park

Navigation by Adam Bolonsky
The ABCs of reading charts

Learning to read charts is one of those simple yet oddly engrossing Here, then, is a brief guide to some of the more useful chart symbols:
skills anyone can pick up in an hour or so. Written, maintained and those that mark major lights and landmarks, boat or shipping channels,
printed or distributed via a variety online and print sources by the U.S. and what kinds of coastline, from sand to cliffs to boulders, you can
Hydrographic Service and the National Ocean Service, charts are a expect to come across anywhere you paddle.
wonderful trip planning resource. The information is for NOAA charts. For Canadian charts use Chart
Reading them as is much art as skill. With a litt le practice, you can 1, Symbols Abbreviations Terms. The principles are generally the same.
use a chart to create richly-detailed trip plans that extend to being able The information below is from NOAA Chart No. 1. The information
anticipate where shorelines will be landable, where waves are likely to be in bold type and brackets corresponds to the section heading on the
powerful and tidal currents swift , and where to take cover in a storm. NOAA download page, if you wish to download just that portion.
useful for helping you figure out where you by a code that spell out the light’s color
are. If you see dunes, hills or a boulder-strewn (white unless otherwise remarked), how
shoreline on the nearshore horizon, look for often the light flashes, in what kind of
that shoreline on your chart to figure out pattern, and the light’s height and range.
where you are – or where you are not! The simple alphanumeric codes are easy to
decipher, as you’ll see in the next example:
Shoreline contour detail, page 15

(natural features). Charts also give the
contour and spot heights of the shore. Using
these symbols and phrases, your chart will
NOAA Chart No. 1 detail. It's the end of describe prominent visible shoreline features
an era. NOAA no longer prints Chart No. 1 in like ridges, mountaintops, cliffs, etc., and the
book form. It’s now available only online as a spot height of visible stands of trees or forest.
pdf file. Download it at http://nauticalcharts. They’re doubly useful to such advanced
noaa.gov/mcd/chart1/chart1hr.htm. navigation skills as such triangulation, Light period, elevation, range, page 64
creating ranges to compensate for tidal set (lights section). These codes that follow
and drift, and drawing LOPs (lines of position) the lavender exclamation point are for major
if you keep a log to mark your location over lights only. They describe the light’s period
time. (how often the light flashes) its height above
mean high water level in either feet or
meters, and finally the light’s range, or from
how far away it is visible at night.
Nature of the shoreline symbols, page Light symbol detail, page 61 (lights).
14 (natural features section). Note the Of particular interest to ocean kayakers are
extent to which charts represent the kinds major and minor lights, whether onshore or
of shore (and thus the types of landing off, all marked with the lavender exclamation
challenges and camping challenges we can point above. Lavender exclamation point
expect) anywhere along the coastline of symbols for a major light are always followed Light color codes, page 63 (lights). A
North America. The symbols above also are

Reading Charts
major light code will also include the light’s To figure out the period and pattern of a
color. The code isn’t tricky. W means white, light you see on the horizon, a simple count
R equals red, and so on. Fortunately, most will do. Count the number of flashes, then
lighthouses throw a white light, which makes count one one-thousand, two one-thousand
them easy to distinguish from other flashing to time it. Instantly you are much more aware
navigation lights in the area. Other than of where you are than you were a moment
white, green and red are the most common ago.
light colors you’ll see at night. Both colors
may be visible at the same time at night,
when two buoys close to each other mark a
channel. Other times you’ll see red or green
only, oftentimes at the edge of a channel
or to mark the preferred route around a
headland or other hazard.
Bells and Buoys detail, page 75 (Buoys,

Beacons section). Here are the symbols
and words used to describe bells, gongs
and whistles buoys you’ll come across both
Flash light types descriptors, page 62 inshore and off. Each type is wave activated:
(lights). Lights are also distinguished, and as they move up and down in swell or
coded, according to their flash pattern. To waves their bellows or clangors create a
get a grip on those various flash patterns, distinct, some would say reassuring sound.
scan the table columns above from left to The symbols in the two lowest rows shown
right. The two left-most columns give the above (the starboard and port buoys R “2”
coded abbreviation for the flash patterns to and “1”) are used to mark, respectively, the
look for. The third, middle column gives the numbered red nuns and green cans you’ll
light’s description with a variety of technical see on water. If a nun or can makes a sound
terms. Finally the right-hand column shows, or is lit, its code will say so. (The pictured
graphically, what those different flashes black can doesn’t exist anymore.) Red nuns
actually look like at night. Being able to and green cans mark the channels we as ADVENTURE
distinguish one type of light from another is kayakers should stay out of, should cross TOURISM
especially helpful at night. in tight, easy-to-detect groups, or cross in
at North Island College
limited visibility after making a traffic control
security call. Keep in mind the mnemonic
W W W. N I C . B C . C A
for boat channels: red right return, which

means that boats returning to harbor will
leave red nuns to the right (starboard), green
cans to port (left). Remember too that wave-
activated bells, gongs and whistles, mark
either hazards or channels. Their clangs and
hoots can be reassuring to hear at night and
in fog. Coastal Adventure Tourism
Certificate
January start
20 Weeks | Campbell River
A complete lighthouse code, page 64
(lights). Putting all those elements together Adventure Tourism Diploma
is not all that difficult; indeed, here’s what Depth contour line detail: Depths are also September or January starts
a full coded lighthouse description looks of great interest to sea kayakers, especially if a 2 Years | Campbell River
like. First note the distinctive lavender shallows abuts great depths and the wind or
exclamation point, then the code: sea are up. If the sea or wind are up, shallows Call 1-800-715-0914 to
FL (3) WRG 15S 21FT 11M adjacent to depths will be lively with swell, speak with a Student Advisor
In the example above, the light in question breaking waves and whitewater, surge or today, or visit our website at
flashes white, red or green three times every overspill. Depending on your skills and www.nic.bc.ca/tourism.
15 seconds (FL (3) WRG 15s). The light is 21 interests, those kinds of conditions will be
feet tall (21 FT) and is visible at a range of either fun or nightmarish.
eleven miles (11M), not including its looming.

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24. Sunset
Wildlife by James Michael Dorsey
Appreciating the birds

After decades of close
encounters, osprey tops the list
of whale researcher's favorites
W ITH A cerulean canopy over my head
and foamy green water beneath my
keel, it is another perfect day off the coast of
is a single species found in almost
all parts of the world. Diurnal is a
fancy scientific term meaning it
California. hunts during the day, and a raptor is
As a marine naturalist, I spend much of a bird of prey. Th is one lives almost
my time on the water chasing whales (my exclusively on fish that it expertly
chosen specialty), but gradually over the years scoops out of the water with its
I have come to have a special appreciation for razor sharp talons, which have a
the myriad selection of seabirds that often reversible outer toe allowing for
accompany me on my paddling journeys. greater grasping ability. It is the
I have had a young eagle that was learning only raptor whose talons are of
how to fly rest on my deck, and have been equal length but they are rounded
dive-bombed by an osprey after I picked up its rather than grooved as with other
dropped fish. I have surprised submerged birds of prey.
cormorants who surface near me after hunting It is regally colored with a
underwater, and once cut a floundering mostly white underside but often
pelican loose from an abandoned fishing net. has a mantle of brown across its chest and
I have had a unique look at our coastal dark brown on the top of the wings. The face
winged life and been able to photograph much wears a mask of brown and the eyes range
of it closer than most people will ever have the from golden to brown with a clear, pale-blue
opportunity to see. nictitating membrane.
Along the shore, I have passed thousands The osprey enters the world after a five-
of oystercatchers and sandpipers, feeding in week incubation from a clutch of two to four
the sand of low tides, and watched countless eggs. When fully grown it will stand two feet
gulls and Shearwaters dive for leftover scraps tall and weigh in at three to four
among lunge-feeding humpback whales. pounds with a six-foot wingspan. It
The silence of a kayak has given me will reach sexual maturity in three
unprecedented entry to this world in ways to four years and can expect,
those in motorized boats will never know. barring natural calamities, to
While the array of feathered friends to live 25-30 years.
watch during a paddle is downright staggering, Also, being a
I have chosen here to present some of the true eagle, it mates
more fascinating species based on personal for life and uses
preference and their own natural majesty. only a single nest,
These are the birds I see on a regular basis providing
while paddling off the coast of California and nature does not
have come to call them friends. intervene.
First by far, has to be the osprey. Pandion
haliaetius, colloquially known as a seahawk,
fishhawk or sea eagle, is a diurnal raptor
found on all continents except Antarctica,
although it exists in South America solely as a James Michael Dorsey can be reached at
non-breeding migrant. It is unusual in that it whalekeeper@yahoo.com.

Ecology by Bryan Nichols
A kayaker's ode to the coconut

T HE WORLD’S most useful tree has
nearly killed me twice. And although I’ve
been known to hold a grudge, I just can’t stay
A group readies for some
kayak sailing under the cover
of coconut palms – an image
mad at Cocos nucifera.
tropical dreams are made of.
Like many folks who grew up north of
48 degrees, to me coconut palms are prett y
much the ultimate symbol of the tropics. They
represent sunshine and warm water, featuring
prominently in our midwinter dreams, not to
mention midwinter vacation brochures. They
hold up our hammocks and contain our piña
coladas. Their gently swaying fronds offer an
escape from freezing temperatures and endless
drizzle. And, of all things, they help make
Nanaimo bars so tasty.
But there’s more to the coconut palm than
the shivery dreams of northerners. In places
where the trees actually grow, people take them
very seriously. You and some coconut trees
could live for quite some time while stranded
on that mythical island. Coconut palms
provide just about everything a person needs as
far as food, water and shelter goes. Locals don’t
call them things like the “tree of life” or the
“tree of a thousand uses” for nothing.
I have paddled past coconut palms in the
Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific, and stood
in their shade on large continents and small
atolls. I have lived amongst them for months This symbol of the tropics provides more than just
at a time, joyously soaking up their ambiance,
shade and offerings of food and water. Despite
shade – but watch where you string your hammock!
their largesse, living under a tree with hardened skull-crushing force just a few feet away. Be pan-tropical, meaning they can be found just
fruit that can weigh over two kilograms and be careful where you string that hammock! about anywhere in the tropics. Stretching back
precariously suspended over 60 feet above your Nutt y Natural History into prehistory, people undoubtedly brought
head is not without risks. Twice in my life, large The coconut is the fruit of a coconut palm coconuts with them as they colonized most
coconuts have come slamming to earth with tree, Cocos nucifera. There are plenty of other of the world’s islands. Even without the help,
types of palm trees, but none have fruit quite coconuts themselves, which are big old seeds
like a coconut. There’s apparently a Portuguese after all, can drift considerable distances and
boogeyman called the coco, which is still take root. Coconut palms need moisture,
something like ghost or witch with a pumpkin so you don’t normally fi nd them in dry areas
head. Those three dots which give the huskless without irrigation. Still, they are symbolic
coconut its “face” apparently reminded of the tropics in part because you might fi nd
Portuguese sailors of the spook from their one on any coastline between Cancer and
childhood, and so the coco-nut got its name. Capricorn.
Coconut palms have shallow roots and large So what are some ways you can really
green fronds at the top of their smooth trunks, appreciate the glory of a coconut palm? We’re
some varieties of which can grow close to 100 not talking a trip to the baking section of your
feet tall. There’s quite a bit of biological and local grocery store here; this list is for those
historical controversy about where the coconut who love to paddle. You’ll need to take a trip to
The author in Fiji with one of the coconuts palm originated and how it managed to spread somewhere where coconut palms grow tall and
that nearly killed him (Bryan is on the right). all over the world. The trees are now considered proud. You know you want to.

The coconut
Shade: One of the fi rst things that fi res, and many people swear by the medicinal lotion, and even some diesel generators. Let’s
kayakers appreciate about coconut palms is properties of coconut oil and water. If you’re see – a coconut oil spa treatment, a delicious
shade. These trees love sandy soil, and don’t looking for land, coconut palms are a lot easier green seafood curry, and then a romantic
mind a bit it if it’s salty, so they grow right to see than low-lying mangroves or coral atolls, interlude by the light of a coconut oil lamp.
next to oceans throughout the tropics, often and opening up a coconut can be a fascinating With some coconut massage oil. Now that’s
leaning right out over the sea in protected exercise in skill, persistence and strength. escaping winter!
waters. There’s nothing like pulling up to a Oil up: Much of that white coconut meat Bryan Nichols is a science writer,
beautiful, secluded beach and ducking out of is fat, and much of it is processed by drying biologist, educator and beer aficionado
that tropical sun into the shade of a coconut to get the oil out. That tasty and very useful currently living near palm trees in Tampa,
tree. It’s generally not a big patch of shade, but oil makes its way into things like curries, skin Florida.
it does the trick. Try to fi nd a spot that’s in the
shade but not directly under the coconuts.
Water: Coconut water, which is sweet and
plentiful when slurped out of green (unripe)
coconuts, is hard to describe in print. Suffice
it to say that it’s tasty, it’s nutritious, it’s safe
to drink and there are plenty of folk that will
swear by its medicinal properties. Coconut
water is fat-free and helps replenish your
minerals. Having said all that, it’s not especially
easy to get a green coconut down from a tall
tree and hack it open without spilling the
water, but depending on where you are, you
can give it a try yourself or buy it cheap from
locals with machetes and straws.
Food: Coconut meat is interesting stuff . In
a green coconut, the white stuff inside is thin
and almost jelly like – not to most people’s
taste. In a ripe coconut the meat is fi rm and
tasty, perhaps because it’s fatt y. Saturated fatt y.
Scientists are still quibbling about whether or
not that saturated fat is good or bad for you,
but it’s nutritious enough, and some fresh
coconut meat on your vacation isn’t going to
make much of a difference either way, so give
it a try. In the meantime, the meat, especially
when made into “coconut cream,” is a fantastic
ingredient in everything from rice to curry and
flan.
Mixed drinks: The coconut features
prominently in vacation drinks of the sociable
nature, particularly in conjunction with that
Caribbean standby, rum (which comes from
sugar cane, not coconuts). The pina colada is
the classic, but if you need a tropical pick-
me-up, look into the coquito (similar to egg
nog, from Puerto Rico), Acapulco Dream
(with tequila of course) and the variable but
irresistibly named Coco Loco. Coconut,
especially coconut cream, makes a drink very
warm and tropical tasting.
Survival: Coconut palms really can
help you out in a tropical pinch. In addition
to providing nutritional food and drink, dead
palm fronds and coconut husks can be used for

Skillset by Alex Matthews
Improve your skills in a sweep

N OTHING will help move your
paddling skills to the next level like a
dependable roll. Not only is a strong roll the
1
ultimate self-rescue technique (what else gets a
paddler back upright faster?), it will also greatly
boost your confidence to try new strokes, or
paddle in more challenging conditions like surf
or current.
Although the ability to roll certainly isn’t a
prerequisite to enjoy kayaking, a dependable
roll will transform your paddling experience.
And just to dispel a few myths – a successful
roll depends on good technique, not on
power or great athleticism, so any reasonably
fit paddler with the desire, and dedication to
2
practice, can learn to roll.
The Sweep Roll
There are many different ways to roll. The
sweep roll is one of the most popular because it
is fast, effective and relatively easy to learn.
To set up for the sweep roll (while
1 upsidedown), lean well forward from the
waist so that your chest is on your fore deck,
and your paddle is held parallel to the boat.
From this setup position, once upside
2 down, sweep the power face of your
forward blade out to the side, arcing toward the
stern, with your back arm acting as the pivot
point.
3
To keep your blade from sinking as you
sweep, maintain a sculling, or “climbing” angle
on the blade. Cocking your wrist forward will
provide the desired angle to your blade so
that its leading edge is slightly higher than the
trailing edge, creating lift . Stretch your body
out to the side as you sweep, following your
blade with your head.
As you sweep your forward blade out
3 to 90 degrees, use the support from
the paddle to keep your body floating close to
the water’s surface, and “hip snap” your kayak 4
upright, keeping your head in the water. Hip
snap by driving your lower knee skyward.
The hip snap, also known as the “hip fl ick,”
is the single most important step in a reliable
roll, and refers to the action of rotating your
hips to right your kayak. By staying flexible at
your hips, you can use your knee to actively roll
your hips and your kayak back upright, while
your body and head remain in the water.

The Sweep Roll
4 Tha rolle fiisnalkeeping

essential step to completing
your head down
snapped your boat upright, swing your body
back over top of your kayak. Th ink in terms
your head coming up last. Finishing lying
backward is a common approach, and is the
throughout, allowing your hip snap to roll of a supple movement drawing each vertebra most reliable for beginners as it keeps your
the kayak almost completely upright before back upright starting at the base of your spine center of gravity as low as possible, and thus
the rest of your body follows. Once you’ve hip and flowing all the way up to your neck, with yields the greatest success rate.
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Health and nutrition by Bruce Bernett
Old wisdom: food as medicine

J ONATHAN HANSON'S excellent
book, Complete Sea Kayak Touring (Ragged
Mountain Press, 1998) includes a valuable
Free radicals are best on a campus;
chapter on provisioning your kayak with in your body your diet can help
nutritious, high-energy food.
However, for overall health, vigor and injury
prevention, it's even more important for
cleanse these and other nasty rascals
kayakers and other active people to be diligent family – are excellent dietary sources of
about their everyday diet. antioxidants and should be an integral part of
Twenty-four hundred years ago, every energetic person’s regimen.
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, wrote, Another common herb that alleviates
“Let food be your medicine and medicine pain and inflammation from athletic injury
be your food.” What was true 2,400 years is ginger. According to Michelle Schoff ro
ago is even truer today with the typical Cook, a doctor of natural medicine, in her
North American diet – high in processed book Healing Injuries the Natural Way,
and fast foods full of sugars and trans fats ginger blocks the formation of prostaglandins
that contaminate our bodies. One anarchist- and leukotrienes, two substances that cause
sounding rogue from this diet is named “free inflammation. Dr. Cook also claims that
radicals.” These are the leading villains in the aging process, suppress the immune system ginger has antioxidant properties that actually
aging process and a major cause of tissue injury and be a major factor in age-related diseases break down inflammation and acidity in the
in athletes. such as cancer, heart disease and arthritis. synovial fluid of joints.
A free radical is an atom with an unpaired The formation of free radicals stimulates I would also recommend supplementing
electron. Like an overly aggressive suitor the development of even more free radicals, your diet with antioxidant vitamins and
seeking a mate, a free radical waltzes through snowballing their production and damaging minerals, especially vitamins C and E and
your body, grabbing electrons from cellular genetic material. the minerals zinc and selenium. When
tissue and wreaking havoc like a philandering Bad habits like smoking and eating fast food shopping for vitamin E, select a natural, not
home-wrecker. Each free radical may exist generate free radicals, but so do good habits synthetic, version and preferably one with
for only a tiny fraction of a second, but the like kayaking, hiking or indeed any metabolic mixed tocopherols. Antioxidants gobble
damage it leaves behind can be irreversible. activity, due to increased oxygen consumption. up free radicals like voracious piranha fish.
Although some free radical activity is vital for To counter free radicals, you need lots of They neutralize them by binding to their free
immune function and hormone and enzyme antioxidants in your diet. Fruits, vegetables and electrons.
production, too many will accelerate the even herbs – especially herbs in the oregano Kayakers and hikers should also ensure
Anti-oxidant-rich polenta with oregano

Ingredients: Preparation:
• 3 cups of spring or bott led water Bring the milk, water, butter, salt, cayenne
• 1 cup of milk (or substitute such as and garlic to a boil in a pot and slowly add the
nut milk – I do not recommend soy polenta in a slow stream, stirring continually.
milk) Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue
• 1 Tbsp. of butter to stir until the moisture is absorbed and the
• 1 tsp. of sea salt mixture has a creamy consistency, about eight
• Pinch of cayenne pepper to 10 minutes. Add the vegetables and cheese
• 1 clove of garlic, minced and continue to cook and stir for another
• 1 cup of polenta couple of minutes. Then thoroughly blend
• ½ cup of freshly grated Romano or
• ½ red pepper, very fi nely diced the oregano into the mix. When it is evenly
parmesan cheese
• ½ orange pepper, very fi nely diced distributed, pour the polenta into a glass pie
• 1½ Tbsp. of fresh oregano, fi nely
• ¼ cup of fi nely chopped broccoli, plate and allow to cool. It may be served cool
chopped.
lightly steamed or re-heated. Cut into wedges prior to serving.

Food as medicine
they have adequate omega-3 essential fatt y Bruce Burnett is a Ladysmith, B.C.-based hiker book HerbWise: growing cooking
acid in their diet. One of the best omega-3 and kayaker. Bruce is also a chartered herbalist, an wellbeing. Contact Bruce through his website at
supplements for joints is fish oil, which is rich award-winning writer and author of the best-selling www.herbwiseproducts.com.
in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and doco-
sahexaenoic acid (DHA). Both fight joint-
damaging enzymes called collagenases and
reduce inflammation (often caused by free
radicals). As a result, fish oil is a great supple-
ment for reducing joint and tendon pain and
preventing wear and tear. That’s why eating fish
at least twice per week – especially oily, cold-
water varieties like salmon, herring, mackerel,
anchovies and tuna – or taking fish oil capsules
is recommended.
Fish oil has also proven helpful for overuse
injuries. For the past several years, the Danish
Olympic rowing team has given its athletes fish
oil along with gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), an
omega-6 plant oil that acts like an omega-3, to
help them quickly recover from inflammation.
They use about 600 mg each of omega-3 fish
oils and GLA daily.
Vegetarians can use flaxseed oil as a source
of omega-3, but EPA and DHA are about 11
times more potent than the alphalinolenic acid
(ALA) from flaxseed oil.
Other important supplements for the heal-
ing and prevention of athletic injuries include
glucosamine sulfate, chondroitin and MSM
(methylsulfonylmethane). Glucosamine
and chondroitin help rebuild and lubricate
cartilage and connective tissue. Because your
Sardinia, Italy ©Wendy Killoran
body can only make glucosamine slowly,
and your ability to make it at all atrophies
with age, taking it as a supplement effectively
speeds the healing of your joints after exercise.
Studies have even shown glucosamine and
chondroitin to be effective against arthritis in
clinical sett ings, making these supplements
fi rst-line treatments for most people with joint
complaints.
MSM, an organic sulfur, is used by the body
to make important enzymes, antibodies and
connective tissue. It is found in vegetables,
meat, eggs, poultry and dairy foods, but it is
difficult to get enough MSM through food as it
is often destroyed through processing.
All wise athletes know the wisdom of the
RICE procedure for soft tissue injuries: rest,
ice, compression and elevation. But healthy
food and nutritional supplementation have
vital roles to play. As the ancient Chinese
proverb says, “He that takes medicine and
neglects diet, wastes the skill of the physician.”

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Wild Coast Publishing OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 61
Book Reviews by John Kimantas
Dreaming in Nuchatlitz Particularly inspiring is the exceptional wildlife photography, mixed with
By David Barnes useful information on viewing opportunities and habits. The result is a
Trafford Publishing, 2008 valuable resource for anyone thinking of visiting the park or interested in
ISBN 978-1-4251-7211-4 exceptional works about exceptional places.
www.trafford.com
One line from the introduction Fatal Tide
to Dreaming in Nuchatlitz won me By David Leach
over: “Far away from where I live, I Penguin Books
am home.” Dreaming in Nuchatlitz ISBN 978-0-670-06629-2
chronicles the paddling journeys of Few sports besides perhaps
David Barnes and three male buddies mountain climbing search as inwardly
to the outer shores of Nootka Sound. It as kayaking when disaster strikes.
is not a particularly remarkable journey, And disaster did strike on June 1,
and it’s not for everyone. Consider 2002 when Rene Arsenault and
some bad behavior such as drinking, another dozen competitors set out
smoking pot and playful guy antics that on the dangerous Bay of Fundy for
include creating pagan gods, and some readers are likely to be turned a day of adventure. By the end of the
off . Th is is no epic journey to Siberia, either. However, insights from the day Arsenault was dead. David Leach
journey are thoughtful and well-written, making this a good companion chronicles this misadventure of
for anyone who has traveled to Nuchatlitz or is planning on going. adrenaline, machoism and poor risk
assessment that defi ned this adventure
Alone Against the Arctic race, and he does it through painstaking research and detail. Th is work
By Anthony Dalton should no doubt be a bible for the adventure racing community on what
Heritage House not to do. Other technical-minded readers will perhaps fi nd it a grim
ISBN 978-1-894974-33-2 insight into the mindset of adventure racers, and may even learn a thing
www.heritagehouse.ca about proper assessment of conditions. Not to the level of reading of Into
If you know the Arctic is a Thin Air, it is certainly a case of history being doomed to repeat itself, as in
dangerous place, why go? Anthony 2007 two more deaths hit the West Coast adventure racing community
Dalton asks himself that in the through a tragically poorly planned outing in Howe Sound. While I
introduction to Alone Against the am no fan of dissecting disaster – even magazine articles on kayaking
Arctic, and reaches the inescapable tragedies tend to peer too deeply into what is ultimately just poor risk
answer that has lured explorers here assessment – apparently the lesson unlearned does need to be stressed.
for hundreds of years: glory, adventure,
fortune or – as likely – because the
visitor is a misfit. Dalton is self- Albatross
confessed as the latter as he takes a Their World, Their Ways
near-fatal trip in a small boat along the
By Tui De Roy, Mark Jones and Julian Fitter
northwest coast of Alaska in 1984. His experiences follow the route of
Firefly Books
other historic journeys, particularly the journey of the U.S. cutter Bear
ISBN 978-1-55407-415-0
in its rescue attempt of eight whaling ships in 1897, and Dalton writes
Some wildlife books you will
about both the fi rst-person and historic perspectives as he recounts his
want to take into the field. Others
experience in gripping and sobering detail. For adventure fans building a
will take up a special place of note in
library, Dalton’s experiences will have a place.
your library. Albatross: Their World,
Their Ways is clearly the latter. With its
The Explorer’s Guide to Algonquin Park
By Michael Runtz
oversize pages and hard cover it isn’t to
Boston Mills Press, 2008 be used for casual reference. Plus the
ISBN 978-1-55046-498-6 many writers and photographers go
My fi rst-ever camping trip was in well beyond simple behavioral notes
Ontario’s Algonquin Park, and as we to write what is tantamount to an albatross thesis. Expect topics such
boated through a series of lakes and as “Applying Spatially-explicit measures for Albatross Conservation”
channels I knew I was only scratching and “Albatross Flight Performance and Energetics.” Too scientific? No
the surface of this magnificent location. worries. The publishers tempered the technical writing with the obvious
So it is wonderful to see the park laid solution: pages and pages of breathtaking photography. Bird lovers who
out so completely in detailed maps, think their library is complete, think again. You’ve never encountered the
colorful photography and useful tips. albatross quite this up-close and personal before.

Going paddling in BC?
Get the maps that match your adventure.
This sample shows

the regional
overview on one
side of the Broken
Group map. Side
two contains an
enlargement of the
Broken Group area
and Toquart Bay.
The handy 22x36"
format makes it the
perfect companion
for paddling or
exploring on land. Some ad slots still available. Call 1-866-984-6437.
Each map has:

• Campsites
• Launch sites
• Features of interest
• Land features such as trails
• Regional overviews
Arriving in 2009:
• Street maps of nearby • The Broken Group and Barkley Sound
towns • Clayoquot Sound
• Info on amenities • The Gulf Islands
• Desolation Sound and the Discovery
Islands
• Hakai and the BC Central Coast
Already available:
• North Vancouver Island
and the new North Coast Trail
Pre-order your maps online at www.wavelengthmagazine.com
WaveLength Your complete source

for paddling information.
Online and in print.

Wavelength Kayaking Magazine: Fall 2008

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WaveLength

Your complete kayaking resource

Great Calusa Blueway

Plus: Volume 18, Issue 4

WaveLength Wavelength enters a third era MAGAZINE

Printed on recycled ancient rainforest-free paper.

Some elements in maps in this magazine are reproduced with

4 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCT0BER-DECEMBER 2008

13 The eyes, ears and paddles of Cannery Row

28 A moment with manatees 16 Adam Bolonsky is a kayak ﬁshing guide

34 Paddling Salt Lake City-style Dan Lewis operates Rainforest Kayak

© Mark Hobson photo

42 Bliss near Seattle 40

Columns and regular features:

charts in Portland, Oregon.

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 5

Kayak ﬁshing: I caught one! Now what?

6 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCT0BER-DECEMBER 2008

! 0%2&/2-!.#% " .%542!,"%.4 # 3-!,,/234!.$!2$ $ !$*534!",%

A Work of Art Made for Life

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 7

Our fall rental and demo kayak sale is now on.

Doug ( CVK’s senior instructor ) and Jonathon ( CVK’s friend )

Work inches forward on B.C. marine trail

Delta Kayaks Ltd.

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 9

Island speed record eyed

10 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCT0BER-DECEMBER 2008

Hope ﬂoats higher at Kayak for a Cure

Experience the next level in kayaking

The eyes, ears and paddles of

Cannery Row and Elkhorn Slough

Pelicans and cormorants at Cannery Row.

12 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCT0BER-DECEMBER 2008

I ’D BEEN paddling the incredibly rich and

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 13

14 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCT0BER-DECEMBER 2008

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 15

paddle to the that made the ocean and glaciers a wonderland

Fiona Stewart photo

16 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCTOBER-DECEMBER

(The numbers match the

Barry Tessman photo

was part of a three-

4. The search for water in one of

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 17

7. Bowermaster rates this one

Gabi Mocatta photo

18 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCTOBER-DECEMBER

The Croatian journey of 2005 started in the

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 19

5. Paddling upriver through Loango National Park in Gabon meant improvising

20 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008

3. The Tuamoto atolls rarely rise more than

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 21

2. One-third of Vietnam's 80-million people live near the ocean,

“We know our stuff”

Ocean River’s Jon LaCroix.

getting you out there since 1981

A Proud “on water” Necky dealer

22 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE OCT0BER-DECEMBER 2008

inﬂatable kayak Durable fabric cover

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2008 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 23

Stopped at a temporary tidal island;

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