Oudoor Expo

Saturday morning dawned clear and balmy, almost the exactly the opposite of last years weather. Canoes and kayaks of every shape, form, and condition were sitting on the triangle across from the Midwest Mountaineering store on the West Bank for folks to sit in, measure, heft, and generally fondle. In the bottom picture a noted local paddler is looking with puzzlement at a bloated double "canoeyak" (??), trimmed out nicely with a duct tape flourish. There were definitely some interesting items including a pristine 2000 vintage Chesapeake LT17 kit that the purchaser hadn't gotten around to opening in the last seven years! Good weather and large crowds spelled a sellers market. I saw a couple of good buys but for the most part people got caught up in the competitive auction fever, a disease I'm very familiar with, having contracted it during a land auction in Bayfield County. The difference is they ain't making any more land but they are making plenty of kayaks. There were plenty of new boat owners with smiles on their faces however, so all was well.

It was a tough day to be inside but I did attend a couple of seminars including the always entertaining Cliff Jacobson. I also did a stint at the SKOAC booth. As you can see, one difference from the Canoecopia show is the refreshments. Instead of cereal based $4 hotdogs and $5 128 oz Cokes they were thoughtful enough to have Famous Dave's BBQ and Summit Extra Pale Ale in the refreshment stand, which was located outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Not much opportunity to do that in the Dane County Coliseum (or whatever they call it now) but there could be improvements in the refreshment quality at Canoecopia.

There didn't seem to be too much new stuff at the expo but I still found myself walking out the door with a LittleBug alcohol/wood stove, a Cooke Custom Sewing screen lean to, and sundry books, bottles, and lights. I guess you always seem to have more gear than you need but not as much as you want. Plus a guy needs to upgrade now and then, right?

Kayak Demo Night

As I mentioned, several of us SKOAC'ers acted as safety boaters last night at the kayak/canoe demo on Lake Calhoun. Many renowned bloggers were in attendance including RonO, RonS, Alex, Aras, and myself. It was a boring night with only one real deep water capsize in a solo canoe. The guy was testing the secondary stability and found out precisely how much there was. The selection of boats to test paddle was fairly disappointing. Lots of rec boats on the Eddyline/CD Kestrel mode. The British must have offended us or something because other than a stray Romany or two there were no Valley or P&H boats like there were last year. Nothing to trigger my "I need that boat" synapses. After RonO and I found the free hot dogs we climbed back into the boats and paddled out, hoping that 8pm would arrive so we could quench our parched throats at the local establishment. Safety boating is like watching paint dry or a bridge rust. I've never been a lifeguard but it must be the same, only there you get a few scantily clad bodies to distract you from time to time. The boredom was broken when Alex decided to do a couple of rolls. Its difficult to see rookies in distress when upside down but I guess watching the paint and the bridge had gotten to him. As a boy when I did something that was not quite in line with conventional etiquette I would tell my mom, "But Danny did it!". Her inevitable reply would be, "If Danny went out and played in the middle of Highway 12 would you do it too!?" My usual smart assed answer was, "of course I would". So I reached in my day hatch and exchanged my life jacket (pfd indeed!) with its safety oriented knife, tow belt, whistle, etc for my tuliq and was quickly inverted also. I glanced over at RonO and RonS and saw hats being stowed and neoprene hoods being tugged on. This actually pleased some of the rookie test paddlers. As I was doing a side scull, a father in a canoe with his small son asked me if I could do a 'full roll'. I told him I normally only do command performance rolls for sailboaters with cold imported beer but that I would make an exception for youth education. When I came up the little boy had a big grin on his face and that "I'm gonna do that someday" look in his eye. Kinda made the evening worthwhile. The Newcastle was good later too!

Rookie paddlers

On Thursday members of our kayak club, SKOAC, will be acting as safety boats at the annual Midwest Mountaineering boat demo at Lake Calhoun. A post by Silbs the other day got me thinking about rookie paddlers. I took the two yahoos in the picture (the one on the left being a very close relative) on a Stockton Island trip up in the Apostles a couple years back and it was obvious 100 yards into the paddle that we would be good to go. Some people just seem to be naturals at balancing and moving their boat. With some you look at the tension in the neck, stiffness of the back, and the fixed forward gaze and ask, "So how ya doin'?" Without turning their head to look at you they answer, "Fine". Chances are they will be executing a perfect "half roll" before the paddle is over.

It gives me satisfaction introducing people to the sport and watching them improve their skills. On the other hand, when I call the NPS in Bayfield and am told that exactly none of the island sites I want are available it makes me question my laissez faire philosophy. So as I prowl the outer perimeter of the demo area on Thursday night, trying to predict the folks that will go home wet, I will wonder which one of them I may encounter this summer, occupying my favorite site on York Island some Friday night.

Cold water cold?

I am sitting here after a restless night with that most aggravating of maladies, the spring cold. After surviving the entire winter in excellent health here I sit with a stuffed up nose, scratchy throat, and low grade fever. This brings up the age old question: can you get a cold from being cold? My mother, grandmother, and all other female relatives certainly were convinced of that fact. They also were certain that if you went swimming in under an hour after you've eaten, that you would be afflicted by stomach cramps and drown immediately. When my Reed tuliq arrived last week I immediately took it out and rolled the boat in some nice, cold, non chlorinated fresh water. Was it cold? Hell yes. I was out last Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The water and the sky were clear, a fingernail moon sat in the western sky, and my forward stroke was slowly coming back. On a couple of the days it was so warm with the tuliq that I rolled every 5 minutes or so. The cycle of uncomfortably warm then cold repeated itself dozens of times, much to my satisfaction. When I mentioned Wednesday to my buddies that I felt a cold coming on they were unanimous. "Of course you're getting a cold Olson.....only a moron would repeatedly submerge himself in 45F water". While that may be true I don't think it can cause a cold. I've got a pretty good idea where the cold originated but I ain't pointing any fingers. So on a beautiful Saturday with forecast highs of 75F, a light breeze, and blue skies I'll be sitting here with Kleenex, orange juice, and zinc tablets watching playoff hockey and...........like hell I will, I'm going paddling!

Tuliq mania

Last week my eagerly awaited Reed tuliq arrived via the Royal Mail. I had first tried this wonderous garment when Greg Stamer let me use his at the post Caneoecopia rollling session up in Baraboo. I will also admit to noticing the Reed evening dress that Freya Hoffmeister wore to the film premier at the High Noon Saloon but I digress. The tuliq showed up before they said it would, the customer service was excellent, and, most importantly, it fit perfectly. This is huge for me because virtually nothing I have fits perfectly. When you are 6'4", 225#, and have 37" sleeves you are grateful when things even kinda fit. After sending in a dozen or so different measurements as well as a tracing of the cockpit coaming of my Aquanaut, my tuliq showed up fitting perfectly and ahead of schedule. The only other custom garment I own are some silk pajamas that I bought in the Haidian section of Beijing when my eldest son Erik was studying at the Language Institute so I felt I was due.

I was soon on Long Lake, which trusty trout fishing stream thermometer told me was at 45F. I did 3 or 4 screw rolls and only had 3 or 4 TBSP of water in my cockpit! Much better than the spray skirt. I had a minor malfunction when my swim mask didn't quite fit right with my face opening on the hood but I guess my sensitive eyeballs can take a bit of murky Long Lake water once in awhile. I paddled with it for awhile and it was comfortable enough and had good flexibility. The next day on White Bear Lake however, the air temp was around 65F and it was way too hot unless I rolled every 10 minutes or so. Never the less this will be the perfect setup for Lake Superior which I will be visiting this weekend if the stars align. And for rolling practice I do believe this Reed ChillCheater tuliq can't be beat!