Last weekend, I spent some time on a leaking hatch in my sea kayak. I pulled it off, cleaned off the old sealant and resealed it on the deck. I also had to get new locking nuts because they were missing from a few bolts. It worked.

As I tested the new seal, I was reminded of a warning I heard about hatches. Someone said they all leak.

Not too shabby.

I attempted some surf Saturday. I know MaineWaves.com forecast flat conditions. But it said the exact same thing for three days. I thought surely with 10-15 knot winds and two- to three-foot waves in the marine forecast that there would be something worth grabbing.

Last night, Dave and I had a great paddle off East End Beach in Portland. There was a little wind and chop starting out but it was a great paddle.

EEB is a great place to launch a kayak. There is plenty of room on the beach, and the waves are minimal. Parking is a bit tricky. There's not much by the boat launch and beach. About half the time I have to move my car to the upper lot after I unload the kayak and gear. It's not that bad unless I forget something in the car.

Anyway, I got lucky last night and snagged a parking spot close to the beach. (Timing is the secret to life.)

We decided to circle the Diamond islands. I would have liked to have to go between them but it was half tide and the "gap" between them was gone. But our route had us crossing only one major channel. Last night wasn't a problem because there were few boats.

EEB is a great area to paddle but kayakers really need to watch for boat traffic. A lot of recreational boater are in the area. When the summer really heats up,

Things did get a bit tricky as we paddled from Fort Gorges to Little Diamond. Small waves were coming from behind me. They weren't too tough. But as my kayak would start to surf, another set of waves would hit me from the starboard side. Neither wave set was anything scary. But combined, I had to think a bit more than usual.

Dave thought he saw a seal dive ahead of us. I missed it. But a bit later, a cormorant surfaced near Dave's bow and took off like a rocket. Not sure who was more spooked - him or us. It was a good laugh.

I relaxed bit as we paddled along the coast of the Diamonds. I loved being beside the small cliffs of Great Diamond. A falcon checked us out, and we saw a seal swimming between Diamond and Peaks. The seal didn't seem to notice us.

Then we had a great return trip on the other side to EEB. It was the calmest either one of us could remember in that stretch.

It was one of the most peaceful paddles we have had in that area. And one of those trips that justifies the cost of the kayak and gear.

There's a feature on the MaineToday.com home page promoting my last blog entry.

Just to be clear, that is not me pictured on the home page. Any pictures of me in the surf would show panic. This guy has it under control.
Continue reading "That's not me"

A friend got me thinking about kayak surfing today. I have a bit of experience in the waves but really am not surf savvy. Just how do you find big breaking waves on purpose?

I was at Higgins Beach last year and got beat up - by the waves not territorial surfers. So that's all I knew.

But is it always that good there? Apparently not. Thanks to MaineWaves.com I know this week looks relatively calm. The site has forecasts and aerial photography of the surf beaches. Very nice.

But here's my question. Is it possible that the surf is too calm for boards but decent for kayakers?

I finally got the Chatham in the ocean Saturday. It was a great day. Warm air temps, no clouds. But there was just a bit of wind and chop.

It's Friday and I'm ready to escape. My kayak is still on the car from Wednesday night's paddle (Beautiful hour and half on Bear Pond in Turner). So I might as well keep it up there.

This is your lucky weekend. You have two chances to try out kayaks:

Kittery Trading Post has its kayak demo day Saturday in South Berwick.

L.L. Bean has its PaddleSports Festival on Saturday and Sunday in Freeport.

Actually, L.L. Bean advertises the festival starts Friday. But you won't get a chance to try the boats out until Saturday. And L.L. Bean is a bit more ambitious. They have bluegrass music and lessons planned.

I did the KTP event a few years ago. It was a miserable, wet day. Elaine was in a quandry about what kind of boat she wanted to buy next. I had my eye set on just one - the Eddylines Falcon. I tried, fell in love with it and waited for her to do her due diligence on a few boats. I spent the time hanging out with the factory reps and KTP guys by the fire. It wasn't a bad way to spend the day. Elaine got a good feel for what she wanted. It was well worth the trip.

I haven't been to Bean's so I can't say which is better. The two stores offer different product lines. So it depends on who makes the boat you are interested in trying. But it is well worth your time to get into a boat and try it out. There are a lot of factors that go into fit and comfort level.

You have until Saturday to do some research and decide what to try out. Start with this gear guide. It was put together by co-MOACer Elisabeth Paine. It helps explain how the kayak design affects how you paddle. It also offers some tips for finding good deals. (Thank you Elisabeth.)

Next, look up the kayak manufacturer's Web site. They have all the vital stats on their boats. Whittle down your wish list to two or three.

Then try them out this weekend. If the weather is acceptable, try KTP on Saturday and Bean on Sunday.

Fit is important. Do your hips and feet fit in it comfortably? If not, ask for help adjusting the seat or foot pegs. That could help a lot.

Don't be scared by its stability - or instability. The kayak may feel tippy at first. But if you spend a little time getting used to it, you may be very comfortable with it. It's the secondary stability that counts. (See the gear guide for good explanation.)

Have some fun. Don't be afraid to ask questions. And let me know how it goes.

I hesitated to blog about this but a Lewiston man drowned this morning. He and a friend were in a paddleboat on a pond in Scarborough. They found an abandoned kayak, and one of them decided to paddle it back to a campground. It was during the return trip that Michael Gould fell out of the kayak and drowned.

I'm sorry. My heart goes out to Michael's family and friends. It seems to me he was trying to help someone by returning their kayak to the campground. He didn't deserve this to happen to him.

But it could have been avoided. Michael wasn't a swimmer but he had a life jacket in the boat. If he had it on properly, it could have saved his life.

I understand why this could happen. A beautiful, peaceful morning. A nice calm pond. What can go wrong?

You can fall out of a boat that you are not used to using - easily.

You can panic.

You can be too far from someone trying to help you.

My intention isn't to be mean or be a Monday morning quarterback about a tragic accident. But this summer, thousands of people will go out on lakes and ponds like this. Many will not think they are taking any risks. And they most likely will return to shore safely after having a ton of fun.

But who wants to be the exception? Please wear a PFD. It's worth it.

This just got passed around in an e-mail. But if you have a story about being rescued on the water - or rescuing someone - Paddler magazine wants to hear from you.

Here are the details:

In this world of signs and concrete, in this age of technology and affluence, and in this society of safety and contingency plans, we rarely experience the sensation of being rescued. Sure, it might happen in a social sense—when you're just about too offend your host at a party or at your mother-in-law's house. But not the in the adrenaline-pumping, 'I-almost-died' sense that seemed to define the lives of our forefathers. Unless, of course, you're a paddler. While being rescued—or offering rescue—is hopefully not a ritual, it is, to some extent, a rite of passage into our sport. We at Paddler thought it would be fun for our readers and fellow paddlers to share their own stories of rescue. Whether you are the rescuer or the rescuee in the story doesn't matter. What does matter is this event taught you something, that it's a brief account (150 words) and that you sign the story with your name and the city, state in which you reside. Most importantly, that you send your story to christian@paddlermagazine.com.

Recap:
100-175 words
About being a rescuer or a rescuee
Sign your name, city, state
Send to christian@paddlermagazine.com

I don't have any such stories simply because I am one lucky paddler.

If you have a story, share it here too. We would love to read it.

I've been doing some research into marine vhf radios. I'm looking for something submersible and easy enough to attach to my PFD. Both of those features are must haves for me.

From the chatter I picked up, Icom's M88 seems to be the gold standard. Long battery life. Compact. Submersible. So dependable that users say it doesn't fail. And it costs about $250.

Icom also offers the M72. It costs just a bit less than $200. It costs less because it doesn't offer some of the radio frequencies (for land use) that the M88 offers. It also isn't as compact. But it has a feature that literally shakes the water away from the speaker. I didn't find much on that one because it's relatively new. I wonder if I can assume it has the same reliability as the M88.

To add to the choices, I found the new M34. It floats. That may not seem like a big deal. But I'm not graced with a great deal of dexterity. This could be a deal breaker. It's battery life is much less than in the M88 or M72. It has the AquaQuake feature of the M72 and looks like it's the same size.

I found some unflattering remarks about the Standard Horizon models. Nothing on the Unidens. Nor any comments on the West Marine brands.

So I'm wondering if you have used any of these marine radios - especially the new models. Let us know what you think.