Fun

Kelly's Canoe & Kayak

I talked mom into heading down to Doug's shop in Gilbertsville. We set out and I couldn't wait. We took Chris's car, that way I knew I wouldn't be purchasing a boat right then and there. A good thing I wasn't planning on getting one, too. Apparently, the power had been out and the computer wasn't working. And Doug was out of reach, backpacking in the Adirondacks. (Must be nice!)

We got to the shop and walked in...lots of paddles! Then there were some PFDs. We chatted with the guy who was working. He was relieved to hear that we were just there to look for the day and weren't planning on buying anything at that moment. We then checked out the boats and I showed mom the gorgeous Necky Manitou 14 that I'd taken out the other day.



After chatting with the guy working there, I have decided that I'm going to get all of my stuff from Doug. I'm sure he'll be pleased.

Boat-wise it looks like the Necky Manitou 14 is going to win out. I do hope to try the Tsunami 140 the next time I go out. Then the decision will be made. In terms of paddle, I think I'm looking at the AquaBound Stingray with the carbonfiber shaft. While at the shop I tried on the Extrasport Eagle PFD, which is probably what I'll go with. And then there's the roof rack for my Focus. *Sigh*

I can't wait!

Lock 60 Loop

After waiting more than a month I was finally able to get out on a Wednesday paddle with Doug and his crew through Kelly's Canoe & Kayak. It's a deal you can't beat. $10 gets you a kayak, paddle and PFD. Not to mention he brings it right to the put-in.

I gathered most of my gear Tuesday night to be sure I had everything I wanted/needed. Now, when does that ever work out as planned? Yep, you got it...I forgot something. What did I forget, you ask? A bag to carry my stuff on the water. I just wanted something small I could throw my keys etc in. I figured I'd take one of my bags that zips fully and put a gallon size Ziploc in it just in case I'd flip. (Hey, ya never know!)

I'm sitting at school and realize this. Of course, there's nothing I can do at that point. So, I wrack my brain to come up with an alternate. So, here's the scene: I'm sitting at my computer during my lunch and I grab my Nalgene bottle to take a drink while I ponder. Then it hits me--if a water bottle keeps everything on the outside dry when it's full of water, then it will keep whatever is inside it dry when the water is on the outside. DUH!

I check my watch at the end of the day. When bus waves start to get called I gather my school stuff and then get my gear together to change. I head to the faculty bathroom and change my clothes, head back to my room and put in my contacts. (I was amazed that they were cooperating.) Next up get the GPS set up to go, make sure I have the printed directions and Doug's cell number handy (just in case.) Again looking at the clock I drag my stuff up to Rachel's room and check in on my AM announcements for my kiddos. She reminds me that I need to come back from paddling because she doesn't want to have to run band rehearsal on Thursday. Next, it's off to the office to sign out and head to Target to get a water bottle.

Making great time, Target it is and there's even time to stop at Arby's for a Roast Beef Gyro for dinner. Heading straight to the water bottle aisle at Target it wasn't hard to pick a Nalgene bottle. Iridescent Green color! Sweet. Then I look for something to use to affix it to my boat. So I head down the next aisle and I come across workout gear and there are weightlifting gloves which look like they'll double as paddling gloves. Awesome! And then the camping aisle had some carabiners. And out of Target, off to Arby's and then back on the road to Mont Clare.

I get down there in great time. (Note on next trip: Don't get off of 29 to go on 113. It takes forEVER.) For a while I sat at the end point on the map, eventually calling home to see if any updates were posted on Facebook about the put-in because there didn't appear to be anyone else around. Sure enough, the map didn't actually take you to the put-in. Time to wing it. I took a chance and headed down the road a bit to the canal road to the parking area. The road is actually between the canal and the river. I packed my new Nalgene bottle and got out of the car and just hung out. Then Doug came down the road with 11 kayaks! There were a bunch of us on the water.

He put me in the Necky Manitou 14 that we'd talked about earlier that day. It was a gorgeous "Pacific Blue" color and the reflective decklines were sweet. This was my first time out on a boat with a skeg. It was okay, but the conditions didn't really make its use necessary. We paddled down the Schuylkill a ways and under a bridge and then around a curve before finding the portage. It was getting dark. I managed to get off the water without flipping the boat and while there was still some light. Dragging the boat across the 200 yards or so of grass and loamy ground really rather sucked.

Then came the put-in on the canal. The water level was really rather low. Some people were sitting on the edge and getting a push, while others shimmied themselves in. I opted for putting the boat in the water and then climbing in similar to working from a dock. I made a friend who helped steady my boat while I climbed in. Then we were off down the canal. While waiting to put-in I affixed my headlamp to my water-filled Nalgene bottle. Being on the water like that it really didn't give enough light so I opted for wearing it. The canal was so cool because I could picture being somewhere other than PA because the trees were hanging in the water and it just looked different. We passed a bar on the water that offered us beer, and a barrel that someone was burning in. There was also a mean-tempered goose heading past us. It was awesome. Just being in the water like that after dark was awesome and the scenery was neat.



Then it was time to take-out......at a dock! Let's recap what ways I know how to enter and exit a kayak through experience. I've been pushed out by someone else, pushed myself out, put it on the water straddled and sat; then getting off has been the beach yourself get out on shore, straddle and step out....and now getting out at a dock! It looks pretty easy on youTube, but in real life the PFD really gets in the way. It was hard to pull myself up because I was getting caught on the PFD. Ugh.



Then I helped with paddles and PFDs and the like. Thanked Doug and headed home giddy as a schoolgirl. It was awesome!!!!!!

PA Boater Safety

So, that past two Thursdays I spent with my dad at Peters Marine in Allentown taking the Basic Boating class. It prepared us to take our boating safety test in order to get our NASBLA approved certificate. The class was very well done. Kudos to Bobby from Peters Marine and Bob from the PA Fish & Boat Commission. http://www.petersmarine.com/

While neither Dad or I needed the class we both found it important to know what boaters should be doing. Even though technically as a non-powered boat I have the right of way in my kayak, I want to know what other people are supposed to do. And technically I'm still responsible for knowing the info in the manual.

I got 100% correct on my test and sent the paperwork in today with the $10 to get my permanent card. They ran the class for free, so it couldn't be beat. If you take the course online it costs something like $45.

I'm looking forward to taking some of the other seminars that they will hopefully hold there. I'm really interested in some of the courses that the US Power Squadron do. In fact, Kelly's Canoe and Kayak mentioned doing some winter gatherings and I suggested some of their paddle friendly classes such as: Paddle Smart, Basic Coastal Navigation, How to Use a Chart, Onboard Weather Forecasting, etc. http://www.usps.org/e_stuff/seminars.htm

Hopefully I can pick up some more of these educational classes over the winter when opportunities to go out are less.

ACA Quickstart Class

On Friday I went down to French Creek State Park in Elverson, PA to take a Quickstart Your Kayak class. In the process I joined the ACA for 6 months. We pulled out onto Scott's Run Lake. There wasn't anyone else on the water except our little crew. The other two people taking the class had already been on the water before so we got through the entire class early and learned some extra strokes, plus got to paddle more of the lake.

I must say I absolutely HATED the yak that I was in. It was a Perception Prodigy. I'm going to guess it was a 10', maybe a 12' but doubtful. The tracking was horrible. I felt like I was facing a different direction every time I put the paddle in the water. The cockpit was so open it may as well have been a SOT. It is not a boat I'm interested in at all. The deck was non-existant and the sides were high. The thing must have been two feet across. Short arms plus high and wide boat do not mix.

Things went well. The gentleman running the class told me he thinks I have a lot of potential to become a really good kayaker. He suggested I look at plastic Necky kayaks.

I can't wait to go back out again. They still suggest you take the full Intro class. There we'd get the paddle float rescue, etc. The only problem is finding one that's close!

Shark Week

So...I figured that Shark Week on Discovery channel is at least slightly relevant to a Kayak Blog. They're currently showing reruns from past years. The episode on right now is basically how to avoid a shark attack. They just did research on bathing suit colors, which I'm sure would double for kayaks and PFDs. The most attacked color was yellow, then red, lastly black. So maybe I'm not thinking about a Hi-Vis Yellow PFD anymore. I can stick with the orange or even the pink. While I want to be seen let's not press our luck, right?

Buying a Kayak

Needless to say I now need to go purchase a kayak. I think I've decided on the 14' Calypso. They have an orange one in stock at the store (no rudder). While at first I wasn't too happy with the thought of an orange boat, I read an article on www.paddling.net about a chat two people were having about watching a group of kayakers cross a bay. With his binoculars he saw two kayaks, but there were five on the trip. But only two could be seen. One in a yellow kayak and the other failed to mention. But the boats that could NOT be seen were a red and a blue one. The article goes on to mention that orange is the most visible color to the human eye, with yellow a close second. While a Coast Guard friend of theirs assures them that Robin's Egg Blue is extremely visible from the air because there is nothing that color in nature that is bigger than a robin's egg.

Anyway, that seals my fate on the color. I want to be seen if God forbid anything were to happen. And I'll probably go with a bright pink of Hi-Vis yellow PFD when it comes down to it as well.

I sat in the boat and it feels good on land. With L.L. Bean's return policy I'm not worried about if I don't like it. I can always take it back. 100% guarantee! I also looked at the roof racks. She convinced me that I should get the Carbon-fiber paddle. Aqua-Bound makes a Sting Ray model that comes in a small shaft that is easier on the hands. While I have long fingers my palms are normal girl-sized.

In addition to my boat, PFD, paddle and roof rack...it looks like I'll also get a pair of paddling gloves, a safety package (paddle float, bilge pump and whistle; although, I already have my Fox 40), cockpit cover and LED light.

At this point, I'm trying to hold out for a sale, but it's absolutely killing me! I want to be on the water so badly. It makes me unhappy when I'm not.