My recent attendance at a water safety conference stirred up a memory I don’t think about often but it’s always in the back of my mind. It was the time I nearly drowned. Looking back, I can see that the incident had a long-lasting influence on my life. Before I […]
Tag: kayaking
Best Surfing Waves of the Year. So Far.
Peter and I enjoyed great waves at Port Washington’s South Beach yesterday with some nice long surfs. I’ve never seen waves so nicely spaced at PW South Beach. Surf boarders came from all over to enjoy the day. At one point I counted 17 of them on the water in […]
Camper Quest Part 2: Rent Before You Buy
Last week I introduced here the topic of our Camper Quest — our search to find the perfect (or at least acceptable) solution to expand our kayaking world via the RV lifestyle. I’ve been doing a ton of research on the topic because RV’s ain’t cheap. Before we fork over […]
Camper Quest Part 1: Expanding Our Kayaking World with an RV
My wife and I have been kayakers for about 12 years. Over the years, as we paddled rivers, Great Lakes and oceans, I expanded my knowledge and love of kayaking and today I share it with others as an instructor and volunteer. These days Lake Michigan is literally in our […]
It’s Cold and Getting Colder on the River
It’s cold and it’s getting colder It’s gray and white and winter all around And oh I must be getting older All this snow is trying to get me down* The air was 31F. Water was 37F. The river level was 10″. Time to go boating. Xensr map and motion […]
Motion Tracking for Kayakers Too: Xensr Air
For the past 10 months I’ve been using a sports motion-tracking device called the Xensr Air 3D GPS (pronounced “sensor”), the product of a Green Bay, WI-based company. As company founder David Troup once told me, “In order to make it unforgettable, we made it unpronounceable.” The Air is touted […]
Bird’s Eye View of Wausau Whitewater
I’ve posted video before showing Wausau Whitewater Park from ground/water level. Here’s another vantage point. This unique perspective shows what a gem this place is. The video was shot by Ryan Keihn of Aerial Pulse at the last open recreational release of the season on Sept. 17, 2016. If you’re […]
Kayaking Sea Caves of the Apostle Islands
With the right equipment, training and experience (or hiring a guide service), the sea caves of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore are fantastic, other-worldly places to explore by sea kayak. Last week we made return visits to the Mainland sea caves and the caves of Sand Island. In previous trips […]
My Encounter With Traveling Ted
For the past seven years I have served as an instructor at the annual Door County Sea Kayak Symposium (DCSKS), held the second weekend in July and presented by Rutabaga Paddlesports. This year there were 160 participants with more than 40 instructors and assistants. One of those participants was a […]
Rescuing a Dude
Last night reminded me that common sense is not all that common. I was with six other kayakers on one of our regular Tuesday evening whitewater runs on the Red River near Gresham, Wisconsin. It was around 7 p.m. We had just finished running the most technical feature, Monastery Falls […]