Two Harbors Kayak Festival is a great event.  Period.  It's fun to go test drive boats.  It's fun to go up and see friends, play around on the water, meet new people, and have a great weekend.  And it's fun to go race.  I know, racing isn't for everyone, but it is a lot of fun for some of us. 

This year, unlike the last couple, the lake was cold.  In fact, the day was cold on Saturday, and the lake had just 'turned over' so the water temp was in the upper 40s!  Man is that cold.  Paddling in water like that requires a little different preparation, and some different clothes than I'm used to wearing down here in the Cities.  I should have, but didn't, wear my neoprene pants, and I should have, but didn't, have a splashproof top on.  Instead, I had my 2 weight lycra shorts, booties with no socks, no gloves, and a ball cap.  No cotton, but not very warm after a few paddle drips.

 I managed to stay upright, which not everyone could claim.  However, I broke my rudder and had to turn early, so I avoided a couple of the worst sections on the way back.  Several of the guys hit the water in the rougher conditions, and swmps were unpleasantly cold.  However, true sportsmanship also came through as competitors waited on their fellow paddlers, and made sure everyone made it home safely.  

Tip for cold water - wear clothing suited closer to the water temp than the air temp.  Obviously, you have to shade this a little higher when it's 90 outside, but a dip in 45 degree water when it's 70 can bring on a quick case of hypothermia if warmer duds aren't available.   Tip two - never, ever turn your back on Lake Superior.  Always be aware of conditions, forecasts, and your progress.

Happy paddling 

The Swamp 

My buddy Mike and I went down to the river to play last weekend.  Mike is still getting used to his Fast Tippy Boat, and I wanted to paddle 'big water' in the Freedom.  So we put in at I-94 and paddled down to the State Park and back on the St Croix.  Beautiful day, 80s, and a south wind at around 10-12mph all day.  We started early enough to have pretty good paddling down - a few big boats, not too many Personal Watercraft, and not a single paddlepowered boat the whole day! 

We spent a lot of time zig zagging out to the channel markers, catching the biggest powerboat wave we could and running to the beach on it as long as possible.  Not only is it a good workout, it's pretty reasonable practice for paddling on bigger water as well.  The trick is to let a couple of wakes go by, speed up on one, and then paddle like heck on the next one.  If you do it right, it's a real rush.  If you screw up, well... mostly you just wallow around or have to make a quick brace to save it.  No big deal.

The most fun sets were on the way back.  We had a couple of BIG powerboats go by at a fairly good clip - maybe 20-25knots.  Which for a big boat is big speed.  And it makes a big wave.  We lined up well, and were rewarded by waves that were 3-4' high and far enough apart to actually ride a bit.  As they got nearer the shore, there was actually a curl to some of them, which made for a real audio rush if not a better ride.  They were indeed fun - 9-10mph surfing on them, and some fairly exciting rides.  

I'm just amazed nobody paddles the St Croix. Or Lake Pepin.  Another area that gets good waves, lots of scenery, and within an hour of the metro.  Instead, folks must sit around and wait until they can afford the time to drive 3+hours to the North Shore or Bayfield and freeze their tootsies in Superior.   

Another favorite spot of mine is Long Lake in New Brighton.  Not a huge lake, but one that takes 45-60 minutes to paddle a lap.  Also happens to be 5 min from my house.  Long Lake is a powerboat haven, usually with several 'pro' wakeboard and ski boats. (plus the usual smattering of jetskis, knuckleheads and fishing boats).  I've gotten to know several of the wakeboarders to the point that they know if I'm coming out toward them and waiting, they know I'm looking for their wake (and they won't make a big detour around).  A couple of the guys have tried my kayaks, and a couple have offered me rides or to go ski.  It's a nice mutual respect thing.  These guys can throw down some amazing tricks, too.  

Bottom line - get your butt out in a boat.  Waiting for a perfect day, or that perfect trip to the North Shore means you haven't been putting in the hours that will make that perfect Superior trip, well, perfect.  It's a lot more fun up there if you aren't exhausted.

There have been a couple of races and training paddles lately where the subject of 'the right boat' have come up over and over. 

Firstoff, there is no 'one boat to do it all' regardless of what manufacturers, designers and marketeers would have you think.  The boat that I enjoy paddling the most isn't necessarily the right boat for Lake Superior, nor for Rice Creek (although it's pretty fun there).

Second, there are 'wrong boats'.  Sprint boats on Lake Superior.  Anything with an underhung rudder on the Wisconsin River.  12 foot pokey boats in a 26mile race.  Lots of ways to hit this one.

 So I continue my search for  the right *combination* of boats.  I'm sitting at 3 right now - a fast, tippy ICF spec K-1 for small lakes and rivers.  A 21' surf ski for big water races, and an 18' "touring rules" boat for days I just want to paddle and not swim.  Greg Barton just won the big race 'out east' - the Blackburn, in an Epic 18.  Not the fastest boat in all cases, but one of the most versatile, and it was Greg.  Sort of like saying Lance Armstrong can ride a bike...

On the non-racing side of things, why not have a couple of boats.  I talked with a guy the other night who has 4 plastic boats.  Nothing wrong with plastic, mind you.  He knew exactly what he wanted, needed, and had.   He has two boats that can go on Superior, so he can invite a friend.  And he has two others that are a little more 'stable' so he can introduce his non-paddlng friends to the sport.  His idea of a fun weekend was to convince 3 other people to go up to St Croix State Park, camp out for the weekend, and paddle the river.  What an ambassador.  He also told me what he does for a living.  If he had a high end composite boat, that would be it - one boat.  No spares for friends.   And even if you have two, do you want to hear someone else run your $3000 beauty up on the rocks?  Nah. 

So I'll continue to espouse the idea of get the right boat for what you do.  No sense getting a top end composite boat if all you do is paddle around on the local creeks, and no sense getting an expedition touring boat for that one weekend a year on Superior - RENT ONE instead.  Buy boats that are fun.  Buy boats that you want to paddle - a lot.  And above all, get what you need.

It is always tough striking a balance between wants and needs, plans and actions, business and fun.  It's even tougher when your business is other people's fun (and your own).  Sometimes the balance point is to make a compromise that you acknowledge that 'for this season I'm going to be competitive and then take time off sport' or "I'm going to back off racing this year" and focus on business/family/golf or whatever. 

And sometimes, just sometimes, the balance is literal - being able to keep your boat underneath you even when the conditions get wild.  It's fun watching Devin or Jason or Kjell in a C1 (solo racing canoe) when the waves get big and everyone else is hanging on for dear life.  Watching them swivel and continue to drive is poetry in motion.  And it's fun watching Erik Borgnes or Andrew Folpe in a surfski as they catch ride after ride on Superior, picking up speed on every wave, and moving easily to catch the next one. 

Balance is something that works in all boats - it's all about core strength and muscle memory.  One of our 'rookie' paddlers hopped into a moderately unstable kayak the other night - first time in years she'd paddled a racing kayak, and was instantly at home.  Of course, that's all she paddled growing up in Europe.  Very fit canoe paddlers usually have problems hopping into racing kayaks for the first few minutes - it's a different balance and takes a slightly different set of muscles.  The same is usually true going from a 30" wide recreational kayak to a sea kayak - just takes a little muscle time for your body to tell you what it already knows...

I picked up a 'good used' two person flatwater kayak this summer, and one of my partners and I have been learning to paddle it.  There are a bunch of things that have to happen at the same time - it's fairly tippy, it requires paddling in sync, which done well looks really neat, and it really requires balancing together - something that requires a lot of trust from both of you.  We haven't been brave enough to race it yet - still working the bugs out, but maybe by this week's Hoigaards race...