Month: March 2005

As chronicled in the web site Around Oman which includes daily updates, Mark Evans is beginning the second phase of his 1,700 km kayak journey along the Oman coast. Evans hopes his journey will raise awareness of the Oman coast as a tourist destination as well as raising funds for the recently established Oman National Cancer Awareness Group. He is paddling 40 – 50 km each day.

SIGN OF SPRING - Ray Wirth of Belfast sets off from the Belfast Public Landing for his first paddle of the season, Thursday, March 17. LOUISE SHORETTE

I’ve been distracted this week by a proposal in the Maine legislature to require a $10.00 registration fee for all non-motorized watercraft. The proposal now seems dead in the water due to substantial uproar from paddlers near and far.

“What is it about this proposal that has gotten under my skin?” I’ve been asking myself. I stayed up late 2 nights exchanging emails with other MASKGI (Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guides and Instructors) members and typing rather cutting emails to local representatives and senators. Part of it, I think, is that for me — and for many others apparently — kayaking represents the opposite of the world that has anything to do with regulation, registration, government,or financial responsiblity. Kayaking is about getting away from all that. Something in me recoils at the thought of mixing the two: don’t put any red tape betweeen me and my kayak!

Although the $10.00 fee may seem small in the eyes of some, the registration is a symbolic intrusion upon a very fundamental recreational activity that has never been taxed before and still is not taxed in most other states. If you tax environmentally and socially benign activities such as canoeing and kayaking, it becomes a slippery slope toward taxing other activities — camping, hiking, swimming, cross country skiing, mountain biking, birdwatching, and so on. I can’t see the logic of taxing one of these activities unless you tax all of them. And the idea of paying a fee in order to step into my kayak and paddle it out into Penobscot Bay is just as repugnant to me as the idea of paying a fee in order to pull on a pair of boots and hike off into the woods behind my house. See the thread I started on Paddling.net for more views.

West Coast Paddler

“Maine has two seasons: winter and 2 months of damn poor sledding,” goes the old joke. The quote betrays a bemused acceptance of long winters. I imagine a cynical Inuit might have said pretty much the same. The Inuit were obviously highly skilled in surviving the extreme conditions of the arctic winter; and many times, it must have felt to them that winter was the dominant force in their lives. What they lived for, however, was to get out in the water in their kayaks.

It occurred to me while cross country skiing today that a kayak was very probably the first “ski.” As a group of nomadic hunger / gatherers moved north and encountered ice, they likely found that they could tow their loaded kayaks across smooth ice with a minimum of effort. From there, it wouldn’t take much of a cognitive leap to lash two kayaks together catamaran style (the first sled) and eventually to lash smaller versions of “kayaks” directly onto their feet as skis.

Kayak touring and cross country skiing do bear a lot of similarities — and not just in muscle groups used. Cross country skiing also involves maximizing glide and minimizing drag while moving across the surface of (frozen) H20. And anyone who has set a kayak down on snow or ice knows that the kayak just begs to go careening down even the slightest slope.

Again proving that you can find anything on the web, there are several sites featuring “snow kayaking.” My adventures in snow kayaking” includes several cool photos and a moving background. The Des Moines Register has an article on snow kayaking in Iowa of all places. Reportedly whitewater kayaks work best, but I still think a touring kayak would give more speed.

Newsflash: Early Model Kayak Found in Vatican

Maybe it’s just me but it seems like suddenly I’m aware of a number of kayak shops and small manufacturers that are closing their doors — or have done so within the last few months. Country Canoeist (NH), Great River Outfitters (sold and moved to RI), Raven Works Kayaks (PA), Norcan Kayaks (Quebec), Noyo Pacific Outfitters (CA), Mariner Kayaks (WA), and Baidarka Boats (AK) all have owners who are moving on — with GRO the only one that looks to be remaining open under new ownership.

What other shops are closing? Any new shops opening? Is there a trend? And, if so, what might be the reasons for it?” I posted the above on Paddling.net and received 13 responses. Big box stores, the economy, mismanagement, and the de-evolution of the sport toward mass-produced cheap plastic “blub” boats were cited as reasons for the slow disappearance of small independent kayak shops.

Some mentioned that in at least some cases shop owners had decided to make lifestyle changes and move on — something they are certainly entitled to do. But if a business is economically viable, it gets bought by someone else who keeps the doors open. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be what is happening.

An opportunity to test yourself against other paddlers without taking home a tacky t-shirt is offered by Mountain Wayfarer’s virtual kayak race. The virtual race invites you to post your (GPS or other measured time) over a 5 or 10 mile course online and see how it compares with others who have done the same thing. About 40 paddlers posted times in the 2004 race. The “winning” time from last year was posted by Mark Webber of Sag Harbor, NY who completed a 5 mile course in 43:39 in a wooden Struer K1.

For some tips for going fast, check out the forward stroke article at USAWildwater.com