New Year's Eve Paddle

Went for a late night New Year's Eve paddle from Brentwood to Senanus Island. Though it was a full moon it was so overcast that the sky was nothing but a dull orangey glow from the city lights.

Still a nice way to spend the wee hours.

Time on water - 4 hours

Cadboro Bay to Fiddle Reef

Took Gregg out for a lesson. From Cadboro Bay to Fiddle Reef and back.

Time on water - 4 hours
Time Instructing - 4 hours

Deception Pass WA

Spent a great day playing in a 6-7 knot ebb current at Deception Pass with Setsuko Cox, Chuck Curry, Karen Scharer, and Ken Biddle. Had an absolute blast! Found out what it's like getting a whole body whirly in a 20' whirlpool. Was spinning around with my bow in the air in the center when I tripped. Upside down, round and round, five roll attempts and nothing. Had to do a wet exit to get my butt outta there :")

Time on water - 5 hours

Christmas Day Paddle at Bowman Bay WA

Took Mark's 16" wide 18' long SOF out on Bowman Bay for a quiet Christmas Day by myself.

Time on water - 4 hours

Christmas Eve Paddle at Willows Beach.

Took Mark Reuten's 16" by 18' kayak out for a spin today at Willows Beach. Fun stuff! I sure needed the relaxation. Spent a lot of time floating on my back in balance braces, staring up into the sky, or eyes closed enjoying the feeling.

Time on water - 3 hours

Kayak and Hardware:


$1500 - SOF - Hindeloopen
...or
$1700 - 2500 - 3000 NDK Greenlander Pro
...or
$0 Aquabound Pump - shortened.
$0 Map Case - Axel
?$500 Greenland Paddles X2 - Don Beale
?$ Shorty Canoe Paddle - Joe O'
?$250 Sealz or Snapdragon Sprayskirt
...or
?$250 Tuilik. Bug-eye or Brooks

Hardware - Other:
?$ EPIRB - US and CN registered ACR ResQfix 2897 or McMurdo Fast Find 210 (MEC)
?$ Northwater Tow-Rope
VHF radio - Standard Horizon HX850S

Personal Paddling Gear:
$0 Drysuit - Kokatat Expedition, Red, Medium
$0 Wetsuit - Brooks, size?
$0 Bomber-top, Kokatat
$0 PFD - Astral Tempo 200
?$ 250 - Polar Fleece Bunny-suit
?$500 - Long Underwear - IceBreaker 100 and 200. Two pairs, crew top and fly bottom, one at 100 and one at 200 weight.
?$30 Paddling Gloves





...unsorted
Camel-bak system

Pool Session

Sculling practice in 'Humble Pie', my Kirton K1.

Time on water - 3 1/2 hours

McNeil Bay

Lesson and also a paddle at McNeil Bay. windy, fairly big day.

Time on water - 5 hours (over two outings)
Time instructing - 3 hours

Pool Session

Sculling and Rolling practice.

Time on water - 3 hours

Cadboro Bay

Lesson at Cadboro Bay.

Time on water - 3 hours
Time instructing - 4 hours

Saturday night at the Pool

Took 'Humble Pie', my Kirton K1, to the pool for three hours of sculling and balancing with my greenland paddle.

Time on water - 3 hours

Puttering up Portage Inlet

Took today's Tuesday paddler up into Portage Inlet and Colquitz creek. Weaher was a bit drizzly, tides were nil. Nice way to spend a late morning. 'Tassie' seems happier with the work I've done on her... but it could just be me.

Time on water - 3 hours
Time instructing - 2 hours
Time guiding - 1 hour

Jordan River to Sheringham Point

Decided to go out and see what a 16 foot wave on a 16 second period looks like when it lands. Paddled out from Jordan River through some pretty hairy surf, but not as big as what is landing up at Tofino as the biggest waves were in the 7-8 foot range and most of waves were smaller at 4 feet. Paddled off-shore, and south to Sheringham Point  and back.

After loading up I decided to take a run up to Port Renfrew with stops at Sombrio, and a few other spots along the way to check things out.

Time on water - 6 hours

Pool Session

Decided to bring 'Humble Pie' (the Kirton K1) to the pool this time. She threw me in the water a few times, but I got to the point where I could scull her across the pool and back with my Greenland paddle. Must... have... bulkheads...

Time on water - 3 hours

Weird Weather

An odd bubble of warmth crept over us today. Winds from almost every quarter at some point in the day.
Paddled out from Cadboro Bay for today's lesson. Went WAY overtime on today's session, but there were so many great opportunities to weather-watch, interpret, and play detective while we were out there.

Time on water - 3 1/2 hours
Time instructing - 4 hours

Calm Sunshine Amidst Storm Warnings

Every once and awhile - strike that. Often the weather forecasts fall far from reality. Today was one of those days.

It was a beautiful day to be on the water, sunny, warm, and a slight breeze to keep things fresh. I took my Tuesday paddle group to McNeil Bay in hopes of protection from the predicted winds, which never showed. We had a nice paddle across McNeil Bay for a view of Clover Point and Dallas Road. We came back across on the outside of the Bay's eddy, for an exploratory cruise up the lee of Trial Island. Things were calm and well within the group's abilities so the decision was made to poke around the corner and see what was up. Swells were a foot or so, and gentle.

A few rescue practices on the way towards Gonzales Point and back to McNeil Bay. Very pleasant day to be on the water in lovely Victoria.

Time on water - 3 hours
Time guiding - 3 hours
Time instructing - 1.5 hours

Sunrise at Becher Bay

Early AM paddle this morning. Couldn't sleep, lots on my mind. Got up at 3am and went out for a sunrise paddle at Becher Bay. Special moments free for the taking. Sorry, but THIS is what 'plucking the low-hanging fruit' is really about!

Time on water - 6 hours

Pool Session

Busy ORS pool session tonight. Lots of folks learning rescues and rolls.

Time on water - 3 hours

Lake Session

A great session on Beaver Lake with ~G. Weather provided the opportunity for some great what-if scenarios. An unassisted recovery from a complete capsize topped the day off. Nice work my friend!

Time on water - 3 hours
Time instructing - 3 hours

VCKC Rolling Clinic

The Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club (VCKC) asked me to instruct a roll clinic for them. I had a small group of mixed experience and feel that it went very well.

Time on water - 10 minutes
Time instructing - 2 hours

Playing in Baynes Channel

Got on the water in time to find some tide race action in the mouth of Baynes, off Ten Mile Point. Paddled out past the mouth of Cadboro Bay to watch the sailboats racing. Then hopped over to Cattle Point, Willows Beach and then off to Fiddle Reef to catch the wind waves and current back to Smuggler's Cove. Not sure why sailboats think it's okay to run across the bow of kayakers, second time this happened. He missed me by 20 feet, and I had to stop and back-paddle against the 2 knot current to keep from being swept under him. Grrrrr... as he passed he was close enough to hear me tell him to read his regulations.

There were some nice surfable standing waves in the mouth of the channel, and when a big cruiser came through at a slowish pace he put up a pretty nice wake to play on, and when it combined with the tide race the standing waves... stood! WooHoooooooooo!

Nice way to spend my Sunday. Tonight I have another Pool session. I'm teaching a rolling class for the local club.

Time on water - 4 hours

Pool Session

Chaperone at the pool tonight. Was a very quiet night so I had a chance to work on my rolls and strokes. My Butterfly roll is feeling fairly solid on both sides, not sure if it's 100% reliable yet but now that I'm dragging my melon out last things are MUCH easier. Thanks for the reminder Axel, head last! I should know better. Hand-roll is iffy at best.

Time on water - 3 hours

Friday night paddle

Dragged 'Tassie' down to one of my more 'discrete' launching points for a good long night paddle. Needed it!

Time on water - 6 hours

Instruction at Beaver Lake

A morning spent with ~G on Beaver Lake, fine tuning his braces and strokes. Working towards a solid capsize recovery. I'm sure ~G was happy that he pulled off two perfect self-rescues in the deep water. Congratulations!

Time on water - 3 hours
Time instructing - 3 hours

Lesson at Esquimalt Lagoon

Paddled out from the Fort Rodd Hill end of Esquimalt Lagoon and across the Harbour with ~G. Was an excellent lesson. Spent a lot of our time reinforcing the skills learned in our last session, plus introduced a few new variations on the theme. Practiced self-rescues. Breeze from the North-East, small wind waves.

Time on water - 3 hours
Time instructing - 3 hours

Instructional session at Cattle Point

Took ~G for a two hour, one-on-one session today at Cattle Point. A fun session, and judging by the smile on his face when he 'rolled' up from a capsize, a very productive one.

I live for days like this!

Time on water - 2 hours
Time instructing - 2 hours

Evening paddle at Esquimalt Lagoon

Peddle-Paddle out of View Royal - sprinted across Esquimalt Lagoon to the head, and back again. Muscles were burning after this one.

Time on water - 3 hours

Group Tour - Brentwood Bay

Took out a group of 12 in doubles with ~C and ~R co-leading. Paddled out to Senanus Island, then over to Willis Point, and a lunch stop in Tod Inlet. Another freelance gig for LongBoat ShortBoat!

Time on water - 3 hours
Time guiding - 3 hours

Waning Gibbous Moon Paddle ;O)

The night was too beautiful to sleep. Decided to drag 'Tassie' down to the water for another 'full' moon paddle.

Time on water - 3 hours

Full Moon Paddle

Full Moon Paddle on Portage Inlet - no rolling in the inlet this time of the year.

Time on water - 4 hours

Oak Bay

Tagged along on Peter's Sunday paddle group out of Oak Bay.

Time on water - 4 hours
Time guiding - 4 hours
Time instructing - 2 hours

Brentwood Bay

Took a group of ten people/five doubles out for a tour of Brentwood Bay. Co-guided with ~L and ~C.

Time on water - 2 hours
Time guiding - 2 hours

A mid-week getaway to Portland Island.

Just got home from my mid-week escape to 'Racoon' Island.

Highlights.
Monday - paddle to Portland.
Tuesday - hang-out and paddle to Russel Island, and Fulford Harbour in Saltspring.
Wednesday - hang-out, rock-gardening on Arbutus Point, and evening paddle around Portland.
Thursday - paddle home (the short way) ;O)
60kms/33nm. Actual Averaged Speed - 3.8 Knots

Stinkin' theivin' racoons stole my cooking gear... and the Stars were beautiful!

Time on water (over five outings) - 32 hours

Current Play off Ten Mile Point and Strongtide

A group paddle today. Weather has been unbelievable, warm, sunny, windless. Great conditions to explore the eddies and currents arount Ten Mile Point as well as across Baynes Channel to the Chathams. Found some fun little rock and rollers to 'surf' and goof in. Ended up paddling out to the island twice to look for some lost keys. Against the current the second time, nice ride back though ;O)

Time on water - 5 1/2 hours
Time guiding - 4 hours
Time instructing - 2 hours

Esquimalt Fast-lap

Launched from Esquimalt Lagoon for a full-out speed paddle.

Time on water - 5 hours

Sea-foamed in the Gorge

Met ~D for a two hour session of "bracing in current" instruction under the Tillicum Bridge. There was a 7-8 knot current flowing which made for some fun. Keep those shoulders protected folks, arms always in strongest position, close to body, elbows bent. I see so many people trying to 'straight-arm' with their paddle and worry about shoulder dislocations...

Time on water - 3 hours
Time instructing - 2 hours

Oak Bay to Trial Island

Went out with one of ~P's groups today - for a paddle out to Trial Island - in search of a little current to give everyone a taste. Twas fun, had some play time and some serious time.

Ferry angles, turning in eddies and currents, rolls, rolls with flooded hatches, nose stands with flooded hatches, standing up in kayak - all kinds of fun. :O)

Time on water - 4 hours
Time guiding - 4 hours
Time instructing - 1 hours

Beaver Lake

Went for a nice, relaxing evening-paddle around Beaver Lake with ~N. Practiced rescues, rolls, ruddering, and had a good long stretch afterwards.

Time on water - 2 hours
Time guiding - 2 hours
Time instructing - 1 hour

Tahe Greenland Kayak

Went for a quick paddle out to the end of the Breakwater for some rolling practice and to try out the Tahe Greenland boat.

Time on water - 2 hours

A review of the new Tahe Greenland boat - Daniel style ;O)

Youtube

I took a Tahe Greenland (LC?) out today for a test paddle and was equally surprised, disappointed, and delighted.

It's too short and too flat bottomed, the fibreglass around the coaming lip seems a bit fragile ...and the seat wobbles. That's the bad news.

I paddle an East Greenland styled kayak so I've a different perspective. I was hoping that 17'10" of skinny boat would be speedier than it was. It accelerates nicely but grows sluggish and paddles heavy if I try to get some speed out of her. I'd like to see her a foot longer, an inch narrower, and with a more pronounced V in the bottom - for what I'd like her to do of course.

Good news? It's a really fun boat to putz around in. Rolling it is a no-effort affair. For a low volume boat it is quite comfortable, especially with my long, skinny legs.

Price: Can't be beat! They're selling these things at a VERY low price. $2700 CN for the standard fibreglass layup. The carbon-fibre gets pricey at $4900 CN, and for the five pounds it saves, and complicated repair issues, it'd be pretty hard put to justify.

Didn't seem to be bothered too much by broaching waves, although the biggest waves I could find were from the whale-watching boats off the end of the Breakwater.

The skeg is BIG, with it down I couldn't get her to turn. Period.

Fibreglass layup looked good, there was a odd crackling noise from the coaming when I picked her up and put her down. Rear decklines were well placed, front decklines worked fine but I would have liked an extra run of cord in front of me to hold long, bulky gear like pumps. The Kajak Sport hatches are really good, much easier to put on, easier to visually check, and more secure than some of the heavy-duty British Boat's rubber hatches.

For those not used to paddling with knees closer together it may take some getting used to. I'd be tempted to put in a proper Maasik, and toss the footpegs and seat for foam blocking.

She rolls with sublime grace. A strong-point in my books.

Bow rudders are easy and instant. It takes nothing to get her to spin on a dime. Edging, like my regular ride, is a fine balance. With no real hips to her she can turn either way on an edge, or at least on anything less than a precisely positioned edge.

I like her, because she's the closest thing to a full-on, production Greenland kayak that I've come across. She's bulk-headed, and fibreglass, and all those other things that make a guy feel secure when he's on his own and miles from anywhere.

I could realistically guide and instruct from it.

Did I mention it's cheap?
~d

...a few good links

Shoulder Dislocations

Full-Moon from the beach

Decided that this time I'd watch the full-moon from a beach instead of heading out for a late night paddle. Things looked a bit ominous in the night sky with the moon slipping in and out of a ragged, thick, and dark cloud cover. Not quite as inspiring as being OTW but still a very nice way to spend a night.

Power of the Sea.

Lighthouses

Mayne Island

Went to Mayne Island for a paddle from Bennett Bay through Boat Passage and back - a circumnavigation of Samuel Island. The Belle Chain was not as exposed as I'd hoped due to a highish low tide but still lots to see and do. Seals, a big Stellar Sea-lion, Great Blue Herons, Oyster-catchers, and some very pretty little birds, that looked like Sand-pipers but plied the water like tiny little ducks. Some fun tide-races to play in, Boat Passage was a blast. Not much left of the Robertson II since my last visit to her in the spring...

Big thanks to my enthusiastic paddle-partners for the day, Kathy, Sandy, and Sarah. It was a lot of fun paddling with you all!

Time on water - 4 hours
Time guiding - 4 hours
Time instructing - 2 hours

Brentwood Bay

Paddled with Kathy and Sandy around Brentwood, McKenzie Bight and Senanus Island.

Time on water - 6 hours
Time guiding - 6 hours

Safe and Talented Kayak Professional looking for a job...

Can I borrow $80,000?

...oooooooooooooohhhhhhhh

Aluminium Bartender Boats

Time to get back to the grind.

How do I summarize an entire summer in a blog entry????

Late evenings around the old silo/campfire talking the big issues with the CRK crew.
Living out of a tent at back of Ginni's veggie plot for two months.
Paddling all night on the Columbia River by full moon.
Being snuck up on by barges.
Paddling solo.
Paddling with the best.
Fresh-picked food.
Goat-meat on the BBQ.
Friends.
Bureaucrats.
Sturgeon.
Brown Pelicans circling overhead.
Puget Island.
Rides to town.
Reading the County Eagle over pancakes with blueberries.
Hammock in the Cotton-woods by the river.
Cotton-woods groaning in the breeze, crashing in the wind.
'Sweep' Stroking.
The sheer grace and beauty of a stern or bow rudder.
"Big Salty Hugs".
Osprey, Red-Tailed Hawks, Eagles, Great Blue Herons, y 'los Vulturas'.
My guardians, advisors and prophets - The Barn Owls, Raven, and the flock of Canada Geese that came to me when I most needed them.
A Canoe ride in the slough.
Admiring Sedum on the cliffs.
Sea Lions.
Romanys... Romanys... Romanys... Tassie!
Swinging the big paddle.
My new shortie GP paddle - Thanks Don!
Cape Kiwanda, pea-soup fog, big Pacific swells, chunky wind-waves, navigation by ear, compass, and watch.
Surf rolling in rolling surf.
Feeding 'the girls' every morning. Cluck cluck cluck...
Sunflowers.
Swinging the big hammer.
Elochoman Valley.
Elk, brake fast!
Raccoon roadkill, braked, not fast enough.
Deep Brown Cavatica at the Fort George.
The Pelican at Pacific City.
Salmon Burgers and ten questions at the Wet Dog.
The Blue Scorcher.
Standing waves, breakers, and dumpers. Green shoulders.
Clif Bars, Three Geeks all-fat Yoghurt, Northern Gold Granola, King Oscar Kippered Herring(s).
Black Panda Licorice.
Kale and eggs for Brekkie.
Raspberries, Blueberries, and Blackberries.
Cathlamet, Skamakowa, Astoria, Ilwaco, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Pacific City, Manzanita...
North Jetty, South Jetty, Jetty A, Jetties period!
Roaring Wing-dams.
Red Right Returning.
Lewis and Clark ate horse and dog... I read it on a sidewalk so it must be true.
Slow-motion rolling in the Columbia at sunset.
Embaressing post-roll nasal drain. Heh heh heh sorry :")
Avocado, Pineapple, Mango.
Misunderstandings.
Connections.
Assumptions.
Business.
Friendship.
Bourbon from the blue bottle.
Fresh nightly breezes through my tent door.





...to be continued - obviously.


Time on water - ever and forever

A day in the Chathams

Went for a great paddle with ~T to the Chatham Islands. Had a very calm and relaxed day. Thanks ~T for a day of shooting the shiz - I needed it!

Time on water - 5 hours

Anglesey slideshow

Home again - home again - home again

Packing up for the trip home tomorrow. Was a great summer. Thanks to all who made it such a great experience!

~daniel~

Took Patrick's Greenlander Pro for a burn.

This thing absolutely rocks - don't think I've ever been in a kayak with this much top-speed on tap. Handles like it's on rails too!

Time on water - 4 hours

Paddle around Puget Island

Went for a leisurely paddle around Puget Island. Lots of stops to enjoy the view and play in the wind waves.

Time on water - 6 hours

Playing in the wind waves under the Cathlamet-Puget Island Bridge

Needed a paddle ;O)

Time on water - 4 hours

http://www.seakayaker.nl/Journal/index.html#

A few links

http://www.seakayaker.nl/Journal/

http://www.seakayaksymposium.co.uk/

...ouch

One out of four passed... I wasn't the happy one. Ah well - there's always Anglesey this winter!

Time on water - 8 hours

BCU 4* Sea Leader Assesment

...ouch

Time on water - 8 hours

Final 4* BCU Training Hours

Five more hours on the water with Axel. Cape Dissapointment, Wakiki Beach.

Time on water - 5 hours

Been awhile

Seems I've been working dawn to dusk for weeks now... lots to do in order to get ready for LoCo. First-aid and CPR course done today, farm and event prep-work tomorrow, Level four training all day the day after, prep work the rest of the week !6th and 17th are my assesment/s. More work for the rest of the week.

Levi and I managed to build a complete 28'x20' building for the group kitchen from flat earth to finish, including slab in 9 long days!

Haven't been on the water for a short while and really looking forward to getting out in rough conditions tomorrow, hopefully we get to launch out at the coast so I can get some more surfing in... I'm wanting to try bigger big stuff now ;O)

Well gotta run!

~d

...some photos of Mark and I practising 4* rescues.

A B C

Credit to Mark W for the fine photography (while hanging off my bow).

Skinny Dipped in the Columbia Yesterday

...it was Soooooo hotttttttt I had to.

...and more paddling!!!

Latched onto another course with Super-Karl, master of the weather and bearer of the righteous compass. Heh!

Got up at 4am -drove four hours to Pacific City waaaaayy down the Oregon Coast, paddled close to totally blind in some seriously big seas - drove five hours back up (too late for Puget Island ferry) and staggered to my tent at 12:30am.

We were into five star stuff... and it was FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC!!!!

Paddling by compass, watch and chart, in 8-10 foot seas with one to two foot wind waves on top of that, through pea-soup fog, visibilty less than 100 feet.

Played in the surf for awhile at the end of the day doing self-rescues, re-entry and rolls in the breakers, kayak dumping and cowboy re-entries. Oh yeah, surfed backwards, forwards and sideways, just for kicks of course ;O)

Stopped at Manzanita to watch the most amazing sunset, drove to the top of Neahkahnie mountain to watch the beautiful colors of the dusky sky while eating my supper, and traveled the rest of the way home in the dark. Manzanita is a very beautiful place. Possibly the nicest sea-side town on the Washington and Oregon coasts. Nice clean surf too!

Another 6 1/2 hours of 4* training... only four more to go to meet my required pre-req...

Tomorrow it's my Foundation Safety and Rescue Course with Ginni. Luckily it's here at Slow Boat Farm so I won't have to to travel far... walk across the road with my kayak and splash!

~d

Time in four star training - 6 1/2 hours
Time on water - 6 1/2 hours

GOT MY 3* BCU CERTIFICATION!!!!!

WooooooHooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

I'm doing the happy dance at the moment.

Just finished my BCU four star leader, formal coastal navigation training requirement, trying to figure out how to get my 18 hours of formal four star training pre-req as the class I need may be canceled due to lack of participants... doing some serious lateral thinking/shenanigans/pleading at the moment.

I've logged 8 1/2 hours soooooo... maybe fate will again intervene and toss me the frisbee again... any willing help from the three local NW certified instructors would be much appreciated right about now... hoping to hitch a ride along on someone elses training again...

....a wee bit anxious at the moment as without them I can't take my four star assesment this summer.

Navigation Course Time - 7 hours.

...wow

OOOoooosh,

Been on the water non-stop - 6am morns, crawling into my tent exhausted at sunset...

This BCU stuff is intense - lots to learn - more to practice - my brain and my body both ache.

BUT! I'm making headway! Three start assesment coming up soon, four star soon after, a whack of courses to really warp my perspective on the ocean and the way I see it... wow these guys are serious about this shiz down here :O(

Navigation, Safety, Rescue, training at all levels... assessments... challenges... paddling... paddling... paddling... paddling...

I'll be having to get to Portland twice in the very near future to get the rest of the courses I need...

logistics...

lack of money... creative financing... bumming rides...

...and I still have a load of farm chores that need to be done. Ginni has been really cool about letting me put the chores off in order to get ahead in my BCU curriculum but things are piling up badly and if we don't get that garlic finished it's going to start degrading to the point it'll be unsaleable...

Yeah... I'm stressed but I'm hanging in... I've worked way too hard on this to back down... good thing I'm a stubborn SOB :O)

I'll catch this blog up as soon as I can but my free time isn't... and yep! I'm still having a blast!

TTYL!
~d

Garlic Harvest

Yesterday and today we've been, and will be digging and cleaning garlic. All the time on the water has meant farm chores have been falling behind. The soil down here on Puget Island is incredible - rich, full of humus and everything seems to grow lush and healthy. Ginni's garden makes mine back home look kinda sad...

The chickens greet me every morning as I walk past their pen and a few have become quite friendly, coming up to me for a pat. Probably because I've been taking them the veggie scraps in the evenings after dinner. I'm a sucker for animals - I'll admit it.

Picked up a 6lb pineaplle at the store yesterday for $4.59!!! Can't believe how cheap they were but I figure while I'm down here I'm going to take advantage of the wonderfully cheap exotic fruit as Ginni has been feeding me out of her garden and it's a way I can give a little back.

I think tonight I'm going out for a little paddle to work on my rear and bow rudder strokes, as they're stille pretty goofy and don't feel quite natural yet. Tomorrow I'm off on the three day 'Dynamic Water' course with a group of Chilean guides. Should be interesting as the winds are picking up later this week and there may be five foot waves with two ffot wind waves on top or worse across that. I'm pretty sure we'll be doing some rescues and tows as we'll be heading out looking for challenging conditions. Wish me luck as this is the fore-runner for my BCU three star.

Made a wicked curried chicken over snap peas, broccoli, and zuch's last night. All the veggies came off the farm... and tasty they are!

Well - better get to work it's going to be a long day and I want to get the digging done before the afternoon heat kicks in. Good news is that I've clean laundry to change into after work and a shower! WOOOHOOOOO!!!

*Snif* *snif* *ackkkkkkk* I smell bad...

Ciao~
~D

First update on my summer on Slow Boat Farm

Well it's been an incredible time...

I've earned my two star BCU award and will be going for my three star June ?24. These BCU awards are plenty tough. Did an eight hour night solo night paddle up the Colombia a day (2?) after the full moon but the moon was plenty big and plenty bright. I traveled some serious distance, up past the nuclear power plant on the Oregon side and to a point where I could see Longview... this river has some serious moods!

Thinking afterwards maybe cruising past a nuclear power plant at 2am in the dark of night with no lights might not have been the smartest thing to do... but I thought it was a mill... and WHAT a paddle it was!

Went out to Wakiki beach (WA) for m two star assesment and found it very challenging. Ginni doesn't cut anyone slack and takes the certification process VERY seriously. Of the four people being assesed I was the only one to get it and there were some very competent paddlers out wit us that day!

Ginni Callahan is a VERY cool lady, and an incredibly talented paddler, not to mention my vote for Queen of the Surf! (She's feeding me chocolate brownies at the moment so I thought I better give her a plug ;O) We went out today today to Cannon beach and spent the entire day surfing 2-3 foot waves... lots of fun and I was rolling under the incoming waves, bongo sliding, and caught two of the most incredible rides!!!

That's it! I'm hooked on surfing as well...

Been paddling almost every day since I got here and I'll be off tomorrow and Wednesady to harvest the garlic and do a farm work... time to get it in before the rain starts rotting it in the ground.

...anyways I better get off here as she needs to get her computer back so that she can get her work done before bed...

Long day and we're both feeling pretty exhausted.

Updates soon!

~d

Whoosh!

Everything is packed and loaded for an early morning start tomorrow. :O)

I'll update when I can!

~d

Full moon tonight

Morons burn the Florence Filberg...

I learned some incredibly sad news yesterday... The beautiful old Miki Miki tug 'Florence Filberg' has been torched by vandals - cowards would be a better description. I've been watching her being looted and vandalized for well over a year now, the hardest thing (before the burning) for me, was the day I went out to her and discovered that someone had cut her massive brass propeller off... Like many dreamers I had thoughts of what it would take to bring her back and put her to work as a live-aboard working vessel... dreams and thoughts only...

She was a grand old lady and deserved better. It's heart-wrenching to see her corpse.

The Florence Filberg's History

The Times Colonist article



Leave the sound off...

Cuppa Coffee and a Date Square...

Stuck here in town waiting for the slow machine of bureaucracy to say that I'm acceptable fodder for export. Passports...

I'm not even close to being organized - my house is a disaster zone - my garden is falling to the ever enveloping scourge of Morning-Glory and Blackberry. I don't much mind the Blackberries as they're fine compostables! The mat of fleshy white roots that the morning glory forms about a foot under my heavily, compost-fortified, soil however, is thick and all-encompassing.

I've spent the majority of the last year pushing myself towards my newly chosen life and the land unfortunately has suffered through my inattention. At this point in my life I'm making a decision to give up the dream of land 'ownership' and choose the much more obtainable option of land 'stewardship'. Walking away from a garden that has been the source of my inspiration, food, and peace will be the hardest thing I've ever done. This land has many happy memories. May it continue to reward others with the same gentle peace that it gave Elizabeth and myself. I realize I talk about my land as an old friend, a living thing, a sanctuary, a place of nature - it is all this and much more.

Early this morning I lie in bed, as the sun comes up, and listen to the birds awakening. Making myself a quick breakfast of a grapefruit, and unleavened bread with almond butter, I find a spot in the wild edges of the veggie patch, surrounded by dozens of species of grass, in full flower, and quietly eat.

I feel the warmth of the sun as it moves across the land - sitting motionless for hours, I watch the insects wake and start feeding. Bumble-bees working their way around the brilliant purple flowers of the flax, Yellow-jackets busily harvesting bits of wet wood to chew up and use for making their nests under the eaves of my little house, little black ants scurrying around underneath my feet in erratic patterns in search of dropped morsels.

Sparrows chirp and tussle in the pines, a Red-winged black-bird lands in my willows. I wonder if the Swallow-tail caterpillars are munching their way through the willow and fennel yet. Something to check before I leave.

It's quiet this Sunday morning, the world is either asleep or away, I close my eyes and hear only natural sounds, no traffic noise, lawnmowers, no voices murmering through the still air. I think this is what I love about my kayak - the moments when it's so quiet that I dare not splash a paddle for fear of creating a 'butterfly effect'. A slight ripple here becoming a tidal wave there. Quiet so thick it comforts like an eider-down quilt.

~Salt and Earth~
~Peace and Quiet~

...the cool fresh air of an old growth forest.

...the sweet taste of fresh Dungeness crab.

...raspberries and rich cream.

...sea-spray.

...friends.

~d

Food For Thought

A Historical Moment

Myers, Mark R-The Neva - watercolour

Pulled With Uncommon Strength.
The Neva Crosses Sitka Sound, 28 September 1804

'...on the 28th towards noon, we moved out of Cross Bay. The weather was so calm, that our ships were obliged to be towed till ten in the evening, when we anchored for the night, at a short distance from the old settlement of the Sitcans. The Neva could not have reached this situation, but for the united assistance of upwards of a hundred bidarkas, which, though small in size, pulled with uncommon strength.' 'This passage in Captain Yuri Lisianski's 'Voyage Around the World' was simply asking to be painted. A fleet of Russian ships being towed Gulliver-like into battle by a horde of Lilliputian kayaks makes an unusual subject to say the least.'

All of my Kayaking Bookmarks

Blogs

RichardHs Blog - Adventures on the Blue

Sea Kayak Podcasts.com

SeaKayaking.net - Adam Bolonsky

WCP - Chodups Blog - 3 Meter Swell

Building

Kayaks of Greenland data

Arctic Kayaks - Zimmerly - pdf's

Arctic Kayaks

Balogh Sail Designs

Black Pearl - Björn Thomasson Design

Boat building lumber and plywood

Boatbuilding.com

boatdesign boatdesign

boatus.com BoatTECH Guides

Build a Greenland Kayak - Instructables - DIY, How To, craft, ride

Building Ken Taylor 1959 Kayak – the Igdlorssuit

Building the Bear Mountain Enterprise-Project Description - Boat Specs

Canadian Canoe Museum

Cape Falcon Kayak

colour testing kayaks

Composites Manufacturing - about.com

Customizing Your Sea Kayak Cockpit

César's Bark Canoe by Bernard Gosselin, - NFB

Fabrics for kayaks and bags

Fiberglass, Resins, Nylon, Neoprene - Sweet Composites

Fitting and use of Qoorutit - GreenlandPaddle.com

Free Video - How To Carve a Greenland Kayak Paddle by Matt Johnson

Gaco Western - GacoFlex H-22 Hypalon Coating

Gaco Western - GacoFlex N-17 Neoprene Coating

Gacoflex Hypalon® Paint

Genuine Pine Tar 100% Organic

Harvey Golden - Nanortalik - South Greenland

Harvey Golden - traditional kayaks

How to Skin a Kayak

Howard Chapelle's 1948 Greenland kayak survey - Angmassalik

Kayak Foundry Software

Kayak Project Plans

Kayak Way

KOG Index

Material strengths

New Boatbuilders

Nomad Boat Building

Paulownia as a substitue for W.R Cedar

PJ White Hardwoods Ltd.

PlasticWorks - kayak building materials

Plummer's Page

Premapro - Coelan coatings

Redfish Kayak Designs

SAIL Magazine's boatworks

Seattle Fabrics

Sewing Polyester Fabric on a Kayak

Taking Lines from Kayaks

Technical Papers of Christopher Barry

This Sailing Page

Tom Yost - Kayak Builders Manual

W.P. Stephens - Canoe and Boatbuilding for Amateurs

Wolfgang Brinck Boats

Wood weights - Wolfgang Brinck Boats

Forums

Greenland Kayaking Forum - Message Index

Kayak Building Forum

PDXseakayaker

Qajaq Underground

Qajaq USA forums

The WoodenBoat Forum

UK River's Guidebook

West Coast Paddler

Gear

Bug Head Tuiliks - Tuiliqs - Akuilisaqs

Bug Head Tuiliks

Chill Cheater - Layering Sytems for Kayaking

Digital Hero Camera - GoPro

How to Shop for Your First Kayak

Immersion Research Kayaking Gear

Kayak Camera systems

kayak cart - Paddleboy HEAVY LIFTER

Landsharkz.ca - geocoins, geocaching gear and swag

Lomo UK - Drysuits

Making Tuiliks and Sprayskirts

Measurements Chart for Drysuits

MEC gearswap.com

neoprene sheets - Aleeda Wet suits

Nice Tulilik - Reed

Place to buy GPS units

Seattle Fabrics

Survival Gear and Equipment Evaluations

V.I.O. Action Cam

Groups

Sea Kayak Association of British Columbia Links

Surfrider Foundation

The Sea Kayaking Guides Alliance of BC

Link Collections

KAYAKPICS.COM

Links Galore Qajaq.be

Paddler Zone New Zealand

Rutabaga - Reference Articles

Manufacturers

Necky Kayaks

about Island Kayaks

Current Designs Kayaks - quality kayaks and information for paddle sports enthusiasts.

Delta Kayaks

Island Kayaks - the Qaatuar

Loki High Performance Kayaks

Mariner Kayaks

MEC - Kayaks

Nimbus kayaks

P &H Kayaks

Prijon Kayaks

Rockpool Kayaks - North america

Rockpool Kayaks

Sea Kayaking UK - Nigel Dennis

Seaward Kayaks

Valley Kayaks

Nature

BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer

Living Oceans Society

Technique

Animated Sea Kayak Paddling School & Instruction

Kayak Rolling Videos at KayakQuixotica.com

Kayaking Articles by Wayne Horodowich

Kayaking guide for all skills & ages!

Mariner Kayaks Sea Kayak Homepage

Mariner Kayaks Sea Kayaking Homepage

Rolling Tutorials

Tides Navigation and Weather

coastal British Columbia weather and sea condition links - CoastalBC.com

Current Predictions

Fishery Notice Reports - bivalves

Live Ships Map - AIS - Vessel Traffic System

Magic Seaweed - Vancouver Island

Pacific Map of Tide Zones

Pacifica Paddle Sports - Weather Resources

Planisphere - National Research Council Canada

Sidney, British Columbia

Sitka Surfboards Forecast

Sooke Basin, British Columbia

Sooke, British Columbia

Tide-Current Predictor February

Tide-Current Predictor

Up-Island Kayak Resources

Wind Speed Animations

QAJAQ (GL) by Nive Nielsen
by CVA2009

I'm Outta Here!!!

See you all when I get back - have a great summer :O)

I'll check-in when I can.

~d

Tick tick tick...

Wow... time has sure flown by.

I'm getting ready for my two month trip to the Colombia River, and I'm hoping to leave July 1st. So much to do still and so little time.

Big thanks to ~P for being so understanding...

Still on the water lots and still not able to update my log.

It was a pleasure meeting ~D yesterday, despite the unfortunate event that led up to the meeting. Hope to paddle with you some day dear lady.

~d

Time on water - 2 hours

Took my Foundation Safety and Rescue course today at Slow Boat Farm & Puget Island.

Time on water - 6 hours

BCU 3* Assesment

Did my BCU 3* Assesment and passed. Paddled from Skamokawa.

Time on water - 7 hours

SOF Building Material Sources

I found THIS source for cotton for SOF building... they also carry a good selection of synthetic materials HERE.

...and another far less expensive source for Pine Tar HERE.

A Day Off

Finally decided to take a full day off... and I'm being an unapologetic and total bum-about-town today...

Having an espresso and reading up on Skin-on-frame kayak building... visiting all the paddle shops to touch base with friends... scratching my belly and stretching my legs...

ahhhhhhhhhhh...... life is good.

My kayaking log is out of date and I'm hoping to get a chance tomorrow to get it caught up. I'll be needing to go through my records though...

That's all folks ;O)

Nav course. Part II

Another run to Portland for more nav class with Karl. Incredible stuff!
Time at books - 8 hours

Things that make one think... hmmmm....

Anyone else notice certain similarities? ;O)

There are no truly original designs...

...a blur

So many trips out... it's hard to remember them all... guess we're in paddling season now... whoosh... haven't had an uninterupted day off in over three weeks...

I'm getting so far behind with updates and log notations...

I need a day off...

~d

Time on water - who knows
Time guiding - lots
Time instructing - even more

BCU 4* Training Cape Disappointment

Went out with Karl and Mark W for more BCU 4* training
Time on water - 8 1/2 hours

BCU 3* Assesment & Nav Course

Busy day today. Both my BCU 3* Assesment AND a drive to Portland for the first four hours of my "Fundamentals of Coastal Navigation" course with Karl. Passed both ;O)

Time on water - 7 hours

BCU 4* Training

Went out with Karl for some four star training.
6 1/2 hours OTW and another 2 hours afterwards.

Time on water - 6 1/2 hours

Dynamic Water Day Three - Tillamook Head

Helped Ginni on her 3 day Dynamic water course. Tillamook Head. 5 clients. Third day.

Time on water - 6 1/2 hours
Time guiding - 6 1/2 hours
Time instructing - 8 1/2 hours

Pressure Cooker Water Distiller

I found this on the 'net and thought it might be adaptable to a kayaker's needs.

After giving it some thought, I had designed a steam distiller in my head. Here's how I thought it would work.

* I would use my old pressure cooker to boil water into steam.

* The steam, liberated of its nasty chemicals, would travel through a tube to a small radiator over which a small electric fan was blowing.

* The fan would cool the radiator off and the steam inside would condense into pure water, which would then drain out of the radiator into a dish.

During the heating process any chemicals in the water that would readily turn to a gas (such as chlorine) and vent off through the radiator exit pipe. The water left in the dish would be pure distilled water.

Or so I hoped.

Turned out I was right.

HOW WELL DID MY DISTILLER WORK?

Detailed Instructions Using Common Home and Hardware Supplies
After assembling and using my distiller, I pulled out my electronic water tester (SEE PICTURE 3) which indicates in the parts-per-million (PPM) the amount of solid contents (crap, poison, bugs, etc.) residing in your drinking water. I tested the water coming out of my kitchen tap. My tester indicated my tap water almost qualified as "hard water" - really nasty stuff. Then I tested the water coming out of my brand spankin' new faucet filter.

Here are the results:

Before Distillation: 221

After Distillation: 12 !!!!!!!

My home-made water distiller reduced the solid contaminants content of my tap water by 95%!

COST?

Assuming you already have a small electric fan for the office or desk and a mixing bowl for general cooking, here is my estimate of parts:

$20 - pressure cooker

$5 - brass fitting, washers, nut and Teflon tape

$7 - 10 feet of tubing

$70 - small transmission oil radiator

$102 - TOTAL

This is a far cry from the $200 to $2000 dollars you would otherwise spend on a retailer. Some of the assembly materials you may already have in your garage or kitchen.

And... when you get done making your distiller, you will have pride in a creation made from your own hands.

EFFICIENT WATER RECAPTURE? YES!

I don't know how much water gets recaptured by a commercial water distiller.

I measured 4 liters of water I started with on my distiller. After processing, I measured almost exactly 4 liters again. Perhaps I lost perhaps only 1-2% of the original volume.

PRO & CONS?

* PRO: A home water distiller costs little to manufacture, requires little maintenance.

* PRO: A home water distiller like mine requires no filters. Many of the other guys' machines still force you to buy charcoal filters. This on-going expense was part of the original "turn-off" to me. I didn't want to keep buying into the continuous vicious consumer cycle.

* PRO: A home water distiller like mine takes much less time to process water than a small electric distiller. It distiller chugs through about a gallon of water in about 1 hour, versus the 5 or so hours that the other guys do.

* CON: A home water distiller takes up a larger space in my kitchen than a conventionally bought water distiller.

* CON: A home-made water distiller requires continuous attendance for safety reasons. I suppose I could design a mechanism that detects when the water in the pressure cooker is gone, but this would drive up costs.

* CON? - Not sure how much expensive this home water distiller is to operate. This depends on whether one would be using gas or electricity to provide heat.

GATHER THE PARTS

Detailed Instructions Using Common Home and Hardware Supplies
I gathered my tools and parts about me, and began to putting the components of my stove-top home water distiller together. What I gathered were:

* A roll of Teflon tape

* An old pressure cooker with a good rubber washer

* 1/4" clear plastic high-heat tubing (preferably food grade).

NOTE: The kind of tube I used was a high-pressure / high-heat braided plastic tubing - like the kind used in soda machine dispensers.

CAUTION: DO NOT use rubber hose. This kind of hose may burst or melt under pressure, and have been known to "sweat" thus producing toxic chemicals which may contaminate your water.

* 1/4" jag end brass fitting

* Two matching washers and a nut that match the fitting's threads

* A large dish or water tray

* TOOLS: Wrenches and/or channel-lock pliers, and an electric drill, and some drill bits (I used a stepped drill bit for fast large-hole drilling).

* OPTIONAL BUT HELPFUL: Small hand pump, such as the disposable kind used to pump transmission oil into transmission cases OR a small electric water fountain pump.

* A brand-new automotive transmission oil cooler ().

NOTE: I bought an automotive add-on radiator made by Hayden, Inc. This was a Rapid-Cool Model #679. This little finned beauty of a radiator (SEE the black thing in PICTURES 1 and 2) is perfectly sized for re-condensing steam heated by my electric stove-top burner. If you cook with gas, you'll probably want to go with a larger radiator. Perhaps even a small car water radiator. Also, be sure to buy a new radiator from the store. Don't use a used one - takes too long to clean out all the nasty oil and other contaminants.

PREP WORK

Because your transmission oil radiator was made in an industrial kind of place, it will most likely have some oil inside. My Hayden radiator did. This oil tastes pretty badly, and may lend a bad smell to your first few batches of purified water.

To reduce this oil content, I suggest you first wash out the oil radiator before using it for water distillation. Washing is best done using the small hand pump or electric pump mentioned above.

To do this:

* Affix a length of the plastic tube to the radiator inlet pipe.

* At the other end of the tube plug in the small water pump mentioned above.

* Immerse the pump into a large mixing bowl or tub filled with clean warm soapy water.

* Affix another length of tubing to the outlet end of the radiator and route it back into the mixing bowl or tub.

* Turn on the pump and let it run for an hour or so.

* Disconnect everything and rinse out with tap water.

* Then, swap out the tubes from each outlet pipe and run a fresh batch of soapy water the other way through the radiator for another hour.

NOTE: If you don't have an electric pump, then the hand pump I mentioned in the parts list above will do. If you don't have a hand pump, then run the soapy water through the radiator by attaching a funnel to the inlet end of the tube and running it that way. Run it through manytimes - perhaps for an hour. The time spent doing this will be worth it. Basically you are flushing soapy water through your radiator to dissolve any trace oil left over from manufacturing.

* When finished, flush out with regular tap water.

If done correctly all or most trace oils should be removed. There is a chance some soap may left behind, but this is better than industrial oil. The soapy taste and smell will soon be gone after your home water distiller has been through its first few cycles.

ASSEMBLE THE WATER DISTILLER

Having prepped and gathered everything, I got busy putting everything together.

Steps for assembly:

* Block off the steam release valve in the steam cooker. I used a splinter of wood.

NOTE: If your steam cooker has an over-heat safety plug (usually a rivet-sized plug made of a light metal suspended in a hi-heat rubber grommet located in the cooker cap), leave this in. This puppy usually pops up when steam pressure develops, and it seals off the cooker from pressure loss. If your steam cooker over-pressurizes for any reason, it is designed to pop out completely to relieve pressure from within.

* Drill a hole in the top center of the steam cooker (using a stepped drill bit can make this step go quickly). The hole you drill must be barely big enough for the brass fitting threads to fit through.

* Insert a washer over the threads of the brass fitting.

* Insert the fitting and washer from the outside end of the cooker cover through the hole you just drilled. Make sure the jag end is facing outward (upward) from the top of the pressure cooker lid.

* Holding the brass fitting firmly in place with your hand, turn the cooker lid over and place it onto a large flat surface so that the threads of the brass fitting stays firmly in place within the hole you drilled. The threads should be protruding beyond the hole with enough thread-length for you to apply the other washer and the nut. the inside of the

* Apply a long length of Teflon tape to the threads exposed on the inside of the cooker cover.

NOTE: Make sure you wrap a wad of the tape around the thread at least 1/16" thick (or thicker) around the brass fitting threads. This will provide a seal so steam will not escape from around the fitting.

* Place another washer onto the brass fitting threads.

* Place the nut onto the threads and tighten it down first by hand, and then by wrench or pliers. Result is shown on PICTURE 3.

NOTE: If done right, the Teflon tape will squash around into the edges of the hole you drilled, thus creating a seal so no steam will escape.

* Suspend you radiator in a conveniently elevated position above your workspace (such as a kitchen countertop).

NOTE: See in PICTURE 2 how I used zip ties to suspend my radiator over my kitchen counter. Make sure that the radiator is oriented so that the radiator inlet pipe is above the outlet pipe.

* Position a small electric fan directly in front of the radiator grill. When turned on, this fan must blow air continuously and directly through the radiator grill.

* Making sure the rubber seal is properly in place, secure the cooker lid onto the cooker. If in doubt, check with the pressure cooker's instructions.

* Place the cooker onto the stove burner you are going to be regularly using for the distillation process.

CAUTION: Whoa, Bucko! DO NOT turn on the gas or electric heat yet!

* Attach one end of the plastic tube to the brass jag protruding from the top of the cooker. Preferably there should be no difficulty getting the tube onto the barbed jag, and little to moderate trouble removing it. If the connection seems loose, then secure it with a hose clamp.

* Cut the other end of this tube leaving sufficient length to reach from the cooker jag to the top radiator inlet pipe.

NOTE: if there is going to be a distance of, say, three feet or more between the cooker and the radiator, you may wish to consider using hooks or other means of suspension to secure the tube. When steam starts chugging through the tube, it may soften and sag, which may move your radiator into a bad position, or tug at your pressure cooker.

* Connect the end you just cut to the radiator top inlet pipe. If necessary, secure this connection with a hose clamp.

CAUTION: Make sure the steam inlet tube connects to the TOP inlet pipe of the radiator. Otherwise, the radiator will not function correctly. Routing the pipe to the bottom of the radiator grill may cause a hazardous situation during operation.

NOTE: The basic idea is to have the steam enter into the top of the grill, condense as it travels downward through the grill, and have it be fully condensed as it hits the bottom of the grill. This condensed water will then exit the bottom of the grill through the outlet pipe.

* Connect a short length of plastic tubing to the bottom (exit) pipe of the radiator. If necessary, secure this connection with a hose clamp.

* Route this exit tubing to a large collector tray or mixing bowl which will be used to catch the freshly distilled water.

USING THE DISTILLER

CAUTION: Be sure to read and understand these directions before firing up, or Mamma's gonna spank you!

OK, get ready to fire up!

* Disconnect the plastic tube from the top jag fitting of the pressure cooker.

* Wash the pressure cooker pan and lid thoroughly.

* Fill your pressure cooker pan with hot water from the tap until it's about 1" inch from the bottom (almost empty).

* Place the lid onto the cooker. Lift up the pan with the lid attached and make a mental note of how heavy the pan is now with this little bit of water and the top in place. Note and remember how it feels with this little bit of water swishing around. Next...

* Remove the lid and proceed to fill up the cooker. Leave 1-1/2 to 2" from the top of the pan. Some cookers have a "fill line". Do not exceed this line.

NOTE: The reason for starting with hot water is because your hot water heater has done some of your work for you: it killed off some bugs in advance - if there are any in your water.

* Making sure the rubber seal is properly in place, resecure the lid to the cooker. When in doubt, check with the pressure cooker's instructions.

* Fire up your gas or electric stove.

* Put the cooker onto the heat.

* Get a small thick dishrag or hand towel and wet it down with cold water. Wring it out. Keep it handy.

* Wait until the water within the cooker starts boiling. You will know this when steam starts coming out the hole in the brass fitting at the top of the cooker.

CAUTION: Keep yourself and others at a safe distance in case any hot water spatters through the brass fitting. If water does spatter, throw the wet dishrag / towel over the hole in the cooker and turn off the heat. After everything settles down, remove the rag and start up the heat again, but this time at a much lower setting. If all goes well from here, then proceed...

* Turn down the heat until you see some steam. A healthy amount of steam, but not as much as when you had the heat turned up all the way. Make a mental note of how much steam is now exiting.

* Connect the plastic tube to the top jag of the brass fitting.

The next step is important. It involves checking to see that everything is working okay.

* Observe: In a few moments steam should be going through the plastic pipe and traveling into the top (not bottom!) inlet pipe of the radiator. Usually you will see steam condensing inside the tubes. This is normal. Within a minute or less you should see steam freely exiting from the bottom outlet tube attached to radiator outlet pipe.

The key words here are freely exiting.

Make sure about the same amount of steam is freely exiting from the outlet pipe as when you made your mental note. If you see this much steam exiting from the outlet pipe, then...

Congratulations! Your system appears to have no blockages, and you may proceed.

Now...

CAUTION: If there is no steam flowing freely from the outlet pipe, then there is a blockage of some kind. Immediately turn off the heat and disconnect the tube from the top of the cooker. Be careful not to get burned by steam. Allow the system to cool, disconnect all tubes, check for and clear any blockages. Reassemble the system and start over. If trouble persists, change out all parts and start over again.

If all is going well at this point, then...

* Make sure the electric fan is positioned so that it will blow directly through the radiator's fins. Be careful, the tubing and radiator are very hot!

* Turn the fan on to high setting.

NOTE: Almost immediately you will see all or most of the steam stop coming out of the outlet pipe. This is normal. This means your radiator is doing its job. After a few moments, in the place of the steam you will see a trickle of water.

Congratulations! That trickle of water is your freshly purified water!

DISTILL YOUR WATER!

* Proceed with the distillation, checking the weight of the pressure cooker by feel.

* When the cooker feels about the same weight of when you made a mental note of it earlier (when it had about only 1" of water in it), then shut off the heat.

* Allow the system to cool a few minutes.

* Disconnect the plastic tube from the top of the cooker.

* Remove the lid from the top of the cooker.

* Swish the water carefully around in the pan and then pour it out of the pan down the drain.

NOTE: You will see that the water looks cloudy and/or that some rimey chalk-like yucch has accumulated on the ides of your cooker pan. This is proof that your home water distiller is working properly.

This yucch is all that crap you would otherwise be drinking.

ADJUSTING FOR PERFORMANCE

If you are like me, you like to make the fuel for your car and hot-rod it with hydrogen power. The whole idea is to make your creation run well, efficiently. This same logic applies to your home water distiller.

Pretty much the only performance detail to really watch for is the temperature of that trickle of water when it comes out of your little radiator. You want it to be at room temp or perhaps just slightly on the warm side.

Let the water trickle run over your fingers. If your output water is cool, then your radiator (with the help of the fan) is doing a great job converting the input steam into purified water. The other good news: you can turn up the heat and produce more water faster.

If the output trickle is indeed cool to the touch, then turn up the heat. A few moments after doing so, you will notice the trickle comes out faster. This is great. By all means you will get through your purification cycle faster.

Keep turning up the heat until the output water becomes tepid. This means your radiator output efficiency had reached its limit. Don't keep turning up the heat from here. If you do, your radiator will start losing some of that steam, and it will be lost to the atmosphere.

TIPS FOR USE

* Keep an eye on output water temperature: Use the steps above to monitor this. You will find that your radiator's efficiency will fluctuate, and rightly so. If the ambient air in the room you are cooking in is high, the radiator will not work so well. Likewise, if you open the windows during winter and allow the fan to blow this cold air over the radiator, it will convert steam to water in an instant.

* Water Tester: Use a water tester like the kind I have described above. Test your output water upon completion of each batch to make sure your distillery system is working properly. My input water bears 221 PPM, and my distiller puts out clean water with only around 12 PPM.

* Use gravity: When using your distiller, tip the oil radiator slightly toward the bottom outlet side so that the water condensation will flow out of the radiator quickly.

* Reduce Evaporation: Keep the collector bowl or tray away from the fan to reduce evaporation of your freshly distilled water.

* Protect your Heat Source: Keep the fan from blowing air over or near your burner or electric element you use to heat your water. By doing this, you protect the efficiency of your heat source.

* Storing Purified Water: When storing your purified water while leaving the cap or cover partially off, try not to allow too much exposure - lest dust, lint and microbes may enter the water. Too much exposure will allow your stored water to evaporate.

* Noticeable odors or flavor: I have found that odors and flavor generally come from two sources: 1) the water itself and/or 2) the radiator. Try both methods below to address these.

Method 1: Try "fluffing" or aerating your freshly distilled water. Despite being well purified, some water may still have odors or flavor left-over in the form of suspended gases. These gases may not necessarily show up as contaminants on your water tester. You can sometimes dissipate these left-overs by splashing the water around in its container or pouring it from one container to another. The idea is to expose the water to the air and provide a chance for extraneous gases to evaporate. If the odor or flavor persists, be patient and give your water a few hours until the problem clears out.I find that storing the water in a clean room in a container with a partially-open cover for one entire day lets most odors escape.

Method 2: Despite doing a great job cleaning our your radiator, there is a chance that odors from leftover manufacturing oil - or even the soap used to clean out this oil - may produce bad taste or odors in your finished water. Do not despair! Try running your steam distiller without the fan for several hours (watch that water level!). I found that after about 10 hours of continuous use, the steam drove out any trace of the radiator's factory oil and the soap I used to clean it out. If the odor or flavor persists, be patient and run the system a few days until the problem clears out.

SAFETY

Not to say using this apparatus is particularly dangerous, a home water distiller is an unconventional piece of machinery.

While I believe it's basically no more dangerous to use that a regular cook-pot, it's still a good idea to use caution when using your home water distiller. With safety in mind, observe some common rules:

* Know where your fire extinguisher is. All households should have at least one. If you don't have one, get one or two.

* Keep kids and critters away while distilling. Those parts are hot!

* Never leave your water distiller unattended while the heat is running

* Check the amount of boiling water in the cooker frequently.

CAUTION: Never run the cooker until its dry. Always leave some water in there when stopping the distiller or changing out to a process a fresh batch of water.

* Hot parts! Be careful touching this stuff. The only thing a that should not be hot is the condensed water coming out of your distiller.

* Assemble and use this equipment at your own risk.

MAINTENANCE

You will find after some use, some maintenance will be necessary.

* Replace the plastic tubing with fresh stock whenever it becomes cracked, damaged, corroded or "looks funny".

* Decontaminate the entire system regularly. To do this, flush out your radiator with steam on occasion. This means letting the distiller run without the fan on. Shoot the output steam into your water collector while it's empty. This will kill all the bugs in your distiller system.

* Every few distillation cycles, scrape out all that crappy residue (SEE left side of PICTURE 5) accumulating in your cooker pan. All that stuff is the poison the water company expected you to drink.

ALTERNATIVE RADIATOR COOLING

A friend mentioned that instead of using an electric fan, one can also run cool tap water over the radiator. Or cool stream water. These will work great also. Just make sure the steam in the radiator can condense and quickly exit. Otherwise, backpressure may develop, which means you will be working with a high pressure system: dangerous!

Make sure the steam in the radiator can condense and quickly exit

AND NOW... LIVE IN GOOD HEALTH

By drinking good clean water, you are encouraging your body to dump out toxins that may have accumulated for years in your body. You may notice your urine may become somewhat darker after drinking purified water. This may be evidence of this purifying effect distilled water has on your body!

While other factors may play into effecting good health, drinking clean water is an essential start at helping yourself become healthier, and healthier faster.

By making and using you own water distiller, you have empowered yourself, too!

Self-empowerment to better health!

Live well and...

Have fun!

- John

Dynamic Water Course - Cannon Beach

Helped Ginni on her 3 day Dynamic water course at Cannon Beach. 5 clients. Second day.

Time on water - 6 hours
Time guiding - 6 hours
Time instructing - 9 hours

Dynamic Water Course - Benson Beach

Helped Ginni on her 3 day Dynamic water course at Benson Beach. 5 clients. First day.

Time on water - 6 hours
Time guiding - 6 hours
Time instructing - 10 hours

Round Senanus and Sea-life Below

more to come...

Time on water - 5 hours
Time guiding - 5 hours

The Sea Floor and Senanus Island

Today was a wonderful, sunny day, with a breeze. My clients from the Okanagon were really enjoying spotting creatures on the sea floor. I couldn't understand why they kept looking down below them instead of at the tide-line. There is so much life within easy view. Just now I clued in... they normally paddle in a lake... 150 miles long... no tides...











Time on water - 5 hours

Time guiding - 5 hours

Pre-dinner paddle

Went for a short pre-dinner paddle in the Columbia.

Time on water - 2 hours

Finlayson Arm

Had a big group out today... paddled to McKenzie Bight and ran into a paddling friend... Good to see you guiding ~G

more to come...

Time on water - 4 hours
Time guiding - 4 hours
Time instructing - 2 hours

BCU 4* Training

Put in another 5 hours of BCU 4* training with Axel. Fort Cambie, Jetty A, Wakiki Beach.

Time on water - 5 hours

Cannon Beach

Worked alongside Ginni on her Cannon Beach surf class. Lots of surfing and play in the salty foam!

Time on water - 5 hours
Time guiding - 5 hours
Time instructing - 5 hours

somewhere really cool?

Now i know i paddled... but i can't remember with who... or for how long... must be getting old...

more to come?!...

Time on water - X hours
Time guiding - X hours
Time instructing - X hours

Wakiki Beach

Spent 6 hours OTW at Wakiki Beach Inside the North Jetty.

Time on water - 6 hours

BCU 2* Assesment

Paddled out of Cathlamet Marina for my BCU 2* Assesment with Ginni. Success!!!

Time on water - 6 hours

Paddle 'round Brentwood and a Sunset Picnic

Took a very nice couple, who have been married fifteen years on a guided tour. They take weekly 'Dates' and this week it was kayaking. Very nice to meet you folks, and I hope your next fifteen are even better than the first! 3 hours.

After seeing them off and filling out the obligatory paper-work I jumped in the little 'Venture' and paddled it out to Senanus Island - with a canoe paddle - to enjoy my dinner and a sunset. I quietly ate my rice, chicken breast, and cottage cheese and strawberries under the watchful gaze of a nearby Oyster-catcher. Beautiful evening, beautiful sunset, beautiful paddle. 2 hours.


Time on water - 5 hours (two trips)
Time guiding - 3 hours

Went for a full moon paddle up the Columbia past Longview to the Nuclear Power Plant.

Time on water - 8 hours

Brentwood Instruction Session

I love taking first timers out on the water, seeing the initial uneasiness fade into comfort and then that perm-smile that people get when they understand the magic of kayaks...

Thank-you ~K for a most wonderful paddle.


Time on water - 2.5 hours
Time instructing - 2.5 hours

Arrived at Slow Boat Farm

Went for an evening paddle around Puget Island's sloughs.

Time on water - 3 hours