The LBSB Expedition
...life with ~daniel~
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thursday, July 30, 2009

...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).

Monday, July 27, 2009

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

Sunday, July 26, 2009

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.

Monday, July 20, 2009

...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

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

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

Monday, July 13, 2009

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

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Whoosh!

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

I'll update when I can!

~d

Full moon tonight

Monday, July 6, 2009

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...

Sunday, July 5, 2009

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

Saturday, July 4, 2009

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



Friday, July 3, 2009

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

I'm Outta Here!!!

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

I'll check-in when I can.

~d