Maine Paddling Connection Blog
The fourth annual Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium ran from February 16-22 and was a success thanks to the mild, sunny weather and overall highly positive attitudes. While the format was largely the same as years past, with full-day courses and focused on instruction, it felt more refined compared to years past. As the event manager and co-founder, It was relieving to see that our hard work and feedback-inspired modifications paid off.
Read MoreLast Friday I took my standup paddleboard to Yellow Bluff for the first time and it was challenging. I hoped to arrive to perfect conditions and a smooth front wave that I could surf on. The weather wasn’t great, but the radar showed a break in the rain from noon to 2pm that lined up perfectly with the 1:50pm max ebb. By 12:15pm I paddled into the top of the eddy at Yellow Bluff without rain and with skies clear enough to see across the Bay.
Read MoreLast Saturday I had the day off and felt I deserved some time to myself. I decided to paddle a standup board around Alameda to challenge myself and do a route I've never done before. My goal was to make the complete loop in 5 hours. It's 15.5 miles around the island and I was hoping to ride the current around half of it. I launched at Jack London Aquatic Center in Oakland just after 8am and headed north up the channel.
Read MoreWith the lack of snowfall in the West this holiday season, Haley and I decided to go to San Diego in lieu of a week in the mountains. Leaving Berkeley at 4am, lightly packed with clothing, surf gear, boards and a full bed in the back we quickly made time south, hoping to avoid any holiday traffic this Christmas eve Saturday morning. Without so much as touching the brakes on the way through Los Angeles, we cruised into Ocean Beach before noon to meet up with friends.
Read MoreIn the second week of December I spent three days paddling with some of Northern California's finest during an ACA L5 assessment. Some of us were present as an L4 update (myself included), while others were assessing at level 5. The course was largely unstructured by design to allow things to come together in a natural fashion. Without three full days of syllabus to follow we would be able to improvise and try things that may not normally happen on an assessment or formal course.
Read MoreAfter an all night drive with canoe and SUP on the roof, I picked up some Dunkin Donuts in Vegas and met Haley & Gillian at the airport. Couple quick stops and we arrived at Willow Beach to launch for four days of paddling, hiking, soaking and holiday eating. Haley and I did this trip last Turkey day with friends and were really excited to return with family.
Read MoreMachaca, Totopos, titanium silverware and Mr. Sandman. Mulege to Loreto is an awesome route with challenging conditions, beautiful scenery, plentiful wildlife and a great representation of what Baja has to offer. I spent ten days with a group of seven others on this route. All were skilled and experienced paddlers coming onto the trip with different reasons for participating and varied expectations.
Read MoreThis week I've had the pleasure of assisting Ginni Callahan with a 4-day sea paddler training at the Loreto Kayak Symposium in Loreto, BCS, Mexico. "Mi espanol es no bueno" was my go-to phrase on the journey down since my conversational spanish is horrible. After one flight and three bus rides I arrived in Loreto 24 hours after leaving Berkeley and was instantly greeted by Santiago Berrueta, Mexico's only BCU 4* paddler and lead guide at Sea Kayak Baja Mexico.
Read MoreLast week I had the chance to participate in the first ACA SUP ICW on the west coast, hosted by California Canoe & Kayak. After arriving home at 4:30am from Oregon, I had to be fresh and ready in Half Moon Bay by 10am. Not sure about fresh, but I was there and ready. Why am I taking an ACA SUP Instructor Workshop? I figured it would be fun and educational, I'd work with some great ACA instructors, meet some new people and see what the ACA has to say about standup paddleboarding.
Read MoreI recently travelled to Pacific City, Oregon with Bryant Burkhardt and Sean Morley, two other California Canoe & Kayak instructors. The three of us were coaching at Lumpy Waters, a terrific sea paddling event catering to different levels of boaters. Without a doubt, anyone who is passionate about sea kayaking and training should go to this event next year. No matter what drives you there - the class offerings, the coach lineup or just the overall experience - it's worth the trip.
Read MoreA couple Thursdays ago my alarm went off at 3am. By 3:30 I was speeding up the highway with a kayak and a stand up paddleboard on the roof and a coffee in my hand. By the time the evening rolled around, 700 miles later, I was pulling into Slow Boat Farm in Cathlamet Washington to attend the fifth and final Lower Columbia Kayak Roundup. It was LOCO!
Read MoreI recently spent four days SUP paddling in southern Nevada/Arizona with my sister and a friend. Rather than sit here and write a detailed account of our trip, I've decided to write about my experience on the SUP. This was my first multi-day trip on a standup paddleboard and served somewhat as a test trip for me. I've completed this trip at least five other times using sea kayaks and canoes and had some basic guesses as to the paddleboards performance.
Read MoreIn the first few hours of our second day on the water, we rounded Cape mendocino, the westernmost point of land in the continental 48. Me in my Avocet, Sean in a Delphin, Bryant in a Capella and Anders in a Scirocco. We had set out the evening before from Ferndale with the intention of paddling 75+ miles down the Lost Coast of California. On day one, after setting shuttle and driving north to the put-in, we anxiously packed our kayaks and quickly launched into dumping surf on a steep beach.
Read MoreTomorrow I head north with three other local paddlers to tackle a 70 mile stretch of the Lost Coast in sea kayaks. The goal of the trip is to make speed along the beaches in order to allow playtime along rocky sections. Although I originally set out to travel light and fast, it looks like I'll be traveling heavier than planned. Part of the reason is that I haven't camped from my boat in almost a year and I'm anxious to re-evaluate my systems, especially for solo travel.
Read MoreI got out for a nice evening coastal paddle with Sean Morley yesterday afternoon in the Marin Headlands. Sean has invited me on a Lost Coast trip coming up shortly and we felt it was a good idea to get out in the plastic boats in real conditions and make sure the kit is up to par. It was beautiful in Berkeley yesterday, but that quickly changed as I got closer to the coast and entered the thick fog, wind and drizzle.
Read MoreAbout two weeks ago I finally made the jump and added a surf specific SUP to the collection of paddle craft. I picked up a 8'11" Lopez Lil' Darlin the night before I left for a week of surfing in SoCal. Up until now I've been surfing boards in the 11 - 12' size and having a blast, but I was ready for more performance. I made the trek down by car and met up with Hales and some other friends and right away got into the water.
Read MoreLast Saturday I woke early, loaded the wagon and drove out to Stinson with coffee in hand to check out the 4th annual Shore to Shore Paddle Race. I told myself I was only going to be a spectator and wasn’t going to race, but once reminded that my entry fee benefits the Stinson Beach Junior Lifeguards, I figured what the hell. If anything I’ll gain some insight as to where I stack up to other local sup’ers.
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