Classics at Sakonnet

The paddle today was a special event. Two old hats made appearances. Classic Tim was down from Maine taking a vacation from house construction woes. Bob H. was in town for the Newport Jazz festival.

This was the first time this year I had seen Classic Tim and I cannot remember when I last saw Bob.

The plan was to paddle out of Sakonnet Harbor, out the lighthouse, play along the rocks, and have lunch at a nice surf beach.

The conditions were pretty mild, so the chances of trouble were low as were the chances for good surfing.

The rocks were nice with the mellow conditions. Paddlers could get pretty close into the features without much danger of catastrophe.

Then we headed up the coast to find a nice surf beach.

The best surf we could find wasn’t much. There was some breaking swell, but it was infrequent and unpredictable.

Most people just headed in for lunch.

After lunch, the surf was slightly better and we all took tries getting runs.

I found it frustrating. I just couldn't seem to find any good waves.

Other paddlers had better luck than I.

Just because the surf wasn't great didn't mean there were not several people who went in the water. I was one of them...

I caught a decent wave that petered out in a shallow rocky spot and before I could get turned back out, a sneaky wave came in and knocked me right over. I started to set up for a roll but my hand scraped against a rock. I bailed and swam the kayak back into the beach.

The paddle back was very pleasant and relaxing. Things were pretty flat and we skipped most of the rock playing options.

Once we turned into the river, the group split into two. Classic Tim suggested sticking close to the shore to avoid fighting the current and the following seas and took his own advice. Most of the rest of the group decided to stay out in the middle of the river in the midst of the current for some reason.

I decided that Classic Tim knew what he was talking about and stayed inside the other paddlers, but the "good group" side of me made sure I split the distance just in case the main pod ran into trouble.

There was a small post paddle gathering at Coastal Roasters (the best coffee around). We sat chatting and looking out over the river.

Is there a better way to spend a day than paddling with old friends followed by sharing excellent coffee with an excellent view?

Return of the Pumpkin

 On Friday Dr. Carl called to say the Pumpkin was ready for pick-up. After a little yip for joy, I drove down and retrieved her. I could hardly see the extensive repairs. The bow was completely new and there were several patches along the sides. The only visible signs were some missing decals and subtle differences in color were the fiberglass was replaced.

Carl's timing could not have been better because Tim G. was running one of his coach training sessions out to the reefs in Stonington on Sunday. Tide races are the Aries natural habitat.

Tim planned out a day where were going to hit just two of the races. The weather wasn’t looking good for playing at Wiccopisett. Instead we planned on heading straight out to race between Wiccopisett and Sugar Reef.

The first reef had erratic, tight wave sets. The conditions made trying to predict the rides difficult, but fun. Unlike the Capella, the Aries doesn’t take much of a wave to get its surf on, so catching waves was not an issue. Staying on the waves was a little more problematic. The Capella’s straight hull and defined keel minimized the breaching effects of the waves. The Ares is as straight as a banana and has a flat hull designed to skip across the top of the water; any force that pushes on it will initiate a turn. If I didn’t get on a wave in the sweet spot, and stay there, the stern would get pushed around. Waves popping up at the bow pushed the bow around. The Ares’ hull makes it very maneuverable, which is its best and worst feature. I could easily make corrections using some edging and well placed strokes, but I was constantly making them. More times than I’d like to admit, I was over correcting.

Don’t get me wrong, I was having a blast and learning a lot. I was also working pretty hard. Truth be told, I prefer the Ares’ behavior in the races over the Capella’s. The Capella is very balanced and well behaved, but it is also very boring. The Ares’s is unruly, but more capable and way more fun. The trick with the Ares was finding the right set of strokes to tame it.

Sugar Reef presented a very different look. It had predictable, well spaced wave sets. I could find a wave and pretty much ride the train the whole way out if I could keep the Ares straight… I got more consistent rides with much less work. In the more predictable wave sets, forward strokes that put force on the bow worked best. They provided just enough push to keep moving into the next wave, kept my body position forward, and pushed the bow around just enough to keep in line with the waves.

After play time, we lunched at Napatree and discussed what we had learned. For me, it was all about readjusting to the Ares’ more playful hull and refining the skills we have been working on each time we go out to the reefs. I worked on refining my stern draw and learning when it is most effective. I played with using body position to trim the Ares’ speed profile and edging for turns.

On the way home everyone tried their luck catching waves at the molars. I was very conservative to avoid any chance of damaging the hull, so I didn’t get much. However, because the Ares takes so little action to surf, I did manage to catch a small ride.

This was a great day to get back in the Ares. Carl did great work patching her up and getting her sea worthy. Tim provided a great venue to really enjoy paddling her and shaking out the cobwebs.

The Reefs, The Reefs Are Calling

The paddle for the weekend was planned to be a rough water outing in the reefs off of Stonington, so I was really hoping that the Aries was ready to go. She is built for playing in the races. Sadly, Dr. Carl still has some work to do to get her sea worthy.

The Capella is no slouch in the fun stuff, but tidal play is not her raison. Also, I just miss paddling the Aries.

When Tim asked what we were hoping to learn out on the reefs, I knew one of the things was going to be adjusting to a different kayak. That was in addition to learning a better feel for catching waves, learning to control the kayak while surfing, and linking rides together.

The predicted conditions were perfect for learning. The current was just fast enough with the right amount of wind to kick up some waves. However, it was not strong enough to make things dangerous. We could get up to the edge without worrying about going too far. Removing some of the worry males space for reflection and observation in the moment.

We started out at Wiccopisett. The race there was a well formed field of waves. It provided a great warm up spot. I spent some time remembering how to time the waves to the motions of the kayak. When the bow starts going up, get ready to paddle hard; as the bow starts coming down, paddle hard; as the stern lifts, surf. Once on the waves, I started playing with maneuvering. Unlike the Aries, the Capella wants to go straight which is a blessing and a curse. The Capella is less likely to breach, but it is also harder to turn and correct. I found that if I kept my speed up, I could maneuver with little sweep turns and a little edging. If I lost speed, or needed to do serious turning, I needed to resort to rudders, stern draws, and serious edging. For the most part I edged into the turns and used my foot to push the bow where I wanted it to go. The only time I edged opposite the turn and used my knee to pull the bow around was when I was turning into the waves to get from the front of the race to back of the race.

After first lunch on Wiccopisett, we made our way north along the reef line heading towards Watch Hill.

The next play spot had more action. The waves were bigger and less orderly. Tim suggested playing with how I was edging, I had some success with varying how I edged the kayak. Sometimes I would edge away from the turn and try to yank the bow around other times I would edge into the turn. The edging away from the turn and yanking seemed to work best when the stern was really stuck. It felt a little dodgy, but I never went over. I gave up trying to string rides together because the field was too messy and I was more focused on my edging.

Our final play spot was Sugar Reef. The wave here were more organized, but closer together. This meant that even if I caught a wave perfectly, there was a good chance the one behind it would grab my stern. I mostly worked on using forward strokes to maneuver and keep up speed. This help me trim the kayak so the stern was up and less likely to get caught. It also made it easier to move from one wave to the next. Reading the field was much easier because the waves set up relatively parallel. You basically used the one you were on to ride into the one in front of you. It was a fun time.

We had second lunch at Napatree point and reviewed the day.

Some of the group tried to surf the molars on the way home. I opted out. The wave was too small and too unpredictable for the energy.

The rest of the rest of the of the return paddle was a nice wind down.

Returning to the Scene of the Crime

Father's Day, and the whole weekend thing, totally snuck up on me. H asked me what I wanted to do for Father's Day and if there were any paddles I wanted to do over the weekend and I was like "What you talking about Wilson?"

I was torn about what to do: I felt like I should do something with the family, but I really wanted to go kayaking. Since nobody in the family had anything they wanted to do as a family, I decided that I would do something I wanted to do - well mostly what I wanted to do. Since I am still relying on the kindness of H for a kayak I am bound by certain constraints concerning proximity to rocks and other possible dangers...

The original venue was URI Bay Campus. The opportunities for kayak destroying rock encounters were pretty low.

At the last minute the venue was changes to Fort Weatherill… Last time I paddled out of Weatherill, I came back with a hatch full of water and significantly less gel coat. The Aries bow was crushed and one side of it was devoid of gel coat.

H was a little less enthusiastic about me taking her kayak out of Weatherill, but I swore I would definitely not paddle near any rocks. I would avoid any situations where the chances of contact between her hull and a rock were greater than 10 percent. (I did try to offer zero percent, but neither of us believed that was a promise I could keep.)

Conditions were good for me keeping my promises. The wind was light, the swells were small, and the tide was high. It looked like one would have to go out of their way to be in any danger. I planned on going the other way and working extra hard to stay out of trouble.

Staying out of trouble was a fun challenge. The challenge was purely internal. I am highly susceptible to the siren’s song; I often just find myself in the rocks without knowing how….

The fun was in continuing to learn the ways of the Cappella. Paddling a new kayak once is sort of liking getting high for the first time. You know things are a little off, but you don't notice the details. Also, the first time I paddled the Capella was in moving water and open water swells is a very different paddling field.

The Capella, despite its diminutive size, is built to be a touring kayak. It has a long water line, a defined keel, and not a ton of rocker. It goes straight very nicely. It turns languidly unless pushed. A sweep stroke or a little edge will get it to turn, but not quickly. Big, fast turns it require fineness and a bit of aggression.

The Capella needs to be edged to release the hull and sometimes it needs to be edged a lot and given a nudge. I realize that I'm speaking as somebody who has spent years paddling the sea kayak equivalent of a whitewater kayak. I'm used to just turning my head in the direction I want to go and having the kayak spin underneath me. The Aries is all rocker and flat hull.

Playing near the rocks and zigging in and out of the bumps in the shore takes more thought and effort. This was even more true given the slack conditions. There was almost no swell to assist in getting the hull to release. The upside of the easy conditions, and a strength of the Capella in general, was that getting and staying on edge is easy and comfortable.

Where the Capella really shined was when we crossed Mackerel Cove. The wind was blowing into the cove enough that the Aries would have required some serious work to keep straight. The Capella, however, just moved along on a straight line. I didn't need to waste any effort on correcting strokes or using the skeg.

After lunch a Hull Cove, I decided to add a little more challenge to my day. I packed the stick onto the deck and assembled the trusty old Lendal. If I was going to paddle an old school British sea kayak, I might as well do so with an old school British kayak paddle.

I noticed two things right away. First, the Lendal puts a lot more force on my body. Second, the Lendal generates a lot more immediate force when put in the water. I didn't gain any super powers, but I could get the Capella to react faster.

We paddled south along the coast a little ways to visit "the cave." It was a very cool little cave that is just wide enough to back into if you are willing to use your hands against the edges. The passage gets too narrow for a paddle.

After the cave we made our way back along the coast towards the put in. Along the way I kept experimenting with the Lendal to see what it could do and how it behaved. Overall, I was pretty happy with it although not enough to switch full time. The power is all front loaded, which can be nice, but it does take a toll on old joints. Ultimately, I didn't find anything I couldn't have done with the stick. The stick requires a little more finesse and commitment for some things, but it gets the job done.

One fun fact about paddling the Capella with the Lendal is that both the kayak and the paddle are nearly old enough to have driver's licenses. I am definitely and old timer....

Back at the beach, I tried my roll with the Capella and the Lendal. It did not go well. The paddle dove and the hip snap didn't compensate enough. I tried to switch paddles, but just couldn't stay under long enough to get the stick assembled and into position. After a failed renter and roll attempt where I couldn't seem to get myself properly positioned in the cockpit, I was pulled out of the water feeling a little dejected.

Just so I could say I finished strong, I did manage one roll with the stick. It was not the prettiest thing in the world, but it worked. The Capella seems to require more commitment to roll; or paddling a few miles with the Lendal wore me out....

Life isn't as fun when your not learning new things...

Paddling a Very Small Kayak Very Safely

After my mishap with the pumpkin, I wasn’t sure when I’d get to paddle again. The good Dr. Carl wasn’t giving any timelines other than that I would need to borrow a kayak if I wanted to paddle this weekend. Apparently repeated smashing into rocks by big waves is not healthy for the bow of a kayak...

But one of my buddies is going for his BCU instructor certification and was doing a tide race clinic at the mouth of the Narrow River. The fun/danger ratio was decidedly in my favor. I might end up swimming, but I was unlikely to bash into any rocks.

All I needed was a kayak and my very understanding wife to give me a third paddling weekend in as many weeks…

Getting my hands on a kayak was not too hard; getting a kayak that was not built for tiny people was nigh impossible. One person offered to let me use there slightly abused Nordkap LV and another offered to let me use a Scorpio LV. H also said if she let me go kayaking I could use her Capella 160 which is also made for wee people.

Against her better judgment, H decided it was better to let me paddle than to suffer the perils of not letting me burn off steam. She did make me promise to stay away from rocks and not scratch her kayak.

I promised to try to stay out of trouble… I really didn’t think that there would be many opportunities to smash a kayak playing in a tide race.

Once I got in the Capella I knew it would an interesting day. Not only is the Capella built for someone about 50lbs light than me, it has a completely different hull design than the Aries. While the Capella can be maneuverable, its is primarily made for touring. The Aries on the other hand can be a touring kayak, but is is made for playing (It is basically a white water kayak for the ocean.)

Getting down the river to the race was a good chance to get comfortable in the Capella. It was a little tippier than the Aries, the edges were in a different place, and the edges were definitely needed for quick turning. That said, it paddle very nicely.

Once we got out to the race, we stopped at the beach to see how things were shaping up and to see what people wanted to do. The race wasn’t too big and the surf was pretty small, but there were conditions. The trickiest part of the location was the sandbar that constricted the front of the race. There was only a few feet between the rocks and where the sand bar made the waves get ugly.

We divided up into pairs based on interest and skill levels before heading out into the race. We paddled out past the head and tucked into the eddy behind it. From there we paddled back around the head and into the race trying to find the eddy on the other side of the head.

To minimize my chanced of hitting anything, I tried to take the the turn wide and got caught up in the slop caused by the sand bar. It was ugly, a little scary, and very educational. I got very familiar with the balance points on the Capella and using edges for turning. It really does like to go straight.

On the way into the race, I got a new perspective on long boat surfing. The Capella's sharp bow and v-shaped hull makes it easier to keep straight on the wave because the bow stays pinned in the trough. The trade off is a less speed and getting the bow trapped. It was interesting watching the bow under the water as I surfed down the wave and tried to maneuver into the eddy.

Our group spent time transiting the race interface and maneuvering in the race. We explored the fastest ways to travel forward and backwards in the race while keeping control of our kayaks. We explored what works best for turns in current. For me it was a whole new world because of the different kayak. Even in current, the Aries is easy to maneuver. The ample rocker and the planing bow make carving turns easy even when you don’t choose the most efficient stroke (The trade off is that any stray wave can grab the stern and spin the kayak around just as easy.) The Cappella’s pointy nose and defined keel makes turning a much more intentional affair. You need to edge properly and get the strokes correct to get where you want to go (The trade off is that staying on a straight course is easy.)

My partner and I then decided to head out of the race and around the point. We completely mistimed things. As soon as we poked our bows from behind the point a huge set of swells roared toward the beach. I was the second kayak, but was initially sticking pretty close. When the first swell rose up and my partner’s kayak started going vertical, I back paddled and leaned backward to get some distance between us. Then I immediately leaned into the wave as it hit me and pushed through. Unlike the Aries which would just float over the crest of the wave, the Capella punched through.

Both my partner and I lost a little ground, but kept moving forward into the next set of waves which were even bigger. Once again, I needed to bleed off a little speed to keep  safe distance and by the time I got ready to punch through the wave I was getting back surfed into the sandbar. I stayed up right on the first wave, but the one behind it did me in. The water was too shallow and confused to roll, so I popped out and dragged the kayak to the beach.

Once back in the kayak, I did make it around the point. The swells had weakened a little so my second attempt was much easier. Getting back to the beach side of the point, however was less easy. Another big set rolled through and I got to experience the fun of panic surfing the Capella while trying to keep it away from anything that could scratch it….

After the point fiasco, I stayed in the race and worked on boat handling. It was not exciting, but it was challenging and informative.

During lunch, we all talked about different things that we learned which was nice.

After lunch we decided to head around the point and try to find some place to surf. As I had promised, I stay well out to sea and didn’t do any rock play while we hunted the elusive surf.

The one spot that offered decent surf for people to play with was over a big rock and the waves pushed straight into a shallow rock garden. There were some little side waves that I thought were safe to try, but for the most part I just worked on boat handling in the cove and relaxed.

Most of the other paddlers in the group got some impressive looking rides. They worked hard for them though since you had to be in just the right spot to catch them and that spot was not the safest place to be…

Once everyone had their fill of surfing, we headed back to the put in.

By the time we got back to the mouth of the Narrow River, the race was pretty much out of steam. That meant that the river was also out of water so we had to carefully pick our way back up the channel. I only got muckbound once… Mud generally doesn’t scratch, so I was still keeping my promise not to damage my wife’s kayak.

Back at the put in we did another quick debrief and packed up.

While I enjoyed paddling my wife’s Capella, I do hope that my Aries is back on the water soon. The Capella 161 is just a wee bit small for someone my size which makes paddling it in conditions a wee bit less fun. Also while it is good to be reminded how a “real” sea kayak handles, I really enjoy managing the Aries. It is a little unruly, but that is where the fun happens.