How to Choose a Life Jacket, Life Vest, Personal Floatation Device (PDF) for Recreational Kayaking
Maybe you’ve been using equipment provided by your local kayaking rental company and after a few times you’ve tired of wearing those grungy life jackets with the high necks that don’t fit well and are about as stylish as a pig in a mud hole.
One of the most difficult and important decisions you will make as a kayaker is which boat to buy. There are many factors to this decision, but one of the most important is how well the boat fits you. A kayak is somewhat similar to a jacket that protects you from the elements. On long a trip, you really don't want to be wearing the wrong size jacket.
Autumn is here, but don't put away your paddle. "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," or maybe it's just time again for the giant pumpkin kayak and canoe regattas.
There are so many amazing kayaking destinations in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, you could spend a lifetime paddling and not exhaust your choices; serene coves, rocky points with washing machine-like cross currents, scenic harbors dotted with float planes and pleasurecraft, or open channel crossings to distant shores. One of my favorite day trips is the short crossing from Salt Spring Island to Wallace Island.
I'm sharing this story in the hopes that those of you paddlers who have kids will make sure to get your kids out on the water. If you're not a paddler (yet), what a great activity to do with the entire family.
Recently, I had the opportunity to hike my first leg of the Appalachian Trail - from Clingmans Dome to Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park - approximately 8 miles. It was raining. We finished wet and muddy, but exhilarated. What does this have to do with kayaking, you ask?
New to kayaking? Want to improve your technique? Need to expand your skill set? Here are a couple of online resources to help you become a better paddler, no matter what level of kayaker you are now.
For anyone with an interest in building their own kayak, the following is a brief article relating to my experiences in building a wood strip sea kayak. I've found this to be an enjoyable and unique hobby...
Kayaking, Camping, Cooking... a few of my favorite things...
Beyond freeze-dried food packets, tinned tuna and granola bars: simple tips to transform your kayak camping cooking into easy, pleasurable and satisfying experiences.
If you can't go kayaking, check in to see where paddlers around the globe are splashing about! A fellow paddler, Ren Seindal has been collecting kayaking related blogs and aggregating all the RSS feeds into one ginormous feed...
Most tourists see the breathtaking Amalfi Coast from a hair-raising, traffic-choked bus ride. But there's a better way to experience the true beauty and serenity of the Amalfi Coast - from a kayak, of course!
Kayaking with My Dog at Newport Back Bay, California
I am a novice kayaker, on the water maybe 5 or 6 times, so when it was suggested that we take our dogs out with us I was a bit apprehensive. My dog dislikes swimming pools, making a beeline to the stairs each time I have taken her in. However, she will get her feet wet at the beach, venturing in further only to "warn me" of the "danger" from the crashing surf.
Kayaking By Myself in the Open Ocean for the First Time
A 10-year old kayaker tells his story... I was at the beach. I took my boat into the water. It was early morning. I got in my sit-on-top and waited for a big wave to go by. Right after the wave crashed, I shot out like a rocket. I was paddling real hard.
In the fall of 2006, my family and I traveled to Venice, a place I had wanted to visit my entire life. We rented a wonderful apartment on a quiet canal in the Cannaregio sestieri, just north of the Rialto Bridge. As we'd walk every day over "our" little bridge, I'd sigh and exclaim, "I wish we could have brought our kayaks." In preparation for our trip, I searched exhaustively online for a kayak rental or tour company in Venice, but with no luck.
Located in the Detroit River just south of Lake Saint Clair, Peche Island is an uninhabited 86-acre park owned by the City of Windsor. Laced with canals and trails, this jewel is home to a variety of waterfowl and even Peregrine falcons and bald eagles. Thanks to continuing conservation and cleanup efforts by concerned organizations, kayakers can better enjoy the surrounding waters of the Detroit River.
For anyone interested in paddling around the waters of Los Angeles, there are several places that I recommend, and all of them have rental facilities. I like kayaking in Marina del Rey because of it's size, although there tends to be quite a bit of boat traffic. You'll see lots of beautiful boats of all sizes, plus seals and pelicans.
Whenever a non-paddler learns that I'm a sea kayaker, the conversation invariably turns to flipping over. "What do you do?!" "How do you get out of the boat?" "Don't you get trapped?!" The very idea of being stuck under water is so terrifying to some that they never attempt kayaking.