I’m saddened to report that my post last Thursday about drownings in the Great Lakes became eerily prescient just one day later. Two young men lost their lives last Friday while kayaking on Lake Michigan near Cave Point Park in Wisconsin’s Door County, where I often paddle. The following day […]
Category: kayaking
Drowning. It’s Not Just for Stupid People
My recent attendance at a water safety conference stirred up a memory I don’t think about often but it’s always in the back of my mind. It was the time I nearly drowned. Looking back, I can see that the incident had a long-lasting influence on my life. Before I […]
High Water Kayaking on the Peshtigo
Over the weekend Wisconsin’s Peshtigo River was running at a very high 23″ level as measured under the Highway C bridge at Kosir’s Rapid Rafts. The Roaring Rapids section of the river was definitely an adrenaline rush; the beefiest whitewater river I have experienced in a kayak. I capsized on […]
Best Surfing Waves of the Year. So Far.
Peter and I enjoyed great waves at Port Washington’s South Beach yesterday with some nice long surfs. I’ve never seen waves so nicely spaced at PW South Beach. Surf boarders came from all over to enjoy the day. At one point I counted 17 of them on the water in […]
Peshtigo River: My First Whitewater of the Season
A quick video of my first whitewater kayaking of the season. There were 10 kayaks and four open boaters (whitewater canoes) in our group on a beautiful spring day in Wisconsin.
Camper Quest Part 2: Rent Before You Buy
Last week I introduced here the topic of our Camper Quest — our search to find the perfect (or at least acceptable) solution to expand our kayaking world via the RV lifestyle. I’ve been doing a ton of research on the topic because RV’s ain’t cheap. Before we fork over […]
Camper Quest Part 1: Expanding Our Kayaking World with an RV
My wife and I have been kayakers for about 12 years. Over the years, as we paddled rivers, Great Lakes and oceans, I expanded my knowledge and love of kayaking and today I share it with others as an instructor and volunteer. These days Lake Michigan is literally in our […]
Wisconsin Surfing: When the Waves Call
Here’s a great video about board surfing in Wisconsin and some of the people who do it. I recognize some of the guys in the video because I’ve been out on the waves with them in my kayak. I see many similarities between these guys and the Wisconsin whitewater kayakers […]
Double sealing Valley Kayak hatch covers
It’s a cold day in January so here’s a winter garage tip that may get you thinking about paddling again. In the 1980’s Valley became the first company to develop a watertight hatch system especially for kayaks. The Valley system remains the benchmark. Their round cover for the day hatch […]
It’s Cold and Getting Colder on the River
It’s cold and it’s getting colder It’s gray and white and winter all around And oh I must be getting older All this snow is trying to get me down* The air was 31F. Water was 37F. The river level was 10″. Time to go boating. Xensr map and motion […]