Always Free							Inside:Leopard Sharks
Channel Islands
Interview: Sean Morley

Fall 2010

1quarter-page-CAK-20100420-outlines.ai 1 4/21/2010 10:15:11 AM

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Fall 2010

Fall 2010

Volume 1, Issue 3

Contents

Editor in Chief
Peter Donohue
Design & Layout
Laura Ramos www.portalcm.com
Contributing Writers
Bryant Burkhardt, Chuck Graham, Matt
Krizan, Sean Morley, Eric Soares
Contributing Photographers
Bryant Burkhardt, Lawrence Cheng,
Chuck Graham, Alex Horangic, Dominick Lemarie, John Lull, Flory Moody,
Lisa Ouellette, Michael Powers, Randy
WilderWriting and photos not otherwise credited are by California Kayaker Magazine
Psychological Support
Trader Joes 2 Buck Chuck Cab
www.traderjoes.com
Legal Support
Karen A. Lapinski, Attorney
www.LapinskiLaw.com
Find Us
PO Box 282004
San Francisco, CA 94128
Phone: 650-868-8653
Fax: 650-560-2783
Email: editor@calkayakermag.com
www.calkayakermag.com
Copyright © 2010 by California Kayaker
Magazine. All rights reserved. Duplicationor copying of any portion of this magazine
in any form is strictly prohibited. Letters to
the editor should be sent to the editor at theaddress listed above. The opinions found in
California Kayaker Magazine are those of
its writers and do not necessarily reflect theopinion of management or advertisers.
California Kayaker Magazine is an independent magazine available for free at paddlingshops, sports retailers, outdoor stores, fitness
clubs, marinas, and events, and available fordownload from the web.
Kayaking can be a dangerous sport. Dressappropriately, always wear your PFD, andpaddle within your skill level.

9

			

18

		

28

Features

In Every Issue

6 Skills - Eddy Turns

4 Editor’s Note

9 Critters - Leopard
Sharks5 News, Results,
and Calendar

12 Paddling the
Channel Islands

16 Center Hatch

18 Interview - Sean
Morley22 Confessions of a
Wave Warrior

28 Review
30 List of Advertisers

25 Outdoor Retailer

Cover Photo - Kyle Tsuye with“Team South Kaiser” winces as thoselittle-used quads get ready to land at
the 2010 Eppie’s Great Race.
Photo by Lisa OuelletteCamera: Canon EOS 40D
California Kayaker Magazine

3

Editor’s Note
Welcome Letter
California Kayaker Magazine continues to grow. The fall issue will have a print run of about
10,000 copies, which is a large increase over the first issue’s 6500. With the summer issue,
we were already in all independent kayaks retailers in California and border areas of Nevada
and Oregon (at least all that I could find through extensive Google searching). With this issue,
we are adding distribution through the REI and West Marine stores in Southern California so
we are now in those stores throughout the state. Even with these additional stores, there still
seems to be plenty of room for more growth, so our print quantities will increase even more
over time.
If you are stuck indoors and have a Facebook account, you can have some say in how California Kayaker Magazine develops. I have been posting queries from time to time on the California Kayaker Facebook page asking what people think of a variety of proposed changes. Asa matter of fact, the Center Hatch photo section was named based on a suggestion received
through Facebook. If you want to see what we are considering, or just have some suggestions,search for “California Kayaker Magazine” on Facebook and sign up.
Another area you can have more say on is in writing for California Kayaker Magazine. Most
articles are not written by me, but are provided by people who write about their experiences orexpertise. We are particularly interested in receiving some more submissions related to kayak
fishing and whitewater paddling, though feel free to submit on any type of kayaking. If interested, there are writer’s guidelines at www.calkayakermag.com/write.html.
However, you really shouldn’t hang around inside our house too much. Those who have been
paddling for a while in California know that, with the exception of white water whose flows
have dried up, fall is the best season to paddle. Temperatures are generally mild, water temperatures are as high as they are going to get, the ocean fog has burned back, and there areless ski boats and jet skis sharing the water. Definitely a good time to get out and paddle.
Happy Paddling!
Peter Donohue
Editor in Chief
editor@calkayakermag.com

4

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Fall 2010

w
California Proposition 21 – California State Parks Initiative
Twice in the past two years, stateparks were on the brink of being shut
down because of California’s budget
cuts. More closure proposals andcutbacks are anticipated because
the state expects a $20.7 billion
shortfall through 2011. Budget cuts inthe past have left the parks severely
behind in needed maintenance andrepairs with restrooms, visitor centers, trails, and other facilities badly
deteriorating.
To fix this, a group of citizen park
supporters have put Proposition 21
on the November ballot. If Prop. 21
passes, owners of most California
vehicles (cars, motorcycles, RVs,w
Support Strokes
Oakland, CA
September 25, 2010www.calkayak.com/supportstrokes

etc. – larger commercial vehicles
and mobile homes are exempt) will
pay an extra $18 per year when
they register their vehicle in 2011. In
exchange, anyone driving a vehicle
with a California license plate will nothave to pay day use fees at any ofCalifornia’s 278 State Parks, State
Historic Parks, State Beaches, State
Natural Reserves, and State Recreation Areas starting January 1, 2011.
Day use fees are currently charged
per vehicle when entering the park,and range up to $15 per day.
Fees beyond “day use fees” will
still be in effect, such as those for
camping, guided tours at places
like Hearst Castle, and even the(much disliked by some kayakers)$3 charge to land a boat on Angel
Island.

To submit an event for consideration
to California Kayaker Magazine,
please send basic information to
editor@calkayakermag.com.

Eppie’s Great Race 37
Eppie’s Great Race is a “no swim”
triathlon in Sacramento, where competitors run, bike, and kayak. The
race took place on July 17 and wasa fundraiser for Sacramento County
Therapeutic Recreation Services. Top
3 finishers for each category are listed
below—full results can be found at
www.thegreatrace.org.
Junior Ironwoman
1 Veronica Garcia
2 Alexandria Gordon
Ironwoman 19 to 39
1 Nicole Young
2 Donene Vukovich
3 Barbara Elizabe Adams

Prop. 21 will generate approximately
Ironwoman 40 to 49$500 million in annual revenues,
1 Jollynn Hollingsworth
based on an estimate of about 28
2 Debbie Amrhein
million vehicles being subject to the
3 Jean Marie Sousa
State Park Access Pass surcharge inthe first year.
Ironwoman 50 to 59
1 Pam Goodley
The funds will be invested as follows:
2 Cathie Simonsen
3 Sharon Ruffner* 85% to the California Departmentof Parks and Recreation to repair,
operate, manage, maintain and develop state parks.

Traditional Arctic Kayak Symposium (TAKS)* 7% to the California Department
Trinidad, CA
of Fish and Game to manage andOctober 15-17, 2010www.shamankayaks.com/shaman/taks operate wildlife refuges, ecologicalreserves and other lands it owns or
manages
Sea Trek Regatta and Paddlethon
Sausalito, CA* 4% to the Ocean Protection CounOctober 17, 2010
cil for marine wildlife conservationwww.etctrips.org/regatta
and the protection of coastal waters
Golden Gate Sea Kayak
Symposium
Sausalito, CA
Feb 18-20, 2011www.ggsks.com

w

Ironwoman 60 and over
1 Janice Koch
2 Jonida Mane
3 Jennifer Faukner-Ongerth
Junior Ironman
1 Nicolas Jimenez
2 Thomas Snider
3 David Calfee
Ironman 19 to 39
1 Vincent A. R. King
2 Kevin Matthew Daniel
3 Brian Suter* 2% to state conservancies for park Ironman 40 to 49
1 Mark Barrett
and wildlife habitat
2 Jeff Schwing* 2% to the Wildlife Conservation
3 Nikolas Rechtiene
Board for grants to local public agenIronman 50 to 59
cies for wildlife conservation
1 Vic Vicari
2 Craig Mc Mannis
For more information, check out
3 Bobby Carpenter
www.yesforstateparks.com
News Continued on Page 30

Results Continued on Page 24
California Kayaker Magazine

5

Get
Into
The
Flow
How to effectively paddle with moving waterby Bryant Burkhardt

Eddy on the downstream side of
the bridge abutment at the south
tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Photo used with permission fromSea Kayaking Safety & Rescue
by John Lull

M

oving water comes in many shapes andsizes and learning to paddle with current
can open up more options for paddlers
in any boat. Whether you are on a whitewater river or paddling through tidal currents on an
ocean bay, in a sea kayak or white water kayak,
there are some simple principles to understand andbasic techniques that will allow you to negotiate themoving water safely and efficiently. Where there iscurrent there will also be eddies (calm water) created by anything obstructing the flow of water—aboulder in mid stream, a bend of shoreline or evenan anchored navigation buoy in a shipping channel.
Using these eddies for stopping, resting, scouting
or moving upstream is the key to getting where youwant to go and getting in and out of these eddies is
the key skill to learn for paddling in moving water.
I began my kayak career on the ocean so when I got
around to paddling on the river I already had some basic
skills–I could paddle in a straight line, edge my boata little and even pull off a combat roll. But my lack ofunderstanding of currents meant I used that roll a lot,
constantly being flipped by water for no apparent reason.
This was because I did not understand the fundamen6

www.calkayakermag.com

tal nature of how moving water interacts with a kayak.
Understanding some basic hydrodynamics will go a long
way to allowing you to avoid the upside down learning
process.
The first thing to understand is that moving water is only
important in a relative context—if a boat is moving thesame speed as the current then the interaction between
boat and water is exactly the same as if both are stationary. It is when there is a difference in speed or direction
between the boat and water that the dynamic interactionof the two comes into play. This occurs when a boater
is moving from an eddy into current or vice versa. Thattransition is the critical moment and we will look in depth
at how to handle it.
But first let us look at what happens when moving water
hits a stationary boat (which is the same as when a moving boat hits stationary water). If the water hits the boathead on then nothing much is going to happen. The bow(and generally the stern) of a boat is designed to split
the water. So the water will be smoothly separated andflow around the boat causing the paddler no concern.
But when the water hits the side of the boat it cannot
simply go around – the obstacle is too large. In this casethe water will pile up on the upstream side of the boat,
and this resulting pile of water will catch and push down
Fall 2010

Drawings by Alex Horangic

Water piling up on the upstream side of the boat, pushing
the upstream side down which may cause you to flipon that side of the boat causing a
twisting force that wants to flip yourkayak upstream. This is the cause of
the majority of flips when learning to
paddle in current.
Now let us look at that same situation with current hitting the boat but
instead of a flat boat let’s see what
happens when the boat is angled
downstream (this is called edging
and we will dissect it in a moment).
Now the moving water does not
run into the side of the boat first, it
actually hits the bottom of the boat.
Instead of piling up on the side of theboat the water is deflected under theboat. This action will actually push up
on the downstream edge of the boat
in an attempt to flatten the boat out.
This righting force from the water iseasily countered by the boat lean thatcreated it and when the two forces
are in balance the boat and paddler
are quite stable. So understanding
how and when to edge the kayak
when entering or leaving currents is
the key to dealing with moving water.
Eddy Turns
Now that we know that edging is the
key and the transition between currents is the critical moment we shalllook in detail at how to accomplish
this. The technique is called an “EddyTurn” and it is used to go from an
eddy into current or from current into
an eddy. And to be clear, when I say
an eddy I simply mean water that ismoving at a different speed from themain current. The division between

Edging on the downstream side as you cross an eddy
line will help keep you uprightthe eddy and the current will bereferred to as the eddy line. Often eddies appear to be totally calm water
but many times the eddy will have acurrent that is opposite in direction to
the main current. Again, the important thing is always relative motion
and this technique applies to anytransition from water moving at one
speed and direction to water moving
at a different speed or direction.
We will start with the most common
situation and then see how that canbe generalized. We will begin in an
eddy next to shore with calm waterand our goal will be to get our kayak
out into the moving water that isgoing by (be it a river or tidal current). Once we are out in the current
and moving at the same speed as
the water then it is just the same as
paddling on flat water. Only when we
look to exit the current and stop in an
eddy do we have to again pay attention to current-specific techniques.
To enter the current from an eddy
one could theoretically just paddle
straight into the current. The problem is that when your bow hits thatcurrent it will start to turn the boatand since the rest of your kayak is
still in the eddy your boat will be
spun around before you can crossthe eddy line into the current. The
solution to this is to start out angled
upstream into the current.

While the current will still turn yourbow downstream this initial angle will
give you more time to cross over into
the current and get up to speed while
being less likely to spin around andend up where you started. This turning action leaves us pointed more orless downstream and is why we call it
an eddy turn and not an eddy cross.
But the current does the turning of
the kayak–you don’t need to use any
turning strokes to accomplish this.
Another important component tocrossing the eddy line is speed. The
eddy line itself is not always a thin,straight line. The area between theeddy and the current can be several
feet wide and quite turbulent. We
want to get through such an area as
quickly as possible so we want tohave as much forward speed as we
can going into it. This speed will also
give us more momentum which helps
to stabilize the boat throughout theeddy turn.
Finally we get back to where we
started­—we need to edge our kayak

Kayaker edging
Photo by Bryant Burkhardt
California Kayaker Magazine7

as we cross the eddy line and enter
the current. From our earlier discussion this edge will prevent thecurrent from catching the upstreamside of the boat and flipping it. To beclear, I’m talking about changing theangle of the boat on the water, notleaning your body—just the boat.
This is accomplished by using yourlower body, especially your knees,to angle the boat. So we need toedge downstream (lift the upstreamedge) as we cross the eddy line andhold that edge throughout the turn. If
you flatten your boat out (drop youredge) too early the water will pile up
and flip you, whereas if you hold theedge too long there is no penalty. So
just keep that edge. It is important
to note that this downstream edging
throughout the turn is just like leaning
into the turn on a bicycle (or skis or
surfing or any other sport).
So we have completed our eddy
turn and are now in the flow of thecurrent. Once we decide to pull out
into an eddy we will use the exact
same technique. We just have tolook at the relative water speed andadjust accordingly. When you are
moving with the current the eddy’s
calm water appears to be moving in
the opposite direction. Now you needto angle down into the eddy, get upsome speed and edge away fromthat eddy current (once again this issimply leaning into the turn).

Above: Paddler approaching an eddy line angled upstream
Below: As the paddler crosses the eddy line, their boat turns downstream
Photos by Bryant Burkhardt

These are the three keys to performing an eddy turn: angle, speed,
and edge. You need all three to bepresent in order to make a stabletransition from water moving at one
speed to water moving at another.
For faster, stronger currents you willneed to increase all three of these:
higher angle, more speed, and moreedge. Each situation has its own
perfect combination but after a little
practice it will happen naturally (justlike riding that bike). v
Bryant Burkhardt is an ACA Instructor-Trainer in Coastal and Whitewater Kayaking.
In addition to teaching professionally, he is also a kayak filmmaker, producing theDVD ‘Paddle California’. More info can be found on his website www.bbkayaking.com

8

www.calkayakermag.com

Fall 2010

No Less a Badassby Matthew Krizan

Adult Leopard shark in the Kelp Forest exhibit at theMonterey Bay Aquarium© Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder

M

ention the word “shark” to anyone—even
those who don’t often participate inocean water sports—and the image you
are likely to invoke is that of the gaping,
toothy-grin of a steely-eyed Great White shark on
final-approach to its next victim. If being gored bybeasts remains one of humankind’s primal fears,
then the big grey serial killer has a permanent spoton our short-list of “things to avoid while in the water.” Fortunately not all sharks are the people-tastingkind. For this issue of Critters from Kayaks I would
like to appeal to the same sense of awe and wonder
you get when contemplating big sharks, while asking you to suspend your fear and focus instead on
their smaller cousin. It is no less a capable hunterthat we might find stalking its prey right up into ourinches-deep estuarine waters: the Leopard shark.
Before I even begin to tell you all about all of the cool
aspects of Leopard sharks and where you can go to see
them, I’d like to put down the “will it bite me?” question
and tell you how you can go out and get yourself bitten
by one: catch one alive, flip it belly up, pin it down, andshove your toes into its mouth. Does this process soundeasy, fun, or like something you want to accomplish? If
not, congratulations! I am happy to tell you that you will
never be bitten by a Leopard shark.
Adult Leopard sharks range from three to seven feetlong, have a long, slender body, and a downward-oriented mouth on the underside of their short, broad, flat head.
Their skin is grey to copper in color, with dark isometric(a word for “equal on both sides”) splotches running thelength of their bodies. In addition to their size and coloration, Leopard sharks are distinctive from other sharks because their secondary dorsal fins are only slightly smaller
than the large, round-tipped triangular primary dorsal
fins, and their pectoral (on the side) and ventral (lower
near tail) fins appear very large compared to their slenderbodies. Leopard sharks are ovoviviparous, meaning thefemales hold fertilized eggs inside of their bodies until
they hatch. Gestation is ten to twelve months, after which
one to three dozen pups, about seven to ten inches long,are born.
Leopard sharks range from Oregon south to central Mexico and the Gulf of California. They are pretty common to
California Kayaker Magazine

9When paddling in areas with cloudy
water or in poor lighting, sometimes
the easiest way to find sharks is bylooking for their fins in the shallows,
such as with these which were spotted in Pillar Point Harbor
Photo by California Kayaker

many of the palces kayakers go. As amatter of fact, if you have paddled insalt water in California, chances are
you have been close to these guys.
But just because they are in the area
doesn’t mean you can see them.
Your best chance of seeing one is incalm, shallow, clear water found insome of our bays and esterros, like
Morro Bay, Tomales Bay, and Drake’s
Esterro. But even in water that is not
as clear (such as in San FranciscoBay), you can sometimes see thedorsal fins when they are in very
shallow water.
With their broad, flat heads anddownward-oriented mouths, Leopard
sharks are suited to hunting along
the sea floor, preferring shallower
coastal and estuarine waters lessthan 100 feet deep, with muddy or
sandy bottoms.

and pectoral fins; keen eyesightadapted to dark waters; the ability tosense the electrical field of their prey;and the ability to sense water temperature and water currents. Leopard
sharks and all of their cousins havebeen stalking their prey in earth’s
oceans eighty times longer than
we’ve been using tools, and over ten
times longer than we’ve been walking on two feet.
From skin to skeleton, sharks have
evolved to be super-efficient swimmers, and their body form and physical structure function more similar toaircraft than surface or submarine
vessels. While swimming, sharks relyon lift from their ventral fins to maintain their depth, while their verticallyoriented primary and secondary
dorsal fins keep them oriented bellydown. A design feature of many early

aircraft was the monocoque structure, where the skin of the aircraft
provided all of the load-bearing support. Shark morphology is similar due
to tough protein fibers made of collagen, which are wound around theshark in layers, just beneath the skin.
These layers of collagen are strong
enough to serve as attachment
points for the muscles of the shark.
The fact that the shark muscles areattached directly to the surface they
manipulate, and that they are sandwiched in between two structural layers—the layers of collagen fibers andthe lightweight, flexible cartilaginous
skeleton—means that sharks waste
very little energy in motion. To top it
Leopard sharks in Point Reyes’
Drakes Esterro. Drakes Esterro
normally has very clear water, so is
an excellent place to spot leopard
sharks. These guys were kicking up
silt as they fed off the bottom. If you
see muddy water in an area with otherwise clear water, it may be worth
checking out to see if a leopard sharkis causing the muddy water
Photo by California Kayaker

Leopard sharks share common
physical features and abilities with
their bigger and more fearful cousins,
and—from an evolutionary standpoint—sharks are like the classicrock stars of the apex predator world:
they haven’t changed after all theseyears. Three features have differentiated sharks from the fish they haveeaten for 400 million years: a cartilaginous skeleton, rough sand-paperlike skin, and their tooth-lined jaws.
By the end of the Jurassic period
160 million years ago, all sharks had
evolved the body forms and physicalabilities which can be observed insharks today: large, triangular dorsal
10

www.calkayakermag.com

Fall 2010

Leopard shark in in Point Reyes’
Limantour Esterro
Photo by California Kayaker
all off, shark skin is embedded withinterlinked microscopic scales madeof plaque (the same as human teeth),
which are called dermal denticles,
and which poke through and givethe skin a rough, sand-papery feel.
These microscopic points sticking outof the shark’s skin each produce theirown vortice while the shark is swimming, providing even more efficiency
in motion. The overall effect of their
physiology is that sharks can prowl
along at top speed with very little
effort. Leopard sharks demonstrate
their solid swimming ability when
they school in estuarine environments to hunt, where access to theseareas is often restricted to narrow
channels with swift currents.
Leopard sharks are common to manyof the places we paddle, and can bea fun animal to spot. So when you
are paddling in calm, shallow water,
keep your eye out for these guys. v
Matt Krizan is an avid kayaker, kayak
instructor for California Canoe & Kayak,
and marine biologist who likes to share
the beauty and glory of the great outdoors. Matt lives in Moss Beach, CA

Leopard sharks cruise a wetland pool in the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s“Coastal Wetland to Sandy Shore” exhibit in Ocean’s Edge
©Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has detailed information on Leopard sharks
on their web site: www.montereybayaquarium.org
Or go to the Aquarium if you want to be guaranteed a sighting of Leopard
sharks…
Editor note – please don’t confuse Leopard sharks with the similarly named
Tiger shark. Leopard sharks are only dangerous to crustaceans, but Tiger
sharks are listed as one of the more dangerous sharks out there.
California Kayaker Magazine

11

Kayaking the Galapagos of the North
By Chuck GrahamT

here was no denying the currents
colliding throughout the Santa Cruz
Channel. Massive shoaling induced
a treacherous “potato patch”, where
turbulence produced swirling rips
and choppy seas from all directions, a real
challenge as I aimed for the exposed knobby
rock outcroppings of East Point on Santa Rosa
Island, my desired destination. A pod of common dolphins joined me breaching next to myblue kayak, motivating me to keep up, thenvanishing in the cobalt blue seas surrounding
the Channel Islands National Park.

I was in the throes of island hopping from the seat of mykayak experiencing the unique biodiversity of Anacapa,
Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands. I wasalone, but not really considering the vast web of life surrounding the volcanic archipelago. For approximately 175
miles and nine days of open ocean paddling, I soaked inwhat has come to be known as “the Galapagos Islands of
the North.”
My circumnavigation began as a dream, then a quest,
but soon reality set in paddling against gale force winds,
wrapped in blankets of dewy fog, spelunking a throng ofwave-battered sea caves and weaving amongst playful
California sea lions. Between the windswept isles I rev12

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Sea lions on the beach near Point
Bennett on San Miguel Islandeled in each anxious channel-crossing, paddling acrossas fast as I could. My self-propelled adventure revealed
hidden coves, splendid encounters with island foxes,
spotted skunks, island scrub jays and the cultural significance the islands hold for Chumash Indians.
Capsized
After spending three balmy days alone on San Miguel, I
awoke on the fourth morning to howling northwest winds.
I was paddling downwind along the front-side [side facing
mainland] of the islands, a faint northwest swell at myback. Once out in the middle of the channel, the winds
increased and the swell grew larger. Before I could reacta wave broached my starboard capsizing my 14-foot-longkayak. My paddle was connected to my boat, so I let itgo. My dry-bag full of camera gear I grabbed instinctively.
A few other odds and ends were scattered about like ayard sale, but I was back in my boat soaked and chilled
before I could blink, and wide awake from my near catastrophe. Nothing like a wake up call, a shot of adrenaline
to forge ahead in challenging weather conditions.
It was roughly 25 miles from Cuyler Harbor on San
Miguel to the inside of Bechers Bay on the east end of
Santa Rosa Island. After righting my kayak and reaching
Sandy Point on the west end of Santa Rosa, I hugged
the inside of the dense kelp beds which forced the waves
to lie down. I followed pelagic cormorants and California
brown pelicans flying in formation as we all made a beeline for the sheer, daunting cliffs of Carrington Point.
Fall 2010

Camping on Anacapa Island

Bechers Bay is one of the largest
natural anchorages throughout the
chain. When I reached the campground at Water Canyon, fatigue
poured over me. I wolfed down some
hot noodles and tuna then passedout on a picnic table. In the middle ofthe night I was awakened by repetitive thuds on the bench below me. I
rolled over and was literally nose-tonose with a fearless spotted skunk.
Its nose twitched in the moonlit night
then it spun around and continued
foraging into the night, leaving me
sleepless.

see my hand in front of my face, so I
flipped on my light. That’s when thecommotion began. It sounded likesome kind of sea monster bellowing from the bowels of the sea cave.
I knew what it was but I couldn’t
see anything until I paddled into thefourth and final chamber.

largest in the world. It penetrates
1215 feet into Santa Cruz Island.
This Mordor-like cavern reaches 160
feet high and is 60 feet wide. It gets
its name from the multi-colored lichen
splashed across its ceiling, a mosaic
of greens, yellows and reds clinging
to its dank overhang.

As far as sea caves go, Painted
Cave is quite possibly the Holy Grailof pelagic grottos and arguably the

The rear chamber contained a cobbled beach occupied by a raucouscrew of California sea lions. Some

Painted Cave
After paddling from Santa Rosaback to Santa Cruz there was no
resting tired shoulders, miles ofsheer 300-foot-high honeycombed
cliffs awaited me following a choppy
8-mile crossing back across the “potato patch”. There was no mistaking
Painted Cave though, a craggy diversion along so much volcanic rock.
I attached my headlamp to my helmet and entered the gaping cavity.
Within the third chamber I couldn’t
California Kayaker Magazine

13Above: An Island Fox (Urocyon
littoralis), which even though itis the largest native mammal on
the islands, it is about one-third
smaller than mainland foxes
Left: Pelican yawning
Facing Page: a flock of brown
pelicans resting on the rocks

14

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Fall 2010

bobbed in the water, others swayedin the blackness, their reflective yellow eyes glowing at the dead end.
Soon I was joined by a bevy of sleek,
ultra-curious juveniles. However, it
was the two resident bulls with theirknobby heads that had my complete
attention. Territorial by nature, theycharged toward me like two torpedoes. One bumped the hull near mybow, then splashed me with a flipper
bash. It was my cue to paddle away
following a faint beam of light over1200 feet away.
Anacapa Island
As the southeast end of Santa Cruz
Island projected its broad finger
toward West Anacapa Island, I felt
the swirl of current pull me past San
Pedro Point and into the Anacapa
Channel. The west end of thenarrowest of islets loomed on thehorizon only three miles east of me. I
enjoyed a steady down-coast current, light northwest winds and thecompany of some sleek swimming

sea lions to the last island completing
my solo circumnavigation.
Once there, I had the island to myself. Except for thousands of western
gulls and brown pelicans, not evena ranger was stationed there. While
pitching my tent I heard the calls of aperegrine falcon as it swooped with
precision from one cliff-side perch
to the next on the south side of theislet a mere 50 paces from my tent.
Side-blotched lizards scampered at
my feet and sunned themselves onwarm rocks rapidly doing push-ups.
The next morning I packed up mygear and raced the rising sun down
to the Landing Cove. I stuffed myhulls with my tent, sleeping bag,cache of food and other items andpaddled up the front-side of theisland. I kayaked in and out of athrong of sea caves, craggy corridors, cathedral-like arches andbetween rambunctious sea lions.
They let me tag along while I hurriedback to Santa Cruz Island, specifi-

cally Scorpion Anchorage to catchthe Island Packers catamaran backto the mainland. v
Chuck Graham is a freelance writer andphotographer living in Carpinteria, CA.
He leads guided kayaking trips at theChannel Islands National Park, and has
been a beach lifeguard for 18 years. His
stories and photos have appeared in
Backpacker, Canoe & Kayak, Paddler,
Wavelength, Trail Runner, Shutterbug
and The Surfer’s Journal. He’s also theeditor of DEEP Magazine.
Photos by Chuck Graham.
More information on Channel Islands
National Park can be found atwww.nps.gov/chis

California Kayaker Magazine15

A mystery fin appeared amongst this group of kayak fishermen off of Big Sur in July. They were not sure
if it was a Great White shark or a Basking shark. Great whites are dangerous (as 2 kayakers in California
have found out so far this year), but basking sharks are not.
Photo by Lawrence Cheng
Camera: Pentax Optio W30

Have a photo that shows the beauty of kayaking or otherwise makes people think?
We’d love to see it. Send submissions to editor@calkayakermag.com.
Include the background story and what camera was used.

16

www.calkayakermag.com

Fall 2010

Only in San Francisco will you find such a kayak transport vehicle.
Photo by California Kayaker Magazine
Camera: Pentax Optio W20

California Kayaker Magazine

17Going LongAn Interview with Sean MorleyI

first met Sean Morley a few years back at ademo day where I had some outfitting questions for a product other than his lines, which
he thought nothing of helping out with. First
impression was that he was a very helpful guy witha British accent. Only a short while later when I waswatching the This Is The Sea II DVD did I start getting an inkling for his kayaking accomplishments.
Checked a bit more into it and found he holds
multiple kayaking records. Also kept hearing his
name pop up in the results for events like the Santa
Cruz Surf Kayak Festival and Reno River Festival.
He is also one of the founders of the Golden Gate
Sea Kayak Symposium, the third annual version isscheduled for this February. He may be modest, but
he is one of the more skilled paddlers around. He
is a busy guy, so this “interview” took place over aseries of phone and email conversations.

CKM: How did you first get into kayaking?
SM: I began kayaking at the age of ten with the Boy
Scouts and while I enjoyed team games such as soccer
and rugby, in kayaking I found a sport that was always anadventure, that gave me a tremendous amount of freedom and that got me out of the house where, let’s justsay life was difficult and not a place I wanted to be. As ateenager I often paddled alone, exploring the relatively
18

www.calkayakermag.com

Sean at the 2009 “South West Kayak Symposium” in San
Diego
Photo by Dominick Lemarie
sheltered waters of the River Fowey and St. Austell Bayon the south coast of Cornwall, England. I was always
curious to see what I would find beyond the headland
and dreamt of a continuous journey around every headland and across every bay until eventually I had paddled
all the way around Great Britain.
CKM: How long have you been kayaking?
SM: I took part in my first kayak race in 1978 and havecompeted in many disciplines of paddle sport since thenincluding white water slalom and downriver racing, marathon, sprint, wave ski, surf life saving, and surf kayaking
with some success at national and international level.
For me sea kayaking was done by old men with beards
and it wasn’t until 1996 when a friend Rob Feloy introduced me to a kayak he had designed called the Inuk, ahigh performance ‘racing’ sea kayak that I began taking it seriously, curious to see how far I could travel in aday, a week, a month. In 1997 I completed a 500-miletrip around Devon and Cornwall which included 28 milecrossings to and from the Isles of Scilly. I pushed out several 60-mile days and learned how the body responds to
Fall 2010

big mileage. In 1998 with two friends,
Ian Wilson and Jim Morrissey whowere both racing paddlers, we set a
record for the fastest crossing of the
St. George’s Channel of Irish Sea, astraight-line crossing of 45 miles that
we completed in just over 11 hours.
It was an interesting navigational
challenge with very strong tides
either side and we ended up paddling 65 miles over the ground. The
following year Ian and I completed a
500-mile circumnavigation of Northern Scotland, again encountering
huge tides and some ferocious winds
and big seas. I learned much fromthese journeys and finally in 2004
I achieved my childhood dream ofcompleting the first solo circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland by sea
kayak—the first ever to include all of
the inhabited islands. The 4500-mile
expedition took 183 days and is thelongest kayak journey ever undertaken in British waters. I raised over
£10,000 for charity and my kayak, a
C-Trek also designed by Rob Feloyand manufactured by Kirton Kayaks,
was displayed in the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall in honor of
my achievement.

CKM: Most memorable momentkayaking?
SM: In 2005 I assisted British kayak
manufacturer Valley Sea Kayaks withthe design of a new High Performance surf kayak called the ‘Rush’. I
began participating in kayak surfing
competitions in 2006 as a way of
promoting the new kayak and moved
to California. In 2007 as part of the
US West Coast Team I took part in
the World Surf Kayak Championships in the Basque Country in Spain
where I became the World Masters
Champion and gained 2nd placein the Open category of the High
Performance Class at the World Surf
Kayak Championships. It was a greathonor to compete for the US West
Coast Team and to have my wife anddaughter watch me win a world title.
CKM: Why did you decide to go for
the British Columbia’s Vancouver
Island record?
SM: I had heard about how several
folks had set marks for the fastest circumnavigation of Vancouver Island.
Leon Sommes, an instructor fromthe kayak school Body Boat Blade
had completed the journey in 28

days and then in 2007 Joe O’Blenis,a Canadian reduced the time to 23
days. The same year a pair in a double kayak made the trip in 19 days.
I figured it was possible to make thecircle in close to 16 days, given theright conditions. The reason Vancouver Island has become the target
for record breaking circumnavigations because while it is undeniably
challenging, with lots of exposure
to wind and swell on the west coastand some very fast tides on the east
coast, it is also very [logistically] doable: it’s not too far (700 miles) and I
figured I could get a pass to be awayfrom home for up to one month.
What I hadn’t counted on was how
my psyche would be altered byhaving a wife and young daughter
waiting for me at home and thatwas perhaps the most challenging
aspect—that I had to balance risk
against responsibility and resist thetemptation to hurry home once thegoing got tough. At the time I felt
I was somewhat unlucky with thePlaying on tide races in South Wales
during the video shoot for the “Thisis the Sea II” DVD
Photo by Flora Moody

California Kayaker Magazine

19

Update on Joe O’Blenis
Canadian paddle maker Joe
O’Blenis launched an expedition
to reclaim the speed record forcircumnavigating Vancouver Island
on August 18. He will cover roughly
725 miles while he passes both theInside Passage, with it numerous
channels, rips, and tidal rapids, aswell as the outer coast with the full
exposure of the northern Pacific
Ocean. To regain the record, heneeds to have finished before
Sept. 5 at 1:04 pm. At the time thismagazine went to press, he hadcompleted 2/3rds of the trip in whatlooked to be a record-beating time,
but hit a 6-hour delay in Tofino due
to skeg problems that should makefor a very close finish. You canread about whether Joe was able
to reclaim the record atwww.joeoblenis.com
20

www.calkayakermag.com

weather with a lot of headwinds but
I realize now that this is the norm forthis region. I only had one day when
I couldn’t paddle due to high winds
and completed the circle in 17 days,
4 hours and 49 minutes. I understand
Joe O’Blenis is going to have a crackat getting his record back this summer and I wish him the best of luck.
It is an incredibly beautiful place andeven if Joe does beat my record, if I
go back to Vancouver Island it will be
to explore all the places I missed as I
raced past.
CKM: What was the longest mileage you paddled in a day? What
was that like?
SM: The longest mileage I havepaddled in a day is approximately 65
miles. I was crossing the mouth of
the river Thames. That was a particularly interesting day as even though I
could not see land much of the crossing, the water was often just a couple

Sean carving a wave at the 2010
“Santa Cruz Kayak Surf Festival”
Photo by Dominick Lemarieof feet deep as I tried to navigate
through vast areas of sand banks
that are exposed at low tide. I ended
up finishing in the dark, the only time
I had to do so in the six month long
journey around the UK.
My next challenge, this September,is the first ever circumnavigation of
all eight of the Channel Islands ofCalifornia which will require an evenlonger paddle: approximately 80 nautical miles out to San Clemente andback from Catalina without the opportunity to get out of the kayak due tothe federal restrictions that impose a
300 yard (and at times a three mile)
exclusion zone around the entire
island. I expect to be on the water for
about thirty hours!

Fall 2010

CKM: I heard you are getting outof the rep business? What’s nextfor you?
SM: Since arriving in the US in 2006
I have been working as an independent sales rep for such companies asValley Sea Kayaks, Kokatat Watersports Wear and more recently P&H
and Pyranha US. It has been a great
experience and has allowed me totravel up and down the west coastand meet and paddle with many wonderful people. But it is a challenging
job for a family man so I have taken
the very difficult decision to stop andfocus much more on teaching here
Sean during his 2004 circumnavigationin the Bay Area. The success of the of the UK
Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium
has demonstrated the demand forrough water skills training and thatis what I will be focusing on now asa full-time employee of California
Canoe & Kayak.
While my ability to do six month long
expeditions is over for the foreseeable future, I do have ideas for someshorter trips, including the Channel Island expedition with a team ofCalifornia-based paddlers. v

California Kayaker Magazine

21

Hitting the Wallan excerpt from Confessions of a Wave Warrior by Eric Soares
Five years before Jim Kakuk and I formed the Tsunami
Rangers, I earned my waterman wings the hard way—by solo kayak surfing the many shore breaks of Santa
Barbara. Since I had no mentor, other than the books ofmaster kayaker Derek Hutchinson, I taught myself to surf.
I started with small waves at Goleta, moved up to midsizers at Devereux and Coal Oil Point, then flourished in thebodacious breakers at Rincon. After a year of practicing
three days a week, I started to get good, at least, that’s
what I thought.
So one cool crisp winter’s day I challenged some big
dog waves at Arroyo Burro Beach, a rock reef breakwith occasional tubular lefts. The last time I paddled at
Arroyo Burro, I surfed my first and only perfect tube. I
badly wanted to be inside the silver cyclone again. All
surfers know this feeling. I was paddling the fiberglass
Dekadense river kayak that Jim had given me years
before.
This time the waves looked different. They weren’tsmooth tubes on a medium-low tide, but were big storm
breakers coming in on a high tide. The bigger waves
were riding up the beach to the base of the bluff above. I
knew it wasn’t safe, especially since there were no board
surfers out that day. But I was young, strong, and fearless, so with heart pounding, I paddled into the soup,waited for a window of opportunity, then headed toward
the outside, brimming with confidence.
The window opened, and I went for it. I plowed through22

www.calkayakermag.com

Eric rips it up on a reef in a slalom kayak
Photo by Michael Powers
the first wave after it had broken, then vectored to theleft, punched a second wave just as it was breaking, andclawed over the top of a cresting third. Going into a free
fall on the backside of that moving mountain, I sucked air
so hard it shrieked through my teeth. I had broken the 10foot wave barrier and safely made it outside.
I got my breath back and was ready to surf. A crowdof hodads* gathered on the bluff. “Probably expecting
a puny kayaker to get munched by the mighty sea,” I
mused. A series of 6-foot waves rolled in, then a juicylooking 8 footer, which I should have taken but let pass.
Not big enough. Next came a couple of 10-footers. I
wanted to jump on one of them but chickened out. Did I
mention that I was alone?
I got this bad feeling that I should have taken one ofthose 6-footers. The sea around me started to get jumpy,
and my spine began to tingle. I felt nervous and unsure
about what to do next. Then the water began to suck out
and tractor me out to sea. I glanced back and saw thisprodigious, tsunami-like wave bearing down on me. It
seemed to come from all sides, converging right where
I was. I paddled hard, hoping to punch over the top, but
knew I wasn’t going to make it past this 20-foot Gargan* A hodad is a spectator who sits safely on the beach and gives loudadvice to those out surfing the waves.

Fall 2010

tua. Fear gripped me, but I shook it
off. No way would I let myself turnConfessions
a I spun
to stoneand auger ofin. So,the nose of my boat around toward
shore, committed now to riding
the biggest, baddest wave I’d everWhat is it like to experience a lifetime of wawhile
surfing.
All surfter encounteredadventure? Join Eric
Soaresas he relates
ers
have
faced
this
situation
at least
his boyhood introduction to pools, creeks,andonce.
rivers andrecounts
on theIf youarehisa escapades
surfer, you
know
mighty sea as a Navy man and kayaker.
how I felt.

wav e
r
o
i
r
r
wa

wav e warri or

Confessions of a Wave Warrior is a compAn ofinstantlater a walltrueof waterilation
Eric’s action-packed
tales of fell
on topinofcold
me,creeks,hard,canoeing
and pitchedswimming
down meroughrivers,surviving
in at
down
head
first.a Isuper-typhoon
hit the trougha warship, paddling through monster waves,the bottom of the wave, got scoopedand crashing a kayak into a sea cliff. Withbackup intophotographs
a banzaitotube
upsidedozensof thrilling
accompany thesetales
of derring-do,
the bookdown
andbackward,
and chronthen shot
iclesbackthe adventuresof a Tsunami
Rangerindown again
into thefoamall kinds of water.

ing trough. I writhed around in theliquid twister like a doomed soul castinto Hell. I sensed my body being
outofofthemyboat,
my exEricwrenched
Soares is co-founderlegendaryextremekayak team, the Tsunami Rangers. Eric has written overposed legs raking across the cockpit
50 articles on sea kayaking, including seminal works
on kayaksurfing, rock
techniques, rough-watercoamingin garden
the process.
My paddle
night paddling, and sea caving. Eric developed Hand
wassnatchedaway,
myaroundhelmetSignalsfor Sea
Kayakers, usedby paddlers
the tornworld
and theSea Conditions
Rating System,frommyhead. Then
I felt based
myself beon the River Rating System. Eric co-authored Extreme
draggedthe rocky
Sea ing
Kayaking,
published acrossin 1999 by Ragged
Mountainbottom.
Press.
He has produced
award-winning
I jammed
myfourhand
into akayak
crevice invideos, including The Adventures of the Tsunami
theSoares
reefandandmeldedmyhavebody
Rangers.
the Tsunami
Rangers
been to thefeatured on National
floor.
When
the
wave
passed,I shotGeographic Explorer, theISBN-13:
up toChannel,
the surface
and978-0-615-37063-7
gaspedfor air.
Discovery
and
51995

d

Soaresthe History Channel. A
retired college professor,
I watched
the giant wave hit the
Soaresenjoys swimming,
hiking,and martial
shore
likearts.
an avalanche,
9 780615 370637 inundate 30

feet of sandy beach, and detonate
onto the base of the cliff. Spray shot
50 feet in the air. In the aftermath I
spotted my tiny river boat dangling
15 feet up the cliff face, skeweredby an exposed root. I was gratefulthat it wasn’t me crucified up there.
I swam through the foam and out of
the water.
Scrambling up the cliff, I wrenched

my boat free, slid back down to thebeach, and dashed for higher groundbefore another rogue wave showed
up. Recovering my dignity, I strodepast the gawking onlookers without asideways glance. I tossed my watersoaked, battered gear on the topof my VW Beetle and puttered off,

heater going full blast.
Lesson: If a surf spot looks very dangerous, it probably is. Scope the situation very carefully before acting. It isokay to chicken out and go home. v

The preceding was an excerpt from a new book, Confessions of a Wave Warrior, by Eric Soares.
Eric is co-founder of the legendary extreme kayak team, the Tsunami Rangers. Eric has written over 50 articles onsea kayaking, including seminal works on kayak surfing, rock garden techniques, rough-water night paddling, andsea caving. Eric co-authored Extreme Sea Kayaking, published in 1999 by Ragged Mountain Press. He has produced four award-winning kayak videos, including The Adventures of the Tsunami Rangers. Soares and the Tsunami Rangers have been featured on National Geographic Explorer, the Discovery Channel, and the History Channel.
198 pages. $19.95
Information on purchasing a copy can be found on www.tsunamirangers.com.
California Kayaker Magazine

23

Results - Continued from page 5
Ironman 60 and over
1 Ron Craig
2 Roger Dunn
3 Jon Thomas
Teams - Adaptive
1 Team Nelsons Photoart
2 Team Oh God It’s Mom’s 24th
3 Team 4
Teams - Fire Fighter/Police
1 CA State Parks
2 Sac PD Code 3
3 UndercoverTeams - Open Canoe
1 Team Rockfish Rangers
2 Team Pp F Flyers
3 Team Biodegradeables
Teams - Tandem
1 Team Shake N Bake
2 Team Flash3 Team Just A Tad
Teams - Outrigger Canoe
1 Team Last Minute2 Team The Three Madcaps
Teams - Inflatable
1 Team Slow N Pokey
2 Team Murrays Misfits
3 Team 2 Old Guys & A Lad
Teams - Sit on Top
1 Team Who You Callin’ Losers Now
2 Team Thinner, Spinner, andNever Late 4 Dinner
3 Team O B D
Teams - Corporate
1 Team South Sac Kaiser
2 Team Quincy Engineering
3 Team Kaiser Sacramento
Teams - Co-Ed
1 Team Current Adventures
2 Team Toast & Jam
3 Team River Runs Through It
Teams - Men’s Open
1 Team California Canoe & Kayak
2 Team The 3 To Fear
3 Team Huki
Teams - Men 40 & Older
1 Team Current Adventures
2 Team Rominators
3 Team The Unusual Suspects
Teams - Men 50 & Older
1 Team New Oldsters 2
2 Team Winters
24

www.calkayakermag.com

3 Team Sierra Outdoor Center
Teams - Men 60 & Older
1 Team Old Men
Teams - Junior
1 Team 2fast4u
2 Team Plate List
3 Team Crayne Clan
Teams - Women Open
1 Team Get Me To The Wine Bar
2 Team Sac Studettes
3 Team Hot Flash
Teams - Women 40 & Older
1 Team Usual Suspects
2 Team 2 Old 4 This
3 Team Fabulous Freedom

2 Penny Locke
3 Eva Mauck
Long Course Grand Master
1 Larry Bussinger
2 Michael Gregory
Short Course Open Men
1 Casey Graham
2 Mike Berry
3 Andrew Losli
Short Course Senior Men
1 Mark Hamilton
2 Jude Turczynski
3 Scott Shoemaker
Short Course Master Men
1 Frank Peronetto

Teams - Women 50 & Older
1 Team Connie’s Team
2 Team Nearer to 60
3 Team Victorious Secret

Short Course Women
1 Kim Hayashi
2 Debbie Arthur
3 Sue Porter

Teams - Touring/Slalom
1 Team Bistro
2 Team 3 Stooges
3 Team Signed Sealed Delivered

Doubles Course
1 Sean Rice& Dawid Mocke
2 Philippe Bocarra & Richard
Sprout3 Carter Johnson & Dave Jensen

Teams - Family
1 Team Father & Son
2 Team Next Kuphaldt
3 Team Club 143
US Surf Ski Championships
The 2010 US Surf Ski Championships took place in San Francisco
Bay on August 21-22, and had longcourse single, short-course single,
team of two course, and a relay forteams of four. Top 3 finishers foreach category are listed below—fullresults can be found atwww.ussurfski.com.

Relay
1 Team Fenn: Eckstein, Anderson,
Cotter, Zur
2 Mocke, Rice, Allen, Sprout
3 Team 178: Barton, Meidl, Thomas, Hamilton

Long Course Open Men
1 Dawid Mocke
2 Shannon Eckstein
3 Jeremy Cotter
Long Course Senior Men
1 Greg Barton
2 Philippe Boccara
3 John Burrows
Long Course Master Men
1 Robert Barry
2 Patrick Hemmens
3 Tony Calderon

Follow California Kayaker Magazine on Facebook
for progress updates, announcements of wheneach issue will be published, up-to-date listings
on events, etc.

Long Course Women
1 DeAnne Hemmens

http://www.calkayakermag.com/facebook.html

Fall 2010

Outdoor Retailer

New Products from Outdoor RetailerOutdoor Retailer Summer Market is a big trade show that takes place in Salt Lake City
each summer. It is the place for folks from your local kayak shop to go and find out
what is new in the kayak world for the upcoming year (and also for folks from climbing,
camping, outdoor clothing, and similar stores). This was my first time going to it, so I
was like a kid in a candy store.
The show organizers also want people from the press to go, so we can report back and promote the show and thecompanies displaying products. Or at least so I thought. I filled in the forms, faxed the info they wanted to prove that
California Kayaker is a legitimate magazine, and then waited for my press pass. Pass didn’t arrive, so called, andemailed, and called again. Not sure what happened, but even though I got a verbal confirmation that I would get a
pass, it didn’t arrive before show time. Maybe one of the national kayak magazines didn’t want me there…
Not one to give up easily (and having already paid travel expenses to get to Utah), I finagled my way in and am providing an undercover report of Outdoor Retailer. Without a press pass, I was not allowed to take photos, so what you
see here may or may not have been taken by California Kayaker Magazine (and pardon the quality—the camera had
to stay on the down low)…
The products shown on the following pages are ones that caught my eye in one way or another for being new, better,or different than what I have seen on the market. Besides handling (fondling?) and maybe some basic playing with the
products, none of these were tested to any level. Perhaps I can get my hands on some of these products so I can doa full review in this magazine at a later date.
California Kayaker Magazine

25Point65 Tequila
How many seats in this kayak? And what is with all the different
colors? There have been 3-piece kayaks for years, often custom
modified versions of standard touring kayaks. The pieces are stillrather large and heavy, and the attachment methods are often
clunky. Point65, a Swedish Company, took the idea a step farther,and designed a kayak that can be carried inside a standard station
wagon and easily switched between single, double, triple, etc. A single comes in 2 pieces. Extra center sections can be added to make ita double, triple, etc. At one point, they had it set up for 9-paddlers.
MSRP for a single is $699, and $399 per center section to add a
paddler. Available now. www.point65.com

Outdoor Research Sunshower Sombrero
Outdoor Research is well known for hats and gear, but here is a
new one. The Sunshower Sombrero is 2 hats in 1. With the coveron, it is a waterproof hat to keep the elements off you. Without
it, it’s a breezy sun protector that won’t overheat you. Not sure if
the rain cover would stay put during rolls or white water play, butmaybe you should be wearing a helmet if you are paddling big
water.
Available in February 2011. MSRP $60, www.outdoorresearch.com(Sunshower Sombrero won’t be on the site until early 2011)

Klymit Inertia X-Frame
Klymit has come out with a new inflatable sleeping pad, the Klymit Inertia X-Frame. By figuring out
where you need support, and where you don’t, they
have reduced the size tremendously. Packed up,
the thing is about the size of a can of beer. Looks
like it would work for those who sleep on their back,but maybe not as much for side sleepers (like me).
Available November. MSRP $99.95 www.klymit.com

Inno INA444 Kayak Rack
Here is a product that probably doesn’t look that exciting at first—the Inno INA444 kayak adapter for a car’s
roof rack. What stands out is that the locking mechanism is built in. Currently, I use standard tie-down
straps and then throw a Lasso brand lock on top of
the whole thing, taking time to wrap the cable aroundthings to use up slack. Definitely would speed up theprocess to strap down and lock at the same time.
MSRP $199.99 Available now. www.innoracks.com
26

www.calkayakermag.com

Fall 2010

Wheeleez Kayak Carts with Tuff Tires
This picture shows the Wheeleez foam-filled Tuff Tires. Anotherpicture that is really not that exciting to look at, but I can understand the benefit. I use another brand of cart that uses a tire andtube set-up, and tubes have a slow leak. But I don’t have a pumpconvenient to where I keep the cart, so I often end up using it tocarry my boat with low pressure in the tires. This has damaged
the tires. These foam filled tires would not have had that problem
and get rid of any concerns of getting a flat from running overglass or nails.
Available now. MRSP varies by product ($69 and up).
www.wheeleez.com

Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator
GPS units have been around for years. SPOT personal locators havebeen around for a few years. Now Delorme and SPOT have teamed
up to make the Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator.
Each unit can function independently, but the major improvement is thatwhen they are close enough to communicate with each other (12 feet orso), they add the functionality that you can send short text messages tothose on your preset receiver list or social network site (with a standard SPOT, you can only send a message that you pre-set before you
launched).
Available now. MSRP $549 + annual service contract. www.delorme.com

Delta Kayaks Striker Polo Kayak
Plastic boats are heavy but cheap. Composite are lightbut expensive. This holds just as true for kayak polo boats
as for other boats. Now Delta has come out with a boat
designed by Darryl O’Brien (who is well-known within the
kayak polo community for his composite boats) that is thermoformed, provided much of the benefit of composite at a
price point closer to plastic.
Along with being of a new material (for polo boats), thekayak also comes with newly designed integral bumpers,
which can make a boat faster and safer, both important
attributes in kayak polo.
MSRP $1000. Available now. www.deltakayaks.com

California Kayaker Magazine

27

Simplifying the Roll with Helen Wilson DVD

T

he DVD Simplifying the Roll with Helen Wilson is a guide to learning, troubleshooting
and progressing through the ancient Greenland techniques of rolling a kayak.

Helen Wilson, who was featured in the interview in theSummer 2010 issue of California Kayaker Magazine, isa sea kayaker who lives in Arcata. Helen competed in
the 2008 Greenland National Kayaking Championshipand received three 1st place medals. She is an instructor
specializing in rolls and teaches all over the world.
The DVD has a short intro, followed by three chaptersand a bonus section. The first chapter focuses on a
beginning roll, starting you with balance braces and thenprogressing you on to a roll. The second chapter focuseson troubleshooting the roll—basically how to make yourroll work if you didn’t get it right from the first section. The
third chapter moves through more advanced laybackrolls. And the bonus section teaches how to transition
from layback rolls to forward finish rolls.
This DVD was filmed by Bryant Burkhardt, the author of28

www.calkayakermag.com

this issue’s skills article and also the filmmaker for the
Paddle California DVD, which was reviewed in the Spring2010 issue of California Kayaker Magazine.
Reviewer’s Comments:
To test the video, we brought a laptop down to the water
and watched parts of the video, and then went and tried
what she taught. Our testers had a variety of rolling skills,
from one person with a bomb-proof roll to one person
who had never attempted a roll. None of us had everdone any Greenland-style rolls before. Reviwer comments are below:
RW: I liked the layout of the DVD, the way it presented
the paddle float as a training tool, and then moving on tomore advanced concepts. The troubleshooting section
was nice, too. I also enjoyed listening to her. She hasa very nice voice [Editor note – I hope RW’s girlfriend
doesn’t get jealous when she reads this].
A minor issue I had was her equipment selection. She appeared to be using a low volume boat, which allowed her
Fall 2010

to bend her torso to the water much
more easily than I could. I was only
able to come close to her demonstration by removing my back band andfilling my boat with water to lower thecenter of gravity. Then, the motions
became easier.
KL: I thought it was one of theeasiest instructional videos to follow.
The instructions to put eyebrows in
the water was especially helpful inrecovering from the floating brace.
After part two, I think I had trouble
replicating the roll finish on the video
because I was not sinking my head.
Instead I was trying to finish the rollfrom the brace position. I still am notsure what she meant when she says
“floppy head”.
PD: I found that the boat used makesa difference. I am glad they had asecond person demonstrating partsof it in a standard touring kayak. He
appeared to have flexibility that may
be more like what the average paddler would have. But I wished they

had demonstrated the rolls with aEuro paddle (the standard style paddle used by most kayakers), insteadof always with a Greenland paddle,
as I think blade angle is much more
important with a Euro paddle thana Greenland paddle, so would have
liked to hear and see more on this.
I am still enjoying playing with thebalance brace—found this to be an
excellent tool to work towards theGreenland rolls.
Who this video would be good for:On the back cover it says “Thetechniques described in this video
are suitable for any type of kayakor paddle”. Not sure that California
Kayaker agrees with this. I am pretty
sure it would not be effective with awhite water boat nor a surf kayak.
These boats have lower volume in
the back, so a roll that ends with thepaddler lying on the back deck could
cause them to flip over backwards.
Plus if you flip in whitewater or surf,
you want to be ready to paddle as

California Kayaker’s intrepid reviewers trying out balance braces
soon as you roll up. Finishing in aposition where you are laying on theback deck leaves you unprepared topaddle or brace and could leave you
exposed to the next wave or rock.
If you are interested in Greenland
paddling and rolling, this video isa must have. If you are interested
in learning to roll a sea or touring
kayak, this DVD could be a good option. Particularly beneficial for those
who want a less muscle-based rollthan a C-to-C or sweep roll, and instead focus on rolling using form andflexibility. If you are looking to learn toroll a white water boat, this is probably not for you.
MSRP is $29.95. Total run time
is about 50 minutes. Available at
specialty kayak shops, or online fromwww.greenlandorbust.org. v

California Kayaker Magazine

29

News - Continued from page 5
L.A. River Designated as Navigable
The Los Angeles River is not currently a destination for kayakers,
but a positive ruling has come down
which may help the river in the longterm. On July 7, the federal EPA
designated “the entire L.A. River as
traditional navigable waters.” Themain benefit of this is that now theriver will fall under the Clean Water
Act, which should over time improve
the river’s health.
The Los Angeles River runs about
51 miles from Canoga Park to Long
Beach. Prior to this ruling, only two
short stretches totaling about 4 miles
was classified as navigable.
More than half of the river is the concrete lined drainage ditch featured
in many TV and movie car chasescenes, and the rest is semi-natural.
The EPA navigability decision was
based in part on some well-publicized trips done by kayakers down
the river. Unfortunately, the designation of “navigable” doesn’t actuallyanswer the question as to whether
kayaks are allowed to be on the river.
You can follow this issue on the blog
lacreekfreak.wordpress.com

Paddle to the Sea
Paddle to the Sea is a month long
Paddle-A-Thon from Yosemite to
the San Francisco Bay that raises
money and awareness to protect theTuolumne River. The 2010 event ran
over May and June, and raised over
$53,000, which is about three times
what was raised in 2009 at the first
Paddle to the Sea. There were 340
paddlers who participated in partsof the journey, and all together withattendees at the many associatedevents, about 1650 people come out
to celebrate the Tuolumne River.
The main goal of Paddle to the Sea
is to build a strong base of grassroots support for the Tuolumne River,which connects many communities from the Sierra to the Sea. The
Tuolumne is a hard-working river.
It supplies tap water to 2.5 million
people in the Bay Area, its water
is used to grow food in the Central

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California Kayaker Magazine is looking into adding a Marketplace section.
Marketplace ads are meant to be a resource for readers, with the ads groupedin categories, such as “Clubs”, “Products”, or by regions. Marketplace ads will
be a low cost way for advertisers to get in front of California Kayaker’s readers. $89 per column inch for in 1 issue,
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Paddle to the Sea participants arriving at the finale party at San Francisco’s Aquarium of the Bay
Valley, and it’s a source of hydroelectric power. And of course it’s one of
California’s premier white water runs.
You can think of the Tuolumne as aworld-class river connecting a worldclass national park (Yosemite) to aworld-class city (San Francisco). And
yet, our reliance on the Tuolumne
has come at a cost. The Lower
Tuolumne no longer meets Clean
Water Act standards, the once strong
Chinook salmon population has
recently and frighteningly crashed tojust a few hundred fish, and at times
there isn’t enough water in parts of
the river to float a kayak.
Paddle to the Sea is an event run by
the Tuolumne River Trust, a non-profit. For more information on the eventor protecting the Tuolumne River
watch www.tuolumne.org. v

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Index
Advanced Elements ..........31
Aquan Sports.....................32
Baja Outdoor Activities.........2
Clavey River Equipment.....31
Eskape Sea Kayaking .........2
Kokatat ................................2
Wheeleez ............................2
Fall 2010

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California Kayaker Magazine

31