The end of summer, the end of September

The end of summer
is upon us
the blue waters will fade to gray
and the sky
gone to clouds and cold rains


Friday I met Sid for a little paddle from the beach at Leesylvania State Park. We paddled upriver poking around the nature preserve on the Virginia side of the Potomac. It was a clear blue day, and warm. Sid said this was the first time he realized I have an NDK boat. Yes, I have drank the Romany Koolaid. I do very much enjoy the boat.

On Sunday The husband and I had a play-date, see http://theloraxswife.blogspot.com/2014/09/fall-out-of-your-boat-some-more-sunday.html
The smooth water was pretty reflective of the green forest and blue sky.

Just like that, bam, today it is misty and gray. The water temp is close to the air temp at around 65 degree F. Just two days ago we were splashing in the last of summer. Today it seemed like autumn is here. When I left my house in the rain at 08:30 I was wondering where this misty weather came from. The weather man, an unrepentant liar, had said it would be nice today. It was nice, but not in a dry weather kind of way.

I took my CD Solstice out. I focused on good froward stroke form and tried to keep the speed up around 4 MPH. I paddled 7.4 miles in one hours and 51 minutes. This includes some drifting while taking pictures. The Solstice is really a wonderful boat. I especially love turning "her" with bow rudders now. "She" cuts the water so cleanly. On a skidding turn one can hear the water piling up into a wake from the stern.

When I got home I cleaned everything up but left it all ready to paddle again tomorrow.

Now, at around 3 pm, it is pretty nice outside. I am going to work on some hand sewing, sprinkled with dogs walks. The sunroom is looking warm and sunny.

Let me be a Quiet Storm

I wrote the hi-lite in blue a while ago. I wasn't sure where I was going with it but the article made a big impact on me. Sometimes I am not really sure which direction I am going with my life, my art, in my travels. But I have a feeling I am headed somewhere special. Here's what I wrote several months ago:

"I have been very sad lately. I never shook off the depression from the winter. So every step is sometimes a struggle. And the health thing, another problem, sigh.

Read this article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/05/27/rachel-louise-carson-google-lets-fly-a-doodle-true-to-environmental-writers-nature/

As I read this article I became again convinced that small steps can make great strides. It has become necessary to constantly remind the humans around me of the beauty out side. A life lived in contact with nature is a life well-lived. Or so I believe."

Because of the health thing I have always the thought that the next crushed vertebrae or impinged nerve may be the end of my art, and my paddling. It is ever present in my mind.

When I die I don't want people to say "Oh she was nice, and she kept a clean house," and not have much else to say about me. No. I want to leave a trail of happy memories, challenges met, fears conquered. I want people to say "remember the time we ..." and get excited telling the story and laugh. I sometimes joke that "More Will Than Skill," will be my epitaph. That short statement says I tried, I went, I did it, even if just by the skin of my teeth. 

And I am still returning to the article about the Blue Mind (I'd rather read than listen to a talking head) http://www.cbsnews.com/news/wallace-j-nichols-blue-mind-book-tries-to-prove-the-ocean-washes-stress-away/

I am a Blue Mind pusher, a cocktail waitress for happy brain chemicals. This ties in beautifully with "A life lived in contact with nature is a life well-lived."

It gives me no small satisfaction to feel I'm on the right track.

Some photos from a recent trip, because I know people like to look at pictures. I do too, actually. The blooming of the lotus blossoms on Mattawoman Creek is a thing not to be missed. Much like the ritual viewing of the cherry blossoms, the lotus bloom opens and falls in a flurry of bud, peak, and fade. So tender, sweet, and sad.

DJ, looking like the serious trip leader. He's a good captain, and not at all uptight, as this pic would imply, and Kat who gamely carried my second radio and wore a leader tag

Jim gave a talk on the ecology of the Mattawoman. His group: The Mattawoman Watershed Society, Inc http://www.mattawomanwatershedsociety.org/home 

paddlers listening

the Lorax paddled from the beach at Leesylvania, VA side of the Potomac, to join us. His total for the day was 22 miles. (!) He paddled his Point 65N XO 16

Now we are in to art shots

Petals fall away as the seed pod swells

That Indigo Girls song, Let It Be Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qS9KZGvxhA
Maybe sometimes I want it to be me, and sometimes I am too afraid, not as strong. I, too, tend to peak and fall in a rhythm. If I am not a beacon of light, let me be a quiet storm; one who washes over and carries people to the peaceful waters and contemplative mind. 

Our Point Whisky 16 collects a few admirers

We have both fallen for the Whisky. "She" has a wee fan club. My husband wonders if we should become dealers. We have a bit of history with the brand.

This was not the start of my husband's love affair with Point 65N Sweden boats. No, that started a few years ago with a chance encounter in an REI during the winter attic sale. There, with the other used and returned boats, sat a Point 65N XO 16. The boat's lines attracted him right away. It is different from any other boat we've seen in our club. It had a pair of holes in it. Fork lifts and fiber glass (composite) boats really don't get along.

We had the chance to buy this completely unknown boat for a thousand bucks. The price seemed reasonable, and James said the repairs would be easy. Our confidence in the purchase was bolstered by James's "mad" glassing skills, experience gained during his semi-pro surfing days.

This boat has woven itself into the fabric of my husband's mystique; his long dark blond hair, his Thor's hammer around his neck, and this Swedish boat. My Viking husband. I say "Viking" in case there is some misconception of my husband being a "long-haired hippy." No, he is a long haired rock climber and surfer, neither laid-back nor a pot-smoking-peace-nik.

We often receive offers to buy the XO 16. We always say "no," but we can't blame other paddlers for wanting the boat. James makes it look good, and it is well sized for a tall lanky guy. It is too large for me. When I sit in it the cockpit rises up around my rib cage. It is like the XL sweat shirt I stole from my dad as a kid. Huge.

Pea Island Bird Reserve, Outer Banks, NC, 2013

Coltons Point, MD, 2013

Coltons Point, MD, 2013

Kathleen, James, and I on our first outing on the Potomac with the Whisky. credit K Ecott 2014

I really love the bright blue lines. They pop with color and character.

The new compass.

James put together a boat stand (prev. post), purchased some boat cleaner, ordered bright blue line and bungee from a climbing supply place, and went to town on his new boat. Years of grime disappeared and the boat looks amazing! He also installed the compass we purchased with the boat at Annapolis Canoe and Kayak.

He said "drilling the holes for the compass was the scariest thing I've done lately." Who puts holes in their boat on purpose, eh?

It still needs an application of 303 on those hatch covers but otherwise, "she's" ready to go. 

Even though Brian asked us not to, we continue to call this the "Brian Stevens maneuver." The challenge: push oneself out of the cockpit and on to the back deck and then balance there, paddling around. The maneuver is especially helpful when landing. Performed before one gets to the beach there is no need to struggle to rise. Instead, one simply stands when one's feet touch the sand under the boat.

Crossing Belmont Bay

Two Gulfstreams meet. Just wish I had been a tad closer.

Me in my Current Designs Solstice GTS. I've been using the rudder some with my injured shoulder. Just means I don't have to correct much with strokes.

James and Becky. Becky is in our Gulfstream. Upon landing back at Leesylvania she promptly made us an offer we couldn't refuse.

We had to say goodbye to a boat in order to have room in the quiver for the Whisky. We sold our Kevlar Current Designs Gulfstream to Becky, our good friend. We know the boat will have a good home with Becky, she's a known boat coddler. I had bought that boat for the husband at Christmas last year but for one reason or another the boat just wasn't comfortable for long days of paddling. As it didn't work for me either,  it was wise to re-home it. We hope "she'll" be better suited to her new owner!

In the meantime another paddler offered to buy the Whisky. He offered a thousand bucks over what we had paid to get "her." We said "no" but gave it some thought, even after the fact. Boat flipping, hmm...

Some comparisons of the Whisky:

It, hands down, catches waves and surfs better than the Gulfstream we sold. It is more nimble and has a bit more initial stability. It accelerates more quickly. It weighs more as it is fiber glass composite rather than Kevlar. The 6 or so pound difference might make it a bit harder to car-top than the Gulfstream.

In comparison to my NDK boat, it feels a bit less substantial  in chop than the Romany Surf. It skittered a bit in confused water. This is likely an effect of that shallow foot print Nigel spoke of during his video about the boat. While not really a negative, it is something both James and I noted separately.

We found the finish on the Whisky to be top-notch. It is silky-smooth inside the cockpit and hatches, well-finished. The finish speaks of attention to detail in the factory, even in this several years old boat. There are no rough edges or hanging fiber glass burrs to catch one's skin or clothes on. Very nice.

All in all, probably a 7.5 out of 10. We'd buy it all over again. 

Kayak work stands

I needed to have a stand to work on my boats. Up until now I have been leaving my boat on the Hullavator lowered down beside the doors and washing and waxing my boats that way. Unfortunately it meant I always missed a spot where the ties and cradles are.

I wanted a higher functioning stand. I looked at this: Kayak Stand, Talic Sea Horse 31" tall kayak stand

But the reviews say it's hard to put a boat on it by yourself. Also, I can tell it would be unlikely that I would be able to flip the boat over easily. In fact every set of stands that are a pair had the same darned complaint written about them.

When we picked up the Whisky we examined this much heavier duty stand but I was unable to locate one to buy. I suspect it's an item designed for a retail store, not a home enthusiast.

And there's this low tech approach. But it would leave me hunched over the boat. Again it might be difficult to get the boat on the "stands" alone and nigh impossible to turn over alone:

So I asked the husband if he would build me one. I showed him the ones on the web that were for sell. I explained what I wanted. To my surprise one materialized almost the instant his new Whisky came home. 

It was clear the demo-ed boat had been stored outside by the shop that had owned it. It was grimy in a way that only happens when a boat is left outside for a long time, say, a couple of years.

So here's James's take on a boat stand:

It folds flat and so stores easily in our crowded garage. It holds my 17 foot plus Solstice easily. As I scrubbed my boat I didn't need to hold it down or prevent it from tumbling off the stable stand. I was able to flip my boat over and scrub the under side, drain the soapy water from the cockpit, reach every nook and cranny...Okay, I'm impressed. I love the stand. It makes me want to wax all my boats. I told him we should look into producing it for our boat-crazy friends.

Sold my Sirocco and bought, drum roll please, an NDK Romany Surf!

I say that with an exclamation as I am really excited by the boat. Some pictures...

Out with friends Friday 5-2-14. Credit R Dennis Green

Kat in her n-used NDK Explorer, Becky, and myself. Credit R Dennis Green

House shopping from the water. This is the one! On Massey Creek Fairfax County, VA. Credit R Dennis Green

Just for comparison: My Surf is supposed to be 16' 3" and Kat's Explorer 17' 8". While the size difference looks obvious in this photo it eluded us in person. I think the Explorer was trying to bamboozle us into thinking "she" was fun-sized, rather than the stately lady "she" is. One can also see the difference in the key hole cockpit size. While I find the entrance to my Surf roomy, the Explorer is more cozy, aka, tight getting in and out.

Here the silky slack waters at high tide beckon us out from Leesylvania to cross to Mattawoman Creek. Once there we practiced bracing and turns. James's CD Gulfstream is still pretty new to him as he doesn't get out as often as I do.

Charmed by the new boat

Selfie 5-3-14

James tried out the Surf and declared the seat more comfortable, and cockpit more roomy, than his Gulfstream. This, despite the fact that the Gulfstream is a full two inches wider (23.75") than the Surf (21.75"). I believe the issue with the Gulfie is the plastic stabilizers that run from the cockpit coaming down to the seat at the hip area. While my CD Solstice GTS has the same kind of arrangement, it is not tight while the Gulfstream is. As a matter of fact I cannot sit in the Gulfstream for more than a handful of minutes before I am threatened with severe hip pain. My hips are crap, that's a given, but I find it odd the seat area is so tight when my Solstice is not.

Why so serious? He says, "Meh, my Gulfstream turns more easily." He and I never agree on boats. This is good as we will likely never share a boat. This is bad for the same reason. We will eventually run out of room.

I hope my CD Sirocco suits her new owner better than me. She was just too big. The gal who bought her found she fit just right. Every one deserves some new boat joy!