Editor’s note: This is one of the topics Eric had lined up for 2012. Some of the featured pictures he picked out himself and he specifically suggested that you “Put YOURSELF in the picture”. I can’t look at a painting of a seascape without evaluating it in terms of my kayak. Could I survive in […]
California Coast sea kayaking
Sea Kayaking Microwave – Surfin’ Tsunami Style
By Steve King and Scott Becklund Editor’s note: The Tsunami Rangers refer to the wave at Mushroom Rock as Microwave for two reasons: it’s a mini-version of Maverick’s and there’s a naval station with radio and radar on the bluff above the break. Thanks to TR Michael Powers for all the great photos! Steve: About a […]
Of Cocktails and Kayak Trips
Editor’s note: We at the Tsunami Rangers website hope that you and yours have a very Merry Christmas! And a Whoopee, er, that’s Happy New Year! There may be teetotalling sea kayakers out there but I don’t know any. Booze and the sea just go together. Yo ho ho! and a bottle of rum! In […]
The Combat Roll
by Tsunami Ranger John Lull While paddling south one day from Point Arena on the northern California coast, I spotted an inner passage through the sandstone cliffs, cut deep into the uplifted marine terrace. After exploring the passage for a considerable distance, it became obvious it would dead end up ahead, so I entered a […]
White Water Sea Kayaking With LiquidFusion
Editor’s note: Last October Tsunami Ranger Capt. Jim Kakuk suggested I take a white water class. To hear is to obey. I think he meant river, but it seemed auspicious to take White Water of the Sea I & II with LiquidFusion. This post is about that class. See also Take a Sea Kayaking Class and […]
The Rashomon Effect: Sea Kayaking Variables in Perception
“Rashomon” is a 1950 movie directed by Akira Kurosawa. It involves a rape and a murder allegedly committed by the bandit Tajomaru, played by Toshiro Mifune. There are four witnesses: the bandit, the wife, the samurai, and the woodcutter. Each witness has a different perception of events. Any cop will confirm this is often the case: everyone […]
The 8th Annual Reef Madness Extreme Sea Kayak Race July 2013
by Ed Anderson (Editor’s note: Ed Anderson has been addicted to kayaking since being introduced by Tsunami Ranger Michael Powers in 2004. In addition to working in executive protection, he is an avid kayak surfer, professional guide and instructor, and barbecue devotee.) The line of the swell was almost indistinguishable in the deeper water from […]
Freaking Out in a Sea Kayak
Editor’s note: This article is one Eric had sketched out for 2012. “Over the years, I have learned that the biggest hidden threat is mental confusion caused by a combination of the ocean’s cosmic chaos and the mind’s inability to process it all. Symptoms include inability to communicate (listening and expressing) and perception distortion, coupled […]
Kayak Navigation Part 4: Dealing with Tidal Current by Using Eddies and Other Tactics
Editor’s note: Photography credits for this article go to June Legler. Thanks, June! by Tsunami Ranger John Lull Introduction Scroll back about 25 years: I’d paddled out the Golden Gate several times already, but this was my first voyage out on the day of a 6-knot ebb. I paddled across the Gate from Crissy Field […]
Cold Water Safety – Golden Rule #4: Swim-Test Your Gear Every Time You Go Out
by Moulton Avery On January 15th, 2011, a very experienced and skilled whitewater paddler by the name of Ian Walsh drowned while paddling the Ogwen River in Wales, UK. The UK Rivers Guidebook describes the Ogwen as a “true classic Grade 4 trip”, one best undertaken at high water after a heavy rain. Walsh was […]
Who’s Your Sea Kayaking Mentor?
men’tor, n. (from Mentor, the friend and counselor of Odysseus and Telmachus) a wise and faithful counselor (Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary) Everyone needs a mentor, especially when undertaking a new and challenging endeavor. The Tsunami Rangers have mentored many sea kayakers. Tsunami Ranger Eric Soares introduced me to extreme sea kayaking in 1996. […]
Beach Games: Essential Sea Kayaking Skills Development OFF The Water
by Tsunami Ranger Steve King Forget about The Hunger Games and women’s Olympic beach volleyball! Here we describe the myriad beach games undertaken on most Tsunami Ranger retreats. One can train for these games anywhere and anytime but the true heat of competition and glorious victory only takes place when competing against one’s fellow paddlers […]
Lore, Legends, and Magic – Magical Thinking and the Tsunami Ranger Approach to Sea Kayaking
“Let me not hear facts, figures and logic; fain would I hear lore, legends and magic.” (From “Roots of Oak” by Donovan) What is magical thinking? I first encountered this phrase in an article about grief. A man had died of cancer and his 11-year old daughter thought she was responsible for her father’s death […]