Editor’s Note: This is the story of the 1995 race, written by Kent Barber who was introduced to the event by Tom Cromwell, a kayaker from Washington State who had raced before. This was Kent’s first time participating in the event, and he did it justice in his article, which appeared in Bay Currents, the […]
From the Archives
History of the Tsunami Rangers Kayak Race – Part 7
Editor’s Note: This article about the 1994 race was written by Paul McHugh, a frequent competitor in the Tsunami event. Here’s his bio: Paul McHugh has been a paddlin’ fool for nearly five decades now, and counting. He’s also been an outdoor sports/environment/resource/adventure journalist for about that long, 22 years of it as a feature writer/editor […]
History of the Tsunami Rangers Sea Kayak Race – Part 6
Editor’s note: This is the second article in our Race Series this month. It’s about the 1993 Viking’s Day race. It was published in Bay Currents, the BASK (Bay Area Sea Kayakers) newsletter. We didn’t have a select batch of photos from this particular race so we’ve inserted representative photos from other 90’s races for […]
History of the Tsunami Rangers Sea Kayak Race – Part 5
Editor’s Note: Last May, in honor of the long run of the Tsunami Sea Kayak Race, we published 4 consecutive articles chronicling the beginnings of the race at Rodeo Beach and Pacifica. The last article covered the “Devil’s Dare” race in 1991, which started at Pacifica State Beach and ended at Michael Powers’ house at […]
History of the Tsunami Rangers Sea Kayak Race – Part 4
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth and final installment of our race articles for Race Month 2024. Later we’ll take up the story at Michael Powers’ home on Miramar Beach, where the race continued under various names and over various routes for almost 30 years. Since the racers in 1991 were too busy racing to take […]
History of the Tsunami Rangers Sea Kayak Race – Part 3
Editor’s Note: The story of the race continues with this write up by Commander Soares which appeared in the August, 1990 issue of Bay Currents. Some of the photos were pulled from 1989 and 1991 since we couldn’t find enough images from 1990. The Golden Gate Invitational by Eric Soares Five years ago we […]
History of the Tsunami Rangers Sea Kayak Race – Part 2
Editor’s Note: In 1989 the race did not take place at Rodeo Beach. TR John Lull, who was not present and did not race, wrote this summary of what did not happen in 1989 and published his report in the July issue of Bay Currents. This is the story of the race that never happened. […]
30 Years of Madness and Mayhem – The History of the Tsunami Rangers Sea Kayak Race
Editor’s Note: The Tsunami race wasn’t always held in May but over the years as the race got kicked out of venue after venue the first weekend in May became the annual date for the raucous event, and the standing venue became Michael Powers’ house at Miramar Beach in Half Moon Bay. Recently, Adm. Kuk […]
Riders on the Storm – A Tsunami Retrospective
Everything changes Kaleidoscope turns, the world Is still so lovely -Nancy Soares Everything changes. Over the last 40 years the Tsunami Rangers have evolved, both as individuals and as a team. Eric Soares and Jim Kakuk got the idea for the team in the early 80’s while kayak camping. At that time the concept of […]
Ocean Survival Swimming – Part 4
Editor’s note: This is the final part of our four part series on Ocean Survival Swimming. Eric wrote this a long time ago but he never deviated from his opinions on the topic. I’ve practiced many of the drills recommended in this series, and they’re fun and profitable. Thanks to Robert Kendall for being our […]
Ocean Survival Swimming Part 3 – Ocean Swimming Training
Editor’s note: This is Part Three of Eric’s thesis on Ocean Survival Swimming, covering ocean swimming training. Part One introduces Tsunami Ranger Eric Soares’ philosophy on this topic, Part Two covers the four prerequisites for ocean survival swimming, and Part Four completes the series with a discussion of survival swimming tactics. We hope you find […]
Ocean Survival Swimming – Part 2
Editor’s note: This essay on the Four Prerequisites to Ocean Swimming is the second in our four part series on Ocean Survival Swimming. It’s opinionated, funny, and informative. Enjoy. STAY WITH THE BOAT An old mariner’s maxim. This rule is true in most boat capsizes, where sailors will be rescued by the Coast Guard or […]
Ocean Survival Swimming – A Sea Kayaker’s Guide to Staying Alive in the Water
Editor’s Note: Tsunami Ranger Commander Eric Soares wrote this detailed thesis illustrating the Tsunami Rangers’ emphasis on ocean survival swimming as a key skill for sea kayakers. We’ll publish his thesis in four parts. This first part is the outline for Ocean Survival Swimming. Note that Eric refers to buoyancy compensators instead of PFDs. It […]