Backstory: In spring of 2021, Jeff Kay and Jason Montelongo offered an introductory two day clinic in Redding, CA, to prepare prospective participants for California River Quest. The first day was a basic intro to river dynamics and skills for paddlers. The second day was a paddle from Sundial Bridge in Redding to Rooster’s Landing, […]
Sea Kayaking Activities
Salish Sea Adventure – The Pleasant Isle
To be silent the whole day, see no newspaper, hear no radio, listen to no gossip, be thoroughly and completely lazy, thoroughly and completely indifferent to the fate of the world is the finest medicine a man can give himself. – Henry Miller Jones Island Marine State Park is located in the San Juan Island […]
Kayak Trinidad – Humboldt County’s New Paddle Shop!
Yay! This spring Jason Self of Kayak Trinidad in Humboldt County opened his new paddle shop in the beautiful town of Trinidad on the Northern California coast. One of my favorite places to paddle, Trinidad is situated on a stunning section of coastline. Noted for its public beaches and offshore rocks, Trinidad is part of […]
Sea Kayak Rescue Training With Skagit Bay Search and Rescue Teams
By Robert Nissenbaum and Graton Gathright Editor’s note: We wrote about Robert and Graton in our recent post on the NSSKA Rescue Rodeo. This month, they’ve put together an article on their training day with a regulation Search and Rescue team from Skagit Bay, WA, a day that went from practice rescues to the real deal. […]
Navigation, Tides, and Currents in Deception Pass
Editor’s Note: Deb Volturno is a Coastal Kayaking Level 5 Instructor Trainer Educator, American Canoe Association, and a Surf Kayaking Level 4 Instructor Trainer Educator, American Canoe Association. Marty Mayock is a Coastal Kayaking Level 3 Instructor, American Canoe Association. On April 24 I took a class from Capt. (Deb) Tortuga. Not only Captain of the Tsunami […]
The Value of Rescue Practice – Cold Water Rescue Rodeo With NSSKA
By Moulton Avery and Nancy Soares Editor’s note: This March I was privileged to join the North Sound Sea Kayak Association (NSSKA) for a rescue rodeo in 42-degree water at Lake Stevens in Washington State. It was awesome! Robert Nissenbaum, Chief Instigator, led the hour-long introduction on land. There were lots of good questions and an […]
Tsunami Ranger Retreat 2.0 – October 2021
Everything changes, and to both survive and thrive, adaptation is imperative. In 2020, Covid 19 brought changes to the Tsunami Rangers, not least in that for the first time in over 30 years, we didn’t hold our annual retreat. That was a bummer, but we adapted. In 2021 a fully vaccinated Ranger crew met in […]
Salute the Sea! Propitiating the Ocean for Enhanced Sea Kayaking
Sailors are notoriously superstitious. Just as there are no atheists in the trenches of war, there are no atheists in the storm troughs of the sea. Something about the ocean, its vastness, its depths, its many unknowns, cues an ancient, ancestral response in the human breast. In a way, when we launch our boats it’s […]
September Love – A Tsunami Retreat Retrospective
Editor’s note: Thanks to Michael Powers, Steven King, and Jim Kakuk for their photos of past retreats! Thanks also to Dave, Don, Eric, Misha, Steve, Deb, Paula, Scott, Jeff, Cate, Dennis, Michael, Gordon, and Jim who are all represented in these photographs. What a team! The Rogue Valley was blazing and whole neighborhoods vanishing in […]
Playing in Tide Rips With A Sea Kayak
by John Lull Editor’s note: It’s great to have another article by our talented Tsunami Ranger John Lull. Welcome back, John! Thanks for the informative post and for the awesome photos, taken from the Golden Gate bridge by your lovely wife June Legler. Thanks, June! It’s an exciting experience to sit in the eddy just outside […]
The Log of the Sea of Cortez – Tsunami Ranger Retreat November 2019
Tsunami Surf Session at Pillar Point
It’s a wonderful life. On May 13 I drove down to TR John Lull’s house on the Northern California coast in El Granada. Hung out for a few hours catching up and then headed over to TR El Rey’s place in Moss Beach. Had a great salmon dinner courtesy El Rey with his family and […]
Krazy Kayakers – A Komedy of Errors on the High Seas
Editor’s note: Every year about this time we like to post something light-hearted in honor of the holidays and to brighten the darkness of year’s end. This article was written by Hilary Atherton, a friend of the Rangers and a very funny writer. It’s a madcap tale of three women and their misadventures on the […]