When you kayak in ocean rock gardens, you may want to land on a rock to exit the water to eat lunch, camp, evacuate the area, or check out an interesting feature. Derek Hutchinson, in his SEA CANOEING book called this maneuver a seal landing. Decades ago experienced sea kayakers told me to eschew seal […]
Sea Kayaking Activities
Whitewater River vs Ocean Whitewater
by John Lull Editor’s Note: This week, Tsunami Ranger and earth scientist John Lull ‘splains the difference between river hydraulics and water dynamics present in ocean rock gardens. At first glance the whitewater in ocean rock gardens looks very similar to a whitewater river. You’ll see waves, aerated rough water, rocks, currents, and swirling chaotic […]
Paddling Pour-overs in Ocean Rock Gardens
An exciting and challenging kayak trick in an ocean rock garden is to paddle over a pour-over. In river running, a pour-over is a river current that flows over a rocky ledge into a hole below. In ocean adventure kayaking, a pour-over is a flat rock or a reef which a wave surges over into […]
Surf Kayaking Etiquette
by Eric Soares and John Lull Ever been kayak surfing backwards and get speared in the kidney by the bow of another boater who didn’t even know you were there? Ever have a bloke broach down a big wave and land hull first on your head? These calamities have happened to us. We don’t want […]
Exiting the Surf Zone
How to kayak from outside the breakers to the beach by Eric Soares and John Lull “Ah thought Ah’s goin’ t’ DIEEEE!” Georgia girl Bonnie Brill loves to tell the tale of how she was hit by a sucker wave at Maverick’s in Half Moon Bay, was turned over, under, sideways and down, dragged across […]
Sea Kayaking Retreats
Sometimes you kayak solo. Other times you go out for a day paddle with buddies. Almost every paddler I know has gone on some sort of expedition—for a week, month, even a year. Today I want to discuss the benefits of going on a sea kayaking retreat with your best paddling friends. A retreat is […]
Entering the Surf Zone
How to kayak from the beach to outside the breakers Sea kayaking adventurer Valerie Fons once said, “My greatest fear was waking up in the morning and having to kayak through a surfzone.” She had faced a bear in her tent and an anaconda next to her boat on her journeys; how could she fear […]
Sea Kayaker Alex Okerman Paddles for Youth
Many good causes merit our support. In the sea kayaking community, folks are especially generous with their time and money. This week’s post centers on a kayaker who has made it his mission to assist youth at risk. He’s putting in the time and is asking us to put in money. Let me introduce Alex […]
Captain Kuk in the Land of Oz
By Jim Kakuk (editor’s note: This week, Tsunami Rangers Captain Jim Kakuk relates some of his experiences during his recent trip to the Land Down Under) Australia! Even the name conjures up images of a country filled with big adventures and a wilderness larger than the Wild West. Geographically the size of the lower […]
Scouting the Sea
A few months ago I promised to run a column on scouting. So here it is. Scouting is one of the most crucial sea kayaking activities; and ironically, it is often done perfunctorily or not at all. For logical convenience, let’s place scouting into three phases, starting with the most distant and ending with on-water […]
Between a Rock and a Hard Wave
HOW TO SURVIVE A CRASH IN WAVES AND ROCKS WHILE KAYAKING IN AN OCEAN ROCK GARDEN Why do most sea kayakers stay away from waves and rocks? They don’t want to die! Any paddler with a lick of sense dreads the scenario of getting smashed head first into a rock by a breaker. Today, let’s […]
Paddling in the Shadow of Captain Cook
by Steve King (editor’s note) Aloha! All islands in the state of Hawaii offer volcanic vistas and wonderful water. Hawaii, the Big Island, features active lava flows and superb underwater opportunities. This week, Tsunami Ranger Steve King reports on his family’s recent visit to the Captain Cook Monument. I am tempted to say “These are […]
Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium 2011 BRAVO!
When I left my house in Oregon to drive down to the Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium last week it was snowing—all the way to Shasta Lake. Bad omen. Then it rained cats and dogs all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the Bay Area. Frankly, I was worried. Worried that I would get hypothermia […]