This is a controversial topic. There’s a lot to know and a lot to learn about towing. Kayakers have varying opinions about what system to use and why, and their opinions are often quite strong. At the end of the day, you need knowledge and practice to tow effectively. You never know when it might […]
Sea Kayaking Equipment
A Study in Brown – Waste in the Wilderness
Editor’s Note: With apologies to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (A Study in Scarlet) and gratitude to my son Nick Wantz who came up with our title we bring you a discussion of poop in the wilderness. As more and more people adventure farther afield the subject of how to handle the growing quantity of human […]
Boats on the Brain
by Jim Kakuk and Nancy Soares Nancy: It was a celebratory weekend. I drove down to Guerneville on Friday to help with the setup. Capt. Jim and his lovely gal Patti were having a party, and what a bash it was! Jim and Patti had recently returned from an epic trip to Oaxaca only to […]
Balance, Momentum, and Leverage: How to Get a 25’ Kayak Off A Truck By Yourself
Naturally I was devastated when my late husband died, but one of the things that really had me exercised was how the heck I was going to get kayaks on and off the truck by myself. It might sound silly to some, but I’m short, the rack is high, and the Kevlar boats are long […]
Tsunami Rangers Go Inflatable
by Tsunami Ranger Commander Michael Powers Editor’s note: Thanks to photographers Rob Cala and Dave Norket, as well as our own Michael Powers, for the photos! TRs Steve “El Rey” King and Tim Sullivan breaking the wave barrier On a day with moderate winter surf conditions, three of the senior Rangers – Steven King, Tim […]
Cold Water Safety – Golden Rule Number 5: Imagine the Worst That Can Happen and Plan for It
by Moulton Avery Editor’s note: Moulton Avery is founder and director of the National Center for Cold Water Safety. He started out paddling canoes in the early 70’s and transitioned to sea kayaking in 1984. His pioneering article Cold Shock appeared in the Spring 1991 issue of Sea Kayaker. “Risk assessment is a key safety […]
Cold Water Safety – Golden Rule Number Four: 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 […]
Cold Water Safety – Golden Rule Number 3: Field-Test Your Gear
by Moulton Avery Editor’s note: This is the second in a 4 part series on cold water safety by Moulton Avery. Moulton is an expert on heat and cold stress. He gave his first public lecture on hypothermia in 1974. He was executive director of the Center for Environmental Physiology in Washington, DC for ten years, and […]
The Golden Rules of Cold Water Safety
by Moulton Avery Editor’s note: Moulton Avery is an expert on heat and cold stress. He gave his first public lecture on hypothermia in 1974. He was executive director of the Center for Environmental Physiology in Washington, DC for ten years, and is the founder and director of the National Center for Cold Water Safety. […]
Kayak Navigation Part 2 – Compass Use and Dead Reckoning
by Tsunami Ranger John Lull In Part 1, I covered navigation by line-of-sight, using visual references, ranges, and no tools beyond a chart. This works fine until visibility is reduced by thick fog or when paddling in open water well offshore or on a long crossing. In those situations, you’ll need some other technique to […]
Armor for Extreme Sea Kayakers
What should a wave warrior wear when in wind and waves—and rocks? Armor, of course. But if you look through the websites of kayaking gear manufacturers such as Kokatat, NRS, Astral, Stohlquist, and the like, you won’t find any. That’s because the kayaking industry is way behind the folks who make motocross gear. There is […]
The Best Sea Kayak
A pod of paddlers stood next to their well-crafted carbon-fiber sea kayaks, disdaining the plastic sit-on-top fishing kayak taking off from the beach. “Do you call that a sea kayak?” one tittered. Another chimed in: “Ha! Looks more like a kiddie wading pool.” Still another said, “I bet that cost under $500—brand new!” They sniggered […]
Swimmer First, Kayaker Second?
Exactly 25 years ago I wrote my first kayaking article called “Survival Swimming”, which was published in SEA KAYAKER Magazine. I thank editors Bea and John Dowd for having faith in me to write an article worthy of their magazine. I’ve experienced a lot and learned some things since then. The other day I mused, […]