Editor’s note: Our featured poet, Katie Whalen, age 14, is the daughter of Tsunami Ranger Dave Whalen. We are reprinting her poem with her permission. Thank you, Katie. Rhythm by Katie Whalen The warmth of the sun-beaten rock soaks into my skin. My legs dangle off the edge. Thirty feet below me I gaze upon the pebbles […]
Sea Kayaking Philosophy
Go For It!!! Commitment in Sea Kayaking
Commit by Eric Soares Be there Scope it out Wait for the opportune moment Commit Commit with abandon Ride the grooveline Go ballistic Stay tuned Ambient to change Sense the crash Save yourself Be there Without commitment There is no fulfillment The venture fails The flower bears no fruit The love fades away The wave […]
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 […]
Sea Kayaking Na Pali Redux – Rolling With the Tao
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” -Lao Tzu, “Tao Te Ching” My experience on the Na Pali expedition was an exercise in how to roll when things don’t go as planned. I had misgivings as soon as I arrived on Kauai and discovered 26 people signed up for […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
Sea Kayaking is HELL
Editor’s note: This article was one Eric had sketched out for 2012 and was completed with assistance from Tsunami Ranger Captain Jim Kakuk. Disclaimer: We’re just joking. HELL = Hedonistic Epicurean Libertine Lifestyle. From time to time on this website you’ll hear references to HELL. Hell means a lot of different things to different people. […]
Steve Sinclair – Storm Sea Skier and Legendary Sea Kayaker
by Will Nordby Editor’s note: Will Nordby recently completed his career as a broadcast and print photo-journalist based in the Bay Area. He started kayaking in 1973 and has traveled along the coasts of Alaska and British Columbia in addition to the Caribbean, Central America, and South Pacific. His articles have appeared in various magazines […]
Launching – Burning Man 2012
launch 1. To hurl, discharge, or send off (a weapon, blow, etc.). launch 1. To put to sea. 2. To start on some new course, career, or enterprise. 3. To throw oneself (into) with vigor; to rush; plunge. From Webster’s New 20th Century Dictionary Unabridged Second Edition Oh no, you’re going to say, here she […]
Romancing the Sea – A Sea Kayaker’s Guide to Poetry
Nature has always inspired writers, but no aspect of nature has been more inspirational than the sea. Consider Homer’s Odyssey, Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Dana’s Two Years Before the Mast, Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. From sailors’ shanties to Moby Dick, the sea has inspired countless songs and works of literature. There is something […]
Sea Kayakers and the Survival Instinct
by Will Nordby – Photo illustration by Will Nordby- The recent sinking of the Costa Concordia brought to mind a subject that has special relevance to those traveling on the sea: the survival instinct. When the cruise ship grounded, the captain, Francesco Schettino, chose […]
The Quest For The Magical Healing Pool
“Thou Shalt Go On Quests” (10 Commandments of Sea Kayaking #9 – Eric Soares) The first thing you’ll say is, “Why a post about the desert in a blog about sea kayaking?” Here’s why: the ocean and the desert are not so different. Try getting lost on or in either one without food or water […]