Futzin' Around

Took the Gopro out for a test video yesterday. Great day on the water, a clear, bright Thanksgiving solo. Had the camera mounted on my head strap again. This time, I stopped several times and took off my hat to check that the camera was on and recording at the setting I intended. So far so good. (If I get the Wifi remote control, that shouldn't be a problem anymore.)

Even though 1.5 hours of somebody silently paddling isn't exactly Hollywood (nor Bollywood), I did have some nice moments - so I thought. Several shots of ducks and other waterfowl taking off in flocks from the water, which is always a funny and interesting scene.

Unfortunately, lens was fogged again AND for about half the trip the headband and hat were not on quite right, which I didn't realize. So the best shots with the birds all ended up unusable, because the camera was pointing up at the sky. All you hear is flapping wings and me quacking at the ducks; all you see is sky. (If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably me!)

Alfred Hitchcock is laughing his ass off!

Also, as I'd been warned by friends, the head strap mount moves with your head. So I figured that I would keep from moving my head abruptly from side to side and pan slowly when I do. I kept my head pretty steady. So I thought. And I would be right, except that when you paddle you move your whole torso to and fro, which also means that the camera is tilting left and right too. How would a chest mount stop that? Probably no better. So I'm going to have to wait for a Gopro suction cup mount for the kayak hull, but I'm not sure it won't produce the same silly effect. Well, I suppose that's what I actually see when I'm paddling, were I paying attention that way, so can't be all bad. I've seen my friend's videos without this movement, so have to figure out how he did that on his kayak.

I'm also trying to use the Gopro native video converter and editor, which I'm finding is not well instructed and very very slow to process. OK, so miles of video take time, I get that part, but this is painfully slow!

Sooner or later I'm going to get this right. Then you'll be treated to short clips from hours of edited boring home movies. But they'll be MY home movies. Can you see me up in Bodega Bay filiming?

Eat your heart out Alfred....

The best laid plans of mice and men.....

Gang oft agley! (Thank you Robbie Burns.)

We had only 4 of us (out of an original 14, 10 bailed thinking the weather would be bad, which it wasn't at all) at RWC Harbor today. Really strong headwind slowed us down to half speed, so by the time we got to Corkscrew Slough, it was already too late. Tide was shooting out and that's too shallow.

 

In fact, I got caught on a sandbar for a while going back through Steinberger Slough! That was a heart stopper as it's all mud there if you do get caught. I had visions of spending the 12 hours there awaiting the high tide. Damn glad to power off the bar (thank you Big Al).

 

But we had a great time, because the weather was clear. Lots of birds, but no mammals in sight.

So I made every single error you can make with the Gopro! Talk about amateur hour. And I did try to deal with it, but simply failed. Got the dreaded fogging. Somehow switched accidentally to burst mode instead of video, so used up 999 pix of nothing in no time! Couldn't see what was what or figure out how to know when the cam was on on the headstrap. And also on recc of youtube video angled the camera down a bit too far. So I got a lot of not so great shots for my troubles, and I had so been looking forward to taking good video. Ah well....

 

Go Go Gopro!

Broke down and finally bought a Gopro Hero HD. Not the latest model, which just came out, but 2 versions back. Got a good deal on ebay and just couldn't wait for holiday presents.

Now we'll see what pix I can take from the deck of Goldie.

You gotta be kiddin', right?

I had been trying out various GPS apps for my Droid smartphone. Each did something I wanted, but none had done all I wanted as yet. So on somebody's recommendatnion I downnloaded Endomundo for Android phones. Started it up today on my paddle and didn't know what to expect. So after a 10 second countdown audibly, I put out and paddled.

Gorgeous, warm, bright, sunny, clear and calm fall morning on the canals. Even the gibbous moon was still visible in the sky.

After a mile I hear a voice coming from below my armpit (where the cell phone is attached to my PFD) telling me my time, distance and that I'm "on target". That was funny, because I never set a target that I could recall. How did she know? LOL

I was certainly startled, as I'd seen not a single human being and it had just been me and the ducks.

At two miles she piped up to tell me the same thing. Same me, only less startled to hear my armpit talking.

However, after stopping to rest and restarting, at 4 miles she started to bitch that I was getting behind target! Shit, I go kayaking to get away from people telling me what to do at work and at home....

Since I had to pull out the phone to answer my wife's call at 5 miles, I figured out how to stop the app from running.

When I got home I discovered that it has several settings built in for "nagging" you. Not my style! If I wanted boot camp, I'd have joined the army.

Next up is a used Gopro Hero HD (model 1) that I ordered on ebay. Hope that works well for pix/video without nagging me!

Tonight I led a "Great Pumpkin Paddle" on the Foster City lagoon system. Eight kayaks, loads of fun. Really beautiful night and a very beautiful experience. Eat your heart out, Charlie Brown!

Tiger in Your Tank?

Back to regular kayaking.

The old joke (as old as meetups from last year) was that my buddies used to say I had a motor in my kayak. Never occurred to me that I was pushing them, just paddling at normal speed.

Normal for me is a steady 4 m.p.h., which it turns out is pretty close to the practical limit for my little rec boat, Goldie. The longer, slimmer, sleek sea kayaks they all have can go about 6.5-7 m.p.h., but folks rarely push them that hard. So as long as they're not really trying to beat me, I lead the pack at my comfortable pace. And they work at keeping up.

Today I was out in the early morning fog, which was really a heavy enough mist to feel like a drizzle. Was caught on the last leg by a couple of guys in their very sleek one man outrigger surf skis, considerably faster boats than mine by a long shot. I could hear them behind me heading for the dock for the last mile, but they didn't pass. When we got to the dock I started kidding them about needing to catch up and pass me.

Then one of them said, while laughing, "You've got a motor in there."

I don't know these guys, but it seems to be the general opinion!

Maybe I'm the tiger in the tank. I think it's really the effect of Big Al, my Aleut paddle. The Aleuts, among the world's greatest small boat seafarers, designed them for harsh Arctic conditions to be comfortable for speedy long distance journeys. QED.

Rubber ducky again

Back in the water for sure now. Had a good 4 mile paddle 3 weeks ago before my back gave out. Then last weekend had a great 6 mile paddle with a friend.

How can you describe the feeling of being so close to the water? You're like a duck (or a rubber ducky) bobbing around while you look around. Only way to be any closer to the water is to be swimming in it!

I'm looking forward to getting regular paddles in again.

And speaking of paddles, I stopped the second fancier Aleut paddle project last spring when I was injured. It was heavy, though only half carved, and it simply wasn't turning out as easy or as pleasing as the first one. Need to get back to it and finish, if nothing else so that I can see if it turns out all right.

Would love to learn to roll and handle the surf zone. There are classes. They'll require more reliable hip strength than I have right now, so might have to wait until next spring. But take them I will!

If you see a bright yellow guy in a bright yellow boat laughing his ass off, you are watching me.

Here we go again! Thank God...

Back in action! This past weekend we water tested my ability to wet exit the kayak. I'm fine for kayaking now after 4 months of recovery. Can't wait to get back into a paddling routine. I think my kayak, Goldie, missed me as much as I missed her.

Not quite up to normal in the walking department and can't do road biking as yet.

But at least I can get back on the water. Wooooo hooooooo!!

Bad Break

Due to a biking accident, I broke my hip and am now totally out of commission, while I heal from replacement surgery. Bump, bump, oh la.....

Struggling with my next Aleut paddle

My first paddle, "Big Al", was a breeze to make. OK, that's an understatement, as it certainly did take time and work, but it felt natural. It came out great! Light as a feather, sturdy, and very efficient in the water. Looks good too.

I wanted to do another paddle with a little more style in the wood. Bet you can't eat just one, right?

So this time I set out to experiment with other paddle woods. Same basic form, an Aleut (Unagan, Unalaskan, Alutiiq) and same length, but fancier. I wanted possibly a more elaborate blade shape, 3 different woods which I plan to mildly stain before Tung Oil finish, and a slimmer loom, with possibly slimmer blades. (Big Al is beefy in appearance, though strikingly light and balanced.)

After a lot of research and searching, I found a good source of well aged Sitka Spruce. I had a good spine piece left over from the first paddle of Western Red Cedar. Given the short length of my spruce, I needed another foot in blade length, so I used black walnut, which should also give it protection on the ends.

This time instead of laminating 3 pieces simply, I made a headache for myself laminating 17 separate pieces! That was the second go round, as butt joining pieces with dowels didn't work well at all. It's not the neatest or best glue up. And working the wood has been HARD! I don't know why.

So I go at it a little at a time every couple of days, but still am not sure this will work out at all, much less work out as well as Big Al did. We'll see.

Maybe you'll see too, if I ever finish it...

We interrupt this broadcast for a brief announcement:

Jack Eli Frankel arrived on Wednesday to a packed house of the family. Parents, baby and grandparents doing fine!

Hope to get back to paddling on Sunday.

African Queen Redux

Yep, positively Bogarted our way through the Alviso Slough and the Guadalupe River yesterday. Eric Norris led a dozen kayaks into the bullrushes. Had to hand pull over a plug of the stuff, sailing under willow trees, kind of strange, but fun. Only 6.25 miles, but slooowwwwwly.

Wespoint Slough - not a slog, but almost a bog

Got around to arranging a meetup for Westpoint Slough in Redwood City last Sunday. 2 other boats, one a tandem with two paddlers, joined me. It was a drop dead gorgeous day out nearly on the Bay.

The slough is somewhat deceptive. Even in such bright clear weather, you see the low scrub shoreline all around you, but can't often see the breaks that indicate the passages until you're almost upon them. The mountain ranges or Bay-side landmarks aren't all that much help in orienting.

As a result I took us down First Slough out of our way, before realizing that I was chasing the elusive "Northwest Passage". We did correct and finally found our way. But I didn't see the turns we were making in relation to the map, as the water was so wide.

Result was that, as my companions were talking about turning back for the day, I thought we had another 4 turns to go and several miles to our destination, Bayfront Park in Menlo Park. Well, I was clearly as wrong as rain! We were in fact at our destination, as confirmed by map, visual and GPS! Boy was I surprised and perplexed. My mistake became evident on the way home.

All in all we all had a great time. When I got home and checked the routing, I realized that the 9 mile jaunt I was anticipating had turned into 11. I'm used to 6 and last time nearby at Corskscrew Slough I did nearly 9. But 11? Well, I was tired!

Still have to try out the Bay itself and work up my skills for more open water in my little boat, Goldie.

Meanwhile, I discovered that I can comfortably move her at nearly 4 m.p.h., which is reasonably fast and very fast for a fat recreational kayak.