Ring my (little) bell

Walking launch

There are three islands in Conception By. I've been around two but not the third, the little one - Little Bell Island. Saturday Dean and I did the short 4.5 km crossing. Its conveniently close by and without much interest in paddling by anyone else so we opted for this.

We launched in the lagoon behind Topsail Beach but had to get out to walk our boats down the outlet to the sea.

Thumbs up!

Little Bell Island in sight, Dean gives the thumbs up. In other words, great to be on the water again.

Looking north

Its only a short crossing. Even so, there are days I love being out in the middle away from everything.

Target reached

We made landfall at Little Bell Island and proceeded to paddle the short distance around it. The cliffs on the island were covered by the lichen "Oranges stuffious" *lol*

Going round

Turning the corner to paddle down the back side.

Me and my shadow

We were around in no time and landed on the cobble beach to stop for lunch. A scramble up the hill to the top of Little Bell Island gave us a nice view of the surroundings.

Finished lunch Dean and I paddled the 5 km back across towards St. Thomas Cove where we turned south and back to Topsail Beach. A short paddle of 16.5 km that fit the bill for the day.

Just goofing around

Blowback

Sometimes its not about practice. Sometimes its just about goofing around. Kayaking after all should be fun and you know what they say about all work and no play. So, last evening we goofed around. That was dictated by the calm conditions on the evening.

There was just enough swell to create a spray as the water blew back from a small hole in the rocks. Then we went on a short paddle negotiating passages between rocks. We rode the swell up the rock faces and back down as it pulled back.

Whether its serious practice or goofing around as we did last evening, there's no need to justify getting into a kayak.

Scale

Specks on the ocean

Arnold is a big guy. If I stood next to him he'd look even bigger. If he stood several paces behind me I'd appear more flattering in terms of size.

A picture taken of a kayaker up close doesn't show the scale of the environment we paddle in. This shot of a couple of paddlers on equal portions of water and rock captures the feel of how small we are when we are on the sea in our kayaks.

Its a big world we play in; treat it with respect.

A matter of control

Looking out at the world

I admit it, I am a control freak.

I sense it particularly now. I seeded grass on Sunday and yesterday it was windy. Some of the grass seed was blowing around. It was hard to look at. It was something I just couldn't control.

I got to thinking about kayak practice. Was it that I practice because I like to practice or that I have to be "in control" of my kayak? Probably a bit of both.

Usually in confused seas I just the the boat go but there are times when I absolutely must maintain control. A light went on! When things get confused on the ocean, control must be exercised over both the kayak and the mind. It is imperative to maintain control over the mind when everything is out of control around me. And, so I can't control the wind or the grass seed blowing around but I can control my mind to accept my loss of control.

Mad dogs and Englishmen

A bit of alright

Mad dogs and Englishmen, as the song goes, go out in the midday sun ... I must be a mad dog. For the last week I've been busy spreading topsoil. Yesterday I spread the last of four and a half tandem loads and put the grass seed in for my daughter. Its been sunny and hot, hot hot. Long days. After seven, I felt knackered.

I needed rest. No, I needed some alone time in the boat. I put in just after 7:00 as Jamie and his wife were finishing their paddle. I explained my need and therefore the lateness of my launch.

The sun was setting over Bell Island to port. There was very little wind. A lone seagull flew in the same direction but further out in the bay. I thought to myself, I understand. I wondered if it understood what I was about.

After working like a dog all week the cool ocean breeze made it all seem worthwhile.

Learning in the soup

Clyde in the chaos

My experience in the surf zone last Sunday suggested two lines of practice and each is mutually exclusive of the other.

I had one thing in mind and that was to stay upright while doing some side surfing and practicing my braces. That was fun for a while until I got too close to where the waves were breaking. I braced onto the wave but it was too powerful and I went over.

I rode it out upside down and rolled once things settled but it was my trip under water in such violent conditions. That suggests another line of practice. Instead of trying to stay upright, plan to flip and ride some waves upside down. That needs practice too. That is, getting used to the the forces underwater. Anything can be learned but it needs to be practiced incrementally in more and more challenging conditions.

On second thought

Aerated water

I've read in a number of places, in books and on the web, that good roll practice is to deliberately miss a first roll in order to set up for a second. Dean and I discussed it this evening and we both agree its not a good idea. And, here's why.

Roll practice should be directed at developing muscle memory associated with a reliable roll. Purposely attempting to "fail" a roll is only confusing to this purpose.

An exercise that I like to do towards a second roll attempt is to purposely slice the paddle directly down, point to the bottom and then bring it back to a set-up position for rolling. No attempt is made to roll right from the outset. The only purpose is to get the paddle deep under water forcing me to get it back to the surface to set-up.

Best not to develop muscle memory for something that doesn't work, especially when you don't need conflicting messages coming from the brain in a need to roll situation.