A new waterproof camera for paddlers?

Paddlers always seem to be asking which waterproof camera to buy. That's a symptom of two problems: we aren't thrilled with the cameras we have, and they don't hold up as well as we wish.

Our main needs are high picture quality, video quality, water resistance and ruggedness. Shutter lag is a major drawback. So we were intrigued when Nikon announced last month the imminent release of a new point-and-shoot, waterproof digital camera, the Coolpix AW100. It's not out yet, but the specs look attractive for paddlers.

Nikon's new entry into the waterproof camera market. 

We're assuming that this camera is as waterproof as the others. It claims to be rugged enough to survive a five-foot drop; the recessed lens would certainly help if it face-planted when it fell, but a lens cover would have been a nice addition.

If this camera uses some of the same internal processing as other Nikon cameras, the picture quality should be as good as the specs suggest. (For the full specs, click here.) The video offers full HD as well as slow motion (at reduced resolution), which should be great for technique analysis and revisiting that great ender in the surf. Normal video is 30 frames per second (FPS); the Coolpix can capture video at 60, 120 and 240 FPS.

Shutter lag will still be an issue, but the burst mode allows you to capture three frames per second, giving you a better chance of catching the expression on someone's face when he successfully rolls up.

Since the camera isn't out yet, we can't talk to anyone who has tried it and can attest to its performance, but check out Digital Photography Review for an in-depth assessment of the information available. The comments at the end extend the discussion and provide additional information. 

Bottom line: This camera lists at $379, making it the most expensive point-and-shoot, waterproof digital camera. (DPR recently reviewed them here.) Our Pentax Optio W80s are still functioning after two years, in spite of our griping, but if we had to replace one of them, we'd be tempted to try out this new Coolpix.

If anyone gets one and has a chance to try it out, please let us know what you think.

If you are intimidated by rough water....

The Gales: A Storm Gathering will be a great place to learn or improve your rough-water paddling skills.

Daybreak with waves.

During one recent foray in Lake Michigan waves, a fellow coach and friend mused about how few paddlers go out on truly rough days. Are they intimidated, he wondered, or just uninterested? What would it take to bolster both their confidence and ability?

One answer is the upcoming rough-water symposium, The Gales: A Storm Gathering, which will be held October 8 through 10 in Marquette, Michigan. Over the course of three days, there will be courses in surf kayaking, sea kayak surfing, rock gardering, rough water rescues, incident management, and open-water and night navigation, along with "long boats in current" classes on the nearby Menominee River. Registration is still open. Local accommodations are very affordable. So if the following images represent the kind of paddling you'd like to enjoy, sign up soon!

Sharon gets ready to launch. Waves always look smaller from the shore. Learning to estimate wave height is a useful rough-water skill.

Punching through the surf zone requires timing and technique.

The same is true of surfing back in.

Boat control in rough water is essential. 

Clapotis offers rough-water opportunities, too.

We'll be there, paddling and coaching. We hope to see you there, too!

Paddle more, pack less

If you never unload the trunk, you're always ready to paddle!

A week of rough water on Lake Michigan

It has been an amazing week of rough water along the Chicago shoreline. Day after day of 25 to 30 knot winds out of the north and northeast have given us large waves, massive clapotis and loads of fun.

Sharon, Bonnie and Scott playing in the clapotis near Foster Ave. beach.

The key to having fun in conditions such as these is knowing your own ability and having friends who are skilled paddlers. We were fortunate this week to get out on our own and also with our paddling partners Scott Fairty, Aaron Litchfield and Bonnie Perry.

Today, the wind had dropped. The forecast promised waves of 4 to 6 feet, but in fact the lake was much calmer. At first, we were disappointed; the lake looked relatively flat. Waves of 3 to 4 feet were still rolling into the beaches, but we felt let down. Still, there's always fun to be had if you know where to look, so we set out for some areas where the waves reflect off of hard surfaces and create chaotic conditions.

The lake was relatively calm, but the area near the break walls was rough enough. Here, Alec is practically airborne.

Bonnie amid waves.

Scott--or at least part of his boat.

Sharon--or at least her helmet and paddle blade.

Marveling at Lake Michigan from the sky

Whenever we fly back to Chicago, we hope the descent will be over Lake Michigan. There's something grounding -- if you'll excuse the pun -- about returning to our home waters. 

I (Sharon) was fortunate yesterday. We approached at the southeast edge of the lake. I recognized the disfigurement caused by heavy industry to Indiana's shoreline as we flew by.

Then we were out over open water on a very windy day. Whitecaps dotted the lake and there were waves as far as the eye could see.

We continued north, past the heart of the city, then turned east for our final descent.

It's hard to explain the thrill of seeing the lake from 20,000 or so feet when you're accustomed to seeing it from two and a half. It's huge, dignified, beautiful. I couldn't wait to land and spend time on its surface once more.

Something sad found floating in Lake Michigan

The other day, while paddling between the Wilson Avenue and Four-Mile water intake cribs (about four miles from shore), we saw something floating in the lake. From afar, it looked as though it might be a cushion.

It turned out to be a dog, drowned and bloated. We paid our respects, took this photo, and paddled away feeling sad about the poor creature's demise.

What happened, we wondered. Did large storm waves wash it off a boat or a pier? Did it chase a stick into the lake and never return to shore? Does somebody realize what happened to it? Where will it wash ashore?

Lake Michigan is large and surrounded by a huge shoreline. It shouldn't surprise us that dogs, cats and even people drown and are found in the water or on the beaches. This poor fellow is hardly alone.

Warm water surfing in the Great Lakes

Paddling out through the surf zone.

Last night, the kayaking listservs were abuzz about the building waves on Lake Michigan. Paddlers arranged to meet at 63rd Street Beach in Chicago, Portage Beach in Indiana, and the New Buffalo beach in Michigan to play in the waves.

Forecasts varied, but most indicated waves up to 5 or 6 feet at the south end of the lake.

We met our friends and fellow Geneva Kayak Center coaches Aaron Litchfield and Chris Hoffman at 63rd Street Beach on Chicago's south side. The waves were three to five feet and nicely formed. The wind had dropped to 15 to 20 knots.

Sharon catching a wave back in.

Here on the Great Lakes, waves are created mainly by wind. Its strength, duration and fetch (distance it travels) determine the height of our waves. That means the ideal time to surf is immediately after the wind decreases but before the waves settle down. (You can learn a lot more about this at Go Kayak Now.) Today was made even more ideal by the warm water and bright sunlight. When the sky is overcast and the water is cold, everything feels more ominous and dangerous. Today, it was just pure fun.

Alec, Aaron and Chris paddling out to catch another ride back to the beach.

After a couple hours of riding waves toward the beach and paddling back out, we decided to explore the clapotis along the north side of the 57th Street Harbor break wall. Reflecting waves combined with incoming waves to create chaotic heaps of water. The four of us felt confident paddling in this area, since all of us are comfortable in pretty rough water, but it was not a place any of us would have gone alone or without other skilled paddlers.

Clapotis near a break wall creates chaotic conditions.

In fact, once you get comfortable with clapotis, you tend to find yourself seeking it out.

Aaron and Alec playing in another area of clapotis south of the 63rd Street Harbor.

It's a treat to get some surf practice in summer. Soon the water will be cooler and the days shorter. We'll still go out when the north winds blow, but we'll be decked out in dry suits and toting hot tea. And in early October, when the surf season is in full swing, you'll find us at The Gales: A Storm Gathering, a new symposium dedicated to rough water kayaking. This is great opportunity for anyone who wants to build skill and confidence in these kinds of conditions.

KeelEazy: a quicker, easier keel strip?

Applying a keel strip to a composite kayak is a good idea. It protects the keel from wear and tear, especially when launching and landing. It's also a good introduction to working with gel coat. But it requires some skill, materials and time, and it adds some weight to your boat.

Everything you need for a traditional keep strip, which costs about $40 per boat.

Josh Tatro laying out and marking where the keep strip will go.

Masking off the area.

Applying layers of gel coat over fiberglass tape. 

Sanding and cleaning up the edges between layers of gel coat.

 From start to finish, it takes about seven hours spread over a couple days. And that's if you're familiar with the process.

So when we heard about KeelEazy, a peel-and-stick PVC keel strip, we were intrigued. It costs $4 per foot (for the 2-inch width), is available in black and white (as well as other colors if you buy 100 feet of it), and sticks to fiberglass, plastic and metal. It's also supposed to be easy to remove and replace if necessary.

So we did a side-by-side test. We applied a traditional keep strip to one boat, and KeelEazy to the other. The materials were certainly minimalist.

Heat gun, alcohol, glove, scissors....action.

 It went on very easily, even over curved surfaces, and it was easy to cut around the skeg opening with a razor blade.

Clean the keel with alcohol. 

Round the ends of the KeelEazy strip.

Attach and start peeling off the backing.

Keep pulling and peeling.

Cut around the skeg opening. And you're done!

It took about half an hour from start to finish. The only hitch we encountered was difficulty getting the backing to separate. In the You Tube video, Chris Mitchell has no trouble, but we noticed he was wearing a coat. We were in our hot back yard. So we popped the KeelEazy in the freezer for a couple of minutes...

Just chillin'.

....after which it was easy to separate.

It's been about a month since we applied both keel strips. We also applied a strip to a plastic boat in the Geneva Kayak Center rental fleet to see how that fares. So far, the KeelEazy has stayed on. It's non-marking, slides easily across other boats during rescues, and seems to be durable.We'll report back toward the end of the season, but we're optimistic that for a little more money, kayakers have the option of saving time, effort and weight.

KeelEazy and traditional keel strips, side by side. 

Back from Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium

Danny Mongno, Wener Paddles regional sales manager and field marketing coordinator, paddling past sailboats in the Grand Marais harbor.

The Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium (GLSKS) is a venerable event. It's the longest-running sea kayak symposium in the midwest, held annually in Grand Marais, MI, a tiny town (population about 300) that just won $40,000 in the We Hear You America contest to help rebuild its harbor breakwall.

When GLSKS comes to town, Grand Marais explodes with activity. Woodland Park Campground is awash in tents and trailers, the beach is covered in kayaks, and Lake Superior Brewing Company is packed every evening. 

The symposium offers three days of tours along with two and a half days of instruction, both on and off the water. Coaches from around the midwest and far beyond come to teach, present, socialize and compete in the manic kayak race to win rights to wear the ceremonial paisley vest.

An ominous designation for a paddling destination.

We don't mind driving long distances for a good symposium, but we took advantage of the opportunity by adding a visit to Whitefish Point, the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes" and home to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.  With Keith Wilke, we learned about some of the famous and not-so-famous wrecks that lie just offshore--some under just 20 feet of water. Interestingly, wrecks in this area were not solely caused by storms and shoals, as they were in the Sleeping Bear Dunes area. Here, many were caused by collisions as shipping traffic converged to move through the relatively narrow channel between Lake Huron and Lake Superior.

We couldn't resist getting on the water, of course.

Sharon and Keith prepare to paddle around the tip of Whitefish Point.

The beach, too, looked like a graveyard--of driftwood, not ships.

From there, we drove to Grand Marais. The next day, we led a group on an 18-mile trip along the west side of Grand Island, which is accessible only by ferry or boat. We paddled along the coast, beneath waterfalls and through arches, admiring the clear water and stunning painted cliffs.

A calm day on the west side of Grand Island.

Then the symposium began in earnest, with nonstop classes and activities. For students, this is an opportunity to learn from a variety of coaches; for instructors, it's a chance to work together and learn from each other. For everyone, it's time on the water, which is always good.

Steve Scherrer teaching a course on boat control for wind and waves. 

Each symposium has its own personality. This one's character is highly influenced by Bill Thompson of Downwind Sports, whose enthusiasm, energy and openness make everyone--instructors and students alike--feel welcome and appreciated; and by Kelly Blades, who possesses a unique blend of wackiness and seriousness. Kelly is one of the main proponents of learning through play, but his dedication to students is earnest.

The race course, explained in graphic detail.

The end of the second day featured the kayak race: 23 instructor/student teams, many of them volunteered by "friends" after they left the Werner Paddles wine and cheese social the previous night--just going to show, once again, that kayaking and alcohol are a dangerous combination. The race featured sabotage, arbitrary rules, collisions, confusion and all the other key elements of a successful competitive sport. The contrast between our race and the highly organized and respectable Greenland games--the subject of the presentation by this year's guest, Helen Wilson--was dramatic.

What keeps us coming back, year after year, to symposia like this one? Partly the camaraderie of an amazing community of coaches; partly the opportunity to give back to a sport that's given us so much. And partly because it's inherently rewarding to share the pleasure of paddlesports with people who are as into it as we are.

Choosing new drysuits

Hanging out with our drysuits, old and new.

After six seasons, our drysuits were shot. Seams were leaking; holes were spontaneously appearing. Everything has a lifespan, and after six years of heavy use, our drysuits had reached theirs.

We didn't reflexively choose to purchase Kokatat drysuits again. Before replacing them, we examined the materials and designs of drysuits from various manufacturers and talked to paddlers who own them. But in the end, we chose Kokatat drysuits again because we were happy with our old suits as well as the customer service every time we needed advice or a repair. We liked the front-entry zipper (some manufacturers place the entry zipper in back), the high-quality Goretex, and the option of a front relief zipper for women. And the fit was great. (Kokatat is also willing to customize suits for a reasonable extra charge.)

There are a lot of options beyond manufacturer. Here's what we chose and why:

Style: We chose to go with the GMER again -- the Goretex Meridian drysuit with a tunnel and boots but no hood. For us, this is the best combination: Goretex has a longer lifespan than Tropos; the tunnel is great for keeping water out of the cockpit during rough-water paddling or play; the boots keep your feet dry and eliminate the need for an additional gasket around your ankles; the flap over the zipper protects that essential and expensive part; and we prefer to wear a separate hood, not one that's attached when we need it and when we don't.

Zippers: Men have just two choices: zipper or no zipper. Having no zipper means you have to almost entirely take off the drysuit every time you need to pee, which is a hassle in the best of circumstances and unpleasant in the worst. It means exposing the dry layers beneath to the elements, and also exposing your latex gaskets to sunscreen as you pull them over your face and hands, which hastens the deterioration of the latex.

Women can choose no zipper,  a drop-seat zipper, or a front-relief zipper much like the men's but lower down. (The latter requires the use of a female-to-male adapter, of course.) After trying drysuits with a drop-seat zipper and talking to women who have them, Sharon chose the front-relief zipper, mainly because the drop-seat zipper adds bulk to the suit and isn't any easier for her to use than the front-relief zipper.

Color: Alec chose a mango-colored drysuit again because it's the lightest color available, and therefore least likely to cause him to overheat when paddling hard in cold conditions. (Light colors reflect more heat than darker colors.) Also, mango shows up well on the water. Sharon chose a black suit because she is too cold more often than too warm. And besides, she was sick of mango.

New (left) and old (right). The mango color faded over time. Note the change in the cuff design. The older suit has a Goretex cuff with a Velcro closure over the latex. The new one has a neoprene tube over the latex.

Care: Like all gear, drysuits require some maintenance, so we called Adam Knoeller in Kokatat's design department to ask a few questions about how to help our new drysuits last as long as possible. His advice:

• Rinse them in clean water to get rid of dirt.
• Dry them out of direct sunlight.
• Make sure they are dry before storing.
• Hang them on wide suit hangers that support the shoulders. Avoid creasing them.
• Avoid getting sunscreen, lotion and insect repellant on your gaskets.
• Use 303 Aerospace Protectant on the gaskets periodically.
• Lubricate the zippers with beeswax.
• Don't force the zippers; make sure they are aligned before pulling them open or closed.
• Protect your Goretex boots by wearing something over them at all times.

Just add paddlers. The new design includes a mesh-lined chest pocket.