CASKA: Chicago Area Sea Kayakers Association

Kayaking With Altamaha Coastal Tours: Ancient Tidal Forests to Ocean Renewables

By Mary Fairchild

(Buffalo Swamp Natural Area/Cathead Creek,a tributary of Georgia’s Altamaha River.)

“Mary, can you smell that?  ... it’s sweet and fresh,” Danny Grissette, owner of Altamaha Coastal Tours incited with a deep breath.  “You’re right.  It’s fresh and not what you’d expect in a swamp,” I added as we paddled deeper into the ancient tidal forest along the Altamaha River.

(Paddling between ancient cypress trees in a globally rare tidal forest.)

My first time paddling in Georgia, two years ago now, was focused solely on ocean paddling with plans to attend a “surf week” with Geneva Kayak and a couple of days at a symposium with Sea Kayak Georgia on Tybee Island.  This year, I was re-visiting Cumberland Island  before heading up to the Buffalo Swamp Natural Area with Altamaha Coastal Tours.

(Ryan Rushton, owner of Geneva Kayak, looking cool as he punches out in the Cumberland surf.)

As we were finishing up our last stretch off Cumberland Island, Ryan, who will have taken on paddling Cape Horn by this time next year, asked me, “What was your most memorable moment and what did you learn on this trip?”  I answered, reflecting on what I must have looked like keeping up with him that week, “I learned that I have a lot to learn.”  

Although my final answer for Ryan included discussion on kayaking skills and speed, my discussion with Danny was about “an ecologically important place that you need a boat to see” and the pace was purposefully slow…. 

(Danny Grissette; Altamaha Coastal Tours, Darien Georgia.)

“Mary, this area was once a rice plantation..,” Danny began describing the plants and the history and I stopped him with, “I always pictured rice in other countries not here.” 

 The tidewater ecosystem was perfect for the production of rice. Tides flooded the fields twice a day and the fresh water from the river protected the crops from the saltwater.  The abandoned irrigation canals of the old rice plantations provide miles of waterways to paddle.  Danny was pointing out a peculiar grass next, "That's bulrush... are you familiar with that?"  "Oh, yeah... the story of Moses," I replied as I began to look around for the alligators... thinking of the Nile now and it's crocodiles. 

 
(Rifle Cut:  Follow the tip of my kayak and you’ll see how far down the clearing went.)

Just as Egypt used slave labor, the channel pictured above(Rifle Cut) was dug out in the 1820s by slaves to shorten the water route to Darien:  “Straight as a rifle shot through the cypress swamp and just as narrow.”
Over 130 rare and endangered species of plants and animals, some found no where else, find refuge among the swamps which totally surround and insulate the Altamaha River.  The Altamaha River has been compared to the Nile by its impresssive volume which pumps 100,000 gallons of fresh water every second into the sea.  Much depends on that amount of water that flows downstream...  If there's too much withdrawal, either due to large municipal wells, or even the cumulative combination of smaller withdrawals, there may be serious problems for the natural vegetation in the area.

(Picture was taken 20 yrs. ago—“Amazing to be on this river and having it to yourself.  It’s still the same today! Some things don’t change.”  Altamaha Coastal Tours Facebook )

The best advocate to Georgia's environment is the stewardship of citizens who are suspicious of developers and commercialism.  As more projects go to sea for renewable energy sources, questions of how wave and tidal power devices might affect marine life are being discussed along Georgia's coast.  Currently, Jekyll Island and Tybee Island are the two locations with the best potential for connecting power from an offshore wind farm to a transmission grid. 

 Aspen Skiing Company's Auden Schendler, also a kayaker, reports that he has rethought his position on renewable-energy credits because he believes that RECs do little to encourage new clean-energy development.  Most ski resorts make money on real estate today not on lift tickets. (7)

“We need to be careful not to just do things when they truly don’t do environmental good, just because we have that message out there… this lacks integrity.  If you bring more people into these natural areas you’ll have more traffic.  Do we really want urban sprawl in a rural pristine environment?  Soon you will also have water quality issues and air-quality issues there...”  Auden Schendler

Plans that truly respect the latest scientific research as well as firsthand experience of local residents should be reflected in support from the central government.  It will be an interesting and often contentious challenge ahead as scientists, planners, policymakers, and everyday citizens create and enact plans that truly live up to their green claims.  We need to allow more time for thorough review by the local communities and by relevant experts. 

(Shrimp Boats on the Darien River, Darien Georgia.)

In Georgia, data collected by Skidaway Institute of Oceanography scientists indicates an average wind speed of about 16 mph offshore. That's enough for the Georgia coast to score a respectable four on the seven-point scale used to rank wind.  Modern wind turbines are larger than previous generations, some as tall as small skyscrapers. That height makes them an eyesore to some and consequently a sitting challenge.  But Georgia's gently sloping coast (the continental shelf stretches 80 miles off Georgia) offers an offshore solution.  The waters 10-20 miles off the coast are still shallow enough to allow the building of turbines, but that distance would put a wind farm out of view from shore.  The U.S. has no offshore wind farms yet. Large wind projects proposed near Cape Cod and Long Island are farther along than is Georgia Tech's but have met with concerns about ruined views and injuries to birds. (1)

 

The "Environmentally Responsible Wind Power Act of 2005," proposed to eliminate federal tax incentives for the development of wind power within 20 miles (which is the horizon of a national seashore, a national lakeshore or a national wildlife refuge) of a "highly scenic" area, including all offshore projects.  The bill was set up to protect America's most scenic treasures – national parks, world heritage sites, national lakeshore and seashore sites.  The act does not stop construction of the wind power just the federal subsidy of it for giant wind turbines within 20 miles.  This helps us to re-think what we are doing to some of our most pristine coastlines.

Freshwater tidal marshes are globally rare and occur along free-flowing coastal rivers and they are vital to sustaining all life on earth.  The Altamaha River and its swamps play a vital role in supporting the rich estuary downstream.

 

(Blue Crab caught by local fishermen off the Jekyll Island pier last week [a proposed area for a wind farm].)

Beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean exists a thriving ecosystem of fish, invertebrates, seal, and whales.  The North Atlantic Ocean has one of the largest plankton blooms in the world every spring.  The change in color of water due to plankton bloom can be seen by NASA satelites.  Plankton is one of the most important organisms in the ocean.  Although usually quite small, anything that drifts in the ocean's currents is technically considered planktonic.  Jellyfish are considered plankton.  If plankton where unable to grow for some reason all life in the ocean would suffer.

The bays, estuaries, and salt marsh along our coasts are considered nurseries for commercial fisheries.  The larvae of fish, crustaceans and other marine animals, called meroplankton, if they survive, they will grow into nekton or free-swimming organisms. 

"Anytime you alter something that's so important as a habitat and as a source of nutrients for the other commercial fisheries you're really playing with fire."  Roylan Hadworth Sealy, Sr. Research Assistant Shoals Marine Laboratory of Cornell University (8)

(Freighter headed for Savannah off the northern tip of Tybee Island; a roosting area for shorebirds.)
 

On the northern coast of Georgia, the Tybee Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 100-acre home to waterfowl, crustaceans and marine reptiles. The refuge is not open to the public, but many of the wildlife species from the island are seen near the tourist areas on the island.  

(Local Tybee Island resident watching the trapped cannonball jellyfish during low tide a few weeks ago.)

“Jellyfish thrive in all of the world’s oceans, and there is mounting evidence that human activity in coastal zones, like overfishing, is creating conditions that could cause populations to skyrocket.”  The Living Sea (6)

 

The city of Tybee Island said “yes” to wind energythis past February. Here’s a photo-simulation (above)showing the wind farm 6.8 miles Southeast off Tybee Island (look at horizon).

Local communities need some time to stop and think about the locations for clean energy.  Usually wind turbines are located in wind farms containing 20 or more, but some can exceed 100.  At night, the flashing red lights can be seen for 20 miles.  Unfortunately, they work best along scenic coastlines and ridge tops…  What do you think?

  

(7 miles off the coast of Kent, England.  Thanet Wind Farm, the world’s second largest offshore wind farm since February 2012.)

New technologies for ocean energy—tidal power, wave power, and current power are all being researched today around the world.  It will be important not to exceed size limits which could have significant impacts on marine ecosystems, endangered birds, and local fisheries.

We don’t know whether the underwater acoustics of the turbines harm marine life or how fish and marine mammals might interact with the turbine's rotors.  Many marine species rely on the earth's magnetic fields for migrating and searching for food and we don't know yet if electromagnetic fields will repel or attract certain species. Wave, tidal, and hydrokinetic power devices, and the cables that bring electricity they generate to shore produce similar electromagnetic fields and there has not been a lot of research on whether or not marine life might be affected.

By 2020, the state of Maine hopes to produce thousands of megawatts of wind power from turbines on and off shore.  The National Wildlife Refuge System hopes to monitor the flight and feeding habits of birds and bats to help with the placement of ocean energy projects.

"Seabird productivity periodically declines on some islands, because the herring disappear and chicks starve.  We want to understand where birds are foraging, and what's going on with fish in the Gulf of Maine."  Beth Goettel

This is a picture at low tide(picture above) in Cobscook Bay, Maine, when I was kayaking there last September. Nearby, Ocean Renewable tidal power was just getting settled in.  They have described their tidal turbine as "a giant lawnmower."

  

(Ocean Renewable Energy Tide 2 in Cobscook Bay, ME.)

Cobscook Bay  is a semi-enclosed sea that extends almost 200 miles.  The highly convoluted shorelines, intense tidal currents, and the cold waters all contribute to the areas diverse marine inhabitants.  Local fishermen wonder if the areas will be closed off to fishing around the turbines since no one has answered that yet.  Another unanswered question is why wind turbines are placed only 10 miles offshore when the University of Maine experts suggested 20-50’ was less likely to interfere with coastal marine fisheries. (Fisherman’s Voice, 9/11; Vol. 16, No. 9) Noise Problems on Maine's Fox Islands 

 

(YouTube:  Offshore Windmills Could Harm Maine Lobster.)

Deepwater windmills could partially divert lobster larvae-bearing water currents.  Canadian lobster larvae travel down the Gulf’s coastal currents, replenishing the lobster fisheries of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.  To keep the young lobsters from being diverted offshore, tow initiatives where planned to relocate ocean wind parks away from this current.  Wind farms built off Maine are expected to supply electricity directly to Boston by under sea cable supplying Maine with no benefits. 

When the Maine coastal current meets low pressure zones created by the wind energy extraction around the turbines, seafloor water is pulled to the surface and is partly diverted around the upwelling of the cold water taking the lobster larvae with it.

(San Francisco Bay, Wikipedia.)

From the mid-19th century through the late 20th century, more than a third of the San Francisco Bay was filled and often built on.  The state and federal governments have spent hundreds of millions of dollars since 1996 on projects to restore tidal wetlands and only 1% has been restored so far.  It is difficult and expensive to reverse mistakes. 

San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta remain perhaps California's most important ecological habitats.  California's Dungeness crab, California halibut, and Pacific Salmon fisheries rely on the bay as a nursery. The few remaining salt marshes now represent most of California's remaining salt marsh, supporting a number of endangered species and providing key ecosystem services such as filtering pollutants and sediments from the rivers. 

(Wildflowers in my backyard in NW Chicago.)

Estimates of the value of tidal flats have been increasing as scientists understand more about the vital role that tidal flats play in sustaining urban areas as well as marine ecosystems. We have to be stewards of our own resource.  We have to look after it and be interested in it.  It all depends on how we view things....

I had started “forest gardening” years ago when I had some serious issues with the poison oak on our wooded lot.  We don’t have grass to fertilize and cut anymore!  I was so impressed with the natural vegetation and trees that, when we purchased our cabin in Wisconsin I dug up any existing grass and filled it in with native plants and trees as well.

Not only is forest gardening much less labor intensive, perennials reseed themselves and the soil enriches itself just like it does in the natural forests with fallen fruit, leaf litter, and other organic matter.  I planted clumps of wildflowers in patches of sunlight and researched types of flowers native to my area and planted them.  Woodland gardens require relatively low maintenance and falling leaves add to rather than detract from the appearance.

Ocean renewables, which may seem to be an ideal source of non-polluting energy, are appearing to be a much more complicated issue.  The debate between ethics and economics, when human activity threatens the existence of species and their habitats, could go on and on. 

 

References

1)       Wind Project Picks up Speed , Savannah Morning News; 2012.

2)     Severn Barrage , Wikipedia.

3)     The Altamaha River Bioreserve, Sherpa Guides; Richard J. Lenz.

4)     “The Full Circle: A Historical Context for Urban Salt Marsh Restoration,” David G. Casagrande; Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Sciences.

5)     “Georgia,” Kap Stann, Moon Books.

6)     Exposure Special, “The Living Sea,” Outside Magazine; May 2012; p. 82. 

7)      “Snow Job,” by Elizabeth Hightower, Outside Magazine; Nov. 4, 2008.

8)  Rockweed Coalition, Roylan Hadworth Sealy, Sr. Research Assistant, Shoals Marine Laboratory of Cornell University.

9)  Mfairladyblogspot, Paddle Hike Climb.

10)  Marine Ecosystem Dynamics Modeling:  Altamaha River

Kayaking Georgia's Coast: Tidal Flat Ecosystems, Ancient History, and Stewardship

By Mary Fairchild

(Razor sharp clusters of oysters exposed during low tide at Skidaway Narrows across from Skidaway Island State Park.)

Once a narrow, shallow tidal creek, Skidaway Narrows is now dredged and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway which stretches from Virginia to Florida and on the Gulf side all the way around to Texas.

Over the years, Georgia's oyster fishery has greatly declined due to pollution and the introduction of minimum wage laws. In the early 1900s, Georgia produced more oysters commercially than any other state. Before the minimum wage laws went into effect, oyster pickers were paid by the number of oysters picked; with the new law, the incentive to harvest great numbers of oysters greatly decreased. Today it is rare to find Georgia oysters offered on the menu in coastal restaurants, and usually the oysters are brought in from Florida, Texas, or Louisiana.

Kayaking Coastal Georgia has opened my eyes to the fact that there is so much that we do not know about the delicate ecological balance that needs to be maintained and how intertwined we are with it. Georgia was among the first states in the nation to pass legislation protecting its tidal marshlands, which are the most extensive and productive of any on the East Coast--yet it still confronts many challenges.

Three ceremonial shell rings, dating back to 1750 B.C., have been found on Skidaway Island. There have been fewer than 20 of them discovered and all but one are in the southeastern United States, the other is in Ecuador. 56 ancient Timucua Indian sites have been found on the island. The Timucua were targets of mission activities by the Spanish in the 1630s, and became extinct by the 1760s from European plagues and English-sponsored slaving. Also found on the island are fossil mastodons, mammoths, giant sloths, and native horses, which became extinct.

Shell midden (rings or heaps) are refuse piles consisting mostly of oyster shells which are found throughout the world on coastlines, major rivers, and tidewater flats indicating the favorite localities where Indians subsisted upon oysters, clams, conches, fishes, and animals and birds native to the region. Investigation of these sites is important for understanding how cultures change and for determining the future of such environments.

(Fort McAllister is south of Savannah on the Ogeechee River.)

One of the few untamed rivers in America, the Ogeechee River basin and its drainage to the coast plays a significant role in forming Wassaw, Ossabaw, St. Catherines, Blackbeard, and Sapelo Islands.

Available online, the Georgia Coast Saltwater Paddle Trial 2010 is designed to provide paddlers with a preliminary planning document for paddling trips on the Georgia Coast. The regional outfitters that provided valuable input for this guide include Up the Creek Expeditions, Southeast Adventure, Ocean Motion Surf Co., Altamaha Coastal Tours, Coffee Bluff Marina, Savannah Canoe and Kayak, and Sea Kayak Georgia.

"We use our paddling adventures as a tool to educate and inform others on our dynamic marine environment. No trip to Savannah is complete until you've experienced the unique culture and natural beauty of the Georgia Coast!" Kristin and Nigel Law of Savannah Canoe & Kayak

(Sea Kayak Georgia nature kayak tour on Little Tybee Island with my daughter.)

"Our seasoned guides and naturalists love to interpret the beautiful Georgia coast.." Marsha Henson and Ronnie Kemp of Sea Kayak Georgia

In July of 1968, Kerr-McGee Corporation submitted a bid to lease 25,000 acres of Georgia's offshore land for phosphate mining. They also planned to use dredge from the mining operation to fill and develop 20 square miles of "high grounds" on Little Tybee and Cabbage Islands. At that time, filling was driven by the dominant cultural worldview which had its roots in the industrial era. Today, our ecological worldview has reclaimed our respect for tidal wetlands as a life supporting resource.

Fort Morris is surrounded by marsh. There is an approximate 2 mile hike to the the campground from the boat dock on the Medway River.

Although most see the salt marsh as a mere "sea of grass" it is actually considered to be the most valuable land in the world. It provides food for infant shrimp, oysters, clams and and many baby fish. Not only is an estimated 20 percent of the oxygen in the air is produced by this zone, but the marsh also helps to purify the waste waters from the cities.

Earth works at Fort Morris where built to defend the site during the Revolutionary War. Shell midden is scattered along the trail behind the earthworks (pictured). When I inquired about shell midden, the park host told me that it is not labeled because it has not been studied yet.

At the University of Alabama, T. Fred T. Andrus, Dept. of Geological Sciences, has had long standing collaborative projects in the Georgia Bight investigating Midden Geoarchaeology. His goal is to assess past human subsistence strategies, season of occupation and resource use, site formation processes, and other questions relating to archaeology. The shell rings of Georgia are the best indicator that complex hunter-gatherers were present on the coast during the Late Archaic.

(Following feral hog hoof prints through R.J. Reynolds Wildlife Refuge.)

I rented a bike to ride out to see the ancient shell rings on Sapelo island. Archeologists have found pottery shards on the island that date back 4,500 years, making them some of the oldest artifacts ever found in North America. In 1969, the widow of tobacco millionaire R.J. Reynolds sold 8,240 acres of the island to the state, which became the R.J. Reynolds (Sapelo Island) Wildlife Refuge.

"The truth is, nearly every island on the Georgia coast, ... having been considerably altered by humans over the past 4,500 years, whether these were Native Americans, Europeans, or Americans..... denoted by the loss of original habitats and native species or the addition of non-native species....Perhaps the most charismatic yet problematic of non-native animals on any of the Georgia barrier islands are the wild horses of Cumberland Island. These horses are the source of much controversy, which becomes even more apparent whenever anyone tries to apply some actual science to them..." T. Martin

(RJ Reynolds Wildlife Management Area, maritime forest , Sapelo Island, GA.)

(Darien, shrimp boats at sunrise on the Darien River.)

The town of Darien lies just north of the Altamaha River's mouth. Several miles to the south lies the larger city of Brunswick. St. Simons Island lies on the south side of the Altamaha estuary.

The estuary of the Altamaha River, where fresh and salt water mix, is about 26 square miles in size, one of the largest intact, relatively non-degraded estuary on the Atlantic coast and most of it is easily visited by canoe or kayak year round. Altamaha River Bioreserve is the Nature Conservancy's protection of the rich biodiversity of the largest undammed river on the Southeast Coast. Included in the BioReserve is the River, tidal freshwater, brackish and saltwater eco-systems.

(Historic Darien, GA, view from Darien River.)

June 16-22 is the date for 8th annual Paddle Georgia 2012 which is a fundraiser for Georgia River Network and Altahama Riverkeeper. You can join 350 paddle enthusiasts paddle 108 miles, averaging 15 miles a day, for seven days on the Ohooppe and Altamaha Rivers from Reidsville to Darien. There will be food, camping, tours of historic sites, entertainment and educational programs.

(Jonesport, Maine coastal kayak trip with Geneva Kayak 2011.)

Walking along the pristine, rocky coast of Maine like explorers from another land (pictured). Earlier, as we paddled out from the harbor, small rocks would begin to move with groups of seals diving in as we approached them. Seals prefer to live in isolation.

Just in the last few years wind and tidal turbines have been introduced to the beautiful Atlantic Coast of Maine....not everyone believes this is a sound idea.

Harbor seal mating occurs here in the water during the summer months. The pups are born almost a year later in late spring. When the cow is done nursing, she leaves her pup, and goes off to mate again. A little under 3 feet long, the pup has to fend for itself. In about 4 to 6 years, when it is fully grown, it will be about 5 feet long and about 250 lbs. By 1972 seals were almost gone from most of New England. This was the year that the U.S. marine mammal protection act was passed.

This is a picture at low tide in Cobscook Bay, Maine, when I was kayaking there last September. Nearby, Ocean Renewable tidal power was just getting settled in. They have described their tidal turbine as "a giant lawnmower."

Collision Risk Assessment
Eagle Accidents at Altamont Pass
Tidal Turbines
Noise Problems on Maine's Fox Islands

In spite of the projected benefits, various environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)--local, national, and international--and local fishermen's groups strongly oppose the tidal power plants at this time. Those groups anticipate deep and lasting harm to the tidal flat ecosystem, fisheries, and landscape. Whether the underwater acoustics of the turbines harm marine life and how fish and marine mammals might interact with the turbine's rotors... many marine species rely on the earth's magnetic fields for migrating and searching for food and we don't know yet if electromagnetic fields will repel or attract certain species.... Wave, tidal, and hydrokinetic power devices, and the cables that bring electricity they generate to shore produce similar electromagnetic fields and there has not been a lot of research on whether or not marine life might be affected.

References
(Paddle, Hike, Climb)

1. Lost Worlds: Sapelo Shell Rings
2. Charles C. Jones, Jr., "Antiquities of the Southern Indians, Particularly of the Georgia Tribes." University of Alabama Press 1999; p. 201.
3. David Hurst Thomas, "St. Catherines: An Island in Time." Georgia Endowment for the Humanities; 1988; p. 21-23.
4. Scientific American, 12/6/10, Testing the Waters with Tidal Energy by Bruce Dorminey and the Daily Climate
5. Balancing Human and Enviromental Issues in Tidal Power Development, U of Maine.
6. University of Alabama, T. Fred T. Andrus, Dept. of Geological Sciences. Midden Geoarchaeology.
7. Vast St. Simons Island Property in Georgia to Become Nature Preserve
References
8. Cobscook Bay Resource Center: Modeling in Cobscook Bay, Maine: A Summary, Perspective, and Look Forward
9. South Korea's Plans For Tidal Power: When a Green Solution Creates More Problems
10. Ogeechee River; Sherpa Guides.  
11. DAR Digital Archaeolical Record
12. Feral Horses by T. Martin
13. Kap Stann, "Georgia." Avalon Travel Publishing, 1995.　
14. Robert Hellmann, "Archaeological Investigations at Dungeness Historic District Cumberland Island National Seashore;" p. 24, 2007.
15. Collision Risks Between Marine Renewable Energy Devices and Mamals, Fish and Diving Birds.
16. Smart Planet, “Animal Magnetism: How Wave, Tidal Energy Devices Affect Sea Life,” Melissa Mahony; 9/21/10.

CASKA’s 2012 Trip-Planning Meeting and Safety Presentation

Approximately 30 Chicago-area paddlers were on hand for a two-part meeting for CASKA members and invitees this past Saturday, March 2, 2012.  Paddlers were wielding pens and paper, not paddles and PFDs, and dressing for immersion was not required. 

The meeting started with a hearty discussion about trip-planning and upcoming CASKA events.  The votes were tallied from two CASKA polls that gave members the ability to voice their opinions on official CASKA paddles prior to the meeting.  Longer, multi-day camping trips emerged as the voters’ favorite, but members are also interested in a variety of shorter paddles. 

Voting Results 

The focal point of the trip-planning portion of the meeting was filling CASKA’s official calendar, which can be found at the CASKA website.  Recent events posted include: the world’s largest paddlesport expo – Canoecopia; the St. Patrick’s Day Chicago River paddle co-sponsored by CASKA, Geneva Kayak Center (GKC), and Paddle and Trail; and a smorgasbord of Midwest sea kayak symposia.  As far as CASKA-specific paddles, Tom Heinemann and Bill Burton have graciously agreed to host monthly Wednesday night paddles. 

There are sure to be many more CASKA and non-CASKA events that will be posted.  Please stay tuned for details, and if you have any ideas, contact a board member or share them as a comment to this post, on Facebook, or on the CASKA YahooGroup.

After the trip-planning portion of the meeting, Police Chief Larry Pitchford of New Buffalo, Michigan gave a first-hand account of the tragic event that occurred in October 2011, where one young kayaker lost his life and two others were rescued.  Chief Pitchford shared the details that were lost in the news accounts of the incident.  Ryan Rushton of GKC was also present to share his perspective.  Ken Stetler of the Northwest Indiana Paddling Association (NWIPA), our sister club to the south, has a detailed write-up of Chief Pitchford’s presentation posted on the CASKA blog. 

Rescue helicopter and break wall  at mouth of Galien River

The Chief’s presentation is an important reminder that the sport we love and enjoy brings with it risks that we are obligated to understand and appreciate each time we launch.

 

Cold Water Trumps Young Hot Blood

by Haris

Two Young Men

Two young Midwest men, Kevin and Mitchell, what do they have in common? In 2011 they were both on the verge of adulthood; healthy, active, athletic, and well liked by peers. That's not it, though. The two share spots #47 and #77 on the list of 86 drowning victims on the Great Lakes in 2011. Rest in peace fellow kayakers! My heart goes out to the families and friends.

It's chilling to realize how similar the stories of these two young men are and how eerily alike are the circumstances in which they ended. Both involved kayaks not well equipped for paddling the conditions they faced, these conditions exceeded the paddlers' abilities and, in the end, the water temperatures proved too cold to sustain blossoming human life. A group of kayakers has gotten into trouble in both cases but only one in each group ended up lost. Kevin waved off the help of his two friends and sent them to shore with another friend in trouble. Mitchell re-entered his boat after all three in his group capsized. He attempted to help his friends back into their boats as the waters around them raged. Both of the guys who tried to help their peers in trouble had perished themselves.

In many critical ways the accidents so similar in outcome were very different. In the early summer when Kevin's group set off form Little Sand Bay to Sand Island of the Apostles archipelago, the water was deceptively calm at the launch site. The day was beautiful and so warm that the group decided not to wear the wetsuits they brought along. There was a small craft advisory in effect but the youths were either unaware of it or did not know what the warning meant face-to-face. The group did not heed the water temperature below 50 degrees. Undiscriminating power of the waves and life-draining water temperatures were probably abstract concepts to them, not real and present danger. The group paddled out enthusiastic and inspired by their youthful energy.

Before long, once the protection of the island was lost and the wind got a hold of them, they met conditions they could not handle. Two of them capsized and could not get back into their boats. The body of Kevin was found several hours after he entered the 47-degree water. Nobody is expected to last one hour in water that cold without thermal protection. Given the time it took for Kevin's friends to notify the rescuers and time it took for the rescuers to find Kevin, the tragic outcome was horrible but hardly unexpected. What happened in the Apostles did not raise many questions or threaten the sea kayaking community. It only brought sadness to our hearts.

The conditions into which Mitchell and his two friends ventured were black-and-white different. The trio launched into the mouth of a raging maelstrom. The waves were over 10'—at least two or three times larger than what should have scared the living daylights out of them in the first place. The wind gusts topped at 40 knots or close to the limit beyond which even the most efficient sea kayakers can no longer hold their ground. There was nothing ambiguous or abstract about what awaited them beyond the break walls protecting the mouth of the Galien River in New Buffalo, MI.

Witnesses reported that the three put up a heroic fight against the raging Mother Nature just to get out through the protected river mouth into the open water. They were pushed back into the harbor by the storm but the more the Lake resisted them the more determined seemed their efforts to prevail. Just painting a picture of this in my head I can taste their zeal, ambition, the tunnel vision developing with a singular focus on overcoming the force that stood between them and their target.

Once they made it out through the mouth and turned north, sideways to the waves, in the words of New Buffalo Police Chief "They were done for." All three boys capsized immediately just to the west of the northern arm of the sea wall. Back in his kayak, Mitchell attempted to help his friends re-enter their boats but was unsuccessful and, eventually, all three were helpless and thrashing in the waves.

The water in Lake Michigan on that day was around 60 degrees—definitely cold and unpleasant but a long way from 47 degrees. The accident took place in front of multiple witnesses on shore who immediately called 911 and the rescuers were on site within minutes. One of the boys drifted to the east just north of the sea wall and reached the sandy shore on the other side. Another one caught a rescue line thrown to him from the tip of the break wall. Otherwise, he was "on his way to Wisconsin" according to the rescuers. Whether he would have made it to shore or shared the fate of Mitchell we will never know. The last of the three was pushed out into the open water north of the break wall. There, mysteriously stuck to one spot, the rescuers were trying to reach him with safety lines from the sea wall. Mitchell was swimming for safety with all he had for a full hour and a half! All of thirty feet separated him from solid ground.

How is this Possible?

Those of us who kayak in rough waters of Lake Michigan were unable to comprehend: How is it possible that someone can perish with so much time available to swim to safety and professional help on the scene? At the time, also, we were operating based in information from the USCG news brief which clearly stated that the accident took place inside the harbor walls. Wind, waves and current was pushing everything to the east-southeast or back into the river mouth and onto the shore. According to the news reports all three boys were wearing flotation aids, helmets, and wetsuits. Local rescue crews were on site and USCG helicopter was shown in the pictures hovering above. So how is it possible that a healthy, athletic young man can be lost in this after the rescue effort that lasted for well over an hour!? The unknown, what we can't understand, is the ultimate fright.

We know now that Mitchell was not inside the harbor when he capsized. Second, the media was also wrong about the wetsuit—as far as I could find out he didn't have a waterproof jacket either. And the USCG helicopter arrived on the scene after Mitchell disappeared under the surface. It was summoned from Traverse City, MI where the rescue choppers go to stay in the off-season. During the season they keep watch from Muskegon and Chicago—much closer to the scene of the accident. The New Buffalo rescue services did not have divers or anybody who could safely enter the water in the raging conditions. The storm was so severe, in fact, that the USCG did not even launch their 47' Search-and-Rescue ship—the state of the lake exceeded its operating limits. New Buffalo police tried to reach the open water with their brand-new smaller rescue craft but the boat was not able to exit through the harbor mouth. The rescuers on the seawall throw ropes to Mitchell who was 'stuck' right in front of them only feet away. With the winds over 30 knots blowing at the time it is easy to understand why they were not successful in hitting their target.

So why wasn't Mitch able swim to safety or wash out on shore!? I've taken my boat and other paddlers into similar conditions many times and, until this incident, I had not even considered doing so as all that dangerous, much less deadly! It was hard to reconcile the personal history of safe high octane fun with a cold fact of a young man in his prime, someone familiar with the kayak safety protocol, cut down in his prime. Mitchell worked at a local kayak business, so he knew a fair amount about kayaking and had seen how kayak rescues are done.

A step back: I am fully aware that there are many things that can quickly go south when a huge body of water like Lake Michigan goes wild. I think of the risks in terms of crossing the street. Surely, a speeding car can send you across the river Styx but do we really consider crossing the street dangerous because of that? No we don't! We prepare and take precautions—pick or spot, time, and look both ways before we cross. It does not really take a rocket scientist to figure out the basic rules.

The acute risks when you take your vessel into rough water are any hard things around you: other boats, floating wood, ice, sea walls, and so on. After capsize, even your own boat is a hazard. In shallower water, the sea floor, even if it's gentle sand, can hurt you. The shoreline is even more dangerous as you lose the cushion of the water and the landing spots are often littered with rocks and ubiquitous hard and sharp man-made objects. If you decide to fight the water in the ways that your body cannot support, you can pull out your shoulder of twist your back or cause a hernia. Offshore wind and currents can briskly take you out to sea much faster than you can swim against them. Your ability to return to shore is severely compromised if you find yourself out of the boat.

Last by definitely not least, once out there, your worst enemy is cooling—a combination of temperature, insulation, and exposure time. The water is almost always too cold and the human body is just not naturally insulated against its life-sucking effect. Given enough time, you will cool to the point where, muscle control, consciousness and, soon thereafter, life itself will leave you. When the water is 60, it's not that much time. Once you lose consciousness, most likely you will inhale water and drown.

The list of things waiting to get a kayaker out there may sound long and daunting. Luckily, though, if you are aware of these dangers, protecting yourself against them is not much harder than crossing a busy street. Aiming your bow into the storm is more fun than dangerous. Water itself can't really hurt you—10-15' waves are sparing partners, not deadly killers. As long as you can get out of the water relatively fast, you should be safe. So I keep asking myself again and again and again—why did Mitchell die? Why wasn't he just washed ashore like I and many others have been time after time?

Possibly the most suggestive and at the same time most mysterious circumstance revealed by New Buffalo Police Chief was information about a strange spot to which Mitchell was repeatedly deposited after he capsized. According to this officer, when waves, winds and current align just right, they conspire to hold anything that gets to this mystical spot in place. Mitchell tried desperately to swim toward safety but he was not able to make progress against the forces of nature. Time after time he would swim, get exhausted and be promptly returned to the place from which he started—just out of rescuers' reach.

In the beginning Mitchell held on to his capsized boat adhering to the sea kayaking safety protocol. Eventually the sea separated the two. He was not in danger of being overlooked by rescuers, though, and he had adequate flotation on his body. There was no way he was paddling out of the situation so the loss of contact with the boat was not all that important.

Well over an hour had passed in desperate struggle until, eventually, all the strength left Mitchell's body. He went unconscious. Shortly thereafter the waves slipped his PFD over his limp arms and he disappeared under the surface. The police described Mitchell's life vest as "appropriate and well-fitting."

So this is the best I can report—Mitchell was not able to swim the short distance to safety and paid the ultimate price for the risks he took because there is a "weird" spot just north of the tip of the seawall in New Buffalo, a spot that tends to suck and hold everything in when stars line up and Lake Michigan feels like it. Personally, I have never heard of anything like this on our tideless sea before. It does sound a lot like an eddy in the river, a recirculating rip current perhaps, or a whirlpool, or a vortex in the title race. Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System reported a slow 1-1.5 knot current flowing to the northeast past the seawall at the time. As this current encountered the obstacle on its way, it somehow created a death grip that clutched Mitchell in its vice. Rest in peace!

Risk Assessment

Can sea kayaking safety protocol shed some light in evaluating this tragedy? Stripped down to its pure essence, risk assessment is deceptively simple: before you head out (1) find out what you're up against, (2) evaluate your personal skills, equipment, and group assets and liabilities against the challenges identified in step one; and (3) act based on how well you are prepared to meet the challenges and what consequences you're willing to endure. There are always alternatives. Your actions can include proceeding as planned, changing your plans to mitigate the risks, or cancelling the plans altogether.

One of the big items on the risk assessment inventory is checking the weather forecast to make sure that you don't end up in conditions you're not ready to face. In the case at hand, I cannot imagine what additional information the boys could have gleaned from any forecast source. All they needed to know was right in front of their eyes and ears. Deaf and blind they would have sensed the power of the storm on their faces. With winds that strong, simply standing straight up requires conscious effort. The inevitability of capsize should have been blatantly obvious. I can't imagine that the young men did not know they will swim. Seems more likely that they just accepted such contingency as part of the deal.

With the obvious risk of capsize facing them, the trio must have assessed their abilities and their options. Anybody who's been there would tell you that self or assisted rescues in 10-foot breaking waves are not really feasible or extremely difficult and dangerous at best. Swim (drift, more like it) to safety is just about the only option. I can't think of any other abilities that would have mattered. I know I would not count on my roll on the best of days.

Launching from the safety of the river is appealing; however, entering the raging storm right next to a huge pile of sharp boulders and no safe place to land safely was a puzzling choice. The sandy beach just to the northeast was a far safer option. The wind at the time was blowing predominantly onshore and a steady current flowed parallel to it. In the case of capsize everything would have been blown back onto the harmless sand. Had the group launched from the sandy beach to the northeast, not only would have they been safer, most likely they would have never gotten far from shore to begin with. Rather than protect them from the storm, launching from the river mouth was a Trojan horse that lured them from safety into the heart of darkness.

Next on the list of checks are your gear and clothing. All three were paddling plastic kayaks in 10-foot range with a closed compartment in the back—bigger than the whitewater boats but shorter and wider than the sea kayak—most likely a variety of "recreational" kayak. Not the best tools for the job. No spray skirts or hatch covers were found in the evidence locker; however, Mitchell's boat did not sink after capsize and he held on to it for some time. The hatches must have been lost after capsize. I suspect that the spray skirts were also ripped off their bodies by the waves.

I'm not convinced that even the best boat for these conditions could have prevented the tragedy. The chances of capsizing in waves that big were very high even for the most experienced rough water paddler in the most sea-worthy kayak. A proper sea kayak would have offered more positive contact with the boat for improved bracing. It would have had more dynamic stability in turbulent water. Sea kayaks are also faster and have more flotation. Nevertheless, none of these boat characteristics would have kept Mitchell upright or in his boat. It does not seem like any of these boat properties mattered after the capsize either.

Sea kayaks are significantly easier to roll compared to 'wreck' boats. In theory, with a spray deck, one could resurface and continue paddling after capsizing without taking on much water. In the real world, no one would look down on even the most experienced roller for wet-exiting in conditions as extreme as we had this past October. The three paddlers with no rough water experience were doomed to end up in the water even if they knew how to roll.

I was not able to ascertain for sure if the boys wore the spray skirts when they headed out. This article of equipment was not found with other gear in the evidence. First, without spray decks the boats should have flooded and submerged preventing any further forward progress long before the paddlers got out of the harbor. Additionally, the spray skirt does one no good once in the water out of the boat. Paradoxically, I would count the presence of the spray skirts in the strike column in the present scenario. Without them the boys should have flooded their cockpits which would have forced them to turn around prevented them from clearing the mouth of the harbor.

Tow lines, pumps, paddle floats, rescue slings, signaling devices, float plans, etc. would they have done any good in this situation? Maybe a pair of diver's fins could have helped Mitchell swim faster, maybe they would have enabled him to escape the vortex.

To the best of my knowledge, all three boys wore PFD's, helmets, but only minimal thermal protection such as rash guards and fleece. Based on the description, it did not sound like there was any neoprene or even a waterproof outer layer. A wet or dry suit on Mitchell would not have helped him swim to shore. It may have allowed him to remain conscious and floating on the surface until the helicopter arrived about 30 minutes after he disappeared. One would have to be a very conservative paddler, however, to conclude that Mitchell was critically underdressed. This fit young man continued to fight for well over an hour after he capsized. Personally, I know I don't dress for more than that when I go out paddling in cold waters. The lack of insulation was another small detail that, when combined with others, brought about the outcome.

There is reason to think that Mitchell might have been better off had he done absolutely nothing but hang on to his boat after a few failed attempts to reach the rescuers. Young men are normally blessed with high metabolism rates and thin layers of their own fat insulation. While desirable on land, in cold water, these ingredients make up the recipe for deadly accelerated loss of body heat. Simply curling up in a defensive heat-saving position, covering his groin, armpits, and neck may have bought Mitchell those precious 30 extra minutes of consciousness. Second, if what stood between him and the rescuers was a re-circulating rip current, by threading water Mitchell would have been taken farther from shore first but eventually the current would have deposited him on the sandy beach where one of his friends got out from the water. Peaceful defensive resignation in the face of the raging storm is easier said than done, however—especially if one is as invincible as I know I was as a teenager.

Conclusion

In the end, I have to conclude that, despite several questionable choices, the major factor in this tragedy was just luck. Had the boys launched from another location only steps away, had Mitchell not been able to remount his kayak after the initial capsize, had they capsized just a few second earlier, had the waves been just a hair stronger and kept them in the harbor the story would have ended with three cold wet boys chattering their teeth and having some quality laughs while sipping hot chocolate at McDonalds somewhere. A capsize and a long swim in cold water were not risks for this company—it was a certainty that they embraced going in. Landing on the rocks in 10' waves is a bit more risk than I would have agreed to but that was the risk the group accepted.

What really led to the tragedy was something they were not prepared for—the inexplicable black hole just to the north of the tip of the break wall. The trio clearly did not anticipate the invisible hand of the Lake that will demand one of them as a sacrifice. In my opinion, every one of the debatable choices this company had made would have been forgiven if not for the deadly grip of the angry lake. As it often is in kayaking, however, drop after seemingly insignificant drop finally make a crack big enough for a dreadful tragedy to sneak in. Lake Michigan can be fun to play with. "You must have healthy respect for the big water," resound the words of the New Buffalo Police Chief to summarize the ordeal.

P.S. I wish to thank Chief Larry Pitchford of the New Buffalo Police for his assistance in gather this information and showing me an example of what a public servant should be to his constituents.

Additional related reading:

• Tom Bamonte's Post about Kevin Dammen's death on CASKA Blog
• Keith Wikle's Blog post on New Buffalo accident
• Discussion of New Buffalo accident on CASKA Yahoo! Group

Sea Kayaking: Calculated, Responsible, Purposeful, Adventurous and Relatively Safe Risk

By Mary Fairchild

(Careful inspection and gearing up for a day on Lake Superior:  Nigel Dennis and Eila Wilkinson.)

Life is full of dangers. As more people are exposed to a given risk, whether we're talking about driving a car, playing football, snowboarding, rock climbing or kayaking, more will be injured or killed.  There's no such thing as a risk-free environment, especially in the outdoors.

(Costa Concordia, Giglio, Italy; Associated Press, 2/15/12)

National Geographic covered last month’s Italian cruise ship disaster on Sunday night. The documentary wove together in-depth stories from passengers and staff on board as well as Coast Guard rescuers.

The Malta Press, “Maritime consultant Reuben Lanfranco said, ‘Cruise liners had a relatively good track record in terms of safety. After 9/11, the numbers shot up, with tourists preferring to avoid flying.’”

“…Ray Gregory, who also enjoys his yearly cruises, is ‘not at all put off’ either. ‘You have to take into account the thousands of vessels that sail the seas and consider that the sinking of the Costa Concordia boils down to human error,’ he said.”(7)

Kayakers are often thought of as being irresponsible mostly because the average person is not particularly active or adventurous. The public at large rarely appreciates the technical skills that underlie kayaking, nor do they acknowledge the large numbers of people who participate in the sport without problems.

Menominee River/Piers Gorge, Michigan.  Level 4 sea kayak training in current:

Learning paddling skills and executing them under pressure helps people develop courage--safety depends on individual judgment. 

Level 4 sea kayak training in Coastal Maine: 

 

"...the most important thing you will need in order to kayak to Cumberland Island is common sense. If you are not at least an Intermediate-level kayaker, you do not need to attempt this trip without a professional guide – not just a buddy who did it last year. So, if you don’t want to hire a guide, simply take a couple kayak classes and learn the basics and some advanced essential skills for paddling in open-water – like kayak re-entries, assists and rescues, for instance." (2)

Cumberland Island kayaking: 

The most important factor to safe sea kayaking is having the knowledge and experience to judge the level of potential danger and the ability to accurately compare it to your group’s capabilities leaving adequate margin for error.

“Since it was brought up in the coaches’ meeting that the tide was going to be ebbing that afternoon, I was concerned, since river mouths are known to be unfriendly places to be on an ebb tide….. I should have realized that I didn’t need to be an expert kayak surfer to know that the mouth of a river or bay is a dangerous place to be on an ebb…Even though I didn’t speak up out loud, in my head I was already getting concerned.. I ended up second guessing my own knowledge and experience, and automatically deferring to people of a higher skill level than I thought myself to be. I should have challenged this plan, based only on the simple fact that the mouth of a river or bay is a dangerous place to be on a strong ebb tide. I shouldn’t have needed to say anything more than that.” Mark Whitaker (8)

Tybee Island, Georgia(above): South Beach is where the action and crowds are. Here you find the Tybee Pavilion and Pier.  Tides move quickly up and down the broad flat beach twice a day—6 to 9 feet vertically, and up to 300 feet horizontally.

At low tide, where South Beach wraps around to the Back River area, sand bars or shoals become exposed, stretching southward toward Little Tybee. From the far end, it looks like an easy swim to Little Tybee, but don't try it. Every year someone drowns in the attempt, underestimating the outgoing tides and currents. Where longshore currents meet outgoing and incoming tides in the sounds, tremendous turbulence is created, making for dangerous conditions. Keep a watchful eye on incoming tides so you don't become trapped on a quickly disappearing sand bar.

The pier south to the main jetty is officially approved for surfing. On days with good wave action, you will see quite a few trying their luck. Surfers also try the waves on the north side of the pier, but officially are not supposed to. (3) Apostle Islands(below)

1. Terry Smith, Rocky Mountain Sea Kayak Club, "Cumberland Island Georgia"

2. Up The Creek Expeditions, "Kayaking to Cumberland Island: What You Need to Know"; http://upthecreekx.com/2011/04/kayaking-to-cumberland-island-what-you-need-to-know-2/

3. Sherpa Guides, "Tybee Island South Beach Area"; http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/coast/northern_coast/tybee_south_beach.html .

4. Matt Broze and George Gronseth, “Sea Kayaker Deep Trouble,” Ragged Mountain Press.

5. Gregorio Borgia, Associated Press, Nicole Winfiled: “Divers in Italy Ship Wreck Find Two More Bodies.” 

6. Risk, Safety, and Personal Responsibility; American Whitewater. 

7. The Malta Times, 1/12/12: “Concordia Tragedy May Lead to Better Price Deals.” 

8. Mark Whitaker, “Incident report, October 14th, 2011, mouth of Netarts Bay,” Lumpy Waters Symposium .

9. Geneva Kayak Center

10. Sea Kayak Georgia

Sarah Hartman Great Slave Lake Solo Adventure: The Trailer

I'm sure that we will hear much more from Sarah Hartman about her recent adventure on the East Arm of the Great Slave Lake. She has a standing invitation to do a presentation at the 2012 edition of Canoecopia, for example. Just to tantilize us, Sarah sent the following dispatch, likely composed during her long flight back from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories via Toronto. Consider it a preview of coming attractions.

 

East Arm Great Slave Lake: Trip Summary

By: Sarah Hartman

 

If Ontario is the Boundary Waters on steroids, Great Slave Lake is Canada on steroids. I've fished some fabulous Canadian wilderness; this is beyond anything I've seen. It's easy to see why McLeod Bay is under consideration to become a national park.

 

The decision to go solo was made deliberatively and with consultation with friends, coaches, paddling mentors, and authorities (and locals) in Yellowknife.  Tom Bamonte had warned me a couple months prior to the trip that things might not align for him. I had a lot of time to think, work through the 'what-ifs', and come to a decision that was right for me.

 

I discovered I DO enjoy kayak touring. My longest day was a little over 20 nm (all my measurements were as-the-crow-flies). My best average speed was 3.5 knots/hr. Camp chores, boat maintenance, chart work, personal care, and journaling took 5-6 hours each day. I have NO desire to take off to Australia to break Freya's record any time soon.

 

Most days McLeod Bay was flat to 6" chop. Two days I had to pull off early due to building sea state. Four days were spent in camp due to conditions, and the trip ended a day early due to those same conditions.  If I had been on the familiar waters of Lake Michigan, or had the luxury of marine weather forecasts, or had been with a companion, my decisions may have been different. For the time and the circumstances, they were the right decisions for me.

 

Fourteen days out was wonderful. I really got disconnected from Chicago life but felt like I was too long away from the responsibilities left behind. I was ready to come home but with mixed feelings. I certainly needed another five days to see all McLeod Bay had to offer.

 

Learnings:

- It's ok to be by yourself. Just be smart about it.

- It's easier with others though because you can split up the work (and/or have somone to chat with on the weather days).

- I'll for sure go solo again.

 

Gear I'm expecially glad I had:

- Silk Coccoon sleeping bag liner. Worth the price!

- Storm Cag: great wind breaker for around camp and also to protect the dry suit from rough rocks while doing the morning cooking.

- Dry suit: It was really too warm most days but a wet suit would have been too cold.

- Detailed topo maps to fill in the missing info on the nautical chart of the East Arm and the Snowdrift and Reliance area maps.

- A fleece layer for wearing around camp.

Gear that I wish I had brought:

- Toe nail clippers will be added to the kit

 

Gear that I forgot that I wish I hadn't:

- Thermos for hot water. (Have no idea how I forgot that one but I felt not quite properly equipped without it.)

 

New piece of gear that I tried and liked:

- Liqui-Bait Wallet by Plano. Less expensive than a Pelican case and just as water proof.

 

Paddle hard, learn well, follow your passions wherever they lead.

 

Sarah

 

 

 

 

Chicago Kayakers, Environmentalism, and Incentives: What's Good For the Goose is Good For the Gander?

by Mary Fairchild

 
(Cumberland Island; 3/19/11)

Cumberland Island, Georgia, is the premiere sea-kayaking destination in the Southeast.  Last February, I looked forward to catching my first glimpses of the feral horses on Cumberland Island.  The area is not only a birdwatcher's hotspot, but an important location for the nesting of three species of endangered sea turtles.  Just offshore, it is one of the world’s largest endangered right whale calving grounds as well. 
    
“Wild Cumberland,” is a chapter of the grassroots group, Wilderness Watch.  It is dedicated to protecting the ecology, wilderness, and wildlife of Cumberland Island.  This group reports that most of the feral horses on Cumberland Island are suffering from disease and malnutrition because they are not native to the island.  They are not native to the island or even the continent and therefore do not fit within the natural ecosystems. They suffer immensely as a result, and they also do widespread damage to the island itself.  They are not adapted to the harsh climate and topography, lack of freshwater, and numerous parasites.  Three out of ten foals do not survive their first year.  The horses also damage the island’s sensitive dune and marsh ecosystems, trample nests of endangered shore birds, and compete with native species for limited food and water resources. (17)

I did not know the plight of the wildlife on Cumberland Island until I researched it afterwards.  I questioned the appearance of some of the horses and I also wondered if we could leave our orange peels for the birds rather than bag them to carry out or release in the current during our trip as we were instructed by Leave No Trace.  

A big portion of the the waste we throw away each year is food and when it decomposes in the landfills, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.  The Environmental Protection Agency provides a useful resource with its Food Waste Recovery Hierarchy. At the top of the list is “source reduction,” or creating less excess. After source reduction, feeding hungry people through food recovery or gleaning.  Feeding animals comes next in the hierarchy.  On a larger level, hogs, cows, and other livestock make great use of commercial food waste.

Michael Pollan, in his book Second Nature, writes about the greening of his Connecticut home and scolds environmentalists for focusing too much on wilderness. He argues that "the habit of bluntly opposing nature and culture has only gotten us into trouble, and we won't work ourselves free of this trouble until we have developed a more complicated and supple sense of how we fit into nature." We misunderstand the middle ground even more than we misunderstand wilderness. It is there, in the places where we must grow food and cut trees, that we work everything out. (9)

Environmentalists broadly support the goals of the environmental movement as a political and ethical movement which seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities.  Some hold stronger views and are politically inclined and they tend to argue that true environmental change cannot occur under the present economic model.  Eco-socialists are environmentalists who combine Marxism, socialism and ecology with environmentalism hold an anti-capitalist ideology that sees capitalism as the cause of environmental problems, social injustice and inequality.

 
(Chicago shoreline)

Here in Chicago, the Calumet-Sag Channel and the Little Calumet River up to where it joins the Grand Calumet River; the north and south branches of the Chicago River, and a portion of the North Shore Channel are areas where water quality is targeted to become safe for swimming.  Some question the timing as well as the cost of the end result of this project which began four decades ago. 

Tom Bamonte, who has been leading some trips around this area recently reports, "...Chicago's lakefront, traversed by millions of vehicles, pedestrians and boaters each year... Five of us met at the Jackson Park boat ramp on Sunday, June 26.... (that's four lawyers, but who's counting). ...We headed for the 68th Street Crib and then turned south and paddled towards Calumet Harbor...."  Tom Bamonte

In January, the Illinois' tax rate went from 3 to 5 percent.  Andy Brownfield writes in the State Journal Register about the Alfonso Lee family that has chosen to move back to Florida since the recent tax hike this year.  Alfonso and his wife make less than $50,000 a year, and the tax increase has hit them hard.  They have two cars, but they both ride the bus due to the high taxes and high price of gas.  Brownfield sums up that an average family of four making $40,000 is going to have an extra $640 they're going to have to come up with. (25)

Unlike the Potomac in Washington which is sporting mutated male fish with female traits from chemical polutants, over thirty years of improvements have made Lake Michigan fishable.  Older cities, like Chicago, built sewers that combine waste from homes and factories with storm runoff.  If waterways are saturated, locks and gates to Lake Michigan are opened to prevent flooding.  The Deep Tunnel project was intended to prevent those overflows. 

Although the Deep Tunnel project began in 2006 it is not expected to be complete until 2029 when it's final giant-control reservoir will be completed.  The first phase, digging 130 miles of geological ductwork, was intended specifically to "eliminate waterway pollution," according to district records. (20) 

Is what's good for the goose good for the gander?  Two famous lawyers debated an important issue back in the 1850s.  Abraham Lincoln believed so much that what the American system was all about was making it possible for other men to rise as he had done.  But slavery was completely against that.  A person worked hard, they labored, and yet the fruits of their labor belonged to somebody else. 

Could continued tax hikes not be considered a form of slavery for some today?  Abraham Lincoln countered that Douglas' reliance on majority rule was morally bankrupt.  Lincoln took Douglas' argument that says that what the people in the territories decide is up to them--it's a democracy. If they vote for slavery, so be it--that's majority rule. Lincoln's conclusion was that there was an independent standard of right and wrong that was more important than the majority vote--that slavery was wrong. (27)

 
(Inland Sea Kayak Symposium 2011; Nigel Dennis Tour, Bayfield, WI)

The Inland Sea Society was created in 1988 to advocate for conservation on Lake Superior and to promote sustainable recreation through responsible kayaking.  Inland Sea Society works on projects promoting environmental stewardship through education and recreation, sustainable communities, and watershed-based organizing.

This was the third year that the symposium was including an "incentive program." In order to reduce waste and to prove that people can gather without creating a heap of garbage, registrants were encouraged to bring thier own coffee mug and plate, paddle or bike to the event, leave their keys with them as proof that they would not need to drive once checked in, bring a bike to get around during the event, carpool to the event, and finally put on display the most interesting and artful trash found during the symposium so they could win this challenge...  (28; Inland Sea Kayak Symposium, p. 15.)

 

The Inland Sea Kayak Symposium is now located in Washburn.  In 2005, Washburn became the first eco-municipality in the United States.  Eco-municipalities aspire to develop an ecologically, economically, and socially healthy community for the long term, using Sweeden's Natural Step framework for sustainability as a guide, and a democratic, highly participative development process as the method.

I became familiar with the Apostles Islands when I went on my first expedition with Geneva Kayak in 2007.  On Friday, I drove my car into Bayfield to visit Juddith Lokken Strom (link to video featuring her), owner of Greunke's First Street Inn.  This is a bed and breakfast where I usually stay on my kayak expeditions.  Greunke's has been accomodating guests for over 140 years including John F. Kennedy Jr. and his kayak group in 1995. Other noteable visitors include Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Bridget Fonda and Billy Bob Thorton.  Juddith wondered why the symposium moved.  It had once been great for her business.

 

Bayfield Wisconsin:  "... there are some troubles in paradise.  Sky-rocketing property taxes and utility bills are making it harder for folks to live here year round.  The population has actually dropped inthe last ten years, the town could lose its only grocery store... there's still no Wal-mart..., no McDonalds.. no traffic lights.." Bayfield Wisconsin:  the best little town in the midwest? 

 
(Legendary Waters Resort and Casino.)

After checking in and getting our wrist bands on, we headed over to the opening reception for the symposium where we were led to do hand motions to the French song Frere Jacques.

Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

We were charmed by the research that had been presented to us about the influence of the French, the English, the Metis voyagers, and the Anishinable people who, in particular, continue to call this area their home with reservations at Red Cliff (pictured above) and Bad River at both ends of the Wisconsin shore.

The following morning, while kayaking the Wisconsin shore, Nigel Dennis and I noted the newly expanded Red Cliff Casino on the the beautful shore of Lake Superior.  The only casino with a view of the Apostle Islands...

Brother Jacob, Brother Jacob,
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Morning bells are ringing! Mornings bells are ringing!
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

References 
1)  "Nature in the Suburbs," by Jane S. Shaw.  perc@perc.org.
2) Feeding Wild Racoons
3) Red Cliff Casino:  A Boost For Northwest Wisconsin; Danielle Kaeding & Gitchi Gumee Gamut, 9/13/10
4)  Leave No Trace  
5) Leave No Trace--Dispose of Waste Properly ; Leave No Trace Dude
6) Forest Gardening
7) Is It All Right To Feed Wild Animals? by Whit Gibbons, June 7, 2009; University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Lab.
8) An Explosion of Green, by Bill McKibben; Atlantic Monthly, April 1995.
9) Michael Pollan, Second Nature: A Gardner's Education. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press
10) Horse Nutrition
11) What to do with 25lbs of Oats
12) Do Wild Birds Eat Orange Peels? ; How to Make A Bird Feeder
13) How to Feed Wildlife in Autumn
14) Food Not Eaten, Jonathon Bloom, 2007.
15) Basic Information About Food Waste
16)  Wilderness Act of 1964 by University of Montana
17)  Wild Cumberland: The Cumberland Island Chapter of Wilderness Watch.
18)  A Boater’s Guide to the Federal Requirements For Recreational Boats
19)  Local Wildlife:  Care Across the Continents
20)  Feds Probe Chronic Sewage Overflows into Lakes, Streams, Michael Hawthorne; 3/19/11, Chicago Tribune.
21)  A New Era For the Chicago River; Tom Bamonte, 5/14/11.
22)  Where I Stand On Cleaning Up the Chicago River, Debra Shore, 5/18/11.
23)  Taxpayers May Have to Pay Billions to Clean Up Chicago River, Paul Merrion; 6/20/11, Crains Business Report.
24)  Pollutant Turns Male Fish into Mutant Mommies; Kevin Spak, 4/21/10.
26)  Voyage of Discovery:  David Strauch's Calumet Harbor Portage, Tom Bamonte, 7/4/11.
27)  The Time of the Lincolns, Abraham and Mary Lincoln:  A House Divided , PBS The American Experience.
28)  Inland Sea Kayak Symposium 2011, Washburn, WI. 
26)  Sea Kayaking and Whitewater:  Roughing it With Nigel Dennis & Scott Berry, Mary Fairchild; 6/19/11.
27)  Taxpayers May Have to Pay Billions to Clean up Chicago River, CASKA; 6/20/11.

25)  Income Tax Will Hurt Low-, Middle Income Familes Most, Andy Brownfield, 1/29/11, State Journal Register.

KAYAKER DEATHS AND THEIR MEANING

_{Kevin Dammen}

 

By: Tom Bamonte 

The recent news of the tragic death of a young kayaker in Lake Superior has prompted lots of discussion in the paddling community. Kevin Dammen sounded like a great guy. The reporting on his death portrays someone who was fully engaged in life. His obituary summed up his life as follows:

He was a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church, co-founder of the Winona State University Ski Club, member of the Winona State University cross country team, and co-founder of the J.C. Hormel Nature Center Ski Race. Kevin enjoyed running, skiing, unicycling, storm chasing, kayaking, slack lining, online electronic repair, hiking, camping and spending time with family and friends.

When the news of the incident reached the university a large group of his fellow students gathered spontaneously to mourn. Clearly, he will be missed.  

The news reports indicate that Kevin died in an honorable fashion. Kevin, his brother and two others were paddling together in the Apostle Islands and ran into trouble when they traveled from sheltered waters to the open lake. There was a small craft advisory that day. One member of the group went in the water and Kevin tipped over when he tried to turn his kayak around and come back to aid his companion. With Kevin and his paddling partner both in the water Kevin urged the two kayakers remaining in their boats to rescue his partner and come back for him later. As a result he died alone in 47 degree water. His paddling partner lives.

It is important to analyze what went wrong on this trip and learn from the mistakes. The lack of a marine radio, not wearing one's wetsuit, the evident lack of self-rescue skills and equipment (e.g., paddle float) all deserve mention. There may have been a failure to consult the marine weather forecast. Surely, there was a point when the group left protected water and first encountered the full force of open lake conditions where they could and should have turned back. The decision of the two rescuers to take Kevin's direction and tow one swimmer to shore while leaving Kevin alone in the open water is debatable.

The lessons of this kayaking death and others go beyond technique and judgment, however. Let's face it, death and the risk of death permeats kayaking, or at least the "serious" form of kayaking to which many paddlers aspire. Many of us are probably inspired to kayak because it is precisely the risk of death that awakens in us that special kind of alertness that makes us feel truly and fully alive.

If we aren't considering the prospect of our death and the death of our paddling partners each time we kayak then we are fooling ourselves. So much can go wrong. A boat roars out of the fog and collides with a kayak. Dehydration, cold and exhaustion at the end of a long day make one tippy just as the waves pick up and you're over. The grab loop tucked in the cockpit holds one under just long enough to panic and gasp. A sudden off-shore wind tips you over and blows your boat away and you had the bad luck to chose to chance it without your wetsuit that day. An unexpected breaking wave pops your sprayskirt and suddenly you are sitting in cold water in an unstable boat miles from a landing spot. The list goes on and on. As we learned from Kevin's death, even a group of four able-bodied kayakers not that far from land is not enough to prevent a death.

The meaning of a kayaker's death is akin to the meaning we draw at Halloween. Halloween is the time of year when the boundary between the dead and the living supposedly becomes thinner, even permeable. In a similar fashion the death of a kayaker is an opportunity for us to acknowledge and come closer to Mother Nature, the Forces of Nature, God's Creation (pick your metaphor) and take special note of its relentless ability to thrust death upon the foolish, the smart, the innocent and the deserving alike. As the deputy sheriff involved in the incident so aptly observed, "Lake Superior is unforgiving. . . people underestimate the power of the cold and the power of this majestic lake."  

Death gives the sport, the way, of kayaking its meaning. If no one died kayaking then we would be practicing something like tiddlywinks or knitting. Interesting and enjoyable, even useful, no doubt, but not something that engages body and mind so completely as kayaking. The risk of death gives kayaking a sort of mythic dimension that these more routine activities lack. Each time we put it on the line with a lengthy crossing or by challenging big surf or taking a long trip along unfamiliar shores we are reenacting in our own way the great nautical adventures chronicled by Homer, in the Bible, and by fleets of novelists and adventurers since then. Their words and our practice come down to trying to make sense of a world where people like Kevin are snatched from life way too soon.

However tragic and unnecessary their deaths, we should thank the kayakers who died for reminding us of Death, our ever-present paddling companion. Obviously, we should study the failings that may have led to their deaths and adjust our techniques, equipment and risk-tolerances accordingly. We should go beyond that, however, and ask ourselves each time we paddle the ultimate questions--are we ready to die and are all the good things associated with kayaking worthy of death.

We don't know if Kevin asked those questions as he floated alone in Lake Superior, the life-giving heat draining from his body. I would like to think that he considered the richness of what he had received and given back to his family and his community and felt that he had lived a full life in his 20 years. I hope he had faith that his two companions in boats would be able to get his buddy back to shore alive. He may well have understood the heroic nature of his decision to stay in the water and give his buddy a better chance to live. In that moment of reflection Kevin might well have decided that he had no regrets about dying.

Shouldn't we use the stories about kayaker deaths as an injunction to live our lives and paddle our kayaks in a way such that if death comes to us on the water we're ready and reconciled to its arrival. We want to be able to say, as this young man hopefully said to himself, I've lived a full and responsible life and I've done the best I can on the water to make the right decisions. The rest we must leave to the forces as powerful and as mysterious as Lake Superior that determine our fate.

Blazing a Plath: Saturday's Lake Michigan Water Trail Celebration

 

Bill Burton Approaching Burns Harbor in Sweet New Boat

 

By: Tom Bamonte

Saturday was a day of celebration for the region's paddlers. Erik Olson, Bill Burton, Gary Steinbauer and I got an early start, launching from the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk (PLR) at about 9 a.m. For the next hour and a half we explored the industrial area to the east of this pocket park.

Entrance to Burns Harbor--Where's the Warning Sign?

When we got to the entrance of Burns Harbor a fisherman warned us against proceeding into the harbor. We had wanted to paddle to a moored freighter. The fisherman mentioned $1,500 fines and unfriendly security personnel in fast boats. Sure enough, at one side of the harbor entrance--but not the side we were on--there was a warning sign.

Burns Harbor Warning Sign

From Burns Harbor we paddled to Marquette Park in Gary to join a flotilla of paddlers who were paddling to the PLR for an celebration of the dedication of the first leg of the Lake Michigan Water Trail. It appears that there were over 30 paddlers in our group. Other paddlers joined us later from a route up the river that empties into Lake Michigan next to the PLR.

Part of the Kayak Flotilla

Along the way, I got a chance to talk to Dan Plath. Dan has been one of the key forces behind the Lake Michigan Water Trail and perhaps the person most responsible for the opening of the first stretch of the trail, which extends from Chicago around the southern curve of Lake Michigan. The trail offers camping spots and other support facilities for kayakers at regular intervals along the route. Dan is also one of the key members of the Northwest Indiana Paddling Association.

Dan filled me in on some of the challenges faced by the Water Trail organizers and outlined how he and his colleagues (including CASKA's Gary Mechanic) built a coalition of public agencies, private industry and landowners to support the Water Trail. Other than a few folks who at public hearings raised the specter of kayakers bringing mayham, diseases and more to local communities (Dan has the tape),there has been little opposition to the Water Trail. Dan did report that he expected the most difficult challenge to be finding landing sites and camping areas in the stretch of Lake Michigan that runs through the North Shore suburbs of Chicago. Watch for upcoming opportunities to make your support for the Water Trail known in those communities.

Pavilion at Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk

The celebration was held in the pavilion at the PLR. It is a LEED-certified structure that has inspired me ever since I first visited last fall. There is a simplicity and grace to the design that is very nice. The swoops of its curves express quite nicely the forces of the winds and waves that have shaped the Indiana Dunes.

Bill Burton, Erik Olson and Gary Steinbauer at the Celebration

Dan was one of the speakers, sharing his vision of the Lake Michigan Water Trail as the longest water trail in the world. I'm sure I'm not the only one inspired by his quiet, self-effacing model of effective leadership.

Dan Plath

There was more to celebrate that day. Kristen and Tim Flentye were spotted doting on their youngster, approaching a first birthday in August and no doubt expecting a new Epic racing boat. Tom and Peg Heineman were there. Tom's circumnavigation of Lake Michigan a few years ago and the struggles he had to find camping spots in many stretches helped inspire the Lake Michigan Water Trail effort. Humberto Garcia was back on the water for the first time in many months, after a difficult year, and it was great to seem him pulsating with energy once again. Jim Des Jardins and Beverly Serrell added their usual good cheer and panache. I even witnessed Mike Croak back where he belongs, in a sea kayak.

And let's not forget Captain Michael Taylor. Earlier in the week he had made what I thought was a very rash move, namely, making it known on the CASKA Yahoo Group that he had gotten his roll. My experience--personal and otherwise--is that the gap between hitting your first roll and getting a reliable roll is measured in months if not years.

When I saw Michael on Saturday I teased him a bit about his bold proclamation and made him promise to show off his new roll. I fully expected him to fail and I planned to use this as the basis for a blog post on hubris, roll techniques, the school of hard knocks, and the like. Darned if Michael did not just hit one roll, he hit several in succession with aplomb. That too was cause for celebration on this sweet day of friendship, effective leadership and the successful opening of the Lake Michigan Water Trail

Bill Burton--Still Looking for His Paddle Blades

A Field Guide to Canoecopia

By:  Tom Bamonte

Right about now, in houses throughout the Midwest hundreds if not thousands of paddlers are rediscovering the pleasure of snail mail.  They have come home from work or the unemployment office to find waiting for them the Canoecopia Gazette, the official guide to Canoecopia, the world's largest paddlesports festival, which will be in Madison, Wisconsin on March 11-13.

A Slice of Canoecopia

Just as Canoecopia marks the beginning--or at least the hope of the beginning--of the paddling season, the Gazette whets our appetite for Canoecopia, the high holy days for midwestern paddlers.  The Gazette is filled with surveys of new gear, inspiring trip reports, and chatty articles on all sorts of paddling-related topics. There are some nice nature photographs and lots of pictures of cute kids and smiling adults.  You can always count on an article from Darren Bush, who heads Rutabaga, the outfit that sponsors Canoecopia, complaining that he didn't get enough paddling time the previous year but that it is all good anyway.  You savour the Gazette, thinking back to how much fun you had at past Canoecopias and counting down the days to the next one.

Darren Bush of Rutabaga

The Whys of Canoecopia

Why is it worth making the journey to Madison in often chilly early March for Canoecopia?  Image a huge exhibition hall packed full of boats and gear and outfitters where everything is at least 15% off.  You can easily comparison shop and sometimes find stuff on sale at even deeper discounts.  Keep an especially close eye on the Rutabaga sale table.  I've gotten good stuff for half off or more.   

Both inside the exhibition hall and in the hallways outside there are commercial and civic organizations (including CASKA) with booths.  The booths feature mounds of paddling-related propaganda for you to snag for later reading and folks willing to talk about paddling destinations and techniques.  You can learn so much at Canoecopiea by just wandering around and asking questions, feeling stuff and hopping in and out of boats.

But there's more. Canoecopia offers over 150 presentations on a wide variety of paddling-related topics. Many of the presentations are Powerpoint travelogues and how-to demonstrations.  There are also real-life demonstrations in a pool and participatory sessions on paddling techniques in an open area in the atrium.  Some of the presenters are world-renowned paddlers and some are the folks you paddle with on the weekend. Rutabaga encourages local paddlers to be presenters.  For the cinematically inclined there is a day-long festival of paddling films on Sunday.  

On top of the formal program of presenters are plenty of informal opportunities to learn a lot.  For example, I noticed on page 42 of the Gazette that Kokatat is holding three drysuit gasket replacement demonstrations this year. With a trip coming up where we'll be relying on gaskets for over two weeks straight this will be useful stuff.  Canoecopia also the kind of place where you can bounce your questions off of the perfect stranger next to you.  People tend to be both friendly and helpful.

Some Hows of Canoecopia

I've attended Canoecopia for about the past five years.  Here are some tips:

First, if at all possible try to spend at least two days at Canoecopia.  Not only will the extra day(s) mean you won't feel rushed but you can spend a night or two in Madison, which is a really fine town. (Visitor information here.)  If resources are an issue you can usually find a motel for $50 a night and there is a hostel for even cheaper accommodations.  The CASKA Yahoo Group is a good way to get or share a ride. An alternative to buying food at the event at convention hall prices is to stop someplace like the Willy Street Co-Op and pick up some good carryout.  The University of Wisconsin typically is on break Canoecopia weekend so there is no difficulty getting into downtown restaurants and clubs.

Madison

Second, once you are up there you don't have to spend a lot.   You can get a three-day admission and parking pass to Canoecopia for just a smidgen over $30.  Once inside, there is no obligation to buy anything.  I went two years running where just about the only thing I brought home was a couple pairs of Teko socks.  Your results may vary, as did mine in other years!

Third, Canoecopia is an opportunity to sell your boat or buy a used boat.  The parking lot is filled with vehicles with boats on top festooned with For Sale signs and contact information.  If you are in the market for a pre-paddled boat troll the parking lot.  At a minimum, make sure your boat rack is on your vehicle just in case.  You never know where your covetous eye might land.

Fourth, there is a Bike-o-Rama right next to Canoecopia. There is no admission charge and you might find some deals on bikes and biking gear if you aren't all shopped out for paddling stuff.

Finally, for sports entertainment there used to be the Wisconsin girls high school basketball tournament on Canoecopia weekend, but that is not the case this year.  One option on warm days is to to watch the cluster of ice fishermen on Monona Bay chance fate on the diminishing spring ice.  You never know when the lake will claim one of those pesky fisherman who have been depleting the water of fish all winter.

Ice Fishermen

A Guide to Presentations

People graze through the presentations for personal reasons.  Some want advice on paddling techniques. Some are looking to live vicariously through the "I was up a creek without a paddle" sort of of travelogue. Some want to increase their knowledge about camping, navigation and first aid skills.  Some just want a dark space for a 45 minute nap.

Here's my highly personal guide to this year's presentations.

First and foremost, we should support the Chicago area paddlers who are presenting.  This year's crop includes:

--Alec & Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin are doing a pool presentation on T-Rescues.  This is a follow-up to their excellent article on the same subject in a recent issue of Sea Kayaker magazine. (Saturday, 1:00 p.m.; Sunday, noon)

--Gary Mechanic.  Gary is presenting on the Lake Michigan Water Trail, a very important initiative about which there will be much news in 2011. (Sunday, 1:30 p.m.)

--Tom Lindblade is doing a timely presentation entitled "From Killer Dam to Whitewater Park," which is about the new whitewater park in Yorkville, Illinois that adds a great new dimension to Chicago-area paddling and has prompted the return of the Geneva Kayak Center store.  (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.)

Some other presenters and presentations that I'm keeping an eye on include, in no particular order:

Steve Scherrer.  Steve is doing a land presentation on "Understanding Boat Design" (Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 a.m.) and pool sessions on boat control and rolling (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2:00 p.m.). Steve is wise and witty and I learn a lot from his presentations.

Stephen Brede.  "Solo Canoe Circumnavigation of Lake Huron."  Stephen paddled around Lake Huron in 2009 and had a tough but successful Lake Michigan circumnavigation in 2010.  I bet he goes for all the Great Lakes.  Stephen is a thoughtful guy and a writer, so this should be an interesting presentation. (Saturday 9:30 a.m.)

Keith Wikle.  "An Introduction to Surf Kayaking." Keith is a pill and has a prankster spirit. In the same spirit I want to attend and ask a rookie question such as how he pees in his boat just to see his response. I also expect to learn a lot. (Saturday, 11:30 a.m.; Sunday 10:30 a.m.)

Nancy Uschold.  "Fog, Ferries & Fjords-Paddling Newfoundland."  Nancy is co-owner (with Sam Crowley) of Sea Kayak Specialists in Marquette.  She has been quietly building an impressive paddling resume and I'm certainly interested in Newfoundland paddling. (Friday 5:30 p.m.; Saturday 2:30 p.m.)

John Browning is a well-known Milwaukee paddler and instructor and is doing multiple presentations on topics including navigation and wilderness first aid.  I going to be sure to make at least one of them.

Shawna Franklin & Leon Somme.  "Safety and Rescue:  Defining a New Standard."  Shawna and Leon run Body Boat Blade in Washington and are well-known instructors and adventurers.  They will be showing a new Sea Kayak Rescue Film.  A don't-miss presentation.  (Friday, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, 12:30 p.m.)

Ben Lawry runs a variety of hand's-on sessions on how to paddle effectively in the upstairs atrium.  Over the years I have participated and observed many "a-ha" moments when people first understand that you paddle from your core rather than your arms.

There's much, much more.  Find your way to Canoecopia and plunge into a truly invigorating swirl of people, presentations and, yes, shopping.  Don't forget to stop at the CASKA booth and introduce yourself or help staff the table for an hour.

 

CASKA Booth at Canoecopia (Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin & Lyn Stone)