What the best way to learn to camp sea kayaking ? A week at the most ,on
lake erie. Year around camping , winter (maybe) .

Drew Cutter wrote:
What the best way to learn to camp sea kayaking ? A week at the most ,on
lake erie. Year around camping , winter (maybe) .

Get some dry bags, pack your camping gear in them, shove 'em in your
boat and do an overnight trip. Repeat a few times until you've got your
gear needs and packing scheme worked out, then do your longer trip(s).

Brain ,

Looking at buying Greenland style paddle . How different are the paddle
strokes and roll with the Greenland paddle ?

Brian Nystrom wrote:
Drew Cutter wrote:
What the best way to learn to camp sea kayaking ? A week at the most
,on lake erie. Year around camping , winter (maybe) .

Get some dry bags, pack your camping gear in them, shove 'em in your
boat and do an overnight trip. Repeat a few times until you've got your
gear needs and packing scheme worked out, then do your longer trip(s).

One thing at a time.
I am not a great Greenland paddle fan but they certainly have a place.
For the camping I would do a couple of short camping hikes first where
you won't be so isolated should you forget something. When you have
your ducks in a row and you know you have the right gear and a
knowledge of how it works then you get dry bags and stuff it into a sea
kayak and off you go.
My winter kayak camping is restricted to a serious day paddle with all
the gear to camp followed by a night in a B & B or hotel.
In summer you can normally get off with kit omissions and not be any
the worse for it all.
I have some fabulous winter camping photos.
We were out once and had a major dump of snow that we never realy
noticed. When finished camping we found out that the city was shut
down, roads blocked and we were very lucky our shuttle vehicles were
all large 4X4's This was a long time ago and predates SUV's as we know
them.
If you have access to the outside world from your planned camping sites
you should be fine. We never have that here.
Alex

I'm considering Lake Fontaine (sp?) on the N.C , TN border . Then work
my way up to island on lake Erie.

wrote:
One thing at a time.
I am not a great Greenland paddle fan but they certainly have a place.
For the camping I would do a couple of short camping hikes first where
you won't be so isolated should you forget something. When you have
your ducks in a row and you know you have the right gear and a
knowledge of how it works then you get dry bags and stuff it into a sea
kayak and off you go.
My winter kayak camping is restricted to a serious day paddle with all
the gear to camp followed by a night in a B & B or hotel.
In summer you can normally get off with kit omissions and not be any
the worse for it all.
I have some fabulous winter camping photos.
We were out once and had a major dump of snow that we never realy
noticed. When finished camping we found out that the city was shut
down, roads blocked and we were very lucky our shuttle vehicles were
all large 4X4's This was a long time ago and predates SUV's as we know
them.
If you have access to the outside world from your planned camping sites
you should be fine. We never have that here.
Alex

Brian Nystrom wrote:

Get some dry bags, pack your camping gear in them, shove 'em in your
boat and do an overnight trip. Repeat a few times until you've got your
gear needs and packing scheme worked out, then do your longer trip(s).

The same common sense advice I was going to give. Start small, with
easy overnight trips in warm weather, and gradually work up to longer
trips and/or colder weather. There are no shortage of books you can
read, I like Expedition Canoeing by Jacobson, but then I paddle an open
boat.

After each trip, think about whatever needs improvement, and modify gear
to suit or buy new gear that will work better. Occasionally I will make
gear from scratch to solve a particular problem. The time to do this
is right after the trip, when it is all fresh in your mind. If you wait
til the next trip, you will have forgotten half the problems you ran
into on the last trip, and you won't fully profit from the experience.

Richard


--
http://www.fergusonsculpture.com
Sculptures in copper and other metals

We started by shorter trips. Weekend trips to places that had
campsites already. Tobermory is a great trip, btw, if you can make it
that North. We didn't do any cold weather stuff though.

I would say work yourself up further and further. Trial and error is
important. Know (test) your equipment before you find yourslef
rebuilding stoves 2 days into the field (my buddy didn't test his so I
was rebuilding it). Don't take stuff you don't need, know what you
need by doing eventually longer treks. Kayaks can pack a lot of stuff,
but you stilll have to be smart. Dry bags are your best friend. They
are inexpensive, get many.

Alex, would love to see your winter camping photos. Post on Flickr.

Cheers

On 28 Jan 2006 15:00:11 GMT, Drew Cutter wrote:

I'm considering Lake Fontaine (sp?) on the N.C , TN border . Then work
my way up to island on lake Erie.

Fontana Lake? That's a good way to get over to some nice camping in GSMNP.
--
Charlie...
http://www.chocphoto.com

Drew Cutter wrote:
Brain ,

Looking at buying Greenland style paddle . How different are the paddle
strokes and roll with the Greenland paddle ?

The stroke is quite different, though it may not be obvious. You don't
reach as far forward (~ mid-calf) at the start, power is applied more
gradually and the paddle exits well past the hip. The upper hand is push
diagonally across the deck and down. As with a Euro paddle, the height
of the stroke varies with how hard you're paddling. The harder you're
going, the more vertical the stroke becomes.

The canted stroke is a more advanced stroke used by most Greenland
paddlers. The upper edge of the blade is canted forward at the catch.
This causes the blade to bury very quickly and increases its bite on the
water during the stroke. It takes some getting use to, but it's very
effective.

As for making the transition, it depends on what you're using now. If
you're using a feathered paddle, there's a certain amount of
"un-learning" involved, since there is no control hand with a GP.

Rolling with a GP is so easy that it almost seems like cheating.

Brain ,

Where can i get lessons or books on perfecting the Greenland style of
paddling. I know someone who is just finishing up a wooden sea kayak.
Sounds like he was interested in purchasing Greenland paddle. Did find
an article in latest kayak/canoe magazine.

Brian Nystrom wrote:
Drew Cutter wrote:
Brain ,

Looking at buying Greenland style paddle . How different are the
paddle strokes and roll with the Greenland paddle ?

The stroke is quite different, though it may not be obvious. You don't
reach as far forward (~ mid-calf) at the start, power is applied more
gradually and the paddle exits well past the hip. The upper hand is push
diagonally across the deck and down. As with a Euro paddle, the height
of the stroke varies with how hard you're paddling. The harder you're
going, the more vertical the stroke becomes.

The canted stroke is a more advanced stroke used by most Greenland
paddlers. The upper edge of the blade is canted forward at the catch.
This causes the blade to bury very quickly and increases its bite on the
water during the stroke. It takes some getting use to, but it's very
effective.

As for making the transition, it depends on what you're using now. If
you're using a feathered paddle, there's a certain amount of
"un-learning" involved, since there is no control hand with a GP.

Rolling with a GP is so easy that it almost seems like cheating.