2010 Earth Day Paddle

The forecast must have been enough to deter most paddlers, because only 7 paddlers showed for the South Dakota Canoe and Kayak Association's kickoff paddle/Earth Day cruise. We had a little rain early on, but were greeted with sunshine and blue skies for most of the cruise. We put in at the pow wow grounds north of Flandreau, SD. The small rapid/ripple that is normally there was completely submerged today. The banks, as normal, were quite muddy. We took out just above the low head dam in Flandreau proper. We covered just shy of 9 miles by my gps. It was a very enjoyable cruise. Lots of discussion of the upcoming SD Kayak Challenge too. See you on the water!

La Framboise Lesiure

The winds around Pierre finally decided to subside today. I sent an email out to the Pierre Paddlers email group, consisting of three other paddlers around Pierre that I know and three identities I have no idea who they are. I also sent an email to a paddler that should soon be adding himself to the email list. The plan was to meet at the causeway at 6:30PM for a La Framboise circumnavigation. Only Dave P. was able to make it down. We took one of the most leisurely cruises around the island I have ever had. I normally try to work on speed. We came across two different groups of young deer playing along the channel/chute that runs along the island. We also saw a pair of bald eagles in a tree (and nest). But, alas, we did not get a glimpse of the La Framboise moose.

Maiden Voyage

When the winds calmed down yesterday, I was too tired from my drive home to take the Current Designs Storm GT out for it's maiden voyage. Tomorrow is looking to be very windy, so I elected to deal with today's wind to get the boat wet. The temperature was in the mid 70s and the wind was ~20mph with gusts of ~30mph. I chose to launch from the gravel beach near the American Legion cabin in Pierre. I paddled into the wind down to Dump Island, came around the island and returned to the beach. I failed to turn my gps on when I first embarked , but I know from experience that it is roughly 4 miles. Once I had the gps on, I noticed that I was traveling as fast into the headwind as I could paddle my Perception Carolina 14 on a normal day. I fiddled around with the rudder a bit, but I felt more comfortable edging the kayak. I figure I will use the rudder in worse conditions or when I am too worn out to edge anymore.

From 2010-04-12

From 2010-04-12

From 2010-04-12

And my garage with all  three boats...

From 2010-04-12