People keep asking me, "Who is the BaffinPaddler?"I'm not sure either. But here's a clue.
I may add more to this page as I find out. I hate definitions.
People say now that I own a Maelstrom Vital 166, I'm no longer the BaffinPaddler. Is that so?! We'll see about that.
I still own a Boreal Baffin. It's the yellow boat I'm camping with in the picture above. The Baffin is the first sea kayak that made me stop, wonder, think, and want to learn more about paddling.
I really had no choice either!
The Baffin is a great boat, but it weathercocks so badly in wind, any wind, big or small, that I had to learn strokes and edging quickly. I hate the skeg wheel on it too, so I made peace with this boat by taking up a Greenland paddle.
The Greenland paddle allows me to quickly and seamlessly adjust my strokes to compensate for the weathercocking (the tendency of a kayak to turn into the wind when moving forward) of the Baffin and stop fiddling with, and cursing the awful skeg wheel placed right on the front deck where you can bang it with your hand when you paddle!
The Boreal Baffin sea kayak is a gorgeous, sleek, 17 foot long Greenland style boat that is very responsive, easy to edge, and playful in current and waves. It's also a great boat for rolling, except for me. The cockpit is just too big for my 5'6", 125 pound frame.
See, the Baffin has done so much for me and my paddling. I've had such great times with it in all kinds of water, and on the other hand, it has also annoyed the heck out of me. A balanced relationship for sure!
But, my new Malestrom Vital 166 is the boat that gives me hope for learning how to roll. There are things I like better about one boat or the other.
Sometimes when I'm out on the water, I find myself wishing I could fuse certain aspects of the Boreal Baffin and Maelstrom Vital together and create one perfect boat.
I'm still the BaffinPaddler and always will be
It's the Boreal Baffin (made in Quebec, Canada) and some of the great kayak instructors and other paddlers who have helped me get my paddling wings that got me started on the path to being the BaffinPaddler.
And I love it!
The paddling community shares and gives back.
When you become a real paddler, you'll also start to share and give back to that paddling community and beyond.
It's mentorship. You are mentored along the way by so many. Then you are able to help and share what you've learned along the way with others. It's a great feeling when that starts to happen in yourself.
There's no end to what you can discover and experience in a sea kayak.
I'm still looking for that perfect boat.
The looking and the journey are part of the fun. There's still so much to find.
Some people also ask me, "What is your blog about? Recipes?"
Yep! That's a remark from a guy.
Ha!
Come find out.
But if you do have any good kayak camp recipes, send them to me.
I'll create a BaffinPaddler Kayak Camp Recipe section on this blog just for the guy paddlers! Maybe even publish a book. So send me pictures of your successful and not so successful creations and the rights to publish them too. Then I can pick out what you can cook for me! I can't camp cook (yet) and will rely on you to do that for me!
Don't you just love people!
Happy paddling and looking for your perfect paddle mate(s)!
The BaffinPaddler
Canada's National Capital Region on the awesome Ottawa River
P.S. Hanging out sideways in a sea kayak is one of my favorite things to do.
Don't ask me why.
If the boat does not hang out sideways well, it's not for me. The boat should tease the water and want to play! That's my opinion. Despite this, I don't like whitewater boats at all! It's long, sleek, fast, highly responsive sea kayaks for me.
If you want to hire the writer for your event, website, or blog contact me at baffinpaddler@hotmail.com.
NOTE: If you are viewing my content on the PLAYAK URL you can go directly to my blog site by copying and pasting this URL into your Web browser: http://baffinpaddler.blogspot.com Copyright ©BaffinPaddler, All Rights Reserved
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