BaffinPaddler - http://baffinpaddler.blogspot.com

What "cognes?" The ice melting, breaking up, and flowing downstream to be churned up in the rapids as they hit the whitewater kayaks playing in the big, fast, spring flows of the Ottawa River off Bate Island. Over the weekend, I watched the melting ice flows moving downriver towards the rapids. They are almost impossible to see churning in the whitewater of the rapids. I asked a whitewater paddler at Bate Island, "What about the ice?" He responded in French, "Ça Cogne." In English, you can choose the verb of your choice: it bangs, knocks, hits, thumps, whacks, wallops, or clobbers. I guess the size and speed of the ice chucks hitting your kayak would help you choose the best word. Then I asked him, "What if you go into the water." He responded calmly with a smile, "Cover your face." Spring thaw usually equals big spring flows on the Ottawa River. And this year is no different. Each year I look for the peak spring flo...

Learning about navigation aids is especially important for the paddler. Part of my spring training for the upcoming paddling season, while waiting for the water to thaw and warm up, is hitting the books, or the websites with information I need to review and . . . try to remember. I've found myself confused about buoy markers and marine signs more than once on a variety of waterways in Canada and the U.S. In my early paddling years, on a large lake with several islands, I found myself kayaking towards a black and red buoy. Not knowing its meaning and thinking it was a channel marker indicating a safe passage between islands, I paddled towards it. When I got closer to it, I said, "Oh shit!" , it's a buoy indicating DANGER. I could suddenly see the big shoal it was sitting on, and I was paddling right for it with an unfavourable wind when I should have been taking extra care to paddle well away from it. Now, every spring, I make an effort to review some of the na...

Well, I can answer that . . . NO! I already learned my lesson the hard way by listening to the advice of a ski shop in the Tremblant, Quebec region to apply Toko eXpress Universal Liquid Wax to the kick zone (fish scales) of my new waxless, classic, cross-country skis "to protect the fish scales from wear and tear" . Say what! Put a slick, liquid wax on the kick zone (fish scales)? The advice to do so is also written on the product by the manufacturer, ". . . "for kick and glide zones" . Usually the advice is to the contrary. Do not put glide wax on the kick zone (fish scales). This is where the ski needs to engage so you can kick off and advance or climb hills. Only put glide wax on the smooth surface of the classic waxless ski for better glide. The Toko eXpress is called a universal liquid wax for both grip and glide zones. You can see in the image below, the smooth glide surfaces on the bottom of the ski, and the etched surface in the middle in th...

Yes. I felt it. I felt like I was on one of the most beautiful beaches at Fort De Soto. Wow! The big beach cruisers float and roll over the hard sand at low tide so easily. It's a funky feeling. Perched on a wide, overly soft, bouncy seat, holding on to high handlebars with all your stuff packed into a big wicker basket, you feel goofy as you pedal in bare feet or sandals. You know you look goofy, and don't care. It sets you free. Great. It was the first week of January 2014 and we picked the coldest week of the year to visit southern Florida from Canada's deep freeze. It was 34 degrees Fahrenheit (1 Celsius) when we woke up and looked out the patio door of a beach front rental on St. Pete's beach on the Gulf of Mexico, Florida. By noon the temperature climbed to 58F (14 C) according to the thermostat in the rental car. The stiff blowing nor’easter made us think differently. Let's go to Fort De Soto beach . . . in our ski jackets!  Why not. We're ...

Dali fan or not, you don't have to be, to be struck by the mad genius of something odd, authentic, grand, and well-designed. If this place doesn't make you curious, you may want to look up the meaning of the word. The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida is very welcoming. The door at the entrance says so in 10 different languages. See if you can find yours. It doesn't matter where you look. Everything has a touch of Spanish artist Salvador Dali. A visit here is a complete experience. The building, designed by architect Yann Weymouth with HOK Architects, Tampa, Florida, is a giant rectangle with 18-inch thick hurricane proof cement walls – rounded geodesic, glass bubble windows that form a beautiful atrium constructed from some 1,062 pieces of specially designed, thick, triangular, insulated and laminated glass. The atrium is 75 feet high at the tallest point. It wraps around one side of the building from the ground floor and climbs to the top of the buildin...

Depending on the time you visit, I wish you, Top o' the mornin' , Top o' the afternoon , or Top o' the evening! Canada's National Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario/Gatineau, Quebec) has not changed much since winter began, except that the birds are singing more, and the sun is shining longer since the time change. I'm still walking on water. Much of it is frozen solid. And, we will be skiing in spring. I wish you happy and safe trails. The BaffinPaddler

St. Pete's Beach, Florida Remember when you first tried kayaking? It was probably in a recreational plastic kayak rental parked along an inviting waterway on a beautiful, warm, sunny day. Ocean sit-on-tops, St. Pete's Beach, Florida You emptied your wallet or used your credit card to rent a couple of basic, indestructible, wide-bodied kayaks for a couple of hours to try it out, to see if you like kayaking. Fort De Soto, Florida. Recreational rental kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards Here's to all those sturdy, recreational soldier kayaks out there that teach us to be patient, shop around, visit symposiums, and find a kayak we really love. One that fits just right, performs with ease and grace, invites us to play, inspires us to invest in tons of our own custom gear, and compels us to buy cars and racks built to haul them around with us everywhere we go. Fred Howard Park, Tarpon Springs, Florida I look at the rec kayaks. But I leave 'em be, even though ...