Progress!

Lots to tell, I'll try to keep it short.

FIRST: we paddled the lower Victoria route again and gave our tipping over spot a looking over. All we saw was a little twig sticking up. There was probably a branch or something underneath, but from the surface it was nothing. How embarrassing.

SECOND: I took my old friend Brant paddling on the Riverside trail over the holidays. It was interesting to see how it was paddling with someone else. We had the same problems that Gary and I had at the start. We got the canoe backwards in the same exact spot. But we evened out fairly quickly and had a good time.

THIRD: Gary and I hit the Thomaston rapids again, feeling confident and the need for more difficult terrain. Wait... you can't call water terrain, can you? Anyway, there are two sets of rapids and you can go either right or left on either one of them. We picked a side and went through unscathed. Then we had the gumption to go back, portage over the rocks and hit the other side! Again... unscathed! Both sets!!! We ended up in nursery high and dry, but cold. Thanks to Mark for the superb wetsuit. I looked like a middle aged superhero, but felt pretty warm.

Fourth: NEW BOAT!!!! We picked up a used Alumacraft Voyager from TG Canoes. Or, actually, Gary picked it up. It is longer and so much lighter than the Grumman, which is for sell if anyone would like it (it's not really that heavy... honest.) We're going out this Friday and it's all I can think about. We'll also be using our NEW PADDLES! We picked up a couple of factory second Zaverells from ZRE.com $140 a piece @about 14 ounces. I took the stickers off of mine to make them even lighter.
I also got a new PFD that is way more comfortable than my old one, an Under Armour shirt, and some "Performance" underwear. All we need now are some jugs, a light, and a bailer. And some money. SEND MONEY!

Learning curve

It’s been too long since we were in the water. Six weeks! We finally got the canoe in the Guadalupe last Friday. We decided to take the eight mile track from the end of the Riverside Trail to US 59. It’s nice and slow with few obstacles. The weather was cold for South Texas, high 50’s, cloudy and windy out of the North. We started after lunch.

All I have is cotton, which is a no-no on the water. I put on a t-shirt, a flannel shirt, my Adidas jacket, and ripped up jeans. I did have a forgotten pair of wool socks in the back of the drawer and put them on. Toasty. Since I don’t own any water shoes that drain well, I put on my hiking boots. They are waterproof and warm. The idea was that if I don’t get any water in them, I won’t have to worry about getting water out of them. Thus bundled, I headed out to meet Gary. I was running a little late so I gave him a call en route, putting my cell phone in my shirt pocket when done.

We headed down river at a pretty good pace. At one point we hit seven miles an hour and averaged about six. The refurbished power plant in downtown Victoria was fired up and the boat vibrated as we passed by. I really had to should the “Huts,” from the stern so Gary could hear. His deafness didn’t help much either. There were two huge circular vents in the ground and steam wash rushing out, into the sky. As we passed, we could smell an odor much like a soldering iron. Hot metal. I don’t like it.

We hit our first tree shortly after. It was a good hit and we had to do some quick scrambling to stay upright. Doing this in a solo kayak is pretty easy, but when you have two people trying to balance out a tippy canoe, it becomes a lot more difficult. Luckily, neither one of us overcorrected and we sailed on by.

The river was low so we had to pick our paths well before we got to any divergences. The little islands in the middle of the river had grown and the usual routes around some of them didn’t look too passable. We picked them early and sighted which path of attack we would take. Every choice we made seemed to be the right one. We did get hung up sideways on a tree once and caught on a shallow sandbar somewhat early on, but the paths we took were the only ones available.

We had a hell of a time getting the boat to go straight. The theory is to focus on an object straight ahead. As the canoe naturally veers from one side toward that object, call a hut before you cross it. That way you allow for the canoes momentum and you stop the veering as you paddle the opposite side. The line of the canoe passes your object, but starts to course correct and will turn the opposite way again. As the canoe starts going back the other direction, you watch your object and repeat. I sorely underestimated the momentum of our canoe. I called the huts much too late for the majority of the trip and we spent a lot of energy trying to stop spin outs and correct our track. I cussed a lot and was pretty pissed about it. It seemed like the canoe wanted to keep going to the left every time. We didn’t seem to have the problem when going right. This needs much work and practice.

About a mile from our exit, we went around a bend. The water was actually going pretty fast relative to the rest of the course. We followed a pretty good track, but hit a barely submerged tree at a pretty good speed. Our angle was horrible and the canoe tipped us out. Gary and I both took a swim in the frigid waters. I had my paddle in one hand and the canoe in the other while barely touching the riverbed with my tip-toes. I threw the paddle in and started to kick the boat over to Gary, who had no PFD on and a paddle in one hand. As soon as I started to move, the riverbed gave way and I couldn’t find the bottom again. The hiking boots I put on to keep my feet dry had now absorbed the water coming in at my ankles to capacity and it was like kicking through mashed potatoes. Luckily I had the canoe to keep me up, but Gary was still struggling up ahead. His jacket was ballooned out and causing him as much trouble as my boots were me. We eventually both made it to a muddy bank were we could at least stand up, although not quite submerged to our knees in mud. We caught our breath, flopped into the canoe and headed to a rockier bank on the other side to collect our selves and drain the water out of the boat.

I had taken my jacket off early in the trip and amazingly it was still dry. I peeled off my shirts and wrung out my shoes and socks as best I could. The jacket went on and I zipped up my PFD over it. My torso was warm, but my drenched legs and feet were freezing. Gary had nothing to change into. Poor Gary.

Taking inventory, all we had lost was my cell phone. My GPS, which was just sitting on the floor, was still there. That’s probably the most expensive thing we had so Fortune was with us there.

Shivering, we continued on. Gary’s muscles were cramping on him, but I was doing alright until we reached the end of the course. I almost fell back into the water as I tried to get out because my knees were locked up. It had never been harder to portage that canoe up the bank and get it in the truck.

Lessons Learned:
1) Call a hut way before you think you need too.
2) Wear your PFD at ALL times.
3) Secure everything in a drybag attached to the boat.
4) Bring a towel and extra shirt and socks.
5) Even getting doused, that was much more fun than anything else I could have been doing that day.

Animals Seen:
Wood duck
Several Kingfishers
Cardinals
Two turtles
Cows

Chocolate Bay

Gary and I went to Pat's on Friday to finish up a few things on the boat, and then we all went to Chocolate Bay. Canoeing 101 was the topic of the day and Pat is a most highly qualified instructor. He took each of us in turn in a few slow laps around the water, focusing on the forward stroke and draws. He said I was good with my form so we focused more on boat control. After he finished with the one on one, he sat by the dock and called our "huts" and cheered loudly when we did something right. He gave some parting words of encouragement and left us to it.

We did a few more laps and explored the bay for a little while after his departure. The wind was pretty gusty and kept swinging the boat around and Gary was fighting a cold, so it wasn't the best practice session. But any time on the water is good and I'm glad we got it. The carbon paddles Pat lent us are fantastic and I can't wait to use them on the river.

Lessons learned:
1) Our boat is HEAVY and has a lot of momentum. I need to call the "huts" before I think I need to.
2) Quicker paddling side changes are needed. If we are going to maintain our rythm, the paddle needs to switch sides much quicker.
3) Row Row Row. More time in the water is a must.
4) Pat is the man!

Two Fridays Gone By

Two paddling oriented Fridays have past and I haven't updated. Let's begin with the one two weeks ago when we were actually on the water...

Gary and I finally took our new canoe to the river. We decided it would be a good idea to paddle the Riverside Canoe Trail. It's only 4 miles long and there aren't too many hazards. The ramp was busy that day. One lady was taking out, a couple where fishing from the deck, and not leaving room for boaters, another chatty guy was putting in with a kayak. Luckily he was going upstream. I'm sure he's a great guy, but I didn't need anyone distracting us from our mission. That mission: How to Drive One of These Things.

Gary took up the bow, and I somehow got suckered into the stern. The canoe seemed a bit tippy, and right away we realized that this was going to be totally different from a kayak. The similarities are that they both float and have pointy ends; everything else is different. A few strokes and we end up sideways. Then backwards. We start again. The river splits around a little island. We decide to go right, but plow into the side of the island instead. We finally make it around and come upon our first real obstacle... A TREE BRANCH! It's partially submerged with the end, three inches in diameter, protruding straight up out of the water about a foot. We've got the whole wide river to use with this one damn twig to one side. I draw left, to turn right, Gary draws some way to turn someway, and BAM! we hit the thing head on. Paddles fly every which way trying to pull us away from the scraping noise. It finally comes up along the side of the boat and I grab it with my hand, pushing us away from it.

The first two miles are like this. During the second half we actually start to go somewhat in a straight line. I learn that for optimum performance, the paddles should enter and exit the water at the same time. I've learned to give the "hut" signal to switch sides at the beginning of the stroke that precedes the actual switch. I'm starting to get a handle on the "J" stroke. We're so absorbed by what we're doing, the time flies by and we almost miss the cut to the exit ramp. I didn't look at my watch before we started, but it seemed we really flew through the water. I think our average speed was 4.5 mph, but it seemed much faster. If I can focus like this during the actual race, it might not be so bad. Focus on the technique and the miles fall away.


Last Friday, the 3rd, Gary and I took the canoe to Pat's house. I am so glad I was introduced to him. He said that he was so appreciative of the help he got when he first started out in the Safari that he promised that he would pay it back to some other beginner if he ever had the chance. Luckily, and unbelievably, Gary and I are those beginners. Pat praised the boat and then commenced to ripping it apart. He was a mad-man! Tools appeared quickly from walls of rusty shelves and bins and were used to grind, drill, punch and cut our beautiful boat. He'd hold a piece of aluminum tubing, eyeballing the length he wanted and mark it with his thumb, then race over to a rickety band saw and make his precision cut. Tape measures did come out from time to time, but only for a quick measurement to make things level. He continued his fevered pace for two and a half hours, with me getting in the way only a few times, and the boat falling from the saw horses no less than three. We took out both seats and the front bulkhead. Replacing them with much used tractor seats, the front one installed as a slider. Foot rests were installed and I fixed the little loop on the front. She's not as pretty as it once was, but she should be a lot more functional.

Not only did he do all this for free, giving us the seats and metal, and a beer, he loaned us a couple of high end paddles to practice with. AND he said he's going with us next time we go out to show us how it's done.

I put in some boards on the foot rests at Pat's direction and popped out the ground rivets on Sunday. I'm going to ask him if I should put the front bulkhead back on, but cut it down to about half. With my new found skill with a rivet gun and a little knowledge of metal working, I think I should be able to pull it off. I also need to add some extra floatation. He took pains to try and keep the styrofoam that was there in one piece, so I think he may have had plans for it. I'm not doing anything without his approval, though.

Thar She Blows!

A hump like an antique army canteen! It tis my boat!!!

So my stalking seems to have paid off. Bob called me on Sunday and said he'd sell me the boat for $145, and I should come look at it. I did, taking the children with me, and found it to be satisfactory, if a little too short. We're looking for a 17 footer, and this one's a 15. The hull is plenty scratched up and there's a crack in the bulkhead, but other than a couple of dings she appears seaworthy. I called him today and offered $120 for it and he agreed. I should have offered $100! We'll take it and get to paddling together for a change. Other than increasing our physical stamina, the point of training is to learn to work together to get that boat going where we want it to.

Luckily, I took the time yesterday to finish up my roof rack. I had to drill some countersinks for the bolts to get enough bite on then, but other than that, everything fit pretty snuggly. And after a coat of black paint, it doesn't look that bad either. Gary suggested that I plane the downwind sides of the rails down to give it a more aerodynamic, teardrop shape. Maybe in the future. I'm just glad it'll hold up the boat.

Ouch

My shoulder hurts. It's been hurting for over a week now. I think it has to do with all the action it's been seeing lately. I'm going to take it easy over the weekend and see if it improves. It's a little worrisome, though. It's given me problems before and my dad's had rotator cuff surgery before. I wonder if it could be genetic?

I talked to the boat guy last night. He still hasn't spoken with his son, who is in Detroit, but he asked for my number and said he'd call when he finally did. I did find out that it's a 15 footer. That's two feet shy of what we need. *sigh* So even if he will sell it, I need to keep looking. I'll take it just to have something that Gary and I can get into at the same time. We can sell it for paddle money when we get a better boat.

Still waiting on Mr. Boy Scouts. Mark said that they had a meeting this week, so maybe I'll hear something soon.

Labor Day Weekend

So it was a four day weekend for me- off on Friday and Monday. Gary and I hit the Thomaston to Nursery leg of the river on Friday. It's about 8 miles from bridge to bridge. The Landscape is totally different than what we're used to. Talk about gorgeous! Zero noise and absolutely no trash. There is litter everywhere from the Victoria boat ramp to US 59, but up here there wasn't a speck. There were HUGE cypress trees on either bank and ROCKS!!! I never thought I'd be excited to see rocks. Big slabs of what I'm guessing were limestone dot the banks and tumble into the water. All we get in victoria is mud and sand. This beutiful debris is the source of the rapids we encountered. There were suppose to be two set of rapids, but I counted three, maybe four. I suppose the river level could have something to do with that. We stopped and climbed up on the rocks that formed the last set to "scout" the rapids. It was nice. The kids would have enjoyed it. You could see where the water had spent centuries carving out little trenches in the rocks to flow through. We shot the rapids, each going on a different side, and each got a little wet. When we got out of the river, there was a white pick up parked there. Back in Thomaston, there was a red Explorer (or Bronco) with a trailer. Kenneth S. says he trains from Thomaston to Victoria every week, maybe that was him and we just missed him. I can see why he trains on this part of the river. Beutiful scenery, lots of shade, rapids and peace all make this a sublime piece of river.

Animal count: 1 Racoon, 1 Great Blue Heron, 2 Squirrels, and some kind of snake at the take-out. He really didn't want to move, but Gary convinced him to take a swim while we got out.

Saturday: Paddling clinic at the city pool. I met some nice people and got to sit in the type of canoe we've been looking for. Couldn't paddle it very much because the pool is small and there were several kayakers and swimming kids in the way. I learned a couple of things and got a little taste of what it's like to paddle one of these monsters. Immediately after, I got a sinking feeling of "why am I doing this?" I had told a couple of the hosts that I was going to do the safari and they gave kind of a sarcastic nod, like a parent going along with their children telling them they are going to be Batman when they grow up. I don't really blame them. I'm sure they hear a lot of that with very little follow through. BUT I'M ALL BUSINESS, MAN! As I left, one of them said, "If you make it to the Invista checkpoint, we'll see you there." IF I make it... I'll be the one with my ass hanging over the gunwale. Give it a kiss as we speed on by. Seriously though... these guys are real paddlers, with real experience. I appreciate their advice and I hope to see them on the water.

Sunday: Took a bike ride through Northcrest with the family and saw an aluminum bow peeking at me from around the corner of a shed. The house was for sale by owner and conveniently had the owner's phone number on the sign. Maybe I could save this guy the trouble of moving the canoe. Phone call:

Me: blah blah blah, would you consider selling me your canoe?
Bill: Sure.
Me: (salivating) REEALLY?
Bill: Sure, just let me ask my son in case he would want it. Call me on Wednesday and we'll make a deal.
Me: (slightly deflated) Sure thing.

Turns out it's at least twenty years old and is made by Sears. He says he's taken it down several rivers and gotten a lot of use out of it. He's since bought a kayak and hasn't touched it. I still have high hopes for this one. COME ON WEDNESDAY!

Monday: Made a roof rack for the CRV out of old 2x4s. It actually looks pretty good. Now I just need to find the right sized bolts so I can mount it (huh huh huh... you said 'mount') to the car. I might stain it instead of paintig to give it that 'refined' look. First class all the way.