Trips and Adventures | Cape Falcon Kayak

Thanksgiving by Kayak

November 2008June 2023Leave a comment

Three years ago my roommate and best friend Ginger came up with the idea that we should have a community thanksgiving gathering where all of the food would come from within a hundred miles. By embracing local food we would reconnect with the land and save a few barrels of oil too. Our food,...

Exploring the Coastline of Southern Oregon

August 2008June 2023Leave a comment

At dawn Mike and I crossed the bar in Bandon, picking our way through breaking waves into a wet morning fog. Peripherally I tracked his line past thundering surf and the boiling surge that slid up and down the faces of the rocks. His path was less conservative than mine, but not in the...

A week of paddling with Alec

February 2008June 2023Leave a comment

When my friend Alec said he wanted to come out and build boats for a week I said “sure!”, when he said he wanted to do some paddling I said, “yeah right.” Manzanita in February? A god-forsaken-dreary-forlorn-place. It rains like a faucet and the surf is always twenty-feet. Alec must be good luck though. The surf...

Solstice Kayak Surf Session

December 2007June 2023Leave a comment

Glistening frost, a black twinkling sky, a drysuit frozen stiff. 6am on the morning after solstice and I’m driving carefully to the beach. I call my friend Bryon, “The swell isn’t great, it’s still a little crossed and the open beach breaks are going to be a solid ass-beating. Let’s cruise down to Short Sands,...

Building Kayaks in Sitka, Alaska

August 2007June 2023Leave a comment

In late July I traveled to Sitka, Alaska to teach kayak building. Jackie and I stayed with Kitty who lives on a nearby island. The daily skiff ride was fun. A half mile walk on a trail led us to the house. Chicken of the woods mushrooms along the trail. and false solomon seal....

Rescuing a bald eagle

May 2007June 2023Leave a comment

Wednesday, May 25th. A beautiful morning on the Oregon coast, warm, offshore breeze, and one of the lowest tides of the year. While driving with kayak student Dominico Muscolino I decided it was imperative to postpone the construction of Dominico’s kayak and go hiking on the beach. While walking on a remote beach we discovered an injured young...

Hawaii, Part IV: Kayaking the Hamakua Coast, and the Sickness from Hell

March 2007June 2023Leave a comment

Hawaii, Part III I paddle out of Hilo at 8:30 am on Monday and as soon as I clear the breakwall I find myself dipping into into 20ft beam seas, the remnants of yesterdays 30kt tradewinds. The shoreline is verdant and dotted with high waterfalls, this is the we side of the island. I...

Hawaii, Part III: Kayaking the Kona Coast

March 2007June 2023Leave a comment

Hawaii, Part II 2/12/07 – 2/17/07 Rich drives me to South Point where currents and winds from the Kau Coast and the Kona Coast accelerate and collide in an impressive washing machine. On some days, Rich tells me, the confluence is so violent that the waves stand up in fifteen foot spikes of water, the...

Hawaii, Part II

February 2007June 2023Leave a comment

Hawaii, Part I 2/8/07 Nothing incredible, exciting, or magical happened today. We sewed the skin on our kayaks and started carving paddles. It rained. I went to the grocery store in search of graduated measuring containers but didn’t find any, so we won’t be coating the kayaks until that happens. Day to day here is a...

Hawaii, Part I: Winter Attempt to Circumnavigate the Big Island

February 2007June 2023Leave a comment

Hawaii 2/1/07 Traveling on Hawaiian airlines is truly an experience to be missed. Six hours of video advertising, prostituting Hawaii’s beaches, rainforests, and reefs, punctuated by a bad full feature movie. Today’s feature was The Last Kiss, a movie about romantic betrayal so emotionally shattering that I couldn’t even watch it at home. Aloha. Headsets...

Cold Winter Day at the Beach

January 2007June 2023Leave a comment

This is the rarest of weather on the pacific coast, an east wind brings razor crisp horizons, and the clarity of the air makes everything feel hyper-real. Surveying the surf for a launch at sunrise, air temp 30 deg, west swell 6 ft @ 13 sec, wind offshore 20 knts. It’s looks deceptively small from...

Voyage of Huevos al Gusto

December 2006July 2023Leave a comment

Camp cruising the Sea of Cortez in a skin on frame boat “Why exactly do we have leave at 4 am?” Ginny asks as she hands down the last bag and I lash the waterproof duffel in place. “When you’re cruising,” I reply, “the weather and tide define everything you do. In this case, we’re...

Slots, Arches, and Caves of Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain

September 2006January 2021Leave a comment

I am fortunate to have a sea kayakers paradise at my doorstep. Unfortunately mother nature grants limited access to it. Even when it’s small, it’s big, powerful, and commands respect. For a few days every year, however, the mighty Pacific is calm as a lake. This provides a rare opportunity to get very close to the...

PC-TIKS: Pacific Coast Traditional Inuit Kayak Symposium

June 2006June 2023Leave a comment

Meet on the beach, the swell report is 3 feet at 11 seconds. Everyone is stoked for a nice afternoon paddle with a bit of caving and exploring. 45 minutes later on the outside…. we’re watching 10 footers plunging from top to bottom on the set waves. These are the first pulses from a far...

Seaside to Manzanita: Coastal Training Paddle, 22 miles

June 2006June 2023Leave a comment

On the tip of Tillamook Head I run a bouncy slot to find wave protection within a field of sea stacks. Beautiful and rugged shoreline. Some exciting geology. Pelicans …and Cormorants For once I don’t have to crash through the surf to stretch my legs. I found this quiet little stretch of sand hidden...