Day 2 - Ocean Kayak "Drifter"

The details of how this thing is going to work are still being ironed out and this afternoon a few parameters were suggested by my friends Thom and Lynn Underwood. They decreed that the 100 boats must be paddled in 100 consecutive days. After having pulled off only five missed days in the last 107 days I, for one, appreciate the challenge 100 consecutive days will present especially when I fly to New York for BCU coach training next month. Just the same it will ad a little edge to the challenge and will keep me honest. Another bug I'm working out is how to choose which boat to paddle every day. The solution I came up with was to write the name of each boat in our fleet on a small scrap of paper and put them in an envelope. I thought of separating out the performance touring boats and stand up boards but I thought to keep things fare and more interesting I would simply paddle the boat that I draw from the hat, so to speak. Because I do often need to paddle a specific type of boat for a lesson or tour this may mean that I have to either paddle twice in one day or occanionally keep drawing until I pick an appropriate boat. Some of the boats I'll be paddling will be borrowed from friends so I will have to mix them in when time allows.

With my new boat choosing system in place I drew the second boat to be paddled which was the Ocean Kayak "Drifter". Just like that I managed to go from one of the smallest boats in the Ocean Kayak lineup to one of the biggest. There was no doubt that the 32 1/2" beam on this boat provided for a very stable platform. With a capacity that tops out at 500 pounds I was like a fly on a horses back sitting on that boat. It was a very comfortable and surprisingly quick run out the Mission Bay jetty and around to Dog Beach to scout the surf for a surf kayaking lesson tomorrow. At the end of the jetty I encountered a pod of dolphin and tried in vain to get a picture of them on the surface. After checking the surf at Dog Beach I paddled around the "Red Buoy" where I paused to take some pictures of the sea lions and then paddled around the north jetty to check out the surf at South Mission. The kayak handled nicely but I did find that the huge width of the boat caused me to bump my paddle on the sides of the boat more than normal. I've been moving to a shorter and shorter paddle favoring a more vertical stroke but the Drifter is one that requires a longer paddle and lower stroke just to get the blades in the water.

Manufacturer = Johnson Outdoors
Brand = Ocean Kayak
Model = Drifter
Material = Plastic
Length = 12'-7"
Width = 32.5"
Weight = 56 lbs.
Capacity = 450-500 lbs.

Location = Mission Bay (Red Buoy loop)
Time = 6:30 PM
Distance = 3.90 miles
Duration = 1:05
Avg. Speed = 3.6 mph*
* Average speed reflects the time I spent taking pictures and such.