Day 39 - Bell 'Northwoods' and... IT'S A BOY!

When I got up this morning I was thinking about my brother Aaron and more importantly his then pregnant wife Aurise and the fact that she was due any day now. I've pretty much been sleeping with my phone next to me waiting for news of a new baby. At about 8:30 I checked in to see if Aurise was still pregnant and sure enough no baby yet. I started to blab on about some of the strange people we see come through the marina until Aaron cut the conversation short because he "was in the middle of something." Apparently Aurise had just gone into labor a moment before I called and they were on the way to the hospital. At about noon today I got a call from Aaron saying that I was an uncle the forth time over and that our deer hunting gang just got another boy! His name is Jonas Aaron Stachovak I don't know any of his specs yet but I'm sure he's good looking and super smart (as long as he took after his mother anyway).

Oh yea, I paddled today too.

This time it was the Bell 'Northwoods' open canoe on loan to us from our friend Teresa Boli. At 18 feet long it's the most canoe I've tried to handle by myself but had no problem moving it around. It's length certainly gives it a good glide, and if I worked at it I could get it up above 5 mph. I should have been working on my 3 star skills but I was in the mood to cruise so I did a loop out to Government Island and back. I got plenty of work on my J stroke which is feeling very solid on my right but my left side is still a bit flimsy. While I was cruising around in such a beautiful canoe I couldn't help but think of how nice it would have been to have a canoe like that on some of the longer trips I've done.

Northwoods Review

Manufacturer = Bell Canoes
Brand = Bell
Model = Northwoods
Type = Open Canoe
Material = Carbon
Length = 18'-6"
Width = 36"
Weight = 51 lbs.

Location = Mission Bay to Government Island and back
Time = 6:00 AM
Distance = 4.55
Duration = 1:12 hours
Avg. Speed = 3.8 mph
Conditions = Warm with high marine layer