*Day 58 - Delsyk Design 'Nifty 430'

Surf's up. That's why I got up at 5:00 this morning in order to get to the beach for a sunrise session before work. A relatively low tide allowed me to get in to one of my favorite spots where glassy smooth waist to head high waves kept me and one other guy on a long board entertained for over an hour. Having so many waves to share with only one other person gave me quite a work out and I finally had to leave when I started feeling a bit tired and sloppy on the waves. I happened to be in my Mega "Air Force" surf kayak but that's not important because that's not the boat I reviewed today.

We still have the truck full of kayaks left here by one of our friends to try out so I had every intention to get back on the water after work tonight to give another one of them a go. That was until I rolled in to the parking lot at Aqua Adventures this morning and found my friend Greg hanging out with his boat on top of his truck. Apparently Greg was so excited about the coastal tour Jane has scheduled with the San Diego Kayak Club on June 20th that he decided to show up, ready to go, a full week early. Not wanting to leave Greg all dressed up with no place to go I figured it was the perfect excuse to squeeze in another hour paddle before I had to be to work.

This time I grabbed the 'Nifty 430' from the truck and we paddled out the jetty and around the OB Pier and back. Mercifully Greg slowed down a bit in his Ikkuma so I could keep up in the 14 foot long boat, but even then we still held a comfortable 4 mph pace. The Nifty 430 is designed by Mike Neckar who is the founder of Necky kayaks and operated the business before it was bought out by Johnson Outdoors. To look at the boat it's not hard to see the familiar lines and multi chine hull so common on Necky boats. This boat has ample rocker making it quite maneuverable, add plenty of width and you get a lot of confidence-inspiring initial stability. With the multi chine hull edging is smooth and easy to hold resulting in easy turning. I didn't have trouble keeping the boat going straight without the rudder but anybody who does need it will appreciate the Sea Dog rudder system that comes with the boat. These easy to adjust 'gas pedal' style rudder controls offer a solid base to push on and excellent control of the rudder with a tip of the toe.

This boat is somewhat simple in its no frills trimmings as compared to the tricked out fancy outfitting that come with the kayaks manufactured by the big name companies today. But anybody that can appreciate a good handling boat, and can pass on luxurious bells and whistles, should consider this kayak.

Nifty 430 Review

Manufacturer = Delsyk Design
Brand = Delsyk Design
Model = Nifty 430
Type = Touring
Material = Plastic
Length = 14'-0"
Width = 24"
Weight = 58 lbs.

Location = Ocean Beach Pier loop
Time = 7:20 AM
Distance = 4.58 miles
Duration = 1:03
Avg Speed = 4.3 mph
Conditions = Partly cloudy and nice

Day 57 - Prijon 'Marlin'

Day two of trying out the truck load of Prijon boats. Not having a lot of experience in the new Prijons I want to make sure I give them a proper shake down so today I took the Marlin on the surf zone loop out the jetty and over to Dog Beach and back. This route gives me a chance to see how boats handle in flat bay water, open ocean swell, and breaking waves.

The Marlin fit's me a little looser than I prefer it's rather high at the thigh braces which should accomodate fairly large people but leaves a guy my size reaching to get contact under the deck. That loose fit probably had a lot to do with me not feeling entirely in controll of the boat in the surf zone. It may sound strange, but in my mind I felt like the boat was being moved by the waves not like I was being moved by the waves. The boat's tendancy to drop abruptly from the flat bottom on to the chine was another factor that kept me on my toes with a feeling like the boat was doing what it wanted not necessarily what I wanted. By the end of the session, as I learned to trust the boat on edge, things did improve and I was able to play around in the soup quite a bit. One thing I must say is that the Marlin moves along quite well when paddled upright on its flat center hull. I didn't have to work hard to maintain a comfortable cruising speed above 5 mph.

All this being said I think the Marlin would be worth a look for anybody looking for a tough fast cruising boat with a roomy cockpit. Once again I must say that I like the large capacity day hatch (with neoprene tube) on the front deck.

Marlin Review

Manufacturer = Prijon
Brand = Prijon (imported by WildWasser)
Model = Marlin
Type = Touring
Material = Plastic
Length = 17'-0"
Width = 22.8"
Weight = 59.5 lbs.

Location = Jetty -> Ocean Beach Pier -> Dog Beach -> San Diego River loop
Time = 6:00 AM
Distance = 4.92 miles
Duration = 1:04
Avg Speed = 4.6 mph (This includes surfing time my cruising speed was over 5 mph)
Conditions = Partly cloudy and nice

Day 56 - Prijon 'Poseidon'

On Tuesday we were visited by the owner of WildWasser the US importer of Prijon kayaks. He's in the midst of a loop around the western states showing off a sampling of what Prijon has to offer. His next engagement on the west coast isn't until next weekend so we arranged for him to leave his truck full of kayaks here for a week while he flew home to Colorado rather than just kill time out here. That means that I have a whole pile of boats to play with for the next several days.

I figured today I'd see if I could find someone in the Thursday Evening Paddle that was interested in paddling the tandem Poseidon with me. As luck would have it a woman stopped by to just check things out on the dock thinking that she couldn't keep up because she hadn't paddled much and has been experiencing shoulder problems. I offered a ride in the front of the tandem so she could come along and have some fun on the water and she accepted.

The Poseidon is incredibly stable and was pretty nice to paddle. One thing I didn't care for was how close together the cockpits are which meant we had to be sure to stay perfectly synchronized to avoid whacking each others paddles. We also did a little sprint race against Sabrina and Kate who were paddling another tandem only to discover that the Poseidon isn't exactly what I would call a fast boat. I do love the deck mounted day hatches that access a roomy neoprene sock that held all the snacks I brought along for the relaxing evening of paddling on Mission Bay.

Poseidon Review

Manufacturer = Prijon
Brand = Prijon (imported by WildWasser)
Model = Poseidon
Type = Touring Tandem
Material = Plastic
Length = 17'-0"
Width = 26.75"
Weight = 81 lbs.

Location = Mission Bay - Thursday Evening Paddle
Time = 6:00 PM
Distance = N/A
Duration = 2:00
Avg Speed = N/A
Conditions = Partly cloudy and nice

*Day 55 - Wilderness Systems 'Tempest 165'

At Aqua Adventures the plastic Tempest 165 has begun to be refereed to as "Otto's Boat". This is the boat of choice for the 15 year old budding Greenland skills aficionado for most of his paddling and rolling practice. It's also the boat Otto used to viciously attack my Anas Acuta a couple weeks ago. You can tell that Otto is the one who usually uses the boat by the fact that the hip pads are firmly attached in the cockpit to keep his skinny rear from sliding all over the seat. It was the luck of the draw that put me in the Tempest for the Wednesday Morning Paddle and I squeezed my (not as skinny) rear into the seat being a bit too lazy to remove the hip pads. The trip went off without any big surprises and when we arrived back at the dock Tim, from my home state of Wisconsin, was already there anxiously awaiting the private lesson we had scheduled at 9:00.

The Tempest 165 edges turns very well which is one of the things I wanted to work on with Tim so I stayed with it for the lesson. Good edge turns and respectable speed are two of the things that make the Tempest 165 worth considering. It also comes with the famously comfortable seat and outfitting system that Wilderness boats are becoming known for. Like I've said about Tempests before, it's hard to beat one of these boats for out-of-the-box fit and comfort.

Tempest 165 Review

Manufacturer = Confluence
Brand = Wilderness Systems
Model = Tempest 165
Material = Plastic
Length = 16'-6"
Width = 21.5"
Weight = 56 lbs.
Capacity = 300 lbs.

Location = Mission Bay - Wed AM Paddle and Private lesson in Quivira Basin
Time = 7:00 AM
Distance = N/A
Duration = 1:30 then 2:00
Avg Speed = N/A
Conditions = Mostly cloudy and nice

Sorry about the thin reports

The season is upon us at Aqua Adventures. With all the activities around the store, big crossings, and my birthday I haven't had much time to post. Even today I have the Wed AM paddle starting in 15 min running till 8:30 followed by a private lesson from 9-11:00 AM, a full day in the store, topped off by rolling practice from 7-9:30 PM. I should have a little time tomorrow morning to get things up to date before the 8:30 AM roll out of the store runs into the 8:30PM cleanup of the Thursday evening paddle.

Day 54 - Wilderness Systems 'Pungo 100' - On my birthday!

Holy man I was tired today!

I can't deny it, yesterday's Catalina for lunch trip kicked my rear. I would have very happily slept in this morning but Jen had plans for my birthday so I knew I better get my paddle in before work because we'd be heading out right afterward. So at 6:30 AM I dragged my sore body out of bed and went down to the Aqua Adventures docks for an hour of paddling in what turned out to be the Pungo 100. Talk about juxtaposition, yesterday it was 46 miles of open ocean in an 18' touring boat and today it was tootling around the bay in a 10' plastic rec boat. Thank god for the tootling rec boat today though, I'm not sure I could have handled anything more. As it was my sore and tired arms could only manage about one hundred yards of paddling before I had to put the paddle down and take a break. I managed to poke all the way around the perimeter of the marina then over to Mariner's cove where I scooched down inside the Pungo and took a five minute nap to regain my strength. The Pungo 100 tracks surprisingly well for a 10 long boat and moves along fast enough to cover some water on an outing. If relaxing paddles on sheltered water are your thing then a Pungo can fit the bill.

Pungo 100 Review

Manufacturer = Confluence
Brand = Wilderness Systems
Model = Pungo 100
Material = Plastic
Type = Recreational
Length = 10'-0"
Width = 30"
Weight = 48 lbs.
Capacity = 300 lbs.

Location = Mission Bay to Mariners Basin and back
Time = 7:00 AM
Distance = about 3 miles
Duration = 1:00
Avg. Speed = N/A
Conditions = Mostly cloudy and nice

Day 53 - SKUK (NDK) 'Explorer HV' - Catalina For Lunch Solo -

A plan was hatched a few months ago for a small group of us to paddle over to Two Harbors on Catalina island to have lunch with some friends that were camped out over there then paddle back all in one day. I had done the famous "Catalina For Lunch" crossing on three occasions before but never with the novelty of being able to say hi to friends on the island while we were there. As luck would have it work, school, family, or health issues whittled the group down to just me. Rather than scrub the idea all together I figured I'd try the trip solo. So the day before my 34th birthday I woke up at 3:10 AM and drove two and a half hours up to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro CA to be ready for a 6:00 AM launch. Five hours and thirty three minutes later I arrived at Two Harbors and was greeted by a half dozen paddling buddies that were camped out there on their first rest day of a leisured circumnavigation of the island.

The crossing was rather uneventful as I saw only a small pod of dolphin and one small sea lion (ten miles from shore). The most notable wildlife I did see was a shark that jumped at least 8 feet in the air and did a perfect back flip like Dolly the Dolphin at Sea World. I thought I may have been imagining things until I stopped for a break and a five foot "man eater" jumped again right behind me. I think it may have been a small white or mako but I've never personally seen them jump like that before. I had a gentle head wind most of the trip that did little more than keep me from over heating. The last hour and a half into Two Harbors was a bit of a slog into a stiffening head wind that was being channeled through the isthmus where the town is situated. There was very little fog or haze so I was able to simply steer toward the island by sight for the entire crossing. The lack of fog also allowed me to take an interesting series of photographs showing the island getting bigger one half hour at a time.

My welcoming committee quickly helped me bring my boat up the beach and escorted me to the cafe for the traditional burger and fries lunch. I opted for the grilled chicken and while I munched on that the guys did their best to try to convince me to stay the night and paddle home the next morning. They had even figured out how I could keep the 100 consecutive days streak alive by paddling one of their boats on the island that evening. I entertained the idea and had enough bivvy equipment to be quite comfortable for an overnight but after a few phone calls back to work I realized that it just wasn't meant to be. I did notice that Duane was the loudest voice trying to convince me to stay on the island. The thought occurred to me that if I didn't go back that day he'd still be the only person in our paddling circle that had ever done a solo Catalina For Lunch. When I called him out on it he laughed and said it didn't matter because he already had my time beat for the crossing over. He had done the crossing about 5-10 minutes faster than me. Right then the challenge was set and I had to beat Duane's time back across. His time was 6 hours and five minutes including time to shoot some video so I had to beat about 5 1/2 hours.

As I pushed off the beach after a rejuvenating two hour break I hoped the head wind that had slowed me on the approach would hold and help me on my way back across. My plan was to use the localized isthmus wind to slingshot high across the prevailing NW wind and swell and hold that line as long as I could before running with the wind and swell all the way in to Cabrillo Beach. The plan seemed to work because after working across the wind for two hours I changed course and found myself surfing from wave to wave on a straight course toward my destination. As I watched the miles tick away on my GPS I realized that I was setting a pace to beat five hours. With that little extra motivation I kept my paddle cadence up and came into the beach with a full head of steam four hours and forty minutes after leaving the island. The wind and chop I encountered on the crossing back wasn't good for sighting wildlife but I did manage to see another jumping shark. In all my years of paddling I'd only seen a shark jump once before and this single day I saw three.

The solo trip was an amazing experience and I'm very glad I took the Explorer HV with me. This is exactly the kind of thing that this boat was made to do. The thought did occur to me about half way across to the island that up to that day the longest I'd ever been in the HV was about an hour on a simple paddle around Mission Bay. While I had spent a bunch of time in regular size Explorers and loved how they fit and paddled, I had no idea the HV would work for me when I left the beach that morning. In the end it worked out perfectly, I actually appreciated the extra room the HV provided and never felt like I was too loose in the boat.

Explorer HV Review

Manufacturer = SKUK (formerly NDK)
Model" = Explorer HV
Type = Touring
Material = Fiberglass
Length =17' 8"
Width = 21.5"

Location = Catalina For Lunch - Cabrillo Beach (San Pedro CA) to Catalina Island (Two Harbors) and back
Time = 6:00 AM
Distance = 46 miles
Duration = 10:10
Avg. Speed = 4.52 mph
Conditions = Light headwind for first half, generally calm - Good quartering tail wind for second half, few whitecaps