2011: Post 70 – Last Post for 2011

The year 2011 has been a great year in my kayaking life.  I had set some lofty goals at the beginning of the year (see 2011: Post 1).  They were:

-          at least 3 camping trips

-          at least 100 times in my kayaks

-          more day paddles then the previous year totaling at least 750 km in distance

My tally for 2011 is:

44 ocean paddles totaling 802 kilometers

27 pool sessions

27 times at St. Philips (play and practice days)

4 times on the pond

1 New Year’s Day paddle that started off the year

103 times in my kayaks for 2011

Included in the above were four camping trips; Long Island, twice at Pinchgut, and Gulch Pond.  

Although the year had started out poorly, I surpassed all of my set goals.  Just a few days after the New Year’s Day paddle I had picked up a bad flu and did not get on the water any more until Feb 12.  I had a couple more colds and a lot of sinus problems during the spring and then missed a full three weeks of water time in October.  But I had some really good months where I was able to get on the water a lot - I managed 12 times in both months of March and May, and then 16 times in July!

Although not part of my goals, there were a couple kayaking highlights for me this past year.  I did a couple solo paddles, one of which was a crossing to Bell Island.  I made my first kayak; a modern day skin-on-frame replica of a 1931 West Greenland Disko Bay kayak and I made a couple more Greenland paddles.  I helped a couple people learn to roll, had to do a real-situation rescue on my own, capsized about a half-dozen times (no swimming for me though), and did a lot more rock-hopping then the previous year.  I also did a 37 km paddle in one day, which was 7 km longer than my previous daily record.

Some of the people that shared lots of my paddling memories this past year…

Clyde

Dennis

Gary

Gerard

Hazen

Neville

Sean

Tobias

Stan

Tony

A big THANKS to all those I paddled with last year, whether it was just once or seventy times; you all contributed to a lot of good paddling memories for me in 2011.  I hope in 2012 we can paddle together a whole lot more and I also hope to see new faces out there with us too.

Happy New Kayaking Year