We’re back! (And thinking about the value of "free.")
We recently posted a request to a local paddle club listerv seeking five “guinea pig” students for a coaching update we’re helping run. Within two days, we had more than a dozen volunteers who were eager for one hour of free rolling instruction.…
read moreThe blog takes a break
We’ve been taking a break from blogging, but not from paddling. Back soon!…
read moreThe effects of Hurricane Sandy in Chicago
Most of our attention has been focused on Hurricane Sandy‘s effects on the northeastern states. But the superstorm was so enormous, it affected Chicago as well. Tight isobars indicate the intensity of the low pressure system.… read moreHow to make your own nose plugs
Our Fall whitewater kayak class at the West Cook YMCA has begun. Thirteen students in an amply chlorinated pool means one of two things: suggest they buy nose plugs, or make them.…
read moreWhy you should practice rescues in conditions
What’s going on in these photos? (Leon Somme, Alec Bloyd-Peshkin and Keith Wikle)Check out our guest post on Go Kayak Now!…
read moreThe Gales 2012 lived up to its name
We have to admit we weren’t convinced that the location for this year’s Gales would work. Sure, Naturally Superior Adventures is in a lovely place, uniquely suited for optimizing our changes of having the ideal mix of wind, waves and current for an intermediate, rough-water symposium.…
read moreForecast for The Gales: chance of fun 100%
The Gales Storm Gathering is less than one week away. The roster of coaching talent is impressive: Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme are returning, and are joined this year by Nick Cunliffe, Chris Lockyer, and a host of top Great Lakes coaches.…
read moreNew buoy getting its bearings
Watching the data from the new buoy off Michigan City, we noticed that the wind gusts were consistently higher than the wind speeds in the page posting current conditions, although they were correct in the 24-hour and 5-day data.…
read moreIt’s a buoy! Real-time data comes to Indiana
The lonely life of buoy 45007. (Photo from noaa.gov)
For many years, buoy 45007 has been an only child in Lake Michigan. Located 45 nautical miles east-southeast of Milwaukee, it provides vital data about wind speed, wave height, and air and water temperature.…
read moreHow to have a no-regrets paddling season
Autumn isn’t the end of the paddling season, but it is the end of most of our out-of-state paddling. We’re back at school and back to work, squeezing paddling into our evenings and weekends, acutely aware of the later sunrises, earlier sunsets and ever-cooling water and air temperatures.…
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