Open water forecast Lake Superior

Open water forecast for the next few days looks a bit wild. I bet the white water folks will be headed to Duluth for the surf! I may have to drive up Saturday morning just to check it out!

.FRIDAY...NORTHEAST GALES TO 45 KNOTS. STORM FORCE GUSTS TO 50 KNOTSPOSSIBLE. SNOW. WAVES BUILDING TO 20 TO 25 FEET..FRIDAY NIGHT...NORTHEAST GALES TO 45 KNOTS. STORM FORCE GUSTS TO 50KNOTS POSSIBLE. SNOW LIKELY. WAVES SUBSIDING TO 15 TO 20 FEET..SATURDAY...NORTHEAST GALES TO 35 KNOTS BACKING NORTH IN THEAFTERNOON...THEN DIMINISHING TO WIND TO 30 KNOTS IN THE EVENING.RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS LIKELY. WAVES SUBSIDING TO 7 TO 10 FEET

More Snow

The cold weather is staying with us a bit longer this year. The forecast is calling for snow again by the weekend, possibilities of 2-5 inches. Northern Minnesota was hit with over 2ft of snow over the last weekend! With the cross country skiing over with for the season, and the kayaking still a ways off, I've been running a bit to keep the extra pounds at bay. I will have to continue the running routine on the days I don't make it on the water, at first it was just a lot of work ... but I'm starting to enjoy it.

Cool Airplanes

A Grumman Widgeon stopped by yesterday, this one originally started out as a J4F in the military in 1943. The inline 6 cylinder Rangers have been replaced with 520 Continentals. Very nice!

Bombproof?

Some good discussions on rolling and rescues the last couple days. With the boater that ended up in the Chippewa River the other day it tends to spark some talk. I'm not one to say whether what he did was right or wrong, but what I did see was a man floating in the river ... unable to save himself. It looked like a recreational boat on the photos, typicaly they are without a spray skirt, and pretty tough to roll for most people. Proper clothing, and minimal self rescue skills would have made it a none event.
But what about the paddler that takes kayaking a little more seriously, and learns the skills.

Now a dedicated paddler with an average seakayak should be able to get a roll going, if they want to, and are persistent.
Now you've learn how to roll, is it bombproof? Now learn the offside roll, are you bombproof yet? The Inuit people devised many different types of rolls for just about any situation ... can you roll if you lose your paddle? One of the common paddling injuries is a dislocated shoulder after a poorly done high brace .. can you do a roll with a dislocated shoulder? I know a few people who probably could, but I'm not one of them. I don't think there really is a bombproof roll.
Many times when a person can roll, the other rescues tend to get forgotten. I think the number one self rescue a person should be proficient at is the re-enter and roll, even if it's with a paddle float. It's the fastest way out of cold water. You end up with a boat full of water, that is a bit unstable, but that's why you have that pump on the deck ... right? If your with a group, raft up and pump! In fact, a re-enter and roll is faster than the T-rescue. Spend 60 seconds in 38F (3C) water and fingers don't work so well. In cold water, its all about getting back in the boat as fast as possible.

March Sunset

Last year the end of March we saw the lakes thaw, and the sunsets glistening off water. This year it has been a bit colder, and the ice is still strong enough for snow machines. There were plenty of fresh tracks going along the shoreline.

Still, it is warm enough to take a walk along the beach and think about the days to come.

Spring Skiing

Spending the weekend in Hurley for some spring skiing at Big Powderhorn Mt. was just what I needed. The weather was fantastic! This was my first time on down hill skis for probably 20yrs ... I did do a couple runs down the bunny hill to see if I could still remember. I forgot how much fun down hill skiing can be! A few runs down "Upper Smoke" were even done by lunch time.

Snow!

Hey you guys in Wisconsin ... you need one of these!