Kayaking in Venice, Italy

In mid-April, Ysabelle and I travelled to Venice for a holiday. Luckily for us, Rene Seindal had just opened his kayak tour business for the summer and he took us on a magical day paddle. Rene took the photo above of the two of us in front of Piazza San Marco.

Rene is from Denmark but he speaks Italian and English well. He knows Venice's history, its canals and the rules of the road for the many types of boats. Lucky for us!

Piazza San Marco with the Doge's Palace on the right and the Campanile or bell tower on the left, and gondolas everywhere.

We paddled down the smaller canals with the gondolas, passing many homes, palaces, churches, towers and more.

The beauty of Venice was hard to miss. To be honest, so was the smell. Sewage from some of the older buildings still goes directly into the canals, so kayaking is not for those with delicate sensibilities. I was just glad we visited in April and not August! In any case, the aroma did not detract from our appreciation of the amazing surroundings.

Here is Ysabelle near the Rialto bridge on the Grand Canal. The boat traffic on the Grand Canal was intimidating at first. It felt like trying to cross highway 401 on a motor scooter ... at rush hour! But Rene was an excellent guide and boldly led the way.

The variety of different boats was astonishing. Everything is done by boat in Venice: garbage collection, fire fighting, ambulance, delivery, taxis, and weddings! The multi-person gondola above is from a local rowing club.

Like I said, lots of traffic on the Grand Canal but what a view!

And paddling in Venice is very civilized when you can just pull over and stop at a canal-side cafe.

I highly recommend paddling with Rene if you get to Venice. You will have the trip of a lifetime. Check out his website at http://www.venicekayak.com/

Kayaking in Sea Ice

After watching the wind take the sea ice in and out of Flatrock Harbour all week, Isabelle and I finally got the kayaks in the water on Saturday to have a closer look. The shot above shows Isabelle at the Flatrock wharf with chunks of sea ice.

We paddled along the shoreline, which was lined with big blocks of ice.

Here is the view looking out the harbour towards Redhead, which is obscured in the fog. The sea ice was out beyond Redhead today.

We stopped by Murdering Gulch to check out the waterfall, which is running strong with all the spring run-off.

We paddled out around Redhead through some mild clapotis and rounded the corner into Redhead Cove. And there was the sea ice! Check out the ice on the cliffs behind Isabelle, too. There were also several thousand eider ducks and some long-tailed ducks, too. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good photos of them.

In the background of this photo, the sea ice is solid to the horizon.

We headed south in a stiffening breeze towards the Beamer. Here is Isabelle checking out the northwest side.

Paddling back along the Beamer to the wharf, we saw a group of purple sandpipers on the rocks. These little guys are tough to survive the winter here.

We were very lucky today. The air temperature was 8C and the ocean temperature was OC. Off to the pool tonight to help coach a rolling clinic. Should be a little warmer there, I hope!

Sun & Ice

Nice sunny day, so we're going for a walk along the sea cliffs.

Sea Ice Arrives in Flatrock

Every winter, sea ice forms in the Atlantic Ocean off Labrador. Each spring it drifts south towards Newfoundland. It brings with it breeding seals, fog and for those who see it, a reminder of the annual cycle of the ocean. This week the sea ice arrived in Flatrock and Torbay. It is great to see!

If we are lucky, the icebergs will start showing up in a short while.

Bringing Kayaking Courses to Labrador Inuit

At the beginning of September 2008, Richard Alexander (the president of Paddle Canada) and I flew to Nain, Labrador to teach a Level 1 sea kayaking course. This course was special because we were going to be teaching Inuit youth. The course was a partnership between us and Heather Angnatok, who is the youth program coordinator for the Nunatsiavut Government in Labrador.

There are many reasons why a sea kayaking program is wonderful for teenagers: it develops physical skills and fitness, presents a mental challenge, promotes self-confidence and teamwork. For Inuit youth, it has added dimensions like connecting them with their cultural heritage and giving them a new way to explore their homeland, wildlife and coastline.

We had a great group of youth, adults and one elder. We covered all the Level 1 paddling skills and added an overnight trip. Three of the participants even learned how to roll their kayaks!

It was a wonderful weekend for everyone. Richard and I had an absolute blast and we look froward to getting back to Nain in 2009.

For more information on the course, check out the article I wrote for the winter/spring 2009 issue of Kanawa magazine called "Full Circle: bringing sea kayaking back to the northern coast of Labrador." www.paddlingcanada.com/kanawa.asp

Level 1 Course

This past week, the Newfoundland Kayak Company put on a Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Level 1 Skills course. I helped out Richard Alexander with the instruction, along with Craig Burden and Jon Walsh. We spent Tuesday night in the pool learning rescues, Friday evening on the pond learning the first few strokes, and all day Saturday on the pond learning more strokes, practicing rescues and learning about gear, weather and navigation.

And a little fooling around with balance!

Then a day trip on the ocean on Sunday to put it all into practice on salt water. We launched in Cupids on Conception Bay. The sun was out for the first time in two weeks and the wind was light. It was perfect for a Level 1 paddle!!

A few kilometres east of Cupid, we came to the Arches, which is a spectacular archway to paddle through. There was less than one metre of swell but it was noisily crashing on the surrounding rocks, so this was an exercise in trust and confidence-building. But the smiles afterwards were worth the anxiety. Craig took the photo below.

We stopped for lunch and Richard put his pastey white legs on display! We managed to keep our lunch down, while he told tall tales and did funny things with rope.

We got back on the water and paddled around the Brigus lighthouse and into Brigus harbour.

Eventually Craig caught up with the class (boy, is he slow!!!) and I took this photo while he caught his breath.

Seriously, it was a great course and a lot of fun to instruct. We had a super bunch of students and they all progressed significantly during the course. It was very enjoyable teaching with Richard, Jon and Craig! Looking forward to teaching the Level 2 course with Craig next week in Gros Morne!!!

Safety Lessons

After the capsizes on the KNL Cape Broyle paddle, several of the trip leaders met with the KNL Safety Committee to de-brief the proceedings. We gathered descriptions of what happened from most of those involved. Seeing the situation from different points of view is enlightening. There is always something to learn from rescue situations. We'll apply the lessons to future club paddles. This way the club works to promote safety on our paddles and our trip leaders gain valuable insights for next time.

KNL Father's Day Paddle in Cape Broyle

Every year Alex McGruer leads a club paddle on Father's Day to Cape Broyle. This year we had a good turnout and a great day for an adventure. Greg Stamer had a arrived in St. John's a couple of days before and was getting ready to circumnavigate the island. He decided to come out and join KNL members for the day. Above is Greg in the waterfall near the start.

Here's Isabelle wearing a big smile next to the falls.

This iceberg was just off Lance Cove, so Greg and a bunch of us went out for a look. Below is Kam who was visiting from New York and came along for the fun. He loved the icebergs.

We landed at Lance Cove for lunch. Below is Greg wondering if it's safe to join the lunatics by the damp fire?!

You couldn't find a better crowd of paddlers anywhere. The smiles tell the story. Well ... almost...

After the lunch stop, the group split in two. The more experienced crowd headed out to Church Cove and found big swells and excitement. There was no wind, so it was a perfect learning environment for those with less big-water experience. Despite a bout of sea-sickness by one paddler, there were big smiles all-round once we got back to calmer water and the adrenaline subsided. Stretching your comfort zone in a safe situation with capable mentors provides long-term benefits in terms of paddling experience and self-confidence.

The other half of the group headed straight back for the launch site. On the way, a couple of paddlers capsized and were quickly rescued. One swimmer was wet, cold and unable to continue. Alex took him ashore in Freshwater Cove and got him into dry clothes. Alex called the Coast Guard as a precaution, and they dispatched a power boat from Cape Broyle. The Ocean Predator was on the scene in a very short time and took the mildly hypothermic swimmer back to the wharf. A happy ending to the incident. Honour is due to Alex, Malcolm and Peter for their leadership and sound decision-making. And a big thank-you to the Coast Guard Auxillary Boat Ocean Predator and its crew.

With water temperatures here around 5 degrees Celsius now, even a brief swim in a wetsuit and paddling top can seriously chill a paddler. Rapid response by rescuers ensures a rapid recovery.

Atlantic Paddling Professionals Symposium

On Friday, I'm off to the Atlantic Paddling Professionals Symposium in Port Mouton, Nova Scotia. It is the first regional event aimed at paddling instructors and guides from all three disciplines: canoeing, sea kayaking and river kayaking. The symposium is bringing in instructor trainers from across Canada. It should be a great learning experience. And a great chance to paddle with a super group from all parts of Atlantic Canada. Paddle Canada and the provincial paddling associations are major sponsors.

Placentia Sound

Last Sunday, seven of us headed out for a paddle from Argentia Harbour into Placentia Sound. Argentia is where the longer ferry to Nova Scotia begins its journey in the summer. The photo above shows us getting ready to go. The former US Naval Air Station is in the background. No longer an airport, it is now an industrial site.

Paddling around Broad Cove head and turning east into Placentia Sound, we left the industrial Argentia behind. But not all traces of the American presence. The photo above shows Alison Dyer and an old American property sign. Nationalist sentiments reared their ugly head, and I felt compelled to remove the offending sign.

Entering Shalloway Cove, we found this beautiful brook cascading down into the sea.

Here's Stan MacKenzie with a headland in the background. The high hills along the shoreline of the Sound reminded me of the fiords in Gros Morne Park on the west coast of Newfoundland. We stopped for lunch at the ruin of an old cabin across from Witless Head. Then we fought our way out of the Sound against southwest winds towards Fox Harbour.

We finished up the paddle in picturesque Fox Harbour. Above is Peter Armitage passing by a fisherman and his family unloaded nets and gear from their speedboat. This paddle was my first contribution to KNL's Circle the Avalon Challenge for 2008. We're hoping to complete the Challenge this year. For better photos from this paddle, check out the link to Stan MacKenzie's blog at the right.

Iceberg Paddle

This spectacular iceberg was the goal of our paddle on Saturday (photo credit: Dave MacDonald). Fifteen KNL members launched from Turks Gut, just south of Brigus in Conception Bay.

Paddling north we found the archway above, which Paul Benson is paddling through with a big grin.

Here's the pinnacle iceberg with my partner Isabelle.

The other side of the iceberg with Dave Dobbin and Laura ?

From the iceberg, we paddled north into Brigus Bay, where we stopped for lunch. Then we headed north towards Cupids. Coming around around the headland we passed through The Arch above.

Where else but Newfoundland could you have such a great paddle, just an hour's drive from St. John's.