I've been planning a trip up the inside passage this coming summer, from May to August 2017. I plan to keep a trip log on my personal blog, which I haven't regularly used since I was in Uganda in 2012. Not that I haven't had a lot to say!
Before I begin, it seems like a good idea to provide a little bit of background on the trip and to detail some of my preparations. I'm writing this in January, 2017, but probably won't post until much closer to my departure date, probably in May. There may be a fair bit of editing that goes on here over the next couple of months as well, and potentially as the trip progresses.
Some personal background here with regard to my interest and ability in kayaking (if you want information about other personal matters, you can read my non-kayaking blog posts, of which there are many!)
I've been kayaking on and off since 2001, when I picked up self-rescue techniques in a class I took in Sitka, Alaska, with my then-girlfriend Emily and other local people. Emily and I both spent a substantial amount of time paddling when we lived on Vinalhaven Island in coastal Maine in 2002-2005 (after we got married), then paddled very little for several years, when we lived in Colorado. In 2011, we moved back to Alaska and I was able to start kayaking again with some regularity. 2012 was really the first time I ever camped out of my kayak (at that time, a boat I had borrowed from the University of Alaska Southeast, where I teach Political Science), and I've now taken some moderately ambitious kayak trips in places like Taku Arm and Berners Bay, near Juneau; Glacier Bay; and the Chichagoff/Baranof Island region in Southeast Alaska. I have a pretty reliable roll and good skills in other self-rescue techniques
Way back in 2003, I started to build my own kayak, using the stitch and glue construction technique. My boatbuilding endeavor took a long hiatus while I was in grad school in Colorado, but I was able to finish the project almost a year ago (long after Chesapeake Light Craft stopped manufacturing the kit I used) and it has gotten a fair bit of use now around Juneau and in Glacier Bay. The completion of the boat project was the thing that catalyzed my plans to paddle the inside passage. More on that below.
In general, my plan is a South to North transit of the inside passage, with a route that diverges only a bit from what appears to be the standard Seattle to Skagway or Seattle to Glacier Bay approach.
After some consideration, I have decided to start the trip in Seattle (initially I proposed to begin in Skagway, a change mostly driven by the work schedules of potential paddling partners and their paddling preferences and other alliterative factors) and to finish in Juneau, Skagway, or possibly Sitka, depending on schedules and pace, among other factors. I intend to paddle from Pelican to Sitka in August, and would like to incorporate that stretch into the longer trip from Seattle, if time permits. The last section I plan to do with at least one, and potentially as many as four paddling partners. I also hope to have companions for the segment between Sidney, B.C., and Prince Rupert and the section between Ketchikan and Petersburg.
The boat is a model named the "North Bay," billed as a fast cruiser with strong tracking and a moderate amount of cargo space. This particular design has actually received some unfavorable reviews, which suggest that it has a problem weathercocking and that the bow tends to plunge in surf. Certainly weathercocking can be a problem with any sea kayak, and is a well-known issue with Greenland-style kayaks such as this one, but my own experience is that the boat has less of a tendency to weathercock than almost any other kayak I've paddled over the years, a list that is respectable, though not endless, and includes many classic touring hulls such as the Nordkapp and Current Designs Gulfstream. I have never had problems with the bow plunging either, though to be fair, we spend relatively little time in surf here in Juneau, so this may emerge as a greater issue at some point down the line.
Although my inside passage trip will be my first time paddling the boat on an extended trip, the construction technique and hull design appears to leave more room for gear than the Nordkapp I've been paddling for the last several years, and which I've taken on a number of week-long trips. So despite the fact that the North Bay is a relatively narrow, low volume boat, I'm not especially concerned about cargo capacity on this upcoming trip. Of course, it helps that the longest stretch between resupplies will probably be no longer than 10 or 12 days. The long, low-volume hull will probably be faster than average, though a full load of gear will slow it down a bit.
In anticipation of the trip, and for fun, I've also built a pair of Greenland paddles out of red cedar. One of the paddles, a shorty "storm paddle" for strong winds, I've already paddled with a fair bit and am relatively happy with. A standard-size paddle is in the work as well; it's been constructed, but needs to be paddled a bit before I can be reasonably certain that its dimensions are correct. Once I've gotten to test it out a fair bit, I'll finish it. I plan to bring both paddles with me on the trip, as well as a typical euro-blade paddle (a high-angle Werner touring model), which is what I've been paddling with for the last several years. I'm agnostic about the Greenland paddles at this point, but curious to see how they perform, and interested in learning more about using them efficiently.
More on gear and plans to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment