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August 26, 2007
White Rock - Kayak Training, August 26, 2007 - Night Trial
Saw bats. Very cool. Paddling seems faster at night , but it's really not.
Got nearly 10 bug bites on my back. Arrgh.
10 hours later:
Posted by will at 11:58 PM | Comments (1)
White Rock - Kayak Training, Saturday, August 25, 2007
Futura II
15.0 miles
4.0 mph moving average
(in the kayak from around 8am to 12:30pm)
(about 3.5 hours in motion)
consumed: 3 orange Gatorade A.M. 20-oz. bottles; 1 Jack Links cheese & jerky; 1 peanut-butter Power Bar
Posted by will at 01:35 AM | Comments (0)
August 25, 2007
Oakley Half Jacket
Returned & Exchanged. Northpark Oakley store -- service: much nicer than Galleria Oakley store. Spread the word, Jack!
Posted by will at 01:08 AM | Comments (0)
August 23, 2007
Oakley FlakJacket?
Yes/No? I like, but I'm not picky.
Posted by will at 09:39 PM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2007
White Rock - Kayak Training, August 21, 2007
Futura II. 4-something miles. 4.10 mph avg. Pretty windy in the middle of the lake. Only had to drink 1 Gatorade A.M. this morning. I think having my legs wet helps keep me cool, so I don't sweat as much.
Weather this morning, from Weather.com:
85°F
Feels Like
90°F
Updated Aug 21 11:00 a.m. CT
Watch the Dallas Forecast
UV Index: 4 Moderate
Wind: From S at 13 mph
gusting to 20 mph
Humidity: 60%
Pressure: 30.04 in.
Dew Point: 70°F
Visibility: 10.0 miles
Posted by will at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)
August 20, 2007
White Rock Kayak Training -- Futura II -- August 19, 2007
7.12 mph (with help from the wind). Yay!
Posted by will at 01:30 AM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2007
CR100 Training - August 11, 2007
Smithville to La Grange, TX
35 miles. The river was flowing at about 2.0 mph. 90+ degrees. hot hot. Took about 7 hrs; 5 mph average (paddling 3 mph relative to the current). Ouch.
Oh, and my supposedly 'waterproof' (waterproof to IPX7 standards -- ability to successfully operate for at least 30 minutes while continuously submerged at a depth of 1 meter) Lowrance iFinder GO2 died soon after I noticed water and condensate accumulating behind the screen.
The locals in La Grange are way cool. Their hospitality and congeniality are as big as Texas.
Posted by will at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2007
White Rock - Kayak Training, August 8, 2007
Rested three days, then paddled 9.6 miles this morning. A slow pace of 3.6 mph. I guess I'll have to live with a measly self-propelled speed of 3 mph for the CR100 (plus whatever speed the current carries).
It was pretty windy today. It was fun paddling against the wind, over, and through the waves, some of which were as tall as the upturned bow of the kayak. Hull-slapping, wave-hopping fun. Going the other direction (with the wind), it's almost like you're not moving -- if you paddle at the same speed as the swells, you can actually ride atop a tiny water hill. Cool. It feels like there's no wind, though, when you're going along with it, and it gets hot much faster. Not so comfortable. But it's easier to cover more ground. Always such a trade-off. Argh.
Current Conditions
Updated: 32 min 33 sec ago
» Disable Rapid Fire — About Rapid Fire
Observed at: Dallas Love, Texas
Elevation: 486 ft / 148 m
94 °F / 34 °C
Partly Cloudy
Humidity: 49%
Dew Point: 72 °F / 22 °C
Wind: 15 mph / 24 km/h / 6.7 m/s from the South
Wind Gust: 18 mph / 30 km/h / 8.2 m/s
Pressure: 29.90 in / 1012 hPa (Falling)
Heat Index: 102 °F / 39 °C
Visibility: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV: 11 out of 16
Clouds: Few 4600 ft / 1402 m
(Above Ground Level)
Raw METAR Aviation
Flight Rule: VFR (KDAL)
Wind Speed: 15 mph / 24 km/h / 6.7 m/s
Wind Dir: 180° (South)
Ceiling: Unlimited
Posted by will at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)
August 05, 2007
White Rock - Kayak Training, August 5, 2007
I went back to paddling the Perception Shadow. I like the Shadow much better than the Futura II. It takes less effort for me to keep it at 4 mph. When it's hot outside like it was this afternoon (95F), the heat wears me out -- even if I'm sitting still and resting. I underestimated how much the weather would affect my ability to paddle my kayak. I can see now that it's a pretty big deal.
So far, I've paddled a total of 49.97 miles (which includes 11 miles along the Trinity river between Lake Ray Roberts and Lake Lewisville), which took about 15 hours, cumulatively.
Posted by will at 06:04 PM | Comments (0)
August 04, 2007
CR100 Training - August 4, 2007
This morning, I tried adding some ballast to the Futura II to see if it would help me sustain a slightly higher cruising speed. I think it does. My goal was to average 5.0 mph for the full 4 miles back and forth between the bridge and the boat house, but I was only able to maintain that speed for the first 1.5 miles. Ugh. I started feeling nauseous, so I figured I probably shouldn't push any harder. By the end of my outing, my average was around 4.24 mph, which is better than the previous few times out with the 19-ft monster.
My impression so far is that the Futura II feels like it has more drag at my ideal cruising speeds (about 4-5 mph) than the Perception Shadow, which is significantly shorter. Not only is the Perception shorter bow-to-stern, I think it has an even shorter actual waterline length, as opposed to Futura II, which has very little bow- and stern-, out-of-water hangover. So the Futura's 19-ft waterline vs. the Shadow's 15-something-ft waterline -- that's a lot more wetted surface area to drag around. Maybe that's why I feel like I haven't been able to paddle 4 miles as quickly as I expected. I still think the Futura II would be capable of a faster top speed in a short (reallly short) race, but I guess my realistic cruising speed is too far below the Futura II's hull speed to justify dragging around that extra length of kayak for touring.
Hopefully when I go back to paddling the Perception Shadow, my 4-mile paddles won't be such a struggle. Futura II -- she might be hot, but she's too high-maintenance.
Posted by will at 07:15 PM | Comments (0)
August 03, 2007
CR100 Training - August 3, 2007
Body feels beaten. Average speed has suffered.
Posted by will at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2007
No Nonsense Office
Random quote from a friend of a friend:
There will be no nonsense in this office!
Posted by will at 01:39 PM | Comments (1)
August 01, 2007
White Rock Kayak Training -- Futura II -- August 1, 2007
Like John speculated, my average speed wasn't any faster in the Futura II. It feels faster, but it's really not. And it scratches very easily. Very disappointing. Anybody want to buy a used Futura II kayak?
Posted by will at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)