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   Well, just under one month to go before launching the expedition to reclaim the speed record for circumnavigating BC Canada's Vancouver Island.

   The goal for the roughly 1150 kilometer trip is 16 days.

   Just booked my ticket today to British Columbia and I'm aiming for a launch sometime in the third week of August. Time to get to work and finish up the food lists, gear list etc and pick up the new Spot Messenger and a new VHF Marine Radio in the next few days.

   Going to be a good time for sure, I can hardly wait to get out there and have a little fun!!

   Just recently, the 24-Hour World Record for kayaking(moving water) was raised even higher. 

Andy Cora, paddling an Epic V12 surfski raised the bar to just over 439 kilometers, paddling his way down the Yukon River, located in Canada's Yukon Territory. A  very impressive feat indeed. This breaks the 6 year old mark set by adventure racing legend Ian Adamson.

Click HERE for the full report, as written by Jeremy Rogers.

Beating this one will be a tall task indeed!

Congratulations Andy, job well done.

Cheers...Joe O'

   Well, the yard is filling up fast. Received a load of Tahe Marine sea kayaks last night, quickly unwrapped them and put them all onto the racks before supper. 

   Took one of them, the Tahe Multisport, out for a little paddle this afternoon and rather liked it. Very stable design, 17'2 X 20.5" with a Smart Track Rudder system (the ONLY rudder system I like at all for sea kayaks), it is a lively and fun design from Johan Wirsen, lead designer for Tahe Marine.

   I still need to make a few adjustments to the rudder pedals themselves to get them in the position I like (raising the entire system another inch or so and trimming the setting on the pivoting upper pedals (These have solid foot braces in addition to an upper gas pedal style of pedal, SO MUCH better than the outdated push/ pull systems still used by some brands out there).

   Here is a review from Outside Magazine, posted on the Tahe website:

   22.04.2009 Outside Magazine visited Johan Wirsén and tested Multisport

I took a short trip to Borgholm this weekend for my first paddle of the year. The highlight of my trip was a test paddling of the new Tahe Multisport. I was also able to meet with Johan Wirsén, the designer of the Multisport, and see his recently launched winter project; the sailing boat in the picture. It was our first spring like weather of the season, with calm winds, and a sunny 12-13 degrees C (54-55 degrees F).

The Tahe Multisport is one of Tahe´s new models for this year and it is thought of as an exercise kayak rather than a touring kayak. It is 520 cm long, 52 cm wide like a classic racer. The Multisport features a fairly spacious cockpit which allows for serious leg work, and it has a generous storage space in the rear. The weight in carbon is about 16-17 kg (35-37 lbs), which is a little heavy for a racer but light compared with most sea kayaks.

With its straight bow and painted stripes, the Multisport looks very sporty; as indeed it is. The seat is a permanently fixed and cannot be adjusted. The SmartTrack rudder is of a keeper type, and I found it worked well, especially once I discovered that I can keep my feet in the middle without the pedals getting caught. My first impression was that the kayak felt a little unstable, but it gets more stable as you lean more. My next impression was that you can actually paddle properly. The bow is low, slim, and cut out so you can dip the paddle in the right place.

When I added pressure to the paddle, the Multisport responded well. In many sea kayaks it feels like somebody threw in a grapnel as soon as you try to speed up past a certain limit. But with the Multisport it actually felt as though my own capability set the limit.

   Myself, I found it to be a very stable and predictable kayak, certainly a lot of fun to paddle 

   Among some other kayaks that arrived yesterday was another Tahe Greenland, a couple more Gulfspirits, one OceanSpirit, the Seaspirit, a Wind Solo and a carbon fiber Reval Mini that I'm dying to paddle next time there are some decent waves on Lake Superior.

   Another new project keeping me busy, in addition to going non stop filling orders for my custom built Greenland Paddles, is the new Transitional Stick, or "T-Stick" for short, a project first suggested to me during a phone call from 2008 triple gold medalist from the Greenland Kayak Championships Helen Wilson. 

   Speaking of Helen, we are bringing her in at the end of July for a two day Greenland Paddling Weekend of Rolling Instruction, an intro to Rope Gymnastics and a Slideshow. During her rolling clinics, I will also be giving a basic strokes clinic using Greenland Paddles.

   Shown below between the two halves of a custom two-piece Greenland Paddle (the one Helen is using this July in Greenland).

   Helen called me with her idea for the project and a rough description of what she had in mind. I then thought about it and drew one out, cut the wood strips, laminated it, shaped it, oiled it up with Tung Oil and shipped the first one off to her. You can see it in the new issue of Sea Kayaker Magazine in an article from Helen on rolling.

   These are now available for sale and the orders have been coming in steady ever since the magazine hit the shelves recently.

   All in all, it has been an extremely busy year here with paddle sales already surpassing my goal for the entire year! Some new products coming up will include SUP paddles (Standup Paddleboard paddles), maybe some SUPs and we are also bringing in some high end carbon fiber wing paddles (just for fun).

   Check back soon, more updates shortly. The Blog has been neglected these last few months as I've struggled to try and keep up with orders for my paddles. Busy times lately but I love it!

Cheers...Joe O'

   The local rivers are really opening up now and paddling season is ramping up!

Got out on the Neebing for a paddle this weekend in my C1 marathon racing canoe and it felt great to have it back on the water. Still plenty of ice around but is is opening up fast.

   Weather forecast is looking good for the next couple of weeks as well so winter just may be over. May have to grab one of the sea kayaks this afternoon for a paddle.

   Speaking of kayaks, I took in a Wilderness Systems Freedom 15 sit on top yesterday and it is for sale. More details can be found on the "Kayaks" page of my website.

   Going to post this now and then get some work done. Need to get forms made up for some of the events we are putting on for the Superior Kayak & Canoe Club and get some more paddles finished up for folks. As always, going to be another good but busy day.

Cheers...Joe O'

    Seems like Spring may be arriving earlier than normal here along the shores of Lake Superior in northwestern Canada. Higher than normal temperatures and rapidly melting snow and ice has me thinking that the river across the street will be open within days! Checked it out yesterday and there is open water now, not a long section just yet but possibly enough for a little paddle later today anyways, just something to break things up from the indoor training I've been doing on the Speedstroke Kayak ergometer. Just need to decide which boat to paddle first. NDK Greenlander Pro (for sale)...Tahe Greenland, marathon C1 racing canoe? Decisions, decisions!

To further confuse things, within the next couple weeks I'll have my new Tahe Wind 585 and the Kayakpro Marlin and Namu arriving as well. Might need to build another boat rack soon!

    Training is going well for my Vancouver Island Expedition this summer. The goal is an 1100 or so kilometer circumnavigation in under 17 days. Click here for a piece just posted with Canoe & Kayak Magazine. 

    Plenty going on behind the scenes these days for the Superior Kayak & Canoe club as well. I've had a series of meetings with key paddlers in the area and we are working on a new schedule of events for local sea kayaking and canoeing, working on plans for a weekend of Greenland paddling and instruction with Helen Wilson coming in to town this summer. Also organizing a trial run for a new race here on the shores of Lake Superior, likely going to be about a 50-55 kilometer course this time around. It's going to be informal this year but I'm using it as a stepping stone towards a bigger and better event for 2011 and beyond. Word is spreading quickly though as just yesterday I had an inquiry about it from a top ultramaraton racer from California who just may fly in for the event! We are intentionally keeping the event small for this year as we feel things out so already we have turned down a couple of more "Recreational" paddlers as we focus more on the racers for this year. We will likely include a shorter event next year for the more recreational paddlers.

   For those of you overseas and looking for a new Greenland Paddle, my hand-built paddles are now available in Sweden as well as in the U.K. The first shipment arrived in Sweden yesterday and will be on display at the Tahe Marine booth at the Stockholm International Boat Show starting next week!

   I'll likely do another post this evening, particularly if I manage to get out on the river this afternoon. For now though, I have a pile of paddles in front of me waiting for a coat of oil and then have to head into the woodshop and start working away on the orders that are piling up. Today I need to finish one off and ship it out to a fellow in Nevada and then laminate 3 more for Helen Wilson down in California.

Cheers... Joe O'

   Well with the 2010 paddling season fast approaching, I'm gearing up to bring in another line of kayaks to Thunder Bay. Hoping to have a few domo models on hand by Spring from KAYAKPRO. 

   All models that come in are available for demo purposes, just contact me ahead of time. These are a line of truly high performance kayaks with a true racing heritage. Kayakpro is owned by 5-Time Olympian Grayson Bourne!

   Likely the first model to arrive will be the Kayakpro Marlin

Other models to be announced soon!

Also avaialble for demo will be the Speedstroke Gym kayak ergometer, shown here being used by Canadian Olympic and World Champion kayaker Adam Van Koeverden.

I'll make an announcement as soon as they arrive. The ergometer should be here next week!

Cheers...Joe O'

Well folks...excited as i was about the Paddle One canoe trainer in my last blog post (not even arrived yet), it is going up for sale right away!

Why?

As a result of a very fast paced and VERY interesting day today, I'll soon be receiving the two above trainers from Speedstroke. The first photo of their world class kayak ergometer, used by Olympic athletes around the world, the second photo of the new canoeing version. Kayak model should be here within a week, the canoe model a week or so later.

Both will be available for demo by contacting me in advance.

The two above trainers will form the basis of my preseason training for the Vancouver Island Expedition in June. A HUGE thank you goes out to the folks at Kayak Pro and Speedstroke!

Cheers...Joe O'

   Been a busy start so far to 2010. I never dreamed I'd be so busy at this time of year. A few noteworthy things from the last few weeks include receiving issue #18 of Ocean Paddler Magazine, my first issue of this fine U.K. magazine. This one was of particular interest to me due to the awesome piece they did reviewing a trio of Greenland Paddles, one of which was one of mine! Needless to say I was pretty excited when the magazine arrived and I got to look it over. The Greenland Paddle piece was great but what really got me was the overall quality and content of the magazine. Very nicely done guys! I'll be planning on reading through every issue, cover to cover from here on. And what's really great is the special subscription offer they have in place right now. With a 12 issue subscription, you get a free copy of the new DVD, Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown! Sounds good to me!

   When not busy building up paddles and Rolling Sticks I've been getting out XC skiing a bit lately. The photo below is from a few kilometers upstream along the river that is 100 meters from our front door. Not bad at all. Paddle it in the spring, summer and fall, ski or snowshoe it in the winter.  

I've also been doing a fair bit of winter cycling on the studded ice tire equipped mountain bike. 

   I also recently picked up a "Bob Ibex" cycling trailer, complete with adjustable suspension. The perfect thing for bicycle touring as well as commuting. With the studded tires, it rides great on the snowy and icy roads. Hoping for the right conditions to take it for a ride on Lake Superior one of these days and, potentially, do the crossing to Pie Island. The recent warm spell has put doubts on that however.

   Another item I'm excited about is my new Paddle One -"C" canoe training machine, due to arrive anyday now! It'll come in handty for indoor training as I ramp things up for this Junes expedition to reclaim the speed record for circumnavigating BC's Vancouver Island. The bad thing about doing the Island again is that I'll likely have to pass on racing in this years Yukon River Quest again. Hopefully next year I can get back to the Yukon once again.

   That being said, the only way I'm going to be able to do all of this is if I get my butt in gear and get back to work on building some more paddles and getting some orders shipped off....so it is time to save this entry, grab the spokeshave and head into the shop for a couple of hours.

Cheers...Joe O'

B.C.'s Queen Charlotte Islands have officially been renamed Haida Gwaii as part of a historic reconciliation agreement between the province and the Haida Nation, Premier Gordon Campbell announced Friday in Vancouver.

Read full story here:

More here on video:

    A balmy 12 degrees below freezing outside today, certainly feels like winter has arrived here in northwestern Ontario Canada. Time to change the tires on the mountain bike tomorrow and put on the studded ice tires I bought last winter from Petrie's Cycle and Sports in Thunder Bay and get ready for some winter riding now that the local waters are starting to freeze up.

The above photo is from a recent paddle on the Neebing River ( the put-in just 100 meters from the house), note the ice forming along the side of the river.

Note the ice formed on my heart rate monitor in the above photo. Late season interval training in my marathon solo race canoe.

A couple shots from some mid November paddling in one our Tahe Greenland kayaks, both shots also from the Neebing River (about a 35 to 40 minute easy paddle from the western shores of Lake Superior).

    When not paddling these days, I've been spending my time building and shipping out Greenland Paddles, Rolling Sticks etc through North America and beyond. Just shipped some more to California today and am sending some stuff off to British Columbia tomorrow. More orders to ship within days to Washington State, southern Ontario and more stuff to California.

     An item I just recently started building are the Norsaq Rolling Sticks. I built the first few for fun thinking I may sell one or two. Little did I know I'd be suddenly backlogged with orders to places as far away as Argentina, California, British Columbia etc.

    Between the Greenland Paddles, Storm Paddles and the Rolling Sticks, the paddles have been keeping me hopping lately for sure. Within a couple months i hope to be posting new photos of some hybrid carbon fiber/ wood Outrigger Canoe/ Marathon Canoe racing paddles that I'll be developing next month.

   The big challenge it seems is to find the balance between time in the wood shop and setting aside time to train. In just over 6 months, I'm set to launch a solo expedition around Vancouver Island to reclaim the speed record that was broken last year. Lots of work to do to get ready for this trip. Going to have to sell lots of paddles to pay for it too. Oh well, all part of the fun!

   For those into the Greenland style of paddling, here is a new website you may be interested  in, it was recently launched by a paddler over in Australia and it is well worth checking out. http://greenlandpaddlers.com/

   And for those of you with Facebook, I've recently created a Group page on Facebook for the custom Greenland Paddles, Storm Paddles, Rolling Sticks and Canoe paddles that I build by hand, one at a time from our little home based shop. Joe O' Paddles on Facebook.

Cheers...Joe O'