big kayaky weekend past, and I am thinking on the ‘Me’ and my reactions to things, ya might even say ‘dwelling’ (or obsessing) on things.
First off, I didn’t start on a good foot, was twitchy as all get out before we even were on water. NOW, this may have had something to do with the fact that we had been up drinking until 2:30 the prior night, or the fact that it seemed like it took us forever to get our shit together and get to the water, BUT, that doesn’t fully explain my attitude. And I blew up on Bruce before the trip really even started, and for that I fully apologize, but the fact I did so, showed plainly that I was not in a good frame of mind.
Oh, and thats why I didn’t post much about it. My performance was marginal at best, though I did finish with a dry hair day, even after hitting EVERY SINGLE STINKING ROCK IN THE DANGED RIVER,,,, Never lost it, didn’t capsize once, but had some seriously hairy (to me) situations involving mostly submerged rocks in really fast moving water. ( I didn’t hit them all obviously, but there were more than a few and I learned how to read the water better for it. Those danged rocks are sneaky though. Get right out there and suddenly you are on top of it and moving fast with no time to correct,,,)
And there could also be the fact that I have NEVER had the ARC on FAST water,,,,(Buck was fast, but not THIS fast) Even my edging, which is one thing I am proud of in the ARC, was marginal. I was just way too damned tense,,,, (I did move the seat forward to the middle position and that seems to have alleviated the slicey tail getting grabbed by current when I least expect it. It does still catch in bigger waves, but that actually helped me drive forward into the oncoming wave, but that wasn’t the reason I couldn’t hold edge very well; Tense hips and head were the culprit there.)
If I want to pursue this, I am thinking I need to drop some cash on a white water clinic for Newbs at one of the rivers out that way. I am not getting this with the water we have around me, and the long boats I very much prefer are not teaching me how to handle one of the short boats.
And yeah, I probably could have taken Blue Jean down that river yesterday, even done pretty good in the cascades seeing how she has so much rocker built into her keel, but there are rivers/creeks that she just will not work on. (she is called a SEA kayak for a reason,,,,)
Even the Olymp4 is too long for ‘creeks’.
Oh, but I still want a longer boat, no matter what the consensus is,,, And I can see it being a thorn that festers in the future. Even if I were to get a crossover boat,,,, (note, a crossover boat is kinda like a green boat, longer hull, but with a lot of rocker built in, and usually has a drop down skeg for the slow water parts, so that it can track like a longer boat. Raise the skeg for the gnarly stuff.)
Anywhoos, review on how the ARC did. Swampy little boat. By that I mean, when you go over a ‘pour over’, you are going to punch THROUGH the first wave, and that water is coming right into your lap/chest/face, depending on how steep the drop is. She isn’t as punchy as the Piro was, but she still punches that wave. That may seem a complaint in some peoples opinion, but I don’t mind it, It gives me a chance to see the rhythm of the wave train (the punch slows you down, a lot.) as I surface in the first trough. Its pretty refreshing too. (and that boat seems so much more stable submerged, and she is plenty stable up-surface.). I am not at all dissatisfied with the boat.
I am dissatisfied with me at this point, I could have done so much better, but I screwed the pooch, chewed out a friend that was bending over backwards to help me, and for that I am even more ‘ticked off’ at me. I may be forgiven, but I have not forgiven me, YET.(that’s what this post is for, at least as the confessional side of forgiveness.)
Dio's Workshop 