Goodbye Summer

Today is ‘officially’ the end of summer, though by sunrise/sunset, there was an eight minute difference between night and day. Not going to pick nits about it, its getting chilly as all get out, outside. Kittehs are bundled in cubbies about the house, letting me know they are not appreciating the shift in the worlds thermostat.

But its not so cold that I want to build a fire, just yet. When the evenings start dropping and staying in the low 40s, then I start the burn cycle: Until then, I dress accordingly. Hoodies are a must, as are long pants. My runnin’ around in shorts days are pretty much at an end until next summer. Chances are there will be a day or two around and about still, but not for long and not frequently,,,,

And that means that I busted out the cold weather kayak-y gear and loaded it into the truck: Dry top, Pogies, neoprene hood, fleece and polypropylene shirts,,, Everything but the wetsuits and wetsuit pants. Those I put on before heading out since they sort of require a bit of privacy to don.

Lizzy is coming along nicely. Still need to buff and polish the hull. One more session of wet sanding with 2000 grit and then polish time. Her hull is silkie smooth right now and starting to show shine from the progressive sanding efforts. The shinier she is now, the better the buff and polish will turn out. And as I was told a long time ago: the smoother the finish, the faster the boat. Been a LONG LONG time since I ran a buffer on gel coat, but some things are never forgotten. It’s not like I am shooting for a race boat in Lizzy, but the easier a boat glides, the less you have to push. And maybe I do want to race her,,, Gotta get some serious seat time in and get my confidence levels built up. And there are a few months between now and when the next races will be to get some conditioning in. (and sock back some entry fees. They started getting expensive the last couple years. First race I ran was a $20 entry fee. the last was $50 and I have seen some as high as $75. And its not like you are shooting for winning a pot or anything,,,)

And I need to get some conditioning in for other reasons. I went to the website of a sea kayaking group. The one the late former owner of Lizzy belonged to. And the KEY requirement of all their paddles was “have condition paddled 3-10 mile laps in the last month”. condition paddling is holding ‘above cruise’ for the entire lap. I have no idea what cruise is for Lizzy, but I have read in several forums, 6 knots. Compared to Blue Jean, whose cruise is 3.5 knots, and I have pushed and held her to that, but not for 10 miles,,, Got a lot of paddling to do to get in shape if I want to play with the Big Kids apparently.

And oh, to have access to BIG LAKES like that group does. They went on Lake Superior two weeks back and had a 7 hour drive for them to get to the ferry they accessed. That would be a 12+ hour drive for me,,,, And from the ferry it was something on the order of 8 miles open water to reach the Island they were camping on. When you are on water in a kayak, at 2 miles, all you see is horizon in all directions. That deck compass doesn’t seem so frivolous in that situation, does it? But that is the paddling I want to do eventually: Long open runs, camping in remote places, days or weeks in length, and NO PHONE.

in the video description, this is unusual weather for that area: glass water is NOT the norm on Lake Superior. That island Is the one the group went to for the weekend and the event was slated for 4 days in their calendar.

So, goodbye summer, but not a goodbye to kayaking for me. Just have to change my ‘fashion’ the same way the world is changing seasons.