Well, back to talking about technology… I am sure most people have now heard of SPOT and the services they offer. The general idea is to offer the option to people in the back coutry to let friends and family know where they are on Google earth by the push of a button. The device also offer a 911 option to call for help when needed.
While there is no argument lots of people are very happy with SPOT, there are also a few arguments that keep coming back:
- It’s expensive as you have to keep paying year after year to keep your “account” open
- You don’t know if the message as been sent as there is no obvious feed back from the device (different LED flashing pattern would be nice)
- Now for safety, about the 911 option there is the concern that SPOT is a private company renting satellites to transmit your signal. Possibly if they did not pay their bills or decided to close the door and go to Mexico…. you’d be left pushing the button..
Now I know this is unlikely and there are recourse and firewalls, but here you go, SPOT is initiating a Voluntary Return Program for their new SPOT-2 as there seems to be a problem with them…
Of course every manufacturer runs into trouble, but it’s a little scary there as the company claims that SPOT is all you need to get Roadside, marine or back-country Assistance!
While I think the beauty of the idea is to provide the people that stay at home a realistic position of their loved ones out there, I would not say all you need is a SPOT for your safety… but I guess that’s just marketing at work.
Certainly the fact that SPOT is largely advertise will get the message to the main population and in that regard save lives. Nobody knows what a PLB or an EPIRB is, or a VHF radio… but SPOT is out there and selling units so I guess it’s good.
But if you are a kayaker looking for safety electronics, try to carry a few different options with you just in case… Have a look here for more options…
And while I am at it, if you are shopping for Marine Grade Electronics, Try shopping at Waypoint Marine as they have the best prices and service you can dream off, I am always a happy customer there!

Trying to bring you some news and help you spend your money on this great Christmas season….
Lots of interesting new stuff coming from Justine Curgenven’s Movie production Cackle TV:
- First thing, you can now buy “This is the Sea 1″ by download… so you can buy and watch without stepping out…
You just need to follow this LINK with you Credit card ready and click…
Click HERE and it will take you to the write up and trailer of the movie.

_The second thing is that Cackle TV is now coming out with a movie about Canoeing as well, so it looks like all water-sports will get to shine and that’s good to hear. Showing a awesome sense of Humor on the blog, the author comment “Some people will be relieved ( or disappointed?) that the acronym is the very respectable TIC !” Standing for This Is Canoeing,, pointing out that the Serie of This Is The Sea are commonly referred to as TITS…
On her blog Justine confess she’s been out kayak Surfing quite a bit as well… You can also find her on Facebook and Youtube…

Here is the Canoe piece that she posted so far..

and then the Trailer of  “This is the sea”  just because I couldn’t resist!

By request, here is a quick view of the dates for the Courses coming up in 2010:
We are going to run some awesome programs, there are a lot of new teaching aids and new approaches to strokes teaching.

The best news is that I will be using videos on the water to help with Observation and Correction. We’ll spend some time recording each students and then give back personal feed back with images to clear the concepts and misunderstandings.
When you are watching yourself from away everything seems obvious and the learning curve steepen up, plus you get a souvenir to take home…
So here are the dates:
Level 2: March 18-21
Level 2 : May 1-4
Level 1 : May 8-9
Level 2: May 29- June 1
Level 1: June 5-6
For more info about the courses Curriculum, follow those links:
Level 1 info
Level 2 info
And if none of those dates work for you, contact us for more options…

A little mix of paddling news, paddling worlds, 2009 is getting there…
First of all a Big Chapeau to Freya Hoffmeister who has completed her 332-day, 9,400-mile sea-kayak circumnavigation of Australia. The 45-year-old German is only the second paddler to accomplish the feat, and the first woman to complete the challenging circuit. She also was the fastest, by nearly a month. More here about this…
On a more local note, the Tide and Current Tables for 2010 have arrived in Victoria and can be found at Munro’s Book, so you can plan your trips ahead or find out where and when you favorite Tide Race will show up…
Have a look at this video for an awesome view of the water underworld, an army of sea star come to devour a dead seal pup…
And Lendal Paddles has officially been sold to none other than Nigel Denis in the UK, and MEC Victoria is selling their last Lendal paddles at very good prices… Christmas is here right?
Apart from that, I am kayak fishing and it’s good around here, I think I’ll make a video tomorrow!
And follow this link to an article on Canoe&Kayak magazine and tell me why it’s a good article???
see you on the water.

News are coming down to me slowly about some good looking boats, unheard of so far, and that’s exciting, a little like new tracks on fresh snow… or new routes on fresh Salt-water I guess!
Anyway, for what I understand, P&H is launching some new models to “replace” the Capella Serie in some way, the new boats go by the following names:
The Aries in Fiberglass and the the 3 ply plastic P&H Delphin, I believe both will be available in 150 and 155… this is clearly going toward a line of playboats, and kayaks easy to store and deal with when times come to carry them, which sounds very good to me.
a few pics:
THE ARIES

THE ARIES

And then the cousin, very similar boat but made of plastic:
THE DELPHIN:

THE DELPHIN

So far I gathered about that much… The Aries & the Corelite Dephinius play off the agile Cetus / Scorpio designs. They are re-sculpted to get the most out a high energy environment which means they are aimed to shine in crazy water and tide race play. P&H tells us both models offer quick acceleration for catching waves and surging through gaps, ample rocker for fast response, and a pronounced mid section to allow the kayaks to side-surf and spin on edge.
This sounds like a good boat to learn kayaking in, responsive, fun, light… never mind “high energy environment”, this could be the ultimate Day boat for sea kayakers that don’t want to get bored…
I’ll keep you updated if there is more, you can visit P&H website, not very exciting, or their Facebook, much better: here. And keep in mind MEC will have those this spring, and there should be some available for Demos…