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Kayaker Does 687 Miles Along the Inside Passage
Don and Réanne,
Thanks for the visit and
the hot chocolate on the Baidarka! Here are some of the
details of my SOLO kayak trip from Friday Harbor to Tongass
Island, Alaska in the summer 2004.
I left on June 30th and
arrived at Tongass island 49 days later. For a total of
687 statute miles, averaging about 14 miles per day, counting
my rest or force rest days, I was forced to remain put
about 6 days because of NW gales. My longest paddle was
over 32 miles, over 11 hours of moving paddling time,
along the BC coast of Queen Charlotte strait. I was taking
advantage of a slight SE wind, aiding me on these open
and potentially dangerous waters. It took me four days
to pass Cape Caution from Bonwick Is. Most days on the
voyage I paddled 7-8 hours of paddling time. With my GPS
as a tool I estimated that for Every nautical mile I paddled
it took about 1000 paddle strokes!
My kayak is a Feathercraft,
Kahuna model, 14 ft. 9" long. It disassembles and
fits into a backpack type bag. I slept almost every night
in a Hennessey Hammock, much easier than finding a tent
site on the rocky and steep shoreline. I admit that my
heart was pounding with fear at least every three days
due to rip tides, high waves, wind, and a combination
of all of the above. But by some miracle I never capsized,
although many times I felt like the kayak surely would.
The flexible nature of the Feathercraft, helped to keep
me afloat.
My life is an adventure, from crossing Africa in a VW
van, climbing over 20,000 ft. in South America, kayaking
in Patagonia, Chile, etc.,etc, and now this latest adventure.
I am 61 years old, and I am not stopping now.
I own and operate Folklore,
an Import Store in Port Townsend, Washington, with beautiful
hand crafts from Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, and Chile.
Folklore specializes in beautiful Alpaca and wool sweaters.
submitted by Tom Stammer,
Port Townsend, WA
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