Bypassing the winter blues

[BudGates]

One way that I'm bypassing the winter blues is by planning a 30 mile kayak trip through the Crow Wing Lakes for June. (I hope to paddle the entire 120 mile Crow Wing River in 2019.) Since we moved to Minnesota from sunny Southern California I've also been ordering clothing to help keep me dry and warm while on the water, not only for this trip but also for the new Tandem Island sailing kayak that we're hoping purchase.

Last year we ... we bought 2 new kevlar pack canoes.

Last July my son and his new bride used a canoe as a "get-away vehicle" after their wedding. My brother and I met them with their car about a mile down river where we traded "vehicles" and paddled the canoe back.

(You may notice that they're not wearing life jackets but this slow lazy river is less than 3 feet deep so we didn't see it as an issue.)

Nice boats. When I use to race kayaks, slalom and whitewater, we called those tandem kayaks, like the one in your video, "divorce boats".

-Will (Dragonfly)

My brother commented "If they can paddle a canoe without fighting they're off to a good start."

 

[walt]

Yesterday we did a beautiful sad and thankful hike near Yarnell Arizona to this memorial https://azstateparks.com/hotshots/ where 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot Firefighters were lost on June 30, 2013 while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire

 

[Will Gilmore]

Yesterday we did a beautiful sad and thankful hike near Yarnell Arizona to this memorial https://azstateparks.com/hotshots/ where 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot Firefighters were lost on June 30, 2013 while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire
View attachment 146847 View attachment 146848 View attachment 146849

Thank you for posting that.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Pat]

Justin, there were three bald eagles in the trees just west of the west yard last Saturday....they seemed very happy....and
tons of pelicans out on the lake and in the slips...it was very warm and calm for February....Patrick

 

[Justin_NSA]

Pat, I've gotten several good pics of the eagles at the lake
shot from a good distance. The juvenile has a fish -

 

[videorov]

Keep up the hope to get on the water soon..........

 

[Siamese]

I live in Michigan, so about half the year is off limits for sailing. To make it worse, I live right next to the marina, so all winter I see those empty, snow covered icy slips.

We alleviated the despair by getting a travel trailer and storing it down by Huntsville, Alabama. Drive down, hook up, and spend a month in New Orleans, Vicksburg, Mobile, and Pensacola. It's somewhat similar to sailing. You can stay in a marina (actually, a campground with full hookups), or you can anchor out (Walmart parking lot, casino, etc.). You're living on 12v, you have a bank of two 6v golf cart batteries to maintain, and a generator. You're in a confined space, and you have to plan trips and navigate. Oh, and potable water tank and holding tanks! And, we have to maintain the thing...tire pressures, plumbing, caulking, and so on. Also, like sailing, there are safety issues that we address with checklists so that when we leave our campsite (dock) we're not trailing any cords, etc.. Backing into some impossible campsites is very similar to docking...hit anything and you have damage. We don't use fenders, but we do have to deploy levelers under the tires. No, there aren't any sails on the thing, but if we leave our awning (genoa?) out and the wind picks up, we either have to roll it partway in (reef it), or roll it up completely or it'll get out of control.

 

[videorov]

Looks like a move to Florida in the future if you still want to sail.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Didn't want to bypass these winter blues last week ...

 

[Justin_NSA]

Skiing. The sane person's way to cope with winter!

 

[Gunni]

You are sailors, you like to meet other sailors right? Get ye down island. Be a good ambassador.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

It's amazing how many sailors are also skiers. So many are torn between the mountains and the oceans as the place they long to be. Warren Miller described a ski turn on a mountain as "pure freedom" ... exactly the feeling that describes an ocean passage. This is how my crew rolls!

 

[jon hansen]

some of the same issues, WATCH OUT FOR ROCKS

 

[Kermit]

some of the same issues, WATCH OUT FOR ROCKS

Mind the big rocks!
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/fc14016b-b04d-4d60-a0ae-520d3a5204f7

 

[Ken Cross]

Got done snowshoeing so we are in Australia at the moment.

 

[Will Gilmore]

So that's why the 3:49am post
G' day mate.

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Kings Gambit]

February 2018 Long Beach Harbor--that's us in the lead!
KG

 

[DAVA390]

My skiing days ended about 3 years ago,but the skis are still working for me,sort of.

 

[Hot Ruddered Bum]

Fort Walton Yacht club in Ft Walton Beach Florida has very affordable "seasonal" memberships and some available slips. Check it out a FWYC.com No snow or ice and year around sailing. We have a beach and a bar too! Bring your boat and come visit next winter! There is an airport 10 miles away that several major airlines fly into for folks that just have to go back and forth up north..

 

[Justin_NSA]

Fort Walton Yacht club in Ft Walton Beach Florida has very affordable "seasonal" memberships and some available slips. Check it out a FWYC.com No snow or ice and year around sailing. We have a beach and a bar too! Bring your boat and come visit next winter! There is an airport 10 miles away that several major airlines fly into for folks that just have to go back and forth up north..

I discovered the Emerald Coast back in the 80's when I did some work for Boeing on Eglin AFB. I stayed at a hotel on the beach, practically across the road from the Hog's Breath Saloon that got destroyed by one of the hurricanes. The yacht club is not far from there. We still vacation in the area. Already set for August in Destin.