Urban Paddling - May 29/2011

One of the many good things about living in Vancouver is the proximity to the outdoors.  False Creek is just a few minutes cycling from my office.  I have paddled here several times before, and so far I still have not gotten tired of the different city views available from the water.  A real urban paddling treat to enjoy from a kayak.

Taking advantage of the nice spring weather, on a sunny Friday afternoon I left the office early, way early. With my Safari in tow I cycled to Vanier Park.  There are boat ramps, parking, the Coast Guard station and... water taps to wash your kayak after paddling.  Unfortunately there was still a problem with the water supply, so no washing this time.  But I found a water hose at the nearby False Creek Community Centre (another convenient put-in place).

First I pointed my bow offshore toward English Bay.  Of course pictures of waves look a lot smaller than they really were.  The breeze was about 12kn with about a 2' chop and a few whitecaps.  Waves were often breaking over the Safari's deck. Trust me... my Safari was bouncing around like a little rubber duckling.  But I felt quite safe with little chance of capsizing and the kayak's self-bailing bottom kept me floating high.  Once I reached the red mark defining False Creek's entrance I decided to turn around to take advantage of a following sea.  It was really fun being pushed by the waves.  My GPS showed a max. speed of 8.5km/hr.!

Now paddling toward the Burrard Bridge to False Creek's protected waters.

Vanier Park is on the right.  On the left and not visible, is Vancouver's WestEnd.

False Creek is home of a boathouse community.  It would be nice...

Quite a few of these boathouses have a boat docked just outside their door.

These innocent looking stone steps lead to Feathercraft.  The world renowned folding kayak manufacturer.

My Java was born in that building behind.

Another convenient put-in place. 

The False Creek Community Centre floating dock c/w a H2O hose.

The FCCC is home of an active paddling racing club.

Continuing... spring is definitely in the air...

Urban paddling offers so many interesting views.

This building, the Erickson, is becoming a Vancouver icon. 

This condo tower was built in honour of the famous architect Arthur Erickson.

We are approaching now the infamous Olympic Village with it's luxury condos subsidised by city taxpayers.

We are all in the hole for that.  But that's another story.

I like the way these guys are hanging out.  If I was a seagull I would be there too.

Of course humans know how to hang out sometimes too.  Like this your couple on the rocks for instance.

Maybe I'll stick to humanity for now.

One of my favourite pictures.  Parked in front of the Creekside Community Centre (another potential put-in place) with Science World in the background.

Urban paddling at its best!

These cormorants also know how to hang out in style.

Now paddling back towards Vanier Park.

I'm just under the Granville Bridge with the Burrard Bridge in the background.

Like it or not, this one of Vancouver most iconic symbols.

The Burrard Bridge was built in the 1930's in an Art Deco style.

Note the wind has died down completely.  Now it would have been the right time to paddle out English Bay, it's getting close to dinner time.  I'll save it for another time.

My new Feathercraft Java First Paddle

We finally had a half decent weekend without rain, snow, etc...  Time for a long awaited launch.

They promised sunny skies with a high of 8C.  It turned out to be a hazy sun with barely 7 degrees for a high.  Better than snow anyway.

BTW, please don't mind this mini post lack detail and pics... more will follow.

Of course like most folding or inflatable kayaks, it's quite easy to tow the whole thing behind your bike, or at least my bike.  The trailer shown is a Burley Flatbed I purchased from the Bike Doctor in Vancouver.  I usually go to my paddling sites this way... kayak in tow and four panniers.  Of course if there's easy transit access, then I opt to take my kayak on the bus.  But that's another story.

Put-in place is a floating dock belonging to the False Creek Community Centre.  It is actually located very close to the Feathercraft factory.

Set-up was straight forward.  I have been through this a few times in my living room.

...and here she is.  It's still not a 10 minute assembly time like FC claims, more like 30 minutes for now.  With practice, I will be happy to cut it in half to about 15.  In comparison, the Wisper took about 40 minutes with practice and the Safari just about 10 minutes.

Off I go!  Strangely, at first I felt very unstable.  But that's probably because during the winter I lost my kayak legs.  Back in September I test paddled the Java, it actually felt more stable than my Safari.

This somewhat blurry photo doesn't really show I was actually slip-sliding all other the place. Then I realized I forgot to deploy the skeg.  Now I know how the Java paddles without it.

Back to the dock to catch my breath.  I wasn't sure how difficult it would be to lower that skeg.  I heard complaints of this being a problem.  But no, no problem.  A good firm pull on the line and I felt the skeg go down.  Now I'm really ready to go.

The afternoon is well advanced, I will just have time for a short paddle.

Alright, this was a pathetically short ride.  I barely made it to False Creek's entrance on the way out to English Bay.  A total of 3.5km round trip.  A strong current, lack of time and... hunger made me turn back to the start.  It was fun anyway and besides, it was my first paddle of the year!

My first time out was actually a success over all.  I had a taste of how things work and feel.  So far I'm quite happy, the Java is very comfortable and I'm sure I will have lots of fun with it.

Last summer when I test paddled a demo Java I was really impressed by it.  I duplicated dumping and re-entries like I often do with the Safari, for fun.  We all know when we do these practice things for fun is really to avoid future problems when it gets nasty out there.

Back at the dock I noticed how handsome this Java is.  Just like all other Feathercraft products, design is first rate.  I also love the colour.  It was a toss between teal and red.  Colour was probably the hardest decision I had to take.  I kept changing my mind for this-or-that-very-good-reason.  But then at the last moment, just before going into production, I settled on teal.  I like it.

Innova Safari Inflatable Kayak First Paddle

Finally, after many delays I managed to take my new inflatable kayak Innova Safari out for a paddle.  A good place to put-in is Vanier Park by the Coast Guard station and the entrance of False Creek in Vancouver.

Putting together the boat was a real snap.  The red hull is first unrolled on the ground; then the skeg is mounted under the stern; after the seat and footrest are to be inflated first, then the bottom chamber and sides last.  All this is done with a foot pump.  Getting myself ready with all the proper paddling clothes, etc. - one needs to be dressed for immersion around here - took longer than preparing the kayak.

But first, an introductory photo

These photos of the Safari being assembled were taken during a paddle at a later date.  This explains the different scenery.

The rig.

Out of the bag.

The seat and footrest are inflated first.  The bottom next; then the two sides.

Finally ready.

Carrying the boat to the water is really easy.  It weighs just little over 10kg.

Getting into the kayak... no problem.  Oops, wide angle lens shot.

So far, so good.  This kayak is so small at 10' LOA compared to the Wisper!

Stability for now feels similar to my FC Wisper.  It tends to weathercock a bit with each paddle stroke. I'm sure that with practice I'll learn to compensate for it.  Boat speed isn't bad either, not as fast as the Wisper though.

It's nice to be in an open boat.  No cramped feeling.

This is really fun.  Look mom, paddling with my eyes closed!!

The Safari "turns on a dine".  Notice the wake.

Then off towards Vancouver's skyline.  BTW, that's the first blue sky in weeks.

A view of the cockpit.  The footrest needs to come closer.

All together I paddled around False Creek for about an hour.  The Safari is really fun; stability is comparable to the Wisper but even with the skeg weathercocking is noticeable.  Like anything new, it will take a bit of getting used to.

Overall the Safari is a pleasure to paddle.  My leg still tried to fall asleep, but being an open boat I was able to stretch and hang the leg out for a while to get the circulation going.  This isn't possible on the Wisper.

For a first paddle I was really impressed with the little Safari.  Next outing I will start practicing self-rescues.  They say there's no need for a paddle float.  One just straddles the kayak and climb back on board.  We'll see... I'll bring it just in case it's needed.