A Day On The Colorado River

Yesterday I decided to try out the speed of my new kayak. I wanted to make a run from Willow Beach up to the hot springs at the Arizona Campground in Black Canyon. It's about 8 miles and I thought I could make it in 2 hrs or less. The dam and the river had other ideas. I left about 9am and the current was the worst I've run into down there. I paddled for about 2 hours straight with no breaks and only made it 5.6 miles. It was obvious making it to the hot springs was not doable within my time limit so I found a nice beach to take a lunch break then had a relaxing paddle back. Ran into a couple fisherman, 1 kayaker and 2 guys canoe camping. Other than that, I had the river to myself. The weather was beautiful with just a slight breeze and temperatures in the mid 60s. A few miles up from Willow Beach I though I saw a white boat coming down river. It turned out to be the biggest bird I've ever seen on the water. This bird was HUGE! After I got home I looked it up in my bird book and I believe it was a Tundra Swan. They are not really common here. I'm assuming it took a wrong turn somewhere and stopped on the river for a break. On the way back to Willow Beach it was hanging out in a cove with some other ducks and Coots. I'll have to get down there next week and try to get some better photos, if it's still in the area.

Big bird....I mean REALLY BIG bird!

Inside the Emerald Cave

These guys were hanging out on the road to Willow Beach, just off the main highway.

Rainy Day Paddle

I had never kayaked in the rain before but today was the day. Actually it was more sprinkles than rain, at least for an hour until it stopped and turned into a really nice afternoon. Sure it was still cloudy but the wind died off and the temperature wasn't too cold. Gwen, John and myself started with a loop around Boulder Islands then headed towards the Hemmingway Wall. About that time Bonnie called to let me she had arrived. We paddled back to the islands to meet up with her, took a short lunch break then did another loop around the island and back to the beach. The sun actually peeked through the clouds for the last 30 minutes of the paddle to top off a great day.

Bonnie

Gwen in her Liquid Logic and John in his home built Pygmy kit.

Great Week For Kayaking

The weather in Vegas has been great recently so I took full advantage of it. I got out to Lake Mead for a couple hours the other day even though it was a bit breezy. Saturday our Meetup group did an overnight paddle out of Willow Beach, AZ up the Colorado River towards Hoover Dam. Even though I just went out for the day it was fantastic weather. Other than a couple tour rafts, we pretty much had the river to ourselves. It still amazes me that more kayakers don't get out this time of the year. It so peaceful without all the boaters and jet skis.

My friend Larry and his faithful mascot Edwina

Headed up the Colorado River approaching the gauging station.

Saturday my friend Bonnie and I went out to Lake Mead again and paddled around the Boulder Islands for a while. I actually spent some of the time out there in short sleeves. Temperature was around 62 degrees and the sun was shining. The weather is supposed to stay nice this week so I have a couple more paddles planned.

Bonnie getting the feel of her new kayak.

The lake was smooth as glass at times.

Bonnie contemplating the tranquility of her surroundings....or she may have just been Facebooking. I'm not sure.

Breezy & Cool

Went out to Lake Mead for couple hours this morning. Winds were out of the N-NE at about 10-12 mph when I got there but the sun was shining and not a sign of a jet ski, so it was a great morning! With in about an hour the winds died down to less than 5 mph. It's nice having the lake to myself. I saw 2 fishing boats going out and 1 fisherman at the dock and that was it. Very peaceful morning.

Today's Paddle

Took the new boat out today to put some miles in. It's starting to feel like home. :) Did about 11 1/2 miles total. I had about a mile in before I realized I had forgotten to start my GPS record. (Not the first time I've done this. You can click on the Strava link below to see the map of my paddle. Beautiful day out there. I believe the temperature got up to 60. Pretty nice for January.
http://app.strava.com/activities/36804335

New Kayak! - Review

Well, Santa was about 1 1/2 weeks late but the fat guy finally delivered my present. A brand new 2012 Wilderness Systems Tempest 165!  It came around 4:00pm yesterday so, of course, I had to take it to Lake Mead today to try it out.

Wilderness Systems Tempest 165. Length 16.5' - Width 21.5"

THE REVIEW
First, let me start off by saying that I've been kayaking about 2 1/2 years and consider myself an advanced beginner so this review might be more helpful to new paddlers since I have more of a beginners perspective. I started off with a 10' $200 rec kayak then spent the last 2 years paddling a Perception Carolina 14. The Carolina was an excellent boat but I have been wanting something a bit slimmer and faster. Most of my review consists of my comparisons to the Carolina 14. Since no one within a reasonable distance from me had a Tempest, I bought it primarily on Paddling.net reviews and other reviews I found online.

LOOKS: The kayak is just plain beautiful! (I mean, who wants to paddle an ugly yak.)

HATCHES: The rubber is a bit softer and more flexible than the Carolina and you have to make sure they're latched all the way on but it's not to hard. I didn't turn the boat over in the water but I did have a few waves over the boat and lots of splash and where wasn't a sign of water in either of the 3 sealed compartments.

FIT: When I first unwrapped the boat and started to climb in, I thought "Oh oh, I'm not going to fit!" But, after a minor adjustment to the hip pads, I slid in with no problems. As far as the seat goes, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything bad about the WS Phase 3 seat. I probably paddled for 2 hours without any  adjustments. My only complaint with the fit is that my feet felt a bit cramped until I moved the foot pegs out. I'm 5'6", weight about 160 lbs and wear a size 10 shoe. If any of your measurements are more than mine, you might want to consider the Tempest 170 because you probably won't fit in the 165.

PADDLING: When I first looked at the bottom of this boat I thought it was going to be really "tippy" but I was very surprised how stable it was. At 21.5" it really didn't feel that much worse that the Carolina (24.5" wide.) It was a little shaky getting in the first time since the keyhole cockpit opening is quite a bit smaller than what I'm used to but after a couple ins & outs it was fine. The thigh braces felt incredible. I didn't even have to make any adjustment to them. I had about a 5mph or 6 mph breeze with a little chop but still never felt like I was going to flip over. The kayak steers very easily with a little edging and in the breeze, with the skeg down, it tracked like an arrow. It's quite a bit faster than the Carolina also.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Tempest 165. From the reviews I've read, this kayak was designed to handle big waves and winds, (not sure if I am,) so it's something I can grow with and hopefully paddle for quite some time. If you're a beginner looking for your first kayak or have some paddling experience and you're looking to move up to something a little more advanced, I give the Tempest 165 2 thumbs up!