The 2nd Annual IR Vacation to Hell- The Baffin to Ellesmere Challenge

Gator Surfing...

(photo,Phil Hadley and friend)
We have had some really cool people come to St.Pete the last couple of weeks coming to our symposium. The last day of the symposium. Phil Hadley,(from Dudley in England),John Grace and Brady (from Penstock Productions), and myself headed away from the beehive of activity around the symposium and headed southeast for some Florida gator surfing!(thats what we call looking at gators from our kayaks). It was a really good day , low clouds that broke up and the sun came out and brought the gators out in force! But for me what was really great was getting to know the guys from Penstock a bit better,(they are one of our major sponsors), not only as sponsors but as people. I feel that after a couple of days on the water we have a better feel for each other and that is really important for team cohesion.
The other thing is I have been hard at work teaching and guiding other folks on the water it was awesome to be on the water with Phil and just paddle for the pleasure of it. What a riot on the water...just good fun!
Phil is back in England now and John And Brady headed north two days ago . I'm headed out for some kayak surfing today,(chest to head high waves, 68 degree water, yummy).
Oh , the good news..the Nemo tent I received was great last night with 25 to 30 mph wind and rain, dry as a bone!
Russell

NEMO "Moki" Tents

Well Gang....  It's official!  NEMO Equipment is the chosen sponsor for our "lodging" needs while in the Arctic.  Nemo was kind enough to send (3) Moki Tents and all of the accessories down to Florida last weekend for the Sweetwater Symposium via John Grace.  I just logged into the the NEMO Website (http://www.nemoequipment.com/) to check out the set up instructions and realized that the Moki won Backpacker Magazine's 2008 "Best All-Around Mountaineering Award" for this tent.

I just set the Moki up in my living room and was surprised by it's size, design and attention to detail.  It's a 3 person tent that actually sleeps 3 full size people! It looks Bomber....  I just wish our team of 4 was divisible by 3 a bit better!  We were hoping to use 3 person tents to have a bit more room for gear and not go stir crazy on weather bound days.  Might have to noodle on this one a bit more, the tents are much larger than I thought.... 

KEENO & "Curtis" the Nashville Caribou

Frosted Nordkapp & Zürichsee

There's something that just feels right about kayaking in cold weather.  After all the kayak originated in the north.

Seeing the frost on my Nordkapp on this crisp bright morning was a beautiful sight.  This is going to be a great day I thought.  Air temperature: -5 C (23 F).



About to leave for a nice 3 hour flat water paddle on Lake Zürich.  Water temperature: 5 C (41 F).  - Alain

Feb.10 Pond Inlet Weather...

(photo;Greg Stamer during his 2007 circumnavigation of Iceland)                                                                     Its Feb. 10th and I am here in my office in St.Pete Florida where the out side air temp. is about 75F. I just looked on a site that gives weather worldwide to see what is happening in Pond Inlet ,our start point for our Vacation this summer. It is sunny,2-4 mph winds and minus 47 degrees Fahrenheit. Mmmmmm....that got my attention.
    Things are progressing nicely. We had a good conference call friday .John Grace from Penstock Productions is coming down along with Tim. And with Mark and Myself go for a paddle , and shoot some video that will be seen here later this spring.
    Just a heads up , this year some other cool expeditions will be taking place with some good friends at the helm. First Jeff Allen and Mark Schoon will attempt to circumnavigate Norway and Sweden, check out their blog by going to www.seakayakcornwall.com and then hit the link to their blog. Both great guys and very capable paddlers, we'll be rooting them on from our side of the pond.
    Then there is our close friend and jamming buddy Greg Stamer. Last year Greg and Freya Hoffmeister completed the quickest circumnavigation of Iceland. This year Greg will go solo around Newfoundland,a thousand or so miles south of where we'll be. Our friend will be plying the green North Atlantic waters on his own! Check him out by going to www.seakayakinguk.com and then click on the expeditions link and there you'll find Greg and some other very cool expeditions on going and past.
    Then there is Simon Osborne and Phil Clegg already half way around Madagascar, a two year endeavour! Wonderful photos and interesting commentary . Again go to www.seakayakcornwall.com and click on their expedition blog. Simon is a very cool cat and was ,I think the youngest person to circumnavigate Ireland!
    Sometimes you get so wrapped up in what you're doing you forget to look around and put some positive energy in some other places. We applaud our friends in the paddling community and wish them well in their far flung and  challenging trips this year.I have spoken with them and gleaned some info and they have talked to me about things as different as what sleeping bags worked in cold, wet enviorments to what guitar strings I use. Its not all just about paddling and neither is an expedition.
                                                                                                                                     Russell.

Public Speaking.....

One aspect of the VTH opportunity I didn't anticipate was the need for public promotion & speaking (before a room full of folks)!  I guess I've been focused mainly on the dreaming, planning, & executing this endeavor with my team and not so much on the PR side of the equation.

Why am I rambling about such nonsense?  Next Friday I'm jumping a plane to Amityville, Long Island (via JFK) to attend the Winter Icebreaker at the Dinghy Shop (www.dinghyshop.com) to pitch the VTH to 50 - 70 people.  Jim Koehler has went out of his way to treat me like some sort of paddle Celeb (not worthy) and supports Immersion Research and VTH Adventure thru his business.  The 'Icebreaker' event, is just that, paddlers getting together, sharing stories and dipping a paddle in the Great South Bay to kick off the paddling season.  I'm honored to have an invite.....

As much as I love being around paddlers & like minded people, I still get a bit nervous in front of a crowd.....  Even though we all love the same stuff.  I've told my buddies before, "I would rather walk naked through the Mall, than do Public Speaking" (and mean it...)

I'll be in good hands, Russell is putting together a swanky, DVD video for the presentation!  The folks will be dazzled and I'll just have to answer a few questions & smile afterward.  Completely clothed, of course!

KEENO

Northern Labrador 2005

Kansas City Crew...

(photo;Paddlers Lori and Susan with Russell after a gig.Jan.2008.)

    Last week I was in the shop working when Steve from Eddyline Kayaks came in with a group of paddlers hailing from Kansas City. They were in town for the week doing some paddling and generally mixing it up with the local paddle club, Tampa Bay Sea Kayakers.
    It was cool,chatting with them and finding out there is paddling in the mid-west and that its alive and well. The vibe was positive and excited....warm water ,exotic venues and animals, and people that have passion for the same sport...Paddling!
     One night ,the week they were in town, they came out to a gig I was playing and graciously hung out the whole night in a not so wholesome venue. Kuddo's to you four! Thanks for coming out and seeing both sides of the coin.At the shop people come in and constantly renew my passion for the water and the outdoors.Being in a place I can paddle year round its good to have these kind of folks turn up every now and again and rekindle my passion with their excitement and the wonder of paddling in my backyard. I look forward  to  reading their comments  and input on this blog.
                                                                             Russell.

Product testing.

Here is Marko in the Laboratory testing some of the paddling kit for the upcoming expedition. It kept him warm but was a bit unwieldy  getting in and out of the kayak.

a gathering of kayaks...

(photo,2007 Sweetwater Kayaks Florida Symposium)                                              The end of February each year for the past 12 years, we have put on a sea kayak symposium. www.sweetwaterkayaks.com  Paddlers and coaches from all over the world come to St.Petersburg ,Florida for some fun in the sun. This year Myself,Tim,Mark and John Grace from Penstock Productions will be on hand to answer questions,ask questions,and do a little trip planning. On saturday night we will be giving a presentation on our upcoming artic cruise. Also on hand will be Lots of great coaches from all over the globe, Greenland style, British style, and some great presenters each night. We will unveil the kayak model we are taking to the far north with us as well as some of the other gear we will be depending on , not only for comfort but , for our lives at times. At this point I can tell you we are all useing Werner Ikelos paddles, they are just killer paddles (and a great group of people to work with as well). We have ordered several pieces of kit that we will be putting through its paces and making choices on what will best suit our needs and be lightweight and fit into the vessels we have chosen.
     Alain has now relocated to Zurich and that will be a big pressure off of him. Keeno is totally focused on this expedition and proves it daily through numerous e-mails and phone calls. Mark chimes in now and then but is wisely silent most of the time.
    We have A, B,and C plans for all sorts of things but we are still looking at the unknown and what could go wrong. With that having someone with local knowledge and experience like Dave Reid on our side is critical . He has been helping us sort out what to us is unknown. How to get up a latorial morane,(The side of a glacier).
    Ahhh, so much to learn and so little time to learn it. Well as always I've rambled on.....Russell