Saturday, February 27, 2010

Rockpool's newest kayak

“Hey I need a new boat… can I try yours?” is usually a recipe for a good day on the water, and this day was no exception. My buddy Wade was looking for a new kayak and wanted to put my Rockpool Alaw Bach TCC through the ringer. Since I’m just a little big for the boat at 6’3”, 210, and Wade is a little shorter -- not to mention a more skilled and aggressive paddler -- this seemed like a great moment to get some pics of the boat in action.

Photographic evidence: the boat looks sweet on the water…

…edges nicely…

…and by golly, check out the nice balance on its side.

Wade dug the boat and, last update, is waiting for his tax refund.

For a little more about the boat, check out this terrific video -- complete with great tunes, so turn up the volume -- from Daniel Arbuckle at Penguin Paddlers in California!



Friday, February 26, 2010

Comet Kayak hits the water!




On one of our recent not-so-typical gorgeous winter days here in the Northwest, Matthew Ross of seakayakshop.com in Anacortes joined Ruby Creek for a demo of the first Comet off the first container shipped from Emotion Kayaks. A sweet, fun little boat for just $279 MSRP. The blowmolded shell is light weight and really durable; there's a float bag in the stern for emergency buoyancy; deck bungees including a paddle-park next to the cockpit; and adjustable footbraces so everyone from the kids to the tall old man (speaking strictly for myself here) can jump in and have a great time.

The Comet is available from any of your favorite Emotion Kayaks dealers, including:

Boston Harbor Marina in Olympia

Ship to Shore Marine in Gig Harbor

Olympic Raft & Kayak in Port Angeles

Popeye's Marine in Everett

Alki Kayak Tours/ Mountain to Sound Outfitters in West Seattle

LFS Marine & Outdoor in Bellingham

...and of course, Matthew's own seakayakshop.com right here on Commercial Avenue in Anacortes. Thanks Matthew for coming out to paddle the new guy!

Happypaddlin.com shows some very cool video of how well the Comet performs in moving water, as Ethan took the prototype for a spin last Fall. Take a look… then get on the water in the new Comet!

Matthew and I, both "larger men", still fit comfortably in this little boat, ready for...

...another beautiful day of paddling on our Salish Sea!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Costa Zane 580s... wear 'em!

OK, JUST a little spendy. But oh man. What a pair of shades. Take a look at this review from www.overboardboater.com, an awesome place for reviewing all things watery. Like our sunglasses.

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(from overboardboater.com, Nov 10 2009 -- italics added by Ruby Creek)
REVIEW: Costa 580 Silver Mirror Lenses

For scientific purposes, on a recent fishing outing I took off my shades and stared at the water. Clouds rolled in, obscuring the surface with their reflection and magnifying the glare. I put the shades back on, a pair of Costa Del Mar Zane glasses with 580 Silver Mirror Lenses. The vegetation and underwater contours of the shoreline popped as if on a big flat screen HD.

The whole purpose of lens polarization is to reduce glare, caused by how light waves bounce off a flat surface like, say, water. These waves reflect back to your eyes along a horizontal plane. Sunglass makers combat this by making lenses with vertical polarization filters that block the reflected light, cancelling out glare. This can be done on the cheap by spraying a thin chemical film on surface of the lenses, like you'd find on drugstore shades. Or it can be encapsulated within the lens, as Costa does with its 580 glass lens technology.

Costa calls them 580 lenses because they block yellow light, the hardest for the human eye to process, at 580 nanometers. (Visible light ranges from about 390 to 780 nm.) The result is they enhance the remaining light and give you that feeling that the whole world is coming at you in vivid detail.

The 580 technology has been around for a few years, but what I noticed about the new Silver Mirrors is how well they worked in low light conditions. I could pick up things at dawn and dusk or on overcast days that I missed when I threw on other high-quality polarized glasses. Costa says the Silver Mirror lenses let in more natural rays, with 12 percent light transmission compared to 9 percent for other lenses.

In an age of ridiculous over-specialization, the 580 Silver Mirrors are also versatile. They served me well both on a lake and searching for pelagics 40 miles offshore, and in a variety of conditions. (I could actually see better with them on while driving in the rain.)

The nylon Zane frames, named after the Zane Grey Reef in Panama (named after, well, Zane Grey), are updated versions of the popular Fathom style. The price tag will scare people off; some will have a hard time shelling out $239 for an item they're guaranteed to lose, drop overboard, or step on. But the hi def view may be worth it.

For more information visit www.costadelmar.com

Monday, February 15, 2010

LaPush Pummel

Pummel on! Got this from my buddies Ken and Ellen…

Greetings fellow surf lovers,
Two weeks to the annual La Push Pummel. Were hopping for a repeat of last
year's conditions , clear blue skies, 6'-7' glassy beauties ,with a slight
offshore. If you are interested in renting a cabin, contact the Quileute
Oceanside Resort @ (360) 374-5267.Let them know that your with the pummel,
if enough of us rent cabins they will give us all a discount. They also have
a deal, if you reserve for two nights, you get a third one for free.
We are not sure yet if the tribe will be up for doing a dinner for us on
Saturday night. It depends in part on how many of us there will be. Please
drop us a E-mail if you are planning on attending so we can get a count for
them. We have the club house reserved for Saturday night, so if the tribe
doesn't do a dinner , we will do a pot luck dinner ourselves. Hopefully the
tribal crab boats can go out ,so we can get fresh crab from them at the
dock. We will send out another E-mail as the time gets closer when we know
more .Tell your friends, bring your families, bring your beach toys and let
the fun begin.