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A fellow experienced racing friend contacted me about a year ago, saying he can't figure out why his new SR Blackwater kept wanting to veer to the left, no matter how he thought he was paddling as straight as he could. But without more correction strokes than he thought should be necessary, it...

I had exactly the same thing happen during an upstream race when my GRB carbon paddle got wedged betwen slabs of broken shale. Luckily I had a spare on board and was able to keep going. GRB repaired it with a layer of glass. it was repaired nicely, but is now just a spare paddle.

Oh G'pa, don't give up so easily. I began canoe racing with the 90 miler in 1997 at age 46, and have not missed any year of that race since then, including training for this year now age 74. I raced my first Yukon River Quest 11 years later and my first and second Yukon 1000 mile races at age...

Any of the out of water methods of determining paddle length ( such as overhead 90 degree arms, or the chair while seated method) are a wild rough guess at best, but the only real way to get an accurate measurement is from within the canoe that you will be paddling with crew and expected gear on...

I'll be paddling the Adirondack NFCT “Around the Mountain” race in May, and any other Adirondack region races that crop up. Blue Mountain if it is held again this year, and, of course my 29th consecutive Adirondack Canoe Classic, the "90 Miler" followed by the Long Lake Long Boat Regatta two...

JV - You may have a point, but know that the "tunnel" fabric as it was fitted in segments around each voyageur or C4 paddler was quite loose, not cinched tightly in any way, so that the paddlers in their seats could slide easily side on wheeled seat rollers side to side for each "hut' (itself...

After I certified in my state's training as a white water/ flood rescue technician, I purchased the Mustang, which is what instuctors and students all used during training. It hangs safely in my canoe shed, awaiting to be called for a water SAR incident, not to be used for routine paddlling.

"The cremation of Sam McGee" was always the favorite poem to be loudly and confidently recited totally from memory around a BSA campfire. I always wanted to do it, but there are some guys who put much more heart and emphasis on certain parts than I ever could. That and "The Spell of the Yukon"...

I have discovered large packages of precooked bacon in BJ's, also smaller packages in local supermarkets. it appears to be 90-95% fully cooked and equally grease free. I have kept it for a couple of months in the fridge at my cabin without any noticeable deterioration. At home, a few slices...

Bonjour, Voyageur

Pea fun. Think of common phrases that can be used with "pea". Keep it (mostly) clean. For example, here is a select sample list from more than 80 that I have come up with: Can you tell I am a product of the 1960's? If you can think of more, I have probably already listed them. 1. What do you...

Boy scout finger game: Arrange 0-5 sticks randomly on the ground or a table, parallel or randomly crossed. "What number is this?" observers go nuts trying to guess the pattern and how it represents any possible number. meanwhile, the stick arranger discretely puts a hand down off to the side...

I have two Adirondack 90 mile Canoe Classic race stories: 1. At the end of the famous 2.5 mile extremely winding Brown's Tract wetlands narrow stream leading into Raquette Lake, we pass under a roadway bridge and immediately drop down in faster current over a large beaver dam with a sharp...

When racing on the YRQ, there are a couple of times when you and your team are paddling continuously for hours through the entire "night" (it never gets totally dark there in June), At between 2-4AM your alertness and metabolism are at its lowest level point. I can attest that it is possible to...

I have home made canoe covers done in both ways, I fastened snaps to a Hornbeck (back when they had wooden gunwales), For my races on the Yukon River, we discovered a better choice was to fasten 2 inch wide Velcro (with contact cement) to the outside of the gunwales, both on both on cedar...

I've paddled the Yukon canoe races, always beginning with five trips to Whitehorse markets to finish stocking up on necessities. I always provided my team with home dehydrated meals for the Y1k, for the YRQ it was mostly up to the individuals on my voyageur or C4 team to provide for themselves...

The first moose in "modern times" to appear in the Adirondacks were first seen in Lewis County NY in the early 1970's, almost all the way to Lake Ontario. Lewis County has a very extensive dairy cow industry, (the population of dairy cows is twice that of people) with a local massive Kraft...

I have for many years used a Kokotat Orbit PFD. It has enough necessary pockets to hold the mandatory on-person gear required during the Yukon River races. and has served me well for five Yukon races. I forget what I paid for it more than a decade ago. For my nearby local daily paddle training...

thanks, guys, I'll pursue the solutions next summer.

Alreadfy thought of doing tha, under high pressure from the wife, I may well do that, At 74 this year, I likely cannot continue the high level of exercise to get in there to do the work in winter for many more years. however I do see other much more pitched roofs in the area, far too steeep...