Hi Everyone!  Below is a little video showing some fun kayak-sailing footage from Saint Joe Bay, Florida.  

Our good friend Joel is seen here moving right along in his Ocean Kayak Prowler 13. Fast? Indeed! The sailing performance is impressive.

It just goes to show how with the right rig, and in the right conditions, a relatively wide, roto-molded, plastic fishing kayak can cruise alongside a couple of composite sea kayaks. Normally on a paddling-only excursion, a boat like this would surely struggle to keep up. This is is just one of the many cool things about performance kayak-sailing.

I left the clip unedited so that you could get a better look at the rig, and how nicely it works. If you look closely at the main, you can see the tell-tales flying perfectly together, indicating proper sail trim. The camera angle shows the ample draft in the sail which is responsible for generating much of the power. The foiled leeboards are both angled back to shed seagrass. Also notice how he rigged his leeboard pushrods. Inserting them into the leading edge allows the rods to stay close to the gunnels. And, at the end of the clip you can see the main sail tuned with substantial head twist to lower the sail’s center of effort and make the rig more forgiving and easier to control.

On this day Patti, myself, and Joel sailed about eight miles in total, crossing the shallow, south end of Saint Joe bay. It was exceedingly fun with two extra long beam reaches! With a 12-18 knot south wind, the water remained protected by the peninsula’s lee shore and made for the perfect environment for some speedy paddle-sailing.

Joel’s rig is the all-white, polyester ripstop, Kayaksailor 1.6m² with genoa, mounted with the Railblaza, mounting kit. His boat is the Ocean Kayak Prowler 13.

You can see Patti off in the background, sailing her 1.4m², reefed, with genoa. Patti’s boat is the Tahe Reval Mini LC.

Of course you can’t see me because I’m filming while sailing my Tahe Ocean Spirit. It was a bit challenging trying to keep the camera still while sailing in and out of Joel’s wind shadow, but I loved every second of it!

I hope you enjoyed the results. : )

Feel free to leave a comment.

Recently, our friends Debbie and Keith twisted our arms and dragged us out of the loft to do some camping.  We took our sails and boats and headed up to a beautiful mountain lake in the Cascade range of Washington State named Lake Wenachee.  It’s been so incredibly windy on the Columbia River lately that we thought it would be a good opportunity to get away, test our prototype headsail,  and enjoy the company of friends.       These are some photos from the trip.  Hope you enjoy.

We took our folding Pakboats, strapped them up to the racks, and started driving.

We traversed through the beautiful, hot, high desert prairie of of Eastern Washington State’s Yakima Valley before entering back into the cool Cascades.

Keith and Debbie, who arrived a day early, found a fabulous  waterfront campsite complete with a small beach for the boats!

As our luck would have it,  a frontal system pushed in from the Pacific and brought some moisture.

A surreal procession  of cottony clouds caressed the mountain sides and reflected their beauty on the lake.

It’s mesmerizing and peaceful the way our thoughts seem to melt into the water.

It is really important to dress for the water temperature. This lake is crystal clear and very cold.   We suited up and set out to explore the lake.

We  popped up the sails every now and again when a breeze was felt, but mostly  propelled ourselves by paddle.

Isn’t it funny how the farther away from civilization we get, the nicer the scenery.  Hmmm…    Maybe there is something to reflect on here.

It sure is nice to paddle on glassy water.  After sailing in the extreme winds of the Gorge, the silence of stillness is wonderful and a little odd at the same time.

What a beautiful afternoon for a sail.

Back at the camp Charlee Girl and Debbie communicate with each other in a special way .

A small boat on a lake
allows us to take
a break from the push and the shove…
Sails filled with wind
and the company of friends
take us to places we love.