u/Capital-Landscape492

For all the kayaking on rivers and oceans I have done, I finally got my (dirt cheap) Prijon Kodiak outfitted and took it on my first ever solo overnight paddle. This does not count Seventy48 this spring. The Kodiak performed nicely and I am glad
I took it instead my Kevlar Discover.

My route was along the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula here in Washington State from Sekiu to Port Angeles about 54 miles according to my InReach. I dropped gear at a motel I stayed at in Sekiu (there is camping as well) and drove my truck to PA leaving it at the Red Lion. They have a reasonable rate for parking and are next to the takeout beach. Shuttle was easy by bus from Clallam Transit with a well timed transfer. Dinner was fish and chips at By the Bay Cafe. I regret not stopping for breakfast on my way out in the morning.

This is not a commonly done paddle with the San Juan and Gulf Islands so close. I saw a few fishing boats but no other paddlers. I camped two nights but with the full moon I was really tempted to just keep going straight through. Camping is a bit of a challenge to avoid tribal lands and obvious private property, but as a solo person I could squeeze in a lot of places. Larger groups will have to work on logistics.

Looking for some maps.

I am planning a late summer / early fall semi-expedition along the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula. Washington Water Trails used to publish some nice kayaker friendly maps. Since I switched back to sea kayaking recently, i am now a member, but they are out of print and unlikely to be reprinted. I am trying to track down Maps 301 and 302. Any help finding copies would be useful. One guy has 8 for sale on EBay but not the ones I want. NWOC in Seattle is likewise sold out of these. Any hints would be much appreciated.

Sunset over Vancouver Island from Whidbey Island’s west side

I was at the start of R2AK this morning and am watching the race tracker. Winds were very light to negligible. Currently a pair of kayaks are leading the field beating every monohull, multihull, row cruisers, canoe and even the one SUP.

I just finished Seventy48 last weekend and the one thing I had no issues with was my boat outfitting and organization. I outfitted my new to me 25 YO Northwest Kayaks Discover this spring but only had time to paddle it three times. Each time I redid significant portions of the outfitting. This is the final setup, and I did get out of the boat every two to three hours. Final time was seventy miles, Tacoma to Port Townsend in 25 hours 31 minutes. 58th overall. 18th of 49 kayaks.

Seat. I left the original 1/4” foam in place and glued in a “Blisswell” hunting sit pad from Amazon. I love this pad. I have one in every touring boat.

Backrest. I removed the factory foam and installed a self inflating pad. This automatically conforms to the shape of my back. I can reach back and open the valve to add a little air if I want. The pad is held in the boat with glued Velcro. Since this is thicker than the original setup I felt my position was a bit too far forward so I moved the seat back about 3/4”. This involved cutting out some fiberglass and drilling new holes.

Hip pads and knee braces. I carved full height hip pads. Knees are padded with 1/2” foam glued in.

Feet. As this is a narrow boat, my feet sit out at an angle and my heels rest on the floor. I glued 1/2” foam to the floor and this made all the difference in foot comfort.

At 60, everything hurts a little bit, but my left knee can lock up after 6 hours in a kayak. I have added a (red) drybag with a huge towel rolled in it under my thighs/knees. This lets me relax my leg’s periodically and keeps me engaged with the kayak while not “tensed” up. It usually sits in front of the seat but occasionally I will push it a few inches forward for a while.

I also paddle with a North Water under deck bag that I love with clothing, batteries, and hats, as well as a vintage deck bag with safety gear, navigation maps, and food and two caffeinated electrolyte bottles. A three liter water bladder went in front of the deck bag.

It was amazing paddling through the night and although I missed a tide window that might have cut 2-3 hours off my time, I was very pleased to finish when I did.

This is the final touch on my (new to me) 25YO kayak getting ready for SEVENTY48 Friday. I have never named a kayak before but the NW Maritime asked for a “boat name”. I bought this boat last
October in Snowmass Colorado. It was until I reviewed my photos that I realized every Aspen tree in the background was the same color as the kayak. After that,
I knew the boat’s name.

I finally did my major shakedown paddle for SEVENTY/48 and knocked out almost 28 miles in 9 hours. I missed a tide window launching 90 minutes late and had a nasty few miles at the end against about 10 knots of wind and 3/4 knot of tide in the rain…. That was not fun, but I now have a list of a bunch of things to tweak with my gear and in boat access to help me with the race.

My route was launching in Coupeville WA, then east out Penn Cove into Saratoga Passage and south to Baby Island outside Holmes Harbor on Whidbey Island. This was my longest day of my life on flat water. I am enjoying the new (to me) vintage Kevlar Discover. RIP Northwest Kayaks.