Mystery Guest Revealed

Thanks to my friend Jason's hard work and research we now have a name for our mystery lake guest.

Bryozoa
The Bryozoa, also known as Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals, are a phylum of aquatic invertebrate animals. Typically about 0.5 millimetres (0.020 in) long, they are filter feeders that sieve food particles out of the water using a retractable lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles lined with cilia. Most marine species live in tropical waters, but a few occur in oceanic trenches, and others are found in polar waters. One class lives only in a variety of freshwater environments, and a few members of a mostly marine class prefer brackish water. Over 4,000 living species are known. One genus is solitary and the rest colonial.

Thanks, Jason for figuring this out. i was really hoping for "lake monster egg," but this is pretty cool too.

To find out more about bryozoa check out the Wikipedia entry for Bryozoa.
(i know that wikipedia isn't always the most accurate place to get info on the web, but the International Bryozoology Association recommends this page, so...)

What is it?

Danielle took the kids to a movie last night which left me free to go kayaking after work. i didn't have any of my gear with me, aside from the kayak of course, but i rolled up my khakis and headed for the lake anyway. it was pretty humid, but otherwise very pleasant.

The only point of interest was finding this (see pictures). i don't know what it is. i found it a few yards from the shore on the north east side of the lake. at first i thought that it was a large clump of frog eggs or something similar. as i examined it a little more i found that it was all one piece. only a small piece was floating on the surface, the majority was below. it looked like it had once been round (maybe about the size of my head), but had since been torn open. it was very slippery, very dense, and surprisingly heavy (maybe about 8lbs., give or take). i tried to lift it out of the water with my paddle to get a better picture, but the weight combined with the slipperiness made it difficult. at one point i was able to get it balanced on the paddle, but i needed to use both hands to hold the it and could not take a picture.while i had it balanced on the paddle, the weight of the two ends pulled the middle section apart and i was able to see the consistency of the material. it was clear, and looked like jello that has too much gelatin and not enough water. i tried to lower it back into the water before the two pieces completely separated, but i wasn't fast enough. the two pieces tore apart an i lost sight of the bottom half. i think it sank. the top half remained floating. that is when i took these two pictures.

i've never seen anything quite like it and i'm hoping that someone out there can enlighten me as to what it is. i have two theories—lake monster egg or alien embryonic sack. have a better idea? let me know.

Going Green

I went kayaking yesterday but didn't have time to post it. So, here it is today.

Last year i did a drawing of a light bulb. This year i decided to be a little more "green" and do a compact fluorescent bulb. there really isn't much to write about for this one. it went pretty smoothly. i had the most trouble with all the overlapping straight lines especially where the glass tubing connects to the base of the bulb.

i also tried to do the entire thing smaller than last year's bulb. last year's took me almost an hour and it had a lot fewer lines than this year's. i was worried that if i did this one the same size it was going to exceed my morning kayak time limit. so, i tried to make it smaller. and it worked. this year's bulb ended up being considerably smaller and only taking about 45 minutes to complete.

it isn't my best work but, all-in-all, i think it turned out alright.

Yesterday's Stats and Map

Always Plan Ahead...

it has been well over a week since i have been out in my kayak so i decided that, no matter how tired i was this morning, i needed to go. and i'm glad i did. it is a great way to start the morning. it really sets the mood for the entire day.

when i left the house i had no intention of doing a drawing. but as i got closer to the lake (which took a lot longer because i forgot about the stupid road closing and forgot to take the detour and had to come up with my own detour... anyway...) i decided that i should probably start doing some before the summer slips away. so, as i paddled out into the water a thought came to me... and it seemed like a good idea at the time.

On July 9 my company, WQLN, is presenting Music Fest, an all day folk/bluegrass festival. using the woodstock dove as inspiration, i created a guitar playing chicken which has become a main symbol for Music Fest. so, my brilliant idea was to do a drawing of the woodstock dove. it seemed like an easy enough idea. well, as i have discovered and re-discovered countless times, it does not matter how easy a design may seem, if you do not plan it ahead, chances are, it will not end well.

i guess if you turn your head and squint the finished product does resemble an older, fatter woodstock dove. it actually turned out so poorly that i'm not going to post the picture. luckily i had my camera today and snapped a few pictures so that this entry is not completely void of pictures. if you feel you need to see it out of some morbid curiosity just follow the link at the bottom of the page.

one good thing that came out of this horrible drawing was that i was driven to come up with something better for the next time. and i think that i have. well, it may not be a better idea, but at least next time i'll have a plan.

Today's Stats and Map

Le Ver

today i decided to try something different instead of going to Edinboro lake i decided to go to French Creek. i went to a nice little spot just east of Cambridge Springs where i have seen a lot of people fishing and where i once stopped and found a geocache.

my goal was to try and make it all the way back to the route 6/19 bridge in town. that actually turned out to be the easy part. the river was very wide and lazy with almost no noticeable current. so, paddling upstream was almost as easy as paddling downstream. i was able to make it to the bridge with plenty of time to go about a third of a mile past and still have plenty time to get back to my car.

the hard part seemed to be getting in and out of the water without getting completely covered with mud. every opening from the shore to the river was pure, thick, clayie, deep mud. getting into the water wasn't too bad. i slid the kayak into the water and then sat across the hull to clean the mud off my feet before getting in and shoving off. but, in order to get out i had to trudge through the shin deep mud. walking through the deep, wet grass helped clean some of the mud off my feet. but, after loading the kayak i had to break out the baby wipes to clean off the rest. thank goodness that we had four children and bought baby wipes in bulk. all four of out kids are well past the diaper wipes stage but, we still have enough of a supply to keep some in both cars just in case. good thing, too. i don't think any of my co-workers would have appreciated me washing my feet off in the sink at work.

Today's Stats and Map

First Trip of the Year... and it's about time.

So, after 8 loooooooooooong months on dry land, i was finally able to hit the water this morning. it was awe... wait for it... some! That is until i got about halfway across the lake and my arms realized what was happening, came to the realization that they hadn't actually done any type of physical activity in the past 8 months, realized that i was only about 10 minutes into my trip and still had about 30 minutes to go, and began screaming at me to please, for the sake of baby kittens, stop paddling. actually it wasn't quite that bad. actually, for not kayaking in 8 months i think that i did pretty well. i may change my mind if i wake up tomorrow morning and can not move my arms.

Today's was pretty relaxing. i decided to start out slow and just enjoy being back on the water. My GPS (having not been used since last October was a little slow to wake up from it's long winters nap and could not get a fix on any satellites which is why my map makes it look like i started in the middle of the lake. i'm good, but not that good.

i was also a little slow to wake up this morning and forgot to take along my camera which is a shame because i saw two snapping turtles this morning. the first one i mistook for a log at first. i was passing by a partially submerged and part of it began to more. i thought that something under the water was agitating it then realized the the moving part of the log was actually the head and front portion of shell of a mostly submerged, huge ass snapping turtle. it's head was at least as big as my fist. when it saw me it sunk and swam off. it was really cool. The second turtle that i saw was on the other side of the lake. it popped up out of the water just in front of me. i almost accidentally hit it with my paddle before it disappeared back into the water. it wasn't as big as the first on that i saw, but it was still pretty good sized. i don't think that i really would have had time to get a picture of either turtle, but it would have been nice to have had a chance.

All-in-all, it was a pretty good start to the season.

Today's Stats and Map

Bugs, Beavers, Dogs, and Ducks

today i thought that a nice leisurely trip would probably be better than struggling with a new design. i just wasn't feeling creative and decided not to try and force it. Plus, i have been wanting to get back into the lake tributaries again ever since my last trip there a few weeks ago.

it was a beautiful morning. the air was cool, but not cold, there was a gentle breeze, and the lake, as far as i could tell, was completely empty. the only one fishing this morning at 7am were ducks and geese. it took about 10 minutes to cross the lake, and another 5 minutes to make my way back to the dock by the park. i was surprised at the amount of algae and weeds that had grown in the area in the last 2 and a half weeks. areas that were completely clear then were now so crowded with vegetation that it was difficult to see the top of the water. i thought about ending the trip there and just circling the lake instead, but decided to press-on and see how far i could get.

After passing the dock i came to a fork in the stream. last time i went to the right. this time i went left. if the maps on google were correct they should come back together. and as i recall from the last trip, i did see a spot where it may have been possible. after paddling a little way i noticed what looked like a small lagoon to the left and decided to go check it out. it was pretty cool, but very overgrown with weeds. after accidentally scaring some ducks, i noticed a bunch of bare sticks and logs littering the entryway. on closer examination i realized that the bark had been stripped by a beaver. so, maybe the thing that i saw last time was a beaver after all and not in fact a muskrat. i guess i'll never know for sure, but this was sure some good evidence for the beaver argument.

after snapping a few pictures i decided to see how far into the lagoon i could get pushing through the weeds and lilies. it turned out to be about 6 feet. as i started through the weeds i felt something on my arms. i looked down and saw thousands of little tiny bugs all over the place. they were on the kayak, they were on my, they were everywhere. apparently the were living on the lilies and when i went through they decided to jump on board. i back paddled as quick as i could and started brushing them off. banging the kayak with the paddle scared a lot of them off, but not all of them.but, i was more worried about the ones on me anyway. i decided not to try to go through the lilies again and headed back out of the lagoon and continued on my original path. i eventually came to a sharp bend around which i found a bridge and a house. a house with 3 dogs that are probably not used to people paddling by. two were tied up and just barked, but one was loose and thought it necessary to stand on the bridge and bark at me the entire time that i was passing under the bridge. i must say that it was a little intimidating. it was a big dog. it wasn't very far past the bridge that i finally came to a dead end. this was almost to the point where i was supposed to meet back up with the other forked stream, but i was definitely not making it through. it was completelyovergrown with cat tails and reeds. it was a good time to turn around anyway. i took to long messing around in the lagoon and was already behind schedule. the trip back was uneventful. when i made it back to the lake i finally splashed off the rest of my little buggy hitchhikers and then paddled like crazy to make it back to the car in time to make it to work.

it looks like there is one more tributary to the lake. i'll have to try that one next time.

Today's Stats and Map

Teddy Bear Picnic

so, yesterday was pretty busy. two of our kids had a doctor's appointment, our youngest had her teddy bear picnic (kindergarten orientation), and since both my wife and i were taking the day off of work so that we could make it to the picnic we decided to go to Waldameer in the afternoon. since i wasn't going in to work and the i ddin't need to do the kid's stuff until 10am i decided that it would be a prefect morning to go kayaking.

in honor of our daughter going to kindergarten and our last teddy bear picnic i decided to do a teddy bear design. the day before yesterday i figured out a great bear design. the sketches look pretty cute, but the finished project looks more like a grumpy old bear that has seen better days. i don't know what my problem was yesterday. maybe it was because i haven't been kayaking enough lately or maybe i was just having an off day. whatever the reason, i had a very hard time keeping myself on course. that and the fact that i had to work around three fishing boats that all happened to be in key location made the cute little teddy bear very grumpy.

it started out well enough, but after making the first fishing boat adjustment i realized that i was quickly running out of room. i ended up squeezing the right side of the head to get it to fit in the lake. after that, it all went downhill.

looking at it now, it actually turned out better than i expected when i was making it. it is no where near as cute as i intended it to be when i designed it, but it is a lot better than i thought it would end up when i was struggling to make it. i think this may be one that i need to try again someday.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

p.s.  oh right... a busy day. i didn't post this yesterday because after kayaing at 6am, a doctor's appointment, the teddy bear picnic, an unscheduled trip to Claytopia, and an afternoon at Waldameer i was dead tired and had a screaming headache. it's not just because i'm lazy. although that is usually the case.

Happy Birthday

Sunday was my birthday. i turned the ripe ol' age of 33. it was a good birthday. busy, but good. for my birthday, my lovely wife got me an iPod. i've never had an iPod before. i usually just listen to music on the computer, on cds in the car or i just listen to the radio. but, so far, i am really enjoying having an iPod. i tell you this because the iPod is also the reason that i have not kayaked for the last two days. both monday and tuesday mornings ideal mornings to kayak. the weather was nice and we had someone to watch the kids. the problem is that i have a lot of music on my computer and i have been trying to organize it in my iTunes library. for the last three nights i have stayed up late trying to get the correct songs onto the correct albums with the correct covers etc., etc., etc. most of the albums that i have were compiled from various sources and not all of them have the same information. needless to say, it is taking a while to sort everything out. and since i have been staying up late, i have not wanted to get up early to go kayaking.

so, last night i didn't stay up quite as late and got up extra, extra early because i had to figure out how to load the kayak onto a different vehicle. my father-in-law is currently working on my car. and until he is finished i am borrowing his van. it didn't turn out to be a very big deal. i was able to load it without any trouble and in about the same amount of time as normal. but since it took me about a half an hour to load it on my car the first time, i thought it would be nice to give myself a little extra time just in case it ended up taking that long to load it on the van for the first time.

now fun stuff... since sunday was my 33rd birthday i decided to just make a giant "33." this was the first time that a design turned out to be easier than i expected. everything just seemed to fall into place without any trouble. i kept thinking that the hard part was coming up, but it never did. and, in the end, i think that it turned out pretty well. the only problem that i had was at the beginning. when i started out into the water i noticed that my gps was tracking my movements in the correct direction, but not in the correct location. it had me positioned in the middle of Lakeside Drive. now, i'm good, but i can't paddle on dry land. i've tried. its a great workout, but not very fun. all it took was a quick reset to get the gps, and me, back on track. the whole design only took about 30 minutes to complete so, after i finished, i paddled down to the 6N bridge to use up the rest of my time. all-in-all, it was a really good day. now if i can only get my iTunes library straightened out...

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Up a Creek

this morning, with a fresh battery, the car started beautifully and i headed out to the lake right on schedule. for the entire ride i tried to decide which design to do. but, after i got out on the water i decided that i just wanted to paddle around. the water seemed clean and clear i wanted to see if some of the tributaries on the northern end were clear enough to traverse.

I had gone up one of the streams before on one of my first kayaking trips to the lake but, i didn't end up going very far. the water looked really nasty, and it also looked like it was a dead end. but after looking at some google maps i was surprised by how many different nooks, crannies and streams there were once you got past the park on peninsula drive. ever since then i have wanted to get back in there and see how far you could actually go up some of those streams. but by that time the water had begun to fill with algae and weeds. i tried going a few times, but never even made it to the park. i was probably just being a wimp, but i really didn't want to get into all that nasty water.

in the last few weeks the water seems to have gotten better. maybe its all the rain we have been getting, maybe it is something else. whatever the reason, the water this morning was probably as good as i can expect it to get, so i gave it a try... and it was great.

as i passed the dock at the park something ahead of me in the middle of my path caught my eye. at first i thought it was just part of a log sticking out of the water. but, after doing a double-take, i realized that it was moving... and it had eyes. so naturally i freaked out a little bit. it saw me at about the same time i saw it and it dove below the surface. my first guess as to what it was, was a beaver. i grew up around beaver ponds and the brief glimpse i got of this fella looked a lot like a beaver. i didn't think there were any beavers in the area, but i decided it was possible that there was a dam around that i just wasn't aware of. i wish i could have taken a picture. anyway, after my heart stopped racing i continued up the stream. i made it almost 7/8 of a mile before i came to a log blocking the way. i probably could have squeezed around the left hand side but, it was time to turn around anyway. it had taken me about 30 minutes to get there and i only had about 30 minutes to get back and load up or else i would be late for work.

the trip back was pretty uneventful. very pretty, but uneventful. as i neared the dock at the park i went on "beaver patrol." but i didn't see it again. and on the long trip back across the lake to the car i decided that maybe what i had seen was a muskrat. i wasn't exactly sure what one looked like, but it made more sense than a beaver. and ,after googleing muskrat after i got to work, i'm pretty sure that that is what i saw. although, saying that i saw a muskrat doesn't have the same ring to it as saying that i saw some beaver out on the lake this morning.

i can't wait to go back there again. maybe next time i'll start from the dock at the park. that way i can have a lot more time to explore and i don't have to worry about the 30 minute round trip across the lake. what a great day to kayak.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Two Mile Run

last night the kids stayed with my in-laws. so, tonight after work we went to pick them up. my father-in-law helps out with the local boy scout troop and tonight they were canoeing at Two Mile Run. we met them there and went out canoeing with the kids. we didn't take a long trip, but it was still a lot of fun. it was nice to go out somewhere other than edinboro lake. but, i will say this—canoeing is a lot harder than kayaking. the boat is bigger, heavier, less stream-lined, and there are a lot more wasted movements in between strokes. it was fun, but it felt like a lot more work.

we also got a new battery for the car and we got home in time for me to install it before it got too dark. so, tomorrow morning i'll be good to go. plus, our neighbors are watching the kids tomorrow. so, if i can stop watching Family Guy and go to bed at a decent time i'll be able to get up early and go kayaking in the morning. sweet.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Dead Battery

so, this morning i got up early, got everything ready to go kayaking, went out to the car, turned the key and... nothing. i had a dead battery. i was able to jump start it with my wife's van, but decided to skip kayaking this morning. i didn't want to get to the lake, have a nice relaxing trip, and then get back to shore to find that the battery didn't hold a charge and was dead again. the lake is pretty quite at 8am and i thought that it may be hard to get a jump.

turns out that was a good plan. when i got to work this morning i pulled into a spot and shut off the engine. i then immediately tried to start the car... nothing. the battery hadn't held a charge and was dead. but at least here at work i'm sure that i can get a jump start to get home. it probably would have been harder this morning at the lake.

the plan is to get a new battery tonight. but, i'm not sure if i'll make it out tomorrow morning to kayak. i may have to bring the kids to work. and if that's the case i can't leave early to kayak. friday is questionable too. this may end up being a dry week. bummer... stupid battery.

Bright Idea

yesterday i took some time to sit down and actually come up with some design ideas. after the horrible outcome of my last unplanned design i decided that i really needed have a game plan before i hit the water. so after scribbling down half a dozen different possible designs i picked the best one and planned to do it this morning. there really isn't a whole lot to say about it other than that. it was a beautiful, clear, quiet morning on the lake. the design idea worked well with only a few minor glitches and i ended up having a wonderful time. it was a great day to go kayaking.

probably the best part about planning the designs yesterday (aside from not ending up with a crappy looking design this morning) is that i now have four or five more possible designs to work with. some are better than others and some still need to be refined. but the next time i'm heading to the lake with no clear plan i can pull out one of these babies instead of trying to come up with something from scratch.

and maybe next time i'll be green and do a cf light bulb.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Karma

i really didn't feel like kayaking this morning. i didn't sleep well last night and i was really tired. plus i had to get up extra early this morning to get a shower because i didn't get one last night. i seriously considered just staying in bed, but i decided that, since it had been 5 days since i last went out, i really should go. by the time i got in the car and left the house i was feeling a lot better about going kayaking and decided that i should probably do a design ,since it had been 5 days since the last one. i really just wanted to go casual, but decided that i really should try and come up with some kind of design.

before i go any further let me just say that, so far, in my experience when a design starts out like this—planned in the car on the way to the lake—it usually ends poorly. that and the fact that my head really wasn't in the game this morning are the reasons for the crap that follows.

all i can say is that a quarter of the was through this design i almost turned off the gps and quit. i could tell by then that it wasn't going well. i did end up finishing it, but only half-heartedly (its the suits in a deck of cards if you can't tell because its so bad). in hindsight i should have just kayaked for the sake of kayaking. gone out on the lake, paddled around, and relaxed. as it was, i ended up feeling more stressed out and worse that when i started. it sucked. i like kayaking because it is a way to get away from everything, relax, and clear my head. that is the opposite of what happened today.

lesson learned: don't force it. just let it all come naturally... oh yeah, and plan ahead (i thought i already learned that one).

next time will be better... it can't possibly be worse... right?

Today's Trip Stats and Map

An Awkward Greeting

so i wasn't feeling very creative this morning and i couldn't come up with any really wicked, sweet designs so i decided to do a simple one that was suggested by a friend of mine. but, as i am beginning to figure out, it doesn't really matter how simple the design is, it is always going to be a little tricky. this one started out a little funky, got better, got worse, but ultimately ended up finishing alright.

it was foggy again this morning. really foggy. i don't know why i always seem surprised by this. it's always foggy. its just that some mornings are a lot foggier than others. this was one of the really, really foggy ones. this was the kind of fog that almost seems like smoke. the kind of fog that, when you are out in the middle of it and take a nice deep breath, you can feel entering your lungs. its cool, moist, and heavy and brings about visions of irish moors. its also damned impossible to see through and that is the reason that the first line of my "H" looks like the hunchback of notre dame. after i made the first turn at the top left corner of the "H" i stopped to snap a couple of pictures of the fog and then started padding again.

the original design called for a capital "H" and a capital "I", but after finishing the top of the "H" i decided that i just didn't have room for the extra lines on the capital "I" and decided to make it lowercase. as i was heading down the right side of the "H" i noticed a fishing boat to my left (where the "i" was supposed to go). it looked like it was slowly moving out into the lake so i wasn't worried about him getting in my way or vice versa. things are never that easy. as i made my turn to start the "i" i realized that the fishing boat was now moving towards shore and right into my path. as i paddled up the "i", i had keep moving over further and further to avoid getting in the way of the boat. eventually i was able to make it around it. unfortunately my "i" ended up looking like the leaning tower of pisa. in hindsight i should have slowed down or stopped, let the boat pass, and then continued on my way. oh well, what are ya gonna do, right?. anyway, for all the improvisation with the "i" i think the whole design still turned out well. and i learned that, when you are trying to paddle it in a kayak, no design is as easy as it seems.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Algae Update

apparently i wasn't the only one who noticed all the brown and white algae in the water on edinboro lake yesterday. it was called in to authorities as a possible paint spill. the Erie County Haz Mat crew came out and, after sending some samples to the lab, discovered that it was a naturally occurring algae and not paint or oil.

i must admit that when i first saw it floating on the water yesterday morning my first impression was that it looked like thin pieces of latex paint. but after seeing so much of it in so many different areas of the lake i decided that it must be naturally occurring. i thought that it was mold growing on top of the algae. i didn't realize that it was a type of algae. but like i said yesterday i'm no algae expert.

anyway, you can click here to read the whole story as covered by WICU12.

A Nice Leisurely Trip

today on the way to the lake i decided not to try any new designs. i figured that i needed a break. i just wanted to buzz around the lake and look at the scenery. that decision actually worked out well today. when i got to the lake there was someone water skiing so, i couldn't really go out into the middle of the lake anyway.

that doesn't mean it was an uneventful morning. i actually got to see a lot of different things. since i have been hanging around the southern end of the lake i haven't had a chance to see the progression of algae on the northern end of the lake for the last few weeks. no big loose there. it seams as though the green algae has given way to brown algae. now, i'm no expert, but i think that i have heard that brown algae is worse than green algae. i don't know for sure. i could google it and find out, but i haven't had a chance yet. it definitely looks and smells worse. it also looks like it has mold or something growing on top of it. again, not an expert, but yuck.

i did paddle my way through some of the less algae covered areas and was able to see a blue heron. it was near the same place where i have see them before and i am going to assume that it is the same one that i have photographed in the past. i wasn't able to get very close before it flew, but i was able to get up close to some flowers on the bank nearby. i don't think that they were completely in bloom yet, but they were still cool. i'm not sure what kind they are but i'll probably google them latter too.

on my way back across the lake i heard a noise, looked up, and saw three single-engine planes. they were fairly low, but other than that it really wasn't that special. i just didn't expect to see them. i took a couple of pictures but they're not very good. just a big blue picture with three black dots. woopie.

the water skier didn't end up staying out for very long. if i had known that i could have done a design. but, it was nice to just relax and look at the scenery around the lake. it has been several weeks since i have done that and it was a really nice change.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Sailboat II

6:00am seemed to arrive a little extra early this morning and the alarm clock sounded a lot extra loud. after fumbling for the snooze button and a few minutes of groggy contemplation, i finally decided that kayaking, not bed, was the better of my two morning options.
i toyed with the idea of just going for a leisurely paddle around the lake but instead decided to press forward with another design. one suggestion i received was to do a celtic knot. at first i thought that would be an ideal design. a celtic knot is one continuous line that loops around with a few twists and turns. piece of cake, right? well, after 15 minutes of googling and drawing celtic knots i discovered that, when drawn very large with a thin line they look very unimpressive. they really need to have a nice thick, chunky line to make it look right. i wasn't quite sure how to get that look and i really didn't have any more time this morning to try and figure it out. so, now that i was 10 minutes behind schedule and idea-less, i hit the road hoping that i would think of something on the way.

let me just say that a morning without coffee is definitely not the best time to come up with a new, inspiring idea. as i pulled up to the boat launch i decided to give the new sailboat design a try. it was that or nothing. so, still being 10 minutes behind schedule and starting a design that i was sure would take about 45 minutes to complete, i unloaded as fast as i could and hit the water paddling.

the fog this morning was extra chunky and made the it hard to paddle the straight lines with no on-shore reference points. luckily, at about a quarter of the way through the design, the fog began to thin enough that i could make out shapes on the shore. the lake was empty and calm and i was able to make some pretty good time.

all-in-all i was able to create a 3 mile design in under 45 minutes and the final design turned out a million times better than the first sailboat. there are a few small details that i would like to have done differently but, overall i and very satisfied with the final result. i'm really glad that i revisited this idea with a design that was pre-planned and not spur-of-the-moment.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Sailboat

let me just start by saying that i'm not satisfied with how this one turned out. it's not horrible, but it is not what i had in mind.

the other day my lovely wife suggested that i do a sailboat shape. i thought that was a great idea and fully intended to come up with a good plan for padding it. obviously this did not happen. my planning period consisted of me sitting in the car at the boat launch scribbling on the back of a walmart receipt with a pen. the result ,as you can see, was less then stellar. I NEED TO PLAN BETTER. i already have a better plan for sailboat 2, but i'll save that for a another day.

it was also very, very foggy on the lake this morning, mostly on the eastern shore. i'm not using that as an excuse for the sailboat, but it did make it more difficult. i had a lot more trouble doing the straight lines without being able to see reference points on shore.and the flag on the top of the sailboat? that was a spur of the moment decision the went awry. i'm not even really sure how it got so drastically messed up. but, that is just another example of why i need to have a plan and stick to it.

i'm not sure what shape to do next, but as always, suggestions are welcome.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Lake Shark

ok, so today i tried a shark. i think it worked out alright. not great, but alright. i think that i definitely need to plan these things out a little better. i almost had to get out and carry the kayak across the shore to make the dorsal fin because i didn't start far enough out in the lake. it also turned out looking a little upside down. i'll plan the next one a little better and hopefully end up with something cooler. i will say that this one was a lot easier than the first one. since the shark was mostly straight lines i was able to focus on landmarks on shore instead of relying totally on the gps screen. that made it a lot less disorienting.

it looks better rotated on it's side. see?

since the shark only took about a half hour i still had some time to kill. so, i just did a quick 10 minutes out and back. nothing exciting, but that explains the second map and stats.

Today's Trip Stats and Map
Lake Shark
..and the rest

and again, if anyone has a suggestion for another shape, let me know.