Sea Kayaking Articles from P&H Staff, Team Paddlers, and Friends

Month: May 2020

Dre’s West Coast Adventure: Part Two, “I’m so lucky.”

June 13

I’m on Day 3 of this adventure and on my 2nd weather day! It’s amazing the difference 2 days make. (Day 1 was a weather day, and I still had my head in 2 worlds). I was super stressed the last couple days before the trip started.

Then also on the first paddling day, I had a REALLY slow start (I had to carry the boat about a quarter-mile, then all the gear), a really heavy boat, I didn’t know if it may be loaded too heavy and bow heavy, there was water coming over the bow… I was still stressed. Was it a bad idea to round Cape Flattery like this? The forecast was 5-foot swell at 12 seconds – I expected some energy out there.

The kinks ironed out, the boat performed admirably, I remember I could paddle – and I got to the Cape and the stacks off the Cape. It was gorgeous. While I still had regular thoughts that I muttered aloud, “wtf am I doing?” – they became increasingly peppered with “I’m so lucky.”

I had to take another day off today. The forecast said 7 foot swell at 7 seconds, then 6 feet at 9 seconds, then I couldn’t get the right forecast and the marine forecast on my Garmin didn’t differentiate between wind waves and swell and seemed to show wind speeds on land, not water… the beach looked big. All the forecasts agreed it would diminish. A friend sent me ten proper forecast, and indeed, it’s supposed to be smaller. The beach is already looking smaller.

So today I made the best of a ridiculously high percentage of weather days and walked to the Cape Flattery trail to see what I paddled yesterday. Gorgeous. And all I can say is – I’m so lucky.

Post-Expedition Thoughts

I don’t particularly remember that my head was still in two places the first couple days of the expedition. It’s an interesting reminder to read that several months later.

What I DO remember was competing thoughts of “wtf?!” and “I’m so lucky.” I didn’t know at the beginning of the expedition – and probably wouldn’t have guessed – that those two thoughts would be my constant companions through the next 3 months. I think that every single day, I said both of those things out loud. I still think both of those things every time I see photos from the trip – and I see them every day because they’re my screen saver now… I see the photos, and I think how unbelievably lucky I am to have had the chance to do this and to get to see all the indescribable beauty I was immersed in for 3 months. And I also have that moment of “wtf?.” As I was planning, as I was paddling, and after the whole thing was over, I’ve had this constant feeling of something surreal. I mean – really? I lived out of my kayak for 3 months? On the beaches of this country – a heavily populated, heavily industrialized, heavily regulated country?

I’m grateful for one more thing now – I feel so lucky I took this trip last summer. My initial plan was to do it summer 2020. I don’t know what prompted me to move it up by a year – but wow am I lucky I did!

The P&H Volan; A Tale of Two Boats

The developmental road of the Volan has been a long one, and we thank the members of our global network of specialist dealers and P&H Pro Paddlers who packed generous amounts of energy and enthusiasm, and joined us for the journey…

We originally announced the concept, a complementary pairing of polyethylene and composite, lightweight sea kayaks focused on day and weekend trips, at PADDLEexpo in 2018. Whilst many have found their perfect, two-boat fleet in a combination of an Aries or Delphin, and a Cetus or Scorpio, we also recognised that not all had the necessary funds or storage space for two boats and that this new range also had the potential to fulfil the needs of those paddlers.

We soon reached a fork in the developmental road, though; one path led to a shorter design with a relatively straight keel, whilst the other’s destination was a 16’ sea kayak with pronounced rocker. We decided to explore both, with the former becoming the polyethylene Virgo (you can read more about the Virgo in its own blog post), and the latter becoming the composite Volan.

The Volan is 16’ in length with a pronounced rocker profile and subtle chines, which in combination, allow the boat to swing around nimbly in the surf, and keep the weight low, reducing the effort required to move the boat around both on and off the water.

Our 50+ years of cross-discipline design experience shine through once again, including the incorporation of the innovative wave deflectors seen in recent Pyranha models, deflecting spray outwards, away from the paddler when powering through chop, and creating dynamic bow lift without excessive volume or rocker.

The Volan’s combination of a planing, mid-section hull and finely tailored chines is enhanced by decades of experience with the performance characteristics of this type of hull in the Pyranha range of whitewater kayaks, ensuring the edges are tuned to engage when desired without hindering the paddler otherwise. The hull shape and dimensions promote planing performance and manoeuvrability at high speed on a wave yet retain tracking and efficiency at the lower speeds associated with normal paddling.

In that vein, the Volan eschews the school of thought which says a sea kayak must be unstable when motionless to perform in motion, and is exceptionally stable when flat, yet comes alive at the influence of your paddle strokes or the engagement of an edge.

The properties of the Volan’s hull are amplified by our advanced construction offerings; Lightweight Kevlar/Carbon Infusion offers incredible, industry-leading weight saving, hull stiffness, and durability, for higher performance, lower exertion, and increased longevity. Learn more on our constructions page.

In summary, the Volan’s features include:

  • The renowned comfort of our Connect outfitting
  • All the predictably smooth characteristics of the Cetus in a lighter, more compact format for shorter journeys and easier portaging, transport, and storage.
  • Influences from the Aries, such as a wave-piercing bow, to enhance the play potential of the responsive, compact design with lower swing weight.
  • A planing, mid-section hull with subtle chines, which can carve on a wave face and manoeuvred using traditional techniques during normal paddling.
  • A rocker profile tailored to partner with the intent of the hull design, whilst working with the bow wave deflectors to produce a dry ride in a wide variety of water conditions.
  • Exceptional stability, making a great platform for all abilities to take in the sights, whether that’s with your eyes or a camera.
  • Balanced sheerline and deck profile, allowing simple trimming with the skeg to neutralise the effect of wind and waves.
  • Low-profile back deck and cockpit rim for easier rolling and re-entry.
  • Bow, Stern, and Day Hatches as standard, with optional Pod Hatch, allowing paddlers to choose between the weight saving or additional storage.
  • The most comprehensive range of construction and custom options available. Create your own, bespoke P&H Sea Kayak on our customiser.

We’re proud to offer a performance, composite sea kayak which combines the essence of both the Aries and Cetus in a single, compact, lightweight design, making it equally competent from simple excursions over a long-weekend to a few hours of fun in the surf, and all the varied trips in between; the Volan.

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