I was about nine when I first tried improvising sails. I liberated a couple of broomsticks and what I thought were wornout bed sheets from my mom’s linen closet, scissored them into likely looking shapes and rigged them on my dad’s rowboat. Turned out those had been good sheets, so instead of the pats on the head for creativity that I’d expected, I got swats somewhere else.
Happily, I overcame that trauma. I still love messing around with sails for my sea kayak, both commercial and home brew. They’ve added new dimensions to everything from easy afternoons on English Bay to extended expeditions on BC’s north coast. A few months back, I was inspired to stitch together some of my home movie clips of kayak sailing into this mini documentary:
BTY, don’t blame MEC for the low-rent, low-def look of this effort. It was shot using the video mode of point-and-shoot still cameras (bought before everything, including cellphones, took HD). It was edited on my home computer. The rambling narration and cheesy soundtrack are my fault as well. But if you’re a paddling and/or sailing geek, the subject matter might outweigh any shortcomings in style.
Want to see and touch sea kayak sails for real? I’ll be giving a dryland workshop on downwind kayak sailing at the MEC Paddlefest in Vancouver.
So what have you used to catch a free ride from the wind in your kayak or canoe? Jacket, tarp, poncho, kite, umbrella, or purpose-built sail?
hammock