“How-To” Guide for Kayak Travel – Awesome 9-Minute Video Review

Posted on December 10, 2012 by

The long-awaited and highly anticipated Episode 5 of The TRAK Files video series is here! International TRAK’packing is essentially a “how-to” guide for international kayak travel, packaged into a nice little 9-minute video. One of the great things about kayaking is the ability to explore from the water…a unique vantage point.

Off to the next 'put-in' - Croatia 2010

Off to the next ‘put-in’ – Croatia 2010

If you’re like many people, when you get to one (or many) of these exotic, remote or just simply unique and magical places, you don’t have your kayak with you! Jaime Sharp will take you on an adventure of travel and paddling 6 countries, by plane, train, boats, buses & automobiles. This episode highlights his trips to Panama, Belize, Croatia, Norway, the UK, and Canada, and what he has learned along the way. Jaime has accumulated a vast amount of knowledge and wisdom on traveling with the TRAK T-1600 performance folding kayak.  At the end of the video, he even shares his ‘secret sauce’ on what it takes to travel with large amounts of expedition gear…enjoy!

Feet up, ready for the next leg of paddling Croatia

Feet up, ready for the next leg of paddling Croatia

Watch this video (below), and if you’re inspired, write down a list of 5 places you’d like to travel to and paddle! (this is to leave room for 5 more that you’ll become aware of after paddling the first five) They say if you write something down with clear intentions and purpose, there is a greater chance of it happening in reality. Get that bucket list down on paper!

Sit back and dream on,

~ Nolin

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Entering the Land of the Folding Kayak (Deutschland!)

Posted on September 27, 2012 by

Kanu-Out-Door Stand PaddleExpo 2012

PaddleExpo 2012 has come and passed, and it was an impressive show. Much of the paddlesport industry from Europe, Asia, the UK and around the world come together in Nuremburg, Germany for this annual industry show (18-20 September 2012). Given the downturn in the European economy (and the deflation of the EURO), it was a testament to the strength of the paddlesport and outdoor goods and experience market. The show was quite well-attended and the industry players were there and ready to do business. It was great to meet many new contacts, and connect with dealers and ‘friends’ in the industry.

TRAK Stand PaddleExpo 2012 Germany

It was TRAK’s third year exhibiting at this show. The first two years were okay for us, as we had many observers and onlookers curious and very interested in the TRAK folding kayak technology and what it might mean for the industry and the European market. This year was different. European people are very astute business people….very smart, yet patient and thoughtful. My impression is that they will not run off on a whim as easily as their North American counterparts. Once they observe, watch and think about new products for a 2-3 year period, then they are more ready to move forward….one way or the other. Once they have chosen to ‘play’, then they tend to be very loyal believers and supporters of a brand or product. We know it is our job to continue to demonstrate this commitment and earn the trust of our partners (and ultimately each TRAK owner) all over the world. That being said, we are very fortunate to have many new and excellent partners in Europe for 2013 forward!

I met the gentleman that wrote the 2005 article ’100 Years of Folding Kayaks’ in the German Kanu Magazin. He helped me understand lot more about the history of folding kayaks in Germany and Europe. Early German folding kayaks were modes of transportation in Germany, before the automobile. Circa approximately 1930, Klepper were manufacturing over 60 kayaks a day at their factory! There is a deep history of folding craft in this country, for both practical transportation and for pleasure. We had folding and Greenland kayak historians visit our booth this year, learning what they are calling the new generation of folding kayaks. It was a humbling experience for me. Understanding the history and the origin of these crafts gave me a much deeper perspective and commitment to what we’re doing at TRAK.

Here’s to the next 100 years!

~ Nolin

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Surfing the TRAK Kayak on Skookumchuck Narrows – An Epic Experience

Posted on September 11, 2012 by

TRAK’n the Skook – Jaime Sharp surfing ©Jaime Sharp

In late August, a group of paddlers, including Warren Williamson, Alex Stoeffl, Jaime Sharp, and James Manke, headed up the BC Sunshine Coast to Skookumchuck Narrows for an epic few days of paddling. At Skookumchuck, each day tides force large amounts of seawater through the narrows—200 billion US gallons (760,000,000 m3) of water on a 3-metre (9.8 ft) tide. The difference in water levels on either side of the rapids can exceed 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height. Current speeds can exceed 16 knots (30 km/h),up to 17.68 knots (32.74 km/h). On these days, it was 9-10 knots, so no small feat! This is a ‘bucket-list’ paddling destination for many kayakers, and for obvious reasons. It is truly magical…

They were paddling a variety of boats, including some playboats, a Romany, a P&H Delphin and testing the new Eddyline Raven. The TRAK folding kayak was a surprise ‘entry’ into

Warren Williamson enjoying TRAK-surfing on the Skookumchuck ©Jaime Sharp

this group. How can a folding kayak handle such rough water conditions? Would it be robust enough? How nimble is it? Can you really surf this thing like other specialized sea kayaks? Well, check out this video and see for yourself!

Warren has done a lot of kayak design for surfing and rolling, including classic wood skin-on-frame Greenland kayaks. He has designed hulls and decks for other kayak companies, as he’s known for this in the industry. Jaime Sharp was very grateful to have met Warren, and for him to take the time and make the claims he did about the TRAK. Thanks Warren, we look forward to many adventures together over the years. I hope the TRAK can serve you for your adventures and dream paddling destinations over the next few decades.

After his first time ever paddling the TRAK folding kayak, Warren Williamson said that the TRAK “…surfs as good as any kayak I’ve ever been in!”. Check out this fun little video and his ‘testimony’ at the end.

Yankin’ & bankin’ and carvin’ & turnin’ – Warren Williamson

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A Twin Billing…Multi-Day Trips in the Broughton Archipelago in BC Canada (North) and Isla de Coiba in Panama (South) by Folding Sea Kayak

Posted on August 30, 2012 by

The TRAK Files video series is moving into maturity! Episode 4 focuses on multi-day tripping, and has been rolled out in two parts…with a trip on Vancouver Island in Canada and one down in Central America in Panama.

Part 1 – We explore a more temperate climate up in British Columbia’s Broughton Archipelago area. It is a beautiful part of the world, especially when seen from the water! Joining Jaime Sharp on this trip was Johanna Nylen from Sweden and Jocelyn Sorbara of Canada. The three of them embarked on a 6-day self-supported kayak trip from Telegraph Cove out to the islands, and back from the Johnstone Strait with gale-forced winds! The purpose of this trip was to explore the pros and cons of the TRAK folding kayak on these types of multi-day trips in this kind of environment. They evaluate and discuss packing methods, rocky shore travel, hard shell performance comparisons, and what to do to ensure safe food storage. They came across some incredible wildlife, including sea lions, humpback whales, and bald eagles.

Kayaking with Whale

A Breathtaking Close Encounter

The quote of the trip came from Johanna who talked about her encounter with the HUGE whale…..she said, “That was a big animal. And it was close. And it was big. Right on my tail…..”. Amazing footage at the end – enjoy! (and thanks to the Banana Sessions for great music accompaniment!)

                                                                 

Part 2- This story takes us to the Galapagos of Panama in Central America. Allie Carroll joins Jaime Sharp to paddle 13 days in and around Isla de Coiba, which is a 70 nautical mile circumnavigation and another 30 to complete the trip.

Paddling Panama - Isla de Coiba

Entering the Estuary by Folding Kayak

The purpose of this segment of Episode 4 is to explore the considerations of paddling the TRAK folding kayaks in tropical environments, exposed coasts and surf, as well as looking at maintenance and repairs in the field and customizations to improve the ease of traveling multiple days in the TRAK. They carried 18 litres of waters EACH to make the trip workable in a tropical environment. They really pressure tested the carrying capacity of the boats, which was a nice discovery and great for all TRAK owners to know.Along this journey, they come across crocodiles, snakes, monkeys, and sea life that would take your breath away. Check out the footage of Allie reluctantly launching in surf with her friend alongside, a 6-foot crocodile!

                                                                                                                                                          WATCH The TRAK Files – Episode 4 (Parts 1 & 2)

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“Rolling” into Spring and The New Face of Sea Kayaking

Posted on April 10, 2012 by

Everywhere I turn I have been hearing and reading about the emergence of specialty kayak designs (doing well in the marketplace) and of a shift in sea kayaking to more rough water (and bigger water) paddling by a larger segment of the market. Like many other sports, the pursuit of kayaking has matured as a sport over the past decade, and looks to continue that for the next 20-30 years. I guess the availability of information, access to multimedia like pictures, videos and blogs, as well as other media has brought “what’s possible” literally right in front of interested adventure paddlers eyes…from all corners of the globe. There’s certainly an enticing adrenalin rush you get when you see (or better yet experience) the feeling of riding a wave or tidal rapid on the ocean in a sea kayak. We all hope that will attract many more young people to sea kayaking (so they can experience the more soulful pristine sacred moments that can’t be captured on video!).

I’ve been reflecting on some of the inspirational moments and influences in the history of TRAK. Back in the spring of 2005, I read an article in Adventure Kayak magazine called “The New Face of Sea Kayaking” featuring an interview with Ken Whiting (now of Heliconia Press & Paddling TV). In that article, Ken described a future of ‘freestyle’ in sea kayaking that seems to be coming to fruition.

A statement he made in the interview really hit us like a 2×4 and made us feel like we had a solution on its way. When asked what innovations do you see coming to sea kayaks themselves, he said “…the equipment has got to become more playful; it’s got to become better for surfing. It’s great to be surfing these boats in the tidal rapids and ocean surf but at the same time that I’m having a great time I’m saying to myself “There is a hybrid”. There is something coming that hasn’t arrived yet, a cross between a surf ski, a surf boat and a sea kayak – something that will let me get to that remote location and also let me do more when I get there. Sea kayaks are evolving, but I expect some specialized designs will move toward having sharper edges, a flatter hull and more rocker for easier turning”.

After reading this article and getting the proverbial “goose bumps”, we contacted Ken and had him test our prototype, and as history would show, he liked what he saw!

Coming full circle to 2012 (7 years later), we are now seeing paddlers really test the limits of the TRAK T-1600. In order to paddle these kayaks in rough water situations, you have to be able to roll. This episode of The TRAK Files focuses on rolling the TRAK T-1600. James Manke’s debut in the series is fantastic. He tests the TRAK using specialized Greenland techniques and helps us determine the roll-ability of this playful, performance folding kayak.

We invite you to stay posted to the series, as an episode down the road will explore rough water paddling, surfing and freestyle sea kayaking!

Happy Paddling,

~ Nolin

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The Essentials of Paddling a TRAK Kayak

Posted on February 24, 2012 by

Our focus with The TRAK Files web video series is to educate and inspire paddlers with what a kayak like ours is capable of providing to a beginner or advanced adventure paddler. The TRAK design is very unique. Because of that, it is our challenge to have people REALLY understand the nuances, the pros & cons, and the practical aspects of paddling and using the T-1600, both on and off the water.

The new Red T-1600 for 2012

This is a performance folding kayak. It assembles with ease (from our average customer) in under 15 minutes. It can carry gear for up to 10-14 day trips. Once on the water, this kayak is fast and agile and paddles efficiently like a fibreglass or composite hardshell. You can change the hull shape (more or less ‘rocker’ or ‘trim’), based on paddling conditions, paddler preference and skill level. These are all claims that are pretty hard to believe until you see or experience paddling it yourself. I understand that. The TRAK Files is a way for us to demonstrate some of these concepts and give useful tips and tricks for paddling this unique craft. Thank you to our TRAK owners out there that are showing us what this kayak is capable of doing. And kudos to Jaime Sharp for bringing this video series to life.

As an example, in Episode 2 Off TRAK Rescues, sea kayak guide Manuel Martel discovered the importance of having properly inflated and placed gear floatation bladders for safe rescues and the advantage of the sea sock for both self-supported and assisted rescues. Allie Carroll discovered the proper placement of the paddle blade for paddle float re-entries. Watch it NOW! Let us know what you think.

In FUTURE episodes, you can expect to see us explore rolling & advanced paddling techniques, international travel, assembly, changing the hull shape, surfing and rough water, and some surprises as well. Stay tuned, and enjoy!

Be strong navigating your waters,

~ Nolin

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TRAK Kayak Circumnavigation of Isla de Coiba in Panama

Posted on February 14, 2012 by

Jaime Sharp and Allison Carroll have just returned from a 13 day TRAK kayak expedition fully self supported; completing a 100 nautical mile journey around one of the most beautiful and untouched islands in Panama, Isla de Coiba.

Allie & Jaime - Panama 2012

Jan 26th 2012; from Jaime Sharp’s journal

“Getting in our boats to leave, we pushed out into the calm bay in the golden evening light, no one came to stop us. We were a bit nervous as despite a previous phone conversation were we were told we had permission to do the circumnavigation, over the last three days at the ranger station the head ranger (el Heffe) had kind of changed his tune. He had not yet said “no”, though he was also seeming to be concerned about our safety.”  “It was 4pm there was two and a half hours or so till the sun set, we weren’t going far, just 2 nautical miles around the next headland, and looking back as we paddled off towards the western edge of Coiba Island, I expected someone to wave us back with a stern look…… no one appeared. We were on our way, and we still weren’t sure if we had permission or not to be doing what we were about to do, though that just made it all so much more exciting.”

TRIP REPORT

I first came to this area 2 years ago when a friend of mine discovered it and started up a sea kayaking business that would take people out to the island of Coiba. So I came down to check it out. I quickly had the desire to paddle around the island, it seemed not many if any people had done it yet and I was intrigued. Now two years later, much planning, dreaming and running by the seat of my pants, the goal has been met, no hard task though…no simple one either. I was joined on the journey by Allison (Allie) Carroll, who had to this

Allie Carroll and her TRAK

date not paddled any multi-day journeys nor had she paddled much more than 6 nautical miles in a day, I had paddled bigger trips (distance and time) though for both of us this journey has become an iconic memory of wonder, adventure, challenge and amazement. Not only did we paddle around Isla de Coiba (Coiba Island) but we also paddled back to the mainland and the little town of Santa Catalina where we were based prior. At the end of the trip our longest day was 17 nautical miles our total distance was 100 nautical miles over a time frame of 13 days and is the longest journey I have made to date in my TRAK folding kayak. I will not claim this to be the first circumnavigation by sea kayak around Coiba Island, though I feel confident it is the first by folding kayak.

The trip began with us arriving on the island via boat, we had struck a good deal with my mate Mike at Fluid Adventures Panama to guide 3 of his clients for 3 days on Coiba. This deal got us a wage that paid for most of our food for the trip, it also got us free transport to the island and our park fees paid for. Coiba Island is a National Park and Marine Reserve and has a UNESCO World Heritage status. Previously a penal colony with a dark past, this tarnished past is actually what has kept the island in such an amazing state as no one dared come live on the island unless they were forced there by the law or by work (at the prison). This meant the forest has remained 90% intact and the wildlife never pressured. The 10% developed by the penal colony was farmed and built on to support the small amount of people forced to live on the island. This island jewel is considered the Galapagos island of Panama  (and actually shares the same geological history with the Galapagos), the waters team with life, turtles, sharks, dolphins, huge schools of game fish, the

Croc Encounters Isla de Coiba Panama

trees are alive with monkeys, scarlet macaws and lanced tailed manakins, while in the rivers and along the shoreline is found a healthy abundance of american crocodiles. This is truly a lost world of wild wonder.

The TRAK kayaks were perfect for this expedition, they were easy to transport, first via plane to Panama, then out to the island in their bags upon the boat. When set up they have fast efficient hull shape, great for surf landings and launches and easy to paddle for a beginner (Allie) and fun for a more advanced paddler (myself), and they have the ability to carry a good pay load; we carried enough food for 14 days, a small dutch oven, plus 18 liters of water per boat, a bunch of film gear, a laptop, along with all the standard required camping gear, and still had room for more. Fully loaded the TRAKs sit lower, though perform just as well, handling moderate sized surf (2-3 foot) with ease even when shared with a 6 foot crocodile and also put up with abuse like being dragged on the beaches, carried fully loaded by their handles and surfed on too smooth rocks. At the end of the trip the hulls surprisingly had barely a scratch on them, and the only things we had managed to break were a couple of hook clips for the bungee cords on the stern of Allie’s boat. I feel fully confident that I could self support myself out of a TRAK for 20 days, at some point I want to test this concept.

Rocky Beach Isla de Coiba

The trip was truly amazing, we camped on wild surf beaten beaches lined with coconut palms, and on the edge of beautiful lagoons with curious crocs; we caught fish using only a line, hook and a hermit crab, baked fresh bread on camp fires, paddled up estuarine rivers into giant mangrove forest that stood 40 feet above us and slid through sea arches along a sometimes cliff lined coast. We often awoke to stunning sunrises and ate dinner to sunsets just as gorgeous, we bathed naked in freshwater creeks or under our solar shower hanging from a tree and were daily amazed by the amount of sea life that passed under us as we paddled. We also dealt with beating heat from a relentless sun, sunburn, chaffing, the odd beach with swarms of bugs, the occasional scorpion, and hordes of hermit crabs that would eat anything you left unattended for too long; however the negatives barely touched on the amazing specialness of this trip. I will never forget this amazing place it has etched its name on my heart.

~ Jaime Sharp

Read more about the adventures in Panama on Jaime’s Blog or on Allie Carroll’s Blog

Paddling Isla de Coiba

TRIP STATS

The journey: Starting at the rangers station on Coiba Island we circumnavigated the island in a counter clockwise direction, then on completion paddled back to the mainland via an island chain, followed the coast east to return to Santa Catalina township. We would be self supported for a planned 12 days in a mostly very remote place.

Distance 100 nautical miles

Time 13 days

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