Tour of California

I just got back from the Tour of California and I have to say, "This is how you do it!" Rock Racing has everybody beat in the looking cool department. The team chase cars are just a small example of how they look.

The best job in the world!

Well, I can't believe I did it! Did what, you ask? After talking with my lovely wife, we decided it would be fun to apply for that famous job that millions around the world are applying for, which is called "The Best Job in the World."

It is a stunt that the Queensland Board of Tourism is doing to raise awareness of the Great Barrier Reef and the tourism opportunities. Applicants from around the world are applying for a six month job as an island caretaker at the tune of $150,000.00 Aussie dollars.

I figured it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am very qualified, so what the heck!

Check out the site and more importantly my application video. Please vote for me and rate me with 5 stars if you can!

Thanks,
Captain Penguin

Educational Sea Kayaking videos

I have been wanting to start a series of educational Sea Kayaking videos for quite some time now... so I will start with an easy project that I actually have time for, quick shorts of bullet information posted on You Tube. I will follow these up with videos on our website and future DVD for sale.

Here are a couple of examples:





Enjoy,
Captain Penguin

Been a while!

Well, I thought it was fitting to start off the new year with a fresh photo and a fresh start. I took this pic of Carrie and I, on Santa Catalina Island, from a vantage point that many tourist never get to see. It used to be accessible by taking a horseback tour but the stables have been closed for some time now. Let's just say that rented mountain bikes are not the best way... but they do make it possible.

I have started planning a Penguin Paddlers Expedition for 2009 and would like to paddle from Long Beach Harbor, cross the San Pedro Channel, circumnavigate Santa Catalina Island and then make the crossing back to the mainland. The crossing is under 30 miles, depending on currents and course. This expedition will be accomplished in seven days.

The basis for this expedition will be to raise funds for the Catalina Island Conservancy, explore the beauty, history, ecology, wildlife and sea-life of Santa Catalina Island. This expedition will be educational as well as physically demanding and will require the paddler to stretch, expand and apply their skills in an intense week on the open sea!

Look for more info to follow as I complete the details of this exciting expedition!

Captain Penguin

Back to the Old Blog!

Well it has been over a year since I used this blog, but the time has come to go back to the old blog! I have been blogging over at the P&H Pro Paddlers site but there are just times when you can't share certain things on a sponsors site.... so here I am... I'm back! If you want to catch-up for the last year, you will have to check out my posts at the PH Paddlers site.

If you don't care about the past and only care about the future like me, then stay tuned for more fun filled posts!

See you on the water,
Captain Penguin

Elvis the King

Elvis is the name of my favorite kayak. He is a P&H Quest LV Team Boat. Not another kayak like Elvis in the world and he absolutely has the "Bling" factor. With an orange metalflake deck and the clear P&H logo showing through in Carbon Kevlar, you can't help but notice him. The clear Carbon Kevlar hull doesn't hurt either. I had a super tough keel strip installed by the Arma-Coating shop that does spray-in bedliners for trucks and now I can grind on or over anything.

Paddling Elvis is a supreme joy and I haven't found any kind of water where he feels out of place. Up-river paddles, rock gardens, twenty foot swell, surf zone play, tripping and anything else I have thrown at him just make him smile... if kayaks could smile.

Put a Quest LV on it's edge and paddle your guts out and then you will know what pro-performance is all about!

Captain Penguin

Kick back and relax.

Well this photo of a "dried out" sleeping Harbor Seal I took says it all... winter time paddling on the northern California coast. This is the best time of year to paddle here. The air is crisp and clear. The animals are relaxed and subdued. There is no fog and you can see for miles. A couple of weeks ago, I went over to Trinidad and did some paddling with the club and I got to play in the rock gardens and surf for hours. I feel just like this seal when I'm doing that. Relaxed and happy, this is just what I needed to help fight the winter blues.

The other morning I was paddling on the Sacramento River all by myself at 7:AM and I came across a Bobcat chowing down on a dead Salmon. I didn't have my camera and that bummed me out, but I just floated right up to him eating away. He didn't run or even care that I was there, I think he must have been real hungry. I sat there, about 4 feet away, for over 10 minutes watching him pig-out. It was really great and I had a big smile on my face while I talked to him in a soft voice. I thought the morning couldn't get any better so I just paddled off heading up stream. Then it happened, I saw something I have never seen before, a baby Beaver. He was real tiny and very cute. I followed him real slowly and when he finally saw me he just dove under and disappeared. Again no camera!

I wonder if the ancient Eskimos and Greenlanders ever had it this good? I bet they were like many of us men these days and used "Hunting" as an excuse to go kayaking and see the sights. I was laughing with the guys on the river the other morning about how we justify kayaking by saying, "We need our exercise" or "We have to go out there because so and so needs us out there." Well, anyway you slice it, I think the ancient paddlers made excuses to go out paddling. They probably said, "We need to go out and test this new design for hunting" or "In the village they said there is a big herd of seals coming this way." You know they got to see tons of wonderful things along the way.

Well I think it's that time of year to come up with some new excuses to get out of the house, out of work and delay the Honey-Do list. Yes, we need to kick back and relax, hit the water and let that kayak do what it does best... float and cruise the beautiful sights and sounds of our local waterways. Only next time I will remember my stupid camera!

Happy paddling,
Captain Penguin

It's 2007 already?

Well here it is, 2007. Wow, that kinda snuck-up on me. Happy New Year!

I am really happy about the new year but it started off with it's difficulties. First my family got real sick, some kind of flu bug, then I got it. I'm still recovering but it has sent me into a winter depression. So the logical thing to do is pray and go out paddling! I need a clear head to plan for the year. There is so much to do and not enough time and money to do it, so I really need some good planning to get a hold of the reigns of 2007. This year brings some scary and exciting things my way so a clear head and health will be real important.

This year I plan on pushing the local paddlers to excel and learn more than ever. I'm really looking forward to teaching more. There is only so much retail a guy can handle. I would also really like to hone the Up-River paddling crowd. There are a lot of paddlers that just don't know what they're missing and the river is the perfect place to get better and gain confidence.

I like the photo above, it was taken during one of our long Up-River paddles and we had to dodge rocks, rapids and fishermen. It's funny to see the looks we get "Going the wrong way".

Well, may we all go the way we want this year and may the obstacles be dodged with the greatest of ease. Here we go 2007, let's see what you can do!

Captain

What the outdoors means to me.

It’s 6:00 AM on Friday morning and it’s incredibly difficult to pry my body from the warm bed and put on cold paddling clothes. I ask myself, “Why do I do this?” I grab a Clif bar, bottle of water and head out the door.

After a short drive to the river, I unload my kayak and then try to wake-up. Thank God the other guys start to show up, because BED sounds pretty good right now. It’s all the usual suspects, the “Friday Morning Up-River Paddle” crowd. We launch our kayaks and start to paddle like tired, stiff middle-aged guys. “Wait a second, we are!”

After a few paddle strokes I start to notice the mist on the water and smell the river, very distinctively fresh and fishy at the same time. Finally, I’m waking up and the old body is starting to feel good! Just a few strokes more and “slap,” a large beaver gives us the warning sign. We all point and try to find him when he surfaces. Now I’m feeling observant, like a hungry trapper in the 1800s. I notice the Heron to my right, the flock of Geese, Ducks and Mergansers to my left. The Cormorants drying their wings in the branches above deserve a careful look, because they usually poop as we paddle by. “Look at that!” one of the guys yells. A huge Salmon gives us a wonderful show as he leaps and splashes next to the boats. Every time I’m on the river the animals put on a show, this is the kind of stuff you just can’t see anywhere else.

As a small boy, I wanted to be like Jacques Cousteau the ocean explorer. My favorite TV show was National Geographic, I also loved any zoo and marine show, but all of my dreams and interests seemed so unattainable, far away and make-believe. Now here I am, a married adult raising three children in Redding, CA and the dreams of being a world explorer seem very far away. Or are they? Perhaps God wanted me to explore this part of the world first and get some practice. After all, would I notice everything in the outdoors somewhere else if I didn’t notice things here? I think most people have lost the true meaning of the outdoors. It means: OUTSIDE YOUR DOORS.

The guys and I continue paddling up the river, challenging the current and rocks, and then we make it to the dam. I feel miles away from civilization, although houses are close enough to hit with rocks. Here on the river, I am an explorer, after all, who has seen exactly what I have today? We paddle back to our cars feeling different than two hours earlier. I have a clear mind and my thoughts are silent. My eyes are sharp and muscles worked-out. I am hungry, alert and happy. We load our boats, B.S. briefly about the mornings adventure and then head off our different ways.

I remember why I do this; adventure, wildlife, discovery, destiny, health, life and God’s creation, that’s what the outdoors means to me!

Garth Schmeck (Captain Penguin)

Red Skies in Morning - Take Warning

I had to share these photos. I took them at last weeks "Friday Morning River Paddle."
We put-in at the Lake Redding Boat ramp at 7:AM and started paddling upstream then as soon as I looked back to see if the guys were coming, "WOW" there it was, a beautiful display of light. The paddle was perfect and a severe storm did follow the next two days.

It's really cool when I remember my camera on regular paddles, That's when the neat stuff happens.

Captain Penguin