The Armchair Adventurer: Sea Kayaker

So you're sitting on the couch, watching the snow outside your window panes (or, if you're lucky, watching it melt!) and you can't afford to go on vacation for a few months. So what do you do?

Why, you plan your vacation? Especially in these days when every penny, and really, every second, counts.

Depending on your adventure of choice, there is literature somewhere that will tell you the information you need - reviews of the tools, where to go, and so on. But of course you will always need to practice your hobby or sport, before going off on the wild side.

So Let's talk about sea kayaking. There's a magazine for this, called Sea Kayaker: Experience the World's Wterways. The current issue has a photo of Freya Hoffmeister on the cover, with an article on how she just completed her circumnavigation of Australia by Kayak.

The magazine also has reviews of two kayaks - the Alchemy 140.S by Dagger and the Pinguino Sport by Pygmy Boats.

There are also two features: St. Andrews by-the-Sea, Exploring Passamaquoddy Bay (up in Canada) and Blown Away on Lake Powell (between Utah and Arizona).

Then there's a science article, on understanding plankton blooms.

There's also a cautionary tale, "How-not-to". A mman tells the story of how his kayak and hiis car roof rack had peeled right off while he was driving. Because of the wind forces on a kayak, always remember to tie down the bow of the kayak, and make sure that the points where you tie down the kayak don't have sharp edges to fray the rope.