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| Klepper with Sail set up on Jones Island, one of the nicest little kayak camp spots there is. |
The
Klepper. Made in Germany, Almost the same design since its conception in 1907. Just about 100 years in production and still the greatest kayak to be had.
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| Yessi taking a sunset paddle in the Klepper in the San Juan Islands. |
An impossible collection of little wood pieces with aluminum can tab like connectors which assembles in just minutes to a fragile looking wood sculpture in the shape of a kayak. But when fully assembled in it's canvass/hypalen shell and sponsons inflated, is one amazing, sea worthy boat.
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| dbBrad and my favorite kayak ever, the Klepper. Solid timeless design. |
But what I really like about the Klepper is it's spen cockpit, comfortable seats (aftermarket) and it's sailing set up. There is nothing like being on the ocean, sitting at exactly the same level as the sea, and doing 7mph with out effort.
Jacaboo and I recently set off on a trip in the San Juan islands. For three days we utilized the strong currents from the large summer tide swings to circumnavigate San Juan Island in three days.
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| Jacaboo looking a little wide eyed out it big water, west side of San Juan Island. |
Day one we departed at 4am to catch an Ebb tide which wisked us from the north end of Lopez island to the Southern point of San Juan Island. A bit tired, we had a few hour nap while the tides shifted, then we rode a flood tide all the way up to Posey Island, just outside Roche Harbor.
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| View from Pose Island, just outside Roche Harbor looking NorthWest. |
This was a long day, over 12 hours in the boat. But we traveled over 30 miles in some big water and had some amazing views. A bit like thru hiking last summer, we thought we were thru paddling. In fact we were. With the tides and the sailing set up, we did almost no paddling at all.
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| Jacaboo looks a little stiff from our epic travels yesterday. |
Day two we enjoyed being the only ones on Posey Island, a rare event anymore. The kayak tour companies use Posey island frequently, with all the reservations for the next few weeks for a select group of three tour guides.
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| View from Jones Island, Kayak point, one of the best legal kayak camp sites in the San Juan Islands. |
Eventually we paddled the half mile into Roche Harbor to walk around, have some coffee, and people watch. Then back in the boat with some cold ones for a 6 mile paddle that felt a bit more like 10. Headed across the top of San Juan Island, paralleling Spieden Island, the curents are cutting across and with a stiff breeze from the SE, we had to work a bit harder to get to Jones Island
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| Yessi carries the sale while Jacaboo gets his land legs back! |
The next day was an easy paddle back to Lopez Island, where Yessi was waiting to greet us and help us unload our gear. Later, locals from Lopez including Jeff and Joe and the managers of Odlin park and a few others joined us for a raging fire and a great potluck meal.
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| dbBrad in my favorite Ibex hoodie with Jacaboo glad land is so close! |
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