Storm Paddling: Big Wednesday! written by: Brandon Nelson Don Kiesling, Brandon and Heather Going out on Wednesday was, for me, an experimental session. A guaranteed learning experience from the second the boat touches the water. Heather, Don and I met at about 11:30 at Marine Park, and watched in awe as 4-5′ surf wrapped beautifully [...]

Womens Surf Ski Demo Day and Clinic: Huge Success! The Women’s Surf Ski Demo Day and Clinic was an awesome success. Over thirty-surf ski’s lined the shore when women started rolling into Bloedel Donovan Park in Bellingham, WA Nov 11 at noon. By the end of the event, we had over 60 gals paddling on [...]

Women On Waves: WOW! Women’s Surf Ski Demo and Clinic!November 11, 2006 Bellingham, WA Being a female surf ski racer can, at times, be lonely. Surf Ski racing is a male dominated sport. So, two accomplished female racers from Seattle; Traci Cole and Tracy Landboe, came up with the idea for W.O.W. I happily jumped [...]

After breaking the mixed tandem course record in the 460-mile Yukon River Quest with Brandon in 2005, I set my sights high for 2006. Not only did I want to win the women’s solo category, I wanted to break the course record and come in top 10 overall. After a year of training and preparation, [...]

Molokai HoeOctober 8, 2006A great race is always a treat… but a great scene from start to finish is what I always hope for, and the scene in Hawaii from my arrival Thursday night to coming home Monday night was SPECTACULAR! Our team was primarily made up of former He’e Nalu paddlers fromMarin County, CA’s [...]

Lake Okanagan, just east of Kamloops in British Columbia, is about 100 KM tip-to-tip, and no wider than about a mile the entire length. With its consistent winds funneled from the north, and provincial parks lining the west side of the lake, Okanagan screams, ‘RACE ME’! Penticton Racing Canoe Club answered the call with the [...]

GGGRRRAAAAHHH!!! I grunted loudly as I bent my knees slightly, arched my back in a horrible backwards bend, and heaved our 100-pound of tandem kayak over my head to rest on my other shoulder. The sharp keel line of the bow sunk sickly into the soft flesh of my left shoulder. In two to three [...]

In the day-to-day world, “Necessity” may be the “Mother of Invention.” But in the world of ultra-marathon paddling, the Mother of Invention is “Suffering.” Every time I finish a race or ultra workout, I look back at the times of my worst suffering, and start trying to figure out ways to ease the pain. Afterall, [...]

Teams Kayak For Care! Sponsored by Nimbus Kayaks and Kokatat Heather crossing the finish line Brandon and David, stoked to be first overall Brandon: Seventy-five teams stand, stomping feet for warmth on the pavement of Whitehorse’s Main Street and ducking from the cold rain, as event director Jeff Brady bellows the name of each and [...]