Wetexit

There are two common schools of though on digital camera gear.

1. Compact, light, small zoom
   
2. Not so compact or light, big zoom

The type of camera you buy really depends on what you want kinds of situations you're likely to get yourself into. One thing to consider is that SLR-type digital cameras are often going to be more expensive than the compact and light variety, so that's one thing to consider. On the other hand if you've just spent $3,000 on a new kevlar sea kayak, maybe it's not too much to drop another grand on a camera.

I'm nowhere near being a professional photographer, but I've learned a thing or two about cameras over the years, so here are my top choices for paddlers:

In the compact and light category, I bought a Pentax Optio 43WR. This camera is classified as "Class 7 Water Resistant" so it can be submerged but not operated underwater. I took this thing on our honeymoon, so it's been in a river, in the jungle, and in the ocean and it came through with flying colors. It takes great 4MP photos as long as you can deal with the fact that it only has a 2.8x optical zoom. There were a couple of times when I really wished it had a mega-zoom lens, but given that limitation and the price (under $300) it is a great deal. I've also taken this camera out on the Potomac, set it up on a mini-tripod, and used its time-lapse feature to take photos of my surf session. Very nice.

In the SLR-type category, Barbara and I are seriously considering getting a Nikon Coolpix 8800. It's an 8MP camera with a 10x optical zoom and vibration reduction, and by many measures this is the camera to beat in the fixed-lens prosumer category. We've looked at this camera in the store and it is darn impressive. It's just under $1000 retail, but you should be able to find it for much less if you shop around online. Just be prepared to spend some extra money on memory cards and batteries. There are too many features to list, but if you can deal with non-interchangeable lenses then this camera is definitely worth a look. Of course for protecting this camera on the water I would highly recommend either an appropriately sized Pelican case, or even better the new Aquapac SLR camera case ($120). I don't have one of these so I don't know how good the plastic lens is or how much it's going to affect the final pictures, but it seems to be one of the few options for SLR-type cameras at the moment. Don't forget to get a microfiber lens cloth and keep it in a zip-lock bag; you will need for when you get spray on your lens.

My name is Anatoly, and I'm a paddler. It wasn't always this way...

Before I met Barbara, I didn't particularly like the water. Well, maybe that's not quite true, but in any case I was rarely in the water. I liked the outdoors, and I had been canoeing as a kid, went white water rafting once as an adult and I more-or-less knew how to sail, but that's the extent of it. I guess it just wasn't a priority for me. Barbara changed all that...

My recollection may be a bit different than Barbara's, but I remember us going tubing in Harper's Ferry, WV, down the Shenandoah River. I think it was in the spring or summer of 2000. That is when and where I floated over a rock, fell off my tube backwards and split my head open just a little. That's when I started wondering why the outfitter didn't give us helmets.

At some point after I got my 5 stiches removed, Barbara suggested that we try kayaking. I remember being quite hesitant, not knowing anything about kayaks. We signed up for a series of classes with Potomac Paddlesports, and the first one was Introduction to Whitewater. After practicing wet exits and strokes, we were taught the C-to-C roll. I we both completed at least one successful roll that day, and came back during their free Thursday night sessions to continue to practice.

We also took their sea kayaking classes, where we befriended Dave, our instructor. After that we felt confident enough to take a trip on our own, so along with Barbara's friend Kindra we rented some sea kayaks and set off for DelMarVa on Labor Day weekend, 2000. We had a nice paddle in each of three states: Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, and Dave joined us on the second day. We were hooked.

Since then we have done week-long kayak camping trips up and down the east coast, including Maine and the Florida Keys. We've done whitewater trips down the Lower Yough in Pennsylvania and I even went back to the Shenandoah last year, the site of that fateful head splitting.

Over the years we've seen young kids and adults well into their senior years out on the water enjoying kayaking in various forms. For me, kayaking is one of the few times I can get my mind completely off work. It's relaxing and exciting at the same time, and is definitely one activity that I can see us doing for the rest of our lives.

A wet exit is one of the first skills a kayaker learns: how to get out of the boat if you capsize. Many people get disoriented and panic when they are upside down in the water, so it is important to learn and practice wet exits when you first start kayaking. If you need to, practice it several times in a pool until you can do it without panicking. Here is a good article at paddling.net, excerpted from Derek Hutchinson's sea kayaking book.

http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?77

Don't let the sea kayaking thing fool you, you will probably do more wet exits in a whitewater boat that you would ever do in a sea kayak. Whitewater spray skirts are often tighter on the boat and harder to remove than touring skirts, so it is important to practice this in your whitewater boat if you have never done it before.

Why did we name this site wetexit?

It's a slightly different interpretation of the term. Think about getting out of the office and onto the water. Think about taking a relaxing trip along a coastline or an exciting trip down a whitewater river. That's our wetexit.

"Sunday began as just another day of leisure for Tracy Masuda, a Tullahoma native vacationing in Thailand for her three-week Christmas break. But little did Tracy know she was about to witness an event that would not only change her life, but the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world."

Read the rest of the article here .

"On the day after Christmas, Rob and Jennifer Wilcox were thousands of miles from home, finishing up an idyllic, two-week family vacation in Thailand with a day of kayaking at a breathtaking island in the Andaman Sea.

Little did they know that by midmorning they would be using their two-man kayaks to ride out a huge natural disaster -- an earthquake-triggered tsunami that swept across south Asia, killing tens of thousands, wiping out families, erasing towns and rearranging shorelines in numerous countries."

Read the rest of the article:
http://www.news-record.com/news/local/tsunamiloc_010505.htm

So here we are at the beginning of another new year. My wife and I just got back last night from a week in Florida, which we spent paddling and visiting with friends. My wife's best friend from high school and her husband just had their first child six weeks ago, so we spent some time with them in Orlando. On New Year's Eve we camped overnight on one of the so-called "spoil islands" off the coast of Clearwater and watched the fireworks along the coast. Nice!

Over the past few years we have had very mild winters here in the Washington, DC area, and so far this year is looking to continue the trend. On January 4, 2004, we took advantage of the 60-degree temperature to go paddling on the Chesepeake bay, from a friend's house on the coast to the Thomas Point Light House (about an 8-mile round trip). Today, I took advantage of the 60-degree temperature to do some whitewater park and play at the Maryland Chute on the Potomac river. The river gauge at Little Falls showed 3.8ft, which is a great level at this location for those familiar with it. The water temperature was around 42F, so rolling was quite chilly, but the warm air made it all worthwhile. I felt a bit out of shape since I didn't do any whitewater all last month (due to necessary recovery time from my LASIK surgery) but it all came back to me in short order.

So what is the point of this site? My wife and I had discussed some goals a couple years ago, with some fantasy about turning this into a little side business, but we got busy with our real lives so the original plan is out the window. This site has been sitting empty far too long, so I decided to simply start posting. I will also consider granting accounts to people who want to post their own thoughts and information. We won't always be able to post so you can help us keep this site fresh. Contact me if you want an account on this site.

My wife and I do both whitewater and flatwater kayaking, so we will not limit this site to one type or the other. I realize that the two paddling cultures are quite different, but we figure that there is enough crossover so that more than a handful of people will read this log.

So who are we? I will save that for another posting. In the meanwhile, we hope you have a happy and healthy New Year!