Blog entry's from our community

Vacation to Hell
Immersion Research is sponsoring the second annual Vacation to Hell (VTH). Simply put, you and your buddies submit a video application to win a grant to paddle in some exotic location. The catch is that the company decides where that location is. You win based on the number of online votes for your video presentation. This year "Team Sweetwater" from Sweetwater Kayaks in Florida is the winner. Tim Keen, Russell Farrow, Alain Cormier, and Mark Prator will travel to Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic this summer.

"When we first saw what was laid out to us, we thought it was a suicide mission," said Farrow whose idea it was to apply, "but as we investigated more, and talked to people at Pond Inlet, we found it was doable, but it's all weather driven."

The mission is to start at the north end of Baffin island at Pond Inlet in the Canadian Arctic, then paddle towards Devon Island. This will involve a 60-mile open water crossing over Lancaster Sound. From there, the team must make a 45-mile overland crossing of Devon, the largest uninhabited island in the world. After that, the team will have one last 45mile open water crossing before arriving at Griese Fjord, a small settlement on the southern end of Ellesmere Island. Good luck to Team Sweetwater!

www.Devon.irvacationtohell.com

Hutchinson Wisdom Caught on Videtape
Andrew Elizaga, by day a mild mannered anesthesiologist, by night the Dash Point Pirate!, has an enlightening interview with long-time kayak instructor Derek Hutchinson. The interview took place at the 2007 West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium. Go to

www.dashpointpirate.typepad.com

BCU Honors
Congratulations to Jen Kleck of San Diego, Calif., who has become the First British Canoe Union Level 5 Sea Kayak Coach in the U.S. See her blog for photos of her assessment in Scotland last November.

www.jenkleck.blogspot.com