If a tree falls in the forest...can graphics make a sea kayak look even cooler?

Yesterday, on the "secret" beach (it's not always there)
on Saltspring Island.

If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? Hmm. Can something exist if it's not perceived? A very interesting philosophical "thought experiment" indeed!

Let's try another one, and make it a little easier. If a sea kayak already looks cool, and you add graphics from "Art and Sea" in Oban, Scotland...does it look even cooler?

The answer: Yes.

Do these graphics improve the hydrodynamic and hydrostatic behaviour of the kayak hull in a variety of wave conditions? Well, I'm not an engineer but, yeah, pretty sure they do. How about kayak form coefficients? Improvement there? Of course, totally!

OK, so this little story began back last fall, in Scotland. I was trying to find a couple of good quality decals of a Celtic knot to apply to my Atlantis Spartan VI kayak. Alas, it seemed there were none to be found that were the right size and anywhere near durable enough to place on the kayak hull. After returning to Canada, I asked the question of other sea kayaking bloggers, "Any ideas?" Within hours, Sarah, from Sarah's Soggy Scenarios had the answer. She suggested checking out "Art and Sea" in Oban, on Scotland's wild, west coast. Perfect, thanks Sarah. (As it turned out, we had spent a week there but didn't think to look - too busy looking enviously out to sea as other kayakers enjoyed the magnificent local waters.)

"Maori Circle", on the bow.

After visiting the "Art and Sea" website, I knew our search was over. Leonie, a sea kayaker herself and fine arts graduate, operates the business and has already won awards from the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust - pretty impressive! As you'll find, Leonie has an amazing selection of high quality vinyl graphics at an excellent price - in lots of categories.

"Celtic Triangle Knot", on the stern.

"Celtic Waves", amidships.

A third Celtic knot on the front deck, and another small addition...
..."Bratach rìoghail na h-Alba"

Even the Royal Canadian Navy / Marine Royal Canadienne
cruised by, just to inspect the new graphics!

The crew of the Orca Patrol Craft Training Vessel 61,
gathered on deck at the stern, giving the "thumbs up"! 

Packing up...

...but back again soon.

So, can graphics on a kayak really improve hydrodynamics, hydrostatics, and form coefficients? Well maybe not, but they sure do look cool.

As for "the tree that falls in the forest", hmm, still working on that one. :)

Duncan.

All nature sings, the music is all around us...

The music is all around us,

all you have to do...

is listen.

- August Rush

Joan, pauses...and listens. 
All nature sings.

I have a deep and abiding love for music, particularly music that moves the spirit, that can be “heard” by the heart and felt by the soul.

As a little boy, my father would tell me stories at bed time. He had a passion for history and could make some of the most unlikely events come alive with vibrant images and his unique way with words.  One such story was about the composer George Handel and the special music he wrote for King George 1. An orchestra of over 50 musicians played for hours - sitting on a barge, amidst a royal flotilla of boats, floating with the tide down the Thames River - long after midnight. In my mind’s eye, I could imagine such a regal concert. After bidding me good night, my dad would retire to the living room with my mum and listen to his beloved music. I would often fall asleep to Handel’s "Water Music". To this day, that 300 year old composition causes my eyes to mist as I remember those special times.

This morning, we heard another piece of music that was extraordinarily beautiful. It was at the 9:15 am contemporary Eucharist at Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in Victoria, where we have found an occasional parish home in this not-so-full-time "post-full-time life". Out of the silence of the magnificent sanctuary, the first notes of “Due Tramonti” (Two Sunsets) by Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi were played gently on the piano, soon to be accompanied by the rich and searching alto-tones of a viola. It was a simple composition that seemed to reflect the essence of life itself - fragile and vulnerable but with underlying and undeniable tones of strength and courage.

Since arriving home, I have downloaded and listened to this piece over and over again and felt its deep emotion, each time, as if for the first time. In the wonderful movie, August Rush, the main character, a ten-year old boy reminds us that music is everywhere…we just have to listen.

Whether it is in the deep woods of an Island home, or on the waters of the Salish Sea, or atop a wind-blown mountain in a desert landscape a 1000 miles away, nature sings. Hiking along a forest trail, or paddling along the sandstone shores of the Gulf Islands, or standing under the bright rays of a moon almost full, there is extraordinary "music" to be heard…and experienced deep inside. The music calms, heals, and inspires.

Uno tramonti, over Vancouver Island.

You just have to pause, silence your thoughts for a brief moment in time...and listen.

Duncan.