The fate of the early sea otter and Aleut populations are intrinsically linked. Before contact with Europeans it is estimated that there were 25,000 Aleuts, today there are about 2,000. Similarly the sea otter population is believed to have undergone a decline exceeding 50% over the past 30 years.

Kokatat ambassador Keirron Tastagh, and his long-term student and paddling partner George Shaw have embarked on a 1,500 mile expedition through the Aleutian Islands to investigate the current status of the sea otter population in the area.

“Our expedition is inspired by the Aleutians rich culture and kayaking heritage,” said Tastagh. “The journey will not only paint a picture of the current sea otter population, but will also provide a better understanding of ‘The Aleut Story’.”

Working with the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Tastagh and Shaw will be recording the presence or absence of sea otters in bays, and noting killer whale position as well as taking photographs for identification for marine biologists’ live projects. Killer whale attacks are suspected to be leading cause for the decline of the Northern Sea Otter in the Aleutians, which is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Setting out from Unalaska, Tastagh and Shaw, who both train and live on the Isle of Man, UK, will paddle unsupported. They will carry all their kit and freeze dried meals on-board and will supplement their diet with fresh fish. Along the way they will encounter challenges such as katabatic winds, large tidal ranges, open crossings, sea fog, landing zones and the unpredictable and stormy Bering Sea.

Tastagh and Shaw plan to “explore as far as necessary to reach the conclusions we require” which could be as far as the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula.

Kokatat has supplied both paddlers with various gear for their Expedition Kit:

• GORE-TEX® Expedition Dry Suit
• Ronin Pro PFD plus Tributary Hydration System
• TROPOS Light Storm Cag
• GORE-TEX® Anorak

For additional information on the Sea Otter project visit their website and follow the expedition on their blog.

For more information on this and other Kokatat sponsored expeditions visit kokatat.com/expeditions.

About Kokatat Watersports Wear:
Celebrating over 40 years of innovation, Kokatat is an independently operated, US manufacturer of technical apparel and accessories for water sports. Handcrafted in Arcata, California, Kokatat employees are focused on building the finest functional product for people who work and play on water. Our gear is designed for paddlers, by paddlers, ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience on the water all year long and in all weather conditions. Into the water with Kokatat! Please visit www.kokatat.com and follow Kokatat on Facebook and Twitter “@kokatat”.

In 1895, Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen abandoned his plan to reach the North Pole by ship and headed for the pole by dog sled.  Nansen didn’t make it to the pole, but his journey and safe return became one of the poles most epic tales.

Nansen’s plan had he reached the North Pole was to head for Spitsbergen, the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway.  Arctic adventures Audun Tholfsen and Timo Palo just embarked on attempting this return route using Kokatat GORE-TEX® Expedition dry suits while navigating sections of open water and treacherous ice flows.

After being air dropped at the geographical North Pole, Tholfsen and Palo will use skis and kayaks to cross the drifting ice floes and open water on their way to Spitsbergen. They will then continue across the fjords and mountains towards the south of the island until they reach Longyearbyen, the largest settlement in Spitsbergen.  The expedition team hopes to complete the expedition, unsupported and without resupplies, in 50 to 60 days.

Throughout the way the team will take in-situ measurements and will carry out scientific observations.  With a light set of instruments they will regularly measure the snow and ice thickness and surface layer air temperature data and drift speed of local ice floes.

In 1893, Nansen embarked on a daring plan of sailing his ship, the Fram, into the Arctic icepack and using the natural drift of the polar ice to reach the North Pole.  After several months in the icepack, Nansen calculated that it might take over five years for the Fram to reach the Pole and Nansen devised a new plan.

On the 14th of March 1895, Nansen and dog sled expert and ship stoker Hjalmar Johansen left the icebound Fram and set out on skis and sleds with kayaks and 28 dogs for the North Pole.  After reaching a record mark of latitude 86°14 ′ North on April 7th, they abandoned the attempt and retreated southwards, eventually reaching the island Franz Josef Land later that year.

With some good fortune in June of 1896 they met up with an English expedition team and were reunited with the Fram that had emerged from the ice pack north-west of Spitsbergen, as Nansen had predicted.  However, the ship never made it beyond 85° 57' North.

Norwegian Tholfsen and Estonian Palo have skied across Greenland and completed several mountain ski expeditions in Svalbard and Norway.  The team spent ten months as crewmembers on Tara, a French sailing vessel that, similar to the Fram, froze into the Arctic pack ice and drifted across the entire Arctic Ocean.  Currently, Tholfsen works to provide logistic solutions and field support in Arctic regions.  Palo has been working in Spitsbergen providing logistics and field support, and currently works as a PhD student and field technician at the University of Tartu, studying polar meteorology.

To learn more about Tholfsen and Palo and their expedition visit www.arcticreturntour.com.

For details on this and additional expeditions Kokatat supports visit http://www.kokatat.com/expeditions.

About Kokatat Watersports Wear: 

Celebrating over 40 years of innovation, Kokatat is an independently operated, US manufacturer of technical apparel and accessories for water sports. Handcrafted in Arcata, California, Kokatat employees are focused on building the finest functional product for people who work and play on water. Our gear is designed for paddlers, by paddlers, ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience on the water all year long and in all weather conditions. Into the water with Kokatat! Please visit www.kokatat.com and follow Kokatat on Facebook and Twitter “@kokatat”. 

Dave and Amy Freeman helped start The Wilderness Classroom ten years ago with the simple idea to improve students' core academic skills and appreciation for the environment by introducing elementary and middle school students to the wonders of exploration and wilderness travel.

Since then they have been traveling around the world bringing the wilderness into the classroom setting. Back in 2010 they embarked on their largest expedition yet, a three-year journey, 11,700 mile journey acrossNorth Americaby kayak, canoe and dogsled. This May, they will start the last segment of their adventure where they will sea kayak from Grand Portage, Minnesota and arrive in Key West, Florida at the end of March next year.

Before they loaded up their boats and pushed off from the shore, I met up with Dave and Amy to find out how they got into the outdoor industry and what keeps them going, and going, and going...

1) How long have you been in business and what got you started?

The Wilderness Classroom actually just celebrated its 10^th birthday. Although the organization got its official nonprofit status 10 years ago, Dave has been in the outdoor business much longer. His very first trip of this nature (traveling under his own power and updating a website for students out in the field) was 12 years ago. He skied theBorder Route with a sled dog named Tundra. Next came paddling theMississippi and then founding the Wilderness Classroom with good friend and educator, Eric Frost.

What got Dave started? Well, he fell in love with wild places early in life. His first canoe trip to the BWCAW inspired him to return to northernMinnesotafrequently. As a high-schooler, he was employed by Sawbill Canoe outfitters. It wasn't long until Dave began guiding canoe trips. After college, he was looking for a way to share his experiences with students. In order to reach as many kids as possible, he chose to share the adventures online, allowing students all over the world to share the experience as virtual explorers.

I came on board in 2006. My first Wilderness Classroom project was circumnavigatingLake Superiorby sea kayak in the fall. This circumnavigation was something I had wanted to do ever since I first dipped my paddle blade in the big lake. When I met Dave in 2005, I immediately began picking his brain about extended wilderness travel. This conversation evolved into the two of us planning the trip. After this experience, I was hooked. Next came the Trans-Amazon Expedition and then the North American Odyssey.

My early exposure to the outdoors was similar to Dave. I made countless trips to the northshoreofLake Superiorand the BWCAW with my parents. During college, I sought out a summer job in Grand Marais – guiding kayak trips onLake Superior. As an aspiring artist, I would draw inspiration from this Boreal landscape. During college and then grad school, this attraction to the northern wilds increased. After paddling aroundLake Superiorwith Dave, I knew that I had found my calling.

2) What’s the best part of your job?

There are actually two best parts of this job for me. The first is when we find out that we are actually having an impact on students. This may be apparent at a school presentation – seeing their enthusiasm about a particular animal or wild place – or it may come in the form of a letter (usually illustrated with crayon or marker) or an email sent by a student who has been inspired by what we are doing.

The second best part of the job is all the time we get to spend doing what we love outside. Where else can you find a job that involves being physically active, in nature? While there are some trade-offs, I'd much rather have a job like this than be stuck behind a desk, saving vacation time and money to do a scaled back version of what we are doing now.

3) What’s the most difficult aspect of the job?

The office work is the most difficult/painstaking aspect of our job. Dave spends hours in front of a computer screen fine-tuning the website and planning our routes. His biggest challenge has to do with developing the educational content for the website. He constantly strives to make the website as user friendly for students and teachers, developing new curriculum and lesson plans.

I spend an equally tedious amount of time writing grant proposals and working to cultivate new sponsors. We would both rather spend all our time out on the water if we could, but this stuff pays the bills. I always breathe a sigh of relief once we shove off from shore at the start of a project, because it marks the transition from all that painstaking preparation time to actually doing what we love.

4) What are two tips you can give to somebody looking to start their own outdoor business?

Know that even if you pursue your passion, you will find yourself working – hard. While some days may involve paddling on glassy calm water in theNorthwest Territorieswith a moose wading in the shallows near by, we did a heck of a lot of prep work to get there.

The second tip is actually one that we share with students. If you have a big goal, the way to achieve it is to break it down into smaller goals. We would get overwhelmed if we spent every day of the North American Odyssey thinking about how we have 11,700 miles to go. Instead, we focus on the task at hand. . . “our goal for the day is to paddle 20 miles”, “this rapid is half a mile long”, “I will work on two grant applications during our down time”. . . Achieving these small goals adds up and soon you'll see yourself progressing towards your loftier goal.

5) What about your job do you think would most surprise people?

Most people don't have a sense of how much time and effort we spend planning and preparing for our educational expeditions. Whenever we are not on trail, we are at our computers answering emails, scheduling school presentations, writing grant proposals, looking for new sponsors, developing curriculum. . . you get the idea.

6) If you could tell something to your 18 year-old self, what would it be?

I would say, don't feel obligated to fulfill another person's concept of success. When I was 18, I never would have guessed that this is what I would be doing. I was following a much more traditional path... college... with plans for grad school... then launch a career. Dave and I may have deviated from the norm, but we're doing well and are darn happy to be where we are today.

More info: The Wilderness Classroom

Top Photo Credit: Bryan Hansel

The GB360 Midlifekayak expedition sets off to circumnavigate mainland Britain by kayak on April 29th from the Cornwall coast in the South West of England.  English paddlers Andy Mullins, Geoff Cater and Mike Greenslade will be equipped with Kokatat GORE-TEX® dry suits, PFDs (personal flotation devices) and accessories to help keep them dry, safe and comfortable on their 2,500-mile journey.

The team is aiming to complete the trip in approximately one hundred days by covering rougly twenty-five miles each day.   A total of 23 people have previously completed the route with the first successful attempt in 1980.

The paddlers of GB360 Midlifekayak met on the Isles of Scilly in April 2010 and found that they all harboured ambitions for a large scale kayaking expedition.  Along with a goal of completing the expedition, GB360 Midlifekayak hopes to raise $15,000 USD for their favorite causes including:

On April 8th Matthew White and Skye Marchesi will depart on a sail assisted kayak expedition from Olympia, WA, to Glacier Bay, Alaska through the Inside Passage, with hopes to raise $100,000 for the Seattle area YMCA Camp Orkila.

“Summer camps are where many children have their first paddlesports experience,” said Lisa Kincaid, Kokatat Promotional Marketing Manager. “We wish Matthew and Skye the best of luck on their trip and hope that their expedition will give many more Orkila campers the opportunity to fall in love with paddlesports.”

White, a former Orkila camper and counselor, has long wanted to give back to the camp and provide more children with the opportunity to attend the camp where one in six campers receive scholarship assistance. After discussing the topic with Marchesi, his girlfriend and a successful fundraiser, they spawned the idea of an expedition that fused their love of the outdoors with the mission to raise a substantial endowment for the camp.

“Orkila has a special place in my heart and it’s from my experiences there that lead to my love for the outdoors and paddlesports,” said White.

YMCA Camp Orkila, founded in 1906, is located on the north side of Orcas Island in the Washington San Juan Islands. YMCA Camp Orkila provides summer camp opportunities including day and overnight camping for boys and girls where they can explore nature, learn new skills, make new friends and gain respect for the environment.

White and Marchesi will be relying on a full kit of Kokatat paddling gear to keep them dry, safe, and comfortable. Included in the kit are Kokatat’s GORE-TEX® TecTour anoraks, GORE-TEX® Whirlpool bibs, personal floatation devices (PFDs), Nomad Boots, and additional accessories. To assist White and Marchesi on their trip they will be using Triak trimaran sailing kayaks.

To learn more about the expedition and follow their progress at http://triakfororkila.com.

About Kokatat Watersports Wear:
Celebrating over 40 years of innovation, Kokatat is an independently operated, US manufacturer of technical apparel and accessories for water sports. Handcrafted in Arcata, California, Kokatat employees are focused on building the finest functional product for people who work and play on water. Our gear is designed for paddlers, by paddlers, ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience on the water all year long and in all weather conditions. Into the water with Kokatat! Please visit www.kokatat.com and follow Kokatat on Facebook and Twitter “@kokatat”.

The world of kayaking expeditions received a huge exposure boost these past two weeks when Jon Turk and Erik Boomer were interviewed in both The New York Times and Canada’s weekly news magazine, Macleans.

Jon Turk and Erik Boomer are also in the running for National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year for their successful circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada. The time to vote is over now and we should be hearing who won sometime in mid February.

Eight women, led by Kokatat athlete and former Australian Adventurer of the Year Tanya Faux, are set to embark on a 30-day unsupported river expedition through an uncharted section of the Kimberley region in North Western Australia. The Kimberley Whitewater Women Rafting Expedition aims to raise awareness for the Save the Kimberley campaign (www.savethekimberley.com) whose goal is to protect the cultural, historical, and environmental significance of the region.

“Tanya is a fantastic ambassador for our sport and the environment, and we’re proud to support her and her team on this historic and important expedition,” said Lisa Kincaid, Kokatat Promotional Marketing Manager.

The expedition was inspired by Faux’s previous kayak expeditions in the region and the dispute over a proposed gas hub in the area.  While the controversial industrialization in the Kimberley region has been narrowly resisted thus far, the Save the Kimberley campaign is petitioning to gain World Heritage Status for over 20 hectares of what has been deemed “one of the last true wilderness areas on Earth”.

The self-titled Kimberley Whitewater Women, depart from Melbourne to Broome on January 14^th and will proceed into the Kimberley via helicopter to begin the first rafting leg of the journey down the Isdell River.  Over the course of the expedition, the team will encounter class 5 rapids on the Isdell and Charnley rivers and will complete a 150km off-track hike in between.  The team’s daily progress will be posted on their website www.kimberleywhitewaterwomen.com.

The eight women on the team are all current or past employees of the Outdoor Education Group in Eildon, Victoria, (www.oeg.net.au) and as outdoor educators, enthusiasts, and adventure seekers, all support and advocate for the protection of wilderness regions.

Kokatat has provided each member of the team with Ronin Pro PFDs and a selection of its Destination technical apparel. The Destination apparel which features UV protection in paddling specific designs will help protect them from the sun throughout the journey as they endure extreme tropical temperatures in a territory teeming with saltwater crocodiles in the midst of the mating season. 

To date, the team has raised over $2000 for both Save the Kimberley and the Wananami Remote Community School at Mount Barnett Station. Donations can be made online at www.kimberleywhitewaterwomen.com.

About Kokatat Watersports Wear: 


Celebrating over 40 years of innovation, Kokatat is an independently operated, US manufacturer of technical apparel and accessories for water sports. Handcrafted in Arcata, California, Kokatat employees are focused on building the finest functional product for people who work and play on water. Our gear is designed for paddlers, by paddlers, ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience on the water all year long and in all weather conditions. Into the water with Kokatat! Please visit www.kokatat.com and follow Kokatat on Facebook and Twitter “@kokatat”.

There is a new instructional DVD coming out shortly called Expedition Skills by Olly Sanders and Nigel Robinson.

It looks really interesting and as far as I can remember, it’s the first time that anybody has put out an instructional DVD focused exclusively on the fine art of planning larger and longer kayak trips.

I think it’s great that somebody is tackling this topic. We have all read about major trips that have failed purely due to poor planning, poor gear decisions or poor trip partners (which probably kills more than people will admit!)

Topics will include:

• Picking the Team
• Packing
• Tents, Food & Hydration
• Injury Prevention
• First Aid
• Wildlife Safety
• Cooking
• Sanitation

According to the trailer it looks like Olly and Nigel have rounded up the who’s who of expedition paddlers and got them to contribute their wealth of knowledge. Contributors include: Trys Burke, Howard Jeffs, Ray Goodwin, Doug Cooper, Loel Collins and Nigel Dennis.

It should be available for purchase January, 2012.

More info: rockandseaproductions.com

You might remember a couple of weeks ago I wrote about Dave and Matt Turgeon's canoe expedition across Canada to raise finds for the Sick Kids Hospital here in Toronto.

Things were going fine until they reached Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario where they got robbed.

Thieves made off with about $500 worth of Dave and Matt Turgeon's gear when they left it on shore by the city's waterfront boardwalk early Tuesday afternoon to make a quick supply run to Station Mall.

"We were only gone 15 minutes," said an exasperated Dave Turgeon, 42, shortly after talking to police.

Taken was about $500 worth of rain gear, knives, tools, and, interestingly, the GPS tracking unit the Turgeons were using to update the progress of their expedition for the Sick Kids Foundation on their website.

Dave said the GPS unit provides current location data only, meaning the thief could do little with it but give away his or her own location on the Turgeons' website.

"If they're stupid enough to hit the button," noted Dave.

I guess this shows that the woods are safer then the city.

More info: saultstar.com