New Boat - Sea Trials - Wilderness Systems Northstar Tandem Sea Kayak

Weds night I picked up a new sea kayak, a Wilderness Systems Northstar Tandem. Red. Big. It makes my truck look tiny. My wife and I have paddled tandem kayaks fairly extensively, including sea kayaks, whitewater, and waveskis. We also peddle a tandem bike. Not too worried about the "divorce boat" moniker. We've paddled tandem kayaks all over southern california, and in Baja, both on the pacific side and the sea of cortez side.

Today was our first chance to test it out. We headed down to Newport Beach, and launched from inside the harbor. It was a gorgeous day, super calm, and warm for a November day.

The paddle was fun, uneventful. We played in some rocks, and practiced landing and launching through the surf. Good times. Saw lots of sea lions, a shark, and some rays in the clear water. Tons of fun.

Can't wait to go again.

We need to do a little outfitting work, mainly to raise Kim's seat (the sides of the cockpit are high for her), but other than that, the boat performed flawlessly. Fast, fun, stable, maneuverable.


Geoff