On Trak Across a Wave

My heart pounded in my throat. My pulse raced. I carried a flimsy aluminum frame wrapped in a plastic impregnated canvas down to a surf beach. It looked like a sea kayak, and paddled like a sea kayak, weighed about the same as a fiberglass sea kayak, though it folded up into a golf bag.

Am I sane? I asked myself as I climbed into the cockpit, fastening the spray skirt amongst the swirling shore surge. I looked forward at the surf rushing in towards me with walls of ravenous white water. What’s the worst that can happen? I again rhetorically queried (not really wanting to know the answer). My mind was swirling like the foam in the shallows around me. I was about to take my Trak kayak out into the surf for the first time, and my doubts of it sea worthiness came leaping into my head and my instincts, though I Had to test what it could do and take. “Let’s see what you are made of!!!” I exclaimed and pushed off into the surf as the next surge lifted the boat clear of the sand.

I have had my hands on the Trak for a week now. And I have been very impressed by its pack ability, ease of set up and break down and how well it paddles in average conditions. I managed to get a bit of storm swell surfing on the inside passage of Vancouver Island and I was impressed by its speed. But could it take a thrashing on the open coast??

I needed to know what this boat is capable of, so I packed the Trak into the back of my wagon and headed to Long Beach Tofino, BC Canada. 20 minutes down the road I suddenly realised I left my dry top and PFD in my pack, which I just took out of the car before I left. OH crap!! So after wasting 45 minutes returning to get missing gear, I was back on track. The drive to Tofino is a spectacular and windy road that passes through giant Cedar forests and by beautiful snow capped and cloud enshrouded mountains, until it drops to the ocean and the sheltered sounds and exposed beaches of the Pacific Rim National park.

I sat and watched the goings on near the water at the main dock in the quaint town of Tofino while eating a Salmon wrap for lunch. I then headed for the beach.

Arriving at the parking lot I looked out at the surf and was slightly disappointed at how small it was, though the logical thought of “best to start small and build your confidence in this boat up, and then hit the bigger stuff” calmed my disappointment.

I pulled the Trak from the back of the car where it sat all 16 feet of it folded up into 5 feet of clutter in a bag. It took me 15 minutes to set up and I got allot of interested looks from the surfers and passersby, as what appeared to be a strange tent turned into a sea kayak. Hoisting the kayak onto my shoulders, with it all ready with air bags and a sea sock and I fully donned with my almost forgotten kayak gear. I headed over the giant logs that lined the high part of the beach and down to the water’s edge and placed the Trak on the wet sand just out of reach of the lapping shore surge.

Long beach Tofino is a beautiful sandy west coast beach; with cute little islands just off the shore and a wicked reputation for big surf at the right time of year. Today was part of the May long weekend and there where people everywhere and beginner surfers everywhere in the surf (they even had a cheerleading squad of young surfers sitting on a rock yelling false appraises and heartfelt put downs, the little shits weren’t doing much better sitting on a rock in my opinion!!).

The sky was slightly over cast the water warm enough, for the west coast of Canada, and as I looked at the surf I realised it was bigger than it had looked at the car park (averaging about 2 meters). Doubts of the boat ability crept into my mind. Determined to find out what the boat could do and the hope it was worthy enough for open water expeditions, I steeled my mind to the possibility of a swim, climbed in and pushed off into the white wash.

Paddling easily over the first two small banks of white water and dodging a couple of flailing beginner surfers I began to relax. I then powered out towards the new wall of sea that formed out in front of me. As I neared, the wave broke in a hungry fury. I then drove the boat forward; the nose rose over and through the wave and dropped with a slap behind the passing wave. This boat was happy to punch through and had good speed; a smirk slipped onto my face as a leapt off the back of an even taller cresting wave. I arrived out the back of the surf break easily, My mind However still focused on the fear of a Skirt implosion (I had a skirt do that to me with the help of a relatively small wave, off the coast Washington state USA which resulted in a cold swim back in through the surf). I had tested the Trak skirt as best I could, though a wave is bigger and tougher than I am and will be the true test.

Some large waves would roll through every now and again breaking further out and then reforming before breaking again near the beach. These where perfect as I could surf a big fast green face with some break, and then bust out before they truly broke. If I was to get caught on a fully broken wave I was stuck on it for the entire ride and in a Broached (side on) position, I would be a nasty surprise for all the "want to be surfers" in the white wash near the shore.

The Trak Surfed wonderfully, it was very responsive and fast and with the center jack cranked to lift the nose and tail as high as they could go, it was and is a surfing machine (for a “folding” sea kayak that is). I dropped of step faces and the nose lifted and allowed me to push out into the trough, it was happy to change directions on the wave, though once the wave broke the white wash forced you to either stay dead straight, cranking on your stern rudder to avoid the side surf, or you just Broached and took the bronco side surf ride. I became truly comfortable, when I rode one wave and as I tucked side on across the face, it crested and the lip broke down hard onto me. I stayed upright, the skirt stayed on, the boat rode the beating well, and then we paddled back out. My Confidence in the boat blossomed.

“Ok!” I thought. “You’re tough, we can do this stuff” though the meanings of this statement rang true 20 minutes later when as I paddled over one breaking wave I was then faced by a monster, looming up into the sky ,it seemed 15 feet high. The steep green face rushed towards me. I had a moment to think “Can I run, can I dodge, can I wait or do I fight??” Fight was the only option, as it WAS going to break on me! I gave it all from a standstill, got up some speed as I pushed up the face that was already curling over me. White foam, like teeth dripping saliva loomed as the boat and I stood almost vertical and I pushed my last paddle stroke with all my vain effort to get up, over and through the wave. The world stood still for a split second.

The world went white for a moment and all noise seemed to stop. And then I saw the sky and my ears where full a noise similar to radio static turned up to full volume. White water, clouds, and then a little yellow of the Trak Kayak become obvious. I was bouncing hard and we where surfing the monster backwards in the middle of the foam pile half swallowed in it. The boat kicked and bucked and lay on its right side as I used my paddle face as a brace to keep my face at least above the pile. After what seemed like a lifetime we pushed out in front of the surge and slide into side surf, which lead onto a spectacular sight of a giant foam pile pushing a bright yellow boat along at a horrendous speed bouncing and twitching and then finally letting it off amongst the surfers.

I had miraculously not hit a single Surfer, and they all looked at me and the kayak with a slight apprehension as I paddled back out into the surf chuckling, with a big grin on my face. This boat could take the nocks! Empty any way. The next test would be to push out and come in through surf loaded, but not today, today was about playing. With full confidence in the Trak and the surfers clearing space as they left in the evening, I hit some big waves far out and rode them all the way in.

This boat rocks!

J.