A Beginner’s Guide to Kayaking in Michigan

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Michigan is like a heaven for kayakers of all levels –novice or seasoned. To enjoy a kayaking trip there, get a kayak that offers you learn more

If you plan kayaking in Michigan, perhaps no place is better than this state. It is because nearly half of the state is covered with water bodies. So, there is no shortage of kayaking destinations there. It is the ideal place for kayakers of all levels. In this article, I will discuss what beginner level kayaker needs to for a kayaking trip in Michigan. 

 
Get the Right Kayak for You

Don’t buy a kayak at the heat of the moment. Rent instead of buying since hiring a kayak there is possible. It is because as a beginner kayaker it is highly likely that you don’t know many of the basic kayaking techniques. Think about holding a kayak paddle accurately. Don’t think that it’s a pretty simple, straightforward thing. So, learn and practice some basic kayaking skills. Once you learned some elementary kayaking skills try a few kayaking designs. Two major types of kayaks are sit-in kayaks and sit on top kayaks. Find which style of kayak offers you fit and comfort most. Here are a few suitable kayaks for beginner kayakers.

The Two Other Types of Kayaks That You Also Consider

Recreational Kayaks

These kayaks are ideal for lakes or rivers where water is serene. They are also a great choice for beginner kayakers. Beginners can hone their paddling skills there before moving to a more adventurous aquatic environment. Keep in mind that handling waves or fast-moving water is a challenge if you paddle for the first time. Keeping the stability of your boat in tumultuous water may turn your pleasure tip a nightmare.

Sea Kayaks

These kayaks are also ideal for touring. They are suitable for peddling waterways like oceans, bays, and lakes as well.

Take Kayaking Class

As you know there is no harm to learn a new skill. Learning how to peddle is of no exception. Attending such classes may appear to your time-wasting but at the end of the day, you will learn some invaluable lessons there like how to enter and exit a kayak safely, paddling, and some other useful kayaking techniques. You will get the opportunity of meeting with other expert kayakers and get to know things that may appear to you difficult to understand. One good news is there are many clubs in Michigan where you will be able to learn basic paddling techniques. There are also paddling clubs that offer similar kayaking classes. Search online and you may get one such club in your area. Join the club, take kayaking class before going to Michigan.

Learn Two Important Kayaking Skills

Two important kayaking skills are how to enter and exit the watercraft and most importantly basic paddling skills. To learn these skills quickly, attending a class of course will be a good idea. But, if want to learn yourself, that’s not bad either. When you enter into a kayak, board on it on calm shallow water by keeping your body’s center of mass centered. The human body’s center of mass depends on the sexes and the position of limbs. In a standing stance, it is usually, 10cm below your naval.

Learn how to exit a kayak is far more important than entering into it. It’s a lifesaving skill since in capsizing events leaving the kayak safely is the topmost priority. Practice exiting it in shallow water with inundating the boat. When you get accustomed to entering and exiting the kayak in shallow water, move to deep water and practice entering and exiting skills.

Another important skill to practice is mastering basic paddling skills. Basic paddling is all about feeling comfortable in the kayak and navigating in water efficiently. Relax your muscles, move your legs more than your arms, and try to keep the boat in a straight line. Also, learn reverse paddling to stop the boat during an emergency.

Carry Safety Gear

As a beginner kayaker one essential safety gear a life jacket. So, you must carry it. Remember that, for seasoned kayakers kayaking without wearing a life jacket is acceptable. But for beginners, it’s a definite no-no.

Know Local Water Condition

Don’t expect that water condition, particularly below the water surface, remains the same everywhere. Sunken debris, trees, or large stones may cause irreparable damage to your kayak and causing it to capsize. Talk with local paddlers and read forums to know which waterways will be safe for kayakers. Another way to minimize the risk of an accident is if possible get an experienced kayaker on board. In this case, a tandem kayak will be a good choice for you.

Inform your Michigan kayaking trip to your friends and family members

Don’t go on your kayaking trip in Michigan secretly. Inform your friends and family members about the trip. And, let them know your return date.


Explore a few amazing water bodies in Michigan

We want to conclude this article with a couple of scenic waterways in Michigan. As we have mentioned at the beginning of this article, Michigan is like a kayaking paradise. Places like Detroit's historical canal, Isle royal national park, porcupine mountains, and two-hearted river are all splendid and spectacular. Among these wonderful places, I picked two places to explore while all other places are equally attractive. These two places are the Detroit historical canal and the Porcupine mountains.

Detroit Canal

Klenk Island is located on the far east side of Detroit. You will find many river-front houses and Venetian styled canals there. The neighborhood there is a like little Venice in Detroit. The trip starts from the Grayhaven mooring facility and cruise through along the famous city’s east side. It’s a two and half hour trip and enjoys the beautiful views of the town. The tour features the Fisher Mansion and the place is associated with stories like the purple gang, the city of Detroit’s infamous mob of bootleggers, and hijackers.

Porcupine Mountains

Another name of these mountains is “porkies”. They are a group of small mountains that are situated in the upper peninsula of Michigan. The credit of this group of Islands goes to the Ojibwa people who give such a name because the overall shape of these mountains is like huddling porcupine. The rivers that flow through the mountains are shallow making the water body safe for paddling for new kayakers. while paddling people also enjoy scenic views of forests there.

WWF-Philippines Distributes Fortuna Coolers to Bicol Fishers, Provides Livelihood Support for Pandemic

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The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines began distributing collapsible coolers designed by Fortuna Cools to fishermen in Lagonoy Gulf, Bicol earlier this month as part of efforts to support sustainable livelihood in the region.

Twenty-two (22) collapsible Fortuna coolers were given to municipal tuna fishermen under WWF-Philippines’ Sustainable Tuna Partnerships program. The conservation organization supports small-scale fishing activities in the country, promoting sustainable practices and lobbying for the rights of artisanal fishermen.

Much value is lost between when small-scale fishermen land a catch, to when they are able to bring it to the market. A lack of useful cooling equipment keeps fishermen from putting their catches on ice. This lack of cooling and exposure to the elements on the way to the marketplace causes catches to lose value, lessening the earnings of fishermen. The collapsible coolers will help expand their earnings by providing a means for fishers to keep their catches chilled.

Fortuna, a cold-chain solutions company that provides sustainable packaging technology for fishing communities across the country, delivered a total of 200 coolers to Bicol in early June.

“At Fortuna we’ve spent the past two years living among communities of fishermen and farmers to learn about their cold-chain needs and co-design affordable solutions. We are very thankful to have partners like WWF to help us expand our reach and get our coolers in the hands of those who need them the most,” says Fortuna Co-founder Tamara Mekler. 50 of the 200 coolers came as direct donations from Fortuna.

The coolers were purchased by the Gulf of Lagonoy Tuna Fishers Federation (GLTFF) Inc., a non-profit organization of small-scale fishers from communities on the shores of Lagonoy Gulf. The GLTFF advocates for good fishery governance in securing and sustaining livelihoods and fishery resources.

Money for the purchase was given through a grant from the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. (CSFI) through the intercession of WWF-Philippines. The CSFI committed to providing livelihood support to the fishers of Lagonoy Gulf through the grant, which was gifted to the GLTFF early last year.



“Fortuna’s collapsible tuna coolers were designed to meet the needs of our small scale tuna handline fishers, who were in need of some sort of ice storage on board their boats to keep their catches cold. These sturdy, budget-friendly coolers will help our fishers grab a better price for their products once they get to the market,” said WWF-Philippines Sustainable Tuna Partnerships Project Manager Joann Binondo. WWF-Philippines is certain that equipping tuna handline fishers with collapsible coolers will ensure the quality of their products and help increase their earnings.

“This is timely given the crisis. Markets are very limited due to restrictions on movement. Our fishers need every peso they can get, and these coolers will help ensure they get what they need to get through the crisis,” added Binondo.

WWF-Philippines will be distributing the remaining coolers over the coming months to fishing communities around Lagonoy Gulf, with plans to source additional Fortuna coolers for communities across the Philippines.

Help us #ChangeTheEnding for our food producers and environmental frontliner communities!

White Sands for Manila Bay Rehabilitation? Merely For Aesthetic Reasons and not Natural

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Greenpeace Philippines Campaigner Sonny Batungbacal on the dumping of synthetic white sand on Manila Bay: “Kung ang objective is to save Manila Bay by cleaning it up, putting materials on top of the uncleaned environment would not help.”

I appreciate that they want to beautify Manila Bay but at the expense of some islands in Cebu where they are extracting the white sand? Since white sand is not a natural feature of Manila Bay, this project is not sustainable. This is just a band aid and not real solutions to the environmental problem.

Manila Bay beautification in the middle of pandemic ? DENR dumping white sand on Manila bay to make it look like Boracay while we are on our way to be the first SEA country in the top 20 cases worldwide?

First of all, Manila Bay remains to be a cesspool. You can't see the "burak" underneath its waters but you can still smell it. Second, we have bigger and more pressing problems and that is the Covid-19 / Corona virus pandemic. Can we just divert the funds to it. Third, Manila Bay is still a cesspool even after making it look like Boracay, and humans should not dare swim in it.

It is not even sustainable. Environmentalist ba ang nag-isip nito? o isa na namang dating military general o taga Davao? Ang tanga nga eh. Ang alam ko dapat natural sa isang beach ang pagiging white sand nito. Hindi practical yung idea. Gastos na naman iyan imbes sa paglaban sa virus muna gamitin.

The environment impact of this kind of operation is worrying. Another non-essential project that is questionable on the environmental impact and senseless. Masabi lang na may accomplishment? Kahit sobrang unsustainable?

Sentosa Beach daw is still doing well, pero they forgot to factor in that the Philippines is well within typhoon paths, unlike Singapore. Aanurin lahat yan, kasama na ang Sangley airport. Parang mawawipe out din yan lalo na pag may bagyo... Iba pa naman ang hampas ng alon sa Manila bay pag malakas ang bagyo. Notorious ang storm surge diyan. Matiyempo lang na may bagyo na tumama sa Maynila, anod lahat yan.

Bakit ang contradictory nito?. White sand extraction tapos by DENR? I mean, since elementary, we are taught that this is wrong, right? Is this for the benefit of the environment, or is this just purely for aesthetic?

Kahit ilang tonelada pa na white sand ang itabon sa pampang ng manila bay, lilitaw at lilitaw pa rin ang natural black sand color nyan! Sayang ang pera!

It seems the DENR has misplaced (again) its priorities. Do we really need white sands around Manila Bay? Would it be better to just continue cleaning the surrounding areas, implement a centralized sewage and treatment facilities and let nature takes its course? Kabaliktaran naman ginagawa ng DENR, silting problems will arise from this pa.

Kung bawat isang turista kumuha ng sand sa isang lugar ay may effect ma yun. Pero multiply it hundreds or millions of times, ano na effect non sa lugar?

Why can't we just promote Manila Bay shores in their naturally dark color? Instead of making the sand white, let's just focus on ensuring that the water is clean and there are no destructive activities in the area.

The problem is not the sand but the pollution that Manila Bay is currently facing. STOP HARVESTING SAND (kahit pinulbos na bato pa yan) FROM OTHER PLACES JUST TO BEAUTIFY THIS DIRTY BAY.

Are we really sure that this is only for aesthetic or for the future development of Manila Bay or reclamation for a new CBD?

If that will not be contained by artificial means, that sand will just be washed away from the bay due to the normal process of erosion. Since Manila bay receives most of its sand from rivers, its normal for it to have black/gray sand.

In other words, mangingitim rin iyan Lalo na kung maruming burak pa rin ang nasa ilalim pati tubig ay kadiri.

Where the f*ck is the logic in this? It's quite unbelievable as to how idiotic this sounds.

I really doubt if this is the best thing DENR can do. What I see is their eye for tourism and not the environmental concerns they should be focusing.

If you want to restore Manila Bay to its pristine condition, then you should start with its tributaries. The strategy must be all-inclusive touching the aspect of solid waste, effluent management, ISF relocation, and habitat restoration. Hindi yung ganyang band-aid solution.

Start with reforestation, and cleaning programs for our rivers, streams, and creeks that end in the bay. You don't destroy one place to improve another.

The government should also work on decreasing the population of fecal coliforms especially E. coli to levels safe enough for swimming and other recreational water activities.

It would be useless if the microbial and chemical properties of Manila Bay are still hazardous to humans. What's the point of having a beautiful shoreline, if the water quality is toxic.

I think it's much better kung nagtanim na lang sana sila ng bakawan/mangrove. Imagine driving on Roxas Boulevard and seeing a lot of trees and birds plus its beneficial impact to the sea.

Absolutely unecessary! Mas need maibalik yung quality mg water kaysa gawing puti yung buhangin. What a waste of effort and taxpayers' money.

If only Manila knew how beautiful and amazing she was, a capital of outstanding architecture and overflowing culture. A city that introduced the Filipinos throughout the globe.

Manila was the Paris of the East.

The Roxas Boulevard and the Manila Bay was famous for its beautiful sunsets. A favorite spot for both foreigners and locals during the 60s.

Again, we know where this government's misplaced environmental and ecological protection priorities head into. Instead of protecting West Philippines Sea from escalating massive Chinese reclamation and island-building activities, it chooses first to make Manila Bay Boracay-like.

While several heavy equipment dumps white sand in the shores along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, WHERE THE HELL IS ISKO MORENO? WHY IS HE ALLOWING THIS?

The sand will be swept away by floods and tide in no time and add to the silting of Manila Bay. The only winners here are the sand contractor and the government officials who approved this.