I'll admit I'm a gear nut. I have four kayaks, multiple backpacks, more hiking boots than dress shoes, three GPS units, a full rack of rock climbing gear, and more kayak clothes than work clothes. So the last thing I need is more gear. But I couldn't resist my most recent purchase ... the Spot Satellite Personal Tracker and Messenger.

Because along with all the gear comes the potential for danger. It's hard to be active and adventurous without occasionally putting your life at risk. We've become accustomed to the immediacy of 911 in emergencies. But what happens when you don't have a land line and you're out of cell phone coverage? In the backcountry. Out at sea. At the top of a mountain. Spot works where cell phones don't. And of particular interest to kayakers ... it's waterproof.

Back in July when I did the Blackburn Challenge, a 22 mile open water race around Cape Ann, I remember the race organizers giving us a cell phone number to call in an emergency. There are waterproof bags for cell phones which allow communication but all I had was a standard drybag. Not very useful if I was capsized in the ocean. I would have had to remove the cell phone from the drybag and make a call while hanging on to my kayak and paddle and keeping the cell phone out of the water.

So for $149 I bought my SPOT at REI. It came in this bright orange box. And the first thing that greeted me upon opening the box was a side flap that said, "Welcome. Opening this box is the first step to making sure you don't come home in one." Good advertising!

The unit itself is useless unless you sign up for the Spot messaging service. The basic package costs $99 and includes unlimited messages using the OK/Check, Help and 911 buttons. They also offer another service called Spotcasting which will mark your location and send a message every 10 minutes. That costs an additional $49. And for an additional $7.95/yr you can get the GEOS search and rescue benefit (SAR) which provides up to $100,000 of additional search and rescue resources, including helicopter extraction around the world and reimbursement benefits – underwritten by Lloyd’s of London – for any emergency service expenses incurred.



I got it all. Why not? Now I can go and do all the foolish things I've always wanted to do but didn't because I was afraid it might be too, uh ... dangerous. Just kidding. Although if I'd had SAR at my fingertips when I was working in Nicaragua back in the 90's, I might not have spent so much time in the hotel.

So this was my first week using and testing SPOT. My first test was to send a simple OK/Check signal from the patio of my house. The button blinked every 3 seconds for about 2 minutes before holding steady for 3-5 seconds. Just like the manual said it would. When the indicator holds steady green that indicates that the message is being uploaded to the satellite. A minute later I received a text message confirmation of the message on my cell phone. Good enough. I did a few more tests and got essentially the same result. One added benefit is the email message you receive includes a link to google maps with the exact GPS coordinates of the unit. So your "team" can see in real time exactly where you're located. I would include an example of the google map but then everyone would know exactly where I am.

My only complaint is that it's only capable of one-way communication. There's no way for you to know if the message was actually sent and more importantly if anyone received it. But that's a limitation of the technology they're using and not likely to change any time soon. SPOT did add a safeguard to minimize the risk of unsent messages. The unit will send the OK message three times to the satellite. Then the duplicates are deleted before the messages are forwarded to your team by email or text message. That made me feel a little better.

I also tested the SPOT on SPOTCasting or tracking. This is where the SPOT sends a message with your exact location every 10 minutes. I didn't have anywhere to walk so I tested it while I drove down to the Anacostia boathouse for evening Erg practice. I placed it on the dashboard of the car while I drove. No problem. It sent a message from the house and 10 minutes later it sent a message with my GPS coordinates from North Capitol Street in DC amidst all the tall buildings. It sent the final message from the Anacostia boathouse. I've read in other reviews that not all messages are completed which is understandable. SPOT requires a clear unobstructed view of the sky and sometimes trees, mountains, buildings ... just get in the way.

Next week we'll be using SPOT as we kayak through the Exumas Islands in the Bahamas. I've been assured by SPOT that we will have coverage in that area. I'll report again when we get back. Until then ....

-Susanita

It was frigid cold outside this weekend. So cold we had to cancel our weekend outrigger practice on the Anacostia. Instead the group moved inside the boathouse and did a group workout on the Concept 2's. We have six machines which were modified to use a canoe stroke instead of the sliding seat rowing stroke. If you're a regular blog reader you may remember that I actually own a Concept 2, so it may seem silly to drive all the way in to DC to use one. But working out alone is not the same as working out with the group. We had some very interesting music selections blaring and of course Nate yelling at us through our reps. Much better than rowing at home ... alone.

But that's not what this post is about. This post is about how you can make your own kayak stand out of PVC pipes! Here's the recipe:

These are all 1" PVC pipes.

Get 24 feet of 1" PVC pipe cut into the following lengths:

Four sections of 4 feet each.
Eight sections of 1 foot each.

One small can of PVC cement.

About six feet of pipe insulation and duct tape in the color of your choice. I chose pink.

Twelve end caps and four elbow joints as shown in the photo above.

Two 3" bolts and two washers and two nuts.

About 12 feet of heavy duty rope or cord, preferably something that won't degrade in the sun and rain if you intend to keep the kayak stand outside.



If you have a saw you can cut the PVC pipe yourself. But what I did was go to Home Depot and find a really cute guy and ask him to cut it for me. This seemed to work out pretty good and he even cut a few extra sections because the original cuts weren't exactly one foot each.

On the four foot PVC pipes measure down about two feet and drill a hole large enough for the three inch bolt. Then attach the two pipes together with the bolt and nuts as shown in the photo. Then using the PVC cement coat the ends of one of the four foot sections and add a one foot section on each end using the elbow joints. Coat the end of the pipes with the cement and apply the end caps.

To keep the stand from collapsing on itself you'll need to secure the bottom. I drilled a hole through the pipe and the bottom near the elbow joints and secured each with some old spectra cord ... which is really strong. Ok you're almost done ... now just wrap the pipe insulation around the top part of the stand to protect the kayak and secure with the duct tape.

And that's it! A kayak stand made out of PVC pipes!

-Susanita