1st paddle of 2013! Surfing the Karma.

After waiting and waiting most of the winter to get out on moving water my day finally came and it was a good one! It was sunny, probably 38° in coastal Maine at one of my favorite spots, Blue Hill Falls. This is where i learned how to kayak, it is an exceptional place to figure out how to front surf a wave, deal with a rippin’ eddy-line and swim your gear to shore. http://wikitravel.org/en/Blue_Hill_(Maine)

Blue Hill Falls is probably a class III paddling reversing falls that fills up a pond right off of Blue Hill Bay in the Atlantic Ocean. It gets pinched between two mainlands, courses under a bridge where a rock obstruction makes a smooth glassy hump of a wave with a fairly good crashing wave behind the first wave. The secret to this spot is paddling a long boat or a fast boat like the JK Karma. The best tides are between 10’6″ and 11’2″ during daylight hours going by the Castine high. You can hit this spot at any level, some tides have massive swings and they are fun too, moonlight paddles here are epic but incoming tides are best.
http://me.usharbors.com/monthly-tides/Maine-Midcoast/Castine

As soon as I arrived I figured out quick I was a little late, the wave was already in. I could see some harbor seals above the bridge in the water trying not to get sucked into the pond, I saw some eiders and I also saw that it was time to get dressed and get in the water.

This is my first time in moving water all year, this is a celebration! It is also my first time in the Karma medium in moving water. I had been in the pool once, enjoyed it thus far but moving water the real test.

I’m over the weight range for this kayak, I weigh 215lbs but it didn’t really seem to matter as the Karma peeled out of the powerful eddy and right out onto the wave first try. I paddled it back-and-forth carving on the wave. As soon as I came off the wave I caught the second way behind the first.

This kayak is fast it has to be fast to be able to surf the Blue Hill wave. Only the longboats can get on this wave. I also enjoyed this boat simply because of the comfort. Speed is great but the stability for me is even better. The Karma carve’s out the wave really nice giving me some extended front-sufing. This rapid has powerful eddy-lines and the boat had no problem. Even being over the recommended weight range is fine as the primary, secondary stability and speed are still there. It’s going to be a really fun creek boat and an incredible river-running kayak.

Being at the reversing falls at Blue Hill is over too quick. The wave slowly starts to disappear as the ocean fills up the pond downstream of the bridge. This is when you know it’s time to get out. I think the best time to come to Blue Hill is any time but if you can catch this wave with a long boat or a Karma in the middle of the summer when it’s 95° and tear it up and then you go to any of the area clam shacks for some fried clams you hit gold, this area is awesome. If you ever pass through Maine don’t miss out.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTPFCkw6DCg[/youtube]