Sterling's Ice Kap

Yesterday, I got a call from Kiwi who was returning from Bellingham after picking up a Sterling's Ice Kap which he had been asked to demo and show to his students. Despite having to be home for family obligations, he was anxious to get some water under the keel, and as I had a new bag from Watershed that needed to be tried out, we decided to meet down at the Steilacoom Ferry for a quick paddle.

There have been plenty of times when paddling that I wish I had my SLR handy instead of just my waterproof point-n-shoot. The big problem is what to do with the expensive camera between shots. A drybag in the lap is an option, but I find it awkward having to dig the camera out from the top. While at the Outdoor Retailers show in Salt Lake City, I had the chance to get my hands on one of Watershed Ocoee Dry Duffel and thought the innovative seam and it’s position down the long axis of the bag would be perfect for a large camera. It also has an optional felt liner for the bag.

Once I received mine for testing, I filled the bag with newspaper and some weights. After 10 minutes at the bottom of my pool, I was satisfied that the bag was watertight, now I just needed to see if it would work in the cockpit.

Kiwi let me know that he was going to be a few minutes late having gotten stuck in Friday afternoon grid lock, but I went ahead and used the opportunity to put the whole setup through some paces. It certainly was easy to get the camera in and out of the bag; quick and no fumbling. The bag stayed comfortably in position during a capsize and roll. I’ll have to get it in some conditions to see who well it work then, but so far I’m very pleased with this setup. I’ll let you know what I think once I get it out in some swells.

Kiwi seemed to be pleased with the performance of the Nimbus, and I have to say that it is the lightest fiberglass boat I’ve ever had my hands on. We didn’t have time for me to paddle the boat, but I’m sure I’ll get my chance soon enough. Kiwi was going to be teaching some classes this weekend with the boat so we should have a performance report from him soon enough. The boat certainly has some rocker, and in Kiwi’s hands, he was able to really get it on edge.