Split Rock Creek Cruise - Fall 2008

Under the leadership of SDCA president Gene Preston, a fleet of nine kayaks and one canoe set out from McHardy Park in Brandon yesterday afternoon for a cruise down Split Rock Creek to the Big Sioux River bridge over Highway 42 at the new arboretum development on the far eastern end of Sioux Falls. This is a SDCA sponsored cruise that has become traditional in the fall.

The day was magnificent with temperatures in the 60s, sunny skies, light wind. As the day wore on, the wind came up, but the conditions generally were great for such a venture. Initially, there was some concern about sufficient depth of water within Split Rock Creek, but the attractiveness of the cruise down this winding and scenic waterway won out, and the group set out about 1:30 heading downstream.

The first shallow spot on this waterway is always just around the first bend, and this was no exception. Pete Larson, one of the longtime SDCA members, showed us how to claw our way off shallow sand or rock bottom by using your hands to push the kayak up a little and, with both hands, to drag the kayak along the bottom. This technique worked pretty well on most groundings. Still, I got out of the kayak six or seven times during the trip to drag the kayak across shallow spots.


Split Rock Creek moves through the Brandon area, meets Beaver Creek, and finally joins the Big Sioux River. Each confluence adds volume to the flow, reducing the tendency to scrape along on shallow spots. Along Split Rock, the water depth ranged from 2 ½ feet or so to just a few inches. Navigational skill lies in the ability or luck in “reading” the river. There is almost always a channel, usually along the highest bank; that is not always the case, however, and taking the wrong side can mean clawing along with your hands, pushing along with the paddle, or just getting out and dragging the boat along. I forgot to take along a sponge; and every time I got out and back into the boat, more water tracked in with me until an inch or more water was sloshing around in the bilge. Larry, one of our better-prepared kayakers, let me use his a couple of times.


Split Rock Creek moves along, out of sight, behind Highway 11, passing the racetrack in Brandon, skirting the goat ranch just east of the racetrack, under a canopy of trees and some very high banks. A “rock garden” of big boulders offers an interesting sight just past the confluence with the Big Sioux River, and this point marks a change in water depth. The Big Sioux River seems, generally, a deep channel after Split Rock. Even on the BSR, however, there were shallow areas, generally where the river becomes wider.

We passed a couple of electric fences along the way, but with team work managed to get by without getting shocked.


We saw lots of waterfowl along the trip: geese, ducks, great blue heron, and a few cormorants. Along the BSR, very near the “take out,” we passed along a great set of duck decoys both fixed and floating. As I passed a blind of brush and logs, three guys in hunting gear rose up with shotguns in their hands. They wanted, obviously, to give us a scare. I think that I was too tired to react to their stunt, at least to provide the sort of start they probably wanted. Still, I wondered if we had stumbled into a hunting season – the sort of thing that I dread on a river trip.


There were boats on this trip from Pierre, Mitchell, Jefferson, as well as the general Sioux Falls area. Pat Wellner, an engineer from Pierre, measured the trip at 8.65 miles on his GPS(Check out the link for his review and photos of the cruise). The trip this year took between 4 ½ and 5 hours, and this was a bit on the long side. During most years, the cruise can be accomplished in 3 to 4 hours. My back was a bit sore after five hours sitting in the kayak, and clawing along shallow spots or climbing in and out of the boat is a little tiring. This was a great cruise, a great way to spend Saturday afternoon. I was pretty tired, however, by the time I got home.

(bridge at the arboretum near the Perry Nature Area "take-out.)

First Use of Spirit Sail

First Sail


The sail for my kayak that I ordered from Spirit Sail arrived while I was in California visiting old Peace Corps pals. This past weekend was the first chance for me to try out the sail in light winds. A day or two before, the wind was blowing 25 miles per hour, and I thought that it would be best to make a first effort at sailing the kayak with a real sail under milder conditions. So, on Saturday, the winds were light, probably too light. In the morning, I looked out at the trees and saw leaves slightly moving. But, this was the day, and I just hoped that there would be some wind at Lake Alvin. The weather bureau reported winds at just over 5 mph, and for South Dakota that is almost a flat calm.

I headed out to Lake Alvin with Marsha and our dog; our Saturday routine always calls for a walk in one of the nearby nature areas around noon. Lake Alvin seemed okay for both needs – a walk for Marsha and Finnegan and a try-out of the sail for me.

Earlier, I had attached the sail mount to my kayak. I drilled out four holes on the fore deck of the kayak and, with some difficulty, managed to get the mount attached along with a backing plate on the bottom of the deck. The mount has a fitting to attach the sail, and it is possible to rig the sail while underway. I needed to practice attaching the sail and adjusting it, as well as sailing the kayak downwind.


The sail is called a “downwind rig” and is akin to sledding down a hill. As long as the boat is running within 30 degrees either way of the wind direction, the sail should draw. There are three settings for the mast, and the sail can be adjusted by grasping the mast mount, lifting it free of its seat, and adjusting it for straight downwind sailing or sliding it to either the left or right to the 30 degree mark for sailing slightly off the wind. It is by no means a sail that would permit tacking. My rudder acts somewhat like a centerboard.

The sail can be used for messing around on a lake as long as the kayak is placed in a position where the direction of travel is downwind. Like a sled, the kayaker might have to paddle upwind to a point and then sail back. If the direction of travel were to be lengthy, such as on a wide or long body of water, the sail might ease the burden of paddling and be used to effortlessly move along.

The sail can also be used just as a chance to experience the most rudimentary form of wind-born travel. Many of the features of sailing are there: the draw of the sail, the luff in a sail as the wind shifts across its surface, the snap of the sail as the wind grabs it, and the sound of water passing under the hull just from the pull of the sail.

This sail is called the “mid-size” and is billed as good for “older (geezer)” sailors. The sail area is only 8.5 feet, not really much more that my big golf umbrella. The advantage of the sail over my umbrella is that my hands are free to balance the paddle for a potential brace or draw. I steer the boat with my foot-operated rudder.

On this occasion, I found myself more concerned with operating the sail than in enjoying the time on the water. I paddled from the dock in the Lake Alvin Recreation Area down to the fishing dock and then sailed back. The sail back was slow with the wind conditions. I could have easily have raced myself with just a leisurely paddle. But then, I chose a day with limited wind. I want to try it again with the wind about 10 mph and see how the boat moves. For now, I have the sail in its bag and will carry it in the bottom of the kayak on future paddles. When the occasion presents itself, I will set up the sail and continue to learn how to use it effectively.

There is a certain irony in using a sail with the kayak. I got the boat, in large part, to provide another avenue for exercise – a form of exercise that is very appealing to me. The sail might reduce the exercise aspect of kayaking, and that would not be good. Also, it is not the effort of paddling that tends to bring on fatigue for me; it is, instead, the time spent sitting in the boat. I can only endure a couple hours before getting out and walking around. At my advanced age, four hours total is about my daily limit of paddling.

For now, however, I can imagine those first days of sail as early man set out in dugout canoes with a scrap of sail to ease the effort. My sail is very similar to those earliest devices.

By the way, the regional magazine Living Here did a feature story of me in their fall issue. The cover is one of my photos of kayaking Split Rock Creek among the rock palisades.

Sailing the Kayak

Last week I went out to Lake Alvin for a little umbrella sailing. The wind was just right, and I was able to sail in a moderate breeze from the public access point on the northwestern side up nearly to the fishing dock on the southeastern shore. The umbrella can be shifted to capture the wind along an arc of perhaps 60 degrees, 30 degrees on either side of the wind direction. I was alone on the lake and just cruised along, laughing in the light winds. I had to paddle back down to the western end of the lake, but I was able to umbrella sail again across from the south to the north side.

As I have begun to run out of new waters in the Sioux Falls area, I have turned to the notion of sailing as a way to add a little spice to my paddling activities. The notion of adding a sail to one of my kayaks has held appeal to me for many years, but the cost of a sailing rig has deterred me. Using the umbrella has been sort of a novelty, and I have enjoyed the feeling of being pulled along faster than I can paddle while hanging on one- handed to a big golf umbrella.

In the last couple of weeks, I have begun an e-mail correspondence with another former University of South Dakota professor who has moved to Virginia. He contacted me in response one of my postings and invited me to check out his own blog describing kayaking experiences along the coast in the Virginia area. He really offers wonderful photography and narrative description of exploring the lakes, rivers, and coast of Virginia in his fleet of sea kayaks. I was immediately taken by remarks about sailing the kayak using a “Spirit Sail.” This is a very basic sailing rig that can easily be fitted to nearly any kayak. It is a “downwind” sail that can be adjusted on its mount 30 degrees either side of fore and aft.

After reading his narrative and looking at the photos, I located the company that sells these sails and called the owner. We had a nice chat about her experiences using the Spirit Sail, and she answered the several questions that I had.

The long and short of this is that I have ordered myself the “mid-size” Spirit Sail that comes with everything needed to install it: mounting plate, bolts, sail, mast, battens, and carrying bag. The cost was $225, which seems a modest investment for the fun I anticipate and the new experience of dealing with winds and sails. The sail has already been shipped, and I look forward to using it yet this fall before the winter chill sets in too deeply.

I highly recommend checking out the Virginia Paddler at http://www.virginiapaddler.com/ You will find the Steve Hildreth is an excellent writer who offers very interesting observations and comments about his kayaking ventures. You can also read in some detail about how he has adapted the Spirit Sail to fit his kayaking needs. If you want to check out the sail rig itself, you can go to http://spiritsails.com There is a range of accessories to the sail so that it can be adapted to most kayaks or canoes, and there are two size sails. I got the smaller of the two, the “geezer” sail for timid old-timers. I can hardly wait for the sail to arrive and a good day to head out to Lake Alvin to sail off in search of adventure in my sailing kayak!