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The Season Trailer from Fitz Cahall on Vimeo.

Bryan Smith formerly of Body Boat Blade, and now of Reelwater Productions in British Columbia has a new web tv series hitting the internet called simply The Season.

The sponsors are impressive, (Arcteryx Outdoor Research, New Belgium Beer) for a paddling film which usually has the same three sponsors for each film. But the fact that this film covers, snowboarding, climbing, downhill mountain biking, and kayaking may have something to do with it. The footage above is impressive and may go a long way to improving the footage we see of outdoor pursuits. From what I understand a remote cable operated camera has a lot to do with the overhead perspective on some of the footage.

The premise for The Season series is to follow the athletes throughout a season of their activities as they pursue their athletic goals. The audience is allowed to see their triumphs, failures, and I am assuming whatever else happens. As I am not a one sport athlete either, I appreciate seeing how a mountain biker, climber or snowboarder has the same essential questions that paddlers do.

Why am I doing this? Is it for me? Do I need to keep pushing myself further and further, or can I be content with where my skills/endurance/training are now?

As a runner and a paddler I ask myself these questions a lot.

The psychology of the athlete is an interesting study, I look forward to seeing Smith’s film exploration of the subject.

You can subscribe to the series via iTunes here.

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I’ve been paddling with John for almost a year now. John has a great sense of adventure, and comes to kayaking from a wide experience in skiing, climbing and mountain bike racing. John holds a BCU 3 star award for sea kayaking. John was also a participant in the aptly named, 2008 survival paddle in the Gales of November. John is living in Marshall with his awesome wife and awesome kids, Anika, Sophie, and Quinn.

We hope to hear lots of great things from John Fleming at Go Kayak Now!

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Jeff Allen co-owner of Sea Kayaking Cornwall visited this year to instruct and speak. Jeff came a day early to give an instructor update for the WMCKA instructional staff. The topic this year was incident management. Jeff has written a series of articles for Ocean Paddler magazine. Jeff is also writing a book on the topic of sea survival for paddlers. The articles and Jeff’s course cover a wide range of topics. Some of the topics are familiar to sea kayakers. They cover towing, deep water rescues, and the familiar CLAP and SAFE principals of leadership on the water. What is unique to Jeff’s approach is how he challenges the familiar aphorisms of sea kayaking such as “stay in the boat”. One example of this unusual approach is when entering a landing area that is through the surf into a hazardous rocky landing spot, Jeff has proposed that like the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) that swimming yourself in through the surf zone is better than crashing in your sea kayak. This hypothesis is magnified when you have a victim, (or as Jeff has labeled them according to the military term-casualty) who cannot get themselves through the surf zone. I highly recommend reading Jeff’s articles in Ocean Paddler, and keep a sharp eye out for that book!

The course normally runs over five days, and we had one day to cover a couple of topics. Our instructor update covered rescues and towing. Jeff continued to stress a practical approach about rescues focusing on what would be best for the group as a whole. Taking the SAFE approach stop assess formulate a plan and execute. For example if a member of your group manages to take a nasty swim in a cave, rushing in like the valiant hero isn’t always the best idea. You could have two casualties instead of just one. Jeff reckons that sometimes having the casualty swim out, or having a rescuer if need be swim in is a better bet than getting another kayak in the mix. It is not revolutionary, but it does go against several hard and fast rules or at least dogma about staying in the boat.

During the course Jeff covered many ideas about sea survival and group cohesion. He demonstrated many towing concepts. And he also showed us his throw/tow rig. He was kind enough to leave me a sample rig. He is not selling them, which is sort of unusual in kayaking. He is advocating safety without a fiduciary return, which is even rarer and if possible cooler. The idea is that instead of just having a tow belt, you have a throw bag combined with a tow belt rig. So that if you had this alleged swimmer in the cave, you could throw your rope just like a white water rescue bag, and then still have one side clipped in to your belt. This way the rescuer could tow the casualty out of the cave without having to paddle in, putting themselves at risk. I will post some more details and pictures on the tow rig Jeff left with me.

We ran through some incidents on Lake Michigan near Duck Lake state park. We covered deep water t-rescues for the first hour. And readers here may be pleased to hear that the time spent in analysis was not wasted. Further we picked up some other good tips I will share at a later date.

The last and most challenging incident involved a swimmer casualty incapacitated and separated from the kayak. We separated into teams of three plus the casualty. The object was for each team to get their casualty to shore first. Our team decided on the scoop for our victim. And despite having performed this in practice recently, it is entirely different when the casualty is completely incapacitated. The hardest part was entanglement of the limbs on re-entry I had to try three times to get Luis Caro back into the boat before I got his butt in his seat. Also to get his butt in the seat all the way, I had to sit him upright and push on his shoulders to get him all the way in. We towed in fairly quickly and straight. Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin and I swapped out once for good measure. Sharon is quite strong! She hauled out pulling a rafted tow! She can come to sea with me when I am not doing well anytime. Wendy had the hardest job actually which was holding Luis’s kayak upright and keeping him out of the water. She never got a break either. Towing was probably quite easy compared to that.

Afterwards we compared notes with the other teams. There was some diversity in the approach at the beginning. One team actually opted to tow the swimmer in the water while someone towed the empty kayak. This did give them an advantage and they did get to shore first. We were third. But as a result their casualty got quite cold. Poor Steve Bailey. In the end almost everyone opted for the scoop. But as Jeff pointed out, care for the casualty does come into play as good technique. Most opted for the face down scoop, which is ironically easier, but doesn’t allow you to keep a very good eye on your victim. So while coming in third we got some bonus points for taking better care of our charge.

I would encourage anyone running a symposium to consider Jeff Allen for an incident management course. His approach is revolutionary in that it is practical and covers a wide variety of very simple tactics for sea survival. After spending a weekend with Jeff, I won’t say I got to know him. I wouldn’t presume to jump to the middle of a book and claim to have read it. But my impression is that his life experience with the military, a nightclub bouncer, a kick boxer and an expedition paddler has given him a wide experience to draw from that leaves me speechless. He described some harrowing experiences with the military in Northern Ireland that left me wondering if any of us can really know how we will perform when pushed to our limits. Ken Fink is also one that will surprise you in this regard. Ask him about his Polynesia trip sometime. Ken has a long and storied past and continuing experience at sea. I hope we can hear more about his experiences next year at symposium too!

I’ve been attending the WMCKA symposium for almost 7 years now. It seems funny to me how much time has gone by and how quickly. I remember the first symposium I attended was when Nigel Foster was the guest instructor. WMCKA is in it’s twentieth year.

The symposium has a long and warm memory for many people. Some who still come, some aren’t involved in paddling anymore. Ken Fink has been at all but one of the symposiums, and though he might be too modest to admit it, he is also the progenitor of the US sea kayaking symposium tradition.

Personally, the club and the symposium means a lot to me. It is an extended family away from the east side of Michigan where I am from; but in some ways it’s even better, because everyone wants to talk about paddling. I’ve been involved in the planning of symposium for about five years now. It’s been great fun to work with the club and to be able to contribute to a symposium that every one seems to get so much pleasure from.

The WMCKA symposium to quote Derrick Mayoleth has a unique vibe, “somewhere between carnival and peace rally”. Nothing could say it better. Other symposiums I’ve been to are obviously way fun, but lack that feeling of oneness and shared experience. They also lack another thing, children. It’s great to have so many kids out paddling and involved in the event. There are certainly more exciting symposiums for more advanced instruction, and sexier locations, but WMCKA holds it’s own for sheer good mojo. My hope is that whether or not I am a contributor, or participant that the symposium continues on for another twenty years.

The classes I taught this year were terrific, the students were really engaged and eager to learn. I got to do two different rescue classes. It was great to do both assisted and self-rescue classes. We did some great t-rescues with students. I lost my hat on the bottom during one. A student spotted it on the bottom and hovered over it. I exited my boat, took off my lifejacket, dove down 12 feet to scoop it off the bottom on the first try. I then demonstrated a re-enter and roll. This got a couple of students talking, and they decided to try paddle float re-enter and rolls. They both managed to get a re-enter and roll! One got a re-enter and roll on the first try.

Rodeo is often the highlight of this symposium. It is a series of silly races in teams. We start doing races with children on the backdeck and tagging a participant paddler who transfers the child to their kayak to race back to shore. I was lucky to get Deborah (friendly fire) for my rodeo team mate. We had a gas in the rodeo races, Osa Svensson was our child who held on for dear life!

The second rodeo event if possible has outdone the other races. 7 paddlers in a team use one boat paddle around a buoy using a variety of paddling implements. A trash can on shore holds a variety of implements. Each time you come back to shore a new team member grabs an implement from the trash can. You start with a paddle but as the race progresses the less desirable implements are left. So it starts with kayak paddles and towards the end of the race, plungers, and tin foil are left. The team waits on shore to turn the boat around while the paddler gets an implement and hops in the boat.

What this means is that a highly competitive group of paddlers invent all sorts of ways to cheat. And in the words of Ron Smith, “we’re all highly competitive, but the difference is we don’t care who wins”. Aptly put. Doug Van Doren started off the fun by filling Jeff Allen’s Explorer with water before the race even started. Look out for clergy, they are the sneakiest of the bunch!

Our team started well with Jon Holmes using his Eddyline Falcon 18! He rocketed off the starting line and we were essentially unbeatable from that point forward. Jon coming off of his amazing Hugh Heward Ultimate Challenge is in top form. I couldn’t believe how fast he was. The cheating started early with Jeff Allen leading. He was filling the Falcon’s back hatch with water and I caught myself filled with adrenaline thinking that somehow I could tackle a 6’4″ former military commando/kickboxer/knightclub bouncer and drag him down by his pfd. Jeff just laughed at me when I couldn’t even budge him by his PFD straps.

Once we had it in the bag, the cheating started in earnest. Each time a paddler would come in, each team would capsize the opposition and fill their boat with water. It was great fun and high spirits all round.

Jeff’s talk followed. He shared his slideshow on Japan and South Georgia with Hadas Feldman. Jeff and Hadas formed a unique partnership and managed to go around all of Japan together. Jeff shared all of the challenges and amusing trip dynamics with well placed anecdotes with perfect comic timing. If you haven’t seen this is the Sea two, you need to watch it as it covered their expedition.

The talk on South Georgia was captivating. Jeff, Hadas, Nigel Dennis, Jim Rowlinson, and Peter Bray formed the team. Some unique challenges including katabatic winds and an infection from a drysuit gasket made this a really great talk. Jeff had great slides of wildlife including elephant seals, and lots of penguins.

The slide that capped it all, was the closer, “Some men claim to have seen borders, though I have never seen them myself, some claim they exist. Perhaps they exist in some men’s minds.” (more or less).

We delayed the rolling contest until the next morning. I managed to get everything packed in record time and participate. I managed to get 8 in thirteen seconds using my white water paddle despite a false start. Jeff also had a false start and eight rolls. Jeremy did really well, with 8 as well. Hannah Bloyd-Peshkin pulled it out of the bag with 9 rolls in thirteen seconds.

A quick retreat found me wishing Jeff well on his journey. Only yesterday he shared the sad news that his Father died over the weekend in Cypress. Many condolences to Jeff and his family.

Jeff was kind enough to share these words about WMCKA,

“I found the event, the people and the location to be absolutely top notch for the aims of the symposium and it was an absolute privelege to work beside you all.”

Follow Jeff Allen’s endeavors here at Sea Kayaking Cornwall.

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Jon Turk Photo Logic vs Magic

Jon Turk Adventurer and Dreamer

WMCKA was blessed to have Jon Turk give a talk at our annual symposium in 2007.

Jon gave an excellent talk about why we make journeys. Are they for rational reasons, or are they based on more intangible things, like dreams. This is an oversimplification, but it is the crux of the issue. I sometimes get accused of being very logic oriented. And in some ways this is true. In my work life, I deal with very linear things, user paths, urls, web analytics, search, usability and so forth. In my private life it is a polar opposite.

I think the greater part of my private life is spent fighting back the waves of linear thinking and logic, and thinking about dreams or magic. I enjoy my experiences at work, for now I do not feel conflicted about the dual nature of my life. I think you need balance. A balance between magic and realism. In some ways I hope magic wins out.

This world would be a limiting place without people who follow the path of their shadow on the water. I would hate to think of a world without people like Jon Turk, who will paddle/walk/cycle out past the horizon to see what happens.

I would like to think that even in my small way that is what I am doing every time I paddle, cycle, ski, or run. I think I have a bigger trip in me someday if my body will let me. I can certainly say that in my more extreme situations, such as surfing large waves, that I was not engaged with logic at all. When carving a wave as big as a house, you are engaged with a very spiritual force that for lack of a better term can only be called magic. If you tried to engage in logic, you would be lost.

Jon inspires me for all the right reasons. I think sometimes the adventurer call is an ugly competitive one rather than a simple call from the ether to see what is out there.

Jon Turk’s Raven’s Gift Presentation Video

Buy Jon’s Book the Raven’s Gift

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The technique to rolling a double sea kayak is no different than rolling a single kayak, with one exception. Syncopation. You have to roll together or all bets are off. The other technique is that either the front paddler tucks forward and the rear paddler rolls both up or vice-versa.

Obviously Shawna and Kathy have the technique down.

It is also really good fun. Doug Van Doren and I did this in the pool with a homemade double a while back. That Nigel Dennis Triton II Sea Kayak is the fastest double I have paddled yet. I really like it.

As we all know the greenlandic rolling jacket the tuiliq, makes rolling a lot easier. The flotation in the jacket is almost cheating. Both women appear to be wearing them.

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David Goggins Ultramarathoner

I found this video on facebook of all places: Titled marathon videos.

David, who is also a Navy Sealcompleted the Mcnaughton 150 mile ultra-marathon in 33 hours.

In this motivational video he says quite a bit about the drive to finish things, to keep trying, and to perservere. For me this is the essence of why I run, kayak, or do anything. He says, “you have to be able to visualize yourself succeeding.” This really is why most people stay on the couch, they cannot picture the steps in between taking action and success. Whether it is running, kayaking, or biking, I’ve always had to have a mental picture of what my line is. In surf kayaking nothing can be more true. You have to be able to picture the greenwater ride before take-off otherwise you end up munched. The same holds true for running. I had to be able to visualize what 26.2 miles would feel like and picture myself finishing in order for it to happen. If anything that moment will stand with me for the rest of my life, because I had worked so hard to get there, and perhaps performed even better than I expected, it was one of the best days of my life.

Granted failure often teaches us more. All of my ugly swims before nailing a good roll were demonstrably more effective than successes in the pool. Yet I have to mentally picture the kayak sitting calmly upside down, setting up, the sweep and the layback to be able to roll up when it is really chaotic in the surf zone.

This video of David is pretty great, as is his cause. Being able to complete so many ultra-marathons with so many injuries defies conception even for people who have completed marathons. While I am not typically a flag-waver, these are the sort of people I want fighting for, and representing my country.

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WMCKA Sea Kayak Symposium 2008 My Home is the Sea

Every year I attend the WMCKA Sea Kayaking Symposium it takes me a few days to absorb the impact of what it means to me. It is easy to say this happened and that happened. It is also easy to say this is the one thing that it meant, to go for the grand recit. What is infinitely harder is to say what it meant in smaller terms that make up the big picture. For my part WMCKA means a lot to me, as it is a culmination of planning efforts and coordination with the Symposium Committee, the WMCKA governing board, and a governing of my own desires for a great symposium.

I’d been trying to get Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme to come to our symposium since about 2005. Finally this year it worked out for both parties. This alone made me very happy in my heart. We decided to plan an instructor update prior to Symposium. This event was very well attended by our instructor group.

Shawna and Leon suited up and got us all out on the water asking us to paddle across Duck Lake and turning upwind. Their approach was to allow us to find our own way. They asked us to find five ways to turn upwind and simply let us paddle. We all came back with about seven ways to paddle upwind. The objective here it seems was to give us an objective, and allow us to interact with our environment, and then come up with our own conclusions. Based on the level of skill and experience each person has, they will come up with a variety of ways to deal with the environment. Only after we had tried a few things did Shawna and Leon call us in to have us give our ideas about what worked and what didn’t. Then after we had told them what we thought, they finally gave us their input. It was a really interesting way to teach a class. They barely spoke and allowed all of us to teach ourselves, each other, and finally when all that was done they gave us some pointers.

Derrick and a lot of the instructors were very juiced up about the bracing and rolling progression Shawna and Leon were sharing. This progression starts in a low brace, then high brace, and finally rolling. It focuses on starting the paddler on their back. Shawna and Leon have been using it with a high success rate in Washington. I would love to see a video of this progression a couple more times.

One of the more interesting points of the instruction for me was a paddle power demonstration. Shawna and Leon had us pair up with another paddler and link in tail to tail with another paddler on a contact tow. One paddler would use a euro paddle, the other would use a wing paddle or a euro paddle. The objective was to see who would tow who with the different paddle. I was paired off with Alec Boyd Peshkin who is my size and of equal power and skill. We started out with my carbon fiber greenland paddle and his werner shuna. Invariably the euro paddle would quickly overpower the Greenland paddle. We switched back and forth with the same results. We then used an epic wing and the Greenland paddle. It was dead even on these two paddles, I was surprised by this. We then switched to the wing and the euro. Again the euro paddle started dragging the paddler with the wing around.

I’ve held a not very scientific or empirical bias that the Euro and the Greenland style paddle were pretty much the same under these conditions. But after this I am not convinced. Doug Van Doren and Steve Bailey experienced the same results. Though Steve Bailey is a very powerful paddler and much bigger than Doug. Food for thought!!

A few of us headed out to Lake Michigan to paddle in the wind and waves afterwards. My inguinal hernia let me know pretty quickly that it was too soon for this type of exertion. I was left in the dust within a few minutes. I managed to take a few pictures regardless.

This was the point of the weekend where my mental state went in the drink. As a person I am competitive, gregarious, and outgoing. I found it very hard to be the slowest man on the water. It was a knife like jab in my belly to be unable to lead the pack when there was wind and waves to be had. My greatest joy in life is to be flying down wave with the wind at my back. To watch others easily out pace me felt like a clumsy root canal from a sadistic dentist with no anesthetic. I find I am a very poor spectator.

Once on sight at the Symposium in my spectator status I observed that the energy and enthusiasm Shawna and Leon exerted was as palpable as the pollen in the air. They were the first to be suited up to paddle and often the very last off the water. They were omnipresent and engaged in a way I have not seen any other instructors behave. You could tell that they loved being on the water, loved kayaking. And this enthusiasm melted over to the instructors, and the participants.

They also participated in the rodeo, and I saw kindred spirits, (I love a rodeo) in their competitive fun loving nature in the races, rolling contest, and passion to be involved, in the thick of things. Leon may have been channeling my wounded spirit when he and two other racers tackled one another into the shallows. What more could one ask for besides a rugby style tackle in a drysuit?

My grand recit for the weekend was observing Shawna and Leon as a couple. They spent every moment happily in each other’s company. I can say with some authority that this is very rare. You rarely saw one without the other. This sort of affection and dedication was so genuine one could hardly not feel it’s contagious gravity. I found myself more calm, more open towards friends, Laura, and the symposium in general. It seems to be the sort of bond you only read about in books, or see in movies. And perhaps this is not unlike kayaking, where you only get out of it what you put into it. And if this is any indication, the relationship and their kayaking seemed to have an effortless grace. Meaning there has probably been a lot of hard work on both ends.

Their slide show presentation on the Queen Charlotte Islands or Haida Gwai was fantastic. This expedition took place on the inside and outside of this island group. The outside is right on the edge of the continental shelf. The unbroken Pacific Ocean has no barrier between swell generation and the islands. So the full force of the world’s largest ocean breaks on these islands. Justine Curgenven went with Shawna and Leon and filmed the trip, so look for it in the next installment of This is the Sea.

One of Leon’s opening statements about the trip has been firmly cemented in my mind.
“You will never have enough money, you will never have enough vacation time, you just have to go.” Too bad that is too big to get as a tattoo.

I actually had many many participants and beginner paddlers come up and tell me how great the presentation was. That was a first. It is further proof that the energy you give to something is very real and palpable.

I hope to be able to find someone, or somebody as dedicated, enthusiastic and as skilled as Shawna and Leon for next year. I know there are some folks I would like to ask to visit us on Big Blue Lake. Some small part wonders if this may have been the proverbial summit of our little symposium.

I will leave you with a song by Will Oldham (aka Bonnie Prince Billy) that probably explains the energy we all feel about kayaking, instruction, and a life full of adventure, either small or big.

My Home Is the Sea-Bonnie Prince Billy Lyrics

I have often said
that I would like to be dead
in shark’s mouth

a woman swimming under
her warm breath sendin’ a thunder
on two parts south

and love is stripped and frayed
and duty is delayed
until next life

someone has my mind
holding yes so kind
it is my wife

and my home is the sea
my home is the sea
look not for me

my home is the sea
disaster flies upon me
and i sleep
we can see the house lights
colored from a distance
for a party as a dream

my tongue will into me
my arms unfold these seeds
cause im a strong man

and do not love my tummy
is round and firm and funny
and thats what i am

my home is the sea
my home is the sea

i am under your spell
you will have me i reckon
and the drowning this town
as a drowning i welcome

i know nothing and im over joyed
i know nothing and im over joyed
i know nothing and im over joyed

god gave you life and thought
now its ours to waste
i have the finest love
and the finest taste

see her when im home
i am home

you are home

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Greg Stamer will attempt to circumnavigate Newfoundland by Sea Kayak starting June 1st 2008. He needs a little assistance getting his Nigel Dennis Greenlander Pro kayak transported there.

Greg is now a veteran of an Icelandic circumnavigation with Freya Hoffmeister. Their circumnavigation set a record for the number of days (33 days).

If you think you can help transport Greg’s Kayak read the request below from Greg Stamer himself. Leave a comment on the blog here or head over to the Qajaq USA site and comment on the forum post.

All,
I’m preparing for a solo circumnavigation of Newfoundland starting this June and need some help with kayak transport. The container with my kayak (NDK Greenlander Pro) is delayed. It might arrive in time, but I need to make alternate plans just in case. Plan “B” is to use a kayak from Tom Bergh’s stock in Maine. I need help getting the boat from Tom’s shop to Newfoundland (ideally St. John’s but anywhere will do).

If anyone is traveling from Maine to Newfoundland between now and the second week of June, and would like to help by transporting an extra boat, please give me a shout! Depending on when you are traveling, I might be able to join you in Maine and help with gas and expenses, but if this is not an option, just getting the kayak to Newfoundland will be a major help.

Alternatively, if anyone knows of another economical way for me to get the boat from Maine to Newfoundland (short of renting a car), please let me know.

Thanks!

Greg Stamer

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Is Sea Kayaking a Commercial Sport?

I was asked by my good friend of LuckyKitchen.com Aeron Bergman’s father a good number of years ago when Turtleneck.net was still in action if I felt that the internet was over-saturated with content. It was a really interesting question. I didn’t really have the context at the time to answer the question, it was 1999 for pities sake.

In the sea kayaking blogosphere and especially in the expedition blogs there seems to be a plethora of dynamic people creating top flight content. Unfortunately it seems mostly created out of misery, breakups, arguments, failed partnerships, failed romances, divorces, but surrounded, if not wrapped like a falafel sandwich in the pita bread of spectacular paddling trips and seasoned with heroic efforts. Of course people like Shawna and Leon break that rule.

Greg Stamer has created his first Blog for his trip around Newfoundland as a sponsored paddler. In his post on blogging he stated that he doesn’t enjoy reading blow by blow travelogues of kayaking trips. I can understand the aversion to the gory details. But I also wonder if this is also an aversion to the medium due to the seeming over-saturation of kayaking expeditions to the same four places: Iceland, New Zealand, Australia, and Newfoundland. Do we need another one?

Who wants to read another blow by blow of a trip round New Zealand? Chris Duff pretty well had that covered in his spectacular book, Southern Exposure. I wonder though if Chris might have been tempted to blog if it had been available as a mass consumed medium in 2003. In five years so much has changed about the web. Certainly the overused phrase of Web 2.0 and consumer generated content is paramount here.

Sea kayaking has seemed to me; as an athlete of both running, cycling, and soccer a sport that is horrifically uncompetitive. Before this comes off sounding terrible, there are some very athletic, talented sea kayakers that are very impressive. But in order to become sponsored as a runner, or a cyclist, or as a soccer player, one would have to be so much better than everyone else that it would stagger you to think about it. I’ve played soccer against a few semi-pro and professional players in pickup matches and I can tell you that despite years of training the difference between us was night and day. Running and cycling again are perhaps even worse. My marathon time of 3:40 while quite fast for an amateur and a first marathon is still one hour and thirty minutes slower than the guy who won the race. Cycling again is so competitive that in order to stay in the game performance enhancing drugs have become the norm not the exception.

So where am I going with this? I think with Greg Stamer stepping into the realm of professional kayaking, his blog, and his trip Sea Kayaking might be entering into the realm of professional athletes. As strange as this might sound to Greg, I see this as the end of amateur night. For better or worse. And before you say it this is not so much about Greg, but about the trend. Greg whom I’ve never met, and only emailed with occasionally when debates got heated on Qajaqusa.org forums. He seems to me to be a terrific person and a very dedicated paddler, and who is a great ambassador for paddling in general, not just traditional paddling.

Justine Curgenven’s This is The Seavideos over the last few years, Brian Smith’s Pacific Horizon Video all lead to an increasing marketing push to fund bigger and better trips for more people over a year. This is great in that it brings visibility to the sport, but maybe sad in a way. I think it may eventually lead to a decline in accessibility to good informal training from people as great as Greg Stamer, Leon Somme, Shawna Franklin, Justine Curgenven, Jeff Allen, and Simon Osborne.

Because I help plan a small symposium I’ve noticed that most of the professional paddlers in the years between 2003 and 2006 were fairly accessible and inexpensive to consider, as the years have gone on there are more and more symposiums every year, and a growing number of great paddlers with very booked social calendars. This is great! But also I fear the beginning of the end for smaller local symposiums with low budgets.

For those that might not know this, these symposiums have traditionally been run by local clubs with no profit at the end. The object is to net out at 0 so that the symposium pays for itself. And this may be how all symposiums are run, certainly no one is getting rich, not even the sponsored paddlers. There aim is solely to get their name out to do more symposiums, support their sponsors, and because it is fun. My worry is that the little, out of the way symposiums, in non-glamorous places like Muskegon Michigan may no longer be part of the whirlwind tour. I hope I am wrong.

William Gibson said at the release of his previous novel (2003), Pattern Recognition, that life these days doesn’t seem to be so much about the avoidance of marketing, but the inevitability of it. And for Sea Kayaking that time may have come. White Water paddling has certainly been there for ages with a small number of inapproachable stars who compete for small pots of cash at events. Eric Jackson being the most notable. Surf Kayaking also has its stars, note the wrap up of the Santa Cruz Surf Kayak Festival.

Because Sea Kayaking is more about journeys than pulling of sweet tricks in a hole, (this is the sea notwithstanding), I think climbing may be a more accurate partner for the commercialization of sea kayaking. Who knows perhaps it is this approachability to the amateur that makes Sea Kayaking so great. Anyone can get in and do it. And unless we really are talking about circumnavigating Iceland it is a relatively low impact, easy going sport with little risk.

The people I’ve met through paddling have been some of the greatest I’ve ever met. I certainly am not calling up old soccer buddies to crash on their couch and play pick up games when I have free time. But I certainly will call up just about anyone I’ve met paddling even once to go paddle, sleep on their couch, eat their food, and vice versa.

I think this may be that moment for paradigm shift, or a nodal point where everything seems to change, but who knows maybe some people saw this moment 10 years ago. Paddle sports are quite unusual.

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Alpine Mountain Climbing is frankly something that terrifies me. Razor edged peaks that ascend into the clouds don’t tempt me. That said, the achievement of Hillary and Tenzing Norgay boggles the mind. With primitive equipment and clothing, but superior skill and determination this pair stepped onto the summit of the world’s tallest mountain in 1953.

Mt Everest at 29,028 feet high is the tallest mountain in the world. Mt Everest is in the Himalayas on the Border of Nepal, Tibet, and China.

No ladders through the Khumbu icefall, no fixed ropes run by sherpas. No ladders up what is now ironically called the _Hillary Step_. No one carried Hillary and Tenzing’s packs for them, no one helped them up the mountain. This pair climbed onto the summit without all of the support that most modern climbers receive. This feat would not be surpassed until Reinhold Messner summited alone without supplemental oxygen. Because the world is shrinking, I don’t think the likes of Hillary will ever be seen again in this world. RIP you noble beekeeper.