East Coast Paddlesports and Outdoor Festival April 11-13, 2014, in Charleston South Carolina

I arrived at the festival grounds on Thursday afternoon. I carried Dubside, the Greenland-style roll expert, down in my car for company. Tired and hungry I climbed in Pete's car to go meet his friends who had been in training (learning to assist the physically and mentally challenged with water sports) with him earlier in the week, pre-festival. We ended up at a barbecue place, where else? This was when I realized being on a vegetarian diet and not eating wheat either might be nigh on impossible.  So above is the first photo I took of my little adventure. It was an odd meal but that, and a root beer, set me straight. I had enough energy to finish setting up camp in the "primitive camping area" and tuck in for the night.

What would a trip to Charleston be without alligators? Or the legendary dolphins that have distracted so many kayaking students? 

This alligator was basking on the bank next to the gravel launch, off the parking lot. There were several 'gators in the "duck pond" with us. The park service "removes them" when they hit six feet. Stay small, my friend, stay small and live long.

To get to class we parked, launched, and then paddled to the "master class staging beach."

View of the festival from the launch canal

Dubside preparing his Greenland ropes

This Irish chap, Declin (sp?) was in many of my classes. His boat had stickers for "The Complete Paddler," a company that is based in his current home city in Canada, Toronto. He said his boat needed repair but the parts weren't in yet so the owner of The Complete Paddler sent him down with his own boat. Sweet.

I tried not to appear to be stalking Nigel Foster but, um...it was hard not to seek him out as he is a delightful fellow. He is really charming, and a very good teacher.

Taking my first class of the Symposium with Nigel set the tone to "very positive." I had a super time and every instructor gave me something to take home and work on. I'll cover that in my next installment.

I enjoyed the space between classes where in I paddled around and took photos, soaked up the sun, and just generally embraced the paddle-bum atmosphere.

Of course Subaru has a strong presence at the Festival. All the Subarus everywhere made me feel like one of the "cool kids." Also the number of sea kayaks just waiting for attention was staggering. 

Up to now my experience with Epic has been rare. Our friend Pete has an 18X and of course I know Brian Blankinship, who has an association with Epic. However, these boats were constantly in demo and apparently surf skis were selling like hotdogs. Some one told me they are the "next big thing." I was thinking that paddle boarding wasn't done with being "the next big thing," yet, but maybe I was wrong. Either way, surf skis have the challenge factor. And a challenge is something many paddlers crave.

Sea Kayak Carolina, my current favorite store and learning platform, had a strong presence at the Festival. And that fellow holding the Welsh Flag? That appears to be Nigel Dennis. Oh my...He helped me pick out a Celtic paddle. I met two great Nigels of the paddling world.

There was much color and play on the water. The view made me sad that I had only brought my water proof Nikon. Next year I'll bring a DSLR and really knock 'em out of the park.

You'll have to forgive me as these few photos are all about water, light, and color.

This is the first festival of any kind I have been to in years that allowed dogs. Charleston really impressed me as a dog lovers paradise. Can you hear the gears smoking in my brain? Well, the bugs are awful but the dog-friendly atmosphere might well make up for that.

More dog

There are two trailers here that piqued my interest. One was the Yakima system, which was light and would work well with my 'Ru. And the other was the "Sylvan Go Sport," a pop-up like trailer that offered a tent-system rather than a full on camper. Interesting.

And of course, more dog. This one watched me paddle up with a sad look on his face. Then he gently nudged his ball so that it dropped in the water as I took his picture. You should have seen me trying to retrieve his ball for him, from my tricky vixen boat. What a sweet old fellow!

Alright, more dog and more Subaru.

Have you ever seen a "Bellyak"? No? Me neither. Pete told me these have great potential to assist the physically challenged in getting on the water. Cool. But also, they look like they'd be a hoot at the beach. Kind of a cross between a boogie board and a sit-on-top.

More color, light, water, and movement.

Rolling lesson. Nah, don't mind the 'gators! They don't like all the fuss. Shy and retiring as they were, several paddlers who practiced rescues and rolls told me that the 'gators were on their minds during practice. I figure that just added a little real life urgency.

I know from reading a Scottish photographers blog that sails on kayaks are fairly common in the British Isles. However, am I the only one who thinks of Jimmy and his magic flute (H.R. Pufnstuf) where I look at this photo?

I am in dog heaven.

Just a view of the back canal next to the parking lot, where we launched daily. There was also an option to leave one's boat at the master class beach where they stored them behind a movable fence. I chose to use that after hauling my boat around the first day.

Interesting Hobie Craft that was wind and pedal driven. That's right, the person to the rear is pedaling like a recumbent cyclist.

Ah, my ride. My tricky vixen boat. I tend to think she is named "Dragon." And she is a bit of a snake. She was right at home amongst all the other high end boats crowding the masters beach. While there were a handful of Current Design boats, NDK, P&H, and Seaward were also well represented.  Nigel Foster used a Point 65N Whisky 16 which I came to fancy and am now on the prowl to acquire.

One of Nigel's "Fun with Foster" classes

What would all these pictures be without the ubiquitous selfie?

Nigel demonstrating one way of bracing for a turn that was new to me. Exciting stuff.

My last class of the festival was the "Long Boat Surfing" class. Here we are, Pete center, getting ready to launch off Folly Beach. Wahoo!!

Gent on the left in blue is "The Legend formerly known as Barry" Ok, enough with that joke. At the time it was funny. This Seaward Legend (white boat) was new to Barry. I watched him surf it very well. And I was quite smitten by its looks, as well. And then I found out it was also a Nigel Foster design. Oh_My_...I think I might be a fan-boi.

Not sure what's up with this. Either he is bailing the boat while next to it, or I caught the shot just as he braced too far on his side. Either way, the boat and paddler separated ways moments later. I mentioned the dolphins earlier and we did see several playing in the surf further out but, alas, I was unable to photograph them.

Mike, also from Toronto. His wife had a Subaru with more stickers on it than mine. Quite a feat! He gave me a sticker for their paddling business. I'll photograph it and post it with my next installment. These Toronto boys, Barry, Mike, and Declin were just a hoot. Very clearly on holiday and enjoying every minute.

Just a shot I really like.

Declin nudging a lost boat towards shore.

Declin back paddling in for a landing.

Nails it!

I posted this to facebook "the Oona-Bomber Rises," making a reference to my own nick-name that has more meaning to me than my given name. Indeed, the Celtic paddle and my Bomber spray deck remind me of my previous sport. I take some of it with me on the water every day.

I brought the 205 to 215 cm adjustable Celtic paddle with a 750 cm blade face home to the Lorax. He greeted it with great interest, and has used it with much enthusiasm. Dale Williams helped me pick it out for him. So far, a well-received gift, score.

And so this wraps up the photo segment of my festival experience. Next installment I will discuss each class and my take-aways. I'll also talk about which teacher I liked best and why.

Every teacher is a personal choice. I have really learned alot from Brian Stevens, my personal favorite. I took one last lesson from him a few days ago. I know there will be more lessons in the future but he'll be out of pocket for some months while he over-sees the building of his new home in North Carolina. He suggested I write down as much as I can remember about each class and I intend to use my blog for that. One more tidbit he has given me, write it all down, and sooner than I have done this time. And so I will.