Maybe I have a bit of a crush on Nigel Foster

On perusing my post-list I found this post that I had never published. It was originally about the 2014 East Coast Paddlesports and Outdoors Festival. The post itself is 9 months old. I am posting it now as the topic is quite relevant to my schedule now. Also, I *heart* Nigel. Original text is black, current edits in blue.

I was fortunate to get some star quality instruction at the East Coast Paddlesports and Outdoors Festival in April 2014. Along with Ed Schiller, Todd Johnstone-Wright, and Ben Lowry, I also had a couple of classes with Nigel Foster.

Exposure to him sent both myself and the Lorax on an exploration into his designs and teachings. It is relevant now, because he will be teaching at the Sweetwater Symposium, but I am unable to go down. So sad.

The Lorax is almost a Nigel fan-boy, paddling the Whisky 16 Nigel designed for Point 65N Sweden. He is also endlessly on the prowl for a Seaward Legend, another of Nigel's designs. And lastly we have purchased, borrowed, and watched almost all of his instructional DVDs. 

Getting back to last April at the ECPOF: 

First class of the Festival for me was some ungodly hour like 9 am Friday. Torched from the long drive and grueling camp set up the night before, I arrived at the Master's Beach less than enthusiastic. This was changed almost magically by my introduction to Nigel. His clear love of the kayak was transmitted instantly to me. It set the tone for the rest of the Festival for me.

Nigel arriving on the beach. Like many dedicated paddlers he uses an Ikea bag. These cheap big bags are ideal for wet kayak stuff.

Nigel breaking a stroke down into components

He made class fun with little drills and games.

At one point he played a trick on us. He appeared to paddle forwards but the boat was moving backwards. He encouraged everyone to try. After fooling around with it for a few minutes I realized he tricked us. I said "you used the lay up to initiate a backwards motion and then were slicing your blade through the water as though you were paddling forwards." He looked surprised and then asked me to explain it again to the class. I got the gold star!

I could not be more positive about this experience. I told every paddler I met for the rest of the Festival to sign up for any class of his that was available. Big smile!

My take aways:

Maintain the loosest grip on the paddle possible. Any kind of closed hand creates extra tension on your hand, forearm, and shoulder. After he demonstrated this I was able to say, "yeah, that's what I am feeling." While every other instructor I have had said the same "loosest grip possible," Nigel was able to communicate and demonstrate it in a way that made a permanent change in the way I handle my paddle.

At some point he mentioned using a standard shaft paddle versus the "small shaft." When I switched myself, due to his advice, I found I grip the paddle more gently. This results in apparently less wrist and forearm strain.

He also demonstrated connecting different strokes together, moving me closer to boat dancing. There is a desirable smooth transition from say, a bow rudder to a forward stroke. I have spent the last 9 months working on this.

In watching him spin his Whisky, I found the expression of my own desire to move the boat smoothly, cleanly, poised to make the next stroke. When I think of a paddler I would like to emulate, Nigel comes instantly to mind.

There is one last thing that I find charming about Nigel, something that is just a coincidence: Nigel is very soft spoken. This reminds me so much of my husband. Indeed, besides the speaking voice, James has much the same natural poise and confidence in movement. No wonder I think Nigel is so neato! He reminds me of my husband, and this is a silly but sweet thing.

I will miss him at Sweetwater but am hopeful I will get to go to the East Coast Festival again. Fingers crossed!