Ah Sunday, gentle Sunday at Kiptopeke 2014

I am a class-junky, an eternal student. I love classes, and learning. This year Dubside, this guy:
Dubside rolling video

told me something I have confirmed as truth: Instructors hate to be tapped for the last class of a Symposium or Festival as almost none of the students show up. (!) No sh*t, really?! Ah, now I have been that student and I can say in some paddlers' cases it is the physical exhaustion from paddling several days in a row, as Dubside supposed to me. But for myself, since he gave me this nugget, I surge strong at the end, knowing I will have an instructor with less students on her/his hands. Nice.

So Sunday dawns and I am all over this boat control class I have scheduled: Boat Body Blade with Chris Raab. It does not matter that I am firing on yet another bad night's sleep, or that my allergies are killing me. No no, I am gonna kill this. I *need* this class, I am a sloppy paddler whose arms are flapping, elbows akimbo, I know I look like a noob.

I want elegance, like a yoga pose, gentle flowing beauty. I deeply desire boat dancing, even if it takes me another ten years. This is my *thing*.

I have forgotten this young man's name. He was in at least two of my classes with me. Maybe I need to start writing down names, like a journalist.

Liz, looking elegant here, was in all three of my classes. She lives in the WDC metro area, like me.

The "lesson" beach. 

I am *also* sitting on my back deck like Chris and Brian here. I was snapping photos while balancing like a gymnast on the balance beam. Because I wanted to take pictures I did not try to cross my legs like Chris urged a couple of other paddlers into. I am pretty sure Liz nailed it, wow!

Chris is just starting to sit "side saddle."

Oops, lost one, and then another. No shame in that. This is not an easy exercise. Great practice for balance!

This class was the perfect way to end the Symposium. I learned I was turning my low brace turn stroke in to a reverse sweep stroke. That needs fixing! What a fun class, and just what I was looking for in adding finesse to my strokes. I really like Chris, he is amusing, which makes learning easy.

I am definitely "in" for next year. What a great experience. Many thanks to Rick for orchestrating all this!

Saturday at Kiptopeke Sea Kayak Symposium 2014

Friday night was apparently to be my only decent night of sleep during my long weekend. Saturday morning, 6 am, I shambled around like a coffee-starved zombie still somewhat befuddled. Eventually I managed to get my act together and head out to my second all-day class Intro to Rough(er) Water with Brian Blankinship and Paula Hubbard. During the intro briefing we learned we had picked up a third instructor, Chris Raab.

Brian and I live in the same neck of the WDC woods. I know him and have taken a couple of short strokes classes with him. I had met Paula but had not paddled with her, and Chris was brand new to me. 

I like to take lots of photos, but this particular day we knew we would be getting plenty wet so my camera only came out once or twice. Hence, a lack of many photos.

Chris Raab in blue on the left

Sonya in pink on the left

Gary in the foreground had a very interesting kayak-life story to tell: he had never paddled a kayak before owning his current kit-boat. Being a professional wood worker, he agreed to build a pair of boats with his sister as a project. This sturdy wood boat arrived at the Symposium with a damaged stern. A van had hit the boat during Gary's trip down. The boat swept the van's cargo racks clean off the top of the vehicle! And yet, the boat needed only a couple of duct tape bandages to make it through the Symposium. Now, that's a sturdy boat!

Best shot I have of Gary's boat's band aid

Getting ready, once again sharing the launch with another class

We knew we would be wet so we all packed pretty carefully

Lunch on a protected island. We carefully avoided walking above the sand-line.

This day the waves had swelled into "almost conditions." We played in the water for hours, practicing strokes, and catching some rides on waves. I received a bunch of quality instruction this day. In fact, I felt like Chris gave me one or two little nuggets of wisdom that will shine for years as I buff them against my growing experience.

We switched to rescues in the last hours of class and I opted out. My shoulder was hanging in there but it is always on the edge of becoming a problem. I just wanted to avoid making it worse when I was only half-way through my weekend. Yeah, I am sometimes a wimp. Lastly, the class switched to towing. I caught a tow from (argh, I hate when I forget names!) with the sunburst Chatham.

After she took her tow line off I literally surfed all the way back to the launch due to the following seas, winds, and perfect little rollers pushing me along. I had a super day.

I enjoyed all three instructors, each for a different reason. Paula seems thoughtful and asks students perceptive questions. Brian is enthusiastic, encouraging, and has a lot of interesting anecdotes. Chris gave me spot-on advice that helped me catch the waves better. Oh, yeah, it was a super day.

Just want to finish up mentioning this black boat:

Alexa and her friend who gave me the tow, at lunch

Alexa's Necky Chatham 16 is carbon. All carbon. I remember this boat when it was brand new. James and I took Potomac Paddlesport's "bombproof roll sessions" during the winter of 2011-2012. When she unloaded this boat on the pool deck everyone stood around admiring it. It is a shiny jewel of a boat. 

I continue to be somewhat skeptical of the all-carbon boat. My only experience with carbon is as a cyclist. Carbon frames are generally considered trashed after 3-5 years of riding. This is especially true of the light layup road bikes. Alexa said she has had not one problem with the boat, leading me to wander mentally down the path of future boats...

Friday at Kiptopeke Sea Kayaking Symposium 2014

Thursday of last week I left home at 10 am with my Romany on top my car, sleeping bag,  food, cooler, and the giant mound of kayaking equipment I seem to find myself carting around. I arrived at Kiptopeke State Park, found Rick Wiebush in Cabin 3 as instructed, checked in and received my room assignment.

I headed over to cabin 5. I met some roomies, and Brian Stevens, who had beat me there. We sat and caught up for a bit before heading over to check the beach, etc, out. We met Pete Hohman and his group from BCU 4 Star training at Sting Rays for dinner. Then we headed back to Cabin 3 for a meet and greet. Everyone stayed up late getting settled and visiting. Finally around 11:30 the cabin grew quiet and it was time for a fitful night's sleep.

Day 1 class Intro to Surf with Ed Schiller and Ken Fandetti:

Our coaches, left Ed and right Ken, looking grim here, but actually they were both kind and smiling most of the time.

Another class launching before us. Sonya stands in the frame to the right. She was my surf partner for the day

packing and prepping

Looking across at the launch site.

waiting for the whole class

Making our way out into a channel between islands 

channel crossing

In the left distance one can make out the point we would later paddle around to find some ragged breaks and seriously confused standing chop

We left our boats behind and walked around the point to view the rougher Altanlic side of the island

Lunch!

We proceeded around the point, following Ken and Ed

We actually made a landing, or two on the rougher side. This served us well as learning to land on a beach in even little surf is important and not that easy

I pushed my envelope in class.

I made a beach landing although I did not want to. Ken gently nudged me along. I was so glad I did not botch the landing. It had been a few months since my last surf lesson and I was wondering if I would remember how to land.

Earlier I had gotten stuck on a sand bar after riding a wave in too close to the beach. When my boat was forced on its right side by the incoming surf I realized that a) I am on the correct side of this-the ocean side and not getting crushed by my boat; and b) when my right elbow touched sand I decided to pop my spray deck. I climbed out and emptied the water from my cockpit. I was preparing to launch back into the surf when Ed arrived and urged me out into deeper water. He steadied my boat while I heel-hooked back in. A little water came into my cockpit with me and I pumped it out once I had gotten out past the weird standing chop.

We really did not find many breaking waves but instead practiced paddling parallel to the beach inside the break zone, and rotated through the standing chop in a circular conga-line of boats. I think everyone caught a few little waves and rode them for what they were worth.

Ken and Ed are both great teachers, cheerful and steady. I would definitely take a class from either of them again.

This night after dinner at Kelley's Gingernut Pub in Cape Charles we went back to Cabin 3 to listen to first Rick and then Jen Kleck give presentations on paddling the Baja Peninsula.

This night everyone crashed early and I was myself asleep by 9;30.