Travels with Paddles

a sea kayaking journal

Axel Schoevers (Photo: A. de Krook) Name:
Axel Schoevers
Location:
Rijswijk, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Thursday, May 07, 2020

Anglesey from a distance

This would have been the week of the annual Anglesey Sea Kayak Symposium. Starting out as the "Nordkapp Meet" on 30 April - 1 May 1983 it was and is the first international sea kayak symposium.

Allways organized on the May Bank Holiday weekend; the weekend of the first Monday in May. However this year, because of the 75th anniversary of VE-day (the end of WW-2), the Bank Holiday weekend was moved to the Friday 8-10 May to coincide with that. And then "World War C" started... A pandemic uprooting everything, resulting in the first year ever that the symposium does not run.

This year would have been the 20th time that I would have been attending the Anglesey symposium. May 2000 was my first visit; keen on learning all about tidal-races and overfalls to safely plan my own trips in more dynamic and remote areas with my paddling buddies. I returned again and again to become a British Canoeing sea kayak coach. Anglesey has become a regular paddling destination for me for it's accessible scenic, dynamic & learning environments.

So next year May will still be my 20th Anglesey Symposium anniversary. Hope to see you all there again. Paddler's Return, sun shining on the Skerries, Terns and all.

Last year, Hugh brought this classic 1991 Poster to the symposium and I took this picture of it.