Southwest Kayak Symposium 2007

With my name on the symposium schedule and flights booked there was no way to 'bail out' of my second attendance at the Aqua Adventures Southwest Kayak Symposium.

Although I would have a BIG excuse to change all plans for this season. Jen Kleck sure kept me busy to have my mind off things... Arriving Wednesday night she had me and Fiona running a BCU 4* on the Thursday. Then an Incident Management class on Friday. Although a little less surf mayhem than the year before, we still had the occasional capsize and a mysteriously disconnecting tow-line. A rock landing on the Mission Bay breakwater proved to be more difficult than anticipated (and interesting to watch for Fiona and me). The incident management day even made it into a California Kayak Friends e-mail exchange; about the best way to tow a sea kayak through surf. Thank you Henk Aling for sending the e-mails regarding this. Anyway, I very much enjoyed the symposium.

Saturday evening camp fire was magical with Steve Wilson, Nigel Foster and Russell Farrow playing guitar and singing and Brent Reitz playing the harmonica (a whole range of them in fact). Fireworks along the way (courtesy of the nearby Sea World). And according to the jamming all along (the watchtower), a new kayak symposium song is in the making.

A big thank you to Lynn and Thom for their hospitality in serving an excellent Sunday evening course meal for the symposium staff at their house, with special imported coffees and single malt Scottish whiskey. 5 stars on the culinary scale!