Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium

Last year's inaugural GGSKS was an incredible experience for me - meeting some great instructors, teaching fun classes, and enjoying some of the most beautiful weather in the SF Bay that I have ever seen. So it's hard to believe that this year's event could be better. But it was. Except the weather part. This year was bigger and better and will no doubt be the highlight of my teaching year as was last year's event.

I got to see all the friends I had made last year and make some new ones. A definite highlight was teaching with Jeff Allen and then getting to hear his story during his presentation Friday night. It was an incredibly personal sharing if his life and a fascinating show of some of the most beautiful and challenging paddling I've seen. Freya Hoffmeister was the keynote speaker on Saturday night but her circumnavigation around Australia, while impressive, lacked the personal appeal of Jeff's story. There is a difference between someone who paddles and a true paddler - Jeff is definitely the latter.

I also got to give a short presentation on Friday - showing a preview of Paddle California. I was truly honored to be included in such a prestigious lineup and proud to share our great state many of the out of towners attending. I think they really appreciated seeing more than just the coastline (though that is pretty spectacular). It's been fun doing all these shows and it was nice to be able to show my work to my peers.

Web album of my photos from the weekend HERE