Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium

Better late than never right? It has been almost a month since the Symposium and I'm just not getting a chance to sit and write about this incredible event. Shows what kind of month I have been having. The store has been rockin and for that I am most thankful. Even though it has been a month since the symposium the images and feelings from the event will not soon be forgotten. This event seems to get better every year, and this year was no exception. The weather was moody, the water was finicky, but the people were incredible!

On the Thursday night before the Symposium started I met Sterling (owner of Sterlings Kayaks) and Rowan Gloag (Hurricane Rider and Facebook pal) here at the shop do deliver kayaks. They had just drove 18 hours straight through from Bellingham WA. They had to chain up along the way at each pass they came to. Dispite the long adventure they showed up fresh and enthusiatic about the weekend to come. Rowan and I loaded up my trailer of demo boats and we headed over to the Marin Headlands Youth hostel, our home base for the weekend. Though we were all exhausted from travel we stayed up for a few hours drinking beers and swapping stories with some of the biggest and best names in Sea Kayaking. After a short hard sleep we awoke to rain. Everyone slogged their way to Horse Shoe Cove to start the festivities. It was so encourgaing to see all the people geared up ready to go with big smiles on their faces.

Day 1 I was asigned to help teach the intro to Riding the Tides Class with Mark Tozer and Duane Stosaker. We crossed over to Angel Island and practiced edge turns in the eddyline created by the Ebb tide. Everyone had a great time. The highlight of my day was teaching some students with Greenland paddles, how to rip in and out of eddies with a stick. After our time at Angel we made our way back to Yellow Bluff where we played in the tidal race. Everyone got to practice surfing and bracing.

After a long day in cold conditions we blew off some steam by eating pizza and listening to live music at the Symposium Headquarters, Horse Shoe Cove.

Day 2 the weather was even colder and more rainy. This day I was assigned as a safety boater to Riding the Tides intermediate with Ben Lawry and Chris Mitchell. After a long warm up on the dock we hit the water. We practiced ferrying against the flood tide under the Golden Gate bridge. The conditions were pretty big this day. After that session we made our way with the flood tide back into Richardson Bay where we had lunch. After a debrief session on the beach we got back into our boats to catch the Ebb tide back to Yellow Bluff for day 2 of playing in the tide rips.

Thankfully this day I was paired up with my buddy Rowan, and we got to enjoy hours of surfing and playing in the rip. It was so cool to surf with so many people in the rip. Everyone was excited to be there, dressed for the swim and ready to push themselves. Thankfully no one in our class swam, and Rowan and I had an easy day on the water. The class seemed wore out fast so we let them go back to the harbor while we stayed and played.

That night there was slide show presentations at the Hostel. There were 3 all together but the one that got me excited was Eric Sores, one of the original Tsunami Rangers was giving a talk about the past 25 years of  boating. (http://tsunamirangers.com/) To hear his level of enthuiasm for the sport and to hear is mind set about rough water ocean paddling got me stoked! I could not wait to get out the next day and go rip in some rock gardens. The line that I took from his talk was, "Paddle where it looks bad and feels good, not where it looks good and feels bad." So the next day when Matt P told us that he didn't need us to safety boat and we were free to go play, thats exactly what we did!

Rowan and I paddled our way out the Golden gate and rock hopped our way all the way to Point Bonita. The water was rough but manageable, and so we hit every slot and overfall we could on the way out.

Rowan was adamant about leaving his mark in the bay area and that he did. All the green gel coat you see from Horse Shoe Cove to the Point Bonita Light House was from the bottom of Rowan's Reflection. haha. That is not completely true, however he did loose his fair share on this little trick move.

Once we got to the point we were greeted by the full on Pacific swell. We took our time to scout out the Rock Garden and decided that if we got in close enough to this rock that the wave would break and we could catch a nice surf ride out of it. Well that was the idea but sometimes things are easier said than done. We both got worked by a huge whirlpool before we ever got any cool rides.

In the Video you will see more footage of me getting worked by the water. All and all it was a great time. It looked bad but felt sooo good. After a good hour session we decided to head back to Horse Shoe Cove, have lunch and get back onto the water to catch the Tide Race again and Yellow Bluff. On our way back we passed a few classes in process. We saw Eric and some of the Tsunami Rangers teaching with up and comers like Paul Kuthe and Matt Nelson. Their classes where charged up and going for it. Watching these guys shooting slots and riding overfall brought a smile to my face. I can't help but feel like there is a bright future ahead in our sport. Over the corse of the whole weekend I believe there was over 100 people who ventured out to the rocky coast outside the Golden Gate, and that is what makes GGSKS such a magical experience. Its the only place I have been where that many incredible coaches are paired up with that many gun ho students, and everyone is there to push themselves and learn. The energy around this event is electric, and for those who are on the fence about going, do yourself a favor and sign up. Even if its just for one day, SIGN UP! You will not regret it. I look forward to many trips out the bay this year, and I have my calendar marked for GGSKS 2012.

Check out Rowans Video from GGSKS