Am finally recovered and rested from an incredible weekend of teaching and paddling up at the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium last weekend.  With weather that was anything but sunny and warm we had a chance to introduce participants to wind, waves, and paddling in the cold and damp.  The results were fantastic as personal comfort zones were pushed and skills that can only be taught in these conditions were learned.  Saturdays surf and wind paddling classes were so rewarding for both participants and instructors and the grin factor was off the charts!!!

I was finally able to see the west and north side of Grand Island, as our trip on Friday pushed through some interesting conditions and distances to be rewarded with views of the cliffs most don't see.  The cold, fog and reflective waves made the paddle that much more complex.  My group earned their beverage of choice that evening.

Saturday night's live music brought out the happy feet in the crowd and allowed for complete celebration of a day of great paddling.  Sorry I can't recall the name of the band but they are from Kalamazoo and played Irish or celtic traditionals blended into modern rock for a groove that was easy to stomp, hop, twirl and groove to.

Of course on Sunday the sun appeared, but for whatever reason(tired arms and legs??), many students didn't so a large group of us instructors who rarely get to paddle together for fun took advantage of the opportunity to get outside the harbor and play in the surf by the pier.  Two hours of great fun and pretty technical conditions used up any energy I had left.  As is always the case, it was difficult to load up and leave.

There was much gossip on the state of this symposium as the GLSKA club passed management over to the great folks at Downwind Sports out of Marquette.  Unless I completely mis-read the intentions of most of my fellow instructors and the energy from the participants, this symposium will be back again next season after what should be a seamless transition.  Don't miss this one next year.  There can be few spots on earth as well suited for a kayak syposium as Grand Marais.  Great trip options, great learning environment, and a community that loves it's paddling guests.  See you there!!!

Lots of things make for a great class.  Weather, lesson content, and especially willing and enthusiastic students.  It was a trifecta on Thursday, July 9th  in our first Open Water class of the summer.  This was the third class for Kathleen, Phil and Leslie and it has been a pleasure to watch them progess. 

They started kayaking in big stable recreational boats, plying the beautiful Flat River and found a love for the sport.  They came to Adventures to gain a few skills and some safety information and to see what else was "out there" for them.  They found they wanted boats that were easier to paddle in all environments, and to explore beyond the Flat.  After boat upgrades, more trips on local lakes and rivers, and an Advanced class earlier this year we got them out to the big lake as preparation for a trip to the LesChenaux Islands they have planned later this summer.

We took care of "emergencies" on the big lake while paddling  a mile off-shore,  navigated to the perfect lunch spot, controlled our boats through the mass of humanity that was enjoying Duck Lake's outlet to Lake Michigan, and added in some technical new strokes with great success.  They are all so solid and confident in their boats and have come so far from those first days in class!!  Congrats guys.

What started as a love for paddling has become a love of kayaking for these three.  Come learn with us and see where a kayak will take you!  See  the pictures of this amazing day on our Photo Gallery!

Took a quick trip up to Bayfield, WI, launching spot for the Apostle Islands National Park, to participate in an American Canoe Association Instructors update.  I joined 37 other certified instructors in a two-day program which included a nice mix of technique and coaching method learning.  Under the techniqe umbrella, there is a new tool to use in teaching sweep strokes and an updated method for teaching braces.  I had seen the bracing method at our West Michigan Symposium last year, as it was developed by our guest speakers Leon and Shauna!  It impressed us then and now seems to be favored by many others as well.

As for coaching, it is surprising how much talking some of us do in relation to demonstrating!  I think our staff at Adventures does pay attention to this, but it's an important detail to keep in mind.  Listening vs. participating just doesn't work for many students!

The course was held at Living Adventures, the greatest outfitter for your Apostle Island trips!  Go see Gail and her wonderful team and explore one of the Mid-West's premeir sea kayaking destinations!

Bottom line, I was able to learn and share ideas with a large group of talented instructors from all over the region and brought it all back to share with you!  See you on the water! 

ps.  Many Thanks to fellow instructor Lara for her efforts in recovering my camera, which went to the bottom of Superior in about 15 FOW.  Thanks Thanks Thanks!

I was updating my list of weather sites and thought I'd share some of the less obvious ones.  The NOAA sites for wind and wave forecasts are pretty cool.  I use these to isolate when and where there might be good kayak surfing conditions but they would be useful to any level of kayaker in or around the Great Lakes.  If you've got a favorite weather site we'd love to have you share it.

General Conditions on Lake Michigan near Grand Haven:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=grr&product=nsh&issuedby=grr

NOAA Wave Forecasts for all five Great Lakes:

http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/glcfs.php?lake=l&ext=wv&type=F&hr=01

NOAA Wind Forecasts for all five Great Lakes:

http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/glcfs.php?lake=l&ext=wn&type=F&hr=00

Green Grand Rapids has released the results of their study on improving the river downtown for kayaking. 

Click Here for the Study (give it time to load) and let's hope there's enough support and the funding can be secured to make it happen.

I have always wanted to offer trips through downtown both during the day for the architecture, and at night for the lights.  However, the portage sucks and the 5 small retention dams are a serious hazard to most paddlers.  Both of these issues are addressed in the study!