Kayak Symposium

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May 13th - 15th 2011
Vista Point Campground
Jordan Lake, Apex, NC

Join us for our 2nd annual CKC Kayaking Symposium. A weekend of on-water clinics, demonstrations, and general camaraderie for paddlers of all abilities, and with kayaks in all shapes and sizes.

Not your typical Symposium, this club event is dedicated to the fun and joy of paddling, offering an enjoyable and supportive learning environment, complete with the opportunity to connect with others who love and enjoy the sport. Whether you are just getting started or you have been on the water for years, we are planning an affordable weekend packed with fun and learning opportunities for all.

What's Included:

Wide range of On-Water Classes
Special Beginners Program
Rolling Clinics
Wide range of Off-Water Classes
Fri. night Bonfire and Dessert
Sat. night Dinner and Entertainment
Early morning Feldenkrais/Yoga
SOF/Wooden Kayak Boat Exhibit
Safety Exhibits
Gear Swap
Kayak Race
Door Prizes

You Provide:

Kayak, PFD, Paddle, Gear
Fri night Dinner, Breakfasts, Lunches
Camping Equipment (if camping)

Cost:
$50 / CKC members
Non-members must join CKC first


Symposium Events:
Full Moon Night Paddle Bonfire & Dessert Party
Morning Mist Lake Hikes, Bar-b-Que Catered Dinner
Door Prizes and Entertainment
Kayak Race for All
Roll This!
Challenge Greenland Harpoon Throwing demo
Lakeside Used Gear Sale

On-Water Skill Classes (requires pre-registration)

Introduction to Paddling Fundamentals & Foundation Stroke Refinement
Forward Stroke Workshop Balance, Bracing & Support
Turning and Maneuvering the Recreational Kayak
Turning and Boat Control Draws and Sculling
Wildlife Watching on Jordan
Kayak Racing
Kayak Navigation
Wet Exits and Self Rescues
Assisted Rescues and Towing Paddling with a Greenland Stick
Introduction to Rolling
RollingClinics

Off Water Demonstration/Classes:
Rescue Flares & Smoke Demonstration
Kayak Rolling Demo
CKC Trip Organizer Training

Special Exhibits:

First-Aid and Hypothermia Kits
Rescue Gear Exhibit
Signaling and Communications
Paddling Wear Exhibit


Instructor Bio’s

Kevin Black
Kevin spends a lot of time paddling flat water in a sea kayak on the Blue Ridge Mountain lakes around Roanoke, Virginia. Otherwise, he is trying to find time to head to the ocean for bigger water and instructing at various kayak symposiums up and down the East Coast. He is a BCU level Two coach, Four star sea paddler, ACA level four coach and has participated in several BCU five star trainings. Kevin enjoys solo trips, and his bigger ones include the coast of North Carolina; Shuyak Island, Alaska; Anglesey, Wales; the length of the Florida Keys; and many trips into the Everglades trying to get lost. For many years Kevin has taught at Symposiums at Barrier Island Kayaks, Sea Kayak Georgia, Sweetwater Kayaks, Mid-Atlantic Canoe and Kayak Festival, East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival, Down East Kayak symposium in Maine, and has helped with instruction for the Chesapeake Paddlers Association. His current favorite paddling area is the coast of North Carolina, particularly the inlets when they start to get "biggish". He is not a straight line racer or fitness paddler, but prefers to meander and "get goofy" on the water.

Bill Bremer
A long time local paddler and former symposium junkie, Bill has over the years worked with many of the top paddling coaches from both this country and from Britain. Along the way he became one of the first ever to be awarded both the BCU Three and Four Star awards while using the skinny-stick and became a BCU coach himself in 2005. For the last few years Bill has had standing invites to coach at several symposiums around the country but is best known for being the Lumpy Paddles guy with a reputation for being the country's most popular traditional paddle maker with an international following.

Thomas Duncan
Thomas began courting a relationship with kayaks in 1998 when he purchased an open tandem kayak to get him and a pile of fishing poles to the redfish at an undisclosed location on Core Banks. He soon discovered paddling itself to be at least as rewarding as fishing. A surprising change of the tide and wind on a late fall trout trip in Beaufort Inlet convinced him that getting professional instruction was the only sensible next step. Fortunately, he fell in with a group of very good paddlers orbiting Barrier Island Kayaks and it was all uphill from there. As his wallet shrank and his paddling gear and skillset grew, he discovered that Greenland-style paddles offered some very real benefits for the variety of scenarios a coastal paddler enters. For the first time he saw the paddle as an organic extension of the body rather than a mechanical tool. He's been happily paddling with the Greenland blade ever since.

Nancy Guthrie
Nancy started kayaking in 2000 and equally enjoys the excitement of whitewater and the challenges and rewards of lakes, rivers, swamps and more recently, ocean kayaking. For several years Nancy has helped with club instruction in the Carolina Canoe Club and is an instructor for Paddle Creek. She is an ACA level 4 River and Whitewater Kayak Instructor and is currently a board member with North Carolina Paddle Trails Association.

Stephen Knight
Stephen discovered kayaking back in the early 70‟s from a long forgotten outdoor sports magazine article, and found that paddling the rivers and lakes of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota complemented training for cross country ski racing. When he moved to North Carolina, Stephen realized that the lack of winters made it easy to take up bicycling at the expense of paddling. He raced over 10 years as a USCF Cat III/Masters, and successfully completed the 1200 km Paris-Brest-Brest Randonee twice. Eventually he rediscovered kayaking. First touring, where he went through the ranks as a paddler to certified sea kayak instructor (BCU and ACA). And then racing, going from participating at local races to medaling at the US Canoe Association Marathon Nationals in both Olympic and Unlimited Kayak. Stephen continues to compete while sharing his experience and passion for the sport, most recently as a coach for spinal cord injured paddlers training for sprint and marathon kayak racing through the North Carolina based Bridge2Sport ParaCanoe project. He is also a committee member of the USA Canoe and Kayak Team ParaCanoe program which trains and selects paddlers to represent the United States. Kayak sprint racing has been selected as a demonstration sport for the 2012 London Paralympic Games and a medal sport for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

Robert Smith
Robert‟s paddling life began on the rivers, swamps and ponds of Robeson County, NC. Using a paddle carved from a 2x4 of juniper he explored the local waters in a homemade, “Lumber River boat”. Eventually, his recreational pursuit became his professional pursuit. He is now the owner and operator of Watersmyth Kayaking in Wilmington, NC. The American Canoe Association has certified Robert as a Coastal Kayaking Open Water ( Level 4) Instructor. He has been professionally instructing and guiding for 8 years.

Craig Smith
Craig enjoys it all, whitewater kayaking, sea kayaking, and canoeing, day trips and overnight paddling trips. Paddling since 1997, Craig is one of the more popular guides and instructors for The Haw River Canoe & Kayak Co. Craig can also credit for instructing and helping many of our local paddlers through the Kayak Flatwater Meetup Group. Craig enjoys seeing people smile when they discover how easy it can be to learn new paddling skills. Good friends, and good days on the water are the spice of life. Craig has BCU 3* certification, as well as Level 3 ACA Coastal Kayak Instructor Certification, and he's not finished.

Jason Smith
Jay grew up at the coast in Morehead City and during his early years was frequently on the water fishing and boating. Ironically, he didn't begin paddling until after living in Raleigh for several years, buying his first kayak in 2007. Since then paddling has become one of Jay's primary activities for recreation and fitness and he is now paddling multi-day trips, and even participating in WaterTribe Adventure Races. Living now in Wake Forest, Jay can often be found on Falls lake and he hopes to complete a goal of paddling the entire shoreline by this spring. With family still living at the coast he also paddles at the coast frequently throughout the year. Jay has his BCU3* certification, and is the current Vice President of the Carolina Kayak Club. He is a regular club volunteer and is always willing to help others with rescue practice and mentoring skills. He's also a pretty good roller with the Greenland stick.

Dawn Stewart
Dawn began kayaking 26 years ago with white water, but paddling didn't become a passion until she discovered flat water and ocean kayaking in 1995. Her primary interests are in kayak camping, expedition ocean kayaking, and kayak sailing. Dawn paddles both an expedition sea kayak and an expedition sea canoe (Kruger Canoe), but has a boat house (garage) filled with various kayaks, and is currently building a skin-on-frame Greenland kayak, and wooden sea kayak kit.
Dawn has developed an international following as a paddling blogger on www.sandybottomkayaker.blogspot.com , where she posts about her extreme kayak adventure races, which have included seven 300 mile WaterTribe Everglades Challenges, the 1200 mile WaterTribe Ultimate Florida Challenge, and the 340 mile Missouri River 340 Race. Dawn has BCU 4*, and Level 3 ACA Coastal Kayak Instructor certifications, and has taught and guided in the past for Rock Rest Adventures, Get Outdoors, and Paddle Creek.

Joe Strain
Since 1973 Joe Strain has been kayaking from the northern coast of Quebec to the Everglades. While in New England, he taught Class II-IV whitewater as an AMC Class IV senior leader. Through his own sea kayak touring business he taught and led multi-day trips into the Boston Harbor, Cape Ann/Rockport and off the coast of Maine. His teaching experience also includes years as a downhill, cross country and telemark skiing instructor and a PADI Master Scuba instructor. In addition he was an EMT in Boston and held a 500-ton Masters license. He is also experienced in building fiberglass whitewater boats, stitch and glue and skin on frame kayaks. For the last ten years Joe has been interested in movement education and rehabilitation. He currently works as a Feldenkrais practitioner and teaches Tai Chi for Balance at the Duke Center for Living.

Ryan Taro
Ryan Taro is passionate about sharing the sport of kayaking. He was introduced to kayaking in a canoeing class 6 years ago, where the instructor announced that he didn‟t like paddling canoes (it turns out he was a whitewater kayak guide in his past life); and that the class was going to paddle kayaks. In that class, Ryan learned two very important lessons: 1) kayaks were a lot of fun and 2) starting out with good, safe, instruction is paramount to realizing a sport‟s full potential.
Since that beginning, Ryan‟s love of the water and the joys had while sailing, surfing, and kayaking have pushed him to pass along his knowledge to others. He volunteers his time with the Cape Fear Paddlers Association, holding positions as the club‟s President and Vice-President over the years and currently maintaining their web presence; the City of Wilmington Parks and Recreation, teaching basic kayak safety and rescue; and has volunteered with the various kayak outfitters around Wilmington, NC to assist in their coaching needs. A native North Carolinian currently residing in Wilmington, NC, Ryan is an ACA Open Water Sea Kayak instructor and can typically be found plying the waters around Wilmington, Wrightsville and Carolina Beaches by sea kayak, surfboard, or sail boat.

Jesse Tate
Jesse paddled a borrowed kayak in 2002 and was amazed at the "glide" through the water. Jesse bought his first boat in 2005 and began paddling as a complement/alternative to cycling ("just knew kayaking was an upper body exercise - first big misconception about the sport!"). Started doing distance paddling on area lakes and then realized one day there was a lot more to learn so Jesse took his first ACA lesson in late '05. He remembers it well. First lesson of the two day training session - turn over and wet exit! Since that time Jesse has attended several symposiums and training sessions learning from some of the best paddlers in the world and would like to share that knowledge with anyone he meets on the water who is interested in learning more about this great sport. Jesse holds an ACA L3 certification and the former BCU 3 star and plans to test for the current BCU 3 star in the fall.

Ginger Travis:
Ginger got her first Peterson‟s Field Guide to the Birds at age 9 and has been a nature lover all her life. (She spends part of every single day outdoors.) She bought her first kayak in 1998 and started using it to do spring bird counts on Jordan Lake. She writes about birding and paddling for Community Sports News, a free paper distributed in Durham and Chapel Hill.
Ginger has picked up useful rescue, stroke, and navigational skills at the annual Barrier Island Kayaks symposium and at the Wed. night CKC get-togethers at Jordan Lake; she welcomes the chance to pass on what she was taught and to learn some more at the CKC symposium. She paddles with a Greenland stick and has built two skin-on-frame kayaks in classes with Brian Schulz. She's fulfilling her goal to do a lot more kayak camping (and eagle watching) with trips in 2011 to the Ten Thousand Islands (Everglades National Park) and camping platforms on the Cashie River in eastern NC. So many beautiful places, so many beautiful boats, so little time!

Fern & Don White
Fern and Don began kayaking about 15 years ago, in the open waters of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine, and have taken their passion to share in the Carolinas.
Both Fern and Don instruct groups, kayak clubs, and private lessons of all type, both euro blade and Greenland Style. Don & Fern developed a proven methodology of teaching students how to roll which has been met with great success, among other elements, such as navigation, boat repair, and safety.
Don attained his ACA Instructor L3 award last year and will be working towards his ACA L4 with Roger Shumann and Scott Szczepaniak. Fern has been awarded her ACA Instructor L3 with continuance (hopefully completed next month!) from Tom Nickels. She has kayaked in locals from Maine to Florida and British Columbia.
They share their passion and knowledge easily and have developed a kayaker‟s resource website for their area: www.WannaKayak.com.