Here is a video by Alex Matthews. Thanks for sharing Alex!

Alex Matthews Sea Kayaking San Francisco 2012 from Alex Matthews on Vimeo.

Dominick Lemarie

Those of you who attended GGSKS 2012 will have seen Dominick Lemarie shooting from on land and on and even in the water.

His work is now available for viewing and purchasing at: Dominick Lemarie Photography.

Please support Dominick’s work as one of the leading paddlesports photographers in the world by buying your favorite(s).

Photo by Dominick Lemarie

Thanks to Sea Kayaker Magazine, we have a fascinating program for Saturday evening at GGSKS 2012.

VENUE: Bayside Elementary School, 630 Nevada St, Sausalito, CA 94965

Map for Bayside Elementary School

 DATE: Saturday February 18th 2012

TIME: Doors open at 7.00pm

COST: Free to Symposium attendees, $10 at the door for everyone else.

PROGRAM:

• 7.00pm    Doors open, raffle tickets and books available for sale
• 7.20pm    Tribute to Eric Soares
• 7.30pm    Karen Carlson, Boater Outreach Specialist, Seabird Protection Network, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
• 7.45pm    Tracy Corbin, Membership Coordinator, San Francisco Baykeeper
• 8.00pm    Jon Turk. Presented by Sea Kayaker magazine
• 9.30pm    GGSKS raffle in support of the Marine Mammal Center. Top prize: P&H Delphin Surf!

Steve Wilson rocks!

Steve Wilson has been singing since he could talk. One of his earliest memories is of his father spinning 45’s of “The Big Rock Candy Mountain” with a toy spinning in the middle of the turntable. His mother was tolerant of his singing but not his non-stop whistling. Steve picked up the guitar at nine following in his older brothers footsteps. The sixties came along full of music and poetry, ripe for a young want to be songwriter. Steve met his wife (Alice) 35 years ago, sweeping her off her feet with a song. These days Steve performs all around Southern California.

Steve started sea kayaking in 1999. Steve could not let a single wave go when surfing (even if it was a big shore break). The Ocean soon gave Steve his first good lesson (big shore break bad/ kayak repair easy). He’s been called “Hull Cracker” ever since. Steve enjoys all aspects of sea kayaking.

Steve once paddled 26 hours without landing or sleeping, accompanying paddling buddy (Duane Strosaker) on  75 nautical miles of his epic 101 mile/ 36 hour paddle. Steve has circumnavigated three of the Channel Islands. Catalina is his favorite destination. Steve has circumnavigated Catalina 4 times and made the crossing ten times. Steve can be found up and down the coast of Southern California, from San Diego to Gaviota, playing with his friends in the surf, rock gardens, and running the coast.

Steve will be performing songs from his first CD, appropriately named “Hull-Cracker” and they will be available to buy.

Click here view a video of Steve performing Last Rider at the Buffalo Inn.

• 2nd session of Advanced Boat Control Master Class ADDED on Friday, Feb 17
• 2nd session of Advanced Rock Gardening ADDED Sunday, Feb 19
• Bay Journey REMOVED on Friday, Feb 17
• BCU 3* Assessment REMOVED on Sunday, Feb 19

Small group sizes for 2012

If you’ve attended GGSKS in the past, you know that some classes are more popular than others.  Sometimes classes fill because of the subject matter, other times because of the coach(es) leading the class.   In the past, rosters for popular classes have grown large, sometimes up to 25 people signed up for one class.  The large classes met in the morning with an appropriate number of coaches and were split up into smaller groups.  While this worked well, it did present one major problem – many students would not get the chance to work with the named coaches for that class.  If you signed up for rock gardening with Martha Stewart, then the class got split up and you ended up working with someone else, you might be disappointed and for good reason.

This year will be different.  Every class has been designated with a maximum number of students ranging from 8-12.  When that number is reached, that class is full and registration for it closes.  If the class is popular, and the venue allows, a second session of the class will be opened with a different set of instructors.  We’re trying this system for one reason – to improve the student experience at GGSKS.  Your feedback made it clear that although the topic of the class is very important, so is the person teaching the class and it’s a letdown when you don’t get to work with that named person.

This new system is not perfect, but it is fair.  The earlier you sign up, the more likely you are to get the classes and coaches you desire.  When you arrive to your classes, you’ll notice the difference in class size and hopefully it will be an improvement from years past.  The new system will also eliminate the need to spend precious time breaking classes down into smaller groups.

Happy New Year – See you in February!

Author of ‘Cold Oceans’, ‘In The Wake of the Jomon’ and ’The Raven’s Gift’, kayaker, adventurer and scientist

Jon Turk, Ph.D will be our keynote speaker on Saturday evening at GGSKS 2012.

National Geographic has nominated fellow adventurer Erik Boomer and Jon Turk

as one of the Top Ten Adventurers of 2012 for their truly epic first circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island in 2011.

Here is what Jon says about his life:

“For almost forty years I have wandered through exotic and remote landscapes and returned to write and speak about my adventures, the people, and the environments that I have been lucky enough to encounter.

Gordon runs Skyak Adventures on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. He is the author of the ‘Sea Kayak – A Manual for Intermediate & Advanced Sea Kayakers’ and he produced two DVD’s. Here is the trailer for Vol. 1:

Gordon will be teaching all three days of the symposium and running a BCU 5 Star Training during the following week.

Thanks to Valley Sea Kayaks’ west coast sales rep Rob Avery of Active Paddles we are able to offer a FREE copy of Gordon’s DVD Vol.1 to the first 50 people who register for GGSKS 2012.

So get your registration in soon to secure your copy and your first choice in classes.

Matt and I want to thank those participants and instructors that provided feedback on this year’s Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium. We are taking all of your views into consideration as we plan for 2012. It is no easy task as there are so many contradictory opinions and great ideas; some that we will implement and some that are just too cost prohibitive, but we felt it important to respond now to your feedback and give you an idea of where we are going with GGSKS 2012. 

• We are striving to find the balance between quality and cost, providing the best value for money to you as participants and seeking to enhance your learning and enjoyment.
• We shall continue to use the Marin Headlands Hostel for accommodation. There really is no affordable alternative and whilst there are certainly issues that we are all to aware of; squeaky mattresses and snoring to name two, we believe the sense of community that the Hostel generates is a unique and quintessential aspect of the symposium.
• We know that we have to continue to improve the quality and choice of food available whilst keeping within budget. We will do our best to cater to those that have specific dietary needs but we also have to be realistic in the degree to which we can hope to please everyone. We shall endeavor to keep to the mantra – Fresh is Best!
• We know that large class sizes and the method used to breakdown large classes into smaller groups is a perennial issue and we shall employ new tactics next year to ensure that we adhere to a strict ratio of students to instructors that reflects the nature of the class and the conditions that are likely to be experienced.
• We know that some participants choose their classes based on who is teaching the class rather than what is being taught. We always select our instructors carefully and are confident in their ability to teach to the required standard and keep you safe. However, we recognize the desire to seek out particular instructors and we will do our best to publicize well ahead of time the name(s) of the lead instructor(s) for each class and ensure that these do not change, subject to circumstances beyond our control.
• We recognize the need to provide sufficiently detailed descriptions of each class to enable participants to choose wisely based on their needs and current skill levels. It is very important that the right students end up in the right classes to ensure that everyone gains maximum benefit and enjoyment from the classes. We will do what we can to ensure you have the necessary information and ask you to contact us if you need clarification or advice.