by Lori Moffitt
I had been eagerly anticipating the Paddling Rendezvous 2012 as every GLSKA member whom I had met had recommended the event. It lived up to the built up expectation as it was a well organized and fun weekend.
The venue and surrounding paddling grounds were fantastic and the weather was excellent for most of the weekend. From the numerous and easy-to-spot signs on the road to the well laid out camping site, with the numerous porta-potties, food tent and the picnic table circle, I realized how much attention to detail and effort had been put forth to ensure we all enjoyed an excellent weekend.
The organization extended to the entertainment. Greg Mason was inspirational in explaining the Biosphere designation, the area it encompassed, and how each of us can play a role in its preservation. I can still remember the goose bumps on my arms when Native Grandmother, Faith Pegahmagabon or “Red Bird Lady,” told us stories about how the women of the community were responsible for looking after the water and especially her beautiful haunting song. On the lighter side, the singer, Richard Knectel, was hilarious. He had us all skipping, peddling imaginary bicycles, hula-hooping, singing, and playing silly instruments. I remember looking around our circle and seeing how everyone was howling with laughter.
The little details like name tags, especially for us first timers, were a great touch. It made socializing and reacquainting ourselves with fellow paddlers so much easier. I met a lot of fantastic people whom I look forward to paddling with.
The practice groups and the trips were also well described. I was able to choose an excellent paddling clinic where my instructor, Sam, explained the perfect forward stroke.
On one of the many kayaking trips offered that afternoon, I was practising that stroke and was ahead of our group. I could hear something about a fox; I slowed down and turned around expecting to see a cute furry little fox. Apparently, my husband Scott had also listened to Greg Mason, the Biosphere expert, talk about the indignant Fox snake which is quite the swimmer and is known to sometimes swim over the front of a kayak. The snake and he were on a collision course and Scott was not too freaked out until the snake decided to swim over the lowest spot on the kayak, hesitating at the skirt and then slinking over the back of his kayak. One of the funniest of the many comments was, “And that is the third best reason to wear a skirt.” We stopped to have a snack relaxing in the sun by the lighthouse before paddling back to the awesome Potluck dinner.
One of the many highlights was the Water Olympics. I was placed on one of the teams and we had to decide who was going to participate in which events. It was a great way to meet more people and bond in a team building experience. There was much laughing and splashing and good natured competitive spirit. I wasn’t on the team that won the magical and much fought over prize flashlights but I had plenty of fun. I was that girl who paddled in the shorts-off / shorts-on competition who in celebration of my victory stopped paddling to shake my butt above the gunnels revealing that indeed I had my shorts back on only to realize the finish line was still a long ways ahead. I managed to paddle even more frantically to gain speed and managed cross the finish line still in first place. Heart pounding good fun!
I look forward to more kayaking, drinking wine on the beach, laughing, and just kicking back and have fun with my fellow GLSKA members. See you all the next Rendezvous!