In March 2009 I joined the esteemed ranks of Team P&H.

A British sea kayak manufacturer, P&H have been building custom sea kayaks since the early 70’s. They are part of the Pyranha company which includes the famous whitewater range of kayaks as well as Venture touring & recreational kayaks and FeelFree recreational kayaks & sit-on-tops. Whilst I am a team paddler and not a sales rep for Pyranha, I will be helping the west coast rep, Jamie Klein who is based in the Pacific Northwest by keeping a selection of kayaks down here in the Bay Area of CA and taking them to various events.

I am really excited to be working with P&H. The build quality of their kayaks is unsurpassed and they have some great designs. I hope to contribute as much as I can to developing new products and growing the business on the west coast and around the world.

photo courtesy of Dominick Lemarie www.stormick.smugmug.com

The inaugural Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium was blessed with almost perfect weather and sea conditions. Temperatures in the mid 60’s F, light winds, a small but solid long interval ground swell and big ebb tides in the afternoon ensured there were ideal conditions for almost everyone. I say almost because the BCU 5star assessment crew were unable to find the really testing conditions they needed but for everyone else and especially for me as Safety Officer it was the perfect conditions for a first time event.

What was gratifying to me was that so many people were willing to put their faith in us as organizers of a new event and this included the coaches who dedicated their time and the participants who parted with hard earned cash in advance to enable the event happen. Whilst the symposium concept was mine, it was Jen Kleck from Aqua Adventures in San Diego who encouraged and guided me through the planning process and helped promote the event. But the person who actually made the event possible was Matt Palmariello who put in many hours on the computer updating the website, answering emails and putting together class schedules and rosters and he deserves all the credit for the way this first-time event went ahead so smoothly.

I also want to thank a few other folk:

Bob Licht and Steve Hayward from Sea Trek Ocean Kayaking Center in Sausalito who donated the use of a truck and trailer and crucially, their rescue skiff, skippered by Bob’s son Jared whose expertise and professionalism impressed everyone.

photo courtesy of Dominick Lemarie www.stormick.smugmug.com

Keith Miller, President of CCK California Canoe and Kayak. Keith donated one of his lead instructors, Bryant Burkhardt who helped by leading several classes over the weekend.

Garth Schmeck (Captain Penguin) from Penguin Paddlers who donated his time and brought down some beautiful P&H kayaks for folk to try and whose energy and generosity both on and off the water helped make the event a success.

I also want to thank the several local paddlers who gave up their time to act as safety boaters and share their local knowledge with visiting instructors.

Finally I want to thank all the coaches and instructors who supported the event and you can be assured that you are all invited back next year, THE DATES FOR WHICH HAVE ALREADY BEEN SET – January 29/30/31st 2010.

Keep checking www.ggsks.com for the latest updates.

In December 2008 I left Valley to focus on my other lines including Kokatat and to concentrate my territory to ‘just’ California, Nevada and Arizona. Have you any idea just how big that is?!

Valley have been great to work for and I have set them up with a comprehensive network of dealers up and down the west coast. But it was time to hand the role to Rob Avery of KayakKraft who had been helping me cover the vast west coast territory during the last couple of years. Rob’s kids have left home and he has more time to put into this demanding job. He is detail orientated, a fine paddler and an excellent instructor. I know he will do a great job for Valley and provide excellent support to his dealers. 

If you need to contact the west coast sales representative for Valley Sea Kayaks then talk to Rob:

rob@kayakkraft.com

cell: 206-661-3745