Ahhh, Sunday. One more late morning class and we are are on the road again. 6 hours through bear country! (well, at least that’s what the signs say) Yesterday was a good day at the symposium. I had a “bracing and hip-snaps” class in the morning. Often times a class on bracing has as much if not more to do with confidence than it does with skill. The skills are in fact, simple. Having the confidence to trust the braces is another thing. In time you come to do it without a thought. The water is happy to help you stay up.

With confidence building in mind I was able to Join Kelly Blades for another of his, “kayak fun” classes which one guy described as an on water “kegger”. Above you can see me getting set up for a chariot race. Instructors ALWAYS ride!! The Kayak fun class may seem like total madness but there is an insidious undercurrent of a plan. By the end of the class, if all goes well you have a group of people who could careless if they fall over. (see paragraph 1.)

One interesting observation. I think maybe, just maybe, the loonies are taking over . . This year there seems to be a certain edge of silliness going on. There is a lesson flowing through a group of instructors that says, this is kayaking. . . we do it for fun. . . we’re not hunting seals. . . Certainly we need to have the skills we need to be safe out there, but on the other hand learning can be fun. And it bloody well should be too.

More pictures have been added to the ISS Gallery.