My opportunity to take the assessment for the surf award come today. Nigel Foster was still in town from the Southwest Kayak Symposium, so Aqua Adventures made arrangements for him to do the surf assessment. Nigel has a reputation for being a demanding assessor, but nonetheless, I was confident and glad for the opportunity.

Assessing with me were Jen Kleck, Greg Knight and Jeff Laxier, all instructors at Aqua Adventures and avid surf kayakers. Assessing with them was a bit intimating, because I was the weakest paddler, a situation I don't run into very often.

With the fog this morning, things started a bit late, but it gave me a chance to talk to Nigel for a while, and I found that he is a very nice man and even a bit shy.

To cut to the chase, I failed the assessment. Nigel said that my bottom turns, and climbing and dropping weren't done with enough precision for the 4 star level. I thought I was doing pretty good for the small and poor surf conditions we had, but when pursuing accolades based on assessments, it is necessary to accept both failures and passes.

I do have to admit that when surfing, I am more of a cruiser than a carver. I didn't realize how much carving turns was going to be emphasized on the assessment. I can carve turns, but I've been doing it more to stay in a good position on a wave or to get out of trouble rather than as a trick. I will practice carving turns more and will definitely take the surf assessment again the next time the opportunity arises. I also look forward to doing the BCU 5 star sea training later this month in San Francisco.

Congratulations to Jen, Greg and Jeff for passing the assessment!

Duane