I arrived early hoping to get in a nice warm-up paddle. Nothing went right. It seemed that Id completely forgotten how to paddle. I'd been watching stroke and bracing videos so my head was probably just cluttered up. Eventually my skills returned to me--both of them. Later I did manage to fall flat on my face in the water climbing out of the cockpit at the beach-so maybe only 1 1/2 had returned.

Jenn Started us off with edging, making us leave our paddles on shore. Almost immediately I capsized. Meri was nearby and quickly rescued me commenting that I was spry. (three months to 50 and already Im spry? & I thought I had ten more years before 'spry.') Next we worked on low braces, which I was sure I already had. I had some kind of brace, but it was not anything acceptable outside a bathtub.

Let's see what was next? The high brace and all the things to avoid.

Side sculling and paddling backwards to build up the seven small muscles that keep your shoulders from popping like a Barbie's arms in the hands of a hyperactive little brother.

We dodged in and out of the boat traffic. No one except the largest grandmother on the sail board was having as much fun as our group. (Grandma went over and got back up and went over and got back up, smiling the whole time.)

We backwards paddled to beach for lunch.

After lunch we played Stinky Fish at which I think I had the advantage for two reasons,

1. I know how to fix holes in my yak so I could be reckless and

2. I've spent a lot of time with Labrador & Flat-Coated Retrievers so chasing after a pointless objects in the water has become second nature to me.

By this point Meri had rescued me twice more. A stable kayak and an unstable mind is a wash, a lot of washing.

Next Jenn turned up the magic. Side sculling. In turn she had each of us laying back and on the water side sculling like Greenland cultural holiday performance. When we were doing it correctly she'd let go of our yak. The magic part for me was finally seeing that it really is an art. When I did it correctly it was effortless. I flipped my hip and came right back up. Jenn said I did it by myself. We'd prepaid so there was no reason to flatter us.

On the spot several of us swore a blood oath to travel to San Diego to take a rolling class with her. The others were out in the channel practicing rolls on their own, freaking out the beach clutter-er-the sun bathers.

There was more, but what a day! 9 am to 3 pm. I felt ready to take on the Aleutian Islands.

WILL
or 771M (if you read my PFD)