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Feature
Telling Your Story
By Christopher Cunningham
Editor
We love hearing from Sea Kayaker readers who want to write about their adventures. Our Journey articles come from kayakers all over the world and of all abilities. The stories don’t have to be about epic voyages, they just have to transport our readers to a place they might only see though the eyes of another. Frequently the impulse to write about a kayaking trip comes as an afterthought, and the words only start going on paper when the kayaks are back in the garage and the camping gear is hanging up to dry. When you have to draw on memory to describe a scene you may discover that the mental images are faded and the details are clouded over. The best time to start writing (when practical) is when the events are unfolding before you. Keeping a waterproof notebook and a pencil on deck allows you to do that. Armed to record your impressions, you just need to take in your surroundings.
Click here to read more
Northwest Paddling Festival, Seattle, WA
Update May 2011
By Paul Riek
Date: June 25 and 26, 2011. Registration Open
Location: Jack Block Park and Seacrest Park
The Northwest Paddling Festival is a new event in the Seattle area for sea kayaking and stand up paddleboarding. This inaugural festival will be held on the shores of Elliott Bay at Jack Block Park and Seacrest Park in West Seattle. The Northwest Paddling Festival will showcase on-water demonstrations, on-water instruction, a race, classroom lectures and music. The location has a stunning view of downtown Seattle and has ready access to the nightlife of both downtown Seattle and Alki Beach.
Jack Block Park, owned by the Port of Seattle, encompasses 15 landscaped acres with shoreline access and elevated viewpoints of Seattle’s harbor and skyline. The port property was formerly the site of a wood treatment facility that was designated a Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Following years of restoration by the Port of Seattle, the EPA has approved the site suitable for public access. The beach opening will coincide with the opening of the paddling festival.
Jack Block Park offers a great beach area for paid festival attendees to try kayaks and stand up paddleboards from selected paddlesports manufacturers. Paid attendees will also have access to classroom presentations and on-water classes. The general public, along with festival attendees, will also be able to watch on-water demonstrations and browse and purchase from vendors on the promenade.
Seacrest Park and Marina is the home of the King County Water Taxi, which links the downtown and West Seattle waterfronts. The marina is also a Seattle Parks and Recreation facility, run as a concession by Alki Crab and Fish and Alki Kayak Tours. It has a pier for viewing paddling demonstrations as well as a restaurant with indoor lounge and outdoor beer garden. Alki Crab and Fish will provide an evening venue for festivities, as well as the base for stand up paddleboarding manufacturers and enthusiasts.
Whether you’re a beginning or expert paddler or looking to introduce someone to sea kayaking or stand up paddleboarding, the Northwest Paddling Festival is the place to be to get started for a summer on the water.
Video-“Surfing the Shore Break with Touring Kayaks”
by Gregg Berman
New Technique Videos on the SK Website!
Please visit the "Free Resources" section of our website and click on "Links" to see a list of videos that relate to articles. We recently put up two videos from Gregg Berman's series on Surfing a Sea Kayak, one on surfing the shore break, and another on surfing boat wakes.
Whenever possible we try to obtain videos to accompany Technique articles. Seeing a body in motion can often usher in the "Aha!" moment that text and photos can't do justice to. Have a look and let us know what you think! View Videos.
Sea Kayaker Store
June 2011 Issue
A Remembrance: Traditional Kayak Historian, John Brand
by Harvey Golden
Beaches, Bridges, and Backwaters: Paddling Bridgeport, Connecticut by Carol A. Mihelik
Circumnavigation: Around Great Britain in 80 Days by Marcus Demuth with Joe Glickman
Technique: Surfing Ocean Waves with Touring Kayaks by Gregg Berman
Gear Review: Modern Paddles with Old-Fashioned Wood:
Just Another Pretty Face?
Review by Roger Schumann
Essay: One Plus One Equals Three by Terry Harper
Kayak Reviews:
Infinity by Current Designs
Xplore by Tiderace Sea Kayaks
This issue is currently available on the newsstands or from Sea Kayaker in print or digital (PDF).
Das Kayak
We don't hesitate to test drive a car before we buy. It is an expensive purchase.
It's also a good idea when you're thinking about purchasing a kayak.
Decide what type of paddling you want to do, talk to your local kayak shop then paddle those models.
Sea Kayaker magazine offers PDFs of kayak reviews from 2006 through 2011.
Please visit Seakayakermag.com/Online Store for kayak reviews available in print since 1984
and in PDF format starting with 2006!
(Some reviews available as photo copies only for out-of-stock issues.)
Spring yard work is close at hand. Before it claims precious free time, take time to prepare your gear for paddling.
Use the gear checklist at seakayakermag.com
Happy Paddling!
Visit Seakayakermag.com/Online Store to order subscriptions, books, DVDS and other products online. Or order by phone 206.789.9536; fax 206.781.1141 or mail to PO Box 17029, Seattle, WA 98127
(Email orders not accepted)
Across the U.S. there are countless campaigns to raise funds for YMCA, Partners with Youth Campaigns, but none I'm aware of involve a kayaker. Alex Okerman is a friend and YAS Case Manager who plans to best last year's campaign of 38 miles and $1200.00 dollars to 85 miles and $2000.00 in the San Juan Islands, Washington.
From June 2nd to June 6th, Alex Okerman will attempt a solo circumnavigation of the San Juan Island Archipelago in Washington State to raise money for the Y’s annual Partners With Youth (PWY) campaign. 
The money raised will go towards an array of Y programs that strengthen the Seattle community by providing housing for homeless young adults, intervention and counseling for teens in crisis, and child care for children of low-income families, to name a few.
The trip will encounter strong currents, stretches of impenetrable coast line, wildlife, and large open water crossings. To learn more about the trip you can click here and to contribute to the PWY campaign click here
More Info
Don’t miss out!
Take the 2011-2013 Sea Kayaker Magazine
Readers Choice Awards Survey
Survey ends at 5:00 PM PST 5/31/2011!
Have you taken our Readers Choice Awards Survey yet? Complete the online survey and enter to win the prize. And what a prize!
A Kokatat GORE-TEX® Meridian Dry Suit and
Kokatat PFD of your choice
for you and your paddling partner —
2 dry suits and 2 PFDs Total!
The survey can be found on our website. The code required to open the survey is published in  the Readers Choice Awards ad in Sea Kayaker magazine. We ask that only readers of the magazine fill out the survey. Circulating the code without the magazine is prohibited and survey entries submitted as a result will be disqualified.
We only ask that you get the code from the magazine whether you subscribe to it, buy it at a newsstand or borrow it from a friend or library. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping the selection process fair.
The Readers Choice Awards will be presented on June 25, 2011 at a special ceremony here in Seattle, Washington at the Northwest Paddling Festival, a new event co-presented by Sea Kayaker magazine.
East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival: a great success
By Paul Riek
This past April 15, 16 & 17 I was in Charleston, SC attending the East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival. We’ve been a sponsor of the event for several years. This year we hosted the first annual Sea Kayaker magazine Poker Run in Charleston. While poker runs have been around for years, to the best of my knowledge this is new to the paddlesports community.
I’m very pleased to announce that everyone involved had a great time. As seen in the photo below, we had an ever increasing crowd throughout the weekend and many of the people involved stuck around through the end of the event specifically to see how their own hands panned out against the other players.
 A special thanks goes out to the sponsors of this program: Suspenz Kayak Storage, Werner Paddles, Bending Branches and Mitchell Paddles. We are looking forward to this event next year.
The East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival is one of my favorite events to attend on my annual circuit of paddlesports gatherings around the country. If you’ve not made the trip before, plan on visiting the East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival in the future. The event and the city of Charleston won’t disappoint you.
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