Friends Across the Border: Annual Task Symposium

Oct0ber-November 1995

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

Survival means we must step lightly on the Earth

by Alan Wilson

I had the good fortune to be able to attend this year's Annual West Coast Kayak Symposium at Port Townsend Washington in mid-September put on by the Trade Association of Sea Kayaking (TASK). Along with a thousand others, I enjoyed a rich weekend of education, networking, and fun in the beautiful environment of the Olympic Peninsula.

Like many Canadians, I have a weird mix of feelings towards our neighbours south of the border, due mostly to the bizarre parade of power and problems we are shown through the media. But one thing stands out to any visitor to the States: a warmth and openness which is quite disarming -- and very refreshing in comparison to what can sometimes seem like aloof indifference in some places north of the border.

As an organizer of our own Kayak Festival now for several years, I have to hand it to the Symposium organizing committee -- this was an impressive, tightly run event. It was a marvellous opportunity to see the products and services of all the main players in the kayaking industry, to try out new boats, plan a winter vacation, and get some great bargains.

Canadian manufacturers were much in evidence at the Symposium. Current Designs, Nimbus/Rainforest Designs, Necky Kayaks, Feathercraft, Aqua-Bound, and Seaward Kayaks, were all displayed along the beach, side-by-side with the major US manufacturers.

A number of times I overheard comments among the crowd on the beach such as, "What great boats the Canadians have."

Canadian rental and touring companies included Ecomarine, the Kayak Institute, Sea Otter Kayaking, Comox Valley Kayaks, and Powell River Sea Kayaking. It was nice to see that the BC coastline is obviously as much prized for trips by our neighbours as their own San Juans, intricate waterways of Puget Sound, and amazing Alaskan coast.

There was a full schedule of on-shore workshops as in past years, including Canadians instructors David Blacoe, Kirby Stevens, Derek Endress of Cloudberry Adventures, and Mike Neckar of Necky Kayaks, in Abbotsford. I especially enjoyed watching Brian Henry of Current Designs in Sidney put on a great demonstration of strokes and turns to the crowds on the beach Saturday. And Rick Holmes of Parks Canada had a display.

Friday night's entertainment included a slideshow by fellow Gulf Islanders Maria Coffey and Dag Goering on their humorous exploits paddling down the River Ganges in India.

I really felt quite at home, in part due to all these friends and colleagues, but mainly because paddlers are much the same anywhere -- a great group of people devoted to the preservation of our paddling environment, freely sharing what they know to ensure the safety of others.

Thanks to Symposium Chairperson Bob Schoonmaker and hard-working Registrar Angie Van Wyck, as well as to all the many US and Canadian volunteers, for a wonderful experience.

For more information about the Trade Association of Sea Kayaking, go to TASK.