Paddlefest 2011 in Ladysmith was great. Once again, several members of our paddling group insisted on attending. Well, we’re not sure if Rich made it up on his own on Saturday. And Marlene had a bad case of “it’s eight o’clock Sunday morning!” when it was time to head out. But John and Louise drove up on Saturday and had a great time. You can read about it in the post John wrote yesterday, and see his great photos.
Bernie and I drove up-Island to Ladysmith on Sunday. We missed the crowds and good weather on Saturday, because there was a geology tour offered to the volunteer naturalists by CRD Parks. There were still good times on Sunday at Paddlefest, though the intermittent rain thinned the crowd to true believers.
As Brian Henry of Ocean River said, most of the people attending on Sunday were confirmed kayakers. We need to find a way to encourage people who are new to the sport to give it a try! It would be great to see more families at Paddlefest, for example, and more people trying a kayak or canoe for the first time.
Well, we didn’t bring a new paddler with us this time, but we certainly had a good time anyway. I enjoyed looking at the maps of the Salish Sea, especially the map for the Georgia Strait Community Alliance with annotations useful for small boaters. There were a couple of raffles to enter. It’s good policy to enter raffles, especially when they’re fundraising for good causes.
We made a tour of all the booths, even though several were closed, and checked out the kayaks on display. I got my hands on a Greenland paddle that had been made for someone about my size – small grip, short stature. (There don’t seem to be any paddles meant for plump and slow people, though, darn it.)
So far, every time we attend Paddlefest, someone from our paddle group wins a door prize or other great swag. This year Bernie won a bag with a t-shirt, a ball cap, small stuff sack and a travel mug!
And when we got back to the Beach House after touring some other neat-o places, we got a phone call from Cheryl of Sealegs Kayaking Adventures. Turns out, we won the raffle’s first prize – a Mini Tripper kids kayak from Jackson Kayak!
So, we’re heading back up to Ladysmith someday soon to pick it up… oh boy!
And now, go to yesterday's post and look at John's photos again. They're terrific.
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