My favorite part of the Paddle Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium is that it gets paddlers to Northern California and some take the time to come paddle in Mendocino with Jeff and I. This year, we had a whitewater crew the first day for the Stoutside Ball.
Jeff Laxier getting a nice pour over ride in our Stoutside Ball Session. #stoutside
Then we had several East Coast paddlers join us for 3 days of sea kayaking (and a sunset and moonrise surf session).
Sunset - super moonrise surf session. Photo by Jeff Laxier
Day one was a coastal exploration with some rock gardening. Day two was coastal exploration in sporty conditions with some sea kayak surfing. Day three was sea kayak surfing. Paddlers in the video are Snowy Robertson -Dagger Kayaks, Matt Kane - Prime Paddlesports, Chris Audet - Committed 2 the Core, Luke Rovner - Kayak Hipster, and of course Jeff Laxier and Cate Hawthorne of Liquid Fusion Kayaking.
Liquid Fusion Kayaking's Cate Hawthorne reviews the forecast. Photo by Jeff Laxier
Luke Rovner - aka The Kayak Hipster - made a video sharing these 3 days of sea kayaking. Here's the video - If it doesn't show up in the blog post, here is a link to it on YouTube. The sea kayaks that were used in the video were the Dagger Stratos - our go-to for rock garden and coastal play. Snowy and I paddled whitewater kayaks for our sunset and moonrise surf session including the Dagger Axiom.
We are excited to announce that we have just added a 5 day Intermediate and Advanced Art of Sea Kayaking Mendocino Adventure. LFK's 5 Day Art of Sea Kayaking Mendocino September 24-29, 2018is designed for intermediate and advanced sea kayakers who want to paddle and play in rock gardens and surf.
Sea Kayak Rock Gardening at one of our favorite pour-overs.
This adventure is scheduled over 6 days so that you can enjoy the best of the Mendocino Coast including an off the water day. This is a great opportunity to see "off the beaten paddle" stretches of the Mendocino Coast including some of our favorite pour-overs and surf waves.
Tune-up your surfing for Santa Cruz Paddlefest with LFK's Jeff Laxier. Jeff will be coaching 2 clinics March 22 and March 23 in the Santa Cruz area for hp surf kayakers. The clinics will focus on improving your paddle out technique, wave selection, take off, diagonal run, bottom turns, top turns, and body/boat/blade positioning for performance surfing.
Etiquette will be a theme through out the course including how to be a good ambassador of the surf. Paddlers must have a reliable roll and have previous surf experience. This 4 hour clinic is $100/person.
Whitewater Kayaking Classes - LFK's 2018 river kayaking program starts in March with LFK's Precision River Running. Precision River Runningis for experienced whitewater kayakers looking to improve and expand their river running skills. For sea kayakers and other paddlers who have a solid foundation of paddling skills and are looking to learn to run whitewater rivers, LFK has their Whitewater River Kayaking Class. LFK's systematic approach will build upon your current skills to give you the skills for running whitewater rivers. LFK is also offering guided whitewater river runs. These are scheduled on the Monday after our weekend classes for our students to apply their skills and enjoy a day of river running with us. If we have a wet spring, check back with us as we are likely to add more whitewater classes.
Whitewater River Kayak Classes on the Eel River
Surf Kayaking - We have been excited about our students' success in our 2 day surf classes so we are offering more of these in 2018. Whether you are learning the surfzone for the first time, learning to surf, or working on making moves on the wave; our 2 day surf classes are paced for maximum success. With 2 days, you get different surf zone opportunities and a skill progression that builds on the previous day. For those looking for specific skills, we have private surf lessons and safaris.
Performance Surf Kayaking on the Mendocino Coast
Rolling - We have a beautiful community pool and a flexible schedule. If you want to learn to roll or need a rolling tune-up, we can help.
Kayak Rolling Lessons in the pool
Mendo Your Way - Come see us to dial in your skills and play and explore the beautiful Mendocino Coast.
Sea Kayaking on California's Lost Coast
Our summer tour schedule is live and open for reservations. Our summer tours will include our family friendly Noyo Meander, our mellow evening wildlife tours - Sunset Bird Paddle, and our wet and wild Whitewater of the Sea Adventures. We look forward to having you come play with us in 2018!
Family kayak tours on Fort Bragg's Noyo River
Best of days on the water, Jeff Laxier and Cate Hawthorne
LFK's Jeff Laxier with a nice pour-over ride whilst rock gardening on the Mendocino Coast
LFK's Cate Hawthorne kayak surfing on the Mendocino Coast
Cate is a high energy person who loves sharing her passion for learning and the outdoors with others. Cate has several K-12 teaching credentials and a masters degree in education. After 13 years working in public schools, Cate moved her teaching talents from the classroom to the water.
Kayaking is one of her many outdoor adventure pursuits on the Mendocino Coast. When not kayaking, Cate is likely to be mountain biking, hiking or running in the forest. Cate is an avid birder, connoisseur of wild mushrooms, and writer. She is an ACA certified whitewater and sea kayak instructor, wilderness first responder, and is a Lieutenant in the Tsunami Rangers.
