Re: [Paddlewise] LL Bean Symposium and Atlantic Kayak Tours Skills Symposium

Bill summarizes LL Bean well but I thought I'd add a couple of other things...

At 09:51 AM 7/12/00 -0400, Bill Hansen wrote:
>Jim - Bean symposium is a three-day event at the Maine Maritime Academy in
>Castine Maine. 

>(3) on-water classes in paddling technique (at various levels,
>but really all pretty basic), towing, the use of flares....

Some of these are on water classes while the towing, use of flares,
blending strokes items are more demonstrations.  It's probably worth
mentioning that the towing demonstration was taught by Nigel Foster the
past couple of years.  Most of the actualy classes are taught by
instructors at H2Outfitters but the past couple of years there have been a
few classes taught by "celebrity" instructors.  Derek Hutchinson,  Nigel
Foster, and Chris Duff (last year) do a couple classes a day on Saturday
and Sunday.  If you want to take a class, especially one from one of the
"celebrities", register early or arrive before the field house opens on
Friday to sign up.  They fill up quickly.

(4) several
>outfitters, usually between 6 and 10 different companies,  have on-water
>booths from which you can try out various boats, and of course they'll be
>delighted to sell you a boat too.

I would estimate the number of vendors at more like 10-15.  Most of the
major vendors are represented and even a few small ones.  The last two
years Nick Schade has had his personal boats there available for a demo.
I've spent quite a bit of time on the beach the past couple of years
demoing boats and never felt like any of the vendors were pressuring me as
a potential buyer.  Almost all seemed happy just to have people trying out
their boats.

>The "on-water" part of the Symposium is on a small lake which is about 0.5
>miles from the Maritime Academy. Shuttle bus service is available from the
>Academy to the lake.
(and runs about every 15-20 minutes).

>Food is available from the cafeteria - some of it for extra money. 

The food is quite good, especially the lobster dinner Saturday night.

>Camping is available. 

Most people stay in the dorms at the Maine Maritime Academy.  The
accommations are very sparse but dirt cheap ($15 a night for a room which
sleeps two people).  The dorms are right in the middle of where all the
action is.

>There are a couple of excellent hotels in Castine, and the
>walk to the Maritime Academy is only a few blocks from any of them. 

There are also a couple of *very* good restaurants.  Our dinner at the
Castine Inn was one of the best I've ever had...anywhere.  It's very pricey
though.  The whole town of Castine is worth a walking tour.  There is a lot
of history in the area and it is a gorgeous area.

>Very
>casual clothes. Bring a paddle and a spray skirt if you're going to try out
>boats - for some reason I've never understood, none of the outfitters except
>Maine Island Kayak has those items at their on-water booths.

All the vendors have PFD's but usually fewer in number than boats so
bringing your own will get you into a boat quicker.  Most had paddles, of
varying quality.  I didn't bring my paddle last year and when I wanted to
paddle a P&H Sirius a couple of boats were available but I had to wait
almost an hour before I could find a paddle.  Some of the vendors have
spray skirts, but again having your own will get into a boat quicker if
you've got one that's adjustable.

Cold water paddling clothes are also a good idea.  The water is a bit
chilly.  I've worn my wet suit the past couple of years.  It's come in real
handy when climbing into a bunch of different boats with not-so-dry
cockpits.  Don't forget to bring water shoes.  The "beach" is more rocks
and shells, especially at low tide.
>
>There are usually a few hundred people who attend. I believe it's the
>largest paddling sumposium on the East coast, in terms of the number of
>attendees.

750 or so last year I think, from quite a few different states.  Finally,
the URL for the LL Bean Symposium is:

http://www.llbean.com/outdoorsOnline/odp/kayak/courses/kayak_sympos.html

You can read about what you're going to miss..or make plans for next year.

Since this is the first year for the AKT Skills symposium it's hard to
comment on what it'll be like.  Basically, they're bringing in 10 "world
class" instructors (Chris Duff,  Nigel Dennis,  Mike Devlin, ..) to teach a
variety of kayaking skills over three days.  The information packet and web
site (http://members.aol.com/KayakSymposium/) indicate that a equivalent of
a Star 2 level is a prerequisite for attending so I wouldn't say it's for
paddlers with a *lot* of experience.  They're also doing some  pre and post
Symposium training (BCU Star and Coach training and assessments).

I'll write a trip report after I attend.

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