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From: Mark Sanders <marksanders_at_sandmarks.net> subject: [Paddlewise] TAKS Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:56:24 -0700 · This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:52 PDT

Here's my write up and a link to my first few photos from TAKS:

I was the first kayaker to arrive at the San Simeon campground Thursday, 
which had me wondering if I'd missed some last minute cancellation! Luckily, 
I was soon joined by Don, a BASKer and TAKS veteran who took over the site 
next to me so I wouldn't feel alone! Not too much later, Duane and Susan 
showed up after their tour of the Solvang country and it seemed TAKS was 
meant to procede! After my dinner of some tasty chicken tacos, D&S came back 
from dinner in town and Don came over and we toasted our first unofficial 
night of TAKS with a bottle of champagne.

Through the night and morning, more folks arrived, so TAKS started in 
earnest on an exceptionally warm day. The Sapsucker was the first boat to 
hit the sand at Hearst State Beach, soon to be joined by Don's Coaster. It 
wasn't long before a crowd of mostly TAKS alumni were chatting on the beach, 
catching up on all the kayaking news. We'd only been there one night, but an 
occasional strong odor seemed to suggest someone had been camping for a 
week, but it turned out it was just a dead seal that had washed up on the 
beach and it would take a couple more nights for our camping stink to match 
it!

I think past TAKS have had higher surf than we faced this year, but there 
was still some sets that could create a bit of havoc. I made sure to take 
one nice hit before about eight of us headed out for the Advanced Paddle to 
Piedras Blancas Lighthouse. Folks usually dress pretty warmly for this 
affair, which made things a bit difficult with the warm breeze blowing and 
balmy 60 degree water. We wondered out through the rocks lining the cove and 
hit some larger swell out in open water. Most took an outside passage, but 
Duane blazed a lone trail inside until I convinced another paddler to head 
in with me to join him. Soon the whole shebang was bobbing over the swells 
close to shore.

Once past the rocky end of the coast, Duane wanted to head home and I, 
always happy to start home, joined him. The rest continued the journey. 
Duane and I skirted the rocks on our way back and soon ran into Jon 
Petersen, Greg Stamer and Dubside making a late start. After a bit of chat 
and some impromptu rolling by Dubside, we parted company and headed back. 
Back onshore, I was able to catch some shots of Wolfgang Brink taming the 
shore break all by his lonesome!

The night's pot luck was once again an orgy of food. I ate before hand, but 
everyone seemed to be enjoying the selected fare, including what Michael 
Morris called "Squealer" which is some sort of stew containing various game 
meats and named after the sound the vegetarian crowd makes when they hear 
about it! I'd saved room for dessert comparing two excellent brownies with 
everyone wondering if one of the was of the "magic" variety. The owner came 
clean and confessed said brownies contained a touch of Jack Daniels to give 
them their special kick. After dinner we headed to the amphitheater for a 
lively presentation from Brian Shulz about his rather zany adventures.

Saturday morn found us on the beach for group intros and breaking up into 
various groups for a bit of instruction. Greg Stamer, Dubside and Helen 
Wilson each had a group with Brian gadding about to freelance. I flitted 
about hoping to get photos of everyone, but didn't realize my Optio had 
developed a fog on the inside lens which blanked out most of my shots. 
Still, I got to glean a bit of knowledge from each group I encountered and 
have a few new skills to work of, if less photos to edit.

Next Dubside and Helen did some rolling demos next to the pier with the wind 
occasionally blowing us all out to sea. Greg called out the different 
Greenland rolls and Dubside knocked them off in a new Shaman kayak. Lunch 
took us all to shore to eat and chat. Marcus G. was nice enough to bury the 
still stinking seal carcass using his ever handy GP, so we could eat in 
peace. The hot weather soon had me back in my boat playing in the surf and I 
once again missed the beach activities with DMan showing off on the ropes 
and other such excitement. With time, everyone started heading off back to 
camp.

While the main horde headed off for Mexican food, some of us stayed encamped 
to cook our own meals. Ken and Barb, Duane and Susan, Don and Henk all 
mosied into our site to imbibe various spirits, which lifted mine enough to 
dare to take out my guitar. Barb and I were both loathe to try to fill 
Steve's musical shoes, but I think most people had sipped enough not to 
realize my musical failings. Barb joined me on one duet, despite both of us 
fighting to remember the words. Duane had already broken out the Roll or 
Drown Martinis, which might be why he insisted I should open up the evenings 
slide show with Kayak Asshole. I'm glad the wine hadn't totally worn off by 
then and as Henk said, I don't know what Greg Stamer thought of his opener, 
but it seemed to be well accepted! Greg's presentation gave us a nice 
glimpse into the shores of Newfoundland and I'm sure more than one person 
added it to their kayak "to do" list.

Sunday morn we had a leisurely breakfast and headed over to the auction; our 
final chance to hang out with the crowd and enjoy the scene. The familiar 
TAKS faces seem to have become part of a kayak family, one the new faces 
will join on their next visit. The 10+ hour round trip seems a little 
obstacle to the fun. It was a great event and a rare chance to spend time 
with some of the best of the kayaking world.

Mark Sanders

http://www.sandmarks.net/TAKS2009.html 
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