Text:
Roger Aguirre Smith

Photos:
Roger Aguirre Smith
Mark Boyd
Mark Berger

It’s still dark, my mind in that five-forty-five-ante-meridiem-state-of-transition as I step out the front door of the Marin Headlands Hostel. Through the break in the redwood treetops I see stars, puffs of clouds and drifting fog illuminated by the moon. I marvel at the peace I feel in this protected wooded location given the one million people living just five miles away.

Bio:

Roger Aguirre Smith is a photographer, kayaker, writer and filmmaker living on the central coast of California. He can be found photographing in the water, on the water or from the water’s edge. His photographic work has been in numerous fine art exhibitions and can be viewed at rasphotography.com. His words and images have been published in several international magazines and his short form kayak films can be found at youtube.com/user/NeptunesRangers/videos

Paddle Golden gate 2018

I arrive to an empty parking lot at the Travis Marina, a spectacular San Francisco skyline and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge washed in the early morning violet hues of a photographer’s dream. Today is day one of Paddle Golden Gate (PGG), the premier North American sea kayak symposium. I’ve arrived early to make some tea and to organize camera and kayak gear. Within an hour all available empty space will be filled with cars, kayaks, gear and paddlers filled with stoke for three days of kayak instruction from the best coaches around the globe.

At the 07.30 coaches’ breakfast I walk in and briefly stand by as many of the instructors as I can without feeling like a stalker, hoping that osmosis is a real thing. The room is filled with a who’s who of sea kayak coaches; Gordon Brown, John Carmody, Justine Curgenven, Paul Kuthe, JF Marleau, Sean Morley and Helen Wilson to name a few: 41 of the top local, regional, national and international coaches will participate, all with high-level ACA and BCU credentials. The combined expedition miles alone of this coaching staff would likely approach six digits. Simply put, these men and women are the real deal and I, as well as 120 eager students, get to learn from, and paddle with these folks for three days.

Spectacular

My assignment for opening day is to join Steve Hayward of Sea Trek, as he captains one of two safety boats. I’ll tag along to photograph the day’s event. I toss my camera gear in Steve’s boat and we motor out of the harbour as pods of kayakers begin paddling to their assigned training areas throughout San Francisco Bay. Low fog moves in and out The Gate as clouds float higher among patches of blue sky. The scene is spectacular and remains this way the entire day.

Steve and I push north through an ebbing tide, passing Yellow Bluff and the ‘Tidal Race Paddling’ class and a ‘Rough Water Rescue Skills’ class. Further up the shoreline toward Sausalito, we see the ‘Proficient Coastal Paddler’ class. Our eyes look northeast hoping to catch the glimmer of a kayak or reflecting paddle from Justine Curgenven’s ‘Alcatraz and Angel Island Tour’ as they navigate the tidal race, wind and low visibility crossing Richardson Bay to Peninsula Point.

We motor back to check in with the classes taking advantage of the calm waters within the harbour. Gordon Brown’s ‘Boat Control Master Class’ is underway along with Sean Morley’s ‘Forward Stroke Refinement’ class. In the Coast Guard cove is Helen Wilson’s ‘Simplifying the Roll’ course. We idle to watch the students move about the harbour, my photographer’s eye is mesmerized by gliding colour reflected on liquid blue and green.

Heading out The Gate, the seas come alive and we find several rock gardening classes including Bill Vonnegut’s ‘Rock Garden Skills and Safety’ getting back on the water following a lunch break at Kirby Cove. We watch these classes as they continue developing a more intimate relationship with swell, current and rock.

Magical

Steve receives notification that the visibility in Raccoon Strait is down significantly so we head back in The Gate towards Tiburon and Angel Island to see (or not see) if we can help Justine’s class as they navigate from Peninsula Point to Point Stuart. Not seeing her kayak pod where we would expect, we circumnavigate Angel Island looking for them. This ‘Island in Mist’ is magical. We glide on glass as we pass civil war era structures – light and temperature constantly changing with our position around the cardinal points.

We meet up with Justine’s class at Keil Cove. Our boat floats by a sea bird mass waiting for the tide to drop in order to expose herring egg-covered eel grass. Justine’s class is not the only one about to have lunch. We head back to the harbour for the 16.00 check-in, to have a cold beer and enjoy our first meal together as a tribe. Chris Hipgrave, from P&H, shares stories of his time searching for five-million missing penguins while kayaking in Antarctica.

Day two: five-forty-five-ante-meridiem-state-of-transition, stars, cloudless violet hues, sunrise over San Francisco.

This morning I gear up to be a safety kayaker for Paul Kuthe and David Santaniello’s ‘Advanced Rock Gardening’ class. The swell has dropped so we head to Rodeo Beach rather than paddle out The Gate. Today offers even more variety for students including Kenny Howell’s ‘Surf Ski the Gate’, ‘Sea Kayak Surfing’ with Nick Cunliffe and Chris Bensch, ‘Intro to Surf Kayaking’ with Mathew Hoff and ‘Rescues and Towing’ with John Carmody. Having been a student at a previous incarnation of PGG, The Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium, it can be very difficult to select just one class each day. This year is no exception.

PGG is a bi-annual symposium, now celebrating its eighth anniversary. California Canoe and Kayak has always put on a great event. Some of the instructors have been here for each event and many students come back to learn more. In the last three symposiums I’ve attended, either as a student or safety boater, I find that the tribe that gathers inspires me to improve my skills and to keep exploring the breathtaking California coast.

Paul, David, myself and eight students launch off of Rodeo Beach and head south to Point Bonita for some coastal rock play. Conditions are perfect for getting students in close to (and over) rocks. I watch as Paul and David work with each student, helping to refine boat control, safety and rescue strategies and general comfort in more dynamic environments. I am thrilled to see the progression of each student over the course of the day. As we paddle back to Rodeo Beach I feel like I have several new rock gardening friends, now paddling at a higher level.

Saturday night entertainment

The tribe gathers at The Bay Model in Sausalito for dinner and Saturday night entertainment that includes a short kayaking film presented by the ocean whitewater crew, Neptune’s Rangers, and an inspiring presentation by Justine Curgenven, a serial sea kayak explorer. With bellies full of good food, beer and wine, we head back to the hostel for a well-earned night’s rest.

Day three, final day: five-forty-five-ante-meridiem-state-of-transition, stars, cloudless violet hues, sunrise over San Francisco… again. Three days of sunrises so rich you can taste them. I arrive at the marina early to get my kayak kit ready, grab my camera bag and head out to photograph the magical light before the sun brushes the top of the north tower of The Bridge.

Watching the students gather for the paddler meeting, you can tell their minds are overflowing, their bodies feeling the fun and stress of learning new techniques. Today is another full day with classes that include a US Coast Guard tour, ‘Boat Repair’ with Mike Kowalsky, ‘Incident Management’ with Nick Cunliffe and Bill Vonnegut, ‘San Francisco Waterfront’ with Mark Tozer and Kim Grandfield, ‘Big Water’ with Sean Morley and David Santaniello and ‘Girls Rock’ taught by PGG event organizer, Kelly Marie Henry and Laura Zulliger.

Perfect

Once again, as safety kayaker, I meet Sean, David and eight students at Rodeo Beach for a day of big water play. Conditions are perfect. Offshore winds greet us as we launch and head north toward Muir Beach finding a spectacular pour over that challenges all of us. We stop and play.

Throughout the day I see noticeable improvements in all the students; their confidence levels are higher, their skills have improved, they appear to be less gripped and clearly having more fun. We land back at Rodeo beach at 16.00 exhausted and filled with memories to share with family and friends.

This has been a fantastic event. Kelly Marie Henry, the event coordinator this year, put together a wonderful group of volunteers, kitchen staff, coaches and an offering of diverse classes for any level of sea kayaker. The venue is perfect for this symposium as are the accommodations at the Marin Headlands Hostel.

As I gear down back at the Travis Marina, a buzz of stories and inspiring moments from the past few days fills the parking lot as photographer’s light is coming on for the last hour before sunset. I head into the fray of 19th street traffic as I begin the drive south to my home in Monterey. My body is exhausted, my social reservoir is full. Tomorrow I’ll drive to work and, as always, clock in and check the swell report – “I wonder where my tribe will be paddling next weekend?”