Another GREAT Southwest Sea Kayak Symposium!

Monday, April 02, 2007

Special Thanks to my friends both New and Old in San Diego this past weekend. Man, what a GREAT event. Every year Jen and her staff @ Aqua Adventures throw a "Rock'n" Event! This year the instruction was Second-to-None! She had a literal Army of Highly Decorated BCU Coaches leading the charge. All the attendees were subject to some of the most dedicated paddling instructors in the world. They came from as far as Holland, Wales, Florida, NYC, Seattle and beyond. Some of the ACA Instructors came from the Pacific Northwest and beyond as well. In my classes alone, I had students from as far as Colorado, Arizona and Northern California. My classes went excellently. I once again was given the opportunity to enlighten 16 more paddlers...I LOVE it! The Campfire Party, (Which has become a focal-point of this Event & Party) turned into a great acoustic-jam with 4-Guitars, 1-Percussionist and 1-Harp Player (yours truly!)...At one point there were probably 60 or more folks huddled around a roaring Campfire on the Beach, singing and throwing back a few cocktails before retiring to their respective campsites...Each year Jen and her Staff at Aqua Adventures throw a great Show/Party that's filled with both Coaching, Product Info and Pure Paddler-FUN. I saw a bunch of Old Friends and made a great bunch of NEW Ones. Thank you to ALL who created and attended The Southwest Sea Kayak Symposium last weekend. It's a One-Of-A-Kind Paddling Event that I am both Proud and Honored to be part of. Cheers, br

Check out the Jamm’n fun

Friday, March 30, 2007

Hey All: In case you did not know, I am an avid Harmonica Player and
Love Play'n Dem Blues. The name of my Band is Bad Habits. Check out our site at http://www.badhabitsmusic.com for "The Other Side of Brent"!! br

Headed off to The Southwest Sea Kayak Symposium Tonight!

Looking forward to seeing all my old friends down there in San Diego, as well as making new ones! I’ll be teaching Two, All-Day On The Water Classes this year, not to mention Playing as Much Harmonica as possible! Check out their website right here.
Cheers and I’ll check back in upon my return!
brent

This is Why We Do What We Do!

Friday, March 23, 2007

(This note comes from a past forward stroke kayaking student. Enjoy! brent)

Hey Brent, so good to hear from you! Considering I'm thinking of, and referencing our lesson, as well as the Margaritas, I'm embarrassed for not following up with you earlier. Please except my apologies.

Anyway here is the update....Yes, first time in Black Burn history the race was cancelled (FOG). I understand there was a new head of the Coast Guard who in my opinion was overly cautious. Although to be fair, it was like Pea Soup. The first 3.5 miles are in a canal leading out to the Atlantic, so they did hold 6-7 mile race in the canal....half of the entrants were still around once they made the decision to have the abbreviated race. There was a lot of pent up and pissed off paddlers, so it was just a free-for-all sprint! My buddies and I were more exhausted after this 6mi race than last yr’s 20mi Black burn. Totally lost focus on everything you taught me.

3 weeks later there was a 15-mi race on Long Island Sound (lighthouse to lighthouse, L2L)....leading up to it my training totally focused on your lesson and I was starting to make improvement. 5 days prior, I bought the v10 Sport, so I was more focused on staying on the ski than technique. Race day - 25-35mph headwinds for first half of race...4 miles into the race, the Coast guard cancelled the event. East coast wimps! Given my instability I wasn't 2 upset.

The last race was the inaugural Mayors Cup around NYC, 29mi. (you have to come up for it next year)... the week prior, I finally felt like my timing and technique was all coming together and felt great on the ski. Event day was beautiful fall day and felt great. After 15 miles I felt great and although miles behind Barton and Glickman, I was in third place, relaxed and having fun. Two more miles under the Triborough Bridge I jumped on a ships wake and was getting a lot of help when my rudder Pedal cracked at the hinges…no chance of fixing and was done for the day. Coast guard took me the rest of the way home.....although disappointed, I was thrilled that I finally put your teachings to practice and was too caught up in the day’s excitement to be upset. Next yr, Jim

Another GREAT training day in the Wild World of Moss Landing

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Today was filled with Rock'n Wind-Chop and a fairly good sized swell here in
my little world of Moss Landing California. Along with my normal "Dos
Amigos", Mike McNulty and Chris Stout, Craig Tanner drove all the way down
from Benicia to get some "Combat Training" out in the Open Water here @
Moss. We were pleasantly surprised upon cranking out of the harbor-mouth to
find a very confused and crazy sea..Most Excellent for Surfski'n and we had
a great workout! Paddled about 5 miles off shore and then rode the craziness
back home. Can't beat it! The Sun was shining and the wind was up, so Life
is Good! I hope you all had a productive weekend of training too. Here's to
Keeping the Right Side Up, all the best Brent.

Zsolt’s Surfski Workout ROCKS!

Monday, January 29, 2007

Yesterday I attended one of the most productive Kayaking/Surfskiing workouts for a long time. Zsolt's workout in Sauslitio, CA Kick's Butt! It was a flashback to Olympic Sprint Training days for me. It was intense AND Fun! We had 9 guys and one woman, all on surfskis. Zslot had a coach-boat and driver. He also took video. We had an ass-kick'n sprint workout that focused on not only Speed but Technique as well. Then off to Carter and Sally's home to have our technique critiqued from the film. The Video Session was a special one-time item added. The Workout is the key ingredient for everyone to take advantage of. Everyone came away a Stronger and Smarter paddler! Zsolt holds these training sessions each Sunday at the Sea Trek Beach @ 9:30 am. If you want a taste of the Real Thing, head on over to Sauslito Sunday mornings! I do not have all the contact details for Zsolt, but you can follow the action by watching the Surfski Websites. He posts his upcoming workouts there. Cheers, and go join The Real Deal on Sundays! Brent

Sorry for the long gap in updates…

Friday, November 10, 2006

Hello All, I've been busy teaching and training, but clearly NOT paying attention to my site.... ("My bad"!). Wildsprint has concluded teaching for this 2006 Season, with Many NEW Dates booked for 2007. Currently, most teaching escapades are scheduled through California Canoe & Kayak and you can check out the teaching dates on their site at http://www.calkayak.com (I'll post on this site soon...)
I raced with my training partner Chris Stout in the K-2 Surfski at the Nationals this summer, as well as, my annual attendance at Sea Trek's Regatta. Both results were satisfactory, given the amount of time I've been in the boat. Between Work, Musician (check out our site at http://www.badhabitsmusic.com) & Kayak Teacher...training time has been a bit impacted!
I'm now the proud owner of a brand-spanking-new Epic V10-L "Ultra" and she is a very keen motivator for getting more time in on the water...What a GREAT boat! I'll be checking in more regularly from here on out! Chris, Mike and I will be training all winter, and I'll fill you all in on some of the BIG WATER DAYS out here this Winter!
Cheers and Keep On Strok'n, brent

Sacramento Clinic was a BLAST!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Teaching The Forward Stroke Kayak Clinic for California Canoe & Kayak in Lake Natoma is always a pleasure. The Sun was HOT, The Facility is State Of The Art and the folks in my class were Great! Everyone was happy at the end of the day. Of course there are always those times throughout the day where I catch my students concentrating so hard that they need to be reminded that they are suppose to be having FUN! It's a good thing tho. I had beginners up through advanced intermeidate paddlers. No racers, but there was one woman on Huki Surf Ski. (Once she gets "the racing bug" it's hard to give it up!). This class was embraced by the Sierra Paddling Club, and it filled fast once they got wind I was coming to their area. Another interesting factor was that most of this class were women. They were turning to Kayaking as a low-impact sport that they planned to do for a very long time. Women understand that Technique is key to get the most beniifit from their muscle-mass. In many cases, a guy can have poor technique, but be able to move the boat quickly simply becasue he has more muscle-mass. A woman understands that she needs to "use what she's got", in it's most efficient manner, to get full enjoyment from her sport. It's great to turn folks on the the sport I love. Looking forward to my next class for CCK in Oakland this July! Cheers, b

Thank You to WISCONSIN & Rutabaga!

Friday, June 09, 2006

Forward Stroke Kayaking Clinics In Wisconsin were a SMASHING Success as usual! Thanks to all back in Madison WI. and Rutabaga Paddlesports for the enthuisum. Man, folks back there are HUNGRY for the knowledge! As usual all my stroke clinics were sold-out. I had a very wide range of abilities in my clinics, which always makes me feel good. One fellow was, as he referred to himself, The Old Guy" and probably in his Sixties - Seventies. I also had two High-School kids as well. I Love That! Everyone seemed very satisfied with the training they received, and had Big Smiles on their faces by the time the clinics were over. Remember my Motto: "Paddling is More FUN, The Less Tired You Are". Darren, Jeff, Nancy and The Staff of Rutabaga are always very supportive when I arrive. I really feel like their shop is a Flagship for what a Paddlesport Shop should be. Great Job you guys, and THANK YOU for the Warm Mid-West Hospitality! I'm off to Sacramento to teach this weekend for California Canoe & Kayak, so The Beat Goes On! Just remember "Long & Strong"! Have Fun on the Water, b

Off To The Midwest for 3-Back-To-Back Clinics Memorial Day Weekend

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Headed to Madison WI to teach 3 Kayaking Clinics this Weekend! Hey All, just a note to let you know it's time for my annual pilgrimage to Madison, WI once again. I love it there, and the folks there are really Hot for paddling info! In the past, I have taught as many students in Madison in one solid week, than I teach back home in California in the entire summer! Crazy and Great all at the same time. The folks at Rutabaga, http://www.rutabaga.com always treat me special. I enjoy supporting their teaching program "back home". Yes, I was raised in Wisconsin, (before I even considered what a kayak was or what it would do to me!...), it's nice to get back to my roots each year as well. So, off to The Great White North and a lot of good teaching and good times. Enjoy your holiday weekend, Brent