Vitamin Sea with Liquid Fusion Kayaking

October 30, 2023

Vitamin Sea with Liquid Fusion Kayaking

After delivering the Northstar Canoes to Catch-A-Canoe on Sunday, I took my road weary body to the Pomo Campground in Fort Bragg and set up camp and took it easy while the rain just kept coming down. The morning unload at Catch-a-Canoe was wet and the tension release from having the task of babying those canoes 600 miles felt great. I played a bit of guitar, read and snoozed in the back of my truck cocoon. My friend and Eddyline co-rep, Dan Arbuckle of Headwaters Kayak, was set to arrive later that afternoon and we would base camp at the Pomo Campground and hook up with Liquid Fusion Kayaking the next morning for 2 1/2 days of paddle instruction and coaching in the splendor of the Mendocino coastline.

Dan has spent a lot of time in the area but for me, rock gardening was new. I carried with me into this trip a large amount of anxiety about pushing myself paddling because of a river accident from earlier in the spring. This isn’t a story that I’m ready to share in detail but it was the worst day of my life and put into question everything I have ever done in paddling. The best way I can describe my disposition was that ”paddling” was broken for me. I have been able to sustain my business energy for it because the business of paddling is a different canvas but the actual art of paddling and joy on water has been hard for me to connect with this summer. Once on the water, I usually found it but there has been a block for me wanting to get on the water. I had to overcome that for this trip and I appreciate that Dan may have known this for me. So, we put this on the calendar and made our plans. I felt like this might be what signing yourself up for rehab would feel like…you know it is the best thing for you but you don’t want to go because you know it will be hard and bring wounds up to the forefront.

Jeff and Cate, the owners of Liquid Fusion Kayaking, are pro instructors and intimately know their waters. Their content on Facebook and IG will have you looking at your calender too!

I had first met Jeff more than 20 years earlier when he was working down in San Diego at a local shop and I was there for a weekend kayak festival. I remember Jeff coming in from kayak surfing the first morning I arrived. I met him as he was putting his gear away at the shop and he told me that he was just on a "surf kayak every morning" jag and that's what he was all about. Twenty years later, it seems he's still on that jag! Anyone who has worked with Jeff and Cate will be quick to tell you they are "one with the Sea" and that they are very skilled instructors. I really enjoyed getting to know Cate and they seem to do business and life together in the same way they paddle...with grace and poise.

Jeff and Cate of Liquid Fusion Kayak (Photo Credit Liquid Fusion Kayak)

Rarely in my paddling career had I put myself in full "student" mode. I have been part of classes but often as a "rep joining along". I'd gleam information from instructors this way but their focus wasn't on me and I didn't get the feedback to focus on my development. In my own work with new paddlers, I felt like I could be helpful for people but I had never really delved into my own teaching techniques from the ground floor. I had pieced together a skill set and presentation that needed help. I definitely had not spent time on my own "coaching" development so I had cobbled together pitches that were always too wordy. I was eager to soak it all up with Jeff and Cate. However, I came with some serious emotional baggage about fear of getting beat up in rough conditions or finding myself in an out-of-control situation that would bring up emotions and memories from this spring's accident. I didn't realize how deep these wounds were until the first day.

We meet at Noyo Park to look at the Sea and discuss weather and curriculum. We shared what we were hoping to get out of this and what we were carrying with us. Jeff had an instructor-certifier along with him for day one who would be observing his teaching so I certainly felt in good hands and they discussed the weather and what we would be doing as a group. As we geared up they made valuable suggestions about safety gear, properly adjusting one's helmet, and awareness on the water that we would be key as we worked as a team in the waves and caves.

We warmed up in the harbor a bit and refined some edging technique with focus on rotation, foot pedal work and shoulder protection. I felt tight but also really enjoyed the instant feedback on a few bad habits like not finishing my sweeps when anticipating a bow rudder on the other side and too little rotation. I paid close attention to Jeff's advise on positions that would keep my shoulders and elbows protected.

We played around with pushing on right and left foot pedals through the turn. We were guided to feel what different foot pressures would do for us in the turn. Opposite foot on an outside edge gave more stability and control, same foot/same edge to the outside helped drive through the carve a bit more. What a fun thing to work on in my free time on my local waters. Paddling backward and steering from the bow is also now on my to-do list!

After 45 mins of that, we left our harbor seal friends and paddled into the bay. Within that gentle rolling swell we worked on these same skills from the harbor while improving our bracing. We practiced beach landings and launches and constantly improved our communication to each other through paddle signals and awareness of our line of sight between the team.

Next Jeff wanted us to give a few braces and then meet the water and tip and roll or be rescued. I was blocked! I couldn't believe that just giving in and tipping over and rolling took me so much effort to overcome. I had something going on inside of me where going under the water was a barrier I had to cross. Clearly there was stuff I was working through from this spring. Uncertain waters plus upside down had me emotionally locked up. It felt good to push through that hurdle and from there we begin to work on feeling the "pulse of the sea". Learning to feel the up and down swell especially around rocks. Learning to look both back at the sea while feeling what was under you and then looking ahead. Plan, Position, Perform.

Through this first day, Jeff wonderfully opened up my paddling and willingness to go a bit further. I never felt led into conditions I couldn't handle but I also was well aware that I was getting moved steps upward. I was paddling a new boat for me (valley gemini in poly) so I was getting used to this different feel and learning what I could do in the boat. In a few features we played in, I was allowed to choose my adventure level by grabbing smaller waves and then working up. Watching Jeff, Deb (guest instructor-observer) and Dan do their thing was very insightful. Dan is always willing to push it a bit further and I enjoyed watching him progress and take a few rides that evoked hoots and hollers from all.

Dan leading the way (photo credit Liquid Fusion Kayaking)

The Ocean is foreign to this Midwest boy. I grew up around fresh water and would even swim as a young kid in the Mississippi but the ocean is not something I spent much time around. The noises are unfamiliar, the expanse is daunting and the tastes and smells jump out like a curious cuisine that is alluring but provokes a "what's in there" feeling. It has always felt like a puzzle that I’m not sure how to tackle.

Jeff was showing me how to get started with this puzzle. How to find the corners and build around the edges. How to get comfortable looking out in the distance to see coming wave sets and how to feel the pulse move under you and when to harness the power or when to hold position. Unlike a river, conditions at sea are alway changing. You can watch 5 waves in a row roll over some rocks and they all behave a bit differently. The same play spot is every changing even within a minute. The difference between one day and the next can carry even bigger changes. I can see how Jeff and Cate never grow tired of these waters.

For day two, we headed to an area that had caves and more rock slots for working on our skills. The conditions off shore were windy and the waves around the point to the North were "untouchable" from my observation. However, Jeff expertly guided us just along the wind protected shore while we learned cave safety and skills and played in a few more rock gardens. We rounded a corner and the crashing surf was insane just a few hundred yards ahead. "Heck no am I going that way" I told Dan (who seemed to agree). Up ahead though, Jeff was rounding the corner and we reluctantly followed. Of course, he knew of a protected way to get around the corner that avoided the big stuff. As we rounded that corner to follow Jeff, we saw where he was headed and we found ourselves in this magical tree-canopied beach entrance. To me, it was a beach right out of some epic tale. We soaked it up a bit!

Here's my big smile of relief and gratitude to Jeff, our sage of the sea, guiding us into spots like this.

We spent the afternoon seeking more waves and I tried to learn to better time catching them. I also wanted to try putting my boat in more dynamic waters and either roll or rescue in them. Jeff guided us to a unique area where we first enjoyed the spray from a blow hole in our faces. What a fun way to imbibe on the sea!

There she blows! Photo courtesy of Liquid Fusion Kayak

This same area presented a nice narrow spot that moved up and down with the swell so that some boils and current surged. Jeff has up paddle out into the moving water and try a roll at the moment of peak confusion. Dan nailed it of course but Jeff was able to give a few hints for him to refine. My first try had me miss two rolls and I got a chance to practice a wet exit and assisted re-entry in the swirls and surges! The next time I successfully rolled and felt a bit of success. What a leap forward for me after just two days! Once again, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for Liquid Fusion's gentle process and guidance. I was a rusty instrument that was starting to get tone out of myself again. The sea's rhythm was beginning to flow through me a bit and I wanted to harmonize with it.

Day three was a short day for us but the wind and swell had settled. It allowed us to explore a part of the coast line that we couldn't get to the prior two days. Cate joined us and spirits were high as Jeff and Cate delighted in sharing their playground. We bopped around in it like kids on Christmas morning! I finally started feeling a bit more flow and was getting a bit better at timing and seeking out the"bubbles" for better rides along the rock lines. I soaked up this last day with such gratitude for my family for giving me the time and space to go, Dan for inviting me and knowing what I needed like only a great friend does and to Jeff and Cate for their patience, open hearts and contagious stoke for what they do.

We returned back to the beach with big smiles and no care that the rain was coming down hard. Full drywear and base layers from Level Six kept me 100% comfortable for 3 days of wet paddling in 50 degree waters. We said our goodbyes and I settled in to a 9 hour drive back back to Oregon with the last 100 miles through a snow storm!

I plan to get my kid's skills and rolls up to speed so I can sign up with Liquid Fusion Kayaking sometime soon and show this to them. My heart is filled again with the possibilities on water and in paddling. I have more healing to do but I know the way now.