August 1st 2009 Lake Wazee Kayak Event

On August 1st two dozen would be and experienced kayakers assembled on the beach at Lake Wazee to test the waters in a variety of kayaks. The third “Kayak Skills Day” learning event of 2009 was held outdoors and despite the blustery cool day it was well attended by a wide span of age groups. Marc and Jenny Rukavina brought three generations of Rukavinas to the event, introducing their children and Mark’s parents to the sport of kayaking. Also in the pre-school kayaker class was Karlie Hudson, who came with her mom, Kristi and declared “I’m pretty good at this”—and she was!

Learning to “Eskimo roll” their kayaks that morning, were Vit Zaiss and his 13 year old son Danny, from Winona MN. “Way to go, Dad!” yelled Danny as his father finally succeeded in bringing his kayak upright. Jeff Polzin and Steve Rake, FBR board members, are veteran instructors of this skill. “It seems like you try and try and finally all your muscles work together and you get it” says Steve Rake. “Sure, there are times when I still have to bail because the boat doesn’t right itself. We want everyone to be comfortable with making that kind of “wet exit” when necessary.”

Seth Byom and Sam Bibby, 11 and 12 year old Ettrick area kayakers brought their own boats and were intent on fishing Lake Wazee waters until they were lured into donning the dry suits and trying out some whitewater kayaks. “I feel like I am choking” Seth complained until the several-sizes-too-large suit he was wearing was discovered to be backwards on his small frame. The boys enjoyed trying the white water equipment but were happy to return to swimming and fishing. 

Learning new kayak skills and providing the opportunity to test a variety of kayak styles was the goal of this event. More than a dozen different kayaks were available for participants to try and the event lasted well beyond the noon end time. “Kayak Skills Day” events will continue to be popular offerings of FBR in the future.

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