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Kayaking instructor Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin has a discussion with two students during the 2010 Ladies of the Lake Women’s Sea Kayak Symposium.This summer, Ladies of the Lake Women’s Sea Kayak Symposium returns to Munising and the awesome Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, site of its first symposium eight years ago.
Ladies of the Lake promotes itself as the only women’s sea kayak symposium; all the instructors are women. Each year the symposium moves to a different location on the Upper Peninsula’s Lake Superior shore.
Participants range from beginners who have never been in a kayak to experienced paddlers with great skills, says Heidi DePuydt, an organizer from Houghton Down Wind Sports, the event sponsor. Most fall between ages 35 and 65.
Last year’s symposium in Marquette drew 125 participants, including Donna Maatman of Lake City.
She and eight friends signed up together, and Donna celebrated her 60th birthday while honing her kayaking skills.
Donna, who had kayaked for six years, says that last year she tackled a “wet exit” – flipping her kayak, then getting out, righting it and removing the water. She plans to be at the 2011 symposium with six of her friends.
Joyce Russotto of Moundsview, Minnesota, has attended all eight Ladies of the Lake symposiums. A work conflict will keep her from this year’s event, and she’s disheartened to miss out on the fun. Her first couple of years, the symposium was a learning experience. “But now, for me, it’s more of a social thing,” she says, describing her skill level as somewhere between intermediate and advanced.
“You develop great friendships. There’s a lot of camaraderie. It’s just a lot of fun and a great learning experience.”
Besides instruction, the symposium features social activities, speakers and paddling tours.
This year’s main speaker is Ginni Callahan, kayak coach and guide who founded the Columbia River Kayaking cooperative in Washington state and co-founded Sea Kayak Baja Mexico.
The symposium’s 25 instructors work with participants in a bay area that’s well protected, Heidi says.
Tours in Pictured Rocks this summer will include one from Miners Castle to Grand Portal Point (12 miles) for intermediate/advanced paddlers. One tour for beginners is from Sand Point to Trout Point (8 miles), crossing a channel (with a visible sunken ship) to Grand Island, then exploring the shoreline and views of East Channel Lighthouse, rock formations and other sights.
Pat Henry of Butler, Pennsylvania, first chose the symposium because “I thought it would be easier to learn from another woman.”
She has since been to all but one Ladies of the Lake, and now the 66-year-old owns eight kayaks.
“Everyone is supportive of everyone else,” she says, no matter what your skill level. “You bond through shared experiences.”
– Bob Berg
More information: Ladies of the Lake Women’s Sea Kayak Symposium, August 18-21, Munising. Contact Houghton Down Wind Sports at 906-482-2500. www.downwindsports.com/lol.