The best part of this past year's paddling season was seeing more people sign up and spend time with us in the Kayak Immersion Symposium, known as KIS around these parts. We’ve had a tough time giving this class a name since it's sort of a "catch-all" for advancing skills yet we hate to rank it for one level of paddler or another. It’s always been important to us that we get a broad mix of paddlers so that during the safety and rescue portions, we really mirror what is likely to happen out on the water when a situation comes up. Without a shred of doubt the one thing that spooks people is taking that first spill voluntarily out of their perfectly dry kayak. Yet the part of the KIS class that students report the most rewarding and FUN is learning the capsize skills! A classic case of Fear of the Unknown creating all kinds of images in our fertile brains. But once you’ve done it under the watchful eye of a QWS instructor and worked with fellow students to devise routes to “get back to the dry” you too will laugh at your reticence and join the growing numbers of KIS students who love this class. We get more appreciative letters for this class than any other which affirms our theory that the more you know-the more FUN you have.

QWS Adapts to Video
We hope you enjoy the little taste of video we added to the website to give viewers a feeling of what our classes are like. Please note that there are no beatings or pistol whipping of students going on in the clips and in fact-everyone seems to be having FUN! For 2010 we hope to capture more footage and maybe even make some clips available to students after their class so they can show off a little to family and friends. If you enjoy the music playing in the background then you might want to contact our long-time friend Bruce Eaton about his works. Bruce Eaton is Pure Michigan and along with his wife Joan creates some of the coolest jewelry around. But it’s Bruce’s work with the guitar that amazes us and he wrote and played everything you hear on our clips. www.mirrorimage.etsy.com

Quiet Water Symposium Ahead!
The real harbinger of spring is always a gathering of the paddling community on the first Saturday in March for an all day event that includes great speakers, displays, kayak shops, hand crafted products all centered around paddling. www.quietwatersymposium.org. This event is always laid back due to its roots with the Lansing Oar and Paddle Club who staffs the event with enthusiastic volunteers that all share the same passion for paddling. Not to be missed!

Back in the Equipment Room
A long time sponsor of QWS and business affiliate, Bending Branches stunned the outdoor business world last summer when they bought out their larger competitor, Aquabound. Some of the instructors at QWS started their paddling career with Aquabound paddles and have respect for their durability. But most of us moved on to the more advanced, super-lightweight composite paddles hand built by Bending Branches. Or into the gorgeous hand-crafted wood shafts and blades from Branches. The entire Canadian operation of Aquabound has now been moved to the Branches factory in Wisconsin. We’ve had the pleasure and honor to tour this factory and actually help make a canoe paddle. While most companies are going ‘off-shore” for cheaper labor and to avoid environmental laws, Branches/Aquabound did the exact opposite. We are really proud to use these fine American made paddles. Our favorite Bending Branches Spirit models of full carbon lay-ups are now branded Aquabound as the Branches branded models are centered on good value and wood construction while the more serious paddles pull duty under the Aquabound labels. Either way-you cannot beat their quality and value; along with their employee dedication as many have worked at Branches since they first started back in the 80's.

Stand Up and Be Counted
When we first spotted Stand Up Paddling (SUP) at some trade shows we shrugged and thought “this is nothing more than a quirky diversion for those who wished they could surf”. But the sport is catching on and having tried it ourselves, we now see SUP as a very cool extension of kayaking. The exercise it gives you is surprising and I think it’s sort of the yoga of paddling. I’m hoping to talk Bruce into having a few of the new Native SUP boards around HQ this summer and on the trailer. He has made noise about some of us grabbing two of the first Native Versa Boards when they come off the molds in March and continuing down to Florida to give them a good testing and ourselves a few good dunkings while we learn the skills needed to ride and paddle these hybrids.

Meanwhile . . . out in the Boat Yard
There’s a foot of snow right now! But once it’s gone and the ice is out we are excited to add a new series to our fleet of school kayaks. Most know that Andy Zimmerman was the founder and former owner of Wilderness Systems and brought many a great sea kayak to the world. Few know however that Andy and Mike Hooks (along with Wild Bill Medlin) formed Native Kayaks and planned from the start to build some serious day touring kayaks. But first came some very expressive recreational models that redefined comfort seating (Ultimate & Marvel models) and Native’s entire production was tied up making rec and fishing kayaks. But AT LAST the new Inuit kayaks from Native are in production and we were lucky enough, due to Bruce’s connections, to paddle the 12.5 and 14.5 Inuit a lot last fall. We think students looking for versatile day touring kayaks are going to really like these new Inuits-we sure do! www.nativewatercraft.com

Natural River Tours returns for 2010
More and more people are being drawn to paddling and away from crowded, noisy, frenetic activities. And the awareness of Green Practices is growing as people become more interested in where their food and water comes from. Jackson County is the headwaters for the Grand, Kalamazoo and Raisin Rivers and we are lucky to have some sections that are pretty darned untouched and wild. So there are a few dates that we’ve set aside to explore these waters and sharpen some paddling skills. Natural-river-tours These trips are subject to last minute adjustments if water levels crank up due to recent deluges or also if we (perish the thought!) hit drought levels making them more walking than paddling But the sections we’ve chosen are heavily spring fed so they don’t vary as much as downstream sections and we look forward to seeing the wildlife and plants change through the year from the seats of our kayaks.

Just Dooit . . . we did!
Best part of going to Moab Utah: being able to bike, hike and paddle all in one day on world class trails and waters. Worst part-trying to get all the toys and participants in a fuel efficient, but tiny Subaru Outback. Answer-Dooit lightweight trailer by Activity Trailers of Arizona. Our old pal Pig Eyes had to keep checking to see if the trailer was still behind him as the Subaru didn’t break a sweat through the mountains and passes. The Dooit easily held the four kayaks and a Thule roof box with all the paddling gear leaving the roof rack free for the bikes. With two people the bikes could have stowed nicely on the Dooit along with two kayaks leaving less wind noise above. All in all a solid, USA built little trailer that allows us to use smaller, fuel efficient vehicles to get to our launch sites with less lifting and safer on-the-ground footing for lashing and rigging. www.activitytrailer.com Several Michigan dealers have already signed up to stock them in May of 2010.



We look forward to paddling with you in 2010 and please keep the emails and pictures coming!

Lazlo Hunt-QWS