Summer Kayaking is in Full Swing on the Mendocino Coast

WOW!  The first week of summer on the Mendocino Coast has been amazing.  Sunny, warm, and with relatively calm ocean conditions.  Our summer kayak tours are in full swing and we are getting rave reviews from all ages and abilities about our Mendocino kayaking tours and classes.

Our kayak tours and classes get a thumbs up!

Of course we can't take all the credit.  Mother Nature has definitely been cooperative.   In Fort Bragg, our dry and mild kayak tours on the Noyo River have been spectacular.  Highlights have been all the babies.  From river otters to newly fledged birds, the Noyo River is teeming with wildlife and their young, and we are enjoying the show from our kayaks.

Another gorgeous day for a family kayaking on the Noyo River.

One of our favorites of the summer is seeing the newly fledged Belted Kingfishers learning how to fish from their parents.  The adult will catch a fish and stun or kill it then drop it into the water for the fledgling to retrieve. 

Newly fledged Belted Kingfishers on Fort Bragg's Noyo River

Newly fledged Belted Kingfishers on Fort Bragg's Noyo River

For the most part, our ocean conditions have been unseasonably calm.  In addition to playing in the whitewater and waves on our Whitewater of the Sea Adventures, we are getting to kayak into some of the sea caves.  

Kayaking into a Sea Cave along the Mendocino Coast

We are definitely pegging the fun meter with these trips.  It is really fun to introduce all skill levels including beginners to the fun of rock gardening.

A beginning kayaker rock gardening on the Mendocino Coast.

It has also been fun to see students excelling in our kayaking classes.  Our Art of Sea Kayaking Mendocino has been a success.  It has been fun to have a specific focus each month on the specific paddling skills and features of the Mendocino Coast.  Our next class is The Art of Pour-Overs (a pour-over is a popular rock gardening maneuver where a kayaker rides a swell or wave over a rock).  We can't wait to get our students running pour-overs with finesse and style.

Riding a wave as it pour-overs a rock.

In August, The Art of Sea Kayaking takes us into the Magical Mendocino Sea Caves.  If you want ooouuus and ahhhhhs this is a trip not to miss.  In 2 days, we will be exploring and playing in some of our favorite sea caves of the Mendocino Coast. 

Sea kayaking through Mendocino sea caves.

If you haven't made it out on the water with us this summer, there is still time. Check out our calendar or give us a call and let's get out there!

Enjoying a beautiful evening wildlife watching kayak tour on Fort Bragg's Noyo River.



Mendocino Spring and Summer Kayaking

We are getting excited about our Spring and Summer Kayaking Season on the Mendocino Coast.  An article "Paddling Along the Rivers of Mendocino County'" recently appeared on KCET's SoCal Wanderer site.  It has us jazzed about the magical kayaking opportunities that we provide for individuals and families of all ages and abilities.

Cruising by a pair of common merganser ducks on a Noyo River Kayak Tour.

May is when we officially kick off our spring and summer season for kayak tours and classes on the Mendocino Coast.  The season kicks off the first weekend of May with our Intro to Kayaking and Intro to Ocean Kayaking Classes.    The first week of May will start our Monday Night Learn to Kayak Series. This class is geared toward locals who want to learn to kayak and meet others to paddle with. 

Get ready for abalone diving with LFK's Intro to Ocean Kayaking Class

During the first week of May, we are also expecting a shipment of brand new kayaks.  Wahoo!!!

LFK's new kayaks will be arriving on the Mendocino Coast the first week of May.

The Second Weekend of May kicks off our Art of Sea Kayaking Mendocino Series.  We are very excited about this monthly series that gives sea kayakers an opportunity to develop specific rock gardening skills and to paddle and explore different stretches of the Mendocino Coast.  In May, we will start the series with Touring Ocean Rock Gardens.   Other classes in the series include Surfzone FUNdamentals, The Art of the Pour-Over, and Magical Mendocino Sea Caves

Learn to sea kayak the arches, tunnels, sea caves, and rock gardens of the Mendocino Coast

The Third Weekend of May is the official kick-off to our spring and summer kayaking season.  On Saturday, we are teaching a Kayak Safety Skills Clinic.  Sunday is our Afternoon Kayaking on the Noyo River .  Bring your family our for this fun afternoon of leisurely kayaking on the Noyo River that benefits for Books for Babies and Kits for Kindergarten.  We are also starting our evening Sunset Bird Paddle Tours.

From here on out, we are heading full steam into summer with our Tracks to Kayaks Tours, Noyo Meanders, and Whitewater of the Sea Adventures.

Tour the Redwoods on the train and by kayak.

For whitewater kayakers looking for some ocean whitewater kayaking fun, the last weekend of the month is a Rock n Surf Safari.  It is two days of surfing and playing in the waves and whitewater features of the ocean in whitewater kayaks.

Regardless of California's drought, there is always whitewater on the Mendocino Coast.

If you were wondering why we are closed most of the month of April - it is to get ready for all of these grand adventures in May (and to perhaps have a grand adventure or two ourselves).

March - Sea, River, Surf Kayaking

What are your paddling plans for March?  We have been hunkered down working on our website and other business aspects of Liquid Fusion Kayaking.  Now, it is time to turn our attention to teaching.  

Sea Kayaking Trinidad, California

This Weekend we are excited to be coaching at the Storm Gathering USA in Trinidad, CA.  We will be teaching a variety of courses including sea kayak surfing, incident management, whitewater of the sea, rock gardening, and surf kayaking.   We are particularly excited to get to see Justine Curgenven's presentation on Kayaking the Aleutian Islands

The Second Weekend of March is the Annual Santa Cruz Paddlefest.  Formerly called the Santa Cruz Surf Kayak Festival, this is a fun event for both spectators and participants.  See some of the best high performance surf kayakers shred on a world class surf break - Steamer's Lane. The Cowell's Classic is a fun event for novice and intermediate surf kayakers to participate and surf the typically crowded Santa Cruz break with only 3 others.

Jeff in the 2007 Santa Cruz Surf Kayak Festival  photo by Alex Chong

Sea kayak towing drill in Monterey Bay

The Third Weekend in March (March 21-22), Jeff will be coaching a 3 Star Sea Kayak Training in the Monterey Bay Area.  He did one of these in January and is back by popular demand.   We have a couple of spaces available if you are interested.  Here's a link to the syllabus.

On Monday March 22, Jeff will be conducting a 3 Star Sea Assessment.  The BCU 3 Star Sea Award is an internationally recognized achievement of sea kayaking skills. 

Whitewater River Kayaking on the Eel River

And finally the last weekend of March, both Cate and Jeff will be teaching Whitewater Kayaking Class 3.  This class is for paddlers who have class 3 kayaking skills and experience but want to perfect and better their skills to run cleaner lines, surf more waves, carve in and out of eddies, and possibly boat on harder waters.  We will be teaching this on a Northern California Whitewater River - location to be determined based on water levels - course guaranteed to be fun and skill building.

Whew - definitely looking like a busy month for us - sharing what we love with others in the sea, river, and surf.  Hope to see you on the water!