PADDLER 56
PADDLER 56
The first part of the symposium ended with some festivities in the main tent . An even better way to meet each other without PFD and drysuit !
REMAINING DAYS : TOURING
The neat thing about this symposium is that after three days of intense workshops , there are tours ! The instructors guide the participants safely through some of the most beautiful and interesting areas nearby .
We skipped one tour and assembled with a core team from CK / Mer to do one more exercise ! We moved via Silon de Talbert up to Les Héaux with a small team . Between those two locations are many hiding places , meaning small islets and rock formations . Somewhere in between , we split up . Our team went on one of the islets , seeking the highest point . The other team stayed in their kayaks and moved at least one kilometre further .
At a set time , a helicopter from the local Coast Guard would fly by and set a search pattern to find us . It ’ s not easy since we are only tiny targets in a rugged area of rocks . It was up to the crew from the Coast Guard to pinpoint our location as fast as possible and up to us to make that happen . The main goal for us was to make ourselves as visible as possible . Once we heard the incoming helicopter , the team on the water started to disperse the fluorescent liquid . That makes a bright colour on the surface of the water .
Our team reached the highest point on our islet and deployed the electronic ODEO distress flare . Since it was very , very clouded , this was our best option . The helicopter found us first . They continued their search pattern until they found the other team five minutes later . The helicopter hovered at a safe distance to let us know we were spotted and confirmed this via VHF radio . After this Search and Rescue exercise , we moved further offshore to Les Héaux lighthouse , where we had lunch . We walked around the ruins of the lighthouse itself before returning .
On the last day , we guided a group around the bay with Kai Urban ( Salzwasser Union , Germany ) and Jon Hynes ( Sustainable Sea Kayaking , Ireland ). The main goal was to spend quality time with our group on the water . This was playing in small currents and performing one last landing on La Croix lighthouse .
We gathered again in the tent for our final evening . That evening , or the morning after , we said our goodbyes to everyone from participants to fellow instructors and the people from CK / Mer . We went home again by car , blabbering the entire day about the memories we had made , the people we had met and the things we had done together . We wish to thank Jérôme and his fantastic CK / Mer crew for their impeccable organisation of this event and for letting us make part of it . Many thanks to the instructors we have worked together with ; you rock ! And let us not forget my wife and teammate Sylvie for being everywhere at the right time with her camera and drone . You must have done more miles than the others to move around the whole time . It was an honour and pleasure to the people we have paddled and trained with ! Until next time !
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