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Expert kayaker to speak at meeting

Many people in our area enjoy recreational and touring kayaking but to get a glimpse of what might be considered “paddling on the fringes,” don’t miss the next meeting of the Comox Valley Paddlers Club.
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Al Dunham will give a slide and video show at the Oct. 5 Comox Valley Paddlers Club meeting.

Many people in our area enjoy recreational and touring kayaking but to get a glimpse of what might be considered “paddling on the fringes,” don’t miss the next meeting of the Comox Valley Paddlers Club.

On Thursday, Oct. 5, Al Dunham will present a slide and video show of two of his passions: Greenland rolling and kayak surfing at Surge Narrows.

The Campbell River resident is accomplished in both. In 2011, he placed first in the Kayak Academy Greenland rolling competition in Seattle. The competition required correctly performing as many of the 32 variants of the kayak roll as possible. Points are awarded based on the difficulty of the manoeuvre.

In its spring 2015 issue, Coast and Kayak magazine published Dunham’s article, Downhill Both Ways, on running the rapids at Seymour Narrows which, at its peak flow, is one of the fastest tidal rapids in the world.

When not rolling or in the big currents, Dunham likes to kayak tour. He completed a circumnavigation of Vancouver Island in seven legs spread over the years 2005-2014. His website (alyak.ca) is a wealth of information on paddling the rapids, island weather and wind patterns, with links to his video channels.

Thursday’s presentation is at 7 p.m. at the Lion’s Den at 1729 Comox Ave., behind the Pearl Ellis Art Gallery. Enter off Nordin Street. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Non-members are welcome to attend with a donation at the door to BC Marine Trails.

FMI: cvpaddlershow@gmail.com

Visit comoxvalleypaddlers.ca or the club’s Facebook page.