How to Kayak? My Kayak Lesson with an Olympian! San Diego Canoe & Kayak Club

And in this episode, my favorite, the best of the California coast, San Diego, where we'll check out the San Diego Canoe and Kayak Club Training for Olympia. I'm Pat Patterson, and I love California. I'm so excited to be down here in San Diego with Chris Barlow, who is the founder of the San Diego Canoe and Kayak Team. And Chris, this is an incredible facility. Yeah, it's been a long time in the making. We're actually celebrating our 25th anniversary this year. We started in 1997 with a couple of old, rusty sea containers, which we kept our boats in. And now we've progressed to some buildings, some modular buildings. And we've had kids that joined us at, you know, eight, 10, 12 years old, and have gone on to compete in the Olympic Games for the United States, and the Paralympics, and the Youth Olympic Games, and World Championships in canoeing and kayaking. And you were telling me you're originally from Wales. That's right. And what was your, I mean, aha moment in terms of coming up with this back in the 90s? I came here in 1986 with my wife. We were actually on our honeymoon, and we came to San Diego, and it's such a gorgeous place. We just never left. I started training on Mission Bay here in my kayak with a six-foot-eight Frenchman who was on six Olympic teams. Six-foot-eight, that's almost as long as the kayak. No, exactly, exactly. And he got me excited about the sport and about training hard for it. And I made the U.S. team, and then ended up on the Olympic team at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. And right after that, I noticed that the sport of sprint canoeing and kayaking in the United States is pretty, it's a pretty low-key sport. Kind of in Europe, and Australia, and Canada even, it's a very big sport, and everybody knows about it, and the gold medal winners for those countries are kind of household names. And I thought that the only way that I could make a difference in the U.S. was to actually start a youth program. So as part of the San Diego Junior Lifeguard Program with the City Fire and Lifeguard Department, we started an offshoot of that, which was the San Diego Junior Canoe, Junior Olympic Canoe and Kayak Team. And what room are we in right here? So this is our boathouse for the kayak bay. So we race in kayaks, K1s. So one person- But you're gonna show me later. Yeah, exactly, exactly. They're very tippy, they go very fast. We race in K1s, K2s, and K4s. So a four-person kayak would be a K4, one person would be a K1. The K4s go fast enough to pull a water skier. That's how fast they travel across the water. Very fast boats, very tippy. Takes about two years to learn the balance, to get your balance down, and most people take- I'm not gonna do that one. You're not gonna put you in one of those today. We also race canoes, which are C1s, C2s, and C4s. That is more difficult than kayaking because you're on one knee and you paddle only on one side. You have no rudder, so you have to steer with your paddle. And one of our members, Nevin Harrison, she's originally from Seattle. She raced for Seattle, now she's moved here because she's going to San Diego State. Actually won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo last year in the C1 200. She trains out of here right now. Yeah, originally from Seattle, as I said. I mean, just the fact that you're giving back to youth here in San Diego, and giving them a purpose, health, things to do. I mean, that's gotta feel so gratifying. It's definitely been an enjoyable thing to do because I started a youth program, but we actually have members that are 85 years old. So it's a sport that you can- It's almost as old as I am. It's a sport you can do for life. I mean, I'm still paddling and racing at 60 years old and just enjoying being out on the water and out on the ocean, and enjoying everything that San Diego has to offer. So Chris, tell me about this particular, and this is an Epic. That's right, we love the people from Epic. These guys are great. Epic have been big sponsors of San Diego canoe kayaking throughout the years. They actually gave us a surf ski every year for the last 10 years to give to our top junior paddler in the ocean racing series. And do you know how long they've been in the kayak world? Well, Epic was started by Greg Barton, who was a double gold medalist for the United States in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. This is the one hopefully you're gonna get me out in, and I'm not going to drown. Hopefully not, hopefully not. That would be so unfortunate. Everyone drowns. You don't want- Get wet. But we won't let you drown. You don't want that on television. No, so this is an Epic surf ski. And the difference between a surf ski and a kayak is a kayak you sit inside, and a surf ski you sit on top of. So it has a bucket for the seat, and it has right here up in this area, pedals for the rudder system, and a foot brace that you can push against as well you paddle. Surf skis are designed for racing in the ocean. They're designed for catching big downwind waves, and we try and go out in the windiest, roughest days possible. So I was actually out yesterday in 28 mile an hour winds off La Jolla, and just having a blast on a double surf ski with a friend of mine, Shane. And we were going 25 kilometers, plus 25 kilometers an hour on the ski on our way. So it's just so much fun. You're flying along, the spray's coming off, dolphin jumps in front of you. It's just such a great, great sport to be a part of racing in the ocean on these boats. Well, let's get in the water and see what we can do with this thing. All set to head out on my Epic. Remind me the size of this one? We're gonna go on an Epic V8 and an Epic V10 Sport today. Epic V8. So what are some tips with the paddle? So this is a wing paddle, also made by Epic. And the wing paddle actually helps you power with correct technique, and actually is way more efficient than a flat paddle. So what you wanna do is try and use your body. You don't wanna pull with your arms. You wanna rotate your body and try and keep your arms fairly straight. So you put the paddle in the water, lock the blade in the water, and then rotate your body to drive the boat past where you put the paddle. Let's get me in the water and check it out. Okay, sounds good. So Chris, that was so much fun. I love this Epic kayak. And you have been such a gracious host. This is such an incredible resource for anybody down here in San Diego. We would love to see if you've got kids that are into water sports, or just wanna enjoy being out on the water, wanna learn boating safety, bring them down to San Diego Canoe Kayak Team. You can look at our website at www.sdckt.net for sandiegocanoekayakteam.net. And come check us out. We're here most Saturday mornings on Fiesta Island at the Youth Aquatic Center. And we'd love to see you, whether you're eight or whether you're 80. Ho, ho, ho, ho. Ho, ho, ho, it is Santa. What a whole lot of love. We're surfing. Santa's down here at the Ritz-Carlton Resort, Salt Creek Beach. And Santa, tell me what this thing's all about. I mean, it's the ultimate California thing. Surfing and Santa. So the Israel Paskowitz, the Paskowitz family's been around for just forever. And he had a son that had a little bit of autism. And so in order for him to heal his son, he had to bring him to the ocean. The ocean is the most purest place in the world. Couldn't agree with you more. That cures people. So I am so excited to be here with one of the co-founders of Surfers Healing, Izzy Paskowitz. So Izzy, tell me about Surfers Healing. Surfers Healing, where do we start? We'll start right here. Oh, great. I have a 32-year-old autistic son. So Surfers Healing is a free camp, and it's either one or two days that we have around the world, at no charge to these parents. We have 26 events around the world, average of 200 children, teens, and adults, because my Isaiah is 32 years old. So I'm not gonna discriminate against kids and adults that wanna come down and wanna be a part of this. It's the spirit of a kid. It's absolutely. So we are able to adapt. And Izzy, your co-founder, let's talk to the other co-founder. Danielle, your wife, Danielle. Can you join us here? Hey, come on in, honey. Come on in. So tell me, Danielle, what this means to you. This contest, this is, I think, our 12th year down here at the beach. And then we have the surfboard auction up at the hotel. Yeah, that's been 15 years. So we've been doing this with the Ritz. We've been partners with them, and they're raising money for our charity, Surfers Healing. And you're a surfer as well? I used to be when I was a child, but I grew up in a surfing family, and my dad is 83 years old, and he still works on surfboards. Wow, wow, that's incredible. So this is kind of in the family genes, right? Yes, both sides, both sides. And you have kids, and now I understand, a grandchild. Three grandchildren. Three grandchildren, how awesome. And so now, are you guys all local here? Are you still living here? Yes, we still live in the area. Did you grow up down here? I did, I did. He kind of grew up all over the place. I'm a native. Yeah, the best good story is we grew up in Hawaii, then we traveled around the world, and Israel. That's another story. But there are waves everywhere. Absolutely, absolutely. So what's your vision for where Surfers Healing is gonna go? It's 26 events, that's incredible. Is that hard to do? And it's been like, I think, 26 years, 26 locations in 26 years. So yeah, it's hard, but we wanna just keep adding and taking more people and expanding our autism family. And I mean, we have a lot of kids that have come down over the years, and are adults now. They were little, and they're surfing by themselves. So that's what it's all about. So Danielle and Izzy Paskewicz, thank you for all you're doing for the community. It's so great to talk to you. Thank you. It's an honor. Thank you so much.