Women go Wild at WOW

This is my second year attending the Women on Water (WOW) festival in Parry Sound, which is a gathering of over 100 women learning about kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding, and enhancing their paddling skills.

When I received the email about registration for this year’s event, I knew right away I was going again since I had so much fun and learned so much last year (Here are the links for my blogs from last year: Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here ). Since I’ve never had any formal training in a kayak, I decided to make that my focus and registered for the intermediate kayak, SUP yoga, and greenland kayaking courses.

I also decided to create a couple of items to donate to the silent auction that takes place over the weekend (the proceeds of which go to The Georgian Bay Biosphere association), so I crocheted a hat and cowl, and woman in a kayak (complete with paddle!). One of my bunkmates, Melissa, got the kayak and another lady I met, Marcie, got the hat and cowl. There was also a marketplace where participants had products like jewelery, clothing, and artwork for sale.

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Friday Evening

When I arrived on Friday evening, I met up with Christina and enjoyed a yummy meal of basil pesto pasta with prosciutto, tomatoes, and asparagus that she had prepared (this was a meal we both enjoyed back on my birthday trip). As we sat and ate supper, I was happy to see lots of smiling familiar faces from women I had met last year at this event.

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After supper I took in the sights of the camp and set up my bunk before the opening ceremony began. In addition to welcoming the participants and other things you’d expect, there were a couple of presentations. First, the organizer Dympna and her husband (the only male on premise for a little bit), talked about and shared pictures of their crazy adventure this past year on a cruise line where they were employed as kayak tour guides. That was followed up by Christina who talked about how to pack for a kayaking trip, which is something I hope to put into practice one day on a kayak trip.

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After the ceremony wrapped up, I spent a little bit of time out by the campfire, taking in the evening, chatting with ladies excited for the next day’s adventure.

Saturday

I was up bright and early and ready to tackle the day – not as early as the nearly 40 women who went out for yoga on the docks, but early enough to catch them in their warrior poses. Then it was off to breakfast, which was served by the staff at the camp and was just as amazing as last year!

With a full belly, it was time to start the day’s session – intermediate kayaking. This class involved learning and practising paddling strokes, and a refresher in on water rescues in the afternoon (something I hadn’t practised since last year’s event).

As we got fitted in our kayaks for the day, I met a lovely lady, Deanne. The two of us hit it off and we spent the morning chatting together and helping each other out with our moves. After lunch we had some great laughs as we practised how far we could edge (or tip) in the kayaks without falling in, using each other to brace ourselves if we tipped a little too far. Near the end of the session we also helped each other do an assisted rescue, while our fabulous instructors Heather and Sarah watched.

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After supper, Saturday’s entertainment was an evening filled with music from the lovely Jennifer Holub. Once she was done singing, we headed outside again to check out the campfire and decided to hang out on the docks watching the sun fade away. The evening was truly amazing as we all chatted about our day with new and old friends.

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Sunday

I was excited for Sunday morning’s session – SUP yoga. A few years ago I had completed a SUP course which I really enjoyed and I was ready to push my skills by doing some yoga on the boards. The session started with a tour around the area to get everyone comfortable on their boards and then it was time for yoga. Our instructor, Teresa, had brought a floating yoga island where all the SUP boards would connect around this cog style floaty and she did the instructions from the middle. Quite fascinating really.

As we got into the movement of the yoga session, something happened that took me by surprise – I really didn’t think there would be an issue with this, but I started to feel nauseated. The movement of the SUP boards connecting with the island floaty was making my stomach not too happy and I was getting that sea-sickness feeling and had to leave and head back to shore. I felt horrible. I really did not want to leave such a great session, but my body was saying NO GO. At least I managed to get some photos while out on the water.

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I spent the rest of my morning trying to get my stomach to relax, and eventually made the decision that I would head home after lunch, skipping my afternoon session. I had had a couple of really long days and wanted to get home at a reasonable time. After lunch the women of WOW gathered for their final picture and I said my good-bye’s to my friends. I am truly happy to have once again experienced this event and I will be looking forward to next year as well.

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Thank you so much for reading about this event!

To find out where you can get some more of Camper Christina’s new #LoveTheBackcountry items, click here to check out her online store. A huge thanks for Dympna from the Ontario Sea Kayaking Center for organizing this event.