NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, April 22.
PORT ANGELES — Kayakers, in their swift little boats, can go places rarely seen. And, if they take a video camera along, can share visions of those alluring locales with the masses.
“With kayaking, you can get out to small places you just can’t get into with a bigger vessel,” said Vicki Heckman, co-administrator of the third annual Port Angeles Kayak and Film Festival and owner of Sound Bikes and Kayaks.
The festival begins today with a screening of such videos captured by kayakers, and continues Saturday and Sunday with a wide array of classes taught by expert paddlers during a demonstration at Hollywood Beach just east of the Port Angeles City Pier.
The festival is organized by Heckman and Tammi Hinkle. Hinkle owns Adventures Through Kayaking.
“Certainly — being just a couple of feet off the water with a camera — you get a much more accurate perspective of what a 3-foot wave looks like coming at you,” Heckman said.
In a kayak, she continued, “you’re sitting in a very small vessel on a very large living body of water, and so when you feel the currents, and you feel the winds and you feel the waves — you have become a part of something that is just powerful. You can get the entire feel and perspective from a kayak, and there is no other way you can get that.”
Such experiences can be spiritual, she added.
“You certainly have moments when you are out there playing and having fun. Then you have moments that you are part of something so much bigger than yourself and it is very powerful. It can be very spiritual, it can be very cleansing and it can be life-changing for people.”
On a recent evening kayak trek from the Port Angeles City Pier out past Ediz Hook, Heckman said her group was shadowed by a seal while a pod of dolphins frolicked nearby.
“It was a beautiful glassy night and we had these dolphins playing around us, we had this seal that followed us all over the place, the sunset, the Olympic Mountains and unending beautiful smooth water,” she said.
“It was absolutely awesome. You’ve got everything going on around you and there is magic in the water.”
Festival intention
The intention of the film festival, Heckman said, is to inspire others by showcasing films that capture such awe-inspiring moments.
“This event is to draw interest and knowledge into the sport of kayaking,” she said.
“Most of it obviously is home film, but it gives you some really good ideas of the fun and the connection that you can have out there with nature.”
Some of the films —also via kayak — explore the rivers of the North Olympic Peninsula, Heckman said.
These films, capture “the sounds of the river flowing around you and you have the rocks and then you have the adrenaline rushes and then the calm,” she said.
Whether the films showcase the salty sea or the freshwater rivers, they all are for kayakers and nonkayakers alike, Heckman said.
“The photography in them, the adventures in them [and] the messages they have . . . these are terrific [resources] for them to go see,” she said.
“Certainly come and see the films. Even if you are not interested in kayaking, there is something there to look at.”
Outdoor and adventure films, including one by Sequim producer John Gussman, will be shown at a pre-registration party from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. this evening at Barhop Brewing, 124 W. Railroad Ave., Port Angeles.
During the festival, Gussman also will teach a class on kayak photography.
Demonstration beach
The demonstration beach will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Hollywood Beach. Passes to test drive the kayaks are $10.
Represented brands at the demo beach will include Hobie, Delta Kayaks, Dagger, Wilderness Systems, Werner, Perception, Eddyline, Epic, Swift Paddles and Kokatat Watersports Wear.
Clinics will be available throughout Saturday’s demonstration, and make a good starting place for those new to the sport, Heckman said.
“You can see what you are getting into by doing an entry level clinic,” she said. “There is a lot you can learn and it doesn’t take that long.”
Learning basic skills is essential before heading out for the first time in a kayak, Heckman added.
“There are certainly things you want to learn before” going in the water, she said. “We want you to learn some basic skills so at least you have an opportunity if you do go out there and something happens.”
Other new classes for 2016 include advanced rescue, selecting your first stand-up paddle board, how to choose and rig your fishing kayak, a surfski clinic and yoga for kayakers.
Keynote presentation
At 7 p.m. Saturday, award-winning adventure filmmaker and expedition kayaker Justine Curgenven will deliver the festival’s keynote presentation.
“Sea Kayaking the World” will feature clips from Curgenven’s films highlighting paddling excursions along the coasts of Russia, Antarctica, New Zealand, Patagonia and the Aleutian Islands.
The presentation is at Peninsula College’s Maier Performance Hall, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door or can be purchased at www.portangeleskayakandfilm.com.
Curgenven also will host a Sunday morning paddle around Port Angeles Harbor and teach a two-hour seminar on kayak-based videography.
Visit portangeleskayakandfilm.com for class information, schedules, prices, locations, availability and registrations.
The event is sponsored by Barhop Brewing, Feiro Marine Life Center, Harbinger Winery, Immersion Research, Olympic Peninsula Paddlers, Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission, Peninsula College, Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce and Werner Paddles.
A portion of the proceeds from the Port Angeles Kayak & Film Festival will benefit the Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles.
