Inland Sea Kayak’s “AS IF” challenge

Last weekend I participated in Inland Sea Kayak’s “AS IF” challenge organized and lead by Jeff Forseth. This event is a skill development day where participants are divided into smaller paddling parties and are presented with situations and challenges a group may encounter while touring on a large body of water. This year’s event took place on Lake Minnetonka, which is over 2 hours from my house in Eau Claire, so it was a very early morning to make an 8:00am launch. I was one of the last to arrive and as I unloaded and prepared for the event I encountered my first challenge. I remembered to pack everything I would need for the day and even a good deal of ‘just-incase’ gear. However, after double checking both the car and kayak twice I realized my skirt must still be hanging in my laundry room. My heart just sank as I was sure I just wasted a long early morning drive to the far side of The Cities. Felling a bit foolish I ask if anyone happened to pack an extra spray skit, and, luckily for me, Peggy O’Neal saved my day as she pulled one from her hatch. 

 

The event kicked off and we were divided into three teams. Our team included Joyce, Bernie, Sam, Meredith, and me. Michelle was our observer providing some direction and making notes for the after-action debriefing. We worked on a bunch of different skills over the day; navigation, rescue skills, towing, first aid, group dynamics, and leadership. 

 Joyce, graciously but not silently, went for a cold swim. During her rescue we managed to pretend bash her in the head with a paddle. Due to her imaginary condition we needed to tow her along and reevaluated her condition. Luckily, with a bit of good care she came around. Throughout the day there were a several new things I had not seen before, including a Bothy Bag shelter for treating hypothermia. I was truly astonished at how quickly we heated up once inside the shelter. It would be a great option just to take a rest inside on a cold and windy paddling day, or if you were unexpectedly caught out overnight.

We had a nice island lunch, including several cookie varieties, and chatted. Even the sun made a greatly appreciated appearance. After lunch we paddled back to Cooks Bay for an ‘All In’ drill. The water was cold, but everyone was back in their boat in short order. The paddle was followed by a debriefing at the Forseth Home. The conversation was good as we reviewed what worked and where we could improve. And most of all, a big special thank you to Michelle Forseth, Jeffrey Forseth, and Peggy O'Neal for their work on this event. This was my first year at the Challenge, and I see why people come back year after year.