For all those people looking to try a range of kayaks, there are not one, but
three kayak symposia on the west coast this fall. Best known is Port Townsend
Sept 20-21. Less well known because they are newer are the Bay Area Paddlefest
( www.bayareapaddlefest.com ) Sept. 27-28 in San Mateo, CA and the Southwest Kayak
Symposium ( www.southwestkayaksymposium.com ) Oct. 4-5 in San Diego. Symposiums
are a great place to try lots of kayaks, often including those "hard
to find" makes. Port Townsend and Southwest Kayak Symposium offer on-site camping
which help make them pretty affordable events to attend, even from a distance.