Bay Area Sea Kayakers (BASK) is a non-profit 501(c7) sports club of several hundred sea kayakers who live throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our interests include flat-water paddling, kayak-surfing, expeditions, and playing amongst the rocks, in conditions that range from mild to wild. Our club exists to bring paddlers together for companionship, safety, education, exploration, learning, and great food and drink! We're committed to safety both on and off the water, and our club holds insurance through Paddlesports Risk Management. We offer an inexpensive annual Skills Clinic to members, as well as numerous free clinics on skills, rescue, and safety throughout the year. We welcome as members all individuals interested in kayaking. We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive paddling club and to sharing our enthusiasm, skills, and knowledge to increase equity and access to our sport.
BASK trips range from local to international, and are all member-initiated with shared responsibilities for safety. BASK does not supply boats or equipment, although some members are willing to share their equipment. You have to be a member or a guest of a member to participate in on-the-water BASK events and a signed activity waiver is required. Follow the links to learn more about the benefits of membership and to join BASK.
We invite you to attend one of our monthly meetings, either online or in person. They are free and open to the public; in-person meetings include food (suggested donation $8-10). The format of each meeting may vary a bit month to month, but they tend to include members sharing stories, featured speakers, club news, and information about upcoming events. It’s a great way to meet club members and learn about paddling opportunities. For more information see the Events page!
Would you like to speak at a BASK meeting or have an idea for a speaker? Contact the Speaker Seekers. Interested in what type of speakers we’ve had in the past? See a representative list of previous general meeting topics.
BASK Health Guidelines
For the safety of participants at all BASK paddles and other in-person activities, please stay home and join us another time if:
- You're experiencing symptoms of any communicable respiratory illness
- You're testing positive for COVID-19, even if you're feeling well
- In the past week, you've been exposed to someone with COVID-19 via shared air
If you develop COVID-19 symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 within a week of attending an in-person BASK activity, please let the event initiator know. This will allow the initiator to inform other participants, who can then choose to self-test or take other precautions such as obtaining pharmaceutical COVID-19 treatments if they develop symptoms.
Next BASK General Meeting: Sunday, September 21 (In Person)
Time: 9:30 am-noon.
Don’t miss joining us on Sunday September 21st for our monthly in-person General Meeting. We have an extra special venue for this month’s in person meeting; we’ll be in the Officer’s Boardroom at the USS Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum! Get up to speed on upcoming BASK plans and activities, learn about new BASK initiatives, and watch a fascinating talk from this month’s featured speakers.
Location: The USS Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum, 707 W Hornet Ave, Alameda, CA. The Officer’s Boardroom is located near the front of the ship. As our meeting starts before the ship is open to the public, we’ll enter from the middle exit gangway. We’ll have a BASK volunteer near the entrance to guide people to the meeting room. **Note: Flip flops, open toe, or high heel shoes are NOT recommended for this meeting and stairs can be quite steep so please use caution when descending/ascending levels.
Pre-Meeting Hosted Breakfast: 9:30-10:30 am
BASK Food Maven Genevieve Shiffrar is planning a yummy catered breakfast to start off the meeting, so be sure to get there on time. BASK will be accepting suggested donations of $15 to help cover the expenses for food and drinks. To sign up, see this post in BASK's Currents forum.
Featured Presentation: Wildlife encounters by kayak in British Columbia. By Ellen Simms and Tom Colton.
In June of 2024 Tom and Ellen were dropped off by ferry at Bella Bella on the Inside Passage and paddled for 20 days among the outer islands of the BC coast. The Great Bear Rainforest did not disappoint. Feeding frenzies of Bald Eagles and Rhinoceros Auklets, mink feeding in the intertidal, coastal river otters, Sandhill Cranes, lush mountain bogs of sphagnum and insectivorous plants, Steller’s Sea Lions, and whales all around. After eight hard days of paddling, they landed on majestic Campania Island, anticipating a layover to climb its granite peaks. But within 36 hours they were driven off the island by a pack of wolves who had lost their fear of humans. Despite some damaged and lost gear, they salvaged their goal of hiking the island and continued on to their ferry pickup at Klemtu. In this talk they will highlight some of their experiences, contrast battling these wolves with natural wolf behavior they’ve witnessed elsewhere, and describe precautions kayakers can take.
Tom Colton and Ellen Simms are retired biologists who love to kayak. They appreciate that kayakers can explore the nooks and crannies of the coast and experience its wildlife and plant life in a way unavailable to others. In the summer of 2012 they began as kayak-touring newbies: exploring the west coast of Vancouver Island for eight days, during which they rescued a small plane and briefly lost both of their kayaks. They were hooked. They’ve since returned for eight more summers, paddling a total of 19 weeks along the outer coast of Vancouver Island from Port Hardy to Barkley Sound as well as among islands of the Inside Passage further north. Ellen and Tom are both very active in BASK activities and education and have held a variety of club roles since 2010.
Post Meeting Docent Tours: After the meeting you are welcome to tour the ship and have access to the flight deck, hanger bays, and most of the 2nd deck unguided. However if you are interested in a docent guided tour we will be hiring 1-2 docents depending on interest. The tours will be 2 hours long and will consist of 2 of the 4 one hour tours that are typically offered. The suggested donation for tours is $20. To indicate your interest in a tour, see this post in BASK's Currents forum.
Volunteers Needed!: And appreciated for setup and/or cleanup.
Stay tuned for more details on Currents.
Have an item for the agenda? Got ideas for meetings or locations? Contact Brad Findlay, BASK President.
