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, June 23, (In Person)
Time: 9-11 am
Location: Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Avenue in Albany
About: Join us in person and meet the 2024 Skills Clinic candidates, hear the latest club news, and enjoy our featured speaker Cyril Derreumaux. Lunch and desert to follow orchestrated by our new Food Maven, Elena Gogoleva, and Dessert Chair, Margot Otway.
Featured Speaker: Cyril Derreumaux: "91-Day Completely Alone Across the Pacific in a Kayak. Lessons Learned"Completely alone in an unforgiving and relentless environment: what does it take to think, act, and deliver like an athlete, to elevate your game, over and over again, until you reach your goals?
An incredible story of human potential, rising to the challenge and overcoming all odds: "Cyril is not just in it to win it. He is in it to expand limits, to rise to the occasion, to redefine possible, and to share what he has learned".
"The most important thing is not my adventure itself, but the learnings from it. The most important are what I can teach, pass on and transmit to others. I want to be a relatable and personified example of going after your passion, of going further, finding your inner drive, and always chasing the things in life that make you vibrate and feel alive" - Cyril DerreumauxThe Speaker:
Oceanic Rower and Kayaker, Guinness World Record Holder. French born, American citizen, Cyril Derreumaux is fluent in 6 languages, an adventurer and true citizen of the world. At age 25 be backpacked around the world in one year. At age 39, Cyril set a Guinness World Record for rowing in a team of four men from California to Hawaii in 39 days. Next, Cyril became the first 100% human-powered kayaker to paddle the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii, earning him another Guinness World Record. A member of the Explorers Club, Cyril is working on a book and a documentary, and he plans to paddle 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, in a 100% human-powered, solo and unsupported kayak - to become the only kayaker to have crossed two different oceans.Please Sign Up Here if planning to attend for accurate seating and food!
Stay tuned to Currents and the BASK Calendar for more details.
Got ideas for meetings or locations? Contact Brian Alger, BASK President
