Awesome day for a photo shoot

What an afternoon on Thursday. With a balmy 40-something degrees under a clear blue sky and bright setting sun, Seattle surfski racing hero Don Kiesling took a couple hours of his day to coach me on my paddlestrokes and pose for some PR shots for our friends at Costa del Mar. Don's wearing the Filament rimless frames, with dark amber lenses, an awesome combo. Just like Don, the Filament is lightweight but it packs a punch in versatility and style.

In search of the perfect stroke, Don already has the perfect shades. Here, in the shadow of century-old GasWorks Park, he sports Costa del Mar's biggest-seller, Fathom frames in black, with blue mirror glass lenses. All Costa sunglasses -- every possible lens combination in all 52 frame styles -- are 100% polarized and live up to every bit of their slogan, "See What's Out There." Incredible clarity that's easy on the eyes, no matter which side of the lens you're on.

More shots of Don right here on Picasa.

Don's top-secret wing-paddle coaching tips got me a whispered "nice, you're hitting ___ knots" as he followed my Eddyline Falcon S18 -- fill in the blank, Steve Bennett. You'll only be outta my head when I beat you. Could be next month, could be next year.

On the beach I jumped out of my Falcon and into the coolest new beach toy on the market, the little 8-footer from Spitfire Kayaks.

No, I did not need that rescue boat. In fact Don got behind the camera to prove that a 210-pound paddler still has a bunch of freeboard in this little guy.....

...and while thigh straps might be good for a hip snap, it's still pretty hard to tip over. I tried really hard, but did not take a swim!

All in all a great day on the water. Thanks Don for your help and support. Now I just need to make it worth your time and beat Steve Bennett... stay tuned...