Wild Women SUP Symposium 2023!
And that is wrap! For the 2023 Wild Women SUP symposium. The 2023 WWSUP has been and done! And what a great 4 days it was!
This year the weather gods treated us to some amazing conditions!
22 women registered for this years Symposium, with a good mix of some new faces and some old faces. This years weekend was spread over 4 days with the opportunity to attend workshops on the Friday and finish on the Tuesday with the end of the Mini SUP expedition. The symposium was based out of Cannich, located just off of Loch Ness. Nestled in the glen a perfect location for paddling, camping and sharing our experiences!
The Friday start with a bang, with Jess Philips taking a group for the River SUP! The ladies were taken down the River Affric, starting at the power station. At the same time another group took advantage of great conditions to do a long distance paddle on Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin. But as we know when there is no wind in Scotland there are MIDGES!
“It was great a good mixture of river skills and just getting through the tricky parts unfortunate moment caught on video where I went over the bumpy bit backwards but she talked us through it all!” Babara Roemmelle (2nd timer on the WWSUP)
After the official check-in on the Friday night, and a few light drinks around the fire, we were all set for Saturday. 4 workshops were on the cards. Long distance paddle with Helen Trehoret, River SUP with Emy Mcleod and Jess Philips, Beginner SUP techniques with Clare Scott and SUP yoga / fitness with Leanne Bird! The variation of the workshops allowed the paddlers to mix and match their sessions, to experience all parts of the SUP paddling.
Saturday night we held the traditional meal and presentation. This time it was Magaret Lewis talking about her 60 things to do before she was 60, an inspirational story about achieving setting goals and achieving them. The meal of Chilli Con Carnie was a hit and we finished the evening on high with a few drinks and then off to bed for the last day of the event!
Sunday’s session was a bit lighter, with Leanne Bird hosting her SUP yoga sessions to eleviate the aching limbs from the day before! I took the distance paddle in morning, and we finished with a presentation on how to plan SUP expedition.
This was the last official day of the weekend. Next on the cards was the mini SUP expedition, designed to consolidate on the skills learnt over the weekend, and put them into practice. The plan was to paddle to end of Loch Affric and set up camp there. However the weather gods had other plans, and we were forced to abandoned the plan, and retreat to the more settled Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin. This followed the plan that in making a plan, that you need to change a plan.
That night we set up camp in a settled pennisula of the loch, set about making fire and preparing food. As a gift from the gods there was a slight breeze meaning that there were no MIDGES, yet not too windy. After a good night sleep under the stars, wind, rain, and sun, we rose to a sun rise and a slight sprinkling of midges. We packed up and headed off the loch, parting ways after a last coffee, and cake!
This years event was a great success, the vibe was positive, and encouraging for the 2024 version. For this reason we are changing the location to Arisaig to keep the event fresh. More importantly after listening to the stories of the ladies involved in event I have decided to donate 5 pounds from each of the registration towards Brest Cancer. We also welcome 2 new instructors next year Leeane Mackay and Pat Mcdonald! If you are interested in registrating for next year’s event on the 6 th and 7th September then head over to our page Wild Women SUP Symposium !