Fort Bragg, California

Fort Bragg, California is a bit rough around the edges.  We like it this way.  To live here, one has to be creative, adaptive, and willing to get wet.  When Jeff and I established Liquid Fusion Kayaking in Fort Bragg in 2008, we had to do some out of the box thinking to make it work.  

Earlier this month, Fort Bragg celebrated it's 130th birthday.  Fort Bragg has been a lumber and fishing town for the majority of those 130 years.  These are 2 extremely rugged and dangerous industries.  And industries that often swing on a variable economic pendulum.  Today, Fort Bragg is attempting to break away from its economic dependence on lumber and fishing.  As tourism becomes an important part of Fort Bragg's economy, we are seeking how to stay true to our rugged roots.

Whitewater Kayaking, Cliffside Wine Tasting, and the Strange Wildnerness - The 4 Day Weekend in Fort Bragg is the title of a recent article in Men's Journal.  The author Andrew Leonard shares his experience visiting Fort Bragg including Liquid Fusion Kayaking's Whitewater of the Sea Adventure. 

Working with the water to ride a wave over a rock.  Fort Bragg, California is an ideal location for whitewater ocean kayaking - aka rock gardening.

In the article, Andrew alludes to the challenge of Fort Bragg reinventing itself without sanding away its rough edges.  He closes his article with the lesson that he learned when ocean kayaking with Jeff - "Work with the water and not against it."  Good advice for all of us in changing times - the trick is understanding how water works 😉

Liquid Fusion Kayaking's Cate Hawthorne coaching students on how to work with the water and kayak as a team in ocean rock gardens.