Jack Frankosky
Many of my first experiences in a kayak have ties to Phil Klabunde. I learned to roll through his (and others’) efforts. He ran WTC pool sessions.
My early struggle with rolling was related to my inability to stay in the boat. He added padding to sides of the seat of an already really small kayak (for 1975) to help keep me from falling out. I’ve been in between swims since…
A few years later, through Phil, was my introduction to raft guiding. My short “career” guiding on the Lehigh started before I had a driver’s license; So, Phil was my ride to and from work for the weekend. He not only guided, he seemed to know EVERYONE who kayaked and coordinated their participation as guides for Whitewater Challengers.
Since then, it was always a pleasure to see Phil and catch up for a moment.