The seed that was planted during my initial kayak safety class grew slowly as I decided what the next step could / should be. I confess it was a bit of a dilemma. On one hand if I did nothing and stopped taking lessons, I was probably deciding to not pursue kayaking. But the next step I thought made sense was the Kayak Academy’s 5 Day Kayak Training Camp. Taking this class sort of seemed like going all in.
And in the end, I decided to go all in and signed up for their last 5 Day class of the year. It will be an impossible task for me to accurately describe the quality of this course. The first paragraph of the course description give a strong indication, but doesn’t come close to describing the detail and quality of instruction experience during the 5 day course.
Our Five-Day Training Camp is the fastest way for a sea kayaker to advance from beginner/intermediate to a highly skilled paddler with trip leadership and navigation experience. Intermediate/advanced students get amazing skill refinement and discover techniques and concepts not taught anywhere else. After this course, you will be more skilled than most people with years of paddling experience. It's excellent training for guides too. The class size is kept small so we can challenge each student to their individual level.
I have never once experience such a thoughtful, well done, Jam Packed instructional course in my life.
We teach strokes and rescues from a practical point of view you won't get anywhere else. Build confidence and self-reliance by learning the boat handling and safety skills needed to deal with the winds, waves, currents, and capsizes that are part of sea kayaking. No time is wasted sitting indoors theorizing, we include free use of dry suits so you can learn outdoors in the environment you want to kayak in.
We spent, probably, 2 hours each day studying from George Gronseth’s “text book” and then using that knowledge on the water.
In this course you will learn how to perform all the paddle skills necessary to competently paddle a sea kayak without the risky limitations of relying on a mechanical rudder for steering or the kayak's stability for balance. We teach feathered, unfeathered, and Greenland style paddling technique - you decide which you prefer. You will practice: wet-exits, assisted and self-rescues, towing swimmers and kayaks, and the kayak roll (over 90% of students who took this course learned to roll in sea kayaks, and virtually all who tried it succeeded at rolling with the help of a paddle float as a training aid.) Our progression leading up to rolling will also improve your bracing, steering, and forward paddling. You'll learn the bracing strokes, seven ways to steer in side winds without ruddering, improve the speed and efficiency of your forward stroke, and prevent tendinitis from paddling. We also provide video playback with coaching for your forward stroke and each student leaves with their own personal written prescription to improve their technique.
It seem that there was no end to the types and variations of paddle strokes. And this was, for me, the hardest part. Most of my other classmates had previous kayaking experience, but I was pretty much brand new with only the 1 Day Kayak Academy SK101 class under my belt. But the one item I was immediately drawn to, was rolling. I was able to get the occasional roll pretty quick after our instruction. And I knew that my future had rolling in it.
That's just the first three days! On the last two days we'll do an overnight kayak camping trip to the islands around Anacortes. Paddle through waves, cross eddy lines, and get hands-on experience at kayaking leadership and navigation. Each student is provided with their own chart, compass, and tide tables.* With these tools in hand and the water in front of you, you'll not only learn to predict tides and currents - you'll learn to: check your predictions by observing the rise or fall of the tide, reading the water so as to see the current and eddies with your own eyes, interpret marine weather forecasts, take compass bearings to fix your position, determine ferry angles, and understand the "rules-of-the-road" for boaters.
I confess that the overnight kayak camping trip was a bit of a mixed bag. The trip itself was fabulous, and I enjoyed the heck out of it. But I would have liked a bit more time and understanding in the nuances of packing a kayak for an overnight trip. That said, there were a couple of “Ah Ha” moments on the trip. The first was that I discovered Greenland style paddles and used one for the trip to Cypress Island and back. One of our assistants on the trip also used one and I learned a bunch from him. But second, we had a couple of chance to “play” in mildly dynamic water. And this was a blast. Even with a fully loaded kayak. As a result of these two revelations, I was pretty sure that I wanted a “playful” touring sea kayak, and Greenland paddles.
Handouts include a draft of, "Kayak Trip Planning & Leadership Guide", by George Gronseth. You also get to keep a set of Washington Tide and Current Tables, and your kayak logbook of the trip.
LOL, this the most amusing part of Kayak Academy’s description of this course. Handouts? Guides? More like a tome of knowledge handed down from the elders.
A few years ago, I purchased a sweet little Vespa Scooter to use as my island vehicle. I had been trying to decide between a 50cc version which doesn’t require a motorcycle endorsement or a “proper” Vespa, 150cc, which did require an endorsement / motorcycle safety class. In the end I opted for a 150cc Vespa and took the class. And it was amazing just how much I learned. I learned things I wish that they taught me while learning to drive a car. This Kayak Academy class had that same feeling. And even though I’ll need to refresh and relearn a bunch to the content, I have a much better understanding of what I need to know and how to approach kayaking in a way that reduces risk and enhance my enjoyment.
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