AK 100: Finding Your Edge

Pre-requisite: basic flatwater paddling skills
Dates: July 9-11, 2007
Price: $699 CAD (+ $100 CAD for 3 nights shared accommodation at the Clayoquot Field Station in the Tofino Botanical Gardens) + 6% GST

Course Description:

This course begins where most other kayak courses finish off. We'll show you the paddling skills needed to make that quantum leap into more challenging waters -- edging, paddling in tidal currents, and paddling in surf zones. The culmination of the course is a day-trip along the open coast near Tofino.

Course Goal:

The goal of this course is to allow intermediate paddlers to finesse their edging, leaning, bracing, moving water and kayak surfing skills. The 3-day format allows plenty of time for one-on-one coaching, to bring your kayaking skills to a new level.

Course Objectives:

You will learn:

• a philosophy of safety that emphasizes seamanship, judgement, and personal responsibility.
• intermediate kayak strokes including edging, bracing, and quick turns.
• paddling in tidal currents, including ferry glides and eddy turns.
• kayak surfing skills including side-surfing, launching and landing.
• strategies for paddling exposed coastlines.

Itinerary:

We'll spend the first morning playing around with paddling the kayaks on edge: covering low and high braces, and edged sweep strokes. We'll then head to a small tidal rapid to play in the currents, working on eddy turns and ferry glides. The second day we'll head to Long Beach to play with surf zone skills such as side-surfing, punching out through the waves, and sneaking back in safely. The third day we'll go for a paddle along some of the wild and beautiful exposed coastlines near Tofino.

Register early to avoid disappointment!
Call us at 1-877-422-WILD