Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10, 2012, 10am-5pm

ACA instructors Adam Andis and Darrin Kelly will teach all of the skills you need to be a safe and confident paddler, so that you can get out and enjoy our coastal wilderness areas and volunteer with the Sitka Community Wilderness Stewardship Project to collect needed baseline data. The class will include kayak skills for beginning to advanced paddlers, self and assisted rescue training, and Wilderness monitoring training, including an invasive plant ID lesson from Kitty LaBounty.

This two day course is open only to current SCS members so be sure to join or renew your membership when you sign up. Space is very limited, so sign up early!

To sign up or for more information, contact SCS at 747-7509.

Cost is $75 for the 2-day course (drysuits included). Kayak rental is $35 per day through Latitude Adventures. A 10% will be offered to participants who provide their own drysuit.

Skills Course Agenda:

Day 1

1000 Introduction (15 min)

• Intros- instructors, SCS, Wilderness Project
• Itinerary
• Site logistics- food, water, hot drinks, bathroom, changing area
• ACA
• outline course expectations
• safety briefing- PFD always on in water, helmets, hypothermia risk & mitigation, paying attention to each other and instructors)
• liability release

1015 On Shore Presentations (55 min)

• Equipment orientation – drysuits later
• Personal clothing and gear
• PFD's, wetsuits, spray skirts
• Safety equipment
• Basic boat design and kayak terminology
• Boat fit and adjustment
• Boat/body weld
• Foot brace adjustment
• Spray skirt attachment/release
• Dry land "wet exit" drill
• Paddle orientation and use
• basic paddle technique

1110 Break (5 min)

1115 Launching & Landing (30min)

• The paddling environment: wind, waves, weather, water (overview)
• Carrying kayak to and from water
• Entry/exit of kayak from shore or dock
• Boat stability, "hip wiggle,"
• Allow students a few minutes to paddle around and get oriented with their kayak

1145 Basic Strokes & Skills (60 min)

• Rafting up
• Sweep stroke (forward/reverse/pivot in place)
• Forward Stroke
• Reverse stroke and stopping
• Draw stroke

High and low braces (hip snap/boat lean/lower body control) – discussion, not practice

1245 Lunch (30 min)

• risk management triangle

1315 Rescues (3 hr 15 min)

• hi and low brace
• t-rescue demo (2 instructors)
• stirrup demonstration
• assisted rescue variations (stirrup, swamping the kayak)
• students practice
• paddle-float demo
• students practice
• paddle-float re-entry and roll (if time available)
• advanced bracing- sculling
• all-in practice

1630 Wrap up (20 min)

• get out of dry suits

1650 Debrief (10 min)

• tomorrow's itinerary

 

Day 2

1000 Monitoring Training (1hr 50 min)

• Plant ID Training (Kitty LaBounty) (40 min)
• Solitude Monitoring (20 min)
• History of Wilderness/Wilderness Character (10 min)
• LNT and Rec. Site (40)

1150 Paddling Environment (extended) (50 min)

• Tides- theory and practice
• Charts
• Weather
• Basic navigation

1240 Lunch (45 min)

• Expectations for the day
• Prepare to get on the water- get dressed, personal gear and snacks, fill water bottles

1325 Practice and tour (3 hr 5 min)

• Skills and limitations (next steps)
• staying together
• emergencies
• boat traffic
• skills- stroke refinement, edging, running draws
• continued LNT training and practice
• Communication- equipment and protocol
  • Signaling
  • Boat traffic/Rules of the Road
  • "What's in my PFD?" and "What's in my cockpit?"

1630 Return and Debrief (30 min)

• Return gear
• Thanks and continue to stay involved in SCS Wilderness Project