Kayak Safety & Leadership Training
Main Instruction Kayak Safety & Leadership Whitewater BCU Assessments Coaching
Coldwater Safety Safety & Rescue Rolling Beginning Greenland Rolling
BCU Coastal Navigation and Tidal Planning Leadership and Incident Management
Coldwater Workshop
If you paddle between October and late May you need to attend this workshop.
Prerequisite: None
2009 Price: $10.00 which includes equipment
Frequent Paddler Price: Free
1.5 
Location: Annsville Creek Paddlesport Center, Cortlandt Manor, NY
This workshop is conducted by Chuck Sutherland and Bill Lozano. A general talk about cold water paddling including; what is cold water paddling, specialized equipment, the effects of cold air and cold water, how do deal with the conditions and more.
Chuck Sutherland will cover the description of hypothermia, frost bite and cold shock including the prevention and treatment of each.
We will show cold water paddling equipment including; wet-suits, drysuits, pile & Capilene undergarments, head, hand & foot gear, first aid and safety equipment. A few short videos dealing with hypothermia and cold shock will be shown. The goal of this program will be to build up your awareness of cold water dangers and your skills to handle cold water emergencies.
Dry suits will be available to test in the water.
Check the Safety Skills of the Expert Center for more information. A 8 page booklet in PDF format explaining some of the dangers of coldwater is available on our Literature page to view or print.
This program provides paddlers with the necessary safety awareness to ensure their safety and the safety of others.
Prerequisite: Core Techniques, BCU 2 Star or equivalent
2009 Price: $140.00 which includes equipment or $95.00 if you have your own.
Frequent Paddler Price: $130.00 which includes equipment or $85.00 if you have your own.
Location 1: Annsville Creek Paddlesport Center, on Annsville Creek and Hudson River
1.5
Location 2: Norrie Point Paddlesport Center on the Hudson River
In addition, it provides paddlers with the rescue skills they can use to help themselves and/or others in difficulty.
The rescue skills covered will include;
- Group rescues
- Self rescues
- Eskimo rescues
- All in rescue
- Rescuing a trapped paddler
- Short and long tows
- Swimming with your kayak
- Carrying a swimmer on your kayak
- Throw lines
and more.
It is important to have the equivalent of our Core Techniques class skills and a willingness to capsize to get the most from this program.
This is a program all kayakers should take more then once. Our staff loves to teach it as we get a chance to practice all of these skills. As long as you are happy in the water, it's a fun program to take.
Topics include: Self and group rescues, safety equipment, communication, signaling equipment, effects of cold water, how to dress, towing, risk assessment, CLAP, manual handling and unknown incidents. Self, Team, Victim, Equipment will be the protocol used throughout the program.
Learn the roll best suited to your body type and craft.
Prerequisite: Core Techniques, 2 Star or equivalen with good support strokes.
2009 Price: $90.00 includes equipment
Time: 4 Hours (morning and afternoon sessions)
Ratio: 1 Instructor to 4 Students
Location 1: Annsville Creek Paddlesport Center, Cortlandt Manor, NY
1.5
Location 2: Norrie Point Paddlesport Center on the Hudson River
A couple of lessons are usually needed to learn to roll. Our goal is to have you roll a few times during your first lesson and teach you the mechanics of rolling, so you can practice on your own. You will learn techniques to work on until a roll is mastered. Before you learn to roll you should have good 2 Star skills, including a solid high brace, low brace and sculling support skills.
Learn to roll with a Greenland Paddle.
Prerequisite: None
2009 Price: $90.00 includes equipment
Location: Norrie Point Paddlesport Center on the Hudson River
The use of traditional Greenland - style paddles is increasing in the sea kayaking community. The kayaking competition held annually in Greenland includes 35 rolls and related maneuvers. This class will cover Greenland side sculling and the standard or sweep roll. Students who show proficiency with these maneuvers may progress to chest sculling, angel roll or armpit roll. Additional rolls may be introduced to inspire further learning.
Also see Introduction to Greenland Paddling
Learn the basics of kayak navigation on this prerequisite for BCU 4 Star Sea Leader Training.
Prerequisite: None
2009 Price: $40.00 includes equipment
Frequent Paddler Price: $25.00 includes equipment
Location: Annsville Creek Paddlesport Center, Cortlandt Manor, NY
Note: There will be an additional BCU Fee for students that want the BCU certificate
1.5
From BCU Website: This course is designed for those paddlers carrying out coastal journeys including islands up to 2 nautical miles offshore in areas of tidal movement up to 2 knots and winds of up to force 4 and is suitable for those seeking their 4 Star Leader Sea Kayak award.
This course is designed to compliment the areas covered in the 4 star leader training.
Course Aims
The aim of this course is to give the student the tools to enable them to plan and navigate effectively on coastal journeys in moderate sea conditions. This will include the following aspects:
- To interpret sources of information including maps, charts, coastal pilots and tide tables.
- To navigate on the water using visual references and simple pilotage techniques e.g. transits, dead reckoning and a compass.
- To be able to source, interpret and apply a weather forecast to the marine environment.
- By the end of the course each student should have planned at least 2 coastal journeys that they can take home as references for further trip planning.
- Students should also be aware of the range of resources they require to plan trips in the coastal environment.
Knowing how to plan trips making use of tide and currents, how to chart courses both on land and in a boat are essential skills for the intermediate and advanced paddler and for people planning to lead trips with others. Learn to read a chart, plan tides & currents, take a bearing, plot a course, adjust for currents & wind, use transits and many other important skills.
Learn and practice the skills that are needed to lead and rescue others on kayaking trips.
Prerequisite: Core Techniques, 2 Star or equivalen
Location 1: Annsville Creek Paddlesport Center, on Annsville Creek and Hudson River
1.5
Location 2: Norrie Point Paddlesport Center on the Hudson River
2009 Price: $140.00 which includes equipment or $95.00 if you have your own.
Frequent Paddler Price: $130.00 which includes equipment or $85.00 if you have your own.
Photos from R.I. Incident Management Course. Now program is on the Hudson River.
This program will teach 2 and 3 Star paddlers how to prevent and cope with simple incidents that could happen during a day long journey on the sea. The focus will be on using simple solutions to "common" problems. Many problems can be prevented, some can be "fixed" by carrying key items, but the most valued asset is developing sound judgment in paddlers. Past learning experiences promote sound judgment, and this course hopes to provide students with real tools to prevent & solve future problems.
We spend the day running through a number of scenarios of typical situations that could occur on the water and land. We progress from simple rescue and tows to more difficult and challenging situations. On the leadership front, we will cover risk assessment, group awareness, and applying CLAP principles for leading a group. This course is designed for those who plan to lead trips or who want to gain experience in more challenging conditions.
This program is but one step in a paddlers journey to gain skill which a Kayak Leader would need.
