Sea Cliff Kayakers' Early Season Offerings

[John Carmody]

Good morning,

I'm starting to put together the schedule for this coming year and wanted to make folks aware of some early offerings:

April 30-May 1 BCU 4Star Sea Leader Assessment,http://www.seacliffkayakers.com/BCU_Courses.html

Successful performance at this level indicates that a candidate has the personal skill

level and leadership ability required to;

• Lead a group of 4 (not including themselves) paddlers, on short (six to eight

miles, of at least three hours paddling). Journeys in moderate tidal water

environment with winds not exceeding force 4/sea state 4.

• Judge the conditions and the standard of the group and make appropriate

decisions about the planned route along with the need to modify plans as

required.

May 2-6 Sea Kayak Guide Training, http://www.seacliffkayakers.com/Leadership.html

Sea Training Overview:

The Sea Cliff Kayakers Sea Kayak Guide Training is an intensive 5-day program designed for committed sea kayak enthusiasts, instructors, outdoor professionals or current guides wishing to develop or enhance the technique and skills required to lead groups in dynamic and complex open water coastal environments. The training will focus on the individual needs of each participant, developing and refining their personal paddling skills, instructional tactics, seamanship, rescues, leadership and decision making. The course is a blend of land based workshops and on-water practical sessions; since our goal is to develop guides who are proficient in a variety of sea states the schedule will be dynamic and we will be accessing a variety of on-water venues. The majority of on-water sessions will be scenario driven and taught in the context of skills development tours, where participants will function as the instructor/guide. Participants will have ample opportunity for self assessment in addition to instructor and peer feedback. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to assess for both/either BCU Coastal Navigation and Tidal Planning Course and/or ACA Coastal Kayak Trip Leader Award.

This year Carl Ladd from Osprey Sea Kayak will be co-instructing the course, http://www.ospreyseakayak.com/.

May 7-8 Wilderness First Aid H2O, http://www.seacliffkayakers.com/First_Aid.html

Backcountry injuries and illness do not always happen in the woods or on mountains but can occur on rivers, lakes and in open ocean environments. While these injuries and illnesses share commonalties with those experienced in other environments the prevention, management, mode of treatment and evacuation can be quite different. Therefore, SOLO has adapted the Wilderness First Aid curriculum to better suit the needs of recreational and professional paddlers.

This is SOLO's twenty-ninth year offering its workshops in Wilderness First Aid. Designed specifically for groups and their leaders, this 16-hour (2-day) program addresses the prevention and management of outdoor related injury and illness to include long-term care, evacuation procedures, patient management in transition zones (where the water meets the land) and group management. All SOLO instructors are experienced rescue personnel with extensive outdoor experience and have been selected not only for their expertise in emergency medicine and rescue, but also for their teaching skills.

Classroom lectures and discussions are reinforced with intensive practical work, scenarios and problem-solving exercises. The emphasis is always on hands-on experience therefore, scenarios are an important part of this training. Once again, Todd Wright will be teaching this course. It is not to be missed!

Contact me for further information or if you have a group that wants to schedule private training, john@seacliffkayakers.com