2013 NSPN CAM Workshops

[PeterB]

2013 CAM Workhops
Program Description

For the 2013 season, NSPN will sponsor a series of three CAM workshops. As in past years, the workshops will be led by club members who are volunteering to share what they have learned. Our goal is to help club members build the skills and knowledge they need to be active participants in club trips. While we discuss the Common Adventure Model (CAM) for club trips, the principles and practices we cover apply to all trips on the water.

The series includes one day of class room workshop on May19th and two days of on-water skill building in early June: June 2nd and June 9th .The Classroom workshop will be held at the REI meeting room , at REI in Reading. See below for details of the workshop program. While it is possible for members to take part in individual sessions, the topics are designed to be taken in sequence, with each one building on earlier workshops. So for each workshop, we will assume participants have the knowledge or skills of previous sessions.

The classroom workshop is open to paddlers of all levels of ability and experience. The on-water workshops, however, will be rated Level 3 conditions which means participants should have basic boat handling skills and be comfortable maneuvering their boats in coastal ocean conditions (up to 15 knot winds, 2 foot seas and 2 knot currents). Because the ocean temperatures are still very cold in June, we will require proper immersion gear of all participants: specifically dry suits and neoprene gloves and hoods. If you do not have the appropriate gear and protective clothing, we may be able to arrange a loan of a limited number of dry suits, tow belts, gloves, hoods, etc. The on-water exercises involved getting in the water multiple times, so immersion gear is essential: these sessions are intended for paddlers prepared to get wet. If there is sufficient interest in a Level 2 group for the on-water sessions, we are prepared to run a session in Level 2 conditions which may be possible to do in a wet suit and paddle jacket.

Both classroom and on-water sessions will be held on the North Shore, somewhere between Boston and Portsmouth, NH, depending on room availability and conditions on the day of the on-water sessions.

This year, the workshops will be run as RSVP trips, meaning people will need to register in advance. Times and locations will be emailed to registered participants only and will not be posted on the NSPN website. To sign up for the workshops or if you have questions on gear or whether the on-water sessions are appropriate for you, contact the coordinator for the series:

RSVP to Coordinator: Scott Camlin
Email Contact: scamlin at restructassoc dot com

Classroom Workshop (May 19th )

Trip Goals and Trip Selection
Trip Levels and Required Equipment
Cold water risks
Nautical Charts
Predicting Conditions (weather, tides and currents, etc.)
Route Planning Exercise
Trip Float Plan
Ocean Access (Put Ins and Parking)
CAM Basics
Working as a Group
Route Planning
Trip Planning Exercise
Beach Briefings
Launching and Landing
Moving on the Water
Planning for Contingencies
Dealing with Group Issues
Incident Management

On-Water I (June 2nd)
Towing equipment
Launching and Landing
Boat Handling review
Towing (contact tows, in-line tows, rafted tows)
Basic Rescues (T-rescue, paddle float rescue, etc.)
Moving on the water

On-Water II (June 9th)

Capsize situations
Tows and rescue practice
Advanced tows and rescues (swimmer tows, scoop rescue, hand-of-god rescue, etc.)
Paddling in Groups
Tows and rescue practice
Emergency scenarios