We’ve been giving our passports a workout this year. Last weekend, we were guest coaches at MEC Toronto Paddlefest, a spectacularly well organized event that introduces hundreds of people to canoeing, whitewater kayaking, recreational kayaking, sea kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, voyageur canoeing and water polo. For one high-energy weekend, the beach is filled with boats and the sidewalk is lined with booths. It’s one-stop shopping for all things paddlesports. The north shore of Lake Onatrio is still pretty chilly in early June — the mid-50s at best — so we’re grateful that MEC provides loaner drysuits for participants in rescue and rolling courses. And we always enjoy taking people into the water for their first experience in a Kokatat drysuit. It’s like walking on the moon! The weekend is all about fundamentals and fun. And the two go together well. This year — Paddlefest’s 10th anniversary — we met more students who had already taken classes and participated in guided trips, many of them with the nearby Harbourfront Canoe & Kayak Centre. They came to improve their skills and learn about more opportunities to get out on the water. That’s where the booths come in; paddling schools and outfitters, along with provincial parks and environmental advocacy groups, offered information and encouragement to continue exploring the sport and local waters. Thanks to MEC for bringing us to Toronto, Erik Ogaard and Liz Burnside for taking extraordinary care of us, and the entire Paddlefest crew for a wonderful weekend. We’ll be...

If you’re jealous of the paddling opportunities and access in Scotland, Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown, volume 3 will only exacerbate that emotion. This two-and-a-half-hour DVD begins with “Handling Emergency Situations,” which involves staged rescues by HM Coastguard helicopter and Royal National Lifeboat Institution boats. Why can’t we do that? The scenarios aren’t extreme; they’re quite realistic examples of situations that start out small and grow to be life threatening, such as losing a paddle. They also aren’t entirely simulated; Gordon and friends actually do get cold and suffer bruising from parachute flares. Best of all, they answer questions about the effectiveness of various types of emergency equipment we all carry but few of us ever get to use. This dramatic, 46-minute segment includes everything from initiating a distress call to attracting the attention of rescuers to preparing for the downdraft of a helicopter–all the things you need to know to facilitate a smooth rescue. It also takes a realistic look at how well flares, strobes and other signaling devices work in rough seas, shows us the operation center where calls are received and rescues are coordinated, and discusses what can be learned from the deliberate mistakes Gordon and friends make in these scenarios. Did we mention being jealous? At the end of “Handling Emergency Situations,” we realized that Andy was Andy Stamp, BCU Level 5 sea kayak coach. And he is just one of many denizens of our paddling bookshelf and CD rack who appear in this DVD. The 47-minute “Navigation” section features Franco Ferrero, whose friendly book on navigation helped us gain basic competence without getting overwhelmed by the “dark art” of finding your way. Ferrero’s approach is keeping it simple, and his explanations of tides, bearings, charts and transits are accessible and practical. And then there’s Rowland Woollven of Wilderness Emergency Medical Services Institute, who presents the 20-minute section on “First Aid Kits” (which includes handling medical emergencies). Woollven shares what he carries in his “ouch pouch” and first-aid kit, and demonstrates a few first aid techniques, but emphasizes that each paddler should carry what’s appropriate to his or her training and needs. If you’re expecting a video first-aid course, this isn’t it. Rather, he makes a compelling case for taking a wilderness first aid course. The last section of this video is the weakest. “Rolling Clinic” involves Gordon Brown working with a group of students at a swimming pool. It’s clearly not staged; these are real students with little or no rolling experience. What made us cringe was watching them repeat errors without correction, reinforcing bad habits that become increasingly difficult to break. After all, it was in Gordon Brown’s book, Sea Kayak: A Manual for Intermediate and Advanced Sea Kayakers, that we first encountered...

Tom Motte, our Rhode Island connection. While we were in Maine, we briefly met Tim Motte, who tossed out a casual invitation: “Come to Rhode Island!” As with many invitations of this type in the paddling world, much more is implied. The full invitation is, “Come to Rhode Island and I’ll take you on some amazing paddles and introduce you to my kayaking cohort.” And in this case, “You can stay and my house and I’ll make you lunch!” Today’s menu: Peanut butter, banana, pumpkin seed and raisin sandwiches. So, of course, we went to Rhode Island, where we got to know Tim and the Rhode Island Canoe/Kayak Association (RICKA) crew. Meeting on the beach. Tim is a BCU five-star leader. According to the British Canoe Union, this means he: has entered a higher level of performance, involving a high level of personal skill and leadership in advanced situations. It is a leadership award and the appropriate test for paddlers who wish to lead  groups of other paddlers in appropriate locations in advanced tidal waters and  dynamic weather conditions typified by the Climate of the British Isles. The five star leader has the skills and judgement to select appropriate trips for a  range of ability levels.   Tim points out the intended route on a chart. We were privileged to spend two days paddling on the Rhode Island coast with Tim and the RICKA paddlers. Rhode Island has only 40 miles of shoreline if you look at its general coastline, but it has 384 miles of tidal coastline, which includes coast, islands, bays, sounds and rivers 100 feet or wider. In other words, it’s a craggy place, perfect for rock gardening and rough-water paddling. It was great watching Tim lead a group in these waters. In keeping with his five-star award, he adjusted the trip for participants who had varying degrees of comfort in the conditions. It was also great to meet more than a dozen RICKA paddlers from Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, who realize how fortunate they are to live so near this amazing kayaking environment. Kayaking brings a diverse range of people together, creating strong bonds between people who otherwise would never have crossed paths. When we meet kayakers from other parts of the country and the world, we recognize in them the same passion for paddling, delight in sharing it, and desire to protect the places where it’s possible. Thanks, Tim and RICKA. We’ll be...

We love playing in the waves and practicing rescues, but last Friday we decided to simply paddle. In fact, we decided to paddle from Evanston to Indiana and just glide by Chicago’s entire shoreline. Hello, Chicago. Sharon paddles by without stopping. We put in at Juneway Terrace Beach (technically a block south of Evanston) around 10 a.m. and headed south. We passed the familiar beaches of Chicago’s north side–Leone, Wilson, North Avenue–and the still-quiet harbors–Montrose, Belmont, Diversey. By noon, we were around Navy Pier, and boat traffic was picking up. We exchanged greetings with visitors on the tour boats and paddled on. Still life with Alec and tour boats. As we got to Hyde Park, the wind and waves were picking up. We continued on, past Rainbow Beach, past the water filtration plant, to the Calumet channel. The smokestacks of Indiana are closer and more beautiful than ever….or something like that. That’s when we realized we didn’t have time for the final two miles. We had arranged to meet our kids back at 63rd Street at 5:30. So we turned around and paddled those last couple of miles in the wrong direction (from a making-it-to-Indiana perspective) but the right direction (from a meeting-our-kids perspective). Arriving in the 63rd Street harbor. We learn something every time we get on the water. This time, we learned that some of our clothing causes chafing, that it’s easy to forget to take enough photos, and that it’s fun, once in a while, to paddle past Chicago without setting foot on...

North winds at last! The forecast was 3- to 5-foot waves, so we hastened to the lake. This time we wore drysuits, only to find that some of the surface water had returned and the water was relative balmy–somewhere in the mid-60s.We love practicing rescues, but don’t often have an opportunity to try them in the conditions in which we’re most likely to need them. (Especially this year, when we’ve had very few big wave days.) So we took turns putting each other and ourselves back in our boats. Alec and Hannah complete a t-rescue. Alec completes a scramble (cowboy) self-rescue. Every time we do this, we are struck by how well these rescues work in conditions, but how essential it is to move quickly and hold on to everything (boats, paddles, people). We typically teach rescues in calm conditions in which paddlers are unlikely to capsize and try to convince our students that in real conditions, any lapse of attention can lead to serious complications. If the rescuer lets go of the casualty’s boat, it can whip away in the wind. If the casualty lets go of his or her boat or the rescuer’s deck lines, they can quickly be separated. If anybody lets go of a paddle, they may never see it again. Working on rescues in real conditions is the best test of your...

Getting on the water at the Big Rock Quarry. The forecast on Sunday was 94 degrees and sunny. A perfect day to either hide inside someplace air conditioned (library, movie theater, frozen food aisle) or go outside someplace wet.We were scheduled to teach a Level 2 class for Geneva Kayak Center at the Big Rock Quarry in Sugar Grove, so outside and wet it was.We love teaching this all-day class, which is typically the second class students take after a two-hour intro class. We start with wet exits, move on to basic strokes, and end with rescues. Students who begin the day fearful of falling over generally end the day feeling more in control of their boats and more aware of what they still need to work on and learn. They know enough to know that they know enough to be dangerous, which is a pretty safe place to...

For years, our neighbors have patiently put up with our yard full of kayaks and drying gear. The way our yard typically looks. Actually, they’ve more than put up with it. They’ve stopped by and asked us questions as we’ve loaded and unloaded our boats, and many expressed a desire to go out on the lake some day. The rig, ready to roll. Last night, we took 10 of our neighbors on a full-moon paddle. The conditions could not have been better. The air was in the lower 70s and the water in the upper 60s. The wind was calm and the sky was clear. Half way through our paddle, the moon rose above the horizon. It was magical. We were joined by fellow instructor Wendy (Bloyd-Peshkin) Madgwick, one of our partners in paddling crime.Here are some photos from before and during that paddle: Matt and Annie, read to go. Joan and Gretchen, not nervous at all! Sharon helping Stephen get in his boat and on the water. Darcy, at ease in her boat. As we landed, we were greeted by Lyn (Bloyd-Peshkin) Stone, who couldn’t resist the opportunity to see the moon over the lake even though she wasn’t available to join us for the paddle. Then we loaded our boats and returned to Geneva Kayak Center Lakefront to eat some sweets and savor the beauty of paddling on Lake Michigan at night under a full moon. The moon after we got off the water, demonstrating the need for a tripod. Thanks to our neighbors for sharing this evening with us, and a special thanks to Scott Fairty of Geneva Kayak for staying at work so late to make this...

Here comes the storm! Our last day at Adventure Crafters 2009. The day before we left Maryland, we decided to go for one last paddle with Robert. It had been a hot day, and building cumulus congestus clouds suggested a short window of opportunity. So we chose a nearby put-in with a really short carry and hurried to the water.No sooner had we unloaded the boats, geared up and gotten on the water than we heard a loud thunderclap. Looking back, we saw towering cumulonimbus clouds moving in, and then lightning.We immediately got off the water.We seem to have a pattern of paddling as thunderstorms move in, particularly when we’re paddling with Robert.Hmmmm….. Storm moving in. Adventure Crafters...

The day before we were scheduled to teach a leadership and rescues class at Adventure Crafters, during which we planned to teach towing techniques, we went for a social paddle with co-owner and instructor-in-chief Robert Schrack. We were talking about classes we’ve taught and tours we’ve led when Robert introduced us to a term we didn’t realize we had been lacking: the “psychological tow.”If you’re an instructor or guide, or simply a skilled paddler who has taken less experienced people out on the water, you’ll immediately know what this means. Frequently, somebody becomes overwhelmed by conditions. They may be freaked out by waves or wind, or simply tired out by too much exertion, and they need some help to complete the planned journey.You could tow them, which would be more work for you and might be humiliating for them. But in the case of bumpy water, that might make things worse. So instead, you coach them. “Keep going,” you say. “Keep your hips loose. That’s great. Keep paddling. Nice work. It’ll be easier if you get your entire blade in the water.”You instruct them a bit, encourage them a lot, and distract them. “You know, the bar lakes along this shoreline were once small bays….” You blather on, paddling close to them and sounding relaxed, offering a mix of small talk and advice, and they manage to make it on their own.That’s the psychological tow. Having a term for it is not only satisfying, in the same way as knowing the names of birds or mushrooms. It’s practical. By placing the psychological tow in the category of tows, it reminds us to try this first before a more invasive intervention.Thanks,...

Practicing T-rescues in the Chester River. On Sunday, we taught a class called Leadership and Rescues. This five-hour workshop was designed to cover the essential assisted and self rescues, including variations appropriate for specific conditions, as well as basic towing techniques. But we also wanted to help students explore each paddler’s role in avoiding an incident, and how we can prevent things from spinning out of control.Most of the time, we try to get our classes on the water as quickly as possible. After all, students sign up for a kayaking class because they want to paddle, not because they want to stand on the shore listening to us talk about paddling. But in this case, we deliberately spent the first 45 minutes on land, going over some of the basic leadership concepts we’ve learned and the safety and communication issues of which anyone paddling in a group should be aware.We promised our students that we’d post a synopsis of what we covered during that class—a virtual handout—so this blog entry will do double duty, sharing that material with them as well as with anyone else who’s interested in it.We bagan with two BCU acronyms we find especially helpful: CLAP and SAFE.CLAP stands for Communication, Line of sight, Avoidance is better than a cure, and Position of maximum effectiveness. These are considerations group leaders must address before and during and after any paddle. Communication is a huge category that includes everything from whether or not the plan and expectations are clear and agreed upon, to how the group will communicate on the water. Line of sight refers to the need to the leader to keep all members of the group in view at all times. Avoidance is better than a cure is a British way of saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And Position of maximum effectiveness refers to the need for the leader to be where he or she can best control and direct the group.SAFE stands for Stop, Assess, Formulate, Execute. This helps avoid rash reactions to situations by reminding us to size up the situation and think through our options before acting.(We have to thank Jeff Allen for introducing these concepts to us. For more in-depth explanations, see the BCU coaching handbook.)After that, we talked about other essential pre-trip checklist items:– Appropriate “kit” for the conditions, which should include food and water, first-aid for yourself and your boat, spare clothing, and communication, safety and signaling equipment.– A medical talk (and how to help others feel comfortable talking about issues that you ought to know about).– Filing a float plan (and with whom).On the water, we practiced the basic T-rescue and...