Sea Kayak Skills Lesson

Starting out / Assisting:

Any SK1 can assist an instructor by helping beginners outfit their boat, by checking the land drill of wet exit, by demonstrating how to enter water, by giving feedback to beginners about their strokes and by demonstrating/assisting T-Rescue. Your assistance will be appreciated so don't hesitate to get involved! To learn how to instruct, talk to the instruction coordinator chair or talk to current instructors about assisting with their lessons. 



Requirements / Policy to teach:

To teach a lesson on your own, the club policy is that you first assist with at least 1 lake lesson and then teach a lesson under the supervision of an experienced instructor. Talk to the boating instruction coordinator for more information. Bill (aka The Water Safety Chair) recommends you to have an SK1 to teach a lesson. Having some experience and being comfortable with sea kayaks is necessary. 



Preparation:

The lesson consists of three main parts:

1) Boathouse

2) Weather and on-land instruction

3) Water instruction

The first part is about equipment, lake rules and procedures how to sign out boats. You will go over:

• paddles and spray skirts, how they differ from whitewater gear, how to use them, and how to take care of them (highlight that the SK paddles are much more fragile then whitewater paddles, so never use them pushing yourself off-shore or sit on its edge when entering the boat)
• boat care and boat parts (mention the connection btw. foot pegs and rudder; note that the fiberglass boats are NOT intended to use at Mendota)
• lake rules, flags, and chart for boat usage (remind them on the “yellowline”)
• sign-out procedure

In the second part, you’ll learn

• weather conditions and how to pay attention to them, how the main hazards differ for sea kayaking vs. whitewater kayaking (hypothermia, storms, lightning, winds, waves – note that hypothermia can occur even if it’s not too cold; tell them to start paddling against wind first to understand their capabilities better on a windy day)
• boat fit (make everyone adjust her/his own foot pegs - just give pointers)
• land drill of wet exit (make sure everyone knows the drill)
• how to enter water (demonstrate once how to enter and exit and then help people one by one – do NOT give them a hand but only pointers while they do it; they’ll gain more confidence)

The last part consists of strokes (forward/reverse strokes, forward/reverse sweep), getting used to the boats and finally T (or TX) rescue. (Refresh the basic forward/reverse strokes, give everyone specific feedback; demonstrate sweep stroke and make them turn around 360 degrees; stay in water 1-1.5 hours and make them get used to boats and paddling in a moderate pace but continuously; demonstrate T-rescue or ask for volunteers; make sure everyone gets out of the water in less than 5 minutes when doing the T-rescue) At the end, when you’re signing the cards of your successful students, make sure that people with R1 rating earn an SK1 whereas others will earn an SK0. 



Anouncing a lesson:

It is required that you either announce it on the list or at a meeting, but doing both is recommended. Signup is either by e-mail or on a sheet in the boathouse (specified in your announcement). If you need assistants, ask your friends on the boaters list :) Also, we have a calendar now, so please post it there since that is our best way of seeing when things are (like lake lessons). 



If you have any questions, please contact the Boating Instruction Coordinator.