All Body Boat Blade Classes

If you have never been in a single sea kayak, are apprehensive of wet exits, or have concerns about sufficient upper body strength to perform rescues, this is a good place to start. This class will focus on the basic kayak skills: forward paddling, stopping, moving sideways, and turning skills. The class will be customized to your wants and needs.  This class will also inform you about appropriate kayaking equipment from kayaks, paddles, safety equipment and clothing.  This part of the course will help you make educated decisions about future kayaking related purchases.

This is the starting place for new paddlers or for people who have some experience but need more foundation to their existing skills. You will learn current kayaking techniques in capsize recoveries, body, boat and blade awareness, strokes for steering, going straight, sideways, staying upright, and (possibly) rolling. This course will give you a solid foundation to get you started and that will carry over as you advance as a kayaker.

Rolling a kayak is a foundation skill. Once you have your roll, your other kayak skills tend to increase exponentially, as does your confidence! The skilled coaches at BBB will help you attain a solid, effective roll quickly. We work one-on-one with you to develop your roll from a body-centered perspective.  Avoid learning "bad habits" from self teaching or working with untrained peers.  We have been teaching successful rolling skills for nearly 20 years!   

In this fun class, you will learn fast and effective rescue skills that can be used while paddling with friends in calm to moderate conditions. This class is intended for the general paddler who ventures out with friends and has not gone through any formal rescue class. You will learn how to keep control of equipment during a rescue and how to get yourself or another paddler back into the kayak and ready to paddle again. Learn the basics of risk assessment to better be able to judge if the environment are right for you and your friends.  Call us to arrange a class for yourself and up to 3 of your best kayaking friends!

New in 2012!

Rolling is one of the most sought after skills in paddle sport. If we want to help someone to learn to roll there are some basic concepts of biomechanics and coaching methods that if understood, greatly increases the success of teaching this skill while also decreasing the time it takes students to learn it. Over the last two decades Body Boat Blade has taught hundreds of paddlers a solid efficient roll, most recently we have worked for over 4 years on a research project with biomechanics experts to understand this skill in depth. We want to share this knowledge with people who want to teach this important and fun skill.

This comprehensive class will give you a large "tool box" of practical rescue skills that can be used on flat water or in advanced conditions. With cutting edge knowledge from coaches with the experience to know what does and doesn't work on the water, you will learn to solve problems that arise during rescues, and which safety products are effective. Risk assessment as a method to avoid needing to do rescues will also be emphasized throughout the course. This class is highly recommended for anyone leading groups or teaching in clubs.

The FSRT is a prerequisite for the BCU coaching curriculum.

New in 2012!

Are you ready to take your rescues from the flat water and test them in the dynamic environment of the sea? In this class we explore all the things we can do to have a fast simple and effective rescue when the environment starts to be a player. Beyond rescues we will also explore other incidents that may simply require a tow to the extreme situation of needing to call for outside help. We will discuss risk assessment and the principles of good leadership so you can avoid needing any of the skills learned in this course. This class is sure to be fun and enlightening!

This kayak class is about understanding cause and effect, ease and efficiency. Beginning with the body, we look at posture, connectivity and power transfer to get the most our of your skills.  Learn to move your kayak with the least amount of effort, while maintaining a sense of stability and protecting your body from unnecessary injury.  We will focus on developing the techniques of moving your kayak where you want it to go.  These techniques are the foundation all other kayak handling skills are built on. At any skill level, this is a great course to revisit for refining skills consider taking it every year! 

Effective, efficient, and easy - this class is the mastery of kayak handling skills intended for experienced kayakers looking to hone their skills to a high level of performance in dynamic environments. We combine an understanding of how the environment (wind, waves, currents) can affect our kayaks with the skills of solid edge control,  subtle and dynamic blade awareness, and an active posture.  The boat and blade become true extensions of your body. Combining technique with the environment that you paddle in, you develop skillful performance.  Our goal is efficiency (maximum certainty, with minimum energy expenditure, and minimum movement time)  which allows you to take your paddling in new directions.

This is our most comprehensive class. For 5 days, you will be immersed in sea kayaking. We will use the pull of the moon to go from one island to another, faster and with less effort. We will learn how to go from a "low oxygen environment" to a "high oxygen environment" with the drop of a leg and a sweep of the paddle. We will eat seaweed, see awesome wildlife, and roast marshmallows by the campfire. This is a learning vacation! With other paddlers and great coaches, you will learn about: kayak technique, kayak rescues, rolling, towing, reading and predicting currents, and navigation. If you are passionate about kayaking, have the stamina to play hard for five days in a row, and love to learn, this is a great class for you!

The forward stroke for is the most vital and yet the most neglected skill in paddle sports. As coaches and performance paddlers, we understand that the forward stroke is central to all other skills in paddling. It is also the most complex of all skills and the hardest to master.  In this two day workshop we will help you to develop a solid understanding  of how to move a kayak forward with maximum efficiency.  Through the use of video, we will analyze your forward stroke to find techniques to enhance your ability to go faster, farther and to paddle easier.

Deception Pass is famous throughout the Northwest for its 8-knot currents, drastic eddy lines, incredible whirlpools, and large upwellings. Many kayakers look at this pass with fear, but with the right coaching and leadership it becomes a playground and an incredible learning environment. We will spend two days using both the ebb and flood to work on applying a full range of strokes efficiently to moving water, including: ferry gliding, sneaking up current lines, entering current backwards, rescues, rolling, and dealing with dynamic water. This class offers tremendous opportunities for the intermediate paddler and will take advantage of everything Deception Pass has to offer.

Learn the skills and strategies for dealing with the powerful currents, tidal races, and over falls that run through the San Juan Islands. We will explore ferry gliding, how to read water, crossing strategies, and how to predict the time, speed, and direction of currents. These are the skills you need to plan an easy, fun, and safe trip. We start by refreshing your skills, and then we enter these races and build your confidence as the currents increase. This is a great class to start building your rough water skills and broaden your knowledge of the sea. Come to this class with play in mind!

New in 2012!

To really enjoy and be safe when paddling in the Pacific North West and many places around the world you need to understand tidal currents. This class is an in-depth and intense study of currents. We will learn to play, paddle, do rescues, plan strategic crossings and navigate some of the most interesting tidal areas in the San Juan Archipelago. We will also take time to fully understand the causes of big tidal flows and which bathymetric features create fun and/or dangerous tidal currents so you can plan safe and exciting trips in the future.

The open oceans are the most beautiful, life-filled, dynamic bodies of water on earth. To spend a single day on the open ocean being lifted and lowered by the swell, catching glimpses of a whale's fluke or the glide of a Brown Pelican inches above the waves can become one of the most awe inspiring days of your life. The ocean can also be awesome as the birth place of hurricanes and tsunamis. As we are drawn to its beauty we must approach the ocean with great caution and awareness. In this class you will learn the skills and knowledge needed to journey on the sea. You will develop a heightened awareness of the hazards to avoid or seek out for play. This course is designed to develop your personal skill level and leadership abilities to lead a group or journey as a team in moderate coastal waters. Emphasis will be on judging the conditions and the abilities of the group to make appropriate decisions about planned routes along with the need to modify plans as needed. Option A consists of 3 days on the outer coast with no overnight camping. Includes BCU 4 Star Leader Training Curriculum If you hold all the prerequisites for the New BCU 4-star training ( www.BCUNA.com ) This course will meet the required hours of formal training needed to attend an assessment.

The open oceans are the most beautiful, life-filled, dynamic bodies of water on earth. To spend a single day on the open ocean being lifted and lowered by the swell, catching glimpses of a whale's fluke or the glide of a Brown Pelican inches above the waves can become one of the most awe inspiring days of your life. The ocean can also be awesome as the birth place of hurricanes and tsunamis. As we are drawn to its beauty we must approach the ocean with great caution and awareness. In this class you will learn the skills and knowledge needed to journey on the sea. You will develop a heightened awareness of the hazards to avoid or seek out for play. This course is designed to develop your personal skill level and leadership abilities to lead a group or journey as a team in moderate coastal waters. Emphasis will be on judging the conditions and the abilities of the group to make appropriate decisions about planned routes along with the need to modify plans as needed. Option B consists of 5 days on the inner tidal waters with 4 nights camping.

This training is intended for experienced paddlers who journey on the open sea where tidal races, headlands, open crossings, swell, strong winds, and challenging coast lines may be encountered. You need sufficient skill, knowledge and expertise to lead groups safely in demanding conditions. From our traveling experience, we believe the Pacific Northwest offers the best 5 Star Training in North America.

For description and requirements for this award go to www.bcuna.com.

Body Boat Blade courses designed to help you gain this award:
Foundation Skills and paddling with friends! 

For description and requirements for this award go to www.bcuna.com.

Body Boat Blade courses designed to help you gain this award:

• Foundation Skills
• Body Boat Blade
• Open Canoe
• Rolling

and lots of time paddling with friends! 

For description and requirements for this award go to www.bcuna.com.

Body Boat Blade courses designed to help you gain this award:

• Body Boat Blade 
• Performance Paddling
• Forward Stroke Workshop
• 5 Day Kayak Camp
• Ocean Currents
• Rolling
• Open Canoe

And lots of time paddling with friends!

For description and requirements for this award go to www.bcuna.com.

Body Boat Blade courses designed to help you gain this award:

• Coastal Navigation and Tidal Planning
• Coastal Leadership training
• Performance Paddling
• 5 Day Kayak Camp
• Ocean Currents
• San Juan Currents
• Incident Management
• Body Boat Blade

and lots of time on and in the water paddling and practicing with friends! 

For description and requirements for this award go to www.bcuna.com.

Body Boat Blade courses designed to help you gain this award:

• Coastal Navigation and Tidal Planning
• Coastal Leadership training
• Performance Paddling
• Ocean Currents
• San Juan Currents
• Incident Management
• Body Boat Blade

and lots of time on and in the water paddling and practicing with friends! 

This is an introductory coaching award with an overriding priority for safety and fun. This course is intended for those who wish to introduce kayakers at a "taster level", in sheltered waters, as directed by a higher level coach.

The Level 2 Coach is able to plan, deliver and review a series of six progressive sessions safely and effectively. Like the Level 1, this non-discipline-specific award is relevant to Coaches who wish to coach any Paddlesport discipline. Level 2 Coaches will work with paddlers predominantly in their first 3 years of paddling activity. The Level 2 Coach is able to offer guidance and support to the Level 1 Coach.

www.bcuna.com/PDF-Files/Syllabus/Level_2/L2_Candidate_Pack-Section1.pdf

Central Registration (CR) Form (Send this in now! It needs to be stamped & returned)

Prerequisites:

• 6 hour first aid certificate recognized by the BCU 
• BCU 3 Star Certificate’s in your primary discipline and competences to 3 star inyour alternative discipline (single blade & double bladed discipline) (Boat basedcoach) 
• 18 years of age
• Completed Level 2 Training
• Completed 20 logged hours of relevant coaching experience
• Completed assessment tasks in Candidate Assessment Pack Completion of one CPD units of your choice or hold the alternative 3 Star award

www.bcuna.com/PDF-Files/Syllabus/Level_2/L2_Candidate_Pack-Section1.pdf

New in 2012!

Rolling is one of the most sought after skills in paddle sport. If we want to help someone to learn to roll there are some basic concepts of biomechanics and coaching methods that if understood, greatly increases the success of teaching this skill while also decreasing the time it takes students to learn it. Over the last two decades Body Boat Blade has taught hundreds of paddlers a solid efficient roll, most recently we have worked for over 4 years on a research project with biomechanics experts to understand this skill in depth. We want to share this knowledge with people who want to teach this important and fun skill.

Course descriptions pending new UKCC requirements.

Whatever you want work on, this is your personalized class! We can also help you discover what skills you need developing to reach all of your paddle sports goals.

Rolling is a foundation skill. Once you have your roll, your other skills tend to increase exponentially, as does your confidence! The skilled coaches at BBB will help you attain a solid, effective roll quickly. Avoid learning bad habits from self teaching or working with untrained peers. We have been teaching successful rolling skills for nearly 20 years!