2 days
FEE: US $250.00
DATES: (2008) April 19-20, June 14-15, July 12-13
PREREQUISITES: Foundation skills/ BCU 1 Star award plus some time in your boat. A "panic-free" wet exit.

This course is about understanding cause and effect, ease and efficiency. Learn to move your boat with the least amount of work, while maintaining a sense of stability. This is the foundation all other boat handling skills are built on. At any skill level, this is a great course to revisit for refining skills.

LEARNING PROGRESSION: Prepares you for BCU 2 Star Assessment, foundation skills for BCU 3, 4, and 5 Stars. A great course for coaches learning new teaching tools.

2 days
FEE: US $250.00
DATES: (2008) April 5-6, April 9-10, July 18-19
PREREQUISITES: BCU 2 Star Award or experienced paddler with strong skills but no BCU training, and have "panic-free hang time" - hanging upside down in your boat and thinking about a skill, not the grab loop.

Effective, efficient, and easy - this class is the mastery of boat handling skills intended for experienced paddlers looking to hone their skills for a high level of performance. Solid edge control and subtle, dynamic blade awareness with good posture, allow you to move your boat and blade as true extensions of your body. As paddlers we are working towards "skills proficiency" - maximum certainty, minimum energy expenditure, and minimum movement time. This class is on that path.

LEARNING PROGRESSION: Consider the Ocean Currents course as a follow-up course. This course also prepares you for BCU 3 Star Assessment, great refresher for BCU 4 and 5 Star paddlers, and essential for developing coaching awards. Using skills at this level saves you tremendous energy when working in advanced conditions.

5 days
FEE: US $650.00
DATES: (2008) June 8-12, June 22-26, July 20-24, August 10-14
PREREQUISITES: Paddler with experience on the water, looking for in-depth knowledge, or 2 Star skills or above. Must have a "panic-free" wet exit.

This is our most comprehensive course. 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 sweep of a paddle blade. 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: boat awareness, strokes, 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!

LEARNING PROGRESSION: Develops 2 Star, 3 Star, and 4 Star skills. An essential course for paddlers planning to do self-guided trips. Good for trip leaders and guides.

2 days
FEE: US $260.00
DATES: (2008) March 4-5, April 17-18, May 16-17, June 30 - July 1, August 28-29, October 11-12
PREREQUISITES: BCU 2 Star skills or above, safety and rescue class, and a "panic-free" wet exit.

Deception Pass is famous throughout the Northwest for its 8-knot currents, drastic eddy lines, incredible whirlpools, and large upwellings. Many paddlers 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, ferry gliding, sneaking up current lines, entering current backwards, rescues, rolling, and dealing with messy water. This class offers tremendous opportunities for the intermediate paddler and will take advantage of everything Deception Pass has to offer.

LEARNING PROGRESSION: Develops BCU 2 and 3 Star skills in dynamic water, good skill prep for BCU 4 and 5 Star, good for coaches and BCU 5 Star trainees to observe group management skills.

3 days
FEE: US $390.00
DATES: (2008) April 12-14
PREREQUISITES: BCU 3 Star Award

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 with a heightened awareness of the hazards to avoid or seek out and ultimately come home with a desire to return another day. We will apply your paddling skills (BCU 3 Star) to rough open water, launching and landing in surf, paddling in wind and rock gardens, navigation, group awareness, and risk assessment will also part of this dynamic course.

LEARNING PROGRESSION: Path to BCU 4 Star Award, Essential for all coastal paddlers.

4 days
FEE: US $495.00 (Due at time of enrollment. Non-refundable unless we fill your spot.)
DATES: (2008) March 10-13
PREREQUISITES: BCU 4 Star Award with coastal paddling experience, up-to-date First Aid certificate.

This training is intended for 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.

LEARNING PROGRESSION: Required training course for BCU 5 Star award. This is a great training for experienced paddlers to learn where their limits lie.