A 5-day Skills Development Program

Get ready for summer with our comprehensive on-water skills development workshop for all levels of paddlers. Whether you own a recreational kayak, sea kayak, or even a paddleboard you will gain a respect for the ocean environment and a skill level to help you safely enjoy it. Each day will have focused instruction on particular skills with ample time to practice and reinforce those skills on a paddle. There will be supplemental on land instruction and valuable discussions throughout the course providing both physical and mental skills development to include judgement and big picture understanding.

Over the five day period you will have the opportunity to refine and develop paddling skills from stroke work, rescue work, and group management. In addition, you’ll gain confidence in your trip planning abilities as you gain an understanding of wind and waves, and their interaction with land masses, ledges, and more. The bottom line is recognizing how all these variables affect us as paddlers and what we need to do to be safe out there. Strategies for dealing with these variables will be discussed, practiced and evaluated throughout the 5 days as we also explore the beauty all around us. If you paddle on the Maine Coast you will inevitably deal with fog. In this workshop you will learn how to read a chart, use a compass, and navigate your way even in foggy conditions. You’ll be taught using a simple orienteering compass, boat compass and chart so as not to rely on your GPS, which can fail. A great competency development week on the water.

Areas to be Covered
•Gear and equipment
•On-water skills development to include strokes & maneuvers; rescues; towing; judgement
•Navigation skills
•Trip Planning and route selection
*Group management
•Understanding wind, waves, tides & currents and learning techniques to help you manage your kayak when encountering these conditions
•Learn how to improvise in a variety of situations
•How to deal with an emergency situation

Dates: June 2 - 6, 2025

Location: Orrs island, Maine

Workshop Cost: $995 per person.

Time: 9am-4pm daily (the scheduled hours may fluctuate based on weather and conditions)

Upon registration, a gear and equipment list will be provided as well as a detailed schedule for the five day program.