Ridgway Adventure · Course details
BCU 3 Star Sea Kayak Training and Assessment
Who will run the course?
Rebecca and Mark will run the course, with most of the on-the-water content delivered by Mark.
Rebecca trained in these waters for two winters preceeding her successful expedition to become the first woman to kayak around Cape Horn in January 1992.
Mark is a full time sea kayak coach and outdoor instructor who lives year round with Rebecca here at Ardmore. In 2008 he undertook a solo circumnavigation of the Outer Hebrides, paddling over 650km alone in just under a month.
What will the course cover?
The course will cover personal paddling skills, rescues, towing and rolling, and an element of sea kayaking theory including weather and basic tidal information.
We will aim to cover all the skills through a series of short journeys in our local waters, often paddling from the shore in front of the cottages. This puts the skills into a practical context, helps with the pre-requisite journeys, and allows us to explore a fantastic and varied coastline. We'll work on rolling in the sheltered bay at Ardmore, with only a short dash to warm showers. Some of the theoretical elements can be reinforced with a hot drink in hand at the end of the day.
» Formal BCU 3 star syllabus in pdf format
What is the assessment like and do I have to do the assessment?
The assessment is based on Mark's observation of your paddling over a short sea kayak journey, in winds of about Force 4. It should just feel like another day out paddling together and we'll keep it really informal.
The week is equally well suited to those just wanting to develop their skills and without necessarily wanting the certification of the BCU 3 star award, so you don't need to be assessed if you don't want to be.
Am I guaranteed to pass?
No. It is hoped that all course participants will leave at the end of the week with the BCU 3 star sea award, and we will certainly cover all aspects of the syllabus during the course. The five days also allows us time to work on any individual areas that might need more practice.
Different people learn in different ways and at different speeds and a predetermined level of skill will need to be demonstrated at the end of the week in order to attain the award.
You mentioned pre-requisites, what are these?
As well as a pre-determined level of skill the BCU require candidates at 3 star level to have:
- recorded your previous paddling experience in the form of a logbook [approximate dates and brief details of the paddling such as location, weather, duration would be appropriate]
- completed at least three sea kayak journeys of either three hours duration or 8nm(about 16km)distance.
- experience of paddling in another craft such as an open canoe or a sit-on-top kayak.
We can cover these during the week for those that may not have had a chance thus far.
Sea kayaking
