I returned to Cape Cod this year to train SUP Instructors for Mike at Rideaway Adventures. Rideaway is an awesome paddle sports outfitter in the Cape with multiple locations, serving paddlers and bikers with classes, tours and rentals.
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Portland Maine is a wonderful paddling destination. This year I once again ran a Level 1-2 American Canoe Association SUP Instructor Certification Workshop in Portland. Nine instructor candidates, myself and an assistant spent June 8-10 on Portland's East End completely geeking out on standup paddleboarding.
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This is the 2nd year I've travelled up to Acadia SUP in beautiful Bar Harbor, Maine to run an ACA SUP ICW with Chris Strout, owner of Acadia SUP. He runs a great operation on the edge of Acadia National Park and is focused on quality instruction and safety.
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I've been working hard in the paddle sports industry for 15 years. In that time I've never considered it a career, although it has accounted for a large percentage of my income each year. I've met many wonderful people through this sport including many of my best friends.
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Fifteen years ago when I was in my first year of paddling I got some great advice from a mentor. "Don't worry about the certifications" he said, "focus on your paddling." From that point on I've never taken an assessment until I was absolutely, positively sure I was ready and able to pass.
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It's 6am and I'm in the backseat of my station wagon, wrapped in a sleeping bag at a rest area in Weed, California. I'm as happy as I've ever been in my life. I'm on the road, traveling with paddling equipment with a very loose itinerary and it feels great. I love traveling by car and I love roadtrips and this one will bring me to Portland for a 3-day American Canoe Association whitewater SUP course put on by Next Adventure.
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Awesome course! A great venue, a great assistant and ten qualified, well experienced standup paddlers added up to one fun weekend. I think everyone walked away super stoked on standup paddling with a bunch of new friends and energy for our sport. For three solid days we worked on personal paddling skills, teaching skills, rescue skills, safety, judgement, leadership and ambassadorship for sup.
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Tomales Bay is an incredibly beautiful Northern California paddling destination loaded with wildlife on land and in the water. It's a spectacular hiking and paddling destination with a diverse climate and weather conditions. Wind is usually on the menu after 11am and downwinding is one of the best activities on the bay. Jeff Burton paddles Tomales Bay a ton and runs a great paddling blog called Paddle Standing Up.
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On Wednesday we began a 3-day SUP Instructor Workshop in Newport Beach with 9 Instructor Candidates with a wide range of skill and educational background. Candidates came from all over California for three intensive days of paddling, teaching & learning.
These courses are designed for experienced standup paddlers with solid Level two skills. Over the course of the workshop we attempt to progress each candidates skills by breaking strokes & maneuvers down into pieces and reinforcing paddling concepts.
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What a fun weekend on San Francisco Bay! Cindy & Steve Scherrer came down from WA to help me run an American Canoe Association Level 1/2 SUP Instructors Certification Workshop for 6 potential candidates. We had a great team of paddlers with a ton of learning going on and super support from all. In the end, we certified four new Level 1 Instructors and two new Level 2 Instructors - success!
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As many trips do, this one had a goal. It wasn't clear, but it clearly involved spending time on myself & resetting for a major change. I recently left my job in search of something more meaningful and more fulfilling, and a trip to Baja seemed a good starting point. So far I'm feeling way more 'in touch' with myself and am taking the time to listen to my body.
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I recently assisted Steve Scherrer on an ACA Level 1/2 SUP ICW in Long Beach with ten SoCal instructor candidates. We spent the first 30 minutes of the course on the 2nd floor balcony at Bayshore Park, just a short paddle from Marine Stadium Park, rowing site of the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In the foreground we watched locals enjoying the heat wave on the beach and in the water, in the background we stared at the snow-covered Mount San Antonio, tallest point in Los Angeles county standing at over 10k feet.
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Last weekend I ran an American Canoe Association Standup Paddleboarding Level One/Two Instructor Certification Workshop in Half Moon Bay, CA under the watchful eye of Roger Schumann. We had 7 candidates attend the 3-day workshop from all parts of California with various degrees of skill and experience from the kayaking and surfing worlds.
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In the second week of December I spent three days paddling with some of Northern California's finest during an ACA L5 assessment. Some of us were present as an L4 update (myself included), while others were assessing at level 5. The course was largely unstructured by design to allow things to come together in a natural fashion. Without three full days of syllabus to follow we would be able to improvise and try things that may not normally happen on an assessment or formal course.
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