Surf's up!

This Fall, NOC is teaming up with two of the nation’s top kayak surfers to offer a first of its kind instructional program - The NOC Outer Banks Kayak Surfing Class. Two-time National Surf Kayak Champion, Spencer Cooke, and Two-time US Surf Kayak Team qualifier, Philip Aschliman, will be teaching beginner-advanced kayak surfing skills at Cape Hatteras North Carolina on October 19-21. North Carolina’s Outer Banks are known for their favorable surfing conditions and have been the site of multiple surf kayak national championships.

Basic skills such as how to paddle out through the surf zone and catching a wave will be part of the curriculum. Intermediate and advanced skills will include using the power pocket, cutbacks, bottom turns, top turns, floaters and aerials. Any paddler is welcome so come join us for a fun weekend at the coast and hopefully some good surfing conditions.

Requirements:

Participants are required to have a competent whitewater kayak roll. We welcome any skill level from novice to expert to join the class. Basic whitewater skills are a good start for surf kayaking though you will learn surf specific skills that are not encountered in a river environment. Paddling in the surf is great fun and will make you a better overall paddler .

Boats:

Any whitewater boat is possible to surf in though some are better than others. For starters, bring a boat that you are comfortable in. If you have multiple boats bring your fastest boat with carving rail. If you have one lying around, older play boat models may excel as surfing kayaks. Some examples are: Riot Glide or Booster, Necky Switch, Zip, Jive or Rip, Perception Shock or Amp, Liquidlogic Session+, etc… If you are a competent paddler on difficult whitewater or a high intermediate to advanced play boater you may consider renting or buying a surf specific kayak. A great starter surf kayak is a Riot Boogie, affordable and an excellent performer. Contact Spencer at johnspencercooke@earthlink.net for more information about boats.

*The class will be capped at twelve students so sign up now to secure your spot.

Dates: Oct 19-21

Cost: $600

Includes: Lodging, Lunch, Transportation to local venue

More details here.

Kid Kayakers

It's that time of year again here at NOC; the time when we batten down the hatches, move the instruction crew to DEFCON 2, and remove the sugar packets from the dining room tables. Yes, it's time for our bi-yearly Kid's/Teen Week. For many instructors, the two summer weeks in which we close instruction to adults and just focus on teaching kids is our favorite time of the year. Many of the kids come back year after year and we've had the privilege of watching them progress from tentative beginners to class 5 creekers. If you've got kids and are looking to get them into boating then here's a few suggestions we've picked up over the years:

1. Kids rarely place the same pressure on themselves that adults do. I've seen many novice adults disappointed in themselves after flipping at Nantahala Falls their first time running it. I have never met a kid who was disappointed about flipping at Nantahala Falls. They get the same satisfaction (if not more) from doing a successful wet-exit when they flip as they do from running the Falls upright. I cannot count the amount of times I've seen a kid do a wet-exit on the river and come up smiling. Which brings us to the next point...

2. Kids love swimming. And we encourage it. Our first few days are spent doing wet exits and swimming rapids. Sometimes we'll spend a couple hours swimming rapids just to get them comfortable in that environment. (This is particularly important for the younger kids) I've even had kids that wanted to swim Nantahala Falls before they kayaked it. Adults view swimming a rapid as a consequence for their mistake - kids view it as just a fun part of kayaking. Their comfort out of the boat, and in the water, increases their learning curve exponentially.

3. Kayaking is one of the best sports I've seen for teaching responsibility. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of responsibility and good decision making I see from 9-15 year old kids in regards to kayaking. Sure, we put them in safe environments in which they can succeed, but we also allow them to make many of their own decisions on the river - which rapids they run, which lines they'll take, which rapids they'll lead, etc. The results are often amazing. For example, when we ask the kids to choose their own line at Nantahala Falls very few of them actually choose the standard left to right line, eddying-out in Truckstop Eddy, like 95% of boaters do. They often choose completely different lines going down the right side of the Falls which they correctly deduce will give them a greater chance of success than the standard line.

For more information on our Kids/Teen week programs click here

Photos courtesy of Jon Clark: Advanced Kids Week