ACA SUP ICW - Portland Maine

This marks my 3rd course in Portland Maine and my sixteenth course overall.  Not bad considering I usually offer only 2-3 courses per season.  Last year this course was full with 8.  This year we struggled to get only 3 and ended up dropping it to a 2-day Level One course, which turned out to be the right move because the candidates weren't ready for Level Two just yet.  Cathy, Caitlin & Emma all did awesome and Portland Paddle is lucky to have all of them as instructors and guides.  Big thanks to Portland Paddle for hosting me again this year!

East End of Casco Bay is a tough venue when looking for Level One conditions.  Turned out that we had to make our way into Portland Harbor each day to work in a small pocket of perfectly flat water, quite nice spot to teach actually.  I enjoyed this because it gave me a real good look into each candidates skills while paddling in wind on the way to the harbor and back.  What was only a 5-10 minute paddle gave me tons of insight into their experience and comfort level on a board. 

The course was awesome.  Super fun, beautiful weather and some great progression.

What really stands out though, is that I realized Level One courses are way more appropriate these days.  Most courses I've run in the past have been combined L1 & L2, which is great when you have paddlers filling out the spectrum.  What often happens though, which I dislike, is that some paddlers assume they're paddling at L2 standards just because we're covering it.  They don't always understand where they fit on the L1/L2 spectrum and it's hard to tell them they're not as skilled as they think they are.  The other thing I really don't like that has happened over the years with combined courses is that some people are meeting L1 standards, not quite L2, but might be close enough to send them home with a workplan to meet those standards quickly.  Typically we call this a continuation.  Sounds great right?  It can be, but most often what happens is people go away with a continuation and never really put the work in to meet the standard, and my time gets wasted.  What's the takeaway?  I'm not offering combined levels anymore. 

ACA SUP ICW - Cape Cod

I returned to Cape Cod this year to train SUP Instructors for Mike Morrison 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.  All of their sup and kayak instructors are ACA certified.  This year Chris, Kara, Katie & Jase wer going through the program in a combined Level One/Two Instructor Certification Workshop. 

It was a fun course, as usual and as expected.  If these courses aren't fun, I'm not doing my job.  In my experience, learning comes easier when a group of people get comfortable with each other quickly, and fun is a way to do that.  I felt a bit off at times, but it's early season and it takes a bit to warm up again, right? 

I'm happy to have been joined by Adam Mayer of Go Paddleboard CT.  Adam is a past student and a highly skilled teacher and paddler.  He is a teacher by trade and has a knack for helping people understand things quickly, which is one of the biggest challenges coaches have.  I hope to work with him again soon, because he's incredibly easy to work with and has great ideas about the sport.  If you're in Northwest Connecticut, take a class with him. 

We spent three full days on Peter's Pond in Sandwich, going over a huge range of paddling strokes & skills, working on leadership and practicing teaching skills.  The candidates were fairly diverse in terms of experience and skill level coming into the course.  All improved a vast amount during the course, which makes me so happy to see.  I love to watch people improve their paddling, and these courses are the best way to do it.  When you're on the water and focused on paddling for two to three days at a time, you have enough time to progress slowly & build skills steadily and build a strong set of foundation skills to pull from. 

After hours we spent a little time visiting Naukabout & Lambert's Farm Market - I will return to Lamberts at some point in my life.  It's a must in that area.  Then, I even got in a quick visit with my parents, who happened to be visiting the Cape that weekend, staying at their friends family cottage. 

Anyways, CONGRATULATIONS to Katie, Kara, Chris and Jase! 

The crew, from the left: Katie, Jase, Adam, Kara, Me (Matt), Chris 

Peter's Pond.  Perfect Day.

Playing with fins.

Adam Mayer is so comfortable on a board.

ACA SUP ICW @ Portland, Maine

beautiful days in Maine

Seven candidates and another awesome course.  My favorite thing about offering these courses is getting to meet so many cool people and making new paddling partners.  

This group was no different and I've already spent time paddling with some of them.  We had a pretty intense session over three full days with some very skilled and knowledgeable personalities.  Group learning at its best!  Portland Paddle hosted us at their location at East End Beach, which turned out to be a fantastic venue for the course.  When you're in Portland Maine, visit them and take a trip on Casco Bay, home of some incredible paddling opportunities and rich with history.

Last season I did a Jewell Island Trip on Casco Bay that you can read about here.  Definitely recommended!

Shane talks about boards

Casco Bay

ACA SUP ICW @ Bar Harbor, Maine

Matt, Cosmos, Allison, Curtis, Jessica & Wendy

Congrats to the newest ACA Certified SUP Instructors in Maine!

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.  Next time you're up there, stop in to take a class, do some sup yoga, rent a board or visit his shop.  He's the only dedicated SUP retailer in Maine and introduces thousands of people to SUP each season.  

Great Long Pond, Bar Harbor, ME

Wendy flips Cosmos back onto the board

Learning knots

ACA Level 3 SUP Surf - Dana Point, CA

Back in November last year Tim Chandler of TRY Standup and myself started talking about an ACA L3 Surf SUP Instructor Certification Course in California.  California is known for surf and this course has never been delivered in this state.  A few months of back and forth emails and Tim was at work organizing and hosting the course.  Because the ACA SUP program is still fairly new, we had no choice but to fly-in an instructor trainer to deliver it.  Keith arrived last Thursday and on Friday morning our group of four candidates met up with him to get started.  

For the next three days we surfed, learned, taught and discussed the extremely intricate and physical aspects of technical surfing all day long and into the evenings.  The waves weren't perfect but did allow us plenty of wave time.  The group of folks was awesome, full of positivity and contributions to the course.  

I entered the course without many expectations.  I love to surf and I wanted to experience an L3 course just to know what it's all about.  L3 is the logical next step after L2, so knowing what students may go through after L2 would help me better prepare them.  I definitely have some material to work with and modifications to make the next time I deliver an L2 course, so mission accomplished.  Personally, I have some things to work on when it comes to my personal surfing skills.  I have a solid base and am working towards surfing at a higher level.  

Keith and I splitting the peak.  Photo:  TRY Standup

Photo:  TRY Standup

Maggie, myself, Tim, Keith & Mitch.  Photo:  TRY Standup

taking our spots in the lineup.  Photo:  TRY Standup

Tim shredding the low volume JP. Photo: TRY Standup

photo: TRY Standup

SUP Instructor Certification Workshop May 1-3 San Diego

When three days disappear in a blink, you know it's fun.  We had a solid group of eleven made up of eight candidates and three Instructors.  The real kicker for this weekend is that every single person brought something to the course, most notably their fun personalities and willingness to learn and contribute.

It's difficult to measure the outcome of these courses.  You can't just say he or she got certified.  The certification shouldn't be and isn't the most valuable piece of these workshops.  It's really about improving skill, learning new teaching methods and becoming better instructors for our future students.  Candidates dial-in their personal skills as much as possible.  They practice with coaching models, they learn and review safety & leadership.  They gain awareness and become safer, stronger paddlers.  Hopefully they leave the course inspired and stoked for more.

I get better at delivering these courses each time, but I still ask myself 'were we safe?' 'Did we improve our measurable performance?' 'Did we have fun?' 'Was it valuable to the candidates?' 'What could I have done better?' Yes, yes, yes & hmmm.  That's the question - what could I have done better?  After every course I run, lesson I give or trip I lead, I'm immediately reflecting on the experience and taking notes on what worked, what didn't work, what will I change next time, what could I have done better.

We have a new group of ACA certified SUP Instructors in the US and I'm pretty certain everyone left the course with new paddling friends and a renewed appreciation for the SUP community.  That makes me feel pretty good, even though there are lots of things I'll do better next time.

Thank you Mitch for assisting, thank you Tim of Try Standup for assisting and thank you Jen of Aqua Adventures for hosting the course.  Fun times!

Chris, Alex, Matt, Paul, Erin, Tara, Dylan, Mitch, Tim & Wendy.  photo by Erin O'Malley.

double trouble

ACA Level 2 SUP Instructor Certification Workshop - February 27th - March 1st

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.

• personal paddling skills
• teaching skills
• technical knowledge
• rescue ability 
• safety / judgement / leadership ability
• ambassadorship

These are the six criteria we're using to judge where people fit on the ACA SUP instructor scale.  It's a difficult job assessing multiple candidates over multiple days on multiple things.  It's difficult to decide whether a candidate really has their skills down or if they just seem to be paddling well at that time.  Will they stick with it and maintain their skills or will they get certified and become complacent, neglecting to improve any more.  

Assessments are subjective and difficult.  I do my best but many times it's not black and white.  When it's questionable, I'm now in the mindset to make the candidate work harder, reinforcing their skills and making my decision less questionable.

This past weekend, Mitch Silverstein and I ran an L2 Instructor Certification Workshop in Half Moon Bay for 6 candidates.  Fun people, fun conditions, fun course.

Whitewater SUP Road Trip

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.  I got a last minute notice for the course and quickly jumped on it, as these aren't offered too often in the West.

I was already scheduled to be in the Redding area on Nov 1st, so adding this to the trip seemed logical.  Monday morning I slowly got my act together, got a few hours of work done at the local Starbucks and drove a few hours north.  Without any rush, I stopped at just about every rest area to stretch and take in the views.  Lassen and Shasta were snow-covered and this beautiful day was coming to an end.  Wanting a sunrise view of Shasta in the morning, I opted to sleep close.  Unfortunately it didn't pan out and I woke to clouds and rain.  Shit.  May as well head north.

Without coffee or breakfast, I began driving north towards Portland with no particular destination in mind.  Again, stopping at most rest areas and taking my time, I enjoyed the drive probably more than any other time on this route.  Going slow is pretty rad and easier on the body.  After a few minutes on google I picked my stop, a state park just southwest of Portland on the Willamette River.  Arriving in the afternoon, I booked a yurt for two nights and made myself at home.  Now, as I sit here snacking on hard cider, cheese & bread I'm reflecting on my present life.  I'm happy.  A bit directionless, but happy.

At the very beginning of 2014 my twelve year relationship came to an end.  Five months ago I moved out of my apartment in the Bay Area, put everything I own in storage and have been living on the road ever since.  New Hampshire, Tomales Bay, Pebble Beach, Arizona, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Maine, Canada, Sacramento and now Portland.  Work and play have kept me busy.  I'm living out of three pieces of luggage - a duffel with paddleboard and full paddling kit, another duffel full of clothes and camping gear and a backpack that serves as my office with computer, internet, chargers, cameras and notebooks.  It's simple and I'm loving it.

Every couple weeks or months I make it back to the Bay Area to visit storage, re-pack for the next leg of my trip, check my mail, visit my cat and see some friends.  It's fun, but California isn't home anymore - it's just a place to keep my stuff.  I still find it incredibly beautiful, but I desire to live somewhere I belong and I don't belong in the bay any longer.

Fast forward to 11:30pm on Saturday.  I'm back at that same exact rest area in Weed, California. Quick stop for a stretch and a 2-hour nap in the backseat.  I wish I could've stayed in Oregon longer, but I'm committed to a course in Oakland and need to get back for it.  On the 10-hour overnight drive, I'm still buzzing from a fun weekend and a future filled with standup whitewater.  I passed the course and got certified to teach ww sup.  There is a whole new venue opening up for me and I'm excited to think about new places to go and new challenges to take on.  Standup paddling the river makes me feel like a kid and that's an awesome feeling.  I'm now thoroughly hooked and looking forward to more.  But first I need to make it to Oakland by 7am.

ACA SUP Instructor Certification Workshop - October 24th-26th

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.  I feel really good about my delivery and am already brainstorming on how to improve for the next course.

photo by Tim Chandler / trystandup.com

photo by Jeff Burton / paddlestandingup.blogspot.com

photo by Jeff Burton / paddlestandingup.blogspot.com

photo by Jeff Burton / paddlestandingup.blogspot.com

Tomales Bay SUP Instructor Certification Workshop

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.

This week Jeff assisted me on a 3-day Instructor Certification Workshop at Blue Waters Kayaking, the leading paddlesports provider on the bay.  Collectively, it's the youngest group I've worked with yet and their energy worked wonders helping them progress a ton in a short time and soak up info quickly.  We struggled at times with low tides and wind, but that didn't change the amount of fun we had.  Each time I run one of these workshops, they seem to get better and better.  This one flowed smoothly the entire time in an effective and efficient manner and I feel pretty good about my delivery.  Nice paddling in Tomales!

bluewaterskayaking.com

photo by Jeff Burton.

Daniel, Chandell, Liz & Dallas.  photo by Jeff Burton

photo by Jeff Burton