Coastal Kayak

 
The American Canoe Association program for Coastal Kayaking offers individuals the opportunity to become Instructors in Basic Coastal Kayak, Open Water Coastal Kayak and Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayak.

Each level is more complex and includes a level of difficulty and skills proportionally more advanced. Instructors may teach preceding levels, including Intro to Kayak and Quickstart courses.

The Basic Coastal Kayak Instructor Certification

For Instructors who will teach on water up with modest tidal current in wind conditions up to 10 Knots, seas to 1 foot within Ω mile of shore. Instructors are authorized to teach in gentle ocean environments in limited wind conditions and to teach students fundamental kayak skills including identifying hazards and self- rescues in tidal water.

Basic CK Instructors may teach:

• Quickstart Your Kayak
• Intro to Kayak
• Basic Strokes and Rescues

The Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructor Certification

For those interested in teaching in open water with winds to 15 knots, sea states to 3 feet and within 1 mile of shore. The Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructor will teach rolling, boat handling, tidal currents and environmental impacts.

Open Water CK Instructors Teach the above list plus:

• Strokes and Refinements
• Open Water Navigation and Touring
• Rolling Skills
• Tidal Current
• Surf Zone skills

The Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructor

Not intended for the faint of heart. This Instructor Certification is limited to those Open Water Kayak Instructors who have held their certification for greater than 24 months and plan to teach students in sea states with small craft warning conditions. Advanced Instructors must have superior rolling and paddling skills. This level of instruction is intense, demanding and physically challenging as well as entailing significantly greater risk to instructor and student.

Advanced Open Water CK Instructors teach the above listed courses plus:

• Advanced Open Water
• Advanced Surf Skills