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Newsletter, May 2003
Just Some Quick News
Spring is Here! I'm loving spending a few minutes watching all the bulbs coming up in the morning garden and spending the longer evenings paddling. One of my favorite paddles is late in the day across out bay to Bird Island. The gulls are back to nest, the seals are slowly re-appearing. Right now a plethora of migratory birds are swimming in the waters offshore, the ducks preparing to fly up the Elwa River to mate and nest. On the way back city lights come on slowly and the stars shine above the Olympics.
I enjoyed the Washington Water Trails dinner and auction. It was great to see all the support and to think we might have a campsite on the south side of Marrowstone Island one day.
On an odd environmental note, NPR had a report yesterday that a cruise liner dumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of sewage into the straits right near Port Townsend. There seems to be some controversy over the legality and if those are international or state waters. Would you want to wet-exit in that?
The IDW is past and the exam is coming right up! You can see David White leading a warm-up exercise on the beach - needed before those bow rescues in our northwest waters! This group brought expertixe from various places such as Nehalem Bay Kayak, Olympic Outdoor Center, Olympia Parks Department, REI and even Microsoft! The new team building games went over very well - we even played tank-and-commander (there must be a better name!)
There is room in the ICE for folks that want to join us for updates - work towards your next certification level or get credit to maintain the one you have. Join us in Deception Pass for rescue scenarioius! Quite a few people have taken advantage of this in the past.
Ongoing Tuesday and Thursday evening skills clinics - drop in!
Upcoming Dates
April 26, 27 - Whitewater for Sea Kayakers, Mountaineers Club (for club members)
May 2 - 4 - American Canoe Association instructor development workshop
May 10 - 11 - Beginning Whitewater, Redmond - Aquasports Paddle Center
May 16 - 18 - American Canoe Association Instructor Certification Exam, Port Townsend and Deception Pass
May 23 evening, May 24 - Beginning Sea Kayaking in Port Townsend. One pool session, one day on the water.
May 31, June 1 - Intro to Kayak certification course
June 7 - Staff training, Olympic Outdoor Center
June 8 - Women's Afternoon Paddle, Bike and Paddle, Port Angeles
June 14 - First Annual Kayakathon, Adventuress
June 15 - Beginning Sea Kayaking in Port Townsend. One pool session, one day on the water.
June 21 - 22 - Skills update at Bowman followed by Deception Pass current work. Rescue scenarios.
July 24th - 27th or 28th - San Juan Tour - Instruction based we will all contribute to gourmet food while we navigate about the outer islands. Begins on San Juan Island.
Other plans - An IDW/ICE is in the works for Hong Kong and for St. Augustine, Florida - both in the fall. If you have any input please let me know!
Outdoor Adventures - July 24th - 27th or 28th - San Juan Tour - Instruction based tour - contribute to gourmet food while we navigate about the outer islands. Begins on San Juan Island.
How about some teambuilding by kayak - great for those intra-office dynamics!
How about some teambuilding by kayak - great for those intra-office dynamics!
*deposits needed to hold spaces in above courses
Pool Slalom - I'm still working out! I am trying to beat my personal time of 25 seconds round trip. See the movie section for more details.
Paddling Tips
Not much time for tips - other than perfect practice makes perfect. Spend time on flatwater working those strokes and braces. Keep the safe forms when out in current, wind and surf.
Tooting One's Own Horn -
I owned and operated an outdoor retail store and guide service in Bellingham, WA from 1981 to 2000. In the last three years of operation, our services included sea kayak rentals, instruction and guiding. I have also guided sea kayak trips for the Whatcom County Parks since 1990. I became interested in further training and possible certification for kayak instruction in the spring of 2000. After researching via the web and personal contacts, I signed up for an IDW with Andree Hurley.
Although the cost of the course was higher with Andree, she convinced me that I would receive the quality and professionalism that a fair price could provide. I was not disappointed.
I have been a member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) National Nordic Demonstration Team for 10 years, and currently work as a full time alpine, nordic, and snowboard instructor with the Stevens Pass Snowsports Center in Washington state. I also travel to teach at nordic race camps and telemark and backcountry ski workshops throughout the Pacific Northwest. Many ski clubs and ski schools hire me to train their instructors and I have attended many training clinics put on by others.
Judged against this background, Andree is an exceptional trainer. What stood out was how she managed to draw very little attention to herself while still transferring a considerable amount of knowledge and experience to the participants. She did this by providing the environment, facilities, and resources to enable us to learn through direct experience of the material.
A lot of people talk about experiential learning and good teaching, but many fail to model it in workshops. Andree, and her assistants, set the stage and then got out of the way. Everyone in the group, from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels, jumped in and participated. Experienced people learned a lot, and those with less experience came away knowing what they didnšt know without being belittled. Throughout the course, safety was prioritized and maintained.
As I understood the material, the ACA way is the experiential way. That is what I experienced in the IDW that Andree conducted in the rainy, cold and wet spring.
Steve Hindman, Former Owner, Great Adventure (Bellingham), director Stevens Pass Ski School
Images/Movies
Movie clips of paddling! Movies
You will need the Quicktime player from the Apple: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/.
The On-line Store!
Click Here
paddling.about.com.
Check it out! (For one thing, I need the click-throughs!)
My article on whitewater kayaking - City Sports NW - Whitewater Kayaking
Andree Hurley
Kayak Instruction Excellence
<http://www.kayakinstructionexcellence.com>http://www.kayakinstructionexcellence.com
211 Taylor Street, Suite Five
Port Townsend, WA 98368
(360) 379-4182
(206) 669-1622 cell
Brochure -
Brochure
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