Training & Events

Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body

-Arnold Schwarzenegger

ACA L4 Instructor Certification


acalogoMy self and three others made the conscious decision to embark on a journey to become certified by the American Canoe Association (ACA) as Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructors. We did this in the dead of winter enduring snow, rain, freezing temps, frigid waters, flat tires, frozen fingers, and bloody head wounds.

We started with a 3 day Instructor Development Workshop (IDW). We met for the first 2 days on Lake Washington to be taught how to teach, have our personal skills assessed and have our ability to present topics and paddle strokes critiqued.

This included an afternoon of video taping us modeling proper paddling strokes, & presenting short presentations. On the 3rd and final day of the IDW we drove up to Deception Pass to work in moving water. We had to show our ability to cross eddy lines, eddy hop upstream, ferry across current streams, perform rescues in moving water, and pull off rolls in the eddy lines. At the conclusion of the day we had a critique letting us know what we had to work on in order to pass the Instructor Certification Exam (ICE) in 2 weeks.

The following week was supposed to be an opportunity for us to practice our modeling of strokes and prepare our presentations and finalize a navigation and trip planning exercise. But as luck would have it the region was hit hard with below freezing temperatures and up to 14” of snow. Needless to say I did not get any on water time. This however did allow me to focus on my presentation of Surf Zone Basics and Safety and Finish my NavEx assignment.

The ICE was also 3 days long. It was scheduled to be 1 day on the lake, 1 day in the Surf at Westport, and 1 day back at Deception Pass. The day on the lake we modeled our ability to present paddle strokes and rescues. We each had to teach on a pre assigned topic for 15 minutes. The topics we were given were VERY broad and it was up to us to choose how and what we were to present in that short time frame. This was probably the most difficult exercise to pull off.

Day 2 was supposed to be launching and landing in the surf zone at Westport but the forecast was calling for 25-35Kts of wind blowing offshore with swell heights of 17’. We instead opted to take advantage of the shore break along Alki Pt in Seattle since the forecast was calling for winds from the south at 15-25 Kts. After all there was no reason to risk lives and boats on the coast.

Day 3 was spent up in the Deception Pass Area. We started off with a group management exercise. We had to take turns leading the group from Cornet Bay out through Deception Pass and north along the coast to Rosario Beach. We took advantage of the end of the ebb to push us out and up along the coast. As we were landing at Rosario Beach for lunch a well time squall came through with 20 kt winds and heavy rains that immediately whipped the bay into a frenzy of whitecaps. We secured the boats and dashed into the shelters for lunch. The squall passed in 10 minutes but stayed in place waiting for the currents in the pass to switch and build.

On our return trip the seas remained confused from the squall and provided a fun swellivator along the cliffs and rocks. We reached Lighthouse Point and the lumpy seas combined with the flood current provided a fun 3-4’ steep standing & breaking waves along with strong eddy lines for us to play on or I should say demonstrate our abilities to handle ourselves and our boats. We hit the pass near max flood and demonstrated our ability to break out from eddy lines and ferry across strong current streams. We then headed out to play on an eddy line on Strawberry Island where we again demonstrated our ability to eddy hop against a strong current and our ability to pull off assisted and self-rescues in moving water.

We were all exhausted at this point most us had been up since 4am and were ready to be off the water. We met up at the Corner Restaurant for dinner and our final evaluation. I was certified as ACA L4 Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructor. This was way more work than I had anticipated and want to thank my mentors, Bob Burnett, Alex Otto, & Brian Hollander for all of their help and guidance getting me to the point where I could pass this course, but more importantly imparting the knowledge to be safe and comfortable in my boat while paddling in an open water coastal environment. Also a big thanks to Pete Stevens and Steve Jones our ACA Instructors/Evaluators, who endured the sometimes painful winter weather.