Kayaking Lessons

First Strokes - The Basics and Beyond The first of our "Series" classes, First Strokes is a full-on instructional class for those wishing to learn the basics, with the goal of developing beyond the basics and eventually progressing beyond the bays and lakes to challenge more open waters.

Whether you're new to kayaking or in need of a tune-up, this class will introduce you to basic skills needed for paddling protected waters (harbors, bays and small lakes), and then goes on to give you the solid foundation you'll need to successfully continue on through our series of more advanced classes. Included are wet exits, capsize recoveries, and other skills which are needed for eventual transition to open-water kayaking.

For the greatest learning potential, this class is normally taught in sea touring kayaks, but another type of single kayak may be substituted, with instructor approval.

Class Dates and Locations
Class Length: 4 Hours
Requirements: No disqualifying health issues, must be at least 16 years of age (13 if accompanied by parent)
Qualifies for: Successful completion qualifies you for Sea Legs I.
$80 per participant, or $70 with your own boat

Sea Legs I - An Introduction to Open Waters If you have successfully completed First Strokes (or equivalent), have some additional miles under your hull, and wish to improve your skills beyond the basics, Sea Legs I will introduce you to some of the more-advanced techniques needed for paddling on open waters (such as larger bays and lakes, and coastal ocean regions).

Starting inside the bay, we will work on a widening range of bracing and control strokes, as well as solo capsize recoveries. Then we will make our way "outside", where you will have the opportunity to test the waters of the open sea as you work on developing more precise and confident control of your kayak, and comfort with open-water conditions.

For the greatest learning potential, this class is taught in sea touring kayaks, but appropriate 14-foot or longer sit-on-top kayaks may be substituted with instructor approval (no recreation boats).

Class Dates and Locations
Class Length: Eight Hours in Newport
Requirements/Pre-requisites: No disqualifying health issues, must be at least 16 years of age (13 if accompanied by parent), successful completion of First Strokes (or qualified equivalent)
Qualifies for: Successful completion qualifies you for Sea Legs II.
$120 per participant, or $110 with your own boat

Sea Legs II - Skills for Coastal Paddling Following completion of Sea Legs I and some personal practice, Sea Legs II will challenge you as it builds on the previous two "Series" classes. Along with more work and refinement on previously-introduced skills, you will be introduced to even more-advanced bracing and control skills and solo capsize recoveries, plus an intro to towing methods. With an eye toward spending more time in progressively more challenging conditions along the scenic and rocky coast, we will then move outside, seeking opportunities for you to test what you've learned.

For the greatest learning potential, this class is taught in sea touring kayaks, but appropriate 14-foot or longer sit-on-top kayaks may be substituted with instructor approval (no recreation boats).

Class Dates and Locations
Class Length: Eight Hours in Newport
Requirements/Pre-requisites: No disqualifying health issues, must be at least 16 years of age (13 if accompanied by parent), successful completion of Sea Legs I (or qualified equivalent)
Qualifies for: Successful completion qualifies you for Surf Zones.
$120 per participant, or $110 with your own boat

Open Water Comprehensive The Open-Water Comprehensive is a rigorous course for those who would like to get started in kayaking in one action-packed weekend. On day one, we'll cover all the material in our First Strokes class, plus portions of Sea Legs I and Sea Legs II. On day two, we will cover the remaining portions of Sea Legs I and Sea Legs II as we work our way out into the open waters off the Newport Coast.

This aggressive approach to learning the skills and techniques of coastal paddling is intended for those who like to do things with gusto, or who aren't able to schedule the three-class series into their busy lives.

Open-Water Comprehensive is especially recommended for first-time paddlers with lots of energy and enthusiasm, for First Strokes graduates who would like to expedite the learning process, and for those who are self-taught and wish to correct some well-ingrained bad habits.

For the greatest learning potential, this class is taught in sea touring kayaks, but appropriate 14-foot or longer sit-on-top kayaks may be substituted with instructor approval (no recreation boats). However, using a traditional touring kayak provides the maximum learning potential, and prepares one to successfully handle and enjoy many types of craft.

Class Dates and Locations
Class Length: 2 Day Series (6-8 Hours Per Day)
Requirements/Pre-requisites: No disqualifying health issues, must be at least 16 years of age (13 if accompanied by parent)
Qualifies for: Successful completion qualifies you for Surf Zones and Rock Garden Paddling.
$240 per participant, or $220 with your own boat and gear

Personal Choice Group Lessons

If you are looking for some expert help with certain elements of your skill set, but feel other classes are too generic for your needs, and Private Instruction too intense or not cost-effective, we are now offering Personal-Choice Group Lessons.

Personal-Choice Group Lessons are scheduled classes taught in small, manageable groups, in-which the curriculum of each session is uniquely determined by you - the participant. Just sign-up, specify what equipment you will be using (ours or yours), and then tell us what skill(s) you would like to work on.

During the class, a proportionate amount of the available time will be dedicated to each student, and spent working exclusively on the specific skill(s) he/she requested. When it is your turn, we will cover the specific skill(s) you selected, with you being the principal student. Everyone in the class will be encouraged to work on ‘your’ skill along with you, and will receive some personal input from the instructor; but your advancement will be the main focus of that portion of the class. During the remainder of the class, you will continue to learn and benefit by working on the skills your classmates have selected. Sometimes we learn as much, or more, seeing the input other students receive on proper execution of “our” skill, or gain more when working on the other student’s selected skills, than our own – a real “win/win” situation for sure.

To maintain a fairly uniform skill level in the class for optimum learning potential, you must have at least completed our First Strokes lesson and must be comfortable with capsizes, wet-exits and assisted re-entries.

In this class, you may use whatever type of kayak you feel best suits your goals. We generally feel that using a traditional touring kayak provides the maximum learning potential, but if you feel more comfortable or confident in a sit-on-top or recreational kayak, just make sure you request the type (and preferably model) when you enroll.

To further help you improve, we are limiting these classes to a maximum of four students per instructor, with a minimum-required enrollment of two students. The length of the class will be keyed to the number enrolled – one hour per student; so the minimum length will be two hours for two paid students, then three hours for three students, and four hours for four. Therefore unlike most classes, the more people that sign up, the more greater the amount of time you will have to learn and improve.

Class Dates and Locations
Class Length: 1 hour per enrollee – 2 hours minimum, 4 hours maximum
Requirements: First Strokes lesson or better, no disqualifying health issues, and must be at least 16 years of age (13 if accompanied by parent).
Qualifies for: While not a qualifying class, successful completion will increase a paddler's skill sets and confidence, which will help a paddler continue onto more advanced lessons, trips, and challenges..
$80 per participant, or $70 with your own boat.

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Recoveries and Rescues Recoveries and Rescues is a rigorous course for those who have been introduced to wet exits and capsize-recovery skills (as taught in our First Strokes, Sea Legs, and Comprehensive classes), and wish to hone those skills, learn variations on the "standard" re-entries, and learn some new techniques for recoveries and rescues.

A well-founded, proven recovery-and-rescue skill-set is vitally important to anyone who paddles outside of small, protected waters, or beyond swimming distance of friendly shores. This high-energy class will provide a boost in the paddling skills necessary to meet and handle capsize recovery with strength and grace.

Recoveries and Rescues is suitable for accomplished paddlers as well as developing paddlers who have successfully completed First Strokes and feel comfortable with wet exits.

This class is normally taught in sea touring kayaks, but appropriate sit-on-top or recreation kayaks may be substituted, given ample secure flotation and instructor approval. However, using a traditional touring kayak provides the maximum potential for learning, and prepares one to successfully handle and enjoy many types of craft.

Class Dates and Locations
Class Length: Six Hours
Requirements/Pre-requisites: No disqualifying health issues, must be at least 16 years of age (13 if accompanied by parent), successful completion of First Strokes (or qualified equivalent), solid demonstration of wet-exit skills.
Qualifies for: While not a qualifying class, successful completion will increase a paddler's skill set and confidence, helping them to continue onto more advanced lessons such as Sea Legs, Rock Garden Paddling, and Surf Zones.
$90 per participant, or $80 with your own boat.

Rock Garden Paddling Rock Garden Paddling is a rigorous course for those who have acquired good boat-handling and capsize-recovery skills and wish to learn to apply those skills in the action-packed environment that exists along our rocky and convoluted coastline.

This class provides a fun and aggressive opportunity to learn the skills and techniques of coastal paddling in and around the dynamic intertidal and surf zones, where waves break around rocks, and flood through channels, arches and caves. This class is intended for those who are looking for a challenge, and who realize that the best way to reduce one's risk level is to first learn to identify the hazards inherent in kayaking, then hone the skills necessary to either avoid those hazards, or (where appropriate) meet and handle them head-on. With lots of energy and enthusiasm, we can not only use rock gardens to practice these skills, but can turn them into our playgrounds.

Rock gardens can be a rough-and-tumble type of environment, where bumps, scrapes and other body-meets-world types of incidents can happen. We will wear proper body-coverage gear and the nature of our experience will be dictated by a safety-conscious evaluation of the environment and conditions (which is also part of the curriculum and learning process).

This class is suitable for advanced and developing paddlers who have successfully completed Surf Zones and honed their boat-handling skills in a variety of conditions. The ability to roll and/or perform self-recoveries in rough water would be a plus.

This class is normally taught in sea touring kayaks or sit-on-tops equipped with thigh straps. Another suitable type of kayak might also be acceptable, given the instructor's approval.

Class Dates and Locations
Class Length: Six Hours in Newport
Requirements/Pre-requisites: No disqualifying health issues, must be at least 16 years of age (13 if accompanied by parent), successful completion of Surf Zones (or qualified equivalent), solid demonstration of wet-exit and recovery skills.
Qualifies for: While not a qualifying class, successful completion will increase skill set and confidence, helping paddlers continue onto more advanced endeavors, such as coastal touring).
$100 per participant, or $80 with your own boat.

Rolling A solid, dependable "Eskimo" or kayak roll opens up a new world of kayaking for those who bother to acquire the skill. Aside from being the best and easiest capsize recovery technique available, a roll makes it easier to improve other paddling skills, opens the door to more challenging conditions, and... it's a whole lot of fun!

The kayak roll is the crowning jewel of a well-founded, proven recovery-and-rescue skill set, which is vitally important to anyone who paddles outside of small, protected waters, or beyond swimming distance of friendly shores. Acquiring a roll will provide an immense boost in your bracing skills, your confidence, and your enjoyment of paddling.

Even an enthusiastic beginner can learn to roll, but it is recommended that you successfully complete First Strokes and become comfortable with capsizes and wet exits before taking Rolling. This class is also appropriate if you already have a roll and need a tune-up, wish to work on another style of roll, or wish to work on bracing and sculling.

Rolling is normally taught in sea touring or whitewater kayaks, but a suitable sit-on-top with thigh straps, a wave ski, or surf kayak would also be acceptable, with instructor's approval. However, a traditional touring kayak or whitewater kayak provides the maximum potential for learning, and prepares one to successfully roll many types of craft.

Class Dates and Locations
Class Length: Three Hours in Newport
Class Size: Space Limited to Two Paddlers
Requirements/Pre-requisites: No disqualifying health issues, must be at least 16 years of age (13 if accompanied by parent), successful completion of First Strokes (or qualified equivalent), solid demonstration of controlled capsize and wet-exit skills.
Qualifies for: While not a qualifying class, successful completion will increase skill set and confidence, helping paddlers continue onto more advanced lessons such as Sea Legs, Open Water Comprehensive, Rock Garden Paddling, and Surf Zones.
$75 per participant with our boat or your own boat

Surf Zones Surf is exciting! In a kayak, it is also exhilarating and fun. And... it will teach you more about controlling your boat in one afternoon than you may otherwise learn in a year of bay paddling. Surf paddling fine-tunes your strokes and braces, builds your paddling strength and endurance, and (once you are comfortable transitioning through it), the surf zone becomes your doorway to ocean exploration, travel and discovery.

In our Surf Zones class, you will be introduced to the mental and physical skills needed to enter, transition, and play in the surf zone with control and assurance. We will cover reading and assessing conditions, inherent hazards and safety considerations, gear and physical preparations, and the skills needed to control yourself and your kayak in moving water and breaking waves, with the impetus being on learning to successfully launch and land through the surf.

After some practice of the basic skills, we will also be happy to introduce you to the basics of kayak surfing, which is guaranteed to be the single most fun-per-stroke thing you can do in a kayak.

Surf Zones is normally taught in sea touring or sit-on-top kayaks. If you would like to use another suitable type of craft, that might also be acceptable, with instructor's approval.

Class Dates and Locations
Class Length: Four hours at San Onofre State Park.
Requirements/Pre-requisites: No disqualifying health issues, must be at least 16 years of age (13 if accompanied by parent), successful completion of Sea Legs II or Open Water Comprehensive, solid demonstration of controlled capsize and wet-exit skills.
Qualifies for: While not a qualifying class, successful completion will increase skill set and confidence, which will help paddlers gain more from advanced lessons such as Rock Garden Paddling.
$90 per participant, or $80 with your own boat and gear.

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Kayaking Lessons

Southwind Kayak Center