Go Kayak Now offers sea kayak instruction across the Great Lakes Region with a variety of courses from beginner, to advanced.
Our courses are designed around student centered learning. This means that your goals and aims as a paddler are what drives the content of the lesson. This is always the best approach to ensure you are meeting your goals.
Paddlesport Fundamentals
Our recommended approach is to start with our fundamentals course. Everyone needs a grounding in power transfer, posture and connectivity. If you don’t know what these things are, no worries that is what the course is all about.
This course will work on your ability to drive your boat efficiently, and begin working on maneuvering with an eye towards directional control. Your body and your mind will start to grasp how you will need to work on form to learn the following:
- Forward/Reverse Power
- Interior connectivity with the craft
- Directional control
- Stacked hands
- Rotation
We also typically try a variety of craft to ensure a good sampling of how the fundamentals apply to all paddlesports (canoeing, stand up paddle-boarding).
Directional Control
This course is where the fun really starts. Being able to turn a longer boat effectively and with purpose is the best feeling. If you can get where you want to go you are definitely half way there.
- Turning from a standstill
- Turning while on the move
- Turning upwind/downwind
- Going perfectly sideways
- Edging and Leaning
Kayak Rolling
This course is a gateway to full confidence in your other skills. When you right yourself with a roll, other skills start to become a lot easier. This skill however does require good fundamantals (above), and coordination of technique. It is often best learned with an instructor working with you standing in the water. We have a very good success rate of students who have worked with us who typically roll after about 4-5 hours of one-one instruction.
Safety and Rescue
We offer a comprehensive 1/2 day course on rescues for sea kayaking. This may be the best course you ever take. Being able to sort things out on the water is where it’s at.
- Self-rescue techniques
- Assisted Rescue techniques
- Rescuing non-sea kayak crafts
- Dressing for the water
- Risk Assessment
- Towing
Advanced Sea Kayak Courses
Rough Water Play
When we start to blend in water going up and down, this is where I am the most thrilled to be coaching. Introducing students to moving water is the best.
Rough Water I
Being able to play with your kayak in water that is going up and down and moving is great fun. We will work on moving water basics taking the fundamentals you have learned (Above) and applying them to textured water.
- Directional control in wind and waves
- Precision next to objects, rocks/breakwalls
- Timing and anticipation
- Using the water to control your path
- Paddling in current
Surfing Your Sea Kayak
Surfing a sea kayak can be a lot of fun. Maybe the most fun there is to have. But, it takes all of the skills mentioned above, and then a bit of nerve. 🙂 The best way to get some practice under your belt is to start small and take some coaching. We offer the best venue in Michigan for surfing. Southwest Michigan offers the best surfing around. We have so many breakwalls and piers which work in a variety of conditions. We can offer surfing under the right conditions. Meaning we will select the venue and the conditions to put students into.
- Breaking out
- Catching waves
- Positioning
- Speed and approach
- Control on the wave
- Edging and leaning for control
- paddle strokes for control
- Exit strategy
If you have any questions about these courses. Please contact me @ me @ go kayak now dot com.
or you can call me @ 269.245.1526
A few notes about course venues and conditions. All courses are chosen for their venue and conditions. Any course may be cancelled due to weather conditions, even during a course for safety.