Intro To Surf Class

Intro to Surf classes offered to the club by Barrier Island Kayaks
in Swansboro on Sat and Sun, 7/18 and 7/19.
Class Description:
This course is designed for sea kayakers (long boats with bulkheads or sea socks only) who have never been in the surf, or who want to get more comfortable or practiced in surf.
Focus will be on safety and etiquette, launching and landing, wave selection, positioning and take off, basic ruddering and side surfing. Rolling is not required. Euro or Greenland paddles allowed, helmets and spray skirts required. Don’t forget to also bring sunscreen, sunglasses, water, snacks and lunch. The class will be cancelled and rescheduled if weather conditions warrant.
Dawn

Lamar Hudgens
Education Degree WCU
BCU 5 Star Award
BCU Level 4 Coach Sea A1*
AssessorACA Advanced Open Water Instructor

Lamar founded Barrier Island Kayaks in 1996. He has now accumulated over 30 years of kayaking experience with over 22,000 miles behind the paddle. He has worked as head guide for Wildwater Ltd. on the Chattooga River, managed High Country Outfitters on the Ocoee River, worked as a trip leader and instructor for Nantahala Outdoor Center and Senior Field Staff rock climbing and paddling instructor for Camp Woodson Therapeutic Wilderness Camp. Lamar's guiding experience on Section IV of the Chattooga River was written up in National Geographic in April 1983.
Lamar was awarded the BCU 5 Star in 2004 from Nigel Dennis at an assessment in Anglesey, Wales, UK. At that time, this award was held by less than 15 paddlers in the United States and qualifies Lamar as one of the highest ranking BCU sea coaches in the US. His passion for open sea paddling has taken him to Wales four times and Lamar now leads advanced sea kayak trips to the UK.

Dawn :

Lucky me, I'm assisting in 2 surf classes this weekend given by Lamar Hudgins owner of Barrier Island Kayaks for the Carolina Kayak Club members.

I'm hoping to take some pics, but it's hard to surf and shoot :)

Julia

Mitch & Michael

Tamas

from Dawn`s blog:

Everyone seemed to have a great time, and conditions were just perfect with primarily 1-2 ft waves (and a few 3 footers on Saturday). Lots of lessons learned from understanding your own limits, discovering which skills need some more work, putting recovery braces and balance into practice, and discovering the thrill of taking off on a wave.

Tamas, a big grizzly bear of a guy, wins the prize for best balance in the class. This was his first time ever in the ocean, and he never flipped in the surf once, and he was out on Saturday with the larger surf. He had a huge smile on his face throughout, and when we came to shore he looked me and said "I may never want to paddle on the lake again".

Please note:

This is not a beginner kayaking class, this is a beginner surf class for seakayaks. There is an expectation that you already have a reasonable forward stroke, know how to maneuver with sweep strokes and stern rudder, are getting comfortable edging and bracing with a low brace, and have learned and practiced wet exits and assisted rescues in flat water.

Part of the class will be in building and fine tuning these skills in rough water, but you should have them in flat water now.

If you have any concerns or questions about your skills, please feel free to call Lamar at BIK 252-393-6457.

The class will be quite physical and tiring, but so much fun! Don’t forget to bring water, snacks, lunch and sunscreen, and croakies or some other holder for your glasses or sunglasses.