Kayak Racing Clinic

Welcome to the Carolina Kayak Club workshop on

An Introduction to Sea Kayak Racing!

The weather looks great for tomorrow (Saturday the 27th), however, it will be fairly warm in the morning with high humidity so dress lightly and bring a cooler for cold sports drinks/water.

Since the workshop will start at 9:00 AM and run till close to 1:00 PM, bring a light lunch as well. There will be shade and rest rooms near by.

One more thing. I know, it's going to be hot, but PFDs must be worn securely at all times - train like you'll race.

If you are unfamiliar with Crabtree Lake Park, it's part of the Wake County system and located near RDU between I-40 and NC 54 on Aviation Parkway (closer to I-40 exit of the same name). We'll put in a the far end of the park at the "Canoe and Kayak Launch" just past the last paved parking lot, rest rooms, and floating dock. There is parking right at the put-in (gravel). Although there is no admission to the park, there is a $2 launch fee that goes towards maintaining the facilities for kayaks and canoes. Also if you see any trash/debris in the lake while we're paddling, please pick it up.

What can you expect to take away from this workshop? Quite a bit. Some of the topics will be understanding and gauging fitness; the basics of a training program to develop paddle strength and endurance; modifying a sea kayak for competition; paddling in a group (tactics and strategy). And last but not least, developing a stronger, efficient forward stroke. I will touch on the wing paddle but will focus on the conventional flat blade or "euro" paddle. There will be a wing paddle for you to try as well as a older, more stable "K1" or olympic racing kayak - you might be surprised how well you do! Put together, you'll to see how kayak racing skills can benefit your health and enjoyment of kayaking.

You might even want to give racing a try!

from Stephen Knight (instructor of clinic)

Brace and Resque night

Brace practice and resques


Be ready to get wet as you learn how far over you can take your boat and still get it back up with a brace stroke. Will work on Low and High brace.
This is the place to start learning your Roll. I belive that you cannot have a roll untill you learn a good brace. A good high brace is the last half of a roll.
Resques will be needed because you should push your limit to see what you can do with a brace, and sometimes you will pust to far.
To push to far is GREAT!!!!!! It lets you know your limits, and what you need to work on to improve.
A good brace stroke builds confidence in your paddling ability.

This is a "mentoring" type event where more experienced paddlers will help teach others.

Contact: Craig

Balancing Clinic "jordan lake"

"Keeping balance requires integration of inputs from multiple senses (equilibrioception (from the vestibular system), vision, and perception of pressure and proprioception from the somatosensory system) with the motor system responsible for muscle actions. The senses must detect the change of the body position with respect to the base (whether the body moves or the base moves). The limit of stability of an individual standing quietly upright is defined as the amount of postural sway at which the balance is lost and the corrective actions are required. "

Balancing Clinic

Instructors: Dawn and Ginger

Let’s work on balancing, edging, light bracing and supportive stokes, and relaxing in our seemingly tippy kayaks.

Do you feel a bit tippy and unstable in your kayak, kind of wobbly? Do you always point your
nose into a boat wake for fear you’ll lose your balance and flip.
Do you flip over?
This clinic is designed to help those who are having difficulty with balance, stability, and their comfort level on flat water in wind chop and boat wakes.

Braces and support strokes we’ll be learning and practicing include low brace, sculling, supportive forward and reverse strokes, supportive forward and reverse sweep strokes, and the low brace turning stroke.

Be prepared to get wet. A great exercise we’ll use in this class is paddling with a partially flooded
cockpit; this will help us to simulate the instability you normally have in rougher conditions requiring balancing and bracing. And we’ll probably get in some rescue practice too.