The Northwest Voyageurs Canoe & Kayak Club is developing a recreational and sea kayak program in the spring for
members interested in learning about recreational and sea kayaking. The program will be designed for anyone interested
in learning to kayak on lakes and flat water rivers, potentially building to a trip in a coastal environment in BC.
The pool basics course will be the foundation course of this program, and it is necessary that all participants know how to swim.
After taking the basic course, there will be two sea kayak rescue clinics offered. The first will be basic self rescue techniques (Sunday 6:45 PM March 28th, 2010) , the second group rescue techiques (Sunday 6:45 PM April 10th, 2010.) Each session will cost $20. The club's whitewater program offers a roll clinic which is strongly recomended for those wishing to paddle - see Roll Clinics for more details.
The program beyond these course is currently in development; it may consist of lectures, some further indoor pool training, sessions at Rundle park, and a series of summer trips.
In the summer, we have weekly access to the Rundle Park Paddling Centre.
For those unfamiliar with RPPC, it’s an outdoor facility with a boat
house full of canoes and kayaks, and a big clean paddling pond. It is
available FREE OF CHARGE to members of participating clubs, such as
us. We get to use the place every Wednesday night from 7:00 to 9:00.
Experienced club members are usually on hand every week, to provide
instruction to those who need it. Non-members can also show up for one
free visit, but must join the club if they wish to continue coming.
If you’re interested, just show up and grab one of the supplied boats,
or bring your own. To get there, simply head for the buildings in Rundle
Park, then look for the sign.
Updated Nov 2008
All clinics and courses are run by our volunteer instructors for the benefit of club members, to give you the skills to enjoy our great program of day and weekend trips. We strongly encourage you to take the appropriate course to upgrade or fine tune your skills but you still need the experience on the river at your skill level for building confidence. If you are not sure of your skill level, discuss it with the course coordinator before signing up.