I paddled this afternoon with two members of the Inwood Canoe Club. One is one of my regular paddling buddies, and the other was up an an ACA assessment. The air temperature was in the high 60s, low 70s, very humid, with dense fog most of the day. Unlike yesterday, it never burned off, leaving our area - northern Manhattan and the Palisades - shrouded in moor-like tendrils.
This was one of those days where I did not bring my camera, but at several points wished I had. It was in the boathouse, and I had just put a fresh battery in it. I just figured I'd be too busy to take photos.
We paddled north a bit, to Spuyten Duyvil, and considered going in. Along the way, we saw a soccer ball fly into the water, followed shortly by a young man climbing down to retrieve it, though it was clearly too far out. I paddled over to the ball, scooped it up, then tossed it back.
We'd seen a large ship coming up the river earlier. As she grew closer we realized just how big she was - and right down the middle of the river. We typically see barges far to the New Jersey side, which is technically an anchorage. I looked up our behemoth visitor; she's a Bahamas-flagged oil tanker, the Afrodite:
Later, we over heard radio traffic warning her skipping that "about a hundred" kayakers were near the Tappan Zee Bridge. I'll be asking what that was about.
Rather than go into the Duyvil, we waited for a south-bound barge to pass and crossed the river to an area just north of Bloomers Beach. There we tried a couple of rescues, then landed on the beach for a snack lunch.
I had a little distance from my friends as I checked the chart, and when I looked up I saw some them perfectly framed against the Palisades, with just enough fog to look mysterious. Color really pops in humidity, and our always-beautiful playground was all the more pretty in the mist.
We saw three outriggers set out from Englewood Marina, just south of Bloomers Beach. As they set out across the river, I overheard radio comms warning the Spuyten Duyvil bridge operator of human-powered watercraft heading their way. One of the outriggers came towards us, and we recognized them from their visit earlier this summer.
We proceeded south a bit. By now the ebb current had picked up. We looked both ways, then set out across the river, heading straight across, knowing the current would take us south a bit.
So that's at least three photos I missed: the ship, my friends, and the outriggers. Who knew such a short paddle, in our neighborhood, could be so interesting? I have got to stop taking out area for granted.
Showing posts with label aca assessment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aca assessment. Show all posts
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Certification
Well buckaroos, it's been a while. The cowgirl took a couple of weeks off for a well-deserved vacation, before coming back to NYC and diving right into a certification course.
Why get certified? I've known plenty of paddlers who are really good, yet are not formally certified, or who once were but let it slip by. I've also known some people who were certified, but who did not really know what they were doing. Out on the trail, it's the skills and not the paper that will keep you upright and headed in the right direction.
That said, there is something to formal instruction. I've been fortunate to have a variety of coaches in a variety of settings. There is a distinct difference in the experience of a structured learning approach as opposed to some talented cowhand showing you some rope tricks. The latter is good for working on specific skills, while the former, done well, ties it all together.
I enjoy sharing knowledge and experience. While I consider myself an intermediate paddler, there are people who come to me for tips and advice. It's hard not to mimic my own coaches and pass down the oral traditions I have received.
Thus, it is with more than a little pride that I can say I passed an introductory coaching exam. I passed a Level 2 ACA Coastal Kayaking Instructor exam. There's some paperwork to go through, and I'm being careful about doing more teaching than assessing, but it's nice to say that after two full weekends, not to mention the cumulative experience of the past eight years and my various coaches, I'm finally certified to teach the sport I love.
Why get certified? I've known plenty of paddlers who are really good, yet are not formally certified, or who once were but let it slip by. I've also known some people who were certified, but who did not really know what they were doing. Out on the trail, it's the skills and not the paper that will keep you upright and headed in the right direction.
That said, there is something to formal instruction. I've been fortunate to have a variety of coaches in a variety of settings. There is a distinct difference in the experience of a structured learning approach as opposed to some talented cowhand showing you some rope tricks. The latter is good for working on specific skills, while the former, done well, ties it all together.
I enjoy sharing knowledge and experience. While I consider myself an intermediate paddler, there are people who come to me for tips and advice. It's hard not to mimic my own coaches and pass down the oral traditions I have received.
Thus, it is with more than a little pride that I can say I passed an introductory coaching exam. I passed a Level 2 ACA Coastal Kayaking Instructor exam. There's some paperwork to go through, and I'm being careful about doing more teaching than assessing, but it's nice to say that after two full weekends, not to mention the cumulative experience of the past eight years and my various coaches, I'm finally certified to teach the sport I love.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Assessment in Detail
So last Thursday, I took a day off from work to take an ACA coastal kayaking assessment. I won't say what I rated, but I will say I got what I was going for. I need to work on my roll, and there is always room for improvement, but I was able to maneuver the boat, rescue myself, and rescue others.
This all took place on an otherwise gloomy day. It was mostly overcast, but had patches of sun. Basically a series of showers moved north, so we'd have a few minutes of rain, a few minutes clear, and periodically actual sunshine.
This made dressing for the weather a little challenging. The water is still a bit cool, at 60 F, and when the wind kicked up, a wet paddler could get quite cold. Passed on practice earlier in the week, I wore my wetsuit with a light paddling jacket over it.
I forget the exact order, but I know we did rescues earlier on - presumably to get everyone comfortable in the water, and prepared to rescue later, just in case. What was funny was that there was police activity on the water right about that time. An NYPD boat sped past, then slowed down until we indicated we were OK, and a little later, an NYPD helicopter hovered over us while we rescued ourselves. We did bow rescues, X-rescues, scoops, and Hand of God, then lined up for drills.
We ran through propulsion and turning: forward stroke, sweep stroke, bow and stern rudders, as well as stern pry, which was new to me. After that, we took a break for lunch, and talked about navigation and making knots.
After lunch, we did figure-eight, forwards and backwards around some pilings in the old marina yard. That was fun, and something I'd been practicing in the run-up to this assessment.
After that, we set out across the river - two or three times. By this point, we were getting scattered showers, all driven by a manageable but steady wind from the south, with periodic lightning. So, we'd start, paddle a few minutes, then turn back due to lightning. Eventually we made it across, experiencing 1-2 foot swells broadside, and that was a lot of fun.
We paddled up a bit, and practicing what was left on the checklist. Due to the shifting conditions, not everyone had done everything. We had some more bow dips, rescues, and stern draws. I tried my roll a couple of times - and flubbed it. No excuses here - I'm out of practice, and while I have rolled my boat, I have not rolled it or any other boat recently. I need to practice.
Following all of that, we went back across the river. By then, the sky was more permanently gray an cloudy. Our instructor landed, and had everyone do a wet exit, just to be sure we could. We recovered landed, and started putting gear away, and got our assessments.
I had a great time, and everyone else seemed to as well. I learned a lot, and practiced a lot. As I told the instructor, it's always good to have another set of eyes on what you're doing, and if I didn't come away with something to work on, the whole things wouldn't have been nearly as valuable.
This all took place on an otherwise gloomy day. It was mostly overcast, but had patches of sun. Basically a series of showers moved north, so we'd have a few minutes of rain, a few minutes clear, and periodically actual sunshine.
This made dressing for the weather a little challenging. The water is still a bit cool, at 60 F, and when the wind kicked up, a wet paddler could get quite cold. Passed on practice earlier in the week, I wore my wetsuit with a light paddling jacket over it.
I forget the exact order, but I know we did rescues earlier on - presumably to get everyone comfortable in the water, and prepared to rescue later, just in case. What was funny was that there was police activity on the water right about that time. An NYPD boat sped past, then slowed down until we indicated we were OK, and a little later, an NYPD helicopter hovered over us while we rescued ourselves. We did bow rescues, X-rescues, scoops, and Hand of God, then lined up for drills.
We ran through propulsion and turning: forward stroke, sweep stroke, bow and stern rudders, as well as stern pry, which was new to me. After that, we took a break for lunch, and talked about navigation and making knots.
After lunch, we did figure-eight, forwards and backwards around some pilings in the old marina yard. That was fun, and something I'd been practicing in the run-up to this assessment.
After that, we set out across the river - two or three times. By this point, we were getting scattered showers, all driven by a manageable but steady wind from the south, with periodic lightning. So, we'd start, paddle a few minutes, then turn back due to lightning. Eventually we made it across, experiencing 1-2 foot swells broadside, and that was a lot of fun.
We paddled up a bit, and practicing what was left on the checklist. Due to the shifting conditions, not everyone had done everything. We had some more bow dips, rescues, and stern draws. I tried my roll a couple of times - and flubbed it. No excuses here - I'm out of practice, and while I have rolled my boat, I have not rolled it or any other boat recently. I need to practice.
Following all of that, we went back across the river. By then, the sky was more permanently gray an cloudy. Our instructor landed, and had everyone do a wet exit, just to be sure we could. We recovered landed, and started putting gear away, and got our assessments.
I had a great time, and everyone else seemed to as well. I learned a lot, and practiced a lot. As I told the instructor, it's always good to have another set of eyes on what you're doing, and if I didn't come away with something to work on, the whole things wouldn't have been nearly as valuable.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Assessment
More later - I predict shorter entries as I spend more time on the water. I spent all day on the water working on an ACA assessment We were blessed with strong tides, wind, rain, and other "conditions". Rescues, unplanned and other wise, self-rescue, paddling strokes, crossing the river - we did it all. My roll is out of practice, but otherwise, a great day on the water.
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