Cold Water Training Weekend

Posted on Posted in Announcement, Officer Report

Fellow Paddlers,

This past weekend both the Carolina Canoe Club and Carolina Kayak Club once again hosted the Cold Water Weekend Training consisting of a cold water edition of the ACA L3 River Safety and Rescue Course on day 1 and a full block of instruction by Scott Brown on the hazards and risk management of paddling in the cold water followed by a trip to the lake to conduct a swim test and field test of dry suits on day 2. These courses were open to the public with all hopes of educating the public on the hazards of paddling in cold water. I believe we did achieve that goal as we brought in paddlers who are not yet members of either club for both days.

Randy had a rough swim

This is the second time we conducted the cold water clinic this year in an effort to find the perfect timing to do it and I believe we have found it. The water was cold but not so cold that it put our participants at a greater risk and it allowed us to train paddlers as the cold water season begins. Expect to see this course on the calendar around this time each year from now on, or at least for as long as I am a current instructor.

Scott learned to throw an awesome coil


On Saturday Myself and Chris Brewer taught 10 Students, 6 of which were CCC Members, and the others are all friends of CCC and will hopefully be CCC members in the near future. This is in addition to the 1 hard core CKC member who does not paddle whitewater but came out for another cold water edition of the same class she just participated in 5 months ago. 7 of the participants had never attended a Safety and Rescue course before. As a lead instructor I am confident that all the participants learned something new while staying safe and having fun at the same time. In my book that is a success!


Scott said his day was just as successful with 15 participants. Of those 15, 5 conducted the swim test and 4 of those conducted the field test with dry suits on. Considering 5 of those 15 had already tested everything in the course the day prior, I would say that is a huge success on his part as well.

We can definitely say that over 15 paddlers now have the knowledge to go out and help spread the word so we can ensure all our fellow paddlers stay safe. That is a win. Thank you to all the instructors that helped out and to all the participants for coming out and taking the risk of cold water serious.

Your Safety Chair and proud instructor,

William