Sea Kayaking 401 - Exposed Coast Training Expedition - Sitka, Alaska
This is one of most sought after classes, and we offer it only once a year. The 2009 class is full. Plan ahead and get ready to take this class in 2010. See the bottom of this page for prerequisites.
Ever dreamed of sea kayaking in Alaska, but didn't want to do it with beginners in double kayaks on a guided tour or in some funky rental kayak or folding boat? Have you worked hard to develop your kayaking skills and feel ready for more advanced training and trips? We'll camp at some of the most beautiful beaches in all of Alaska -- with a mid-trip soak at a hot spring, and not see another kayaker for days at a time. Test your night kayaking navigation in bioluminescent waters and watch for Northern Lights. Ever wondered what it's like to kayak in ocean swells, rock gardens, sea cliffs and outer coasts? The dream can come true by joining us on our Exposed Coast Training Expedition. Reward yourself with the adventure of a lifetime in one of the last great wilderness coasts.
Instructor: George Gronseth, Barb Sherrill, plus staff
Location: Begin and end in Sitka, Alaska (several airlines offer daily flights from Seattle, WA)
Duration: 12 days
Class Size: 5
Fee: $2750
We have a dvd sampling of previous Training Expeditions which we'll send you free so you can see what a beautiful, fun, exciting trip this is.
Exposed Coast Training Expedition Begins on August 4, 2009 (arrive in Sitka, Alaska no later than mid-day this date), and ends on Aug. 13th, 2009 (leave Sitka, AK no earlier than mid-afternoon of this day)
Call us at (206) 527-1825 or E-mail us at info@kayakacademy.com to make a reservation.
This is the ultimate advanced sea kayak adventure, ... spend ten days in SE Alaska. You get eight days of paddling in rudder-free (skeg kayaks), composite, one-person kayaks with George Gronseth on the open coast of the Pacific Ocean with private hotel rooms included before and after the paddling, and on the last night before returning to town you'll get to sleep on an authentic Alaskan float house (with Sauna, shower and wood stove). We'll start with a trip planning and food preparation meeting at a quaint frontier style hotel (in the new addition wing) in Sitka's pioneer era business district. The next day we'll load up the kayaks, and weather permitting, paddle out of Sitka Sound and round Cape Burnof - the beginning of the exposed coast. You'll be kayaking rock gardens and experiencing wilderness camping, and see lots of bald eagles all in the first day of paddling! And it just keeps gets better from there. Camping at beautiful sandy beaches, with hardly any mosquitoes etc., soaking in natural mineral-water hot springs, eating fresh-caught seafood for dinner and pancakes with wild huckleberries for breakfasts. Add to that the main attraction of rounding the exposed outer coast islands such as Biorka Island and Peisar Island. From Sitka south to Cape Ommaney (at the south end of Baranof I.), Biorka Island is the most exposed island on the Pacific Ocean side of North America. Rounding capes and circumnavigating these outer islands are to sea kayaking as summiting a high altitude mountain peak is to climbing. It's a test of your skill and nerve, and it's an achievement you will always remember. Go with us and you'll be one of the few kayakers who can truly call themselves an open ocean sea kayaker.
The expedition is based out of the beautiful, historic Russian-American town of Sitka, Alaska -- a gem worth the trip in itself. We recommend planning some extra days to spend checking out the Eskimo kayaks at the Sheldon Jackson museum, the totem poles and salmon running in the Indian River near the museum, the Raptor Recovery Center, a great bookstore specializing in Alaskan history, and day hikes to Mt. Verstuvia (3354') behind town and the volcanic cone of Mt. Edgecumbe (3271') on Kruzof Island (you can arrange day trips to Kruzof I. with local charter boats), and of course Sitka is premier destination for charter fishing as well.
From Sitka we'll paddle a loop through and around the Necker Islands -- a string of island archipelagos that form a partial barrier of islands south of Sitka Sound off the west coast of Baranof Island. Along the way you'll learn to: surf ocean swells, thread a loaded sea kayak through rock gardens and slot sea canyons, a sea cave (conditions permitting) navigate challenging outer coasts, practice decision making as you take turns being leader for the day, fish from a kayak, identify and forage for edible kelp, wild berries, limpets and other safe survival foods, find and purify drinking water, plan food for long expeditions, build fires in wet conditions, pack efficiently enough to get everything you need for a week or longer trips into a sea kayak, stay warm and dry while camping in rain forest climates, use Leave No Trace camping skills -- the skills you need to plan and lead your own future wilderness expeditions. You'll also: practice your chart reading and compass skills, try night navigation on the water, practice advanced rescues and rolls, learn safety and etiquette for camping in bear country (we provide bear-proof food containers, pulleys for hanging food, and bear-repellant pepper spray for each person). All this while spending over a week exploring a beautiful Alaskan wilderness coastline teeming with wildlife. You'll likely encounter sea otters, salmon jumping, bald eagles catching fish, puffins, harlequin ducks, loons, and lots of other wildlife including possible sightings of humpback whales and brown bears (If seeing whales is a must, plan to stay an extra day or more and we can refer you to some wildlife tour-boats that specialize in whale watching, but we've seen some humpback whales on most of these trips while paddling). And you will be paddling the Pacific Ocean side of Baranof Island in SE Alaska!
These trips are made possible by our Special Use Permit for the Tongass National Forest lands, Gore-Tex dry suits (Which you may rent from us if you don't have your own.), the Kayak Academy's very own premium rudder-free sea kayaks which we'll provide for your use (or if you prefer we'll ship your kayak from Seattle at our expense if it meets our standards), and our staff of highly skilled, experienced instructors (George Gronseth: founder of the Kayak Academy; Barb Sherrill: founder of Klub Kayak, ACA Open Water Sea Kayak instructor and veteran of six Alaskan Outer Coast Expeditions plus one to Glacier Bay; and Robert Cline: ACA, BCU (4 star plus), and Kayak Academy trained, veteran of four Alaskan expeditions (four Exposed Coast Trainings with the Kayak Academy and one to Prince William Sound). Robert is also our Russian language expert for deciphering the meanings of place names we visit in Russian-America (AKA Alaska). The kayaks are barged up ahead of time so you won't have to make do with a clunky, cranky, rental kayak of questionably seaworthiness. All our kayaks have retractable skegs, front and rear bulkheads, adjustable backrests, and most have day hatches and either Kayak Sport or VCP brand rubber hatches covers.
"I didn't think about work for the whole week", PB
"Every day had some great new experience", MF
The total cost for the expedition is only $2750, which includes: permit fees, transportation within Sitka, lodging in Sitka the night before and after the paddling days, one night's lodging on a float house cabin with a shower on the last night before returning to town, use of the Kayak Academy's one-person rudder-free sea kayaks (with skeg), full neoprene spray skirts, carbon graphite composite paddles, spare paddle, signal flares, and bear-repellent pepper spray, camp stoves and fuel. We will also give you your own US government navigation chart, tide tables, a waterproof logbook, and the Kayak Academy's fifty page “Sea Kayak Trip Planning and Leadership Guide†and our thirty page guide to expedition planning. In addition to memories to last a lifetime, we'll also send you a free commemorative video DVD or your trip to share with family, friends, co-workers, kayak clubs, etc. The cost of this course is comparable to that of guided tours in Alaska, which offer none of the training materials let alone the advanced kayak instruction by George Gronseth, or use of one-person kayaks seaworthy enough for trips along exposed ocean coasts. A $100.00 discount is available for early payment/reservation (before January 1), and $100.00 discount available for using your own kayak if it is approved by the Kayak Academy and you wrap it with per our instructions and deliver it to us or to the barge company (we'll even pay the cost of shipping it to and from Sitka and Seattle). Further discounts available if you help wrap and transport our kayaks to the barge company.
We will all share in the cost, planning, and cooking of the food (that's part of the learning), and you will need to provide your transportation to and from Sitka. Sitka can be reached by scheduled jet service on Alaska Air (Boeing 737s) NW Air, Delta, and other major airlines or by the Alaska State Ferry (which leaves from Bellingham, Washington and takes about five days to reach Sitka - camping is allowed on the ferry and is a lot of fun if you have the time). As compared to other NW sea kayak destinations, a two hour flight from Seattle to Sitka beats the heck out of waiting in line at the boarder, fighting the traffic in Vancouver, and driving a day or two to reach some busy paddling destination in BC, Canada ... especially when you consider that you'll be paddling in Alaska!
Prior trip experience alone is not enough to qualify for this training expedition, as a minimum you'll need to have a reliable Eskimo roll, and at least one of the following courses: Surf Kayaking, Tidal Rapids Training, High Wind Kayak Training, White Water River Kayaking. (If you lack these prerequisites you may be able to take our Semi-Exposed Coast Training Expedition - Sitka, Alaska.) The best preparation is the Kayak Academy's Five Day Training Camp plus one or more of our above intermediate courses, however some upper level BCU four and five star kayakers or ACA Open Water kayak instructors may be able to qualify for equivalency for this expedition. With the Kayak Academy's lessons, most beginners will be able to take this Expedition after two year's of practice. With our Five Day Training Camp, intermediate kayakers can generally meet all the prerequisite training and practice in a year. So start preparing for next year's trip (or the year after that) by signing up now for our Five Day Training Camp or other intermediate courses (Cross-Over River Training, etc.) this year.