Surf Management Course

Surf Management Course

The time will come when you have to land your kayak through surf. Even very small surf can be intimidating if you don't know how to handle it.  This course is about how to get ashore, upright and with dignity.  You learn how to read the waves, and the skills you need to avoid being picked up and dumped.  In the process you do also learn how to surf, and once you have the skills, this is great fun, and looks really impressive!

We start in knee deep water and progress at your own pace. This course is suitable for confident beginners, and will increase your ability in paddling in rough water.

This is a half day course, held at Orewa where the surf is kind. 

$149.  This is done in sea kayaks or a sit-on-top if you prefer.

You don't need to be a Yakity Yak club member to do this course, but you do need to be a confident paddler with knowledge of basic paddle strokes including stern rudder and low brace.

Meeting 8.30am, at the southern end of the Surf Club car-park in Orewa, ready for the water by 9am.

Bring a snack and lunch.  

Testimonials - 

I arrived at the surf management course very nervous. It is something I knew I should learn but had major anxieties about. Under Larraine's patient guidance within minutes I was experiencing success in handling waves coming broadside on. By the end of the course I was heading out into the surf, searching for the biggest waves to surf in on with a grin from ear to ear. Thank you so much for the new skills!
Karen

I have found the skills learned in the surfing course incredibly helpful. Since doing the course, many times I have gotten myself upright onto the beach when others capsized. Even caught out in caves by unexpected surf coming in I have been able to get myself out safely by using the skills learned in the course. Highly recommended. Thank you for teaching me so patiently.
Andrea

I headed out with some degree of fear and trepidation to Orewa for the Surf Management Course.  Over the morning an amazing transformation took place as nine surf newbies morphed from inebriated ducks to semi-graceful floating swans. Under Mama and Papa Swans guidance we initially worked in teams of three, without our paddles, to acquire the feel of using our hips to ride the small surf side-on. After gratefully reacquainting ourselves with our beloved paddles, we learned to brace into the waves, and eventually practiced our new-found skills up and down the coastline. After a snack we tried out a variety of beach entry techniques.  It was the most exciting thing I have experienced in my kayak so far. This has definitely given me  the confidence to venture on from quiet river expeditions to tackling more challenging conditions. Thank you for an inspiring and exhilarating course!  Robenanne.