Damariscove Island - ACA Instructor Development Workshop

I’m paddling beside Todd and Nate along the steep, rocky east shore of Damariscove Island, heading south into the wind and waves. We’ve been staying uncharacteristically far from the rocks, trying to stick close together. The wind and surf hiss and grumble- a constant backdrop of chaotic noise.

Todd, in charge of the group for this leg of our journey, frequently motions for the others to pull in a bit closer, unsure if maybe one of our instructors has put them up to something. Then we notice the other Todd - Todd Wright, our instructor trainer, putting on his helmet. We give each other an enquiring look; what could this mean? At the very least, it seems like a good time for everyone else to pause and put their helmets on too. Sure enough, Wright soon paddles into a turbulent rocky cleft and capsizes. He ends up floating in the water beside his boat, with waves bearing down on him.


This is the last of four days of instruction, intended to put us on the path toward attaining American Canoe Association (ACA) instructor certification. We started the week by driving down to Popham Beach on Monday for some time on our own in the surf. I felt a little tense until that first capsize in the waves. Suddenly you’re upside down, getting pummeled with no idea which way is which... except your paddle finds its way to the surface and then you’re up, bracing into the next wave, paddling back out for more. Seawater drips from your nose and ears. A little trial by fire and confidence-building was a good way to start, since the next four days would be humbling.


On Tuesday, in the calm, tidal water at our campground near Boothbay Harbor, we spent hours going over strokes. The focus was not to be dogmatic- fitting into one way of doing things, but to consider core principals of efficient, effective and safe paddling and analyze how our strokes worked or didn’t work. It would be tough to say that a little dogma doesn’t creep into the process; after all, there is a right and a wrong way. Previously, we all thought we put plenty of torso rotation into our forward strokes. Not so. I switched to a high-angle paddle, and, after a little coaching, found my new forward stroke (that I will be indefinitely refining).


At the same time, we looked at ways of teaching, taking turns at various lessons. Each time, we gave feedback to the presenter and then our instructors showed us ways to better involve the students. In addition to instructors Todd Wright and Peter Casson, we were joined that day by John Carmody (check-out this photo of him in the current Canoe & Kayak Magazine) who we’ve all taken instruction from before. One other student, Brian, joined us from Vermont.


As the week went on, we gradually took on more challenging conditions. On Wednesday we launched from East Boothbay and paddled out around the ledges at The Thread of Life. For Thursday and Friday we were joined by Anna and Tully, students from St. Michael’s College, who could be our “guinea pigs”. Thursday we were at Popham, learning how to launch beginners into baby waves, then practicing rescues out in the tide rips on the Kennebec. We did plenty of rescues and towing. The lessons never stopped.

On Friday, against a strong breeze, we headed out to Damariscove Island. There’s plenty to say about the place- the history and its stark wildness, several miles out to sea, but for us, the island was another paddling exercise- a place to navigate to, to tow people pretending to be seasick to, and to get around as a group.


After he capsizes, Wright hangs onto his boat and waits for help. Todd D directs the rest of the group to point into the wind and wait, then from a safe distance, directs the rescue. Nate is right there, instructing Wright to flip his boat over and push it out. While Nate pulls the boat over his deck, draining the water, Wright is told to swim out, using his paddle to propel himself out of the impact zone to the bow of Brian’s boat. As Wright continues to kick, Brian backs away to Nate, who has Wright’s boat ready. Nate is drifting close to the rocks though, so Todd moves in, clips on and starts towing as they get the swimmer back into his boat.

The crowd goes wild!



On the drive home, we’re all feeling pretty exhausted- and maybe even a bit disheartened to discover, once again, that we have much work to do. We are undoubtedly more knowledgeable and prepared than we were on the drive down, but as always, we can use more refinement and practice.

Thanks to Nate Hanson for the photos.

On a sad note, a sea kayaker died yesterday off Hancock Point. From this article in the Bangor Daily News, it looks like a familiar story: an "open-cockpit" kayak (whatever that means) and strong offshore winds.

Follow-up on the Hancock Point accident here in the Bangor Daily News.

Guide Training

We met upstairs in the new classroom building at Old Quarry Ocean Adventures. There were seven of us: Rich MacDonald, our instructor, and six students. The goal, over six days of instruction, was to prepare us for the exam to become registered Maine sea kayak guides. Every spring, outfitters up and down the coast need to fill positions for kayak guides, and candidates of varying levels of experience take these crash courses to get ready.

The "husky" tow

It’s mostly classroom work, covering a lot of material, but the heart of it is safety, and in partcular, how to safely take groups of inexperienced paddlers out on the ocean. The exam consists of written and oral components. For the oral exam, three examiners from Maine Fish & Wildlife ask the applicant to demonstrate, among other things, proficiency with navigating and chart reading, wildlife identification, and the ability to communicate calmly and logically under pressure.


The crux of the exam seems to be the “lost person scenario” in which the candidate is given a hypothetical crisis. The candidate verbally goes through every step of the process, from taking care of the group and calling the Coast Guard to conducting the search. There aren’t always black and white right answers, but there are a lot of ways to fail. A calm, confident demeanor is key, as well as verbally accounting for every step of the process, including the logic behind every decision. Plenty of candidates fail this part of the exam on the first attempt... which might be a good thing.


Our class got out on the water as well, starting with some rescue practice on the pond, and some towing practice on Webb Cove. Then we paddled out to Hell’s Half Acre and spent the night.


While we paddled and camped, we worked on guide skills. Camping and camp-cooking skills take some effort to be good at it, and everyone comes to it with their way of doing things, which gave us all a chance to learn something new from the others. In particular, I think we were all impressed with the chocolate cake Rich made in his Outback Oven. Take care of your clients’ stomachs and their hearts are bound to follow.


Rich is an ornithologist, which has brought him to some unusual places, including gigs, with his wife Natalie, as naturalists on cruise ship excursions arranged by Garrison Keillor. In 2002, he and Natalie embarked on The Gulf of Maine Expedition, paddling around the Gulf of Maine, from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia. This year, Rich and Natalie are opening The Natural History Center, a shop and guiding service in Bar Harbor.


So I’m now much better at recognizing the difference between an eider and a guillemot. We also took a walk around the island, looking into tidepools, turning over rocks, learning about the creatures and plants that we often don’t notice.



So why do I want to guide? I keep learning that the sea kayak is more than just a vehicle to take you out on the ocean from place to place. It can be a practice and a pursuit that gives one direction in a bigger sense. I’ve never known what direction it might be taking me, but I’ve learned to say yes to the opportunities that come up, trusting that it somehow makes for a richer experience.