To set the wheels in motion to ultimately become certified as a BCU 4 star and a level 4 instructor, I decided to start with Geneva Kayak Center’s level 2 course. The price isn’t bad at 90-some-dollars or if you want to save a few bucks, you can bring your own boat and pay 70-some-dollars, as I did. This is probably the only class in which they allow you to bring your own boat, as the other classes require a sea kayak with front and back dry hatches/bulkheads. As I did my self and T rescues, it was pretty apparent that with my rec kayak, I was having a little tougher time flipping my boat right-side up. The bow of the boat was holding water and made it difficult to break the vacuum seal around the cockpit and get the boat over to drain it
They day started at Big Quarrey about 9:00AM and we finished up around 4:00PM. Paul and John of GKC were both very knowledgeable and were great to have as instructors. They took their time explaining paddle strokes, wet exits, recovery, and were quick to cover any additional topic one (like me) were to ask about. I wanted to know about feathering my paddle, paddle length and also how to do what they do!
I recommend this class for anyone who is comfortable on the water and have at least a little paddling experience. I’ve been paddling for some time, so I didn’t take any beginner/level 1 course.
