“I did the rough water course this past week with Gordon Brown. What an absolute pleasure to spend time on the water learning from an expert. We had 3 experienced paddlers as learners with collective experience of about 30 years of paddling and all of us took away MULTIPLE tricks, tips and improvements from this course. I am continually blown away by the caliber of the people we have teaching kayaking here in Victoria and by how lucky we are to learn from some of the best in the world. I am looking forward to finding the time to do some of the other courses that Gordon offers as I continue to unlearn bad habits picked up over the years and replace them with much more efficient options”.

Four of us did a two-day rough water kayak course with Gordon. The first weekend we went out of Oak Bay Marina and I couldn’t believe how much I learned just heading out to Trial Island where we learned how to deal with strong currents, then back along the shore to the Marina. After 6 or 7 hours, we had all learned a lot, even though we’d been paddling for decades. The second day we left from Whiffin Spit in Sooke. There were standing waves, wicked winds, and rolling surf to play and learn in. The whole time, Gordon paced us expertly, giving us time to practice each skill in the best conditions to learn, before moving onto the next skill. I would highly recommend getting your paddling skills tuned up with Gordon!

We plan to offer one, two and three day courses at different levels of ability in the future. However for this first course the prerequisites are kept to a minimum to allow as many paddlers as possible to benefit.

• Have performed a wet exit in cold water, not just a swimming pool.
• Be open to learning different techniques.
• Have your own equipment (or be prepared to rent from us).

Please review the following form prior to your program. Please sign/initial the form in the presence of your instructor/guide, who will act as your witness.

Ocean River Sports Waiver (PDF)