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Rough Water Sea Kayaking – A GREAT CHALLENGE

Gordon Brown rough water kayak course

Just a day in rough water with Gordon Brown

As employees of Ocean River, we all have a passion for paddling.  But, like many of you, we weren’t all blessed with paddling our whole lives and had to start somewhere.  I am Jamie, Ocean Rivers store manager.  I grew up in the Southern Alberta prairies and relocated to Victoria a couple of years ago.  Therefore paddling on the ocean was and still is in many ways new to me.

When Gordon Brown’s first few classes came available through our adventure center I jumped on one.  It just so happened to be a rough water and tidal paddling course.  As the day came closer I had some nerves, forecasts said winds were supposed to be blowing at 40 knots and the water was going to be super angry.  On the day of the course, I snapped this pic within the first 15 minutes of being on the water and the conditions only grew stronger throughout the day, but so did my confidence.  That is specifically why I took this course, to build confidence in myself to grow.

Gordons’ teaching style allowed me to take the skills I have already learned in the other courses we offer and apply them to an environment I would not otherwise be comfortable in.  He established the differences of fear and anxiety and how we can get through the mental block that affects our progression as a paddler.  I learned so much about myself not just in a kayak but outside of one as well.  Working through many different drills and lessons I now have the excitement to “get out there” and do it again.

We are very lucky to work alongside our great instructors at Ocean River Sports in order to provide the best in sea kayak sales, training, skills, and safety.  Gordon is a world-class industry leader in the realm of sea kayaking and we are extremely excited to work alongside of him.

OCEAN RIVER RETAIL MANAGER        – “Getting you out there”
Jamie Dawson
 
Visit the the Ocean River Sports Adventure Center for up to date courses and availability.
 
Sea Kayak with ORS
Enhance your coaching – Click this link if you don’t see a date that suits you?
Send us a message at adventure@oceanriver.com
 

One response to “Rough Water Sea Kayaking – A GREAT CHALLENGE”

  1. grumpygeorge says:

    I have had much fun over the years on the island of skye watching gordon with his classes in the bay where my shop was. (I am now retired) i have a long reach 400mm f2.8 lens and the fun we had capturing tortured oxygen starved faces coming back up from below is now a cherished memory. His attention, even though seems sometimes a bit casual, is intense. His professional attention was a pleasure for me to observe. He misses nothing. An excellent teacher.

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About Ocean River

Located in Victoria, British Columbia on beautiful Vancouver Island, Ocean River is one of the premier speciality kayak and adventure companies in North America. Brian Henry, the founder & current owner, has been running Ocean River since 1981, and Ocean River continues to be recognised as one of the most significant outdoor/paddlesports instructional & tours provider in North America.

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