Kayak Mainline

Kayak Mainline: Episode 20 Kayaking Across the Tasman Sea and the Case of the Missing Tick

David Johnston — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 14:21:35 +0000

We’re back kids! After a long break we finally got together and recorded a new episode of Kayak Mainline. It’s been to long and I missed it greatly.So, without any further delay, we present episode 20 for your listening pleasure. In this episode we learn about a guy who paddled across the Tasman Sea, blind [...]

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Knots got you all tied up? This video will sort you out

David Johnston — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 02:59:06 +0000

Does trying to learning about knots get you all tied up? (Sorry about that.) Dave Wooldridge from Ridge Wilderness Adventures recently released a short clip demonstrating the three key knots you will end up using 80% of the time. They are the Bowline, Truckers Hitch and the Half Hitch. Finally, if you are looking for a fantastic [...]

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Where Does Wind Come From? Resources to Help Make Teaching Weather Simple

David Johnston — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 02:38:02 +0000

Since I teach kayaking, I find myself often talking to students about weather and science behind weather forecasting. I used to always be nervous talking about weather since it can be one confusing monster to understand (let alone explain) and even the best meteorologists can get it wrong (especially when predicting your upcoming weekend weather). [...]

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Teaching Adults: Dealing with Challenging Students

David Johnston — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 02:27:20 +0000

A couple of years ago I got sent on a training course for work on how to manage information technology. The only thing that made the day interesting was watching the course instructor try to control his class and deal with a very dominating student. Within the first 10 minutes of the course starting, the [...]

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Time Management Tips for Canoe or Kayak Instructors

David Johnston — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 20:04:27 +0000

We have all been there. There is only an hour left in your lesson but you have two hours of material left to teach. Where did the time go? A sign of a good instructor is the ability to keep on top of your lesson plan and finish things off in the allotted amount of [...]

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Keep Things Interesting to Prevent Instructor Burnout

David Johnston — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 20:00:25 +0000

Remember that grumpy old teacher in high school you wished had retired 2 years before you started class? For me it was my geography teacher. She should have quit decades earlier and ended up being a terrible, ineffective teacher that sadly turned me off to geography for a long time. That sweet little walk down [...]

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Top Tips for Teaching with another Kayak Instructor

David Johnston — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 19:53:57 +0000

One of the toughest challenges for canoe or kayak instructors is to teach with another partner. This could be with a stranger that you have just met at a symposium or a fellow staff member at your local paddling school or club. On the surface it seems to be a simple matter, after all you [...]

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Video: Paddle Rough Water on Lake Superior with Ray Boucher and Ken Whiting

David Johnston — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 01:23:38 +0000

It’s been out for a couple of years, but I loved stumbling up on this segment from the TV series, Facing Waves where friend of the site and paddling instructor extraordinaire, Ray Boucher meet up and went paddling with Ken Whiting on Lake Superior. For those wondering where the segment was shot, the interviews were [...]

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Portable Fishing Marker Buoys make Fantastic Teaching Aids

David Johnston — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 01:02:19 +0000

Buoys, posts or other markers on the water are great for teaching. You can use them for students to circle around doing figure eights, zig zag or another activity/game you can think of. The problem is that buoys often are placed in locations that are not ideal for teaching paddling. For some reason God always [...]

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If I Enter The Water, The Sharks Will Eat Me – Dealing with Children’s Fear

David Johnston — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 00:15:01 +0000

If you watch the media reports on encounters of humans and nature, you would quickly think that everybody who camps in the forest or goes swimming in the ocean is in very real danger of getting attacked by a bear or shark. As adults, we can rationally figure out that this likely won’t happen to [...]

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