
Sea Kayaking Course
Intermediate Sea Kayaking Course
This course offers a process to train participants to paddle in moderate to advanced conditions.
- Rolling Enrollment: Wed, Jan 1, 2025 - Mon, Dec 31, 2029
- Committee: Tacoma Branch Sea Kayaking Program
- FREE
- Availability: 30 (30 capacity)
- Cancellation & Refund Policy
This course will aid participants to become better paddlers through directed training and paddling in advanced conditions. It is a "rolling enrollment" course, so participants sign up only once, and have 5 years to complete the course. Once completed, the participant will obtain an Intermediate Sea Kayaker badge.
There is no application required for this course. Please contact the course leader to obtain a "logbook", where you will log your progress through the process and get leaders' signatures. Once completed, a copy of the logbook is sent to the course leader for evaluation, and they will present the document to the Tacoma Sea Kayaking Committee for a vote and final approval. This process is more than "just ticking off some boxes". We need to see your skill level in advanced conditions for approval. It takes most applicants 2-3 years to complete the course, as some clinics may only be offered once yearly.
Candidates must have completed the Basic Sea Kayak Course or been granted Basic Sea Kayak Equivalency. They must be approved to graduate by the sponsoring committee. Sponsoring committees must be satisfied that candidates have completed the course requirements. For the Tacoma branch to award this badge, the Tacoma Sea Kayak Committee must know the participant personally and have had enough experience paddling with the participant in SK IV/V conditions to feel that they have a reasonable paddling proficiency at an Intermediate Sea Kayak (ISK) level. This may require going on several paddles where conditions exist (ie, wind, current, surf) before they are deemed “proficient.”
The content of the Intermediate Sea Kayak Course includes training, competency demonstration, requires equipment ownership, and a volunteer commitment as follows:
Timeline to Complete Requirements
The following courses and competencies must be completed within a five year time-span. Classes or trips previously completed within the last year qualify, as long as you can locate a leader with personal knowledge to validate your successful completion. If you completed some form of training earlier in your paddling career, you may assist with teaching that form of training (pending leader approval) to meet your ISK requirement.
Adjustment in the Program
Once the participant has signed up, they won’t be held to future standards.
Course Content
The content of the Intermediate Sea Kayak Course shall include full-day training or equivalent experience in SK IV/V conditions on the following topics:
- Kayaking in Wind and Waves
- Kayaking in Tidal Currents at Deception Pass or similar area (4 kt or greater)
- Kayaking in a Coastal Surf Zone
- Kayaking in a Coastal Rock Garden
- Sea Kayaking Incident Management
- Sea Kayaking Navigation (in any SK conditions)
Competency Demonstration
To graduate, Intermediate Sea Kayak Course students must demonstrate competence in the course content. Specifically, while completing the course activities the student must:
- Demonstrate, in conditions of wind waves or currents, that you can get back into your kayak in under one minute using a t-rescue AND rescue someone else in under one minute using a t-rescue.
- Exhibit comfort and control performing strokes, maneuvers, self- and assisted rescues in 12 – 15 kt of sustained wind and 1-2 ft of waves.
- Exhibit comfort and control performing strokes and maneuvers under tidal current conditions at Deception Pass or a similar area, of at least 4kt, including crossing eddy-lines, ferry-gliding, self and assisted rescues, towing, eddy hopping, and ferrying across a channel.
- Demonstrate comfort and control while launching and landing in a minimum of 3 foot surf.
- Explain the elements and purpose of courteous surf zone conduct and safety, and behave accordingly.
- In a rock garden zone with wave sets and surge, demonstrate the proper timing and technique to be able to safely navigate from safe zone to safe zone as well as perform, self, assisted and team rescues.
- Demonstrate VHF radio skills, including knowledge of regulations and the ability to communicate in scenarios such as the summoning of marine assistance and the coordination of safe passage through areas of vessel traffic such as shipping lanes.
- Demonstrate the ability to identify aids to navigation and landmarks, and navigate in a variety of conditions and settings, such as through complex waterways, long open crossings, and shipping lanes.
- Be able to maintain the equivalent of a 3 kt average pace for a minimum of a 12 nm trip.
- Go on at least four Mountaineer day paddles of at least 12 nm.
- Complete a minimum of three SK IV or V Mountaineer trips in a variety of conditions (ie, current, surf, etc.) and locations. These can also count as your 12 nm trips, if they are at least 12 nm long.
- Demonstrate that you have a reliable kayak roll (ie, 80% successful) in conditions such as wind waves, current or surf.
- Demonstrate the ability to effectively tow another paddler in a variety of conditions including dynamic water.
Equipment Requirements
The candidate must carry the following equipment in addition to the Mountaineers Sea Kayaking Ten Essentials:
- First aid kit appropriate for trip conditions
- Emergency shelter or covering
- Waterproof light
- Signaling devices appropriate to the situation
- VHF radio
- Towing system appropriate to the expected conditions
- Spare paddle adequately secured to the deck as appropriate to the conditions
Volunteer Requirements
Help teach in any of the Mountaineer branches’ Sea Kayak classes for a combined total of at least 40 hours.
Instructors/Leaders sign off:
Qualified Tacoma Sea Kayak leaders (or other leaders who have been approved by the individual branches) must sign off on each step of this logbook. For comfort and control signatures, the signer must also have an ISK badge. You can see if they have the badge by looking on their profile page. If your branch does not have an Intermediate Kayak Course, contact the Tacoma Intermediate Kayak Course leader to find out which kayak leaders from your branch have been authorized to sign off on this logbook.
Related Club Policies and Standards
None at this time
Comparable Standards
- American Canoe Association Level 4 Skills Assessment
- British Canoe Union Level 4* Skills Assessment
- ACA Guidelines for Safe Coastal Kayaking
- ACA Coastal (Sea) Kayak Curriculum
Badges you will earn:
This course has no scheduled activities.
Mountaineers 10 essentials, and a knowledge of how to use them. Listed below.
THE MOUNTAINEERS TEN ESSENTIALS
- Navigation: chart, deck mounted or hand held compass.
- Headlamp: plus extra batteries, preferably waterproof
- Sun protection: sunglasses, sun-protective clothes, and sunscreen
- First aid: including foot care and insect repellent (if required)
- Knife: (or scissors) plus repair kit
- Fire: matches, lighter and tinder, or stove as appropriate
- Shelter: carried at all times (can be a lightweight emergency bivy, or a plastic tarp)
- Extra food: beyond minimum expectation
- Extra water: beyond minimum expectation, or the means to purify
- Extra clothes: sufficient to survive an emergency overnight
Additional Sea Kayak essentials.
Properly fitted and maintained drysuit.
Properly fitting sea kayak with flotation in both ends, full perimeter deck lines, and front and rear toggles.
Properly fitted PFD, with a whistle and some form of cutting implement (knife or scissors) that can be utilized in an emergency entrapment situation.
Properly fitted spray-skirt.
Helmet with a chin strap suitable for paddling.
Tow system (long and short tow).
Spare paddle, and secure method of holding it on your front deck while traversing the surf zone.
Set of charts as required for the area kayaked. These may be acquired as needed for trips. If not waterproof, then a waterproof chart case is required.
Handheld Vhf marine radio that may be submerged (rated IPX7 or IPX8) in working order.
Hand-held bilge pump with flotation (required even if your kayak has a built in pump).
Signaling kit in waterproof container. A signaling kit may contain spare radio, night flares, smoke flares, laser flare, signaling mirror, cell phone, dye marker, distress flag, GPS, EPIRB, and/or a Personal Locator Beacon and spare batteries.
You must register for this course to see course materials.