This year’s event is full! Look for next year’s registration to open in January!

Join Nate Hanson, Josh Hall, Andrea Knepper, Todd Johnstone-Wright and other talented ACA Instructors and British Canoeing Coaches for a weekend of sheltered water through advanced open-water development. We aim to have fun playing in a dynamic and aesthetic environment, developing performance, building community, and breaking down barriers to paddlesport in small groups of eight paddlers. Click course title for details.

This 4-day Level 4 Instructor Certification Workshop is provided by Nate Hanson (ACA L5 Instructor, L4 Instructor Trainer) of Pinniped Kayak, and hosted by Portland Paddle. L4 Open Water Sea Kayak Instructor Certification is offered for existing L3 Coastal Kayak instructors who are prepared to expand their teaching skills into more advanced environments, and provide more effective and differentiated instruction in authentic paddling environments. Click on course title for details

On Sept 21st and 22nd, Nate will be returning to the West Isles Sea Kayak Symposium. Many thanks to P&H Sea Kayaks for supporting this trip, and to Canoe Kayak NB for the invitation to return to their event for a fourth time.

For Details, and to Register, please visit the symposium website

This course is fully enrolled. Cancelations are not uncommon, so if you would like to be added to the waitlist, please register and precede the course name with “Waitlist …”

Year three of this smash Downeast hit! Todd Wright (Synaptic Sport) and Nate Hanson are taking you back to the end of the earth (err . . . the end of Maine anyways), for a versatile skills and leadership training event. With awesome venues such as Cobscook Reversing Falls, Quoddy Head, and the Bold Coast in easy reach, how could it not be a great time?! Click on Course title for more details

Three days of comprehensive skills development for competent ocean paddlers who are looking for new challenges.  Each day we will choose a venue based on conditions, to make the most of the learning opportunities that surround Mount Desert Island.  Paddling environments will likely include reversing falls, coastal tide-races and rock gardens.   Click on course title for more details.

This course is fully enrolled, though we may add a second course if there is sufficient interest. If you would like to be added to a waitlist, please register and precede the course name with “Waitlist …”

Great things happen when sea kayakers take to the river for whitewater training. We’ve had an awesome time introducing many of you to the river in the past few years, and we're looking forward to more. This year we’ll again offer our course on the famed Penobscot River, giving us access to reliable flows and beautiful riverside camping, and allowing for a wider range of challenges. We’ll build skills for understanding whitewater, moving boats with finesse, and making confident moves in whitewater rivers.
This course is appropriate for competent sea kayakers with no river experience, and for newer whitewater boaters looking to expand their abilities and safety. Click on course title for more details.

“Yikes, that landing looks tricky!”   “Hey, where’d their boat go?”  “Sasha, was that hole there before lunch?”

Todd Johnstone-Wright (Synaptic Sport) and Nate Hanson team up for this two day course, geared towards better understanding the environment, and having more intentional adventures. Our philosophy of preparedness is that you only know what a solution will look like if you have actually practiced it in challenging, realistic conditions.  In this scenario-based course you’ll build and explore your risk-assessment and safety-planning toolkit, so that we can avoid catastrophe whenever possible; and we’ll go make a bunch of mayhem to practice sorting out the messes that the ocean sometimes throws your way. Click on Course Title for details

This Course is Fully subscribed. For similar challenges, consider Rough Water Safety on 7/27-28, or Paddler Development on 8/7-8/9.

Todd Johnstone-Wright (Synaptic Sport) and Nate Hanson join up to create two days focused on Sea Kayak Play in Rock and Current environments.

This course is focussed on the fun - making more of your rough-water play in sea kayaks, with more finesse and less stress.  Click on Course Title for details

Nate is looking forward to returning to the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium, thanks to the support of P&H Sea Kayaks!

For more information and to register, check out the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium online.

See you all at the symposium!

Pinniped Kayak is happy to be hosting The Power of Water for a week of fun and skills development along the coastline of Downeast Maine and Mount Desert Island.
The Power of Water provides outstanding paddling instruction and worldwide adventures, based in Lansing, MI.

This 5-day combined Training and Certification Exam for aspiring Level 3 Coastal Kayaking Instructors is provided by Nate Hanson (ACA L5 Instructor, L4 Instructor Trainer) of Pinniped Kayak, and hosted by Portland Paddle. Training to become an ACA-Certified Coastal Kayaking Instructor is an excellent way to formalize your own kayaking skills and gain the tools to more effectively share the sport with other paddlers.  In this certification workshop we will explore a variety of approaches that go beyond simply teaching, to instead actively support and promote learning in our students. Click on course title for details.

ACA River Kayak Instructor Certification Workshop with Todd Wright of Synaptic Sport.

Contact Synaptic Sport for details.

Want to schedule a custom course for your group of paddling companions? Nate is happy to schedule a course just for your paddling pod (calendar allowing). It’s great to be invited into a group of friends, and work with them on their collective and individual goals, and help these communities of practice to be more effective and safer when tackling the paddling challenges that they’re attracted to.

L4 Open Water Sea Kayak Instructor Certification is offered for existing L3 Coastal Kayak instructors who are prepared to expand their teaching skills into more advanced environments, and provide more effective and differentiated instruction in authentic paddling environments. Click on course title for details

Training to become an ACA-Certified Coastal Kayaking Instructor is an excellent way to formalize your own kayaking skills and gain the tools for effectively sharing kayaking with other paddlers.  Nate Hanson (ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Instructor, L3 Instructor Trainer, L3 River Kayak Instructor) is offering an ACA L3 Instructor Development Workshop (IDW) at Pinniped Kayak.  Candidates will leave with refined personal skills, an improved arsenal of instructional tools, and a personalized action plan to prepare for an Instructor Certification Exam (ICE) (e.g. Aug 10-11th).  Click on course title for more details.

Join Nate Hanson (ACA L4 IT, L5 Instructor) to assess and improve your teaching abilities in an authentic instructor assessment. Click on course title for more information.

L4 Open Water Sea Kayak Instructor Certification is offered for existing L3 Coastal Kayak instructors who are prepared to expand their teaching skills into more advanced environments, and provide more effective and differentiated instruction in authentic paddling environments. Click on course title for details

Join Nate Hanson, Josh Hall, Todd Johnstone-Wright, and other talented ACA Instructors and British Canoeing Coaches for a weekend of sheltered water through advanced open-water development. We aim to have fun playing in a dynamic and aesthetic environment, developing performance, building community, and breaking down barriers to paddlesport in small groups of eight paddlers. Click course title for details.

Training to become an ACA-Certified Coastal Kayaking Instructor is an excellent way to formalize your own kayaking skills and gain the tools for effectively sharing kayaking with other paddlers.  Nate Hanson (ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Instructor, L3 Instructor Trainer, L3 River Kayak Instructor) is offering an ACA L3 Instructor Development Workshop (IDW) at Pinniped Kayak.  Candidates will leave with refined personal skills, an improved arsenal of instructional tools, and a personalized action plan to prepare for an Instructor Certification Exam (ICE) (e.g. Aug 10-11th).  Click on course title for more details.

Reprising last season’s most popular course, Todd Wright (Synaptic Sport) and Nate Hanson are taking you back to the end of the earth (err . . . the end of Maine anyways), for a versatile skills and leadership training event. With awesome venues such as Cobscook Reversing Falls, Quoddy Head, and the Bold Coast within reach, how could it not be a great time?! Click on Course title for more details

During this 4-day sea kayak journey, we'll work together to refine the skills required for multi-day kayak touring in an exposed coastal environment.  At the intersection of significant tidal flows from the inland bays and the powerful Bay of Fundy to the northeast, this area presents amazing beauty but also considerable challenges, and the goals of our trip will be to develop the skills required to safely plan and execute journeys to such remote and exposed destinations.   Click on course title for complete details.