Osprey Kayak-Success Stories

Success Stories from Osprey Outdoors Kayak School
2925 Cantara Loop Road, Mt. Shasta CA 96067
530-925-6310

Exciting Stories from the River Classroom

This last season was excellent! I learned a lot from teaching a variety of folks how to whitewater kayak and paddle on lakes. Read below to find some a few of the most exciting moments of teaching this last summer. The first, Jay's Story, tells of overcoming a physical handicap. The second, Dustin's story, tells of a teenager finding his dream.

Jay, with third degree burn scars on most of his body, learned to roll!

It was my first four-day lesson of the 2002 season. I had taught an ACA Instructor Certification Workshop earlier in the spring and was excited to get a crew of beginners out on the water. During the early spring, when the snow was still on the ground, I received an email from a guy in Germany about kayak lessons. I gave him the information he needed to set up a lesson, but didn't have high hopes of seeing him in the spring or summer for a lesson. That was a poor assumption on my part. Months later, I received an email from Zotan again. This time he had gotten a group of three other friends plus himself to come up and learn how to whitewater kayak.

I met them in Mt. Shasta across from the local coffee shop for the beginning of their adventure. After I shook everyone's hand, I realized Zoltan had come up with only two other friends. Then from around the corner of the RV, emerged Jay. Jay reached out to shake my hand and I noticed that not only was his face terribly scared from burns, but also his hand had been burned so badly that he only had a thumb and two full fingers. The others were stumps. They followed me to the lake and on the way; I couldn't help but think how I was going to get this guy to roll a kayak.

After the first day on the water the group was looking good. Two were rolling, one was almost there, and Jay was struggling. That night I reassessed my students and planned for the next day lesson: what section of river where these guys ready for, and what new skills would they be able to learn. On the way to the river the next day, I was hopping to get the remaining two to roll their kayaks in the river. Mastering the kayak roll is like summiting Everest for most beginners.

We spent the first morning in a warm calm section of the river before we headed down stream. Yes, I got Pete rolling. He was excited and happy! Jay was still struggling with due to his stiffness in his body - most likely from the burn scars. The rest of the day we ran some cool, fun class I and II rapids (Class I is slightly moving water and class II has more waves and gradient. Class I-Class V is the rating scale of difficulty in whitewater kayaking.) And the team was able to learn eddy turns and peel outs as well as many new paddle strokes.

When day two had come to a close, Jay was still struggling with his roll. He wasn't unhappy, however, since he knew he didn't have a roll, he mastered the high brace, (a technique that keeps you from flipping over) and was able to stay up most of the day. Additionally, to Jay's unbeatable brace, if he did flip over, he was able to hang out under water and wait for a boat assist rescue, (a cool way to get rolled back up without having to swim out of your boat!)

Day three was a different section of river with some more neat rapids and lots more practice of what we learned and new information. The day went smoothly. The crew was looking stronger each day and gaining confidence and skill maneuvering their whitewater kayaks. During the day I worked on improving the others roll and trying to get Jay to roll up. At the take out for day three, we were practicing what we had covered over the past three days when Jay announced he was going to try a roll on his own. We all watched and waited in anticipation, as if watching a magician reach into his hat. Jay paddled to the middle of the pool, had Pete near by to give him a boat assist if he needed it, and flipped. Seconds ticked as if in slow motion. I could see Jay set up for the roll. His boat wiggled a bit and, boom, his paddle swished across the water and he was up! The group cheered with joy! Jay had just gotten his roll. With a face that reflected pain from long ago, Jay's patchwork face of grafted skin broke into the most beautiful smile!

The class was a success! Day four went by with the grand finale of running School House and Empire Creek rapids, great class III rapids with a really fun surf wave in School House. At take out we parted ways, but I will never forget the moment of excitement when Jay, with melted hands, rolled his kayak up.

The Summit: Dustin, a teen student, and a whitewater kayak instructor save a shattered dream.

It was the time of year when summer doesn't quite feel like it should be over and deep in your heart you wish it wasn't. But the time had come for another school year to begin. Days were full of meetings and planning schedules. On top of all that, I had the opportunity to teach one more class for what looked like the season. After the school day was wrapped up, I headed to my truck stuffed full with two boats and gear; I raced to the lake where Dustin was waiting.

Dustin was a fourteen year old who had broken his arm earlier in the season and missed his opportunity to take a kayaking class with a prominent local destination kayaking school's kid's camp. One evening his grandma asked me if I taught kids. My response was, "Why sure I do! I have been teaching kids kindergarten through high school for thirteen years. And, I have been a camp counselor teaching kids in the outdoors for years in college." With that response, I was hired.

After the introductions, we fitted Dustin to his equipment. With the boats at the lakes edge, I could feel Dustin's excitement. We got in the boats and paddled around a bit with our hands and no spray skirt. This relaxes folks and gets them used to just sitting in the confines of a whitewater boat. Most folks are very hesitant to attempt a wet exit, yet Dustin hardly could wait. I was to count, "three... two..." Splash, I looked over and saw the bottom of the boat. Seconds later, a wet mop appeared blowing mist into the air like a surfacing Dolphin. Dustin was smiling from ear to ear. If his face were glass, it would have shattered. Towing his boat, he made it to shore quickly and shook off like a dog coming back from fetching a stick. "Can we do that again?" were his first words.

Following several more wet exits, I encouraged Dustin to paddle out into the lake with me. I showed him several strokes to make his boat go in the direction he wanted. We played some games, and the evening slipped away.

Then it came time for the boat assist move, (righting the kayak by using the bow of another boat once you have tipped upside down. Sounds complex, but it really is just three or four body movements.) Dustin went through the steps that lead up to the independent move. He said he was ready and flipped. He hastily attempted the move, but with poor technique mixed with uncertainty, caused a failed first boat assist rescue. Shadows were creeping onto the lake and the water was getting dark, day was getting late, and to avoid any frustration, I had Dustin finish off the day by showing his grand father the techniques he had performed successfully on his own that afternoon. They were both happy. The first meeting and instructional exchange was finished for the day; we all left with smiles on our faces.

Getting into the water the second evening was much quicker. We warmed up and were ready to go. Dustin practiced all the techniques we had learned the day before with huge success. We paddled to a finger of the lake to check out the temporary fish study tank UC Davis had installed. After executing a few steps toward the boat assist, and using the steps in reverse, (systematic desensitization) Dustin was able to gain the confidence and patience he needed to successfully execute the move. He was psyched! It was then back to the beach to learn the kayak roll. After all, that is what he said he wanted to do more than anything.

I progressed Dustin through several steps of the kayak roll and practiced until the sun was setting. He had performed all the steps with good quality. When it came time to putting all the pieces together, however, his body was unable to follow the commands of his will. His timing was off. The pieces needed time to settle into his subconscious so that he could perform the grace of the move as one fluid motion, not a mixture of moving parts.

The wind had picked up and the sun was setting. Chilled we both paddled back to the trail to meet Grandpa. "Let me see what you did today!" Grandpa yelled out as we approached. Proudly, Dustin tipped over, pounded the sides of his boat and waited for a boat assist. Successfully, he grabbed the tip of my boat and maneuvered his body up from under the water. I knew at that time he was ready for the river. He had controlled his instinct to panic and was now thinking under water.

It was a long day at work, and I couldn't wait to get Dustin out on the river. Knowing his excitement made the anticipation even more rewarding. At the Ash Creek Bridge, we met and suited up. Grandpa ran the shuttle as Dustin and I paddled in the flat water reviewing all the strategies we had learned during the previous two sessions. With anticipation, we approached the first rapid. I explained where Dustin wanted to be, and he put himself there. Rapid after rapid Dustin's facial expressions changed for those of concern to those of pure glee. His smile was infectious. Carving out of eddies and peeling into them was a pure joy for him. As the sunset and we paddled around the last corner in the shadows, Dustin turned to me and said, "I want to try a roll." Working with him in the pool before the evening run had not been as successful as we both had hoped. Pieces were still fuzzy with the rolling picture for him. I shrugged my shoulders, "Sure, why not! I'm here for a boat assist if you need one." And we went over the moves verbally. I had him visualize the move for a few seconds with his eyes closed as we drifted. The Osprey called from above as it glided over us looking for food.

Dustin opened his eyes and was ready to try the roll. I watched in anticipation as he capsized. His paddle came close to the surface and I could see him set up. Wound tightly against the deck as a new vine is wound to a piece of wire. Stillness for what seemed an eternity, I waited. The paddle moved in a half arc. Dustin's face appeared with part of his torso. It had missed it. The roll wasn't to be on that attempt. With a boat assist, he was up blowing and shaking his face. He looked at me with puppy dog eyes pleading for a reason of why the roll didn't work. “Try and keep your head and your shoulders following the paddle all the way. Like you're shooting an arrow from a bow and the paddle blade is the tip of the arrow. Imagine you have a laser beam in your eyes and you are trying to guide the tip of the arrow around in a big arc!” Dustin nodded. And upside down he went. Stillness, silence, and then the sound similar to that of mixing cake batter. The boat was cocking up, up, up and over, with Dustin on the back deck, he had pulled off a roll. Smiling ear to ear, he yelled to his grandpa, ''Did you see that Grandpa...did you see it?'' He turned to me with his giggly laugh, "I want to try that again.''

"Sure, why not. You have it."

Dustin flipped again, and once again, his boat slowly rolled up. Blowing mist from his nose, he turned to see if Grandpa was looking. Grandpa gave a cheer. Dustin gave me a high five, and the lesson was over. "One more for the road" he said, flipped again and slowly rolled up. They weren't whitewater quality rolls, but he had the feeling and with some additional work, we could get those rolls cleaned up, safer and more efficient.

While draining our boats on the grass, we reminisced the successes of the lesson. Dustin had met his goal, and I mine. Dustin had climbed the beginning kayakers equivalent of Mt. Everest. And I had reached an instructors summit by challenging, teaching and mentoring a very cool teenager in the magic of whitewater kayaking. We both shook hands. Grandpa said to me, "You have done a really good thing here. Thank you!" The drive back to Mt. Shasta, the sun setting and the lenticular clouds forming over the mountain, was one of the best post trip drives home ever!