The British Canoe Union's program of training, assessment and coach education has made its incursions into the United States among the American sea kayaking crowd. Sea paddling conditions in The UK are demanding enough that the sport is well-developed there and BCU rough water skills and teaching techniques are safe and effective.
Although the BCU is the governing body of paddle sport in the UK (England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland) its popularity in the U.S has allowed the establishment of a North American branch and an associated body of coaches and students. More than 20,000 BCU coaches worldwide teach more than 800,000 students annually. See www.bcuna.com for more information.

 Instructional Programs - The basic structure, major goals, and essential purposes of the BCU's instructional courses are to teach and encourage safety, fun and independence by students. But also to train and support a large body of qualified instructors, coaches and assessors that deliver approved course material to national and international standards of care and performance. The BCU programs are organized by the craft being used as well as the levels of difficulty in which the paddling occurs.

 BCU personal skills - The Star Awards. The BCU's programs are organized by craft (canoe, kayak, etc.) and venue (sea, inland, surf, polo, etc.). The norm for a BCU paddling skills course will be to focus your learning on a progression of skills appropriate to your level of experience that will help you become an independent paddler as soon as possible. In the personal skills training used by the BCU, you are exposed to proper practices in the training programs (classes), but are then encouraged "practice" (code for go paddling) in order to develop and incorporate these skills into your "unconscious". This is also called building "motor memory", making the skills automatic, or even intuitive.

 Within each BCU discipline, in this example "closed cockpit kayaks", the BCU has produced a series of personal paddling skills syllabi. These syllabi provide guidance for coaches and students in the proper performance of the skills, and are also the assessment criteria for each skill level, see:

http://www.bcuna.com/Pages/Main-Pages/Literature.shtml

BCU training courses that prepare you for Star awards/test assessments are generally arranged in increasing orders of difficulty. One through three star awards teach total control of the kayak in flat water and in the absence of wind, waves and current. The 1-3 star tests for each discipline include all "generic" skills that specific kayaking disciplines (sea, surf, whitewater) have in common. Four star skills are the point where you begin the application of the 1-3 star (generic) skills to a particular environment, let's say, sea kayaking. Five star is the highest personal skills award, and in most ways it's more about leadership.

Summary of BCU Kayaking and Sea Kayaking Star Awards

Flat water Skills: 1-3 Star - Closed Cockpit Kayak

"One Star"     protected water, basic skills

A general encouragement award. You should have some basic knowledge of kayaking and paddling in general. This level encourages safe practice, regard for your equipment, and fun.

"Two Star"     sheltered water, simple coastlines

The beginning of your kayak skill development; a successful 2 star assessment requires good basic skills "emphasizing being able to create the desired movement of the boat through developing an understanding of cause and effect rather than concentrating on rigidly defined strokes".

A successful 2 star assessment requires good basic skills "emphasizing being able to create the desired movement of the boat through developing an understanding of cause and effect rather than concentrating on rigidly defined strokes". A sampling of 2 Star skills includes: efficient forward paddling, moving the kayak sideways, good bracing either side, good stern rudder, low brace turn. Also included are the beginnings of sculling draw, sculling for support, Eskimo rescue emphasizing the "use of hips and knees to recover from an upside down position", deep water rescues and edging.

"Three Star" perfect control of the boat, beginning to control the boat in conditions.

The beginning of intermediate level paddling and crisp, definite strokes and maneuvers must be in evidence.
A sampling of 3 Star skills includes: efficient forward paddling, paddling a reverse figure-8 course cleanly, turning the kayak by low brace turn and a bow rudder, moving the kayak sideways while on the move, sculling draw, draw on the move. This award also includes committed high and low braces on both sides, edging to assist turning, hanging draw, deep water rescues, towing and use of tow line, and the beginnings of rolling.

 Sea Kayak Skills: 4 and 5 Star

"Four Star - Sea Kayak" useful member of a group up to moderate conditions

The beginning of advanced paddling, transferal of 3 Star skills to the sea. This enables you to take your kayak out in conditions up to three feet of surf (4.5' breaking waves), three knots of tidal stream and 17 knots of wind (force 4) in a group with a competent leader. An important part of 4 Star skills involves having good knowledge of the kayak and equipment, the effects of tide, current, and wind, basic safety procedures, hypothermia/first aid, the use a chart and compass to plan a paddling trip, and group awareness.

"Five Star Sea" Expert-Leader

Five Star Sea is a leadership award. Successful assessment ensures that you have sufficient knowledge and skill to lead a group of adequate ability with safety in British conditions, i.e., more than three feet of surf, tidal streams of over 3 knots, and more than 25 knots of wind. This is intended for paddlers who paddle in areas where tidal races, headlands, open crossings, swell and challenging coastlines are encountered.

A sampling of 5 Star skills includes:
Paddling a minimum of 20 miles (in a 24 hr. period), crossings of at least 5 miles, navigation in poor visibility and darkness. Also paddling in winds of at least 11-16 knots; exposure to no landing zones, tidal races and overfalls, paddling in swell and waves; and a minimum of 8 hours first aid training. 
You must be able to: control your kayak in a variety of demanding conditions, perform a variety of rescues, roll in rough water, be able to use different methods of towing, and have good group control skills. You must be proficient at camping out of your kayak, and demonstrate an ability to handle a wide range of mishaps on the sea.

The conditions for 5 Star assessments rarely exist in most regions where sea kayakers regularly paddle in the United States, and few American paddlers that seek or achieve this level of proficiency. Most American 5 star paddlers completed their assessment in the U.K. The first BCU 5 Star Sea Kayaking Skills Assessment in the United States will take place in San Francisco, during spring tides in October 2004. For more information, contact www.riptidesandrapids.com.