We started the Alaska Kayak School in 1998 to help people enjoy the thrill of paddling Alaska safely. Based in Homer, Alaska, we offer instructional courses in sea and river kayaking, safety and rescue, training and assessment of trip leading skills for guides, as well as instructor training and assessment in the both American Canoe Association and British Canoe Union. We offer guided trips and expeditions for paddlers of all levels of skill and experience: from novices to advanced. We supplement our trips and courses with rentals of high quality paddling equipment for experienced skilled paddlers with appropriate leadership skills. Our sales programs focus on rugged usable kayaks and canoes and all supplies and accessories that facilitate paddling fun – safely.
Long winters and high quality pools in Homer, Soldotna, Seward and Anchorage, allow skill training in pools to be a significant resource for paddlers in our region. The comfort of a warm familiar environment allows most northern paddlers the chance to really push their limits when learning and developing “wet skills” such as wet exits, rescues, Eskimo rolling and bracing. Novices really benefit in being able to learn challenging underwater antics in a familiar environment. Pool training courses are a big part of our winter activities at the Alaska Kayak School.
We established the Alaska Kayak School in Homer because of the relatively warm, dry climate here when compared to other ports on the Kenai Peninsula, and because of the wide variety of easily accessible paddling venues: surf beaches, open water, tidal streams, scenic glacial fjords, and many protected coves and bays. In this way, Homer and Kachemak Bay are the best location for a year-round paddling venue that provides the environments needed to train sea kayakers as well as paddling trip leaders and instructors. Make no mistake about it we paddle all year round, our paddling logbooks have entries for all weeks of the year.
The rich natural environment of Homer, Kachemak Bay, and the Kenai Peninsula only enhance the enjoyment and learning opportunities of our instructional courses, guided trips, expeditions and unsupervised rentals. Coastal mountains, glaciers and ice sheets, deep glacial fjords, rugged exposed coastlines of Cook Inlet, and the North Pacific and Gulf of Alaska shores of the Kenai Peninsula, the Kodiak Archipelago, and Prince William Sound beckon at our doorstep. Jaw dropping scenery and the abundant wildlife of the region only serve to highlight the excitement and fun possible while enjoying the regions navigable waters on your own terms. Wildlife watching and photographic/video opportunities are endless.
With a moderate amount of kayak training, some camping skills, a little research, and some travel $$, paddling Alaska is in most paddler’s reach. We’ve just started offering multi-day instructional trips to share the best of our techniques in the context of a multi-day sea kayak camping trip here in Kachemak Bay, see here for more info: http://alaskakayakschool.com/calendar/index.html#june0
Stay tuned for more news from the Alaska Kayak School Journal, ‘+) Happy Paddling !! Tom
