Price: $1749 + gst
Dates: April 28 – May 4th, 2023 (Course Full)
Location: Tofino, B.C.
Meeting Location: Rancho Tofino
Pre Requisites if you are looking to receive your Touring 1 or 2 Instructor Certification.
- At least 18 years of age
- Current Paddle Canada Membership
- Paddle Canada Touring 2 skills certification, or equivalent skills and knowledge
- Paddle Canada Advanced Flatwater SUP Instructor certification
- Paddle Canada Touring 1 SUP Instructor certification
- Current certification in standard first aid and CPR (14-16hrs)
- Experience beyond that of the Touring 2 SUP Skills Course
- Class Ratio: 1 instructor trainer: 6 candidates (minimum of three registered candidates)
What’s Included
- 6 nights and 7 days of sup touring & leadership skills training & Paddle Canada Touring 1 or 2 Instructor Training in Tofino, B.C.
- 2 nights accommodation at Rancho Tofino.
- Guides Norm Hann and Neil Gilson
- Paddle Canada Touring 1 & 2 Instructor Manual.
- NHE Expedition Journal
- Ahousaht First Nation Land Permit
Not Included
- Transportation to and from Tofino, B.C.
- Food
- SUP Touring Equipment
Cancellations
Read about our cancellation policy here. Please email explore@normhann.com if you need to cancel at any time.
Space is limited in training courses and your spot is not guaranteed until we have received full payment.
SUP Expedition Skills, Leadership & Instructor Training in Tofino, B.C.
This 7 day sup touring training course is for those people who want to spend a week immersed in building their overnight sup touring and expeditions skills. It has also been designed for those Paddle Canada Flatwater Instructors who would like to work towards their touring instructors with the goal of leading others on day and multi day trips. The course focus is on group management, coastal navigation, technical paddling skills, weather forecasting, overnight tripping, safety and rescue and building a strong guiding, instructional and leadership skill set.
We start the course with two nights in Tofino, B.C. before heading into the waters of Clayoquot Sound and the traditional waters of the Tla-0-quiaht First Nations for a circumnavigation, weather permitting of Vargas Island. Vargas Island located just north of Tofino is a perfect place for our touring course that offers, rugged and dynamic paddling conditions, spectacular white sand beaches and calm, protected inlet paddling.
This will be a fun and challenging week of training and we look forward to helping you accomplish your goals and personal transformation.
PACKING LIST
Paddling Equipment
- Inflatable or Hard Touring Board appropriate for ocean touring and carrying gear for multiple overnight days.
- Paddle or adjustable paddle
- PFD with rescue belt(jacket style, no waist belts)
- Coil or quick release touring leash.
Safety and Teaching Equipment
- Chart
- Compass
- Communication device
- First Aid kit
- Instructional equipment to support teaching topics if you are wanting to work towards your instructor training.
What to Wear for Paddling (suggested)
- 5 mm Booties with sole or water shoe with waterproof or neoprene socks
- Clothing Option 1: For upper and lower body clothing system I personally wear Vaikobi V Cold Flex Pant and V Cold L/S Base with a pair of board shorts or waterproof short worn over the flex pant. (see attached video)
- Clothing Option 2: Drysuit, I suggest the Mustang Survival Hudson Drysuit. It will keep you warm and dry but may be too warm if it’s hot. Depending on weather we could be wearing a drysuit or wetsuit for most of the time, especially on the west coast.
- Clothing Option 3: Farmer Jayne or John with waterproof paddling jacket overtop.
- Fleece or synthetic hooded mid layer jacket
- Waterproof jacket and pants
- Mid Layer with extra down jacket
- Baseball Cap and Toque
- Paddling gloves for cool days or if hands are sensitive
- Buff
Other Clothing
- Pair of synthetic shorts
- Bathing suit
- Pair of pants
- 2 long sleeve shirts
- 2 short sleeve shirts
- 1 sweater or sweatshirt
- 2 pair of wool/synthetic socks
- 2 sets of long underwear
- 2-3 pair of underwear
Personal items
- Toiletries
- Sun screen
- Sunglasses with a retainer
- Prescription eyeglasses or contacts
- Spare eyeglasses or contacts
- Wet Wipes
- Synthetic camp towel
- Medication
- Spare medication
- Insect repellent
- Book
- Headlamp and batteries
- Camera (optional)
- Extra digital storage and batteries
- 1-2 litre water bottle
- thermos for hot drinks
Camping Gear
- 1-2 person lightweight tent
- Compressible 3 season sleeping bag
- Sleeping pad or Thermarest
- Small packable pillow
- Small camping stove/Jetboil/MSR Whisper Lite.
- 5ooml Butane or 1 litre white gas
- Cooking pot (if you are not using a Jetboil)
- knife, fork, spoon
- mug
- 2 10 L Dromedary Bags for water each. MSR Dromedary Bags work great.
- Pristine or Aquatabs water treatment
Food
You will be bringing and packing your own food for day trips and overnight trips. Make sure your meals are filling and nutritious to support you on your paddling days. Freeze dried food bags are light, delicious and work well for sup camping. Bring snacks and easily accessible bars in case paddling days are longer.
What to Wear & What to Pack
Tour Reviews
This course is excellent for Instructors looking to guide group SUP expeditions or individuals looking to advance their skills and decision making for solo SUP trips. The week starts with detailed trip planning, navigational skills and decision making models. It also gives you as a guide an understanding of group dynamics and different teaching models to help you efficiently and safely manage a SUP touring group. After the theory portion of the course Norm and Neil took our group to several different and dynamic locations to put the technical and navigational skills learned into practice. Overnight touring in both Surge Narrows and Vargas Island provided an opportunity to practice safely crossing fast moving tidal currents, paddling through larger swells and wind chop and learning how to do a surf landing with a loaded touring board. The emphasis on managing yourself and knowing your abilities as well as understanding the environment you are planning to paddle into is an essential component for successfully and safely manage a group or solo SUP trip. There is an amazing amount of learning and skills building in this week long course and I highly recommend it for anyone ready to take their paddling skills to another level.
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