PRE-SEASON PADDLING CLINIC (indoors only)
April 23, 2025 (Wednesday, 6-8 pm)
I LOVE TO BE OUT ON THE WATER -- BUT HOW CAN I GET STARTED?
Instructors: Laura Lipkin and Linda Galyon
Do you love to be out on the water and want to try a paddle-sport but do not where to start? This class offers an overview of information on canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards on flat, moving, and whitewater.
This class does not replace the need for on-water skills instruction but will help decide what paddle-sport(s) you want to focus on and prepare you to get to the water. Our instructors will also help you identify the PCC Training Classes you might want to enroll in to build your paddling skills this summer.
Bring all your paddle-sport questions. This will be an informal and fun evening REGISTER HERE
RECREATIONAL KAYAKING CLASSES
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
RECREATIONAL KAYAKING INTRO (FLAT-WATER) (One-Day Class)
Location: Schuylkill River
No experience necessary. This course is designed for students with little or no formal kayak training. Lessons will include basic strokes, safety and rescue on flat and gently moving water.
Students must be comfortable in and on the water. As a safety training requirement, you will be supervised by your instructor to capsize your boat and swim in the water wearing a life jacket.
Recreational Kayaking (1-Day) June 21, 2025Register Here
Recreational Kayaking (1-Day) July 19, 2025 Register Here
Recreational Kayaking (1-Day) August 9, 2025 Register Here
INTRO TO RECREATIONAL KAYAKING - (2-day Class).
No experience necessary. This course is designed for students with little or no formal kayak training
Day 1: Location: Philadelphia Canoe Club
Kayaking is more fun when you know how to control your boat. Your lesson will include basic strokes, safety and rescue on flat and gently moving water. You will learn how to safely and easily get back into your kayak should you tip over and how to help your companions.
Day 2: Location: NJ Pine Barrens
You will practice your skills from day one in the morning on a lake. The afternoon session on the river includes water reading and river features. You will practice controlling your kayak in faster currents and around river bends and turns.
Recreational Kayaking (2-Days) June 14 & 15, 2025 Register Here
Recreational Kayaking (2-Days) July 12 & 13, 2025 REGISTER HERE
Topic: Late Summer Intro to Recreational Kayaking
August 13, 2025 (3 pm to 7 pm)
Instructors: Tom Rickards and Laura Lipkin
Have you been meaning to sign up for a class on river kayaking and get out on the water this summer? No worries, this class is designed for the beginner and will introduce you to the features of a recreational kayak, how to paddle the boat on gently moving water, and some basics of river safety. You will get to practice paddling with boats, equipment, and instruction provided by the Philadelphia Canoe Club. Join this Recreational Kayaking Clinic to learn about a great way to exercise, a wonderful way to be out in nature, and a world of paddling opportunities right here at the Philadelphia Canoe Club.
Recreational Kayak Clinics for 2024
Location: Philadelphia Canoe Club, 4900 Ridge Avenue
Take one, take all, improve your skills, have fun!
Evening Clinics
(Note: please arrive early to prepare for class).
Clinic #1 - June 5, 2025, (Thursday, 6-8 pm)
Basic River Kayak Paddling Strokes and Boat Control (REGISTER HERE)
Laura Lipkin - Lead Instructor
This clinic will address both proper recreational kayak seating position and stroke form for good ergonomics, efficient paddling, and preserved stamina on the river. We will work on a solid forward stroke to power the kayak and a reliable backward stroke for slowing down, navigating moving water in twisty streams, and stopping the boat. We will be using sweep strokes to turn the boat and draw strokes to move it sideways as we efficiently move our kayaks through the waters by the Philadelphia Canoe Club.
Clinic # 2 - June 19, 2025 (Thursday, 6-8 pm)
Bow and Stern Draws and Bracing. Introduction to Front and Back Ferrying (REGISTER HERE)
Tom Moiani- Lead Instructor
Bow and stern draws are essential for good boat control and necessary for paddling straight and turning. You will learn where to place your paddle and when to use these strokes for maximum control. We will also learn the low brace, a handy skill to keep from capsizing. Ferrying is used to easily and quickly move from one side of the river to the other while avoiding obstacles (rocks, trees, other boaters). You can ferry facing downstream (back ferry) or facing upstream (front ferry). Knowing a good back stroke is essential for back ferries.
Clinic #3
Tracking in Wind and Weather: How to keep your kayak going straight.
In this clinic we will be looking at how to control and track your kayak when faced with outside forces like wind, currents, or waves. We will be looking at the phenomena of weathercocking when your kayak will tend to want to turn into the wind. We will learn why this happens and practice techniques like ruddering, edging, and figuring out how to track and keep your kayak going straight to correct for these forces.
Clinic # 4 – July 31, 2025 (Thursday, 6-8 pm)
Topic: Preparing to Kayak in Faster Water (REGISTER HERE)
Jere Downs – Lead Instructor
This clinic will help the recreational kayak paddler begin to develop good river judgement about navigating faster moving water safely and effectively. The clinic will include discussion of how checking water levels, flow speeds, and tides is vital in assessing risks of paddling moving water. Participants will also begin to learn about reading moving water for hazards and challenges and making thoughtful decisions about waters you can safely navigate and which you should portage around. If water conditions on the river permit, there may be some practice of paddling techniques used in faster water: eddy turns, peel outs, and bracing.
Participants must be in good physical condition and good swimmers. This also means you are able to carry a 60-pound boat with the assistance of another paddler for 100 yards on rocky terrain. Participants must also be able to kneel and enter a boat unassisted at a dock and on the riverbank. Knowledge of how to “wet exit” or swim to shore upon capsizing will be covered in the course.
Clinic # 5 - August 14, 2025 (Thursday, 6-8 pm)
Topic: An Introduction to River Safety and Basic Rescue Techniques for Recreational Kayaking (REGISTER HERE)
)Steve Levick – Lead Instructor
The pleasure of river kayaking has to be combined with an awareness of potential risks associated with it. This clinic will focus on some of the safety and rescue concerns for recreational kayaking and techniques to address them. Water hazards, wading techniques, assisted re-entry into kayaks, and kayak towing will be addressed as time permits.
Clinic # 6 - August 13, 2025 (3 pm to 7 pm)
Topic: Late Summer Intro to Recreational Kayaking REGISTER HERE
Instructors: Tom Rickards and Laura Lipkin
Have you been meaning to sign up for a class on river kayaking and get out on the water this summer? No worries, this class is designed for the beginner and will introduce you to the features of a recreational kayak, how to paddle the boat on gently moving water, and some basics of river safety. You will get to practice paddling with boats, equipment, and instruction provided by the Philadelphia Canoe Club. Join this Recreational Kayaking Clinic to learn about a great way to exercise, a wonderful way to be out in nature, and a world of paddling opportunities right here at the Philadelphia Canoe Club.