Paddlesport Instructor Day 1 & 2 - Sit On Top Kayaking

DAY 1 

Well as my skills build up and I create my own style of floating around on a sit on top kayak, Day 1 arrived for my Paddlesport Instructor Course and the first part of the day is got to be a cup of tea to get the brain functioning as it was 9am on a Monday Morning.

After tea was drank and sugar intake was done, I took to the class room to learn about the syllabus about the course itself and what I had to do to make me pass this course.

 As British Canoe came into place when learning as it's there syllabus we have to follow to be the coach we want to be .....

As the morning slowly passed and I overtook alot of information, onto the water i was meant to be as I kitted up and headed for my vessel for the day.

Getting ready and warmed up, taking part in loads of different warm ups and learning new games that I would use for the future was interesting to learn

Yes you can't go wrong as everywhere you go there must be a selfie taken and off course I have to be the colourful one in my amazing green kit

#love the colour

 #cant go wrong with green 

#everything has to be green 

Anyways carrying on with the day food must be eaten and snacks must be munched 

#always have food 

The afternoon consulted of using different paddle moves whilst playing games and learning new skills along the way which I discovered having the right equipment can do the right rescue 

As days always come to a end and we summarised up with a cup of tea and chat, tomorrow was all about us taking the lead on a session 

#nervous around new people 

#autism problems 

#communciation problems 

Highlight of my day was I didn't actually end up in the water for a change, let's see how that goes on the 2nd day after having a widish group 

DAY 2 

A 6am start as I opened my eyes to the world with probably not enough sleep, being nervous about my coaching assement today and wondering if I had enough knowledge in my brain to run it smoothly

Again it's always selfie time when it comes to paddling as I kitted up and rotated round with the group on running our sessions

With the safety brief out the way and a bit of knowledge on the groups paddling experience I ran a little warm up which involved communication and a bit of co ordination which sometime I dont have that myself #blind without glasses

A little paddle swap moving from left to right and back again got the team warmed up and ready for the session, coaching them forwards and backwards I was getting quite nifty on the sit on top kayak as being on all week on one at Plas Y Brenin I was the master of all the skill

Anyways carrying on a wrapped the session up with a few games and a little bit of knowledge and skills for the group to learn and manova about

Lunch had arrived and as always I'm the one with the snacks and food for the day #always come prepared #sugar rush

Sticking to a vegetarian diet was healthy for me and about 60% of outdoor Instructors are vegetarians as it's a healthy lifestyle to live

With food inhaled and tea drank, onto a little journey we went up the canal learning about different safety skills and the history behind different things along the way whilst playing little games.

The SUP board came out and for risk of me not falling in I was aloud to step back and learn from the bank

#I can teach and learn without even touching the water

As the day went on Rescues was next and this was gonna be fun watching people fall in, I took part in my own little rescue scenario where I could stay dry and coach someone and be in charge and manage someone to safety without even going in the water 

I was on my sit on top kayak still, however when Alistar created the rescue and capsized his canoe for the rescue, I managed the scene calmly and had my eyes on my rescuee when I had him in front of me and had his boat attached to the back of me and got him and the boat safely to the bank 

# just because I have cold induced seizures doesn't mean I cannot rescue someone in a situation 

So that's the 2 days boxed off my list and added to my CV with my FSRT, the adventures of paddling will still be active as my summer kicks off and I get practicing on my roll and more skill base stuff but since the weather is calling my name I must go into the mountains and urban exploration scene and have a cracking summer 

Keep on discovering who you want to be as I am with myself and be the person you choose to be and take what you believe in to achieve and achieve what you believe .......... 

FSRT - Foundation Safety Rescue Training - Becoming One With The Vessel

As PYB was over and I was settling back into reality, I had a few little courses over the next few days to box off before i started my summer one being my FSRT

As i wasnt doing this with the University, this was a huge leap for me as it was somewhere new, someone new and less support, but I was determined to do what I believed in and achieve what I want to

As the day kicked off I was still in the recovery process of Plas Y Brenin so had to get my brain into gear, meeting up with the people on the course was a little difficult to do at the beginning but they understood and let me take it slow

There is always time for a selfie when it comes to being in the outdoor environment, anyways carrying on with the day .......

The start was learning about basic kit - Buoyancy Aids, Throw Lines, Tow Lines etc. And then going onto using the throw lines back and forth from each other ....

Next we learnt about the different anograms that can be used in the paddling Industry which was very useful to me in my visual learning and memory development

STEVE - Self, Team, Victim, Equipment

Shout, Reach, Throw & Tow

These were very useful to use when out and about on the water ...

Well as the day got on, I was in a sit on top again but I was used to that as I would rather be safe and open than be trapped underwater .... however I was more comfortable in my own Buoyancy Aid this time which was better for me ....

 

As I was watching the time fly by, learning how to tow a kayak was another useful fact in my eyes as one day I may have to use this tactic to help someone who needs rescuing without even going in the water keeping us all safe ....

The day carried on and I was loving life and chilled back, then it was a different vessel time a canoe the one where I'm still open to the water and not closed in but the weight of a canoe compared to a kayak is totally different and alot more harder so let's do this .....

As learning about throw lines was handy to learn I never thought of the different types that were out there and all different useful tips that can be recommended to anyone who is a paddler.

Anyways back to the canoe, Greg who was victim for this scenario got out of his canoe and I had to T-Rescur first, then get Greg back into his submerged canoe and then into mine which was not a problem.

Next the hardest part trying empty a large canoe full of canal water and balance myself and Greg in one canoe and sorting the other canoe out .. Still not a problem

Then came the flip, which was done correctly until it slipped out of Greg's hand and toppled towards me causing me to fall out of the Canoe and then Splash, trapping my foot under the seat of the vessel and the other canoe landing on top of me.

Having released myself and I swam to the edge all I could do was hold onto it until HELP came and then my instructor scooped me onto a SUP creating a floating stretcher whilst I went into my seizure

# suffer the cold, suffer the seizure

It was the last thing on my list to do was to fall in and create another scene as having 3 seizures already this week my brain was in the stage of not handling itself but I rode threw it.

The panic was being autistic I was around alot of strangers that I had never met before and having them deal with my seizures was really scary and frightening in my eyes as they didn't know how to deal with the protocol but they rode threw it with me and I came round and got warm

# would recommend the dry robe to keep warm by water

After all the fuss and focus was taken off me I got changed and back to my normal self where I watched Mike take control of the boats for a change showing us different moves and skills

Well another day is over and I boxed a creditation off, Paddle Sport Instructor next, stay focused as I take my paddling to a new level and follow what I believe in ..... 

PYB - Week 5 - Kayaking Week - Becoming One With The Water

As the end must come to a early spring, Plas Y Brenin was on the way to my adventures kicking back and enjoying the sun for a change.

Monday morning oh what joy I have taken that long and boring coach journey 3 hrs of torture as I beded down to my seat awaiting the scenery coming into my eye of view

As i arrived onto da site of Plas Y Brenin and came in contact with my instructors and support for the week, the sun was blazing as the wind was a little bit on the chilly side with my group of two including me and the outdoor staff we piled into a little bit of warmth exploring the rescues we could fortay out in the big wide world and smalling it down to a 12ft by 8ft pool

#rough estimate of pool.

The next day we took to the River Llugwy to use our skills against some choppy water ....

Food we must eat as the tasteness of healthy week kicked in and I mastered the way to different various foods I could get my hands on to devour.

With lunch slowly packed away, onto the water we went dragging our bums up the river llugwy and putting our skills of paddling and edging to the test

#there is always time for a photo

As my feet became one with the boat I settled down into my little raft for the week adjusting and resisting the knee pads every now and then to release my body into spirit 

As the day went by and I gradually got on what I wanted to do and learn the way I wanted to be learnt  I was used to getting that feeling of not being 100% and we all knew what that ment in the line of my brain, #suffer the seizure

As time passed and I felt a little better, I went a little Urban Exploration Nature Walk with Dan and Alex to get the cogs working in my brain and then i ran the River Llugwy rapid which I smashed and was well chuffed with myself as i hadn't done that in a while 

#seeing a mountain bear along the way of the walk

# it's just a sheep 

As the day passed and I settled into the nice warm main house which was home for the week, I was fed and watered and ready for a nice long sleep # 8hrs

Next day came and on we hopped to the River Dee to throw some rapid moves in fast flowing water, Learning From Alex and Dan I took to the water and practices going in different ways up and down the River

# Flowing with the water
# Creating A Wave
# Floating like a feather

Lunch was munched and gone by the time we got out and then got back in and as I took to the water again and after my boat off from under Dan's boat I took to the swells and doing a smashing job until I decided to edge to far and create a submerged mess of myself falling out of the kayak

#suffer the cold, suffer the seizure

Once again I was back out of it and trying to get them cogs working and went on another little adventure along the way, this time my ribs hurt so much from laughing I couldn't stop myself but I was happy that I got my cogs working back to being myself from the help of Alex and Dan

As we started to wander and look for Simon and the boys we found a little friend on the way ....

And this wasn't the funniest part, we all decided after Alex rode on Mr Claus we would hide him in the trailer and bring him back with us and see if Simon would notice 

#No Joke Hes In The Trailor

 

# Christmas Has Come Early 

As the day was coming to an end I managed to catch a few other people having a blast whilst kayaking and canoeing in the River Dee 

#So Many Boats 

1hr drive back took us back to site as we all apart from Simon who still didn't have the foggiest idea that we had a plastic Santa in the back of the trailer, we all giggled and chuffed and was egging on about the Santa 

# Has Christmas Come Early 

# Just Back The Santa Up 

# Is It About To Snow 

# Dont Forget The Santa 

Simon Still didn't know what we were going on about and was clueless all the time 

Onto Thursday and with only 2 more days to go time was like a ticking time bomb as we would say bye to Plas Y Brenin for a long time until 2nd Year 

With a little bit of sea kayaking on the adventurous side of things today I took the sit on top for a little bit of a joy ride, smashing through the waves of the sea

Not just looking on how dangerous it could be for me to fall in, I studied the different creatures that lived on the rocks it was interesting how these tiny little things survived a warm and cold day and what they lived on #limpets #seasnails

As the day grew short it had only felt like 30mins on the water as lunch came around by 1pm and we had got there around 10.30am so time doesn't half go by when you are out at sea 

Looking into the different paddle moves I could do with a different vessel instead of a sea kayak 

#sit on top kayak out at sea 

It was soon 2pm and we met up with Simon and the boys and also Pete and his little crew on the edge of the bay as I was safe in my little bay area today as it would have been dangerous for me to be out at sea suffering from one of my seizures 

#its good to stay safe 

#keeping it less risky 

#autism understanding alot better 

Looking like Simon was the dad taking us for a little paddle we made it back to shore and beached our vessels for a nice drive back to PYB 

As Friday has come and the semester is over I say goodbye to PYB for the time being and look into finishing off Uni for the time being and going back in 5 months is gonna be a stuggle, however after a week of free time to myself I become one with nature and look into paddling, mountaineering and we can't forget about URBAN EXPLORATION 

PYB haven't seen the last of me as they are my home from home and will see me sometimes in the summer as I take to the Mountains of Wales and discover the abandoned side of the world into Urban X

Keep focused as I take a new step into my life and discover what is yet to be learnt and created along the paths of weird and wonderful things and facts ....