The new BCU: First female Level 5 Coaches Trys Burke (left)
and Fiona Whitehead (right). PHOTOS: JUSTINE CURGENVEN, ROWLAND WOOLLVEN
Br i t ish- t rained sea kayakers seem to have a fondness for hardship and an af f ini ty for disaster. “ I t sounds crazy—and i t was. ”
have 5-Star conditions. But the strong tides [of the British Isles] are intrinsic to the BCU 5-Star Sea award.” Allen, who has sea kayaked around
Japan and Antarctica’s South Georgia Island, admits to having never heard of the BCU when he started paddling in the mid-1990s. “At first I thought what a mess—levels, stars, A grades—and assessors and coaches griping at the system,” he says. “There may be a certain amount of British bull, but I quickly realized that the core of the system is as strong as it gets.” After several 5-Star dry runs in
Welsh overfalls as a “crash test dummy,” Allen found himself under the leadership microscope in 2003, taking a group across the Straits of Gibraltar. The typically three- to four- hour crossing from Spain to Morocco turned into a nine-hour suffer-fest, with Allen and assessor Fiona White- head both towing other participants in buffeting winds. “Because I prepared religiously,
I can’t say that it was a challenge,” says Allen. “In my training I worked through the what-ifs, looked for an- swers and developed strategies.”
U
nlike the early days, female paddlers have played an in- creasingly important role in
today’s BCU—and are instrumental in bringing the resurgence of the BCU’s North American influence. Since Trys Burke became the first woman to achieve the coveted Level 5 Coach
award and was certified to assess 5- Star candidates in 1998, Fiona White- head and American Jen Kleck have also become top-ranked coaches. Inspired and intimidated by the 5-
Star Sea’s reputation, Ginni Callahan, a sea kayak guide and instructor who splits her time between Washington’s Puget Sound and Baja, Mexico, chal- lenged the award in 2005. She did her assessment in Wales under the auspices of Nigel Dennis, Rowland Woollven and Fiona Whitehead, in the powerful, unfamiliar tidal races of Holy Island. “It was my first time paddling in
England and behind it all there was this sense of the impossible,” says Callahan. “On the whole, sea kayak- ers in England don’t paddle in the same type of conditions that we pad- dle in here on the Pacific. The tide races are so dynamic. It’s true that the sea conditions over there are un- like anything in the U.S.” Callahan says British-trained sea kayakers seem to have a fondness for hardship and an affinity for disas- ter. “I went over and practiced for a few weeks before my assessment and helped out as a rescue boater at Nigel’s symposium,” she says. “The symposium was a real eye-opener. Participants could choose between three streams of instruction: Play- ing in the tide races, rescues and incident management, or taking out Nigel’s old beater kayaks for a crash and bash. In the end, all three groups seemed to blend into one. It sounds
crazy—and it was—but it really got me thinking on my toes.” When it came time for her assess-
ment, Callahan says the biggest challenge was the night navigation. She was responsible for leading the group on a set route in pitch dark- ness. As she completed the last leg, the single streetlight she was using as a target was missing and she was reduced to hoping for the best. “When we got close to the beach
and the light was gone, I was certain I’d screwed up,” says Callahan. “All the while, the rest of the group and the assessors were just watching me sweat it out. But it turns out I was right on. The light had been turned out for the night.” Ten years after Dave Ide’s reign, instructors like Ginni Callahan, Jen Kleck, Leon Sommé and Shawna Franklin have re-established the BCU in North America. Sea Kayak Georgia and Florida’s Sweetwater Kayaks in- vite some of England’s finest instruc- tors for their annual BCU weeks. And on the West Coast, Kleck runs 5-Star training courses and is planning a 5- Star assessment in the tide races of San Francisco Bay. Callahan says the award’s “Holy
Grail” reputation is only half right: “The assessment isn’t about trying to trip you up, it’s about getting you to lead. It’s accessible for those who’ve done their homework and have the leadership knack. Still, the award is real in the sense that it actually means something.”
CONOR MIHELL is a freelance writer and kayak guide based on Lake Superior. He holds the BCU 4-Star Sea award and is a Paddle Canada Instructor-Trainer (
conormihell.com).
www.adventurekayakmag.com 43
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