・Kayak Training Day 2
Hi, my name is Hibiki and I’m doing an internship at Evergreen Outdoor Center in Hakuba.
On June 13th, we had kayak training again, and it was the second day of the training. On the second day, we learned how to tow one kayak or two kayaks and how to rescue a capsized kayak. When a customer gets really tired and can’t go back to the shore, we may have to tow the customer. We use a rope and two carabiners to tow a kayak, and we practiced towing not only one kayak but also two kayaks at the same time. It was hard to tow two kayaks at the same time, but we all successfully towed two kayaks for 50m.
We also learned the T-Rescue. The T-Rescue is one of the most common rescue methods for capsized kayaks. First, when you do T-Rescue, you need to put the capsized kayak onto your kayak and flip the capsized kayak to let water out from it. Then, you need to hold the rescued kayak to let the paddler go back in it.
We practiced the T-Rescue again and again until we could do it smoothly. When you are kayaking cautiously, you generally wouldn’t flip your kayak and won’t need a rescue. However, as guides, we all need to know how to rescue people who have flipped their kayak. We have to know a lot of skills when it comes to rescuing customers and mitigating risks. I thought from the training that it is important that all the Evergreen guides are skilled so that customers are able to enjoy the tours without worry.
From the second day of the training, some of the senior and lead kayaking guides participated in the training as all Evergreen guides must have required skills and knowledge to guide customers safely.
At the end of the day, we enjoyed cruising around Lake Aokiko by our kayaks!
EOC offers the kayaking tours at the beautiful lake in Hakuba!
If you are interested in the kayaking tours, please check the link below!
http://www.evergreen-hakuba.com/kayaking/
Hibiki