I started kayaking in April 2013 and fell head over heals in love. Wanting to propel my skills forward to be safe in the water and do more advanced trips, I have been reading, taking lessons and watching DVDs. Here are a few of my favorite DVD resources.
Instructional DVDs
I have bought several teaching DVDs on strokes, rescues and rolling. I have to say, that beyond a resonable doubt, Gordon Brown’s DVDs have been by far the most useful. He really understands teaching by breaking down strokes, rolling and rescues into their most basic parts so that you can progress your learning.
Volume 1: Sea Kayaking Handling – fantastic balance exercises and strokes that can be practiced in the safety of your local harbor.
Volume 2: Rescues, Towing and Staying Safe – one of things I appreciated most about this DVD was seeing rescues performed in flat water and then executed in dynamic water. (Won Best Sea Kayaking Film)
Volume 3: Navigation, Rolling, First Aid Kits, and Handling Emergecies – by far the best rolling DVD ever made. Again, Gordon Brown breaks the roll down AND shows you why rolls fail. Seeing him execute a rescue the right way, followed by the wrong way really helps. In addition, you get to see a proper VHF radio mayday call and coast guard helicopter rescue – something you never want to need, but very good to know.
Onthe subject of rolling, if you must buy a second DVD, I thought that the second most useful DVD was:
This is the Roll: Taught by Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson who seem like they are part seal when you watch them roll. I’m not sure if this DVD belongs under instructional or inspiration, but I can assure you it is both. This is especially good for learning greenland-style rolling.
Personally, I don’t think anything replaces one-on-one coaching when you’re learning to roll. I’m still working on mine. I owe a debt of gratitude to David Bosworth who got me started by standing in 50 degree water for two hours while he coached me.
Inspirational DVDs
Justine Curgeven is the host of the This is the Sea DVDs 1 through 5. Each DVD features fantastic locations, different types of paddling conditions and expert paddlers, sometimes in extreme conditions.