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You may also want to review the Activity Guidelines.
The following class rating descriptions are intended to provide
pre-trip guidance for paddlers to tell whether their kayaking skills
match the anticipated conditions and for trip leaders to rate the
difficulty of a trip. It is hoped that this description will encourage
Club paddlers to learn skills which will increase their comfort level
for trips. The skill set description is suggested and not mandatory.
Any trip leader may, however, require certain skills of all paddlers
taking a particular trip.
Condition
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
|
Level 5
|
Wind
|
Less than 7
knots. (8mph)
|
Up to 12
knots
(14 mph)
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Up to 16
knots
(19 mph)
|
Up to 21
knots
(25 mph)
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Any two of
the level 4 conditions exceeded. Any combination of
three or more level 4 conditions
|
Waves, Swell, Breaking Waves, Surf
|
Under 1'
waves, no breaking waves
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Waves up to
2', no surf
|
Waves to
3', breaking waves to 2'
|
Waves up
6', surf up to 4'
|
Sea State
|
Small
wavelets, no whitecaps
|
Large
wavelets, scattered whitecaps
|
Numerous
whitecaps, waves becoming longer
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Many
whitecaps, some spray
|
Distance Between Landings
|
Up to 5
miles
|
Up to 7
miles
|
Up to 10
miles
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Up to 15
miles
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Landing Type
|
Gently
sloping, sand, gravel or grass
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Docks or
moderate sloping banks, brush or overhanging
trees
|
Rocky shores
or surf up to 1.5'
|
Steep rocky
shores if sheltered from the waves, or surf up to
4'
|
Current
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Less than 1
knot
|
Up to 2
knots
|
Up to 4
knots
|
Up to 6
knots
|
Open Crossings
|
Less than 1
mile
|
Less than 1
mile
|
1 to 2
miles
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Over 2
miles
|
Skills
|
Paddling
|
Forward,
reverse, sweep turns, stern rudder
|
High and low
bracing ability. Comfort with some edging. Efficient
forward stroke.
|
Eddy line
crossings. Confident edge control in all maneuvering
strokes. Confident bracing ability.
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Confident
boat control in wind and moving water. Reliable
roll.
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Reliable
rough water roll.
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Rescue
|
Wet exit
ability
|
Confident wet
exits. Assisted rescue ability both as swimmer and
rescuer. Paddle float or other self-rescue.
|
Confident
assisted rescues. Self-rescue ability.
|
Recently
rehearsed assisted rescues in Level 3 or Level 4
conditions.
|
Confident
rough water assisted rescue ability.
|
Group Dynamics
|
Group
positioning awareness
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Group
positioning and dynamics awareness.
|
Group
management ability.
|
Confident
group management experience.
|
Confident
group management ability
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Navigation
|
|
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Basic
navigation skills.
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Accurate
course plotting and chart positioning skills.
|
Night and
limited visibility navigation
|
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Notes: Any two conditions exceeding a level’s
listing bumps the rating up to the next level. Night or limited
visibility (fog) bumps the rating up one level.
DEFINITIONS:
Ability versus Confidence: Ability, having done the skill.
Confidence, having rehearsed the skill until it is automatic. For
example, rescues: Ability is having done one or two. Confidence is
assurance that the rescue will be done in under a minute in the
present conditions, in whatever configuration presents itself as
convenient.
Basic navigation skills: Awareness of one's location on a
chart. Ability to steer by compass.
Confident wet exits: Can retain boat and paddle in the wind
during a wet exit and rescue; have rehearsed wet exits in conditions
similar to the intended trip.
Group positioning, group dynamic awareness, and group management
experience: Group positioning is the distance between the furthest
two paddlers in the group. Group dynamic awareness is an awareness of
the movement of the group and action to keep the group together. By
level three, the conditions are actively separating the group and
group management should be an integral function of the group, not
something driven from the leaders down. By level four, this is
critical. Group management experience helps give a paddler an
understanding of the issues involved. The intent is to begin this
awareness at level one, develop it at level two, refine it at level
three, and count on it at level four.
Long Wave Form: Waves are organized in rows.
Moving water: Eddies, boils, currents or waves that are
actively changing the boats course.
Open Crossing: Over two miles of potential fetch
(regardless of the forecast wind direction) and no reliable bail.
Recently rehearsed: Within the past year.
Reliable roll: Ability to miss a roll or two and then hit the
next one.
Reliable rough-water roll: Ability to stay underwater for
several seconds in various positions with currents or waves moving the
boat around, and then set up and roll on either side.
A more detailed explanation of the new rating system can be found
in this
article (22k PDF) by Don Beale.
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