The rest of the month will be dedicated to the Level 3 Coach training, commenced last spring and to be completed next year.  In October I will be all month carrying out BCU 3-star training: at Alghero (Sardinia) for the weekend between the 3 and 5 October; in Minorca (Balearic Islands) from the 9 to 13 October for Spanish participants; at Vietri sul Mare (Salerno) from Friday 17 to Sunday 19th… and once again in Cagliari (Sardinia) for the first weekend in November.

At the end of October, to be exact from the 24 to the 27, a second session (followed by final assessments) for the FICK (Federazione Italiana Canoa Kayak) level 2 sea kayak instructor will be held at the Lega Navale Arenella in Palermo. During summer training the candidates would have honed their coaching skills, so this event will be another step up the standards ladder…

…as will be the final event of the year organized by Tatiyak for the final assessment (by Ashley St.John-Claire) leading to the BCU Level 2 Coach certificate in Laveno Mombello on Lake Maggiore.
Tatiyak is an itinerant school: autumn promises to be a tour around Italy!

Kayaking snippets
Individual instruction in sea kayak techniques is an excellent system to improve one’s skills. However, after 10 years of holding courses, I am totally convinced that teaching in groups is the way forward: much more rewarding, constructive and by far, more fun.  Both for the participants and the coach. The latter have the opportunity to compare with, and even learn from others, inspiring one another to improve or even console in case of some difficulty. The coach on the other hand, has to base her sessions both on the needs of the group as well as that of the individual paddler: it’s a more satisfying way of applying teaching methods learnt. Now, can you understand why I have started the BCU Level 3 Coach training?!?

Call of the Inuit
Giancarlo Albertari and Luciano Riva have returned home from their expedition in Greenland.  From the photos posted on their respective Facebook pages, it seems to have been an unforgettable experience paddling in the Arctic ice.
Giancarlo, ever the dedicated vet, has even been to Ammassalik to study the conditions that sled-dogs live in. He has recorded their adventure both photographically and on film and work is in hand on the production of a documentary that chronicles their voyage. In fact, Giancarlo and Luciano will be more than happy to share their Greenland experiences to all those interested be they clubs or associations. Tatiyak is on the waiting list, we will confirm the dates as soon as they are known!

Over the horizon

We have just returned from a sea kayak tour of Lesvos, the biggest and less frequented island of the eastern Sporades archipelago. Two large gulfs indent the coast like two large inland lakes and the western side is bare and barren so as to resemble a lunar landscape. The 15 of August, a public holiday and the apogee of summer in continental Europe, was so bereft of tourists that we were able to claim a long stretch of sandy beach all to ourselves. There are plenty of seaside tavernas and the welcome we
received wherever we went was overwhelming. It was a holiday where relaxation was the order of the day and one that made us happy…