Date offered: Saturday and Sunday, July 27-28, 2024

Location: Manchester Whitewater Park

Start time: 9:00 am each day

Finish time: 5:00 p.m on Saturday, 4:00 p.m on Sunday

Short description: This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills to perform moving water rescue for recreational and white-water boaters. The course will focus on using rescue equipment such as throw ropes and the rescue pfd. There will be an emphasis on swimming in current, tethered rope rescues, rescue wading and boat rescues.

Main emphasis: Is to provide the knowledge to perform moving water rescues as well as decision making skills during a moving water rescues. Rescue swimming and rope management are integral to this course.

Target audience: Kayak or canoe paddlers who paddle on Class 2 and above water.

Costs: The cost for the course is $70.00 for ACA members and $80.00 for non-ACA members. The Course is sponsored by Iowa DNR and Iowa Whitewater Coalition

Class size: Limited to 15 students

Equipment needed: Your own food (snacks, lunch, liquids), suitable paddling gear for air and water temperatures (dress for getting wet, have towels and dry clothes for after), helmet, kayak or canoe paddle suitable for moving water use (possible rocks), whitewater kayak or whitewater useable canoe, air bags/flotation in kayak or canoe, spray skirt for whitewater kayak unless a sit-on-top whitewater kayak. Please bring any additional rescue equipment you might have such as throw rope, carabiners, pulleys or webbing that you prefer to use over the equipment provided. For insurance purposes we will require the use of Helmets and a life vest. The instructor will have enough of both helmets and life vests for all in the class.

Skills needed to take the class: This is not a kayak or canoe skills course, so individuals should have the ability to kayak or canoe independent of the class with the ability to self -rescue. Boating skills that are highly desirable is the ability to ferry in current, perform eddy turns and peel outs. If using a kayak with a spray skirt a kayak role is highly desirable, wet exiting is required. The ability to swim is also required.

Main goal of this course: Is to make no more victims, so having basic rescue knowledge is essential. This course will introduce new techniques for those unfamiliar with swift water rescue and provide a re-fresher for those experienced rescuers.


This is an American Canoe Association sanctioned event.

Costs:

  • The cost for the course is $70 for ACA individual members.
  • The cost for participants who are not ACA members is $80 which includes a $10 ACA Event Membership.