Quick Details
This clinic takes a hands-on, in-the-water approach to teaching river rescue and safety skills. Specific skills covered include aggressive swimming, wading rescues, rescuing a foot entrapment victim, unpinning boats, using tag lines, using a rescue lifejacket, and using mechanical advantage in rescue and recovery. Our emphasis is on judgment and managing river rescue situations, as well as rescue techniques that can be performed with a minimum of equipment.
For those interested in being prepared to handle a river rescue, our River Rescue 2 Day Skills Course is based on a curriculum developed by the American Canoe Association and is designed to teach both river rescue techniques and preventative river-running strategies to reduce river users risk in all river craft.
Our emphasis is on judgment and managing river rescue situations, as well as river rescue techniques that can be performed with a minimum of equipment. This course combines classroom and shoreline time with practical hands-on in the water instruction and scenario practice. Participants should have some familiarity with whitewater.
2024 River Rescue 2 Day Skills Course
This course is for rafters, canoeists, kayakers, and professional rescuers who are comfortable in at least class II whitewater. Participants should have some familiarity with whitewater.
What should I wear?
While some of the flatwater areas we use are quite warm in June, July, and August, the Deerfield River is always cool, regardless of the time of year or air temperature. When packing your paddling clothes, please plan accordingly, especially if you are coming early or late in the season (April, May, September, and October). Our clinics will run rain or shine.
Wear items such as:
Other items to bring:
Zoar Outdoor will provide:
The following statement is required by state law: “Before placing your order, please inform your server if a person in your party has a food allergy.”
We do not use nuts in our food, but can not guarantee that the ingredients in our meals do not contain nuts or other food allergens. If you have food allergies or other special dietary needs, we strongly suggest you bring your own bag lunch in non-glass containers and we will pack it with the other lunches on your trip. Please inform our office if you intend to do this.
If you own your own equipment, we suggest you use it in the clinic to get used to its quirks.