Hey, you in the Nordkapp!
Pull over! Yeah, you in the Seattle Sombrero, hit that cove over there and beach it , pal.
A bit wavey out here today with this Force 3 wind kicking about …I couldn’t help noticing you were looking a little tippy…seemed to have some trouble staying on course in that quartering sea. Maybe too much boat for ya, sir?..
I’m Officer Johnny Fourstar with the San Francisco PPD, the Paddlin Police Dept, Kayak Division…could you pull your hands out of your pogies and place them on the deck where I can see them, please…any flairs or rescue knives onboard or on your person anywhere that i might need to be concerned with, sir?
couldn’t help noticing how lame your draw was, sir…see your ACA or BCU certs please sir?..just pull out your dry bag slowly please…no lame draws in the Bay, sir,…is that a rip in your sprayskirt,sir…What?!?, no papers?!? In a Nordkapp! In the Bay! Maybe you need to hop outta that ocean cockpit and pop this stern hatch for me…take your sprayskirt off and place that bent shaft on the drift wood over there, please…paddle looks a little small for you, sir…
ACA vs BCU
What is the acceptance of the above certifications?
I one “better” than other?
Please don’t start another revolutionary war, just share your opinions 
Most take both
So far I haven’t seen any place in the US that lists certs to start with for various trips, for non whitewater, that doesn’t list a level for both BCU and ACA. The biggest advantage held by the BCU in that respect starts outside the continental US, since the BCU is more well-known internationally.
Can’t comment on whitewater - good chance that ACA holds sway there though BCU does phave WW stuff as well.
A note to posers:
Buy good USED gear! L If that insults the Yuppie sensibilities - scuff up your new stuff so it all has that rough and ready look!
I doubt I could EVER run a rental/outfitter place. Only solution I’d be OK with (for anything above warm water/near-shore rec/SOT rentals) would be to charge 3x normal rates (all excess going to the lawyer fund) - and then offer 1/3 discount for each side they can demonstrate rolls on (2/3 for both - i.e. normal rate). Other tests might be better - but a couple rolls only takes a couple seconds.
Last time I checked, even certs up to BCU 4 star don’t “require” a roll at all. Yes, rolling isn’t everything (it’s possible to roll well on both sides and suck at everything else - but how likely?) - and their training offers a lot - but if you’re going to put all that work in on getting a piece of paper and not pick up something as basic as a roll…
Like I said, I doubt I could EVER run a rental/outfitter place.
For non-whitewater
Most will accept either BCU or ACA. Though BCU is more widely regarded for ‘flatwater’ and ACA for whitewater.
Those that desire certification usually say so on their web sites and literature.
Common to see “BCU 3 Star or equivalent.”
BCU and rolling
I know of no BCU 4 Star paddler who does not have a reliable roll. I have never met a BCU 3 Star paddler who does not have a decent roll.
Getting through most 3 Star assessments without a roll would leave the paddler swimming a lot.
Europe
Hi
Answering the original question: It seems like all the paddlers I’ve come across who did BCU training found it worthwhile. Perhaps that’s more interesting than what all the paddlers who don’t have BCU stars think.
It’s often said that it’s easier to rent kayaks when one is BCU certified. To the best of my knowledge, this is not an issue in the Nordic countries and probably the rest of Europe (perhaps minus the UK). Each European country has its own educational system and you can’t transfer the merits. Still this is no problem as you will not be asked to document your level anyway. There is a work in progress project for implementing an EU-wide “Paddle Pass” – but I suspect it’ll never take off: http://www.europaddlepass.com/
/Peter – no stars
Just going by the syllabus
Note I said I couldn’t see going through all that without picking up something as basic as a roll. Why not formalize the requirement?
Worthwhile
"It seems like all the paddlers I’ve come across who did BCU training found it worthwhile."
Well of course - they’ve invested time and money. Isn’t this method of evaluation a bit like the “10” ratings on new kayak reviews by new owners?
Please don’t read this as anything against the training itself. I’m just saying it’s natural for those who are now members of the club to speak highly of the club.
Not really a "club"
This comes up as an impression, though I haven’t met anyone who has done the BCU thing that would describe it as such. To most I think a club has dues, official leaders, and a bunch of other things that don’t fit into what we’ve experienced as the BCU. The coaches really are coaches first and last. If anything, the striking part about the BCU is that some of the older hands seem to have a curously zen-like approach that can be quite difficult to put into any official context.
In our relatively young experience with the BCU, it is a cohort of people who have extremely personalized paddling goals, but approximately agree on a way to get there. Finding other paddlers in the program is no different from the Getting Together section on p.net and word of mouth, except that it is a little easier to gauge the approximate paddling background of everyone when trying to put together a group.
Worth
"Well of course - they’ve invested time and money. Isn’t this method of evaluation a bit like the “10” ratings on new kayak reviews by new owners?"
Trying to be objective here - not at all a valid comparison. I’ve only been paddling kayaks for a couple of years now, canoes for about 35. I’ve only taken a few kayak courses - basic ‘get started’ courses through rolling classes in a pool and less formal canoe instruction (self taught). While these were all worthwhile (I learned to roll in my third session and have never looked back) and very inexpensive ($10-15/session), it was a two day intensive BCU 3* course that was enlightening. If this course didn’t advance me light years and really open my mind I would be the first to admit it. Given my ability at the time and where I am today, nine months later, a 10 rating for course wouldn’t be high enough. My skills did not advance noticeably during the course, but it inspired me to experiment with my boats to learn the nuances and explore the limits of each. I will continue to explore relationships with boats each time I paddle, and hopefully will develop better skills over time. There is always room to learn.
Another way to look at training might be to try and compare what it would be like to school yourself from K-12th grade without any teachers or curriculum. It probably can be done, but is it worth it? Life is short, accelerate learning and play hard.
~wetzool
BCU non-members
Most BCU trained and certed paddlers I’ve come across are not BCU members. Just about all, myself included, are ACA members.
BCU coaches are required to be members of the BCU.
In North America, the BCU does not actively advocate for paddler’s issues. The ACA does. This, and insurance issues, is why most paddlers I know are ACA members.
Still…
one should think that if this whole BCU thing is a waste of time, then one or two would let us know.
As for those 10/10 kayak ratings - aren’t they fantastic? Must be wonderfull to be so happy with a kayak. These days I tend to think that kayak X is somewhat OK’ish for one activity but sucks for everything else.
/Peter
Funny…
My best friend got kicked out of the BCU while paddling for England…using non-sanctioned, but effective strokes. He later became an Olympic Team slalom coach, and champion surf kayaker. I mention this as a comical example of how organizations can read thier own press a bit too much at times. My friend has no bad feelings and never gave it a thought other than a laugh. I think these organizations do a lot of good and meet the needs of a lot of people. I’d recommend the training to anyone wanting a career as an instructor guide, but as a past program director I would say that I would asses people personally. The certs just give you an idea of where they are at. I believe these skills can be obtained very effectively without such certs. But, you gotta prove your ability. Some well certified people are not impressive, many are. I’m personally more impressed with someone who had extensive expedition experience, and can clearly paddle well, and is a good leader. The finest paddlers I know are not affiliated with these organizations and would probably be asked to leave after one day Some. though superb boaters, would be poor leaders for sure…there’s a balance, and I think these groups do a good job of emphasizing that from what I’ve seen.
I was a certified climbing guide as a young guy and remember all these pro-con arguments there. It’s good stuff, and can’t really hurt, unless it eliminates others who are as skilled or more skilled. I really didn’t see that. If you were good you could work for a certified company and get quickly checked out.
Did anyone say “waste of time”?
Always so much defensiveness over all this - when NONE is needed.
Hmm
BCU in England probably does have a different kind of presence than here. Part of it is probably the national personality - much of Europe tends to accept top-down rules a bit better than people in the US. I’ve been told that the seas in some areas around the British Isles are identified as to the paddling level that it is desirable to have to paddle them safely. Way too organized for the US - twenty years later someone would still be out in Class 5 water in an inner tube just to prove it could be done.
As to the paddling level, there are so many aspects to a truly good paddler that it would be difficult for any system to capture it all, at least until you got to a pretty high level like expedition leader where everything has to be demonstrated. Any cert system will have this issue.
I am, for example, one of those who is really a mixed bag. My skills in a controlled environment are more easily challenged when I get nervous than many, as long as I am only worrying about myself. So while the 3 star conditions (ours weren’t really flat, but hardly big either) were within my comfort zone for the assessment, I’ll probably flunk some number of 4 star assessments until I achieve a satisfactory comfort and confidence level doing this stuff in wind and waves.
On the flip side, I tend to be alert to other paddlers in a group. And the minute I see an overturned hull I can outrun, or at least keep up with, much better paddlers regardless of conditions. (At least so far.) I immediately become a different paddler, paddling better and with maybe too much confidence. I was heading towards a flipped over paddler once this last summer and was most of the way there before it occurred to me that I had not practiced the breaking and control skills that I might need in the increasing waves that we were in by then. So I seem to have that response down better than my skills for myself.
I think, at the level of group leader, it becomes easier to incorporate all the skills in an assessment. But most paddlers will spend a long time just lurching through increasing their own skills before having it all incorporated well enough to be good at leadership.
It’s good stuff
and I’m not knocking it at all. It is, however, just another outline / process for learning. Both groups clearly have proven that their models work for most people. But, I think it’s also very important to recognize that many other models exist, and are equally as valid. People have been paddling on this mud ball for centuries. Diversity is good. Most BCU, ACA folk I’ve met have been very open to this thinking.
“It’s good stuff” - Salty
Yup.
Most recently there has been an incursion of Greenland techniques. A few years ago, such was referred to as ‘The Dark Side’ by many of the ACA and BCU bent. These days many BCU and ACA coaches incorporate Greenland skills in their teaching.
It is all about enjoyment, safety, and satisfaction. There is always more to learn and new ways to learn… This is a major aspect of what keeps many of us so engaged.
Yes, I’m saying…
Youu can only “pop” them rolls AFTER they rent you the boat!
showing up with "equipment"
I’m often disappointed when the outfitter isn’t impressed by my “need” to outfit the boat for control.
When I rent boat for WW, outfitting is included as part of the “routine”, kind of like the equivalent of paddle-float and pump. So I bought my own outfitting “stuff” for renting touring boats, which doesn’t usually include such service. Most outfitter simply look kind of bored as I put them in.
That’s the other thing. Before every WW trip, I would “pop” a few rolls at the put-in eddy as a warm up. And usually I wasn’t the only one doing that. Everyone in the group would be poping them as well. But I rarely see sea-kayakers doing the same at the put-in. Definitely NOT enmass for sure. Granted, in a WW run, the roll WILL BE NEED partway through the trip. While in flat water (or not so flat water) touring trips, the roll is viewed as something “just in case”, but “not likely”.