SUP Rescues & Water Safety
Everything you need to know about SUP rescues, getting on a board, water safety and making smart decisions so you will have more fun on the water.
Stand Up Paddling is an exciting and rapidly expanding sport and past-time.
Making smart decisions on when and where to launch, knowing how to get back on your board, dressing for the conditions and water temperature and knowing how to rescue another paddler or swimmer are essential skills covered in this course.
What you’ll Learn in this comprehensive SUP Rescues & Water Safety Course:
- Rescue techniques such as the flip rescue and towing
- How to choose where to launch (or land) and when to go (or not go).
- Which life jackets to choose and how to wear them. Covers C02 PFDs.
- Which clothing to wear for various conditions and temperatures or level of activity
- How to safely fall in (We all fall!) and tips for getting back on the board. Plus alternative options if you struggle with getting back on.
- Alternative options for not standing. How to paddle sitting, kneeling or prone (on belly).
Plus 6 Essential Downloads:
- Check list for a 1 hr paddle or day trip
- How to prep your car for paddling
- Clothing list for all seasons
- Contents for First Aid and Repair Kits
- How to repair hard and inflatable boards
And My Essential Paddler’s Resources, Updated Regularly for the Most Up-to-Date Resources, Including:
- US and Canadian marine weather forecast links
- Surf and coastal forecast tools
- Marine navigation resources
- Additional training resources
- Where to launch
- Float Plan apps
- Marine Traffic apps
Make your first Stand Up Paddle experience a good one! And get the foundational skills to then take your Stand Up Paddling to new exciting levels.
Your Instructor
Non-athletic, dyslexic and lacking good instruction, like many, I struggled to stand on a SUP the first time in 2007 on vacation in Hawaii.
Not willing to give up, I continued to work on it at home in Seattle. Applying skills learned from over a decade of sea, surf and whitewater kayaking, I discovered easy and effective methods for standing up and paddling with confidence.
In 2011, I wrote Stand Up Paddling Flat Water to Surf and Rivers for Mountaineers Books. This guidebook was intended to help new and experienced paddlers learn all aspects of SUP from the basics to open water touring. In 2012, I revised the 3rd edition of the NW classic paddling guide, Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, 60 Trips.
I started Salmon Bay Paddle in 2010 to provide personable expert SUP instruction in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve transformed lives by empowering and giving confidence to many who didn’t think they’d stand or enjoy being on the water.
Students have lost weight, increased their self-esteem, and have paddled in places and conditions they’d never imagined they’d be capable of. SUP has changed my life, so I love to share my knowledge and skills with students to help them become confident and skilled paddlers.
In 2013, I co-founded and am the former director for PSUPA (Professional Stand Up Paddle Association) which trains and certifies SUP instructors worldwide.
In 2016, I had pulmonary edema but luckily survived that to come back to mostly normal health in the year after. While still in the process of rebuilding confidence, in 2018 I signed up for my first endurance race, the Seventy48 Race (70 miles in 48hrs) from Tacoma to Port Townsend, WA. I completed half of the race both years.
My blog is a great resource for paddling tips on techniques and safety. I also contribute paddling articles for SUP Magazine, Stand Up Journal, Canoe Kayak, the Inertia, NW Yachting and Kenmore Air’s inflight magazine.
– Rob Casey
Frequently Asked Questions
Thank-you for choosing this course!