4 day intensive courses- tandem & Solo

4 Day Skills intensive - horsefly BC

4 days of river canoeing skill-building on the playful Horsefly River, near Horsefly, BC – the perfect intensive to set you up for a summer of safe and skillful canoeing.

The What – 4 days of canoeing instruction including rescue training for tandem or solo boats!
The When– July 11-14, 2025
The Where – sections of the Horsefly River, with possible excursions to the Cariboo and/or Quesnel river, near Horsefly BC.
The How – meet us near Horsefly for 4 nights of camping at the Rankin Ranch – our base camp during the entire program.

Why Horsefly BC?

The Horsefly River has at least 3 fantastic canoe-able sections, with excellent features for learning and playing. One of our staff, Master Canoe Instructor, guide (and all-round great guy) Keiran Rankin, has offered his personal property along the Horsefly River as a basecamp (and is a perfect river access point for some of our runs).

Keiran and Charles have had this course in mind for a couple of years now and we’re excited to make it a reality!

What to Expect

Four full days of paddling and instruction. This year, the first two days will be an introductory level followed by two more full days of intermediate paddling instruction and review. There will be two or more instructional evenings that may include flatwater drills, video review, theory topics, and surfing. You can expect a steady progression from easier to more challenging days throughout the program.

Depending on river levels, there may be an opportunity for a day-trip out to the Cariboo or Quesnel river. If river levels are uncooperative, our plan B is to move the course to the lower Shuswap River.

Expect rustic camping, great people and lots of learning and fun. Bring all of your own camping equipment, food and supplies. We will be 7km from Horsefly which has a small general store for basic provisions. Camping spot will be 1 hours from Williams Lake (which has all amenities).

Your trailer or RV are welcome. There is a maintained gravel road for the last 5km to access the property.

Accelerate Your Skill Development!

It is amazing how much you can improve your strength and skills in 4 days of paddling. Participants will gain experience on different sections of the Horsefly river, and increase their skills on its various river features. Rescue skills will be integrated into the days, mimicking real-life scenarios.

Sound like too much canoeing to digest in one sitting? Check out our regular weekend river canoeing courses, held on the Lower Shuswap River, east of Enderby, BC, with the Friday evening sessions held on Okanagan Lake in Vernon, BC

Course Dates

July 11-14, 2025

Course Duration

4 days

Cost

Tandem $785 +GST pp
Solo $845 +GST pp

location

Horsefly (and area) BC

Rentals

Click here for equipment rentals.

Participants divided into 2 different groups

Introductory and Intermediate Tandem River Canoeing – perfect for those with strong lake canoeing skills (in bow and stern positions) or with experience on easy rivers. Paddlers will progress from introductory skills in the first two days to intermediate skills in the last 2 days.
Solo River Canoeing – this course is appropriate for those with a strong background in tandem river canoeing and who want to explore solo canoeing, AND, for those with basic solo river canoeing skills. Paddlers will progress from introductory skills in the first two days to intermediate skills in the last 2 days.

4 day Intensive - Tandem

Whether you’re new to river canoeing, or want to take your existing skills and confidence to the next level, this 4 day intro & intermediate course will get you set for summer adventures!

Tuition: $785 + GST

4 day Intensive - solo

Want to take your paddling to the next level? Learn to rock a solo boat! In 4 days you will accellerate your skills and gain confidence to continue to practice and play all season long.

Tuition: $845 + GST

4-day tandem Program

Whether you’re an experienced tandem canoeist that is interested in reviewing foundational skills and technique, or a beginner who has just had their first taste of river canoeing, we will make a place for you in this 4-day day canoeing course. We will have enough instructors on board to split the group each day to meet each participant where their skills and interests lie.

Come as a group, a couple, or individually – you don’t need a paddling partner.

This 4-day program is designed for paddlers who:

enjoy the challenge of creating efficiency and precision in their paddling.
are looking for safe ways to ‘play’ in whitewater.
enjoy taking on a leadership role in a paddling group.
want to increase their competency as a rescue boat.
just want more practice and to build more confidence in larger waves and more powerful eddies.

4-day Tandem canoeing program overview

During these 4 days in your tandem canoe, you will unlock the river’s secrets and your boat’s technology to soar effortlessly across currents and into that hard-to-catch eddy pool. With a focus on efficient and effective technique, you will eliminate needless ‘friction’ strokes – turning river canoeing into a dance between yourself, your partner, your boat, and the river.

Strokes: forward, sweep, stern draw, stern pry, righting pry, bow cut, low brace, blending strokes, high brace, righting pry, timing, and modifying stroke cadence.
Manoeuvers: (in class 1 -3): arcing turns, front ferry, back ferry, eddy turns (C-turns, S-turns), spins, executing a chosen line through a rapid, running side slips, front surfing, landing in current, jet ferry, surfing, paddling a swamped canoe, bracing.
Safety skills: self and companion rescue in class 2, parallel rescues, t-rescues, painter tows, swimming with a canoe, unpinning methods, throwbag rescues and re-throws, setting safety for a rapid, assessing risk.
Theory: risk and consequence, MITH (momentum, initiation, tilt hold), different ways to run rapids, communication between partners and among a paddling group, considerations of lead and sweep positions, ‘reading the river’, building familiarity with the international river classification system, canoe history, leadership considerations, assessing a new paddling group, communication between partners.

Equivalent to a Paddle Canada Intro and Intermediate Moving Water Tandem Canoe skills course

Equivalent to an RCABC Basic and Advanced Tandem Moving Water Paddler course

4-day tandem course Prerequisites

has at a minimum, attended a Level II Lakewater Canoeing Course (or equivalent), AND has spent several subsequent days of paddling on flat water
is proficient on lakes in both bow and stern positions of a tandem canoe
can spin, sideslip, and paddle a canoe in a straight line without switching paddle sides
has practiced self-rescue procedures on flatwater
is 16 years of age or older
has average or better swimming skills

4 DAY solo program

Whether you’re an experienced tandem canoeist that is interested to try out a short solo whitewater playboat, or you’re a seasoned tripper looking to improve finesse and efficiency in a longer tripping-style solo canoe, we welcome you in this 5-day intensive solo whitewater course.

Solo canoeing skills will give you the flexibility to paddle with uneven numbers of paddlers, and open the door to the independence of solo canoeing adventures.

This 5-day program is designed for paddlers who:

enjoy the challenge of creating efficiency and precision in their paddling.
are looking for safe ways to ‘play’ in whitewater.
enjoy taking on a leadership role in a paddling group.
want to increase their competency as a rescue boat.
just want more practice and to build more confidence in larger waves and more powerful eddies.
are looking to make paddling the harder stuff seem easier!

4-day Solo canoeing program overview

So you are comfortable with tandem river canoeing and know your way around a river. Let us help you discover the joy and maneuverability of a solo canoe. We’ll help you uncover a whole new river – features and eddies that you had previously overlooked are now accessible to the nimble solo boater. Adapt paddle strokes for solo paddling, get comfortable with a higher level of agility, and discover the game-changing 2×4 method of paddling a solo canoe.

During these 4 days in your solo canoe, you will unlock the river’s secrets and your boat’s technology to soar effortlessly across currents and into that hard-to-catch eddy pool. With a focus on efficient and effective technique, you will eliminate needless ‘friction’ strokes – turning river canoeing into a dance between yourself, your boat, and the river.

Strokes: cross-forward (off-side forward), off-side sweep, forward, sweep, stern draw, stern pry, righting pry, bow cut, low brace, blending strokes, high brace, righting pry, timing, modifying stroke cadence, paddle position, and paddle pitch.
Manoeuvers: (in class 1 and 2): arcing turns, front ferry, back ferry, eddy turns (C-turns, S-turns), spins, executing a chosen line through a rapid, running side slips, front surfing, landing in current and set-up for rolling. And in class 2 and 3: aggressive tilt, offside tilt, jet ferry, surfing (front, side, back), arcing turns, front ferry, back ferry, eddy turns (C-turns, S-turns), executing a chosen line through a rapid, paddling a swamped canoe, rolling.
Safety skills: self and companion rescue in class 2, parallel rescues, t-rescues, painter tows, swimming with a canoe, unpinning methods, throwbag rescues and re-throws, setting safety for a rapid, self and companion rescue in class 2-3, assessing risk.
Theory: risk and consequence, 2×4 method of paddling, different ways to run rapids, communication among a paddling group, considerations of lead and sweep positions, ‘reading the river’, building familiarity with the international river classification system, canoe history, leadership considerations, assessing a new paddling group.

Equivalent to a Paddle Canada Intro and Intermediate Moving Water Solo Canoe skills course

Equivalent to an RCABC Basic and Advanced Solo Moving Water Paddler course

4-day Solo Course Prerequisites

4-day solo course Prerequisites

has attended a Level II Tandem River Canoeing Course (or equivalent), AND has spent several subsequent days of paddling in class 1 or 2 sections of rivers
knows how to execute an eddy turn – including C-turns and S-turns on easy rivers in both bow and stern positions of a tandem canoe
can carve a tandem canoe using the MITH acronym (momentum, initiation, tilt, hold)
knows how to tilt a canoe and when to do it
has practiced self-rescue procedures and practiced throwing a throw bag from shore – or attended a Level 1 River Rescue course for canoeists
is 16 years of age or older
has average or better swimming skills

Customer Reviews

What Others Say

After a terrific course last year I did the basic solo river course this year. Same terrific experience, same well run operation. This company has very strong instructors supported by a stable of experienced co instructors. You will not go wrong with them.

Bob, BC