Travel is one of those weird things. If everything goes as planned it’s amazing how quickly one can travel to the other side of the world. Sometimes though, there’s a hang up, and the traveler has to get a little creative. That’s exactly what happened last weekend on my way to the Danish Canoe Federation’s Weekend for Coaches, which I arrived at exactly ten minutes before the event started with very little sleep over the past 40 hours of travel time. A dunk in the sea however woke me right up, and it turned out to be a wonderful weekend.

Colorful rows of kayaks are always a good indication that you’re in the right place.

The event took place in Kerteminde, on the island of Funen in Denmark. Participants at this event are all coaches, and they’re working on both personal skill development and developing stronger programs for their students.

A gorgeous day to be on the water.

On Saturday morning I instructed Simplifying the Greenland Stroke. Most of the participants were already familiar with the Greenland paddle, so we worked on the finer points, including maneuvering and turning strokes. Saturday afternoon I taught Fun, Balance and Games. The class focused on learning in a playful manner, and participants were given various scenarios to work out. I was somewhat surprised with how much energy I still had in the evening, which was a good thing, because I was the evening presenter. The presentation was titled “Greenland Kayaking: The Past, The Present and The Future.” After it was over I slept… and slept… and slept…

Happy people with sticks.

Fun, Balance and Games is all about creativity and thinking outside the box.

Playing with balance.

There are lots of ways to learn.

Of course no class is complete without a little kayak levitation.

Lots of people came out for the evening presentation.

On Sunday I woke up refreshed and ready to teach Yoga for Paddlers. After that my day was all about rolling. I ran Simplifying the Roll in both the morning and afternoon. All of the participants already had some kind of roll, so we worked on cleaning up technique, other side rolls and everything from Storm Rolls to the Straightjacket Roll.

After the event I was taken back to Copenhagen for a night in a hotel before heading back to California. The weekend went by very quickly, but was a TON of fun. Special thanks to Malene Hjorth for taking such good care of me!

Photos by myself and Jens Lauritsen of Odense, Denmark.