Coast to Coast Racing Skills Course
For grade 2 certified kayakers looking to paddle the Coast to Coast route more efficiently, this 3-day course provides expert coaching in your racing kayak on the Waimakariri River, helping you refine your technique and maximise your performance.
- Improve your forward stroke efficiency
- Master braids, boils, and bluff corners
- Enjoy racing to your full potential
Do you train hard but still feel slow on the river?
- Is your forward stroke technique mostly self-taught?
- Do you struggle to maintain control through boils and bluff corners?
- Are you frustrated by the silly mistakes that cost you time?
On Canterbury Kayaking’s 3-day Coast to Coast Racing Skills Course, you’ll fine-tune your technique on the actual race route with expert coaching in your racing kayak. Learn how to find the fastest braids, glide through bluff corners with control, and maintain speed through boils without wasting energy. With focused instruction and real-time feedback, you’ll become smoother, more efficient, and ready to race.
Without the right technique, you’ll always be working harder than necessary.
Many paddlers train for months but still struggle to maintain their speed due to an inefficient stroke, lose time from ending up in the wrong braids, and have to fight their way through bluff corners. Without the necessary skills, wasted energy and costly mistakes can keep you from achieving the race result you deserve.
In this course, you’ll fine-tune your forward stroke technique, master braid selection, and learn how to maintain speed through the trickiest of bluff corners. You’ll also gain the confidence to paddle smarter, not just harder, so you can conserve energy while racing faster.
Once you’ve developed these race-specific skills, you’ll paddle down the Waimakariri River with control, efficiency, and the confidence to achieve a Coast to Coast race result to be proud of.
How to Book
- Select your dates and complete your booking at the top of this page ↑
- Download your information pack and train for 3 days on the Waimakariri River.
- Enjoy achieving your personal best Coast to Coast result.
Meet Your Coach
Sam Milne is the most experienced kayak coach on the Waimakariri River and the founder of Canterbury Kayaking.
After working with over 1,000 Coast to Coast paddlers, Sam has helped numerous top athletes refine their technique and river strategy including Jess Simson, who won back-to-back Longest Day titles in 2014 and 2015.
Through coaching athletes at every level, Sam has seen that many paddlers waste valuable time on the river—not because they aren’t fit enough, but because their technique is holding them back. He’s watched competitors lose speed through inefficient strokes, get overtaken in the braids, and get spun out at bluff corners instead of cutting through with control and efficiency.
Sam knows that paddling harder won’t make you faster if your technique isn’t dialled in. That’s why he designed this 3-day race-specific training course—to help paddlers like you train on the actual Coast to Coast route, refine their efficiency, and master the key river skills needed for a faster, smoother race.
On this course, you’ll receive expert coaching, real-time feedback, and race-proven strategies to help you paddle smarter, faster, and with full control in the Coast to Coast.
What do I get with the course?
- 3 days of skills coaching with Sam Milne, the Waimakariri River's most experienced kayak coach.
- Paddle the entire Coast to Coast race route from Mt White to Gorge Bridge.
- Transport and shuttle for the Gorge on day 3.
- Option to hire a boat, paddle, spray skirt, PFD and helmet.
- Drills you can take away and use to keep improving beyond the course.
- Pre-scheduled bad weather backup day for day 3 (Gorge day).
Ideally, you will bring your own stable multisport kayak or lightweight sea kayak to this course. However, we do have lightweight sea kayaks available for hire and multisport kayaks can be hired through River Ninja Rentals if arranged in advance.
You will need to have ALL of the following items (* = hire available):
- Stable multisport kayak or lightweight sea kayak*
- Wing paddle*
- Spray skirt*
- PFD (lifejacket)*
- Helmet*
- Long-sleeved semi-dry paddle jacket*
- Booties
- Neoprene shorts
- Thermal tops and bottoms
- Thermal hat, gloves, and socks
- 20L dry bag
- Waterproof pants
- First aid kit
- Duct tape
- Survival bag
This program runs over 3 consecutive days and remains flexible based on weather and river conditions.
Day 1: Meet at 8:00 a.m. Lake Rua in Harewood, Christchurch. After a flatwater session, the remainder of the day is based on the Waimakariri River and finishes at around 4:00 p.m. at Waimakariri Gorge Bridge near Sheffield.
Day 2: We will meet at 8:30 a.m. at Waimakariri Gorge Bridge. You will paddle on the lower 15 kilometres of the Coast to Coast kayak route until around 4:00 p.m.
Day 3: We meet in Sheffield at 8:00 a.m. You can leave your vehicle in Sheffield for the day and we will provide transport for you and your kayak for a Gorge trip from Mt White to Woodstock (upper 55 kilometres of the Coast to Coast route). We will finish at 4:30 p.m. in Sheffield.
Yes. If you are unable to pay in full at the time of booking, please enter the discount code DEPOSIT during checkout to reserve your spot with just a 25% deposit. We will invoice you for the balance, which will be due 21 days before your course.
