“What an incredible class!!!! Wild-and-crazy classmates, fantastic instruction and empowerment...forever in your debt, Bill Vonnegut! Woohooo!! One of the most memorable days ever watching two remarkable ladies go for broke. We earned our ice cream”

“Such an awesome and super fun class!!!! Learned lots of new things to practice. Thanks everyone for a fun day of trying to stay upright and practicing being upside down ”

“Would like to thank Bill for a most excellent class. A full morning of instruction was perfect for the afternoon lessons in dynamic water. It was a great group to paddle with and everyone was smiling. I’ve been progressing through the classes ( most of all the L4’s ) and this was the best yet. This is the type of class that opens up a lot of paddling opportunities by instilling the ability and confidence to journey further.”

“Bill’s passion for kayaking was evident in his enthusiastic teaching style of the Blending Strokes class. Throughout the class Bill gave each student individual attention and feedback while keeping the class packed with exercises, drills and fun games. I learned how many strokes can be blended and what to practice in order to commit them to memory. Thanks, Bill for a great day! ”

“Bill, thank you for getting me to do more than I ever have with my roll. It’s only “up” from here, and while I didn’t do the big wave thing, Sunday was a huge day for me. I am incredibly grateful for your helping me move forward. I want to keep this momentum going.

Still smiling,”

“Bill Vonnegut is the best kayak leader and instructor on this planet. He has a natural capacity to make you feel safe and push you to do more. His ability to kayak in rough water is inspiring to witness. To see him deal with situations in the ocean is educational. I appreciate how he drills students to practice rescue skills, and is intelligent about the risks he takes. He knows when to bail out and play it safe. His penchant for the rough water is infectious. If you are looking to take your paddling skills to a new level, then I cannot recommend Bill enough.”

“Bill has been instrumental in my love of kayaking. I am relatively new to the sport. I fell in love with kayaking within months of my first class. Bill was one of my very first instructors and his passion for the sport is contagious. In just three years, I have advanced to the point where I kayak surf and rock garden for fun and I am starting to compete in distance paddling. My caution and confidence are carefully balanced because Bill taught (and still teaches) me how to keep myself safe while I reach further and do more amazing (and incredibly fun) things with the sport than I could ever have imagined existed. I am forever grateful to him for his guidance and mentoring. Those who know me well will tell you that kayaking saved my life and it is very true. Thanks, Bill! ”

“Bill,
I wanted to send you a personal thanks for the great time I had on Saturday. I’ve had a handful of kayak classes now along with the BASK skills clinic so I consider myself experienced at being instructed. Your enthusiasm and energy is contagious and it certainly gets more out of the timid, apprehensive student. Your teaching style gives your students lots of paddle time which I especially appreciate after being in classes where I seem to be continuously waiting my turn.
Anyway, you did a great job!

Thanks again.”

“Keith,

I want to thank you for the chance you’ve given me to instruct for California Canoe and Kayak. To me, CCK has always set the standards and been the role model for safe, consistent and knowledgeable kayak instruction in the Bay Area and beyond. I’m very honored to be a part of the team.
I also want to thank you for allowing me to attend CCK classes and broaden my kayaking knowledge base. I’ve been trying off-and-on (more off than on) to learn a roll for years. I had pretty much put it aside until I took my ACA IDW and realized I would need it for my Class IV. So I again had some friends try to help me, attended the trainers training at the Plunge, watched video after video, “practiced” on my on but still just couldn’t piece it together...
Until last night. You put me with Bill at the Plunge. Wow! He’s an incredible instructor. He has a wonderful, very personable teaching style and was so right-on in pointing out to me where I was making mistakes. He broke the exercise down into very easy and clear components and insured that I was doing each component correctly. I never felt pressured or judged. Bill helped me understand EACH component and by doing so, he had me comfortably doing rolls on my own within about one hour. I know Bill is one of the best kayakers in the Bay Area but if he can get ME to roll, he’s also one of the best instructors anywhere.
Thanks again for everything and please pass my sincere appreciation on to Bill.”

“Thanks, Bill! It was a really great class, and a fun debrief. I think I’m almost not mental 🙂

The high lite video is really helpful, and I look forward to seeing the long version. But I have to ask — did I ever get fully capsized? I didn’t when avoiding that wave from behind. But I’m still proud of it. Thanks for pushing us to stuff we’d never have tried otherwise! ”

“Excellent day. After getting home and settling down, several thoughts; 1) In the progression of kayaking classes, this was the best class yet. Well thought out, planned and executed. The instructional format early in the day merged nicely into the afternoon. 2) A wonderful group to paddle with. It was fun watching everyone smile and progress through the day. Beth smoothly taking the dynamic water in stride. Cherie with a ballerina smooth roll. Jan just nailing every roll. Everyone becoming more comfortable in the dynamic waters as the day continued. Which goes to 3) The conditions made the day! Mavericks firing off on the horizon. Waves crashing into the rocks. The power of the currents. The wind churning things up nicely. Situational was in the title. Bill had escorted us nicely beyond our comfort zone. We had a class in the morning and a lesson in the afternoon. Thank you Bill for the lesson.”