What people are saying about Cross Currents programs and trips:

"You have turned a bunch of middle aged splashers into a group of graceful paddlers, and created an amazing community of people who can come together and enjoy the sport, the environment, and each other. It is a trusting camaraderie. Thank you for all you do." - S. M.

Rick, thanks. ...... our team gave raving reviews of kayak training this year. They walked away feeling so much more capable as paddlers and risk managers. Thanks for helping them all become mermaids out there. - K. R., Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School

"As always, I appreciate that opportunities you put together. They are pretty much unequaled in the sea kayaking scene." M.K.

Cross Currents Sea Kayaking provides high quality sea kayaking instruction to paddlers at all ability levels. Our rigorous courses are conducted throughout the Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic coast. We also routinely conduct ACA instructor development programs, run multi-day training trips, and organize expeditions.

2025 Courses and Trips (2025 Course Calendar is Here)

We will be offering a wide range of courses and trips this year. Three really big deals are that we are returning to Pacific Baja with Jen Kleck; running an OBX expedition with James Kesterson and Jeff Atkins; and returning for a Gathering at Tangier Island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. "Regular" (hah!) courses and trips include an expedition in Florida's 10,000 Islands, a week of day trips in the Jacksonville FL area, and our third trip to Belize, all of which will be happening in March. Cross Currents is also excited to again be part of the Wavepaddler Spring Gathering near Charleston and to be returning to the Georgia Barrier Islands. Also back this year is a weekend Navigation Practicum in early May which will be run by Paula Hubbard. New courses include a two-day surf camp, run by the incredible Ashley Brown, and a two-day Intro to Surf course with Laurie Collins. Of course, many of the favorite skills courses will be back including the Intensive Intermediate Skills series, two Intro courses and Paula Hubbard's Paddle Smarter weekend for women. Finally, not to be missed is the 12th annual Kiptopeke Sea Kayaking Symposium, Sept 19 -21 at Cape Charles, VA.

Please see the "Courses" tab for a description of these and other courses and trips this year.

The Cross Currents Frequent Paddler Program

Cross Currents is pleased to announce that we will be continuing our frequent paddler program (FPP), through which you can get reduced prices or even free classes or trips. Last year, people saved about $1,600 through frequent paddler points.

Here’s how it works:

You get one Frequent Paddler Point for each day of a Cross Currents trip or course that you take. So if you do a three-day trip, you earn three FPPs. If you also take a one-day class, you’d get another FPP for a total of four FPPs. You get the idea.

Once you accumulate seven points, you are eligible for a $100 reduction in the next course or trip you take. You can accumulate as many points as you want before cashing them in, as long as you use them before the end of the calendar year. So for example if you were to do a week-long trip, you'd get seven FPPs and could use them for a free one-day skills class or to get $100 off your next trip.

There are a few restrictions. First, you can’t carry points over from one calendar year to the next. Second, participation in UnCon gets a maximum of seven FPPs. Third, you cannot cash in your FPPs for courses that other instructors run for and through Cross Currents. Finally, you can't exchange unused points for cash under any circumstances.

Unconscious Competence Series returns for 2025! This award-winning approach to long-term paddler development returns this year with another new bunch of rising paddlers. This UnCon will run over a four-month period (May to August) and involve approximately 12 days of progressive training sessions. In addition, UnCon graduates from previous years will be participating in UnCon II and UnCon III, paddling in new challenging venues.

About Cross Currents:

Our goal at Cross Currents is to facilitate paddler development by teaching new skills, exposing people to new environments, getting everyone to stretch their limits and to do so in a way that is both safe and fun. We specialize in long-term paddler development, working with dozens of repeat clients to refine existing skills and progressively expand both the range of skills and the environments in which they are used.The 2015 national award that we received from the ACA for program development was for the Unconscious Competence series, which operationalized the notion of long term paddler development. Over the past five years that "UnCon" has been running, 27 of the 38 (71%) participants received the ACA L3 personal skills award and/or the BCU 3* award as a result of their particpation in UnCon. Ten of those folks have gone on to become ACA instructors.

Cross Currents' primary instructor is Rick Wiebush, who is an ACA Coastal Kayaking L3 Instructor Trainer (retired), a BC Sea Leader, and a BC Level 2 Coach. Rick has been fortunate enough to paddle in some fantastic places like Nova Scotia, Greenland, Wales, New Zealand and Australia, and has done multiple extended expeditions in Baja.

But Cross Currents isn't just a one-person show. We work in conjunction with other great instructors such as Dale Williams, James Kesterson, Jeff Atkins, Ashley Brown, Paula Hubbard, Ken Fandetti, Kathryn Lapolla , Laurie Collins and Mike Hamilton.

We run courses and trips in varied locations, including multiple Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean venues. These include Maine, Cape Cod, Newport RI, New York City, Ocean City NJ, Cape Henlopen DE, Ocean City MD, the Virginia Barrier Islands, the Outer Banks, St. Mary's and Cumberland Island, GA, and in the Jacksonville , Tampa and 10,000 Islands areas of Florida.

Of course, the capstone of every Cross Currents season is the excellent Kiptopeke Sea Kayak Symposium which runs on the Virginia Eastern Shore every September. For three days about 75 participants and 15 coaches come together to run a wide range of classes and trips in a spectacular setting.