OCEAN CONFIDENCE
A Two-Day Waterman Survival & Ocean Skills Workshop with April Zilg and Morgan Hoesterey
October 5&6, 9am-5pm.
You can know the ocean. You still have to respect it.
I've been teaching my Locals Guide to Mason's Inlet clinic for more than a decade. I've spent years learning the sandbars, channels, currents, tide changes, launch points, landing spots, surf zones and the little quirks that make Mason's Inlet what it is. And here's the thing I've learned: knowing where you're going doesn't mean you know what the ocean is going to do once you get there.
You can have the perfect tide. You can know the channel. You can have the right board, boat, paddle and PFD. And Mother Nature can still look at your carefully constructed plan and say, "That's cute."
When I was training for Red Bull Heavy Water, I took a freediving class. Not because I wanted to become a freediver, but because I needed to know what it felt like to be underwater when my brain was screaming to get out. It changed how I think about ocean safety. Comfort in the water isn't optional. It saves lives.
This year, Morgan Hoesterey of Waterlogged Adventures and I are running Ocean Confidence as a two-day workshop. Morgan is a PADI Freedive Instructor, 4-time High School All-American Swimmer, US Olympic Trials Qualifier, and Division 1 NCAA All-American who has spent the last decade teaching breath control and ocean safety. She is the right person to be in the pool with.
Each day splits into two 3-hour blocks: one group of 6 starts on the water with me, the other starts in the pool with Morgan, and at the midpoint they swap. No instructor ever has more than 6 people in front of them. But the two days aren't a repeat of each other. Day one builds the foundation. Day two puts it under pressure.
DAY ONE: THE FOUNDATION
With April: The Locals Guide to Mason's Inlet (3 hours)
Reading the inlet before you ever launch. Understanding tides, currents and water movement. Identifying channels and shifting sandbars. Choosing safe launch and landing spots. Reading waves before you commit. Knowing when the smartest move is to change the plan.
With Morgan: Breath Control Fundamentals (3 hours)
A dryland talk on basic freediving and breath control, how to manage stress and anxiety in intimidating situations, and the safety fundamentals that keep this practice safe to train on your own. Then into the pool for underwater problem solving under a higher heart rate, and wipeout and hold-down management.
DAY TWO: UNDER PRESSURE
With April: Surf Zone Safety (3 hours)
Now we take yesterday's knowledge into the surf zone. Entering and exiting through breaking waves. Timing sets. Managing your board or boat when the water gets messy. Falling safely, recovering from a capsize, staying oriented when you're upside down and disoriented. Making good decisions when conditions are nothing like the forecast.
With Morgan: Extending Your Breath Hold (3 hours)
Building on day one's fundamentals, we add low heart rate breath holds to increase your overall breath hold time, one of the most direct ways to prove to yourself you can hold on longer than you think. We continue underwater problem solving at a higher level, layering it on top of everything you already trained yesterday.
Ocean Confidence is for paddlers, surfers, boaters and anyone who spends real time in dynamic ocean conditions. Especially if you've ever thought, "I know what I'm doing, but I still get nervous when it gets big." Good. That's exactly what we're training for.
12 spots total, 6 per group, over 2 days.
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October 5 and 6. Wrightsville Beach. 12 spots.
