Goose Creek State Park is giving landlubbers the chance to get out on the water and get paddling.

This weekend, 10 people will be taking the Intro to Kayaking course offered at the park. In pairs, they’ll board two-person, sit-on-top kayaks and get a lesson on the creek from Park Ranger Candace Rose.

“I’ll be teaching the basics of paddling, how to get in and out of the boat and some safety things to look out for,” Rose said.

Rose is no stranger to the water. She’s actually a nationally certified canoe/kayak instructor who has spend plenty of time paddling eastern North Carolina waterways, including weeklong 50-mile kayaking trips up the coast, leading troops of Boy Scouts.

“I love it,” Rose said. “Basically, I’ve been kayaking and canoeing for about 10 years. Actually, canoeing was what inspired me to be a park ranger.”

While this Saturday’s Intro to Kayaking class is full, and a waiting list started, Rose said that shouldn’t stop people from signing up for the next one, or even scheduling a class for their own group.

“If other people are interested in the program, they can call us up and do a program request. We get lots of families, church groups, Boy Scouts — they can request pretty much anything dealing with the outdoors, as long as we have staff knowledgeable enough to do it,” Rose said. “A lot of summer groups take advantage of that — they call us up and come out for the day.”

She said the kayaking classes are usually held on a Wednesday or a Friday, as there’s only one ranger on staff over the weekends. The park does not rent kayaks, but welcomes kayakers who rent elsewhere and launch from the park.

All Goose Creek State Park events can be found at ncparks.gov. For more information, or to schedule a class for a group, call the park at 252-923-2191.