Courses | Club trips | Winter fitness paddles | Paddling at night
Emergency contact details | Equipment for Sea Kayak trips | External links
Sea kayaking is a popular part of the club with a wide range of courses and trips.
The courses and club trips described on this page is Club Activity. These are coached or led by an authorised club coach or leader. Winter fitness paddles are Unsupervised Club Activity and are not led by a coach or leader.
You can take part in the following ways
Courses
Introductory Sea Kayaking
These courses are for absolute beginners to paddling. They take place on Wednesday evenings in the summer and each course is for five weeks
You need to be a club member to book on our courses. Booking on these course can be done HERE.
Sea Kayak Touring Paddles
This is a good course for paddlers who have some experience in sea kayaks and just want to go for a paddle to improve paddling fitness. It takes place on Tuesday evenings.
Explore Sea Kayaking
This is the course for paddlers who want to acquire specific sea kayak skills such as
- How to choose the best sea kayak for you, and how to operate it eg foot pegs, skegs
- Efficient forward paddling, paddling in the wind
- Manoeuvring the sea kayak, turning, edging, brace strokes
- Towing
- Rescues (we will choose warm weather but you will definitely get wet)
- Theory: trip planning, weather, navigation, safety kit, loading sea kayaks on vehicles
On week 4 or 5 (choosing the best weather) we will go on the sea so you can try real sea kayaking. The club’s sea paddlers may assist with transport for the sea kayaks.
The five week course takes place on Tuesday evenings on the canal. You can book on this course HERE
Video – Sea kayak rescues
Sea kayak award
This popular course runs for 5 weeks on Tuesday evenings for paddlers who would like to achieve British Canoeing’s Sea Kayak Award.
The course will teach skills with the aim of enabling you to become a competent member of a sea kayak trip on the sea. Particular skills include manoeuvring a sea kayak in moving seas, eg with swell of up to 1.25m or small surf, paddling in winds of up to force 4, different methods of rescues, towing, weather, equipment and navigation.
Most of the course takes place at Exmouth or other local beaches. You need to have a plan for getting your sea kayak to the launch point each week.
You can book on this course HERE
Pool sessions
Pool sessions are a great way to learn particular skills such as support strokes and rolling. There are specific sessions for sea kayaks as they take up more room at the pool. More information is HERE
Club Trips
The club offers a range of sea kayaking trips. Trips are normally advertised on the forum
The club does not take any responsibility for transport to club trips or courses.
Touring trips
These trips are ideal for new paddlers who want to gain experience and are looking for calmer conditions before venturing onto the sea.
The trips are usually on Devon’s fantastic estuaries such as the Exe, Dart, Teign, Plymouth Sound, Salcombe. The distance might be 8 to 12 miles according to the experience of the group.
Sea trips suitable for new sea kayakers
When the weather and tide conditions are suitable these trips offer a great opportunity to start paddling on the sea.
Journeys
Club trips that are journeys are regularly offered. The leaders describe the expected difficulty of the trips and the likely distance; also the experience required of the paddler to be able to go on the trip.
Paddlers who wish to go on these trips and more experienced ones are required to demonstrate a deep water rescue (both being rescued and assisting another person) each year.
Surf trips
Surfing is best in spring and autumn, when the beaches are not so crowded, but there are nice waves. The north coast of Devon is where you get the best waves. Keen surf paddlers often set up trips when the surf is good.
Moving water group
This group is for paddlers who are keen to acquire sea kayak skills for paddling on moving water. Paddlers should already have practised rescue skills in a flat water environment, and have a reasonable level of paddling fitness.
This group is ideal for paddlers who want to acquire the Sea Kayak Award and / or progress to leadership.
Video 2 – sea kayak rescues
Advanced paddles
Advanced paddles take place when two leaders are available and the conditions are right. These trips are for experienced paddlers.
Trips to other locations
The club often travels further afield. The trips mostly use fixed campsites and day trips are chosen according to the weather and tides.
Recent trips have included Cornwall, Dorset, Portland and Pembroke.
Expeditions also take place where the group camps from the boat each evening. Trips have included Scotland, Sweden and Norway.
Unsupervised Club Activity
Winter Fitness Paddles
During the winter many sea kayakers paddle on Tuesday evening to maintain their paddling fitness. These paddles are Unsupervised Club Activity provided the following takes place:
- A minimum of two paddlers is in each group, or three if the group goes below Topsham Quay on the estuary.
- An accessible means of communication is carried by at least one person within the group.
- The paddlers have achieved the equivalent of Paddle Discover or above if they paddle on the canal and river Exe between the weirs.
- The paddlers have achieved the equivalent of Paddle Explore or above if they paddle on the river Exe from the bottom of the flood defence channel to Topsham Quay.
- If the paddlers go below Topsham Quay they must have undertaken deep water rescue training within the twelve months prior to the journey.
- Juniors are not permitted to take part in this paddling as there is no supervising coach or leader.
Other unsupervised club activity for sea kayakers
The club has set out standard times and conditions for when Unsupervised Club Activity can take place here.
Paddling at night
All paddlers paddling after dusk must show lights that are visible from front and rear. The Exe Water Sports Water Safety Rules provide a local arrangement of white light on the front and red light at the back when paddling on Exeter Canal.
When paddling on the estuary and other locations paddlers should adhere to maritime regulations which are white lights at front and back.
Emergency Contact Details
Each paddler on a club trip is required to carry a waterproof card with the telephone number of their emergency contact details. This is in case a paddler is injured and the leader needs to contact the paddler’s relative\ friend. A laminated card carried in the buoyancy aid is a suitable method.
Equipment for Sea Kayak Trips
Touring trips / trips suitable for new sea kayakers
Paddlers should try to use sea kayaks which have bulkheads between the cockpit and the water tight compartments and be at least 14 foot long. Paddlers should already have completed a touring paddle and found a boat that they are comfortable paddling for two hours at a time.
In addition they should wear/use/carry:
- buoyancy aid
- touring paddle: these are longer than white water paddles
- spraydeck
- cagoule: wind and waterproof but not necessarily specific to kayaking
- spare clothing
- sun hat / warm hat
- food and drink
- sun cream
Club trips
In addition to the equipment described above paddlers should consider carrying:
- whistle
- personal first aid kit
- kayaking cagoule
- towline (initially club towlines may be borrowed)
- knife: required when a towline is carried
- map and compass
- mobile phone
- helmet (moving water group or if rock hopping is likely)
Advanced paddles
- spare paddles
- pump
- repair kit
- emergency communication: VHF (requires licence), flares (laser flares are preferred)
External Links
Using a Skeg
Weather: Met Office
Weather: swell forecast Exmouth
Surf forecast Saunton
Saunton is protected from Northerly winds
Surf forecast Putsborough – Putsborough is protected from Southerly winds and from the power of most swells