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Sea Kayak Award Basic Skills / new to Sea Kayak Award
The sea kayak award is a two part course. This part of 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 more efficient forward paddling, a range of turning strokes, different methods of rescues, towing, weather, equipment and navigation. The second part of the course will take place on trips on the sea in winds up to and including force 3. You will find details of the coaching on the sea on the club forum.
For this course you need to have some experience of sea kayaking. For example you should have:
- Paddled longer distances in a sea kayak for example to Topsham, on a estuary or on the sea
- Done a rescue in a sea kayak
- Tried capsizing from a sea kayak
- Have learned the basics of support strokes, stern rudders, bow rudders, towing
If these aspects of sea kayaking are new to you, then you need to go on the Improvers Sea Kayaking course before the Sea Kayak Award course. After doing an Improvers course you are advised to do a sea kayak touring course before signing up for the Sea Kayak Award Basic Skills course so that you increase your paddling fitness and have the opportunity to practise the skills you learned on the Improvers course.
This course runs for 5 weeks on Tuesday evenings. The sessions will take place on the canal and river.
Minimum number for course to run is 4 people.