Sea Kayaking in Scotland, Canada, Croatia, Arctic Norway

SEA KAYAK RESCUE & ADVANCED PADDLE SKILLS

from £280

A weekend designed for anyone with core paddle skills and an important safety weekend whether you've done a little or a lot of sea kayaking. Takes place on Lochcarron and the Strome narrows.

Course Only

£280pp Stay at Lochcarron, Shieldaig or Applecross campsites or take advantage of the SYHA hostel in Applecross. Go to http://www.hartfieldhouse.org.uk . If you stay outside Lochcarron please take into account driving times to our kayak base at Lochcarron golf club car park. Use Google maps for journey times.

Price includes
-Guiding
-Instruction
-Equipment
-Local transport


Stay at the Applecross campsite or take advantage of the new SYHA Hostel in Applecross Go to http://www.hartfieldhouse.org.uk/. Just visit their pages for full booking details. You pay for all of this separately.

Contact these great accommodation providers in Lochcarron. All within an easy walk to the Spar, Lochcarron hotel or Bistro, & book yourself in:

Castle Cottage Bed & Breakfast accommodation Lochcarron (castle-cottage-lochcarron.co.uk) – superb location on the shore of Lochcarron in the middle of the village. B&B all year. Half board offered in the winter months.

Self Catering cottages:

Cosy Bungalow in the village of Lochcarron,Highlands of Scotland (vrbo.com)

Explore Holiday Lettings, Cottages & Apartments - HomeToGo

2 bed Cottage in Lochcarron - 10194750 - Moriston Cottage (holidaylettings.co.uk)

Places to stay outside Lochcarron within 40 min drive:

Stay at Shieldaig or Applecross campsites or take advantage of the SYHA hostels in Applecross or Torridon. Go to Hostelling Scotland | Book Direct for Best Price Guaranteed! If you stay outside Lochcarron please take into account driving times to our kayak base at Lochcarron golf club car park. Use Google maps for journey times.

Testimonials

"I'd found myself in positions of responsibility (for less experienced friends) on the sea and often stressed and not enjoying myself. Had the choice to give up paddling or get serious about my training as my social paddle group was not going to alter. This was a brilliant weekend -practical with no waffle. These guys run big sea expeditions all over the planet and are keen to pass that experience on. Don't be a 'know it all' like I was for years when in fact my attitude was all wrong. If your serious about the safety of you and your friends then this is a must do weekend. And applecross is superb - good beer, good company and who would have thought a training course could be so much fun!" D Maclean APRIL 2011

Rough Water Safety & Rescue weekend

" Just want to reiterate what Mr Maclean says here too. I'm a club paddler essentially and had an experience last year that almost caused the collapse of our club. And all for lack of a good consensus to group management at sea. I too was in a bubble of complacency and bad habits (along with my paddling group!) and this weekend shook me out of that as well as giving me the tools to manage future trips to a much higher standard. Mountain & Sea Guides are all about passing on their vast expedition knowledge and I can't rate them highly enough" Jane Mac Donald May 2015

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There are a few tactics involved in getting out of cold water

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Open water - to cross or not? And how to manage your group correctly

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Assisted rescues

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Group management, buddy systems and theory

Trip Description

This is a Sea kayak rescue skills and safety course for informal non professional leaders, or

those wanting to lead in clubs or groups of friends, and individuals keen to improve personal safety.

 

The single most important attitude towards safety at sea is to open yourself up to training and take time out to practice skills and learn from coaches who spend their lives on the sea full time.

 

The focus on day one will be to introduce or improve any recovery skills, rough water handling and surfing techniques concentrating on individual abilities.

This will focus on what you need as an individual paddler. By day two you'll have a clear idea of what to work on as well as what works well in certain conditions.

Most of day two will be spent concentrating on deep water rescue techniques developing individual recovery skills as well as looking at strategies for assisted rescue. There will also be an opportunity to paddle in the Strome narrows allowing us to dip in and out of the moving water developing confidence in a tidal stream.

The skills covered this weekend are essential to your safety and enjoyment on the sea enabling you to be a far more confident paddler on future trips.

This weekend also qualifies you to join any of our Canada, Arctic Norway or intermediate Scottish expeditions.

With over 30 years of experience our guides will ensure you feel confident in learning these skills and enable you to explore many different scenarios.

A must do course before heading out independently with groups on the sea!

Schedule

Saturday and Sunday kayak days
Sunday late afternoon depart

Instructor Ratio

1:8

Suitable For

Paddlers at 3 star level or beyond (no need to have a certificate).
Advanced beginners, sea kayakers who've paddled for years and may be rusty or looking to improve/refresh.
Groups of friends or clubs looking to train and improve group understanding & safety.

 

 

2024 

APRIL 13-14 , 20-21 , 27-28 

MAY 4-5 , 11-12 , 18-19

JUNE 8-9 , 15-16

JULY 6-7 , 13-14 , 20-21 , 27-28

AUG 3-4 , 10-11 , 17-18 , 24-25

SEP 7-8 , 14-15 , 21-22 , 28-29

OCT 5-6 , 12-13 , 26-27 , 2-3 NOV

 

Note: Actual activity days shown. Arrival & departure travel days are either side of above dates. Other dates may be available with demand. Email first, before booking, to check space as above dates may already be full.

Groups & Discounts

If you are in any of the following categories then you'll get a discount of 5% per person off the Trip only option shown - discounts are per person only with valid employee id.

Fire , Police , Armed forces currently serving or disabled ex servicemen/women , nurses & paramedic workers (NHS only) , students, Parents & kids - just chat to us by email and we'll apply the discount.

Private Guiding

If you don't want to join an open trip with other people, or have a family/friends group of your own, then private instruction and guiding will meet your goals. Pricing is per person and will depend upon activity, distance travelled, peak or low season. We can email you a quote. Simply let us know where, when, what and for how many people. 

Need a Transfer to get to us?

Add an airport pick up or return from Inverness — 2 hours from Applecross, email for a quote for your group size.

Add transfers to/from our nearest  rail station (Strathcarron on the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh line) + £18 each way.

Please email to arrange transfers after booking and place a note in the booking form detailing your requirements.