About Learn to Kayak (Level 1)

A one day course designed for absolute beginners to get their first real experience with White Water Kayaking.  In this six hour program, participants are provided a detailed one hour theoretical session on different aspects of River Kayaking before proceeding with practical exercises in the water.  Participants are not required to bring their own gear, but will be provided with a helmet, life jacket or PFD , kayak paddle, spray deck and kayak.  

Requirements and Eligibility  

• Must be above the age of 12
• Must not suffer from any medical or physical condition that prohibits the participant from partaking in strenuous physical exercise
• Ability to swim 10 minutes unassisted, with the use of a PFD (Personal Flotation Device)

Course Contents (6-8 hours)

You will learn all the basic concepts of using a decked kayak, starting from the different environments of use, an outlook to the gear, safety aspects before getting into the water (proper preparation, proper handling of boats, etc). You will be exposed to the main concepts of river rescue, with a special focus to self rescue. Then you will be taught all the basic paddle strokes that we use to move and control the kayak, and how to use our lower body to control the boat and paddle efficiently. We will then try to perform some more complex actions like paddling on a straight line for a distance, turning at will, stopping, going backwards....

By the end of the day you should feel much more comfortable inside that "plastic shell", inspired to continue to paddle towards new destinations, may them be rivers, ocean coasts, back waters, lakes.

After completing this course you will be qualified to enroll for AFT, Roll clinics, LTR-Intro, and you can also take part to our practice sessions, with your boat or taking one from our fleet.