sea kayak coaching and touring

For safe and enjoyable kayaking, it is important to develop your confidence in step with your skills.

Sea freedom's objective is to enable you to enjoy the trips that you want to do.

If you want to become an expert paddler, we will enthusiastically support your development. But if all you want to do is potter gently along, enjoying the scenery and "just be there" we will be just as enthusiastic, because we enjoy that too.

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Using our detailed knowledge of the area, we select trips that give you experience of using your skills at the right level. We look after you all the way, passing on our knowledge as we go. As your skill, knowledge and confidence grow, we adjust the nature of the trip and the level of our support with the aim of expanding your comfort zone without exposing you to conditions that will damage your confidence.

So there is no fixed program of "what we do on each day" but we keep simple but accurate records for each client so that each time you come out with us, we can pick up your development again where we left off before.

So.... decide how many days you would like to paddle, get in touch with us and we will arrange something suitable for you.

Sea kayaking Scotland Skye MacCleods Maidens w2.jpg (178396 bytes)

The guide below will give you an idea of where you are in the spectrum of sea kayaking skill and knowledge and the sort of trips that can be done. If you already have some experience, have a look at the stage descriptions below and tell us where you think you fit into the spectrum. That will help us to make sure that we plan the right things for you and put you with other people who are at about the same stage of development.

As a guide, here are 5 stages of development. How fast and how far you progress is your own choice, but most people will get to Stage 2 after only a couple of days, stage 3 within a week. Stage 5 takes a bit longer!

Stage	Skill and knowledge level	Typical Suitable trips
1	You can make progress but the kayak tends to wander about a bit. You can paddle about 6km and enjoy the trip but you will probably be tired. You have good safety awareness and know what to do if you do capsize You are dependant on the guide for safety and navigation You prefer flat water!	Short sheltered trips along the shore of the sea lochs or. Good scenery, plenty of wildlife and a good picnic spot. If the weather is calm, we can go out to and possibly land on, some of the small inshore islands. We might use Loch Awe, Etive or Sween. Clachan Sound on Seil is ideal. Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe and Castle Stalker are interesting objectives We will not be taking you out in choppy water!
2	You can steer and manoeuvre the kayak fairly accurately in all directions in calm water or light winds. You can paddle up to 12 km in a day with fluid paddling action You can steady yourself with the paddle if you wobble and while turning. You will be comfortable in waves that sometimes wash over the deck of your kayak. You co-operate with the guide in a rescue and rescue others in sheltered situations You can navigate in simple situations and good conditions	Longer trips in the larger sea lochs and sheltered coastal waters. We can probably tour some islands and make crossings of up to a mile in safe areas in good weather There will usually be plenty of wild life to see The Lynn of Lorn and northern Lismore are good venues. So to is Seil Sound and upper Loch Etive
3	You can plan simple trips safely Up to 10 miles a day is fine Force 3 winds are fine and you are happy in moving water provided it is smooth Your paddling is getting more efficient and you don't need to think about it much now Short bursts at speed are possible You have a repertoire of support and recovery strokes which are becoming instinctive You take an active part if rescued and can rescue others in real situations with a little help You can navigate simple routes accurately and confidently. You have an appreciation of moderate route planning	More remote coastlines are possible now. Paddling along by shear cliffs and around the islands in a swell will be enjoyable. We can cross to some of the larger islands and camp overnight if the conditions are settled. We could run through some of the narrow channels with the tide and thereby extend our range. Now its time to circumnavigate some of our beautiful islands such as Kerrera, Seil. The islands and headlands of Loch Craignish or Sween are well worthwhile You will probably want us to take you out in choppy water
4	You can plan moderate trips yourself You can handle the kayak confidently in up to force 4 winds and choppy seas Moving water is fun and you enjoy crossing eddy lines and using the waves 15 miles a day will be possible without feeling too tired the next day You will enjoy surf riding moderate waves Your paddling is smooth and efficient with good body rotation You can manage sustained bursts of high speed paddling You can probably roll up again after a capsize in most situations You can rescue and tow others You can navigate tide-ways confidently in good visibility or simple situations in poor visibility	Now we can paddle in really wild places. We will camp on fairly remote islands. We can stay at sea for several hours at a time without discomfort or feeling unduly tired. We might go and find some of tide races just for fun. You will be confident to plan and paddle your own routes without a guide, assessing and managing the risks. In the right weather, the Garvellachs are reachable with their dramatic cliffs and mysterious ruins. Or a circumnavigation of Rassay, maybe a tour of the western coast of Mull and a visit to Staffa
5	You can plan complex trips The kayak seems to respond to your thoughts. Inch accuracy is possible even in rough water. Cruising seems effortless. 25 miles in a day is no problem. You are capable of sustained high speed paddling Big waves with breaking crests are a source of fun. Your rolling is bomb-proof but you almost never capsize anyway You can rescue and assist others in nasty conditions You can accurately navigate in poor conditions and complex tidal situations	We can play in the tide races and surf the ocean swell. In the right conditions we will paddle long and exposed coastlines and We will do long crossings in tide-ways and perhaps even in poor visibility. We will paddle by moonlight too. We can paddle to wild and remote places that hardly anyone else can get to. Jura, Coll, Mingulay. Not just in Scotland or the rest of the UK but in Norway, New Zealand, Greenland....anywhere we can get a kayak to. We are not afraid of what the weather might throw at us, but we will still take care because, we have immense respect for the sea