North Wales Sea Kayaking

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Being on expedition doesn’t mean you have to be cold, wet and miserable. If you found yourself stuck for the night could you make yourself, and group comfortable? This course will progress from the basics of sea kayak expeditions of kit selection and packing your boat, to building shelters, lighting fires and foraging for food on the shoreline. It covers ensuring minimal environmental impact, leaving no trace. Whether new to expedition paddling or a seasoned expedition paddler there will be something for you. This is an ISKGA accredited course and can be done as part of the ISKGA scheme, or as a standalone and tailored to suit your needs, see below.

 

ISKGA EXPEDITION SKILLS

Module: Expedition Skills & Sustainability

Training duration: 3 days

Approved training:

Course guidelines

Notes

• Group Dynamics

 

Customer service and group management skills: Leaders should have the ability to lead a variety of personalities and make every effort to encourage all members of an expedition to achieve the aims and objectives initiated in the planning stage to paddle with a positive outcome.

• Create and maintain shelter, rescue strategies

Using a variety of techniques, candidates should be able to construct emergency shelter. These skills may have to be utilised in the event of damaged tents or lost equipment. Leaders may use either a tarp or other natural materials, and to understand how best to seek protection from the elements.Rescue: Guides must have a working knowledge of rescue techniques as well as having in place an emergency action plan.

• Fire-skills                                                                                    

Candidates should be able to demonstrate that they can light a fire using a variety of methods and in a variety of conditions including wind and rain. Demonstrate a suitable ‘Leave No Trace’ dismantling of fire and camp sites

• Hygiene

Guides should be able to prepare food that has been foraged from the coastal environment in a hygienic manner and should have the appropriate food hygiene qualification, relevant to their home nation and the laws that govern the area of operations.

• Packing a kayak, group equipment

The guide must be able to demonstrate effective loading of a sea kayak to other group members, demonstrating trim for effective kayak handling and a suitable itinerary for individual and group members on a multi day expedition.

• Camp selection

An understanding of a suitable camp selection should be demonstrated. Camp locations must take into account the prevailing weather conditions as well as size, shelter, risk management, impact, local laws and group requirements.

• Trip planning, single day & multi day

The guide will have the ability to plan multi-day expeditions to allow for individual needs and desires within the group. The guide needs to show that they can utilise environmental factors to achieve expedition goals and they can organise resupply strategies and put in place emergency action plans to facilitate casualty and group evacuations.

• Equipment

As well as personal equipment the guide must be able to provide and arrange group equipment for a client based expedition including spare food and emergency shelter.

• Provisioning and foraging

The candidate should have a basic knowledge of wild foods that are available along a journey to supplement provisions and a safe method for acquiring potable water. The guide should be familiar with the food sources that are available in the areas they are operating in and be able to provide adequate nutrition in the event of an emergency to sustain energy levels within the group until they can implement their emergency action plan.

• Wild life & ecology

 

A good level of knowledge of geological history and a knowledge of the different animal species which are encountered in the areas of operating should be demonstrated.In the event of an emergency an effective individual and group rescue plan can be initiated quickly and effectively. Guides must adhere to an established wildlife code, which shows consideration towards the environment and wildlife interaction, minimising disturbance yet still satisfying clients that they too have a right to co-exist in the natural environment