Sharing the experience of ocean paddling with others is our passion. Kayak Trinidad believes the foundation of a life long relationship with the sea begins with skill building. With a decade of professional experience teaching sea kayaking, we can help you achieve your goals of safe and efficient coastal exploration with quality group and private instruction.
GROUP INSTRUCTION
Level 1 – INTRO TO KAYAKING – $115/person. Kayak & gear included or bring your own! Whatever your aspirations with kayaking, this is where it all starts. Our four hour Intro to Kayaking course is held on the sheltered waters of Big Lagoon where we will introduce kayakers to fundamental paddle strokes, principles of boat control, and on-water rescues/re-entries. No experience required. All types of paddle kayaks welcome. BOOK NOW or call for reservations.
Intro to Kayaking Summer 2025 Dates:
June 7th, 10 am – 2 pm
June 14th, 10 am – 2 pm
July 12th, 10 am – 2 pm
August 9th, 10 am – 2 pm
Level 2 – STROKES AND MANEUVERING – $115/person. Kayak & gear included or bring your own! For those with some prior experience with fundamental paddle strokes and maneuvering, this three-hour class at Big Lagoon is designed to help you develop and refine your skills in efficient turning and linking strokes to make your kayak go exactly where you want it, when you want it, with as little effort as possible. We will focus on using edged turns combined with specific strokes to control our course on the move including draws, rudders, braced turns, sculling, and other techniques as time and student abilities allow. BOOK NOW or call for reservations.
Strokes and Maneuvering Summer 2025 Dates:
June 21st, 10am – 1 pm
July 26th, 10 am – 1 pm
August 16th, 10 am – 1 pm
Level 2 – RESCUES/RE-ENTRIES – $115/person. Kayak & gear included or bring your own! Building on the basic rescue skills developed in our intro to kayaking course, this course will refine students’ self and assisted rescues as well as teaching new incident management skills such as towing. BOOK NOW or call for reservations.
Rescues and Re-entries Summer 2025 Dates:
June 28th, 10 am – 1 pm
August 23rd, 10 am – 1 pm
Level 2 – EDGING AND BRACING – $95/person. Kayak & gear included or bring your own! This two-hour class at Big Lagoon is designed to help paddlers develop a solid brace to prevent capsize & prepare paddlers’ edge, hip snap, and brace to build the core skills behind a successful roll. Even for those who aren’t interested in learning to roll, this class can still improve students’ control, stability, and confidence when they find themselves in rough water. BOOK NOW or call for reservations.
Edging and Bracing Spring 2025 Dates:
May 31st, 2 pm – 4 pm
Edging and Bracing Summer 2025 Dates:
August 30th, 10 am – 12 pm
Level 3 – COASTAL KAYAKING – $135/person. Kayak & gear included or bring your own! This four hour class in Trinidad Harbor is perfect for those who are looking to kayak on the ocean with sit-in sea kayaks and have completed our level 1 and level 2 courses, or are already confident in their boat control and rescue skills from prior experience. We will refine the skills built in the previous courses while applying them to the more dynamic water of the ocean, and develop new strokes to help paddlers navigate confidently in coastal conditions including possible surf, swell, and rocky shorelines. An emphasis will be placed on understanding and managing hazards in a coastal environment. BOOK NOW or call for reservations.
Coastal Kayaking Spring 2025 Dates:
June 1st, 10 am – 2 pm
Coastal Kayaking Summer 2025 Dates:
September 6th, 10 am – 2 pm
ACA SKILLS COURSES
$449/person, $299/ person for groups of 2 or more. Kayak & gear included or bring your own! Our experienced, American Canoe Association certified instructors can offer Skills Assessments up to ACA Level 4 Open Water Coastal Kayaking. Whether you are paddling with friends or a formal group, an ACA course can be the best way to quantify your skills and be an asset on the water. For those looking to progress in their kayaking journey to become instructors themselves, a skills assessment is a prerequisite for the instructor development workshop and certification exam. Courses can be scheduled on an individual basis.
Course descriptions can be found on the ACA website: https://americancanoe.org/education/for-aca-instructors/course-curriculum/#tab_6
PRIVATE INSTRUCTION
No matter where you’re at in your skill development, Kayak Trinidad will customize your lesson curriculum to address your needs. Half day and full day private instruction is available, as well as private rolling lessons. A progression of skills is listed for reference below.
HALF DAY PRIVATE INSTRUCTION – $249/person. $199/person for groups of two or more. Maximum five guests.
FULL DAY PRIVATE INSTRUCTION – $449/person. $299/person for groups of two or more. Maximum five guests.
ONE HOUR PRIVATE ROLLING LESSON – $100/individual or $150 for two people
Reservations are offered daily. Call 1 (707) 329-0085 or email reservations@kayaktrinidad.com to schedule your custom lesson.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – BEGINNER
- What to bring, where & when to go
- Safe launching & landing in flatwater
- Efficient forward & reverse paddling
- Turning, pivoting, stopping
- Moving sideways
- Edging & directional control
- Wet Exits & assisted re entries
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – INTERMEDIATE
- Bracing, sculling, edging
- Draws, pries, rudders
- Stroke refinement
- Rescues & towing
- Rolling
- Re enter & roll
- Paddling in conditions
- Coastal navigation & tidal planning
- Weather reading & seamanship
SKILL DEVELOPMENT – ADVANCED
- Surf zone launching & landing
- Kayak surfing
- Rock gardening
- Advanced safety & rescue
KAYAK TRINIDAD 