Discover Sea Kayaking
We are well situated in Essex for sea paddling with the Thames at Southend, Crouch at Burnham, Blackwater at Bradwell, and the Deben and Orwell on the Essex Suffolk boarder. Conditions in these Estuaries can vary from being flat calm to large, exciting and challenging conditions. The coastline is stunning and under appreciated by many within the district, who just don’t realise what is accessible to them on their own doorstep.
Sea kayaking involves the use of longer kayaks (16-18 foot long) which have a good forward speed. The general rule is that the longer the boat, the faster they go and easer to keep straight. The boats have sealed hatches for storage with some also having built in compasses to aid navigation and deck lines for towing.
It can be confusing when looking for boats – with a large range on offer from various manufacturers. Boat lengths, hull shapes, material (plastic, fibre glass, carbon) and features can vary as does the price. Before parting with your hard earned money, we always reccommend that paddlers (especialy new to the sport) try out boats at demo days (keep an eye out for future events), or even better, just ask other club paddlers if you can have a go in theirs. We do have some boats available to loan and always try to have a sea kayak available to try out at our pool sessions. Good quality sea kayak paddles can also be expensive, so again, please ask the club for advice or demo some of ours before you rush out to buy.
Conditions at sea can vary considerably due to wind, speed, direction/tide and coastlines – all these can be assessed by our coaches and decisions made if it’s appropriate for the group. Pre planning and or a change of venue can ensure we get a good paddle in, however, there are occasions when the only option is to paddle another day, it’s about what we can manage safely and making sure everyone feels comfortable.
Paddle locations
We paddle locally from Bradwell, Burnham, Fambridge, Heybridge, Mersea, Felixstowe, Dovercourt and Shoeburyness from short 3-4hr trips to longer 6-7hr day paddles.
Previous trips we have organised outside the county range from Isle of White, Swanage, Anglesey, Norfolk and Farn Island. As a club we attend the September Sea Symposium held at Anglesey every year run by some of the top sea coaches in the country, the scenery and fantastic wildlife is mind blowing and the paddling is awsome too. It also keeps our coaches updated with their skills in challenging seas.
Training / coaches
Maldon Canoe Club are fortunate to have a number of British Canoeing qualified coaches and award providers that are on hand to offer any support they can, so you can feel comfortable on the water and progress your development in your chosen area of canoeing/kayaking.
We also offer safety training and first aid courses. (There are fees applied for most awards/courses, so please speak to one of our coaches, who will happily talk you through the details).
Maldon Canoe Club is fortunate to have 3 sea leaders (old name 4 star sea) in our club (John Davey, Liz Cannon, Clive Marfleet, and Paul Vincent).
We also have a number of members working toward the sea leader award. Sea leaders are qualified to a standard that makes them legally covered and insured by British Canoeing to take a group of less experienced paddlers out. (If you are intersted in joining any club, you should always check out what experience that club has to offer and if they are legally qualifed to take out less experienced paddlers).
Sea Kayaking awards
Our coaches can also train and pass you on the British Canoeing Kayak Award (old 3 star sea). The Sea Kayaking Awards are aimed at paddlers looking to develop their skills for a safe day out on Sea and Estuaries.
Watch the video to find out more about British Canoeing Awards
Check out our Sea Kayaking gallery
