Meet Ed, recently completed the Paddlesport Safety and Rescue

I have recently moved with my family from South East England to Cumbria in order to work as an Outdoor Instructor. I am currently a Mountain Leader and Rock Climbing Instructor and start work in April with an outdoor company in the Lake District. As part of my personal and professional development, I decided to explore paddlesports and begin the process of preparing for British Canoeing Awarding Body qualifications.

I had some experience of white water kayaking in North Wales and sea kayaking in Scotland. I wanted to get to grips with SUPs and Canoes and how to perform rescues on flat water. The Paddlesport Safety and Rescue Course (PSRC) introduced the key aspects of safe paddling trips and provided lots of opportunities to explore each of the craft and execute rescues from them. It was really useful to discuss some of the potential challenges that might be encountered and develop a toolbox of strategies to help cope with them, for example towing.

My PSRC was run by Ian at Kinetic Paddlesports. It was really practical and hands on, he had a huge amount of experience which added to the course content and made the course even more worthwhile – it was a great day on (and in) Windermere!

The course increased my knowledge of paddlesports and my confidence to take on personal paddling trips. It was also the perfect preparation for Paddlesport Instructor Assessment and Paddlesport Leader Training. During these courses, I was able to focus on improving my rescues and looking after my group because I had already practiced the skills during the PSRC.

My next steps…

My next step is to continue to develop my canoeing skills, especially canoeing tactically in more advanced open water. I have an assessment for Paddlesport Leader booked in April and plan to continue to explore the Advanced Open Water Canoeing Leader and White Water Kayak Leader in the future.

Book your Paddlesport Safety and Rescue course today!

Your course will support you to explore and practice simple strategies and safe skills that provide you with the tools to solve common paddling issues in a sheltered water environment, providing peace of mind when venturing out onto the water.

This course is open to anyone of any age, irespective of their chosen craft. Find out more and book your course today.