Sea kayaking in....Austria - Jersey Kayak Adventures

Sea kayaking in….Austria

Sea kayaking in Jersey leaves us spoilt when deciding where to get adventure.

We grumble about 20 minute drives out west and driving through the tunnel….Yes, some west coasters never venture beyond the tunnel out east. I know by the number of times people can’t find La Rocque or Archirondel. But what about finding Belcroute for those from the east?

Lots of nice bits of gear and a few manufacturers I'd not seen before

Spare a thought for sea kayakers who are not able to get afloat as easily as us in Jersey. I recall 6 hour drives out of London on a Friday night to sea kayak up north years ago.

Austrian sea kayaking

I recently visited Xsport Austria. Christian runs an Adventure sports company offering snowshoe tours, guided mountain walks and lots of great mountain biking.

He has a sea kayak shop with lots of lovely P&H composite sea kayaks,Palm gear, Werner paddles, plus a few makes of kit I was not familiar with.

Most of Christian’s sea kayak training is on huge lakes which remind me of Scottish lochs, but without any access to the sea. You’d think the home page photos were taken in Norway.

For his clients, sea kayaks are a way to decompress and enjoy superb scenery. The sea kayak is regarded as a fast and responsive craft in comparison to the shorter and slower river touring kayaks that are popular in Austria.

6 hour drives

Christian’s nearest salty water is a 6 hour drive to Croatia. This is where he leads sea kayak tours on a superb coast. This beats my long drives to North Wales many years ago. At least he can expect some warm water, though maybe not calm conditions. The photos of kayaks completely hidden by the swell looked impressive. Obviously it is not always flat calm conditions.

Think I’ll stick to those 20 minute drives to sea kayak on the west coast of Jersey or 5 minute put ins by my house.

About derek

Derek Hairon is a British Canoeing level 5 coach (sea) and sea kayak leader guide and assessor.
Derek is the first nationally endorsed British Canoeing accredited guide in Jersey. The British Canoeing kayak guide endorsement supports and recognises the additional skills required when fulfilling a guiding role on sea kayak tours and expeditions worldwide.
Over 49 years of sea kayaking experience. Expeditions to circumnavigate Ireland by kayak, Outer Hebrides, Aland Islands, Faeroe Islands and Alaska. Plus, lots of sea and surf kayaking in the UK. White water-kayaking expeditions in Nepal to paddle the Tamur and Marsyandi Rivers.
Derek wrote Sit-on-top Kayak. A Beginner’s Manual (Pesda Press). It is now in its second reprint and is also translated into French. He is the author of the Channel Island and South East Coast Sea Kayaking guidebook (Pesda Press).