We’re a British Canoeing Approved Centre

Formed in 2003, we are Jersey’s leading specialist sea kayaking adventure company. We operate all year and pioneered the development of sit-on-top kayaking in the UK.

On all our kayak tours and courses, you’ll be led by a qualified British Canoeing (BC) sea kayak coach with the appropriate qualification level to operate in the area you are paddling.

Our sea kayak coaches and guides have a wealth of experience paddling in Jersey and overseas and know the local waters, history and environment. We believe this background ensures a better quality of service.

We are a Living Wage employer, and staff are paid above the minimum wage.

Passionate About Sea Kayaking:

Derek Hairon, Director

British Canoeing level 5 coach, sea kayak leader and guide.

British Canoeing trainer and assessor for PaddlePower Start, Discover, Explore, Paddle Safer award, Sea Kayak, Coastal Sea Kayak, Coastal Navigation & Tidal Planning, Sea Kayak Leader trainer and assessor and sea kayak guide modules.

Derek is Jersey’s first nationally endorsed British Canoeing accredited sea kayak guide. The British Canoeing sea kayak guide endorsement supports and recognises the additional skills required to fulfil a guiding role on sea kayak tours and expeditions worldwide.

Derek has first aid certificates, Mencap, and Autism training. Institute for Outdoor Learning approved training courses: Introduction to Disability & Inclusions, Working with Disabled People in the Outdoors.  Wildlife Safe (WiSe)  and Jersey Heritage Trust Seymour and La Rocco Tower accredited guide. Jersey Tourism Bronze badge guide. Food hygiene level 2.

Over 51 years of sea kayaking experience. Expeditions to circumnavigate Ireland by kayak, Outer Hebrides, Aland Islands, Faeroe Islands and Alaska. White water-kayaking trips in Nepal to paddle the Tamur and Marsyandi Rivers. Plus, lots of sea and surf kayaking in the UK.

Derek wrote Sit-on-top Kayak. A Beginner’s Manual (Pesda Press). Derek also writes articles for kayaking magazines.

He regularly presents training/safety clinics to enable people to enjoy the coastline of Jersey.

Derek Hairon wrote most of the Channel Island and South East Coast Sea Kayaking guidebook (Pesda Press).

Besides kayaking, he has completed long-distance mountain walks such as the famous GR20 in Corsica.

He also spent 18 months cycling 12000 miles around Europe. He tries to ski and speaks some French.

Mick

A British Canoeing (BCU) Level 3 coach with Moderate Water Endorsement. He has worked in the outdoor pursuit industry since 2000.

He kayaked in the Argentinian Terra del Fuego, the southern tip of South America.

An experienced rock climbing instructor, he introduced coasteering to Jersey and pioneered some of the classic routes. As a result, he knows a lot about the geology of Jersey.

Mick enjoys sharing his knowledge of wildlife and the history of Jersey.

Qualifications: Outdoor First aid trained, MLTB Summer, Single pitch climbing instructor. WiSe accredited guide. Sea Kayak Leader Award.

Jersey Tourism Bronze badge guide. Introduction to Disability & Inclusions, Working with Disabled People in the Outdoors.

Mick speaks French. He will likely be found clocking up the miles on his mountain bike when not kayaking.

Gary

A British Canoeing Level 3 sea kayak coach in Jersey with many years of sea and surf kayaking experience.

In 1999, Gary was a member of the Jersey team that won the World Surf Kayak competition in California. Gary is the one to ask if you need top tips and coaching in surf kayaking and surf techniques!

Gary set up Jersey Kayak Adventures with Derek. He left the business for a few years to become a Director at Valley Adventures, the only high ropes course in Jersey. Since 2018 we have succeeded in getting back out on the water to run our tours and classes.

Gary will likely be mountain biking and out kayaking when not running Valley Adventures.

Angie

Angie started kayaking by joining one of our introduction to kayaking courses in 2003.

Since then, she has progressed through the coaching system and is now a British Canoeing Coach.

Angie is fluent in British Sign Language (BSL). Introduction to Disability & Inclusions, Working with Disabled People in the Outdoors.  She is also our go-to person for advice and guidance on all disability and inclusion matters.

She is famous for supplying homemade cake on our sea kayak leader assessments.

Trudie

At the age of 10 years, Trudie saw the North Sea for the first time. Soon, seashells formed part of her luggage back home to Bavaria in Germany.

Working as a professional tour guide in Britain, Normandy, and Brittany led her to a career as a travel guide book writer for Polyglott and Langenscheidt publishers in Germany. She first visited the Channel Islands in 2002 to write the Channel Islands guidebook for Merian books. She now works as a freelance travel writer and editor.

Trudie loved Jersey and the South East Coast’s low tide zone. She developed guided walks that explored the maritime history and culture of Jersey. She happily links her passion for marine biology and local history with her training as a geographer on her guided walks to Seymour and Icho Towers.

She has since moved to Jersey to be closer to the sea.

Trudie is often your first contact when booking with Jersey Kayak and Jersey Walk Adventures.

Jersey Tourism Bronze Badge guide, Jersey Heritage Trust Seymour tower, and Wild Life Safe trained guide. Outdoor First Aid. Food hygiene level 2.

German and English speaking.

A professional tour guide.

About British Canoeing (formally called BCU) coaching awards

Just because a kayak coach/guide has a British Canoeing (BC) coaching award does not mean they can kayak anywhere around Jersey with clients.

Our staff can lead kayak tours and courses islandwide at Jersey Kayak Adventures because they have the required coaching/ guiding grades and experience to operate within their remit.

We invest in training to keep our staff up-to-date with best practices and help them obtain nationally recognised qualifications.

We only employ local staff because they have more kayaking experience around our coastline.

BC certifies kayak coaches/instructors through a grading scheme.

BC Sheltered water coaches can only operate in designated areas. In Jersey, this means within very sheltered bays. Our sheltered water coaches usually assist more experienced guides.

A BC Coach (formerly level 2) can operate in more locations. They can work islandwide if they have the BC Sea Kayak Leader Award.

All our BC coaches undergo site-specific training and can only lead after additional in-house training.

BC coach levels 3, 4, and 5 require extensive training and experience and have an islandwide operating remit.

All kayak coaches must undertake regular updates and be current members of BC to remain licensed to coach/guide.

We support staff to gain additional qualifications and experience, e.g. First Aid updates, attending British Canoeing coaching conferences, Bronze badge and Wildlife Safe (WiSe) guide training.

Safety training at Jersey Kayak Adventures

Staff hold valid and up-to-date First Aid awards, satisfactory Disclosure, and Barring Service (previously called Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks) and undergo Child Protection training.

We comply with statutory regulations concerning young people, paddlesports, and British Canoeing safety requirements.

We can supply copies of our risk assessments and insurance on request.

Ports of Jersey

Ports of Jersey license us. We undergo an annual inspection.

EcoActive

A Jersey scheme, helping organisations to make a positive impact on the environment.

We are assessed in the following areas: Energy, Waste, Water, Transport, Purchasing,

We hold Ecoactive Leader grade.

Rewild Carbon offsetting

We reduce our carbon footprint as part of our commitment to the environment at Jersey Kayak Adventures. We reduced our carbon footprint by almost 50%.

In 2021, we heard that the Jersey-based Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust had created Rewild Carbon, a carbon offset project with a novel approach. Knowing that a world-famous conservation organisation founded by Gerald Durrell ran Rewild Carbon gave us confidence that this was a scheme worth considering.

Durrell links the purchase of forests in Brazil with habitat management for endangered species.

Rewild Carbon invests directly in reforestation and has an integrated management scheme to support endangered creatures and local communities.

Read more about Rewild Carbon in our blog.

Wild Life Safe (WiSe)

WiSe is a national training scheme to promote responsible wildlife watching in the marine environment.

All our lead instructors undertake WiSe training to watch wildlife while minimising potential disturbance.