This is a short introduction to using the open canoe as a craft to allow you to journey. Our canoe expedition skills course has been put together to allow you to attend such a course with minimum interruption to your busy working life.
The course is two and a half days long and will cover the following elements to allow you to expedition under your own steam.
Efficient paddle strokes for travelling
Efficient turning and control strokes
The ability to work as a team in a boat
Decision making on open water
Understanding weather and, in particular, wind and fetch
Improvised sailing
Rafting canoes
Dealing with a capsize
Deep water rescue techniques
Packing a canoe and adjusting its trim
The merits of different packing systems in different circumstances
The art of portaging (a true wilderness skill)• Introduction to poling
Lining
Tracking
Choosing and organising your campsite
Expedition/group tarp systems and knots
Choosing cookery equipment for canoe journeys
Choosing food and devising menus for canoe trips
Campfire cookery
Everyday wilderness axe skills
Personal equipment for canoe journeys
Emergency equipment for canoe journeys (and how to use it)
Camping by the loch side – 1 night spent in a remote wildness campsite.
£275 - to book, contact Alan at Mountain Water Expeditions. alan@mountain-water.co.uk