Advanced Sea Kayak Rescue Skills
Dates
Times
Price
Ratio
Coach
Course dates
- May 24, 2026
- July 11, 2026
- August 30, 2026
Mastering Incident Management: Advanced Sea Kayak Rescues
While the calm surface of a lake may lack the swell of the open ocean, it provides the perfect "laboratory" to refine and perfect your rescue techniques. This Advanced Rescue Workshop is designed for paddlers who already understand the fundamentals of T-rescues and self-rescues but want to expand their toolkit and improve their efficiency under pressure.
Regularly practicing your rescue skills builds more than just safety—it builds the confidence to paddle in more challenging conditions, whether that’s a windy day on the lake, the surf zone at the coast, or the flow of a river. Our focus is to increase your speed, fluency, and ability to manage a wide range of real-world incidents.
Why the Lake? Lake environments allow for high-intensity, repetitive drills without the distraction of wind and waves. This ensures your technique is flawless and "muscle-memorized" before you take it back to the coast.
The Mindset: Be prepared to get wet, get tired, and have a lot of fun breaking down and solving complex scenarios.
Course Goal
By the end of the day, you will be able to perform an efficient T-rescue under pressure, have mastered one or more reliable self-rescue methods, and possess the knowledge to manage injured or unconscious casualties both in and out of the water.
Course Content
- Develop a "bombproof," lightning-fast T-rescue.
- Practical Training: Test your skills in active, fun, and challenging szenarios.
- Self-Rescue Mastery: Review and refine self-recovery techniques in combination with other skills.
- Casualty Management: Learn the critical steps for rescuing unconscious or injured paddlers.
Course Specifics
This workshop moves beyond simple mechanics into complex incident management.
1. The Professional T-Rescue
We review the "gold standard" sea kayak rescue, practicing under time pressure and through various distractions. The goal is to develop a reliable tool that works instinctively when conditions turn demanding.
2. Advanced Self-Rescues
We explore and refine a variety of self-recovery methods, including:
- The Cowboy & Assisted Cowboy: Rapid re-entries for various conditions.
- The Re-entry and Roll: A clean, efficient way to get back in and upright.
- Paddle Float Rescues: Ensuring reliability through practice.
- The Bow (Eskimo) Rescue: A vital tool for helping fellow paddlers recover without them ever leaving their boats.
3. Unconscious & Injured Paddler Rescues
Learn specialized techniques for high-stakes situations:
- The Scoop Rescue: Safely recovering an injured or unconscious paddler back into their boat.
- The "Hand of God": A critical skill for righting a capsized, unconscious paddler directly from the water.
4. Towing & Incident Management
- Swimmer Management: How to effectively paddle with a swimmer who has lost their boat.
- Tow Line Mastery: Deploying, managing, and releasing single and rafted tows safely.
Before You Book
This course is the perfect season-starter or "pre-trip" refresher. Note: This is a highly practical, immersion-based course; be prepared to spend a significant amount of time in the water!
It is designed for paddlers who are already familiar with the standard T-rescue and have experimented with self-rescue techniques.
Active
This course involves full days out in moderate conditions or higher-intensity activities. While still focused on exercises and technique, it may involve increased distances, more demanding drills, or bigger conditions such as waves, Beaufort scale 3–4 winds, or flowing water.
- Sea Kayak
- Spray Deck
- Paddle
- Buoyancy Aid
- Drysuit or neoprene depending on the weather
- Water shoes
- Towline, paddle float, pump
- Lockers and changing rooms
- Own kayak equipment (if possible)
- Swimwear and personal kayak clothing
- Medication
- Sun protection
Minimum age 15
3. Cancellation by the customer
The withdrawal must be in writing and cancellation fees will be calculated as follows: NB. The Percentage refers to the cancellation fee from the total course or tour fee. For all our activities we recommend purchasing cancellation insurance at the time of booking.
3.2 Courses and Coaching in Switzerland
- More than 7 days before the start of the activity: CHF 50 administration fee.
- 7 days -24hours before the start of the activity 50%.
- 24 hours before the start of the activity/no shows 100%.
Meet The Team
Jolien Gekiere
Become a part of the Hightide Outdoor & Paddle Community
We want to share our love of the outdoors and paddling with as many people as possible. We look forward to more paddling and outdoor events together. You want to be part of it? Then make sure you get your regular online outdoor and kayak inspiration and sign up for our newsletter! We would be happy if you become a part of our community.
Coaching Philosophy
At Hightide, we believe in coaching the individual. Our courses start from where you are and guide you toward your personal paddling goals.
For some, this means building confidence to paddle and enjoy nature. For others, it’s about improving efficiency for expeditions or long-distance paddling. It could also involve developing the skills to venture onto the sea or mastering techniques for rivers, rock gardens, and surf.
Whatever your aim, our extensive experience on the ocean and deep understanding of sea kayaking will help you move forward. All our coaches come from a sea kayaking background, hold professional qualifications, and are passionate not just about paddling but also about coaching. We’ve spent years refining what truly makes a difference in the sport and are committed to delivering it in the most effective way—by making you feel the learning.
When you join a Hightide course, you’ll leave with a clear understanding of how to keep improving and a structured way to retain what you've learned. We see our role as creating the right conditions for learning, so your progress continues long after the course ends.