kayaking with 7 year old

[[TFU] Thegoon84]

So my 7 year old is an absolute beast of a swimmer. She's advanced all girls in her age group.

We're fortunate enough to live next to some of the best beaches/waters in the world aka the Gower... Of which i know the area and the known spots of Kayak'ers like the back of my hand. I had the best job in the world from 18 to 21 where i would take youth offenders out Kayaking with an organized group around 20 days of the year, so witnessed some life changing days.... I want to pass that on to my daughter.

HOWEVER... While i'm a solid swimmer, i have no real experience of the Sea or Kayak and would never put myself at risk, let alone my daughter....

My question is, could anyone suggest/recommended how i would first train myself how to be safe on a Kayak and how to read the sea, then more importantly keep safe? Is it worth me joining a local group or something? I've of course no intention of going out in bad or even mild weather.... But would be such an amazing bond to be able to do something like that with my daughter.

 

[semi-pro waster]

Joining a local group sounds like a good idea and would give you access to facilities/expertise of members and possibly some coaching. It might also be worth looking into a recognised qualification such as British Canoeing's 3 Star award, that would mean you're at a fairly competent level and it seems they do offer discipline specific versions including for sea kayaking. There are 1 and 2 star awards so you can build up to it, in fact it might be worth enrolling your daughter in one of those while you take a more advanced course so you know she has the basics of kayaking when you start.

 

[Amp34]

Personally I wouldn't bother doing any qualifications for yourself, there's not really any need. On the other hand it may be a good option for your daughter.

Joining a local group would be good, alternatively if you've got a bit of experience already (sounds like you do considering you took people out for 3 years!?) have a look into doing a weekend or two with someone like sea kayaking Cornwall. We used them for a weekend before we did a weeks solo expedition a couple of years ago. They'll refresh your paddling skills and teach you self rescue etc.

This is the course we did http://www.seakayakingcornwall.com/courses/intromediate/ although I'm sure there will be a few companies in South Wales that do the same thing too and may imgive you a bit more local expertise.