New Forest Kayak and Canoe Club

The New Forest Kayak and Canoe Club was founded in 2007 by a small group of enthusiastic individuals who were keen to meet and improve their paddling skills.  Since then the club has grown to over one hundred members with a great range of abilities up to British Canoeing Advanced Sea Kayak leader. We are a friendly and welcoming club committed to inclusion and we invite sea kayakers to join us regardless of background.   Our geographical location has naturally led to a high proportion of sea kayakers and although sea kayaking is the primary focus of the club – many of our members also have interests in white water, open canoeing and surf kayaking.

In order to join the NFKCC you will need to demonstrate that you have either a ‘sea kayak’ (which we define as a kayak with a closed cockpit and sealed bulkheads), or an open canoe.  As a club member you can use any other craft you may own on a trip, as long as it is appropriate for the trip and the trip leader is happy (for example, a sit on top kayak, SUP, whitewater or surf kayak)

We meet on Wednesday evenings throughout the year spending the spring and summer evenings on the Beaulieu River and paddling locally in the Solent area.  In the winter we move inside for pool sessions to practice in the warm.  Throughout the year we regularly practice safety skills such as rescues and rolling and encourage all members to take part in these fun wet sessions. Thanks to a grant from “Awards for All” the club has a small number of boats and other equipment available for club members to use. Click here for details.

Although we are not a coaching organisation, the club manages to cater for members who are relatively new to paddling through mentoring, support and encouragement from an active core of members who are generally willing to spend time helping. This infectious enthusiasm results in many members who continually wish improve their skills and experience through professional training and coaching.

The club organises a programme of events throughout the year hoping to cater for all our members abilities and experience.  These include sea kayaking trips along the Hampshire and Dorset coasts, trips to Devon and Cornwall as well as some weekend trips. Club members are keen to attend sea kayak symposiums during the year and members are encouraged to undertake professional coaching with courses organised for Foundation Safety and Rescue, VHF Radio and First Aid training.  Details of the current programme of trips, Symposiums and courses can be found on the Events Calendar.

The club has an active online forum available to all members where peer paddles are arranged, equipment and events are discussed and a gallery of photographs from club trips and other events can be found.

The current membership fees for British Canoeing members are £36 for an Adult.  Juniors will be accepted for a membership fee of £18 as long as a parent or guardian is a current member and accompanies the junior on the water at all times or is present on the poolside during pool sessions.  An additional charge of £2.50 is applicable for non British Canoeing members.

Prospective new members will already have either a sea kayak (which we define as a kayak with a closed cockpit and sealed bulkheads) or an open canoe and have some experience of kayaking or canoeing as we are not a club for complete beginners.

Your experience does not have to be extensive, but we ask that you should have some fundamental skills, such as paddling in a straight line, turning and basic control of your sea kayak or canoe and capsize awareness. Although we do not ask for the certificate, you should be able to comfortably demonstrate skills at least comparable to the old British Canoeing 2* or ideally their new 'Paddle Explore' Award (https://gopaddling.info/explore-award/). We have two sea kayaks available for club members to use and these are managed through the Quartermaster (note that in fairness to other members they cannot be block booked for multiple weeks). 

Sea Kayak Leader Training 

During 2024 the club was awarded a coaching and leadership bursary by PaddleUK through their Stronger Together fund to help us to provide Sea Kayak Leader training and assessment.

Twelve aspiring sea kayak leaders have so far received training from Penzance-based coach Richard Uren at Paddlecrest coaching. The club is committed to continuing this development programme into the future so that club trips are run by qualified leaders in line with Paddle UK’s new standards for deployment.

For further information and details please contact the New Forest Kayak & Canoe Club Secretary.