Welcome to the Tayside Sea Kayak Club
About Us
Based in Broughty Ferry by Dundee at the mouth of the Tay, the Tayside Sea Kayak Club is an active paddle sports club with over 100 members. We paddle weekly during the summer season on Tuesday nights and most weekends we have day and multi-day paddles all over Scotland. The club is a great place to gain new skills as we regularly run courses during the season (both on and off the water).
Membership
The Tayside Sea Kayak Club welcomes experienced and beginner paddlers to join our active club.
Membership provides an opportunity to:
-
Expand your skills: We offer training resources and equipment to help you reach your paddling ambitions.
-
Connect with fellow enthusiasts: Join a friendly group of like-minded people who share a passion for sea kayaking.
-
Discover new areas: Explore coastlines and lochs on day trips and multi-day paddles across Scotland.
-
Enjoy regular paddles: The club meets for a social paddle from our clubhouse at Broughty Ferry most Tuesday evenings between April and September.
Membership Eligibility:
We welcome applications from experienced paddlers who meet one of the following criteria:
-
Hold the BCU Sea Kayak Award (old 3 star) or equivalent qualification.
-
Possess UKCC level 1 or above coaching awards.
-
Have relevant sea kayaking experience and competence but do not hold qualifications.
All applicants will be subject to an assessment by the club’s coaches on the Tay at Broughty Ferry.
Beginner Membership: The club understands the importance of fostering new paddlers and we therefore offer a limited number of beginner membership training courses each year. If you're new to sea kayaking, you can apply for our beginner’s course. This course may take various forms, but typically would be two days of coaching, followed by a number of supported paddles to build the kayaking skills. Success in this process can lead to an invitation to join the Tuesday evening general Club paddles. As kayaking competence increases then new members may be in a position to start to join some of the Club paddles. Joining paddles is subject to the leader’s discretion, group balance, grading of the paddle, and weather conditions. As it takes time for a beginner to settle in and gain more experience, the number is usually limited to 12 per year.
Ready to Join?
Get in touch to learn more about membership and upcoming events.
Membership Cost
Annual membership is £25. We have a secure boat lock-up and (space permitting) can store kayaks for members for £60 per year.The course for beginners is £75 and this includes membership for the year. If you hire club boats, fill in THIS FORM and we'll bill you at the end of the season. Hire costs for kayaks is £5 for an evening, £10 for a full day, and £20 for a weekend.
Club Equipment
We have a fleet of 12 boats for all sizes of paddler available for hire, with paddles, wet-suits, spray decks and other equipment. Members get access to hire all the kit for their own use.
If you've hired some kit and still have to pay for that, use THIS FORM to log the hire and we'll bill you at the end of the season.
If you are hiring kit, please be aware of the club rules for hiring equipment.
Contact Us
Contact the Membership Secretary (Phil Butler) using the form here. Please also let him know if you are an experienced kayaker (describing your experience) or a beginner.
Frequently Asked Questions and Useful Links
What equipment do I need?
There are plenty of resources on line that list what you'll need depending on your experience and type of trip you're doing. See this list for an example.
Do you have a list of good online resources?
Say no more! A list of general planning tools are contained in this document.
For trainers, the PADDLERS PROGRESS and the FURTHER NOTES are useful companions for gauging trainee progress.
Want to improve your roll? The ROLLING TOOLBAG and some extra ROLLING TIPS have you covered.
Useful links for finding independent trips and training:
Our Constitution is here.
Our Standard Operating Procedures are here.