<i>KURSWOCHE</i>JERSEY</i>
<i>KURSWOCHE</i>JERSEY</i>
+
  • © 2025 Salty Cosmos GmbH 0

KURSWOCHEJERSEY

Switch Language... 

Course

11.–16.05.2025

COURSE WEEK JERSEY

La Corbière, Seymour Tower, Tour de Rozel, Grève de Lecq, Bonne Nuit Bay… These are not just beautiful place names, but some of the greatest sea kayaking spots in Europe. They are all on the dream island of Jersey. The "Island of the Tides" is a paradise for all sea kayakers who are looking for moving water and exciting coastlines. Having said this, we must note that the tides during this course week are not exactly big. This was deliberately chosen because it gives us a gentle introduction to the topic of tideraces, which should be particularly appealing to those who are still a little wary of rapids. And it's the perfect chance to prepare for the Jersey Sea Kayak Holidays week immediately afterwards, when things culminate in a 10m spring tide.

Even though the Tideraces feature prominently this week, it won't be all about them. Of course, we will also explore the rugged rocky cape of La Corbière and the caves and cliffs of the vast north coast or navigate through the vast intertidal zone in the southeast of the island. A visit to the Seymour Tower, the lighthouse of La Corbière and a day trip to Devil's Hole are a must.

This intensive course week is a highlight for everyone who has already gained a little experience on the sea and offers huge opportunities to advance into a new dimension of sea kayaking.

DETAILS

Programme Day 1
Day 1
Our course begins on Sunday, April 28th, at around 10:00 a.m. with an official welcome and introduction session, after which we want to get started as soon as possible. Ideally, we would like to distribute the kayaks and gear the day before so that we won't lose any valuable paddling time. We therefore ask you to come to Jersey already on Saturday (April 27th) if possible.
Programme Day 2 – Day 5
Days 2-5
We will plan the detailed programme for the course week day by day the evening before – always in consideration of the tides and adapted to Neptune's moods and the goals and wishes of our participants.

In any case, it is important for us to cover the following:

- Paddling in currents and tide races: riding wave trains and surfing standing waves, riding eddies, traversing, using currents tactically, having fun. Capsizing, rolling, rescuing… We can find great places for this all over the island. But the best are certainly: Tour de Rozel, Belle Hougue, Noirmont Point and La Corbière – all at different phases in the eternal cycle of the tides.

- Rock hopping and exploring coastlines: Since the paddling paradise of Jersey is also blessed with super exciting coastlines, paddling on and between the rocks is just as “mandatory” as the wet fun in the tideraces. The entire north coast and the southwest, from Noirmont Point to La Corbière, stand out here. The absolute highlight in this regard is certainly the extremely rugged coast between Grève de Lecq and the Devil's Hole, in the northwest of the island, with all its caves, reefs and rock gardens.

- Navigation and tidal paddling: No visit to Jersey without a paddling trip to Seymour Tower in the vast intertidal zone in the southeast of the island. Nowhere can you experience the play of the tides more impressively than here, in an area that goes dry for several nautical miles at spring tide and fills up again just six hours later. A natural paradise and one of the best places to practice navigation in tidal waters with lots of current.

- Surfing: Less known, but still a fact, is that Jersey is also a real (kayak) surfing paradise. The entire west coast of the island is practically one huge sandy beach that takes full advantage of the swell of the Atlantic. If the conditions are right, we will definitely spend a day surf paddling and riding great waves. If the swell from the west is too strong, there are less exposed alternatives, for example on the nearby, south-facing beach of St. Brelade.
Programme Day 6
Day 6
Our last day of paddling is basically like the others. The only difference is that we have to allow some additional time for returning the material and, if necessary, dismantling the camp, paying for accommodation or other logistical activities in connection with the upcoming departure. In order to be able to handle all of this without stress, we will make sure that we will be back at camp a little earlier than normal. We will announce the specific schedule the evening before or in the morning at the latest.
Extras and Options

Sea Kayak Award


Stacks Image 5
More Info
Participant Numbers: Minimum 5, Maximum 12
Languages: English and German

TYPICAL CONDITIONS

This is what you may hope for

Weather
The climate on Jersey, which lies just a few nautical miles off the coast of Brittany, is generally much warmer than on the British mainland. The clear, clean water of the English Channel is still fresh, but a quick swim is definitely possible. Of course, it can rain in Jersey in spring. But you don't have to be an overly optimistic person to expect mostly pleasant temperatures and sunshine.

Wind
Anything is possible and windy days are quite likely. But it doesn't matter too much because on Jersey you can choose the side of the island that has the best conditions.

Waves
The west of the island looks directly onto the open Atlantic. Logically, the biggest waves come here. On days with a lot of swell, some of it always washes around the north coast. In the east, the waves are much smaller and shorter. Here it can even be completely flat when big waves roll in from the west.

ACTIVITIES

This is what you may expect

Click on the pictures to learn more about the activities.

Stacks Image 8

Discover Europe's Most Beautiful Coastlines With Us

There are paddlers for whom sea kayaking primarily means making distance. Often these people paddle purposefully in a straight line past the most beautiful coasts – and overlook all the small and large things that there are to discover. So many beautiful things, so many incredible things, so many spontaneous adventures – if you take the time for them. That's exactly what we mean by "exploring the coast": taking advantage of every opportunity for experiences and fascinating discoveries. The lines between “touring” and “play” blur depending on what presents itself to us. Depending on the tide, swell, wind and weather, a coastline is always different.

We don't measure the success of a paddle-day in kilometers, but in the number of "Wows"! And believe us: there are a lot of them where we go sea kayaking with you.
Stacks Image 8

Surfing – of Course in a Sea Kayak

At Salty Cosmos we agree: there is almost nothing more addictive than surfing with a sea kayak! No matter whether forward, backward or a reverse start with a turn (like Ella in the picture above), steep pirouettes, spectacular "bongo slides" and fast rolls in the breaking wave – surfing a sea kayak is an absolutely fantastic thing. It is not only extremely fun, but it sharpens your boat control and technique like nothing else. Being able to paddle in the surf zone also means a huge increase in safety: Here you will quickly find out whether you can really intuitively edge and brace, whether your roll works effectively without a setup and whether you understand what your kayak is doing in such a dynamic environment.

You alone decide what conditions are right for you when going sea kayak surfing. It's not about who surfs the biggest waves. It's not (just) about adrenaline rushes or about who can pull off the most spectacular stunts, but simply about having maximum fun and learning while playing. And yes: capsizing is part of it and is neither dangerous nor something to feel ashamed of.
Stacks Image 8

Dynamic Water: Widen Your Comfort Zone

Paddling in dynamic water – whether generated by wind, tide or swell – provides variety and excitement. And it makes you a better paddler.

It is part of our course structure to accompany you step by step from the calm lake to increasingly challenging conditions. What is “challenging” on this journey and what is specifically understood as “dynamic water” – that is highly subjective and is ultimately determined by you, your skills and, above all, your comfort zone, which we will try to carefully expand together. That's why we work with you to find conditions that challenge you without overwhelming you or generating bad experiences. Because we want you to have new experiences, become a safer paddler and walk away from the water with a good feeling and a big grin after each day with us.
Stacks Image 8

Rockhopping: Big Fun, Also in Smaller Waves

Next to surfing, rock hopping is certainly the most playful activity in the vast cosmos of sea kayaking. Paddling with the waves at exactly the right moment over a washed-over granite rock, through narrow passages and into bubbling rock features – always in the rhythm of the waves – that's rock hopping. It takes timing, skill, good observation skills, confident control strokes and a bit of boat control, which fortunately grows with each session.

Rock hopping is an activity that quickly becomes addictive and is a lot of fun. There is no need for big waves. On the contrary: the best rock hopping sessions take place in generally rather calm conditions. Even small waves can create turbulence, suction and very dynamic conditions between the rocks. You have to accept scratches and dents in your kayak before involving in this activity, otherwise it definitely won't be fun. Even a small hole in the boat can happen from time to time, which is why we always have repair materials with us. And to ensure that no injuries occur, we always exercise caution. A good rule for rock hopping is: never play where you don't want to swim.
Stacks Image 8

Caves: Discover Fascinating Worlds

In addition to paddling in rock gardens and under cliffs, caves are the highlights of excursions along many Atlantic or Mediterranean coasts. It is absolutely fascinating to marvel at what nature has created there over millions of years. It goes without saying that we too always venture into the belly of the coast to discover other worlds there. Our sea kayaks are particularly suitable for this purpose like no other type of boat.

The cliffs of Cantabria and Asturias in the north of Spain or the north coast of Jersey each have a particularly large number of spectacular caves. These include narrow and long caves that can only be explored on very quiet days, but also huge cathedrals, some of which consist of several connected rooms or have different entrances and exits. Some caves on the Asturian coast even have small openings to the sky where light shines in on sunny days. On stormy days, the so-called "bufones" develop here: the water pressed into the cave by the huge waves then shoots out of the openings in high fountains. An impressive example of the fact that it is better to only paddle into caves on calm days…
Stacks Image 8

Safety & Rescue: Absolutely Essential for All of Us

If you really want to be safe on the sea in a kayak, you have to practice rescues regularly. By the way, this also applies to paddlers who go on guided tours! The stronger and safer a group, the more your guide can do with you. And the feeling is even better.

That's why our courses include rescue training: from simple and common to difficult and complex. We always practice first in calm water, but eventually in places that are a little more realistic and challenging.

In addition to training on the water, other things are also very important to us in this context: Above all, essential knowledge about topics such as radio, signaling devices and emergency equipment, first aid, sea survival and hypothermia.
Stacks Image 8

Tideraces: Play Spots in the Rhythm of the Tides

Tidal races are very similar to rapids found in a river. With two fundamental differences: The water is salty and every six hours it stops and changes direction of flow – slowly at first, then faster and faster until it reaches its maximum speed again after three hours, at mid-tide.

It goes without saying that such rapids are the icing on the cake for many advanced paddlers, which is why places like Jersey, where there are a particularly large number of great tide races, enjoy a special reputation. The island is essentially a rock in the huge river of the English Channel, through which gigantic amounts of water are sucked back and forth twice daily, in the eternal rhythm dictated by the moon.

We also love playing in the current: paddling in and out of eddies, traversing or surfing standing waves. The dynamics and power of flowing water are fascinating, especially when you consider that they are not caused by a gradient, but solely by the gravitational forces of the moon and sun and are absolutely predictable: When planning a camp months in advance, with one look into the tide table we know on which day and at which hour the current in our favorite tide races will be optimal for playing and learning.
Stacks Image 8

Navigation: There is Simply no Way Around it

Sea kayaking is not just a sport, but a complex activity in nature. That's why you also need knowledge of navigation, among other things. If you only paddle within sight of shores with a clear and easily recognisable shoreline, remembering where you parked your car is probably enough. Things get a lot more complex though in areas like the archipelagoes of Sweden or Finland, where you travel between hundreds of very similar-looking islands. If you don't know how to use a map and compass while paddling here, it won't take long for you to get hopelessly lost. Tours in areas with tidal currents are even worse: If here you are not fully on top of the matter and can calculate and paddle a course precisely, you'll probably not reach your destination but end up somewhere far out at sea. A very unpleasant situation at best…

Navigation is a fundamentally important and exciting topic that we take great pleasure in teaching in our courses. And it is absolutely part of safe sea kayaking.
Stacks Image 8

Seriously Fun Stuff…

Land on a cliff just to make espresso... Open your spraydeck and go for a swim in a bubbling gully… Get up in your kayak and do some "stand up paddling"… Go backwards through the tide race... Surf without a paddle... Or what about a rodeo with a person on the back deck? Or would you rather try a roll with a “koala” on your bow? Why? Just because you can do it. And because it's fun. There are a thousand ways to have fun and learn in sea kayaking (and a million more that we haven't invented yet)! At least for everyone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and who hasn't stopped being curious.
Stacks Image 8

Planning: Essential for a Sea Kayak Trip on Your Own

The foundation for a successful sea kayak trip is robust planning. And unfortunately, a lack of (or incorrect) planning is usually the first step down the road towards what eventually evolves into a mayday. It's that simple.

Here you will learn all the basics to prepare for a completely successful, safe and, in the most positive sense, unforgettable sea kayak trip: weather, sea state, safety, emergency planning, required (and useful) equipment, communication, navigation.
Stacks Image 8

Tides: Fascinating but not Magic

If you want to make the step from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, you need a solid understanding of the tides. With us you learn all about the gravitational forces behind the tides, reading and understanding nautical charts and tide tables, calculating drift, the speed of the current, and water height at a certain point in time... And all of this is also very doable for people who don't have a particular penchant for mathematics (like us).
Stacks Image 8

Fantastic Day Trips

Touring doesn't always mean that you have to paddle for several days with a lot of luggage: Exciting day trips let you enjoy the juicy bits of a coast and you're back at the base camp in the evening. And at the same time, a "day trip" doesn't always have to be synonymous with touring: Just as often as we undertake an excursion-style day trip, we go on paddle-strolls "just around the corner" to a particularly cool rock garden, a tide race or Surf beach and see what happens there. This way, without paddling many kilometers, we also make great, fulfilling and exciting days of sea kayaking.
Stacks Image 3300
What is this?
What is this?

Our Skill-o-meter is intended to give you a quick, rough guide to the approximate level of experience and paddling skills we require to take part in this programme.

It says NOTHING about what conditions we will encounter on site.

To find out exactly what skills we expect from you to take part in this programme, please be sure to read the specifications below ("What we expect from you").

Close
Close

This is what we expect from you

You can swim

Basics: Dealing with your spraydeck, get in and out of your kayak, wet-exit

Minimum one week experience on the sea

Experience in waves of 1 m and F4 winds

Launching and landing on a suitable beach in waves of ca. 0.5m

SAFETY PARAMETERS

This is what you can rely on

The sea does what it does. With our safety parameters we determine the maximum environmental conditions up to which we will go on the water* during this programme:
Wind
Offshore wind:
  • Up to 21 knots (wind force 5) in areas with predominantly steep banks that offer enough protection
  • Up to 15 knots (wind force 4) in areas with predominantly flat shorelines that offer insufficient protection

Onshore wind:
  • Up to 15 knots (wind force 4) in areas with predominantly steep, rocky shores
  • Up to 21 knots (wind force 5) in areas with flat, sandy shores with easy landing options
Waves
  • Swell of up to 1m and maximum 15 sec. period in areas with predominantly rocky shores
  • Swell of up to 1.5m and a maximum of 15 sec. period in areas with predominantly sandy, flat shores that provide safe landing
The sea weather report or swell forecast serves as the basis for assessment. In the case of short, steep wind waves, cross seas, etc., the situation is assessed individually.
If it is not possible to find these (or easier) conditions in our paddling area, we will stay on land. Other safety parameters (extreme gusts, rapidly falling air pressure, thunderstorms, etc.) also apply.

* For more information on this topic, see our FAQs

EVERYTHING ELSE

This is what you need to organise by yourself

For all of our programs, arrival and departure as well as all transport and on-site accommodation are the responsibility of the participants. This means that you have to take care of these things yourself. Below you will find all the information you need:
Meeting point & arrival
GETTING THERE

Meeting point:
Camping Beuvelande
Rue de Beuvelande
Jersey
JE3 6EZ
Jersey
Website: https://www.campinginjersey.co.uk

Time:
For a quieter and relaxed start to the course, we recommend arriving the day before (Saturday, May 10th). When exactly you arrive doesn't matter. Please prepare to be self-sufficient on the day of arrival and note that your Salty Cosmos team is also busy preparing and will not be available before the course begins.

The course starts on Sunday morning (May 11th) at 10:00.

Getting there:
To get to Jersey by car, you first have to drive through France to Saint-Malo, in the east of Brittany. There you take the ferry to Jersey, St. Helier.

The Beuvelande campsite is located quite remote, in the middle of the agricultural, green east of the island. To reach it you have to find your way through a tangle of tiny country lanes. Please note that some of the lanes are so narrow that it is difficult for very large motorhomes to get through. But if you stick to the larger roads as much as possible, it won't be a problem.

When making travel arrangements, please don't forget to ask the other participants whether they are looking for or offering a ride.

Traveling to Jersey by public transport is highly recommended. You can travel from Zurich or Basel to Paris by TGV in no time, where you have to change train stations. Then continue, again by TGV, via Rennes and to Saint-Malo. The whole thing is very uncomplicated, relatively quick, convenient and not even that expensive.

On Jersey itself, you can easily get to the campsite near the campsite by bus, to the bus stop “The Royal” in St. Martin. Please note, however, that you will probably need a place in a car for the rest of the week, so it makes sense to coordinate with the other participants. If there are not enough spaces in private cars, it makes sense to rent a small car cheaply.

Flying: There are direct connections to Jersey from Zurich or Munich. Otherwise you have to fly via London, which usually involves a longer connection. Please check whether the TGV would be a better choice in this case.
Accommodation
Our base camp for this course week will be on Campsite Beuvelande, in the rural east of Jersey.

If you don't want to stay at the campsite, you can of course also look for an alternative nearby (holiday apartment, AirBnB, hotel, etc.). However, it is important that you are able to get to the agreed meeting point on time, independently and without any problems.
Please remember that either way you are responsible for organising, booking and paying your accommodation.
Rations
In all Salty Cosmos programmes, food and drinks are generally the responsibility of the participants. Please consider whether you would like to cook for yourself or eat in a privately organised communal group.
Insurance
Accident insurance, travel health insurance, rescue and recovery insurance
In all Salty Cosmos programs, accident insurance, travel health insurance and rescue and recovery insurance are the responsibility of the participants. Please take care of these things early.

Cancellation cost insurance
Please take out cancellation insurance when you complete your booking. If you were to become sick ahead of the programme, it would be a pity if you were not only missing out, but also losing money.

More questions? See our FAQs

This is what Silvy Seal says

Jersey...When I hear that name, my heart beats faster! And not just because I will meet so many of my relatives there, but because it's simply fantastic! The kelp forests, the tides, the currents and the waves... I can play here for days and never get bored.

I find it particularly funny to watch the paddlers as they first cautiously hold their noses into the currents, but then quickly dart from one side of a tide race to the other or surf standing waves. High five, people, keep it up! It's not that difficult, is it?

Because it's so great here and there's so much to do, I'll of course stay for the second week when my friend Frédéric comes to take over. And you?

Normal price
1440 CHF

Price including use of our gear

This price includes a kayak, paddle and all the gear you need for participating. You need to order this gear separately after booking, ahead the programme.

Arrival and departure, accommodation and meals are the responsibility of the participants and are therefore not included in the price.

Reduced Price
1290 CHF

Price with your own material

Price if you participate with your own equipment. You are responsible for bringing your kayak and equipment and, if necessary, transporting them during the programme.

Arrival and departure, accommodation and meals are the responsibility of the participants and are therefore not included in the price.

Make two weeks out of one and save a lot of money!

Book the Jersey Training Week and the Jersey Sea Kayak Holiday Week together for a special package price of only 2200 CHF (reduced price with your own material) or 2500 CHF (normal price with material from us).

BOOK NOW
BOOK NOW
Stacks Image 5
Stacks Image 7
<< Back to the Salty Cosmos <<