Ontario Kayakers Spring Social

New for this year, OSKC will be offering a spring social, discover kayaking and skills tune-up event. If you have never tried kayaking before, this is the best and cheapest option to get out on the water with an instructor to see if it’s for you. Learn to kayak with us. If you are already a kayaker and have taken some training but want to head out with an instructor to start the season and tune-up your strokes and rescues, we have you covered. Finally if you have been kayaking for a while and are ready to learn how to roll your kayak, this is the first rolling clinic we are offering of the season. If these dates don’t work check out our rolling weekend in Parry Sound. If you want to come and get social with other paddlers but these dates don’t work for you, check out Paddlepalooza our Georgian Bay paddling festival in September! Finally, if you just want to come to the event to say hello and hang out with other paddlers, feel free to come and say hello to our instructors!

Discover kayaking – For complete beginners

How are you supposed to know if kayaking is a sport you want to get into and invest in, unless you get out on the water with an instructor and see if you like it. This event is the cheapest way to do just that. We provide the equipment that you need as well as a Paddle Canada certified instructor to keep you safe and give you some tips. We have kept this lesson as reasonable as we can so you can discover kayaking without investing too much. Ready to commit and take your first certified course? Check out our Paddle Canada Level 1 Skills Courses.

3-Hour clinics, Saturday or Sunday 0900-1200 or 1400-1700 $80+hst

Spring paddler tune-up clinic – Refresh your skills for the season

For paddlers who have already been kayaking for a while, this is a way to tune up your skills at the start of the season. Maybe you took your level 1 or 2 skills course already, and just want a refresher on your strokes and rescues, this three-hour clinic will get you out on the water with the experts that can tune your skills up ready for padding season. Have you already got these skills dialed in? Ready for the next level? Check out our Paddle Canada Level 2 Skills Courses.

3-Hour clinics, Saturday or Sunday 0900-1200 or 1400-1700 $80+hst

Learn to roll – Work on the ultimate capsize recovery

The third clinic that we are offering at our spring social is a learn to roll clinic. This three-hour lesson will start with an on-land theory lesson, a demonstration and then an on-water coaching element. James, our senior instructor will be there to run this course and has successfully taught hundreds of paddlers to roll over the past 20 years. If you are commited to learning to roll, check out our Learn to Roll weekend.

3-Hour clinics, Saturday or Sunday at 0900-1200 $100+hst

Used kayaks for sale

We will be bringing our used rental kayaks and other paddling gear to sell at the event. You don’t need to have signed up for a class to come down and check out our used kayaks or to come and say hello to our instructors. We would love to see you and hear about your plans for the summer. It will be nice to see some familiar and new faces.

We will be offering test paddles of our used kayaks on Saturday afternoon and evening and Sunday afternoon.

How to sign up

To sign up for one of our 3-hour sessions, click on the book now button and then during checkout add in the session time and date that works best for you.

Your Instructors

Our certified instructors are some of Canada's best!

Jeff Phaneuf

Jeff Phaneuf is one of OSKC's hardest working coaches. He has been a full-time teacher and coach (volleyball & rugby) at Ursuline College in Chatham for almost a quarter of a century. He is combining his passion for teaching and the outdoors by instructing many of our Paddle Canada Level 1 and Level 2 programs.

Jeff Arbing

Jeff is drawn to the dynamic side of kayaking and thoroughly enjoys working with people to embrace the psychological challenges presented with paddling.

James Roberts

James started kayaking at 18. Since then his paddling career has taken him all over the world as an expedition leader and senior kayak instructor.

Joedy Ebert

Joedy has been teaching teenagers for 25 years but she has always recharged at and on the water. She got her Paddle Canada start with OSKC 10 years ago, spending the years since padding the shores of Lake Ontario and the Niagara waterways. She is thrilled to be joining the team at OSKC.

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