Maine Wilderness Voyagers

Th distance between seats is greater than arm's length.

Small Children:

A child who is too small to propel a kayak should be in a double kayak with a big person.

The child will be in the front. The big person will be in the back. The child needs to be able to sit in their own kayak seat alone. The big person will not be able to hold the child in place. The big person will propel the kayak.

Special needs children:

If a special needs child is able to sit in their own kayak seat alone, then that child is welcome to join us. The special needs folks I have worked with include:

A young lady with cerebral palsy. She was unable to walk. I lifted her, and sat her in the kayak. Once in the kayak, she was fine. At the end I lifted her out of the kayak.

A girl with some kind of spinal issue. She couldn't sit up in a kayak, without a backrest. Two of us helped her into a double kayak. Then while sitting in the kayak, she laid her back on the kayak, while someone else paddled. At the end we helped her out of the kayak.

A severely autistic boy. He was in a kayak with a guide. His caretaker was in another kayak, and always stayed very close to him.

For special needs children it is probably best to kayak in a pond, instead of in sea water.

Folks with fear of the water:

I have worked with multiple children who were afraid of going in deep water. In every case I have gotten the child to overcome their fear.

If you have such a child in your group, then I recommend that we go kayaking in a pond, once summer has arrived. By then the pond will be warm enough to swim in.

Given a couple of hours in a warm pond, I should be able to get almost anyone to feel comfortable in the water.

Overnight Kayak Camping Trip Details:

What will be provided:

Kayaks, paddles, and life jackets.

What you should bring on overnight kayak camping trips:

Food and drinks.
Clothing that you don't mind getting wet.
Hat or sunglasses to keep the sun out of your eyes.
Footwear that you can get wet, and won't come off.
Spare set of dry clothes.
Warm clothing. It can get cold at night, even in summer.
Camping gear

We should discuss details. I have some camping gear I can lend.

Instruction is possible at no extra cost.

Skills I can teach:

Kayaking Skills

Fire & Cooking Skills

Navigation Skills

Basic paddle strokes

Wet kayak exits

Rescuing a capsized kayaker

Rescuing yourself after capsizing

Towing a disabled kayaker

By the end everyone should feel comfortable in a kayak

Navigation Skills

Fire & Cooking Skills

Navigation Skills

Kayak exploration

Compass use

Nautical charts

Aids to navigation

Tide tables

By the end everyone should know how to navigate from island to island, on their own, using a chart and compass.

Fire & Cooking Skills

Knife safety

Fire safety

Cut wood into small pieces

Start a fire in a tiny wood stove

Cook a meal on that stove

Eat the meal you cooked

Clean your dishes

Roast marshmallows

Risk Management

Boy cut himself while cutting wood, to make a fire, to cook his own food.

Risks cannot be completely eliminated in kayaking, anymore than they can be eliminated in driving.

We take these steps in order to minimize, and mitigate risks:

We keep the group small. No more than 6 customers, one guide, and an assistant.

EVERYONE wears a lifejacket while kayaking.

The guide is a Registered Maine Guide.

The guide is a Wilderness First Responder.

The guide carries a hypothermia kit, in case someone gets cold.

The guide has a current criminal history record check.

In bad weather we will cancel if necessary, and refund you 100%.

If it's too windy in the sea, we'll go to a pond.

If it's too windy for even a pond, then we will cancel.

If we cancel due to weather, we will refund you 100%.