Sea Kayaking in Jersey. Guide books & resources
Jersey sea kayaking guides, articles and press cuttings about kayaking in Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Les Écréhous and Les Minquiers.
Derek Hairon is the author of the Channel Island and South East Coast Sea Kayaking guide book (Pesda Press). All you need to know about sea kayaking in the Channel Islands.
South East & Channel Islands Sea Kayaking Guidebook
Les Écréhous – a splash of colour. Derek writes about this superb destination in The Paddler Magazine. Pages 96-98.
Jersey Sea Caves. North coast sea caves to explore by sea kayak. The Paddler Magazine.
Sea Kayaking in Fog and Poor Visibility. Derek Hairon writes for Ocean Paddler Magazine.
Jersey Sea Kayak Guide Ocean Paddler Magazine guide to sea kayaking in Jersey.
Sea kayaking in Alderney– Derek Hairon writes about a sea kayak trip to Alderney -the most northern Channel Island- which is famous for its fast tide races. Published in Ocean Paddler.
Kayaking Around Jersey– by Tamara. A personal account of her circumnavigation of Jersey by sea kayak. An example of how you can have an outdoor adventure, sea kayaking in Jersey.
Hidden Island – Canoe Focus. Sea kayaking the caves of Jersey.
Les Écréhous– by Hazel Irvine. An offshore adventure to les Écréhous.
The Colours of Spring– By Clive Tully. An adventure holiday in Jersey.
La Maitresse Sauvage. Les Minquiers– by Jane James, in the award-winning Club Hotel and Spa’s in house magazine. An adventure tour to the most southerly island in the British Isles and home to the most southerly toilet!
Kayaking, surfing and coasteering. Watersports in Jersey by Ed Leigh. Pure Jersey Magazine.
Jersey’s hidden charms-Daily Telegraph magazine. Off Jersey’s north-east coast lies a series of smugglers’ islands, most of which are submerged at high tide. Tim Burrows writes about our boat and kayak tours to Les Écréhous.
Sea Kayaking at night. Useful kit to carry when kayaking at night, so you are seen by others on the water. We look at lasers, Odeo strobes, sea streamers and other forms of illumination for the sea kayaker. Article by Derek in Ocean Paddler Magazine #46, pages 30-34
Navigation and tides in Jersey
Tide Streams around Jersey.This document is a rough guide to the tidal streams around Jersey. Use at your own risk.
Tide streams off the Southeast coast of Jersey, St Clements Bay, Seymour and Icho towers. Tide streams amongst the gullies and gutters. Use at your own risk.
Jersey tide tables. Times of high water at St Helier Harbour.
Tide streams around Jersey
Live data showing tide streams in the Channel Islands from the French marine research organisation Ifremer.
The Admiralty tidal stream atlas for the Channel Islands and adjacent coast of France (NP 264) is an essential aid for anyone sea kayaking in Jersey and the Channel Islands. Alderney gets its own chapter due to the very fast and complex tide streams around Alderney, which I can vouch for!
You’ll find a basic tide stream atlas for Jersey here and a more detailed diagram showing the tide streams in the gullies off the south-east coast of Jersey.
This site has some excellent animations and is very accurate for the tidal streams around the Channel Islands and French coast: Marc.
You can learn a lot about tides, tide streams and kayak navigation on one of the many BCU Coastal Navigation and tidal planning courses. Or, buy a copy of Sea kayak Navigation by Franco Ferrero (who happens to be from Jersey) published by Pesda Press.
I also run Kayak navigation modules (certificated by the British Canoeing Awarding Body) courses. These can often be arranged on request and are available either in the day or in the evening. You’ll find more information on our Kayak Navigation courses page.
Sit-on-top sea kayak skills
Kayaking with Children by Derek Hairon. Tips and advice for families kayaking with children.
Rescue techniques for Sit-on-top kayaks:
Part one – assisted rescues. By Derek Hairon.
Part two – self-rescues. By Derek Hairon.
Sit-on-top kayak fishing. An introduction. This article covers kayak fishing safety for sit-on-top kayaks.
The Sea Kayaker’s Trident by Derek Hairon. Short magazine article. Why traditional sea kayaking needs to embrace sit-on-top sea kayaks. Since the article was written, the British Canoeing Sea Kayak award now allows sit-on-top kayaks.
Stay safe in your kayak. Useful information for both sit-on-top and closed cockpit sea kayakers. Derek Hairon helped to revise. Published by the RNLI.
Sea kayaking safety advice from Jersey Coastguard.
Sea Kayaking Adventures in Jersey. Press Coverage
Landing at les Ecrehous. Jersey is on the horizon.
Read what others have been saying about Jersey Kayak Adventures and our super coastline:
Classic sea kayaking destinations, Ocean Paddler Jersey P5. Ocean Paddler magazine.
Gallery Magazine. Sea kayaking with Derek Hairon. Pages 32-34.
“Derek Hairon’s Bucket List”. Our Director and BCAB level 5 coach lists his top things to do before he gets ancient in the Jersey Evening Post.
Free kayak safety classes initiative in Jersey. Jersey Evening Post.
Lonely Planet Magazine. 11 best things to do for an active weekend in the UK.
Jersey Watersports Heaven– Maggie King. Small World Magazine. Adventure activities with children in Jersey.
So Wild ist Jersey– In German by Oliver Abraham. Die Welt newspaper.
What Lies Beneath. (Daily Telegraph).
Near and Far (Daily Telegraph).
Mother Nature– Gabriella le Breton explores the outdoor activities in Jersey.
BBC Coast series 3 featured Neil Oliver kayaking to Les Ecrehous with Derek Hairon of Jersey Kayak Adventures.
Discover Jersey’s Adventurous Side– Matt Hill BMI baby flight magazine.
The Guardian Green Travel List.
Jersey Enterprise newsletter. We are on page 2.
Sit-on-top Kayak. A Beginner’s Manual
Written by Derek Hairon, Director of Jersey Kayak 
Adventures and British Canoe Union Level 5 coach. £9.99 with detailed colour photos.
Buy your copy directly from the author (postage free in Jersey).
Preview selected pages of Sit-on-top Kayak