October 2025 News and Announcements
Welcome to our monthly newsletter with updates about our upcoming trips and learning opportunities, trip reports about places we’ve paddled recently, news about kayaking, and other fun stuff. Read on, paddlers!
New Expeditions Are Here!
Ten Thousand Islands and Everglades Sea Kayak Skills Trips
Join us for a week of kayak and camping skills blended perfectly with relaxation in the pristine natural world of Florida’s Gulf Coast. We are announcing two separate trip dates:
Kayak ANT is partnering with Astrid Jackson at Venture Outdoors to offer this all-inclusive trip to the iconic Ten Thousand Islands and Everglades of Florida. The trip will immerse you in the beauty of nature while also sharpening your skills for expedition kayaking.
Learning opportunities include:
Boat control skills
Paddling strokes + maneuvers
Self + assisted rescues
Expedition skills + best practices
Seamanship skills, including weather, tides, chart reading and navigation.
Leave No Trace principles and outdoor ethics
The Everglades ecosystem, flora and fauna, and their importance
The human history of the Everglades
Upcoming Events:
Rough Water and Surf Skills Workshop:
November 6-10, St. Augustine, Florida
There are many opportunities at this course for intermediate to advancing sea kayakers:
Learn or refine skills for rough water, surfing and managing current.
Practice skills like self-rescue and assisted rescues in real conditions.
Work toward an ACA Level 4 open water coastal kayak skills assessment.
This workshop runs in conjunction with a partner instructor-trainer’s L4 instructor certification workshop. Kayakers pursuing or updating an ACA Level 4 instructor certification are welcome. Reduced rates available for paddlers who serve as “practice students” for our instructor candidates. Contact us directly for more information on this opportunity.
Fall-Winter Local Day Trips and Overnighters
With summer high heat and hurricane season starting to move past us, we are excited to get back out on the water in the Tarpon Springs, Pinellas and Pasco County areas.
It’s this simple:
Step 1: Use our Contact Page to start a conversation about what you want to do.
Step 2: I’ll set up a custom experience for you and your group on your preferred dates.
Step 3: Let’s go kayaking!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Half-day or full day trips in the Tarpon Springs area: Interior waters exploring up the Anclote River or coastal waters on the Gulf, and visits to the Anclote Key Lighthouse.
Half-day or full-day trips to other destinations around the region:
Caladesi Island mangrove tunnels and beaches
Nearby spring fed rivers and natural springs
Coastal or intracoastal waters as far south as Fort De Soto as far north as Weeki Wachee
2 days/1 night or 3 days/2 nights kayak camping trips to Anclote Key, Tarpon Springs, or Shell Key, in the Fort De Soto area.
More ideas here: https://www.kayakant.com/experiences.
Don’t see the trip you’re looking for? Didn’t find one with your dates?
We work with individuals and groups to design kayak expedition trips and workshops that meet your interests and goals.
News and Updates
What ACA Certification is right for me?
In our last newsletter, we talked about the ACA’s new transformational certification program: Leader Pathways. That means for kayakers and others, there is now a decision to be made: Should I pursue certification as a Paddlesports Leader/Guide, or as an Instructor in my paddlesport discipline? Now, certainly, a paddler could pursue both. But, being realistic, many paddlers will want to do some comparison and decide the path that’s right for them, at least for their nearterm goals. Here’s a comparison to consider from ACA:
What’s the impact of these certification options with Kayak ANT?
First off, we are here to support you in your journey to either pathway. Anthony is in the candidacy pipeline now to serve the ACA (and you) as both a Leader Trainer and Instructor Trainer. Here’s how:
Paddlesports Leader Training.
We are looking for paddling organizations like clubs, businesses, or non-profits and organizations, as well as individual paddlers, who would like to gain either the Community Paddlesports Leader or Paddlesports Leader certification.
We are identifying workshop dates for this fall/winter and into next year.
We can build a course around dates that work for you. For organizations, travel-to-you services and group rates are an option.
ACA Level 2 Instructor Certification Workshop or Instructor Update:
Workshop dates are February 24-27, 2026.
Skills assessment day on February 23 for those who need it.
We are looking for instructor candidates as well as skills and practice students to support our candidates.
Kayak and kit rental support available.
ACA Level 3 and Level 4 Instructor Certification Workshop or Instructor Update:
We continue to partner with our Instructor-Trainer friends to support their workshops.
L3 in St. Pete with RiverWind Kayaks: January 8-11, 2026
L4 in Matanzas/St.Augustine with RiverWind Kayaks: Nov 6-9, 2025
Kayak and kit rental support available.
Email us, explore@kayakant.com, to enquire about any of these certification opportunities, or to learn more about the difference between Paddlesports Leader and Instructor pathways.
Trip Report: Paddling the “Real” Jersey Shore
After a busy summer working for NOLS in Alaska, I decided to take a trip to an exciting new destination filled with rocks and cliffs, fascinating tidal flows and even castles! You guessed it: I went to Jersey!
No, not that Jersey, but the Bailiwick of Jersey in Europe!
Scouting a gap in the rocks for a possible run.
Jersey, as opposed to the “New” version in the U.S., is an autonomous territory of the British Islands, about 14 miles off the Normandy coast of France. It features an impressive rocky coastline perfect for “rock gardening” or “rock hopping,” a tidal range of 36 feet that generates fast races, and exposure to the Atlantic offers plenty of swell and surf.
One paddling highlight for me was putting the TRAK 2.0 portable skin-on-frame kayak to the test, paddling it over and around rocks. Yes, I flew to Europe with a kayak in my luggage! The TRAK performed very well. With its light weight, hard chines and added rocker, I found it nimble and maneuverable for moving among the rocks or in big swells. I felt comfortable pushing the TRAK to its limits. When I surpassed those limits by putting a small tear in the skin, the patch kit worked perfectly to keep it moving with minimal delay. What I think I proved to myself was, while the TRAK won’t likely be my go-to for rock gardening anymore so than a composite kayak would be, I can’t think of any other kayak that could pull off what the TRAK did. It allowed me to pack up everything I needed, including kayak, and paddle in advanced conditions in an international destination.
Seymour Tower lies 1 mile offshore, but you can walk to it at low tide due to extreme tidal ranges of up to 36 feet on Jersey.
A second highlight was paddling amazing waters in the shadow of fascinating historical landmarks, including castles, towers and German World War II coastal defenses. Jersey’s location made it a strategic location for control of the English Channel for centuries and the fortified coastline is proof of that.
I partnered with Derek Hairon, a British Canoeing/Paddle UK expert coach and trainer, and owner of Jersey Kayak Adventures, for this amazing experience. In 10 days of paddling and exploring with Derek the goals were two-fold. One effort was to refine personal skills in the conditions offered, especially rocks and current. Another goal was to work on coaching skills in the advanced water environment. I appreciated Derek for supporting me to work with his students and learn from his strategies.
One learning takeaway from the trip was making weather and sea state observations relative to terrain to find ideal spots for play and coaching opportunities in advanced water. Throughout the week, because of Jersey’s exposure, we would often have days forecast for winds blowing anywhere from 20-30 knots with even higher gusts. But, pouring over weather resources and tidal stream data, we could find locations that allowed for great learning experiences as well as access to protection in case of emergencies. Since the group Derek and I were working with was German, another learning was coaching paddlers for whom English was a second or other language.
New paddling friends – aspiring sea kayak leaders from northern Germany.
Jersey was also amazing to explore on land. The island has a long history and is a crossroads of many cultures. I made sure to sample as much of the ice cream and dairy products from the famous Jersey cows, as well as personally thank several cows for their efforts. There were, of course, several end-of-the-paddling-day visits to local pubs to sample the local faire, as Jersey is well-regarded for its seafood. An off-water highlight was a moonlight low tide walk well off shore to observe bioluminescent organisms with Trudie, Derek’s partner and an expert guide for all things Jersey.
Derek and I sample the fine dairy from the famous Jersey cows. Thank you, ladies!
Thank you to Derek and Trudie for hosting me. The Bailiwick of Jersey made for an amazing paddling destination experience and I can’t wait to return someday!
If you are interested in more information about the TRAK 2.0 kayak and how you can use it to travel like I did to places like Jersey or just to paddle in your local area, contact us to set up a free demo and test paddle.
Thank you for your support and Happy Paddling!
~ Anthony & Renée
