Canoeing & Kayaking

The canoe and kayak docks are located in front of the counsellors’ cabin, not far from the office. The canoe fleet includes 50 – 16 ft canoes, 4 – 14 ft. canoes and 5 war canoes. Currently, there are 19 kayaks in our fleet.

Canoe instruction at Nominingue follows the standards established by ORCKA (Ontario Recreational Canoe & Kayak Association). For beginners, the approach is to give campers confidence in a canoe and to learn how to care for a cedar and canvas canoe. Once a camper is comfortable, he will learn how to start, turn, travel in a straight line, move sideways and to stop a canoe being paddled in tandem. As his skills, progress, a camper will move from tandem to solo paddling, learn to paddle in a wind and practise landing techniques and other specialized strokes.

Although the focus of the kayak instruction is flat water, the aim is to teach skills that are applicable in moving water as well. Campers will begin to learn how to use a kayak safely, including executing a wet exit. Campers will learn a variety of paddling techniques that are used to turn or move a kayak sideways. As their skills develop, campers will have the opportunity to learn an Eskimo roll.