Like most ORGT sports, sea kayaking can be dangerous. Paddlers need training, as well as the judgment to decide what's right for their skill level. We provide instruction at the beginner and intermediate levels to help you learn safety / rescue techniques, equipment considerations, environmental hazards, and trip planning. The goal is to develop skilled paddlers and self-suffucient outdoors-people who can make good, responsible decisions about when and where to paddle.

As with all ORGT sports, our volunteer Trip Leaders are in high demand, so we are not able to offer all programs every semester. Check our schedule to see what we're doing this semester.

We offer a Beginner Lake Trip, which introduces students to the sport on an easy day trip to a local lake. The next step is the intermediate or Overnight Lake Trip, a more challenging trip on which participants will learn how to live out of their boats. After completing these two trips, GT community members can rent our equipment and plan their own trips to inland bodies of water.

For those aspiring to the ocean, we generally go 2-3 times per year. Due to long travel times and hot hot summers, these trips generally only happen during school breaks in the fall and spring. Coastal Break Trips are offered at various skill levels, but they usually require some prior paddling experience. Coastal Beginner School is designed with newcomers in mind. Though we require that you have some paddling experience, it needn't be much (pre-requisite is our Beginner Lake Trip or equivalent). We will spend several days camped on the Georgia Coast, learning basic kayak touring skills in a coastal setting.

Occasionally we offer an Advanced Coastal School for experienced paddlers who wish to learn more about coastal navigation, tides, surf, and the marine environment. In 2001 ORGT paddlers went to Prince William Sound, Alaska (prior paddling experience required). We hope to repeat this trip (or one like it) in the future.