ISA Open Water SUP Instructor Course in Pembrokeshire

Two days, usually 9.30am to 5pm, with breaks. You mix classroom time at Gupton Farm with water work on exposed Pembrokeshire stretches. Most of the second day is a lesson you run, a venue analysis and a recap of the plan.

Please arrive 15 minutes early on day one so registration does not eat into the first brief. We confirm the water venue the evening before if you are not starting at the farm.

Sixteen. You should already hold the ISA Flat Water SUP instructor award. Under 18s can hold this award but must work under an instructor who is 18 or over until they turn 18.

You need to be swim fit and already paddle well enough to stand, turn and stop on open water without a coach holding the board. An open-water aquatic rescue award sits around this course before the certificate is fully valid.

Gupton Farm, Castlemartin, SA71 5HW. Turn right off the main road, follow the drive, then park by the wood-clad containers and the farmhouse-style building on the left. There are toilets in the building.

Water sessions use more exposed stretches around Tenby, Stackpole or the open coast when those venues suit the wind. We send the pin the evening before if day two starts on the water rather than at the farm.

Training with an ISA presenter, use of a board and wetsuit if you need them, and tea, coffee and a kettle on site. Manuals and the workbook come before you arrive.

Accommodation, meals and ISA membership after the course are not in the fee. Ten supervised coaching hours and an open-water rescue award sit after the two days before the certificate is fully valid.

Yes. You need the ISA Flat Water SUP instructor award before these two days. You do not need every post-course hour finished to start, but those hours and the rescue award must be done before the open-water certificate is issued.

You should already paddle well on flat water. These two days add waves, downwind lines, race starts and how you teach that on exposed water.

Yes. An open-water aquatic rescue award sits with this course, on top of the safety award you already hold for flat water. Ten supervised coaching hours also sit after the two days.

Once the workbook, hours and rescue award are signed off, the paperwork goes to the ISA so they can endorse the open-water card.

Rain does not stop the two days. We move the water block or swap a classroom session when wind or swell makes the planned venue unsafe.

Check your messages the evening before. The course stays in Pembrokeshire, just not always on the same stretch if a venue is blown out.

A pen and paper, swimwear, a towel, a warm dry layer, sunscreen, a packed lunch and a refillable bottle. Your own wetsuit and board are fine. We still have kit if you need it.

There are no changing rooms at most water venues, so a towel robe helps. Tell us your wetsuit size before you arrive so we can have a suit ready.

No. Bring a packed lunch. A kettle and a microwave are in the farm building, with tea, coffee and water. The nearest small shop is about a 15 minute drive.

Stay on site for lunch if the afternoon starts on the water. We would rather you eat quickly and stay with the group than lose an hour driving to town.

Wave negotiation, race starts, buoy turns, catching a runner, steering with your feet, drafting, sprinting, downwind paddling and a safe return to shore. You also write a simple open-water lesson plan and run it with the group.

There is a venue analysis and a practical assessment. Trainers stay with you on the bank and on the water for the coaching blocks.