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High School
Outer Banks – Sea Kayak
Paddle wild coastal waters, camp on remote barrier islands, and discover what you’re capable of along North Carolina’s legendary Outer Banks.
Scholarships
Savings Plan
Open 
North Carolina
About This Course
Activity
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Kayaking -
Service Projects
Setting & Location
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Coastal -
Course Start Location: New Bern, NC -
Course End Location: New Bern, NC
Students Can Earn
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College Credit
Session Details
2 sessions are available for this course
What You'll Learn
On Outward Bound courses for older high-schoolers, students do exciting things with new friends, focusing on having an unforgettable adventure. You’ll refine skills like teamwork, leadership, and navigation that expand beyond your time on course. Try new things, remember what you’re made of, and return revitalized and ready for what’s next.
What You'll Do
Students paddle coastal waters by sea kayak, teaming up to navigate, read tide charts, and camp on barrier islands while building teamwork and leadership skills.
Where You'll Be
Stretching North Carolina’s coast, the Outer Banks are a chain of barrier islands that offer remote sandy beaches, wide sounds, diverse wildlife, and a deep sense of history.
Why It Matters
Outward Bound courses are a great way to disrupt your routine, connect with new people and activities, and gain clarity about who you are and what you want to do next. Navigating challenges with a supportive crew gives you space to explore your strengths, recognize your contributions, and celebrate your wins.
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Ready For Anything
What if you learned how to develop strong communities with peers while confidently forging your own sense of self?
One Week Courses for Ages 16-18
Try exciting things and practice new ways of being in a connected group. You and your crew will value each other’s unique gifts as you together and find success! This is a space to ask, “who am I?” and to learn the answer through an unforgettable adventure.
Us. But Better.
You and your crew will learn how to support each other’s success, boldly tackling challenges and persevering together through epic adventures! Our skilled instructors protect the time and space your need to both recognize your strengths and consider the strengths of others.
Prepare to Launch!
Whether you’re getting ready for a big life transition or you have another year or two before you turn the page into a new chapter, you will leave your Outward Bound course having practiced important life skills to help you be successful in both this adventure and the next!
Reflective Relationship Building
This is an opportunity for you and your crew to focus on being thoughtful about your actions, words, and the impact of each on other people. You’ll work together and on your own to practice new reflection skills that’ll help you make sense of the world and build dynamic relationships within your active crew, and beyond.
Life on Course
Embark on an unforgettable coastal adventure where you will paddle, camp, and explore the wild beauty of the Outer Banks.
Spend your days paddling sea kayaks across sounds and along barrier islands, spotting wildlife like wild ponies, and landing on quiet sandy beaches. Work with your crew to navigate your routes, read tide charts, set up camp, and cook meals to enjoy together. Through these experiences, crews will discover their true potential, build leadership skills, and develop deep connections for life, all while having fun along the way!
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Sample Itinerary
Here’s an example of what your course itinerary might look like. The actual plan will depend on permits, weather, group skills, and instructor evaluation.
Swipe on table below to view more.
6-Day Course
| Day 1 | Course start, review equipment, and boat packing techniques. Practice exiting a capsized kayak and re-entering the boat in the water. |
| Day 2 | Begin kayak expedition: learn paddle strokes and boat control techniques |
| Day 3 | Paddling: Learn navigation skills, reading tidal charts and flow, and using a weather radio |
| Day 4 | Paddling: Outer Banks natural history lesson; Beach Campfire |
| Day 5 | Final Expedition Paddle; Course End Ceremony |
| Day 6 | Course End; Transportation to the Airport |
On this trip, I figured out that I am much more tough and capable of conquering challenges than I’d thought. This has made me so excited to see what I can do in the future.
FAQs
Is this like summer camp?
Our courses are fast-paced and take place entirely outdoors in all types of weather. We unplug from devices. We have tons of fun. And we work hard, too. Come prepared to be part of the team and participate fully.
What are your essential eligibility criteria?
Our Essential Eligibility Criteria shares what participants must be able to do during course. Full disclosure of all health and medication information is required during the admissions process.
Is this a course meant to address patterns of concerning behavior?
No. This is a Classic Outward Bound course-it is not designed for struggling teens or “at-risk youth.” Please check out Outward Bound Intercept courses that do focus on repairing behaviors and challenging family relationships.
What do Instructors do to manage risk on course?
In addition to ongoing training and mentoring that is always happening for field staff, Instructors have numerous conversations before, during, and after course about how to manage risks and make specific plans to keep students safe emotionally and physically. The goal is to offer students enough opportunities involving perceived risk, such as rock climbing, so that they are stretched to step outside their comfort zones. It is through those experiences that they have powerful learning experiences. We are also teaching students how to use what they learn so they too can prevent incidents and respond proactively to our greater teacher–nature – which can often be unpredictable!
