You don't have to he a certified expert to start a kayaking business in this country and some in the field believe that it is time for the sport to be regulated. Just ask Meryl See Tai, the owner of Kayak Centre Ltd., located at Chaguaramas. Although he has been operating his business without a kayaking certificate since 1992 and without incident, See Tai believes the time has come to have some form of control.

No part of the world requires a certificate for a kayak," he said. 'It's usually an association and that is something we need to do here."

This idea has the support of some of See Tai's fellow paddlers like Sham Sahadeo, owner of Kayak Adventure. Sahadeo began his kayaking business in the wetlands of Oropouche last November and is also not certified as kayaking instructor. He supports full government legislation.

"There is no certification course available in Trinidad," Sahadeo remarked. "There is no regulation concerning kayaking in Trinidad and Tobago."

The regulation of kayaking also has the support of the Tourism and Industrial Development Company Ltd. (Tidco).

"That is something which the agencies that have responsibility for aquatic activities will have to look at, " noted Tidco's corporate communications manager, Kathleen Pinder. "While there is no body, I know for a fact that Tidco, through Maracas beach, has a policy to control its beach activities and the sports around it."

She pointed out that restrictions have been placed on sports like jet skiing (the water equivalent to motor cycles) at Maracas, and that the Chaguaramas Development Authority is also looking at such policies.

See Tai added that all aquatic sports including power boating and jet skiing should be regulated.

"Do you realize your six-year-old son can drive (the speedboat) Checkmate?" he said. "It's legal. There is no such thing as a driving permit for a boat."

See Tai does not want kayaking, or any other aquatic activity, to become too restricted but noted that only recently "in the States, if you want a job as a kayaking instructor you have to show evidence of some kind of training."

Pinder likewise expressed no desire to see over-regulation despite the necessity for such mandates. The solution, she believes, may lie beyond government legislation. "I think that a regulatory body is required, particularly professionally," Pinder insisted. "You don't want to regulate to the point where people go out of business."

Such organizations are already in existence abroad. They include the International Canoe Federation, American Canoe Association and the Dutch Canoe Union.

Roel Zuidema, who is certified by the DCU as a trainer grade "A", came to this country in 1997 with his partner Greetje Van Den Ban to conduct a one-month instructor exchange programme courtesy Wildways Caribbean Adventure Travel. As a trainer grade "A", Zuidema was qualified to train kayaking at the Olympic level.

One of See Tai's employees who is also a kayak builder, Leroy Scott, said he received training from someone "who came from Holland." Scott said the majority of the kayaks in the country are built at the Kayak Centre to certain international specifications since there are no local standards. Kayaks must be made so that in the event they turn over the paddler can slip out without injury.

It is the impartation of the skills necessary to ensure the safety of all paddlers that has Sahadeo concerned about the lack of regulations. As such, the only safety guarantee one has when kayaking is in the morality of entrepreneurial paddlers like Sahadeo. Although not certified, he insisted that, in addition to his two years in kayaking, he passed an advanced diving course where he learned first aid as well as search and rescue techniques.

See Tai attended a kayak instructors' course in South Carolina in the United States but he did not pass the final examinations. Nonetheless, he is confident about his expertise, having had training in first aid and water rescue and having "a number of symposia courtesy the Trade Association of Sea Kayaking."

While insisting that kayaking is much safer than jet skiing or deep sea diving, Sahadeo warned that "if you don't follow the right rules it could be dangerous.

He said he would not allow children under the age of 12 to go kayaking. See Tai said he "has taken children out." Both agree that no one should go kayaking without a life jacket.

Their approach to the kayaking business may differ in some areas but both have expressed a commitment to the safety of their clients. Others who want to get into the business, however, may not share such commitment.

They may want to take heed of Pinder's warning that as far as the North West peninsula goes, "People just don't come and open a shop without having demonstrated their expertise in that area."

To date, there have been no recorded deaths or severe injured due to kayaking.

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