Who’s Who at NE Rough Water Training Symposium Weekend

The heart and soul of any good event is your enthusiastic participation and involvement in all aspects paddling, visiting, eating and playing. We are thankful that this event has assembled the following great coaches, instructors, guides and assistants. We think these coaches and guides know which end of the paddle goes in the water, and are a pile of fun!

Updated List of NE Rough Water Symposium Coaches & Guides – 20208

Nigel Dennis - Nigel Dennis Kayaks, Anglesey Sea and Surf Centre, Coach 5. A 5. Designer of Nigel Dennis Kayaks. World level expeditioner, Cape Horn, Easter Island, Antarctica…the real deal and a gentle man. www.seakayakinguk.com
Andy Stamp - Comfortably Numb Coaching, Plymouth, Devon UK, Coach 5, A 5. Simply one of they best coaches that we know, full of simple answers to complex world questions, with more games in his paddle jacket than most of us can imagine. www.comfortablynumbcoaching.com
Fiona Whitehead – NDK Sponsored Paddler, Gwyned, North Wales. Level 5 Coach. Leader of the “Paddle Like a Girl” team of NDK sponsored paddlers. (Don’t you wish you could?). Once known to throw hammers for fun. Prefers to paddle for a few months at a time. http://www.seakayakinguk.com/sponsored/fiona_whitehead.html
Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson - Greenland Paddling Instructors. You know this team of truly dedicated traditional paddlers who are here to take you into bumpy water and surf. We’ve known Cheri since the 1980s and back then considered her a true guide and coach. Oh yes, its ok to marvel at Cheri and Turners underwater skills. www.kayakways.net.
Phil Clegg – NDK Sponsored Paddler, Lead Coach at Nigel Dennis’s Anglesey Sea & Surf Centre, Holyhead, North Wales. Phil is one graceful paddler in a quiet, calm package who does things in a boat that most of us try and avoid. www.seakayakinguk.com
Dale Williams – founder of Sea Kayak Georgia, Coach 5 Aspirant, ACA Coastal Kayaking Committee Chair who’s decided its more fun to go paddle and ski and train others than run one of the best kayaking centres in the country. Lucky his surfing skills will keep him out of our cold water, eh? He’ll be at his Outdoor Inn if you go down to Sea Kayak Georgia’s symposium. www.seakayakingusa.com , www.outdoorinn.com
Simon Osborne NDK Sponsored Paddler, co-owner of Sea Kayaking Cornwall, founded Kayaking for Cancer series of trips and events, started competing when he was 8! Frequent visits to our NE for coaching and stories. Halfway around Madagascar. http://www.seakayakingcornwall.com/
Billy Stark – Head instructor and lead guide for Wickford Kayak Centre in nearby Wickford, RI. Local paddler, surfer, gardener extraordinaire who’s dedicated his life to helping you playin and on these lumpy waters. Super source for local knowledge, but you may want to think twice before you follow him into the soup! http://www.kayakcentre.com.
Jeff Allen NDK Sponsored Paddler, co-owner of Sea Kayaking Cornwall, six month expedition around Japan, South Georgia off Antarctica w team of three Brits and an Israeli http://www.seakayakingcornwall.com
Peter Casson – Director of EMS Outdoor School, Coach 4, ACA Instructor Trainer. Local Rhode Island paddler & surfer who will definitely inspire your surfing and rock garden play. www.ems.com
Harry Whelan – NDK Sponsored Paddler, Circumnavigated Ireland solo, circumnavigated Great Britain in record 80 days. www.seakayakinguk.com
Barry Shaw – NDK Sponsored Paddler, holder of record for paddling around Isle of Anglesey, North Wales. One of the best of the rough water paddlers, yes that’s Barry smiling down in that foam pile. . www.seakayakinguk.com
Billy Stark – Head instructor and lead guide for Wickford Kayak Centre in nearby Wickford, RI. Local paddler, surfer, gardener extraordinaire who’s dedicated his life to helping you playin and on these lumpy waters. Super source for local knowledge, but you may want to think twice before you follow him into the soup! http://www.kayakcentre.com.
Tom Bergh - founder Maine Island Kayak Co in 1986, Coach 4, ACA Open Water. Been guiding and instructing outdoors for decades. Knows something about getting the best out of other paddlers, and is said to be able to turn both ways on skis. www.maineislandkayak.com, tom@maineislandkayak.com .
Paula Riegel - The Race Team, member of NDK “Paddle Like a Girl” team, and Northshore Paddlers Network. When not organizing paddling groups for others, is found surfing and rock gardening from Maine to Georgia. www.kayakwaveology.com
Greg Paquin – The Race Team. 5 Star Sea, Adv Open Water. Founder of Kayak Waveology instruction on Ct shore. Conscientious, quiet and effective. Ask him what happened to the New Haven Coliseum if you want to hear a good story. Been known to be able to keep up with a certain blond haired paddler. www.kayakwaveology.com
Rick Stoehrer – The Race Team. 5 Star Sea, dedicated rock gardener who keeps his friend Ciro busy reconstructing his hard used Explorers. Don’t let that laugh of his fool you into complacency just before that wave hits.
Ciro de la Vega – The Race Team, 5 Star Sea. Just completed Outer Hebrides Six Day Adventure Race, so he’ll be hard to keep in sight. Seriously dedicated to this sport, (and to restoring Rick’s rock battered boats), winner of Blackburn Challenge Y07, seriously strong dude.
Jed Luby – Jed’s been at this instructional game for years. Founder of Team North Atlantic, builder of wood and skin boats, Euro and Greenland paddler. See if you can stump him with a tough question, bet ya can’t… www.teamnorthatlantic.org
Nick Schade – The Race Team, strong local paddler who grew up out at Fishers Race which has helped hone the strength and performance of his hand made Guillemot Kayaks. Nick is on the very front of the wave with his strip boat designs and museum quality builds. www.guillemotkayaks.com
Carl Tjerandsen – The Race Team, RWS photographer, strong local paddler who takes all these great shots while out in the lumpy water has agreed to lend his expertise to your weekend, and might get a photo of you surfing past! How does he do it?
June O’Neill Bergh - Maine Island Kayak Co. Event Organizer. Prefers her white water boat but has finally agreed that her Explorer LV allows her to keep up. If you got questions, she’s got answers, except as a vegetarian, she doesn’t understand what part of a fish is a vegetable. www.maineislandkayay.com, june@maineislandkayak.com .

The following have not yet confirmed but we hope to see in 08:

Leon Sommes, Shawna Franklin, Greg Stamer

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