Sea Kayak & Canoe Winter Seminar Instructor Bios
Andy Bridge
Werner Paddles
Andy Bridge is Director of Research and Development at Werner Paddles where he has worked for the past six years. Some of his designs include the Kalliste, Ikelos, Shuna, Skagit, and Werner's Neutral Bent Shaft for touring. He also designed their patented Adjustable Ferrule System. Andy has been paddling all types of boats for over 30 years and is a 9 time U.S. Whitewater Team member and 1992 World Cup Champion. More recently he has been sea kayaking Canada's West Coast and testing paddle ideas.
Ken Campbell
Azimuth Expeditions
Ken Campbell is a sea kayak guide and instructor. In addition to authoring
several books on Pacific Northwest kayaking, he is a long-time presenter at
sea kayak symposia and clinics throughout the region. A former board member
of the Washington Water Trails Association, he makes his home in Tacoma,
where he owns and operates Azimuth Expeditions, an organization that
provides paddle sports instruction throughout North America.
Suzy Cornell
Suzy was born and raised in Seattle, WA and received her B.A. in
Physical Education from Western Washington University in 1985.
She has 20 years of experience in the field of Adult Fitness, and has
spent 10 years teaching yoga. She received her certification from
Pacific Yoga at The Yoga Tree in Seattle, and has attended numerous
trainings through YogaFit, Inc. Suzy maintains the following
certifications and continues to build on her education:
ACE Personal Trainer,
AFFA Aerobics Instructor,
AAHFP Post-Rehab Conditioning Specialist,
Certified Yoga Instructor,
Certified Pilates Instructor.
Annette Dong
Annette Dong is a fitness enthusiast who has studied unconventional
exercise and has worked to perfect both form and functionality. Her
fascination for challenging alternative exercises has lead her to
juggling, acrobatics, a Kettlebell teaching certificate and a recent
interest in acroyoga. Annette is a mechanical engineer who has worked
in aerospace and sporting goods. She figures that the time she has spent building and repairing boats is equal to the time she has spent
paddling them.
Dubside
www.dubside.net
Dubside lives in the Seattle area and has two instructional DVDs "Greenland Rolling with Dubside and Qajaasaarneq" and "Greenland
Rope Gymnastics" to his credit plus outstanding performances at the
Greenland Kayaking Championships in 2004 and 2006. His rolling
and ropes demonstrations have become an anticipated feature at
several paddling symposiums across the country. Using folding
kayaks, Dubside has always enjoyed paddling without owning a car.
Kathleen Grimbly
Blue Moon Explorations
Kathleen Grimbly founded Blue Moon Explorations in 1988. She started doing Yoga With Lilias as a teen ager, which led to a 200 hr. Kripalu yoga teacher certification in 1975, and yoga therapy training at Rocky Mountain Institute for Yoga & Auyurveda. Yoga therapy has brought her back to paddling from four automobile whiplash injuries, and she’s devoted to helping paddlers remain active and pain free. She’s guided and outfitted yoga and paddling in Alaska, BC, Baja, Costa Rica and her home state of Washington, taught yoga, x-c skiing and kayaking at Skagit Valley College, and works as a yoga therapist with the elderly and people in chronic pain.
George Gronseth
Kayak Academy
George Gronseth is the founder of Issaquah WA based Kayak Academy, “the elite school for kayakers”. He writes safety articles for Sea Kayaker Magazine and is co-author of Sea Kayaker Deep trouble.
Jason "Kiwi" Goldstein
Global Adventure Guides
Jason “Kiwi” Goldstein is Owner of Global Adventure Guides (GA Guides) LLC, based in Olympia WA. GA Guides specializes in private kayak instruction and small group guided trips to more remote locations in the Pacific Northwest. Additionally, in the winter months trips to Fiji & New Zealand are offered at www.GAguides.net. Kiwi is also a professional cartographer and has designed some new custom kayak charts of Deception Pass, Cape Flattery, Cape Disappointment, & the north San Juans.
Dan Henderson
Cascade Canoe & Kayak Centers, Inc.
For more than 35 years Dan Henderson, president of Cascade Canoe & Kayak Centers, Inc. in
Renton, has immersed himself in paddling, explored wonderful places, celebrated wildlife viewing,
made great friends and exercised a competitive spirit. As the co-author of the International Canoe
Federation Coaching Manual (the world and Olympic governing body for kayak and canoe racing),
presenter at the 2009 ICF Coaching Symposium in Warsaw, Poland and author of many articles on
paddling technique, as well as being a Master's candidate in Biomechanics with a focus on the kayak
forward stroke, Dan is a world leader in writing, researching and understanding of kayak forward
stroke efficiency. Dan recently completed a 200-mile sea kayak trip from Renton to Port Renfrew
and is the Human Powered Craft Representative to the Washington State Boating Safety
Commission.
Wayne Horodowich
University of Sea Kayaking (USK)
Wayne Horodowich is an experienced paddler, educator and adventurer. He directed the Adventure Programs at the University of California at Santa Barbara for twenty-five years and was their head kayak instructor. Wayne has filmed and produced the popular USK “In Depth” Instructional video series specifically for sea kayaking. He is very active in teaching instructor development clinics around North America and was a former captain of the U.S. Surf Kayak Team. He is the founder of the University of Sea Kayaking, an organization for the promotion of sea kayaking education, which hosts an incredible web site (www.useakayak.org) providing an educational resource to sea kayakers.
Andree Hurley
Kayak Instruction Excellence
Andree Hurley is the founder of Kayak Instruction Excellence. She is an American Canoe Association Certified Instructor Trainer in coastal and whitewater kayaking, a raft guide and an emergency medical technician. Her background includes over fifteen years experience teaching and guiding. She is a board member of the Washington Kayak Club and the American Canoe Association, as is the divisional facilitator for the ACA in the northwest. Andree loves to travel has given instructor development workshops in Mexico and Hong Kong as well as around the US.
Karl Kohegan
Kokatat
Bio coming soon
Sarah Krueger
Washington Water Trails Association
Sarah delights in exploring Washington's waters and sharing her passion for shoreline preservation. As WWTA's Outreach Director, she handles publications, events, and volunteer coordination. Sarah received the highest level of Leave No Trace training during a five-day Master Educator course in June 2006. She co-facilitates WWTA's weekend Leave No Trace Trainer workshops and helps coordinate the Sound Education and Action (SEA) Kayaker program which reaches hundreds of people on Puget Sound shorelines with the Leave No Trace message each summer.
Dik Lang
REI
Dik has been building and repairing glass and wood boats since the 1970's and has worked at Portland REI as the master technician until 1995, and the Seattle store at present, again as the master technician covering boat, ski, and bike repairs. The fix it guy.
Gary Luhm
www.garyluhm.net
Gary Luhm is a professional outdoor photographer specializing in sea kayaking. For 17 years, he's photographer throughout North America, especially the west coast from Alaska to Baja. His images and articles on kayaking, photography and bird-watching have appeared in Sea Kayaker, Canoe&Kayak, Paddler, Sierra, Outside and various books and calendars. Business clients include Kokatat, Werner, Seals Sprayskirts, Alaska on the Home Shore, Outdoor Research and Mountain Equipment Co-op. Gary's work can be viewed at www.garyluhm.net.
Tim Mattson
Qajaq Instruction
Tim is a "born-again paddler" and instructor with ACA certification in"advanced open water coastal", "white water", and traditional kayaking.
He is passionate about touring, white water paddling, surfing, and just
about anything legal that can be done in a kayak. Tim is also a
professional scientist with a background in parallel computing,
molecular physics and computational chemistry.
Jeff Renner
King 5 News
Jeff Renner has been the Chief Meteorologist at Seattle's King 5 News since 1984. He is a pilot, skier, cliimber and boater as well
as the author of several books, including Northwest Marine Weather.
This combination of skills and interests puts Jeff in a unique
position to explain the ins and outs of northwest weather and its
relationship to paddlers in Puget Sound and Washington State.
Matthew Ross
Sea Kayak Shop/Island Outfitters
Matthew Ross is the "new" owner of the Sea Kayak Shop in Anacortes, WA
(formerly Island Outfitters/Eddyline Watersports Center). In March/April
2006, Matthew solo-circumnavigated Vancouver Island. He claims to have
more time in a sleeping bag and around a one-burner stove than most
people have in their own bed and kitchen - he lives and guides his life
by an expedition model, loves to teach paddling skills and is a
professional student of paddlesports. Matthew Ross has certifications
with the American Canoe Association and British Canoe Union and is a
senior instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School.
Barb Sherill
Issaquah Paddlesports & Kayak Academy
Barb Sherrill has been urban paddling in the Puget Sound region since 1997. As an
instructor for kids programs and adult tours at Kayak Academy/Issaquah
Paddlesports she has many paddle tales to share of her local trips.
Tim Walsh
Paddlers Supply
Tim Walsh has been an avid kayaker since 1990. His paddling adventures
have
included Scotland, Queen Charlotte Islands and Katmai National Park. He
is an ACA Coastal Kayak instructor who has taught for REI and voluntarily for local kayak clubs. Tim is the owner/operator of Paddlers Supply, a wholesale kayak accessory company located in Seattle.
Bill Walker
Ruby Creek Boathouse LLC
Raised on his granddad's stories of canoeing and fishing all over Puget
Sound at the turn of the last century, Bill's heritage is right here on our
local waters. In recent years he has been a partner in two local
paddlesports retail shops, and these days he reps Eddyline Kayaks, Esquif
Canoes, Stohlquist Waterwear, Bending Branches Paddles and a dozen other
cool brands. Bill named his manufacturer's rep company Ruby Creek Boathouse,
acknowledging his granddad's favorite fishing spot. On the side, Bill throws
his love of the water into sea kayak instructing and is happy to repair your
ripped neck gasket.
Pat Welle
Columbia Kayak Adventures
Pat began kayaking in 2000 and opened CKA in 2004 to promote sea kayaking
on the Upper Columbia River and Inland Northwest. She is and ACA Open
Coastal Instructor and BCU 4-Star. She taught and guided part-time for
three years, then went full-time with a retail shop and rentals. She is
passionate about getting all ages and all skill levels to discover the fun
of kayaking, how to do it safely and efficiently, finding the right boat
and equipment for them, and to discover nearby places to paddle. She has
paddled in Scotland, southern Chile and all around the Northwest.
Steve Weileman
Essex Explorations
Steve Weileman, the founder of Essex Explorations, continues to guide
clients professionally as well as instruct classes. Steve is certified
with the American Canoe Association as an ACA Open Coastal Instructor,
the BCU (British Canoe Union) as a 5 Star Sea- Kayaker trainee, the WMI
(Wilderness Medical Institute) as a Wilderness First Responder, and LNT
(Leave No Trace) as a LNT Trainer. Obviously the outdoors are Steve's
passion. Steve's explorations have taken him to the Queen Charlotte
Islands, Vancouver Islands, Washington's coast and Newfoundland waters.