I have lived all of my life on Holy island off the west coast of Anglesey, North Wales, with its dramatic coast and fast flowing tidal streams the backdrop to my misadventures while growing up. The sea has always been a part of my life. From as far back as I can remember I have kayaked, swum, fished, and foraged for sea food along the Anglesey coastline with my father, who worked on local fishing boats. As soon as I could, I joined him on the fishing boats during my school holidays, and later upon leaving school, working on the fishing boats myself.
I started sea kayaking in my early teens, carrying my boat from my house to the beach 200 meters away, to paddle around Anglesey, enjoying Penryn Mawr, South Stack, North Stack and the Skerries amongst many other Anglesey gems. While working, I escaped into the outdoors, spending as much free time as possible backpacking in the Scottish highlands, traversing the mountains of North Wales, paddling the Welsh rivers, but always returning to the sea. Many years later during this long informal apprenticeship in the hills and on the sea, I realised my dream, I started working professionally as a Sea Kayak guide and Coach. I now split my time between Coasteering and sea kayak guiding and coaching. This mix of Coasteering and kayaking has led to a love of paddling and coaching in Tide Races and Rock Hopping, helping people gain confidence and skills in boat handling and managing incidents in the most unforgiven of our sea paddling environments. I have also become a BCU 5 star leader, and an International Sea Kayak Guide Association (ISKGA) Advanced Guide Trainer and Assessor, as well been a sponsored NDK paddler.
Outside of the excitement of the rock hopping and the tide races that Anglesey is famous for, my passion for paddling lies in the expeditions. The ability to pack your boat and escape from the demands of civilisation, living simply with what you have with you and responding to the rhythm of the natural world around you. I have also developed a taste for open crossings, completing the Irish sea crossing,and a solo circumnavigation around Anglesey in twelve and half hours. In terms of expeditions, to date, amongst many shorter trips around the UK, I have undertaken expeditions on the east coast of Greenland, and completed another of my lifelong dreams, of paddling around the coast line of Wales. Scotland was next, with the ‘Roof of Britain’, followed by a circumnavigation of Ireland in 34 days.

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