Axel is a highly respected sea kayaker from Holland who paddles a lot! He seems to do a tour of the symposia and apparently can make superb chart cases - but he'd rather be out kayaking and so finds it difficult to find the time to produce them. It was great paddling with you Axel!

Chris Jones

1. How did you get into paddling? After returning from my third backpacking trip to Alaska in 1993, I saw a documentary on television about a sea kayaking expedition in the Aleutians. By now I know it was by Derek Hutchinson. I wanted my next visit to Alaska to be with a sea kayak. It took until 1999 before I finally did that Alaska trip, not before lots of learning and paddling in the Netherlands and Scotland with the Dutch Peddelpraat paddling club and friends.

2. What type of kayak do you paddle? I paddle a Nigel Dennis Kayaks Explorer sea kayak.

3. What is your favourite paddling area? A difficult question. I like the variety of coastlines, scenery, paddling conditions, wildlife. And the good time with friends. The north coast of the Netherlands offers excellent tidal (flats) navigation and off-shore islands. No rocks whatsoever, though. Over the last years I was fortunate to visit Anglesey a lot. I am by now 'addicted' to playing in tidal races.

4. What is your day job? Paddling... In 2002 I took sabbatical leave from a near to perfect job in Information Technology at a mortgage loan bank. I never returned to that job... I now do sea kayak instruction/coaching, guiding and selling Nigel Dennis Kayaks in the Netherlands.

5. Who would you say has had the most influence on your paddling development?
Hans Mulock-Houwer is the most accomplished Dutch expedition paddler. The thoroughness of his trip preparations and navigational knowledge (pre GPS) and experience impressed me most. He paddled across the North Sea (28 hour crossing Flushing to Harwich) and paddled most of the British Isles, Faeroes, Iceland, and in Greenland. Ray Goodwin inspired me to go the path of coaching and he is also an excellent guide.

6. Who do you think has done the most to develop modern sea kayaking? For decades it must have been Derek Hutchinson. So many paddlers have read one of the many versions and prints of his books on sea kayaking. More recently I am highly impressed by Dubside. I saw the preview copy of his Greenland rolling video in March 2006. In my opinion he revolutionaries the understanding of Inuit rolling and brings the 'art of Inuit rolling' into main stream sea kayaking. So it still are the Inuit that have done the most to develop modern sea kayaking. Only for us it took so very many years to begin understanding their kayak designs and skills and probably will take many more years.

7. If you were paddling a double sea kayak who would you want in the front seat and why? I heard stories of surfing a double sea kayak in a tidal race. If I came prepared with scuba diving gear I would definitively try the front seat.

8. What is the best or most memorable paddle that you have undertaken? It is impossible to answer this question. All the paddling with friends, scenery, wildlife, paddling conditions and near epics come to mind; so many trips to choose from. Most memorable epic? 'Rocket' surfing, broaching, violent bracing in 'forever' bongo-slide, out of breath, capsizing and rolling (third attempt) with a swamped cockpit in huge dump-surf like breaking waves at South Stack tidal race in Anglesey. A big error in judgement of conditions, a close escape.

9. What is your favourite stroke? I prefer the general term 'skill' over a particular 'stroke'. I like manoeuvring skills, so elegantly and seemingly effortlessly performed by Nigel Foster.

10. If you were to offer one piece of advice to newcomers to the sport what would it be? Get proper instruction from day one. I generally see newcomers show better forward paddling skills after focussed instruction compared to people who may have paddled many years with no early formal instruction and that show bad habits that are almost impossible to get rid of.

11. How do you see the sport developing in the next 10 years? I see sea kayaking in general getting more popular and that more and more people will acquire the skills necessary for paddling in rough water. The "This is the Sea" DVD's of Justine Curgenven are 'awe inspiring', showing what can be done with a sea kayak. This must have a huge influence on the sport of sea kayaking world- wide.

12. What is your major frustration with the sport? Why it is so difficult to learn and teach to have the head out last while rolling. I must learn more about Inuit rolling, the Inuit probably solved that issue centuries ago...

13. What music would be the soundtrack to your paddling life? "Dreamboat Annie" by Heart.

14. Do you belong to a Club and what is your involvement? The Netherlands has the 'luxury' of having three national organizations involved with sea kayaking: NKB, TKBN and Peddelpraat. I am a member of all three, and do kayak instruction and guiding for them. I am chairman of the Peddelpraat sea touring committee. I am member of the NKB sea kayaking committee and the NKB coaching committee.

15. Have you ever had an embarrassing moment? Something afterwards that you can smile about but wished hadn’t happened. Ten minutes into a paddle on the California Mendocino coast with an American paddling friend, I swam in a rock arch. Almost wrecking the kayak that I borrowed from her. Luckily it was a plastic one and it survived having a little more rocker than before. There I was, an 'experienced' BCU 5* paddler, 'wetting my pants' by totally misjudging Pacific Ocean wave sets. She extracted the kayak from the arch; rock gardening, her speciality. But I cannot say that I wished it had not happened, it just did.

16. Do you have any regrets – something that you had wished you had done but now can’t see yourself doing? No, I am still amazed of what I am still learning. I consider myself to be very fortunate to be able to do the things that I do.

17. Why do you think we are interviewing you today? It has been a wonderful week. Paddling in Jersey is very nice indeed; highly recommended!

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