Gordon is one of the most respected sea kayaking coaches in both Europe and North America and runs his own business on the Isle of Skye - Skyak Adventures. He wrote the chapter on “Sea Kayaking” in the BCU Handbook and is currently working on a sea kayaking book. At the Outdoor Show in Birmingham, we spent a couple of minutes chatting with Gordon over a sandwich.

1. How did you get into paddling? The family had a small rowing dingy and I was always on the water. When a kayak became available in the local paper my dad bought it and made me pay him the money back.
2. What type of kayak do you paddle? I normally have whatever boat is left on the rack but my favourite kayak is definitely a Nordkapp.
3. What is your favourite paddling area? West coast of Scotland but I am very biased.
4. What is your day job? I don’t have a day job, I just kayak all the time.
5. Who would you say has had the most influence on your paddling development? Hard to say but probably overall Duncan Winning.
6. Who do you think has done the most to develop modern sea kayaking? Probably Derek Hutchinson.
7. If you were paddling a double sea kayak who would you want in the front seat and why? Depends on what I am doing, if it was a nice gentle trip then it would be family, all three of them probably. If it was something more committing it would be somebody who I get on with very well, similar sense of humour. It would be a very small group of people but somebody such as yourself would be high on the list.
8. What is the best or most memorable paddle that you have undertaken? Too many, I could probably narrow it down to about 10.
9. What is your favourite stroke? Probably a cross bow hanging draw because I don’t get drips down my neck.
10. If you were to offer one piece of advice to newcomers to the sport what would it be? Try as much as you can, try as many different types of kayaks that you can, just get out and do it.
11. How do you see the sport developing in the next 10 years? A huge difference in the number of people coming along.
12. What is your major frustration with the sport? The price of the equipment.
13. What music would be the soundtrack to your paddling life? “Another one bites the Dust” Queen
14. Do you belong to a Club and what is your involvement? I belong to South Skye and Lochalsh Kayak Club and I am the Chairman and I end up coaching all the time.
15. Have you ever had an embarrassing moment - something afterwards that you can smile about but wished hadn’t happened? On my birthday two years ago I was out paddling locally on Skye. The forecast was for 11 south westerly and the local doctor's wife saw a kayak and then she looked again and didn’t see a kayak. She called the coastguard and the coastguard came with a lifeboat, a helicopter and land based people were looking for me and I was already at home drinking a cup of tea.
16. Do you have any regrets – something that you had wished you had done but now can’t see yourself doing? Not yet.
17. Why do you think we are interviewing you today? Because you have struggled for other people to get. ( We disagree with this answer!)

Gordon off the west coast of Greenland

[ Back ]