Rick Cooper – International sea kayak leader, coach and Sea Kayaking UK dealer
Credentials
L3 Sea Kayak Coach (Advanced Water)
Advanced Sea Kayak Leader (5 Star)
RYA Yachtmaster Instructor
Ancient history!
I spent many years racing yachts and instructing others too. Smart yachtsmen stay well away from the coast. The rocks and reefs that fizz with life and energy spell danger. But I was intrigued so bought a little kayak and went exploring along my local coast. Good seamanship kept me alive but I didn’t have a clue about kayaking and was seriously lacking skills. I was surviving but it wasn’t pretty!
The early years
I got into a few scrapes, got some coaching, tried bigger/better/worse kayaks, bought kit, sold kit, got better coaching, acquired vital stuff and wasted money too! I met a lot of nice people who helped me – some have become friends for life. But it felt like forever before I started to feel at all credible. Sea kayaking takes time to master.
Making it happen
As a Royal Marine Commando I trained, taught and instructed others and became highly resilient too. As a sailing instructor, I was really good at instilling sound judgement and good seamanship into my students. So it seemed logical to combine these existing attributes and become a sea kayak coach. It wasn’t going to be easy!
Watershed moment
Paddling towards that goal started in 2013, and the first breakthrough came during the Pagaia symposium. It was after a coaching session being delivered by Nigel Dennis. Over a beer, he invited me to come as a trainee to his Anglesey symposium and subsequently asked me to be the Westcountry dealer for Sea Kayaking UK.
So this is now me, Rick Cooper – still just having fun!
Leader – Coach – DealerĀ