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)
Ancient history!
I spent many years racing yachts and instructing others in my role as an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor. 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 – Dealer
