Live Life & Paddle
We are so lucky to get the chance to help people develop their paddling skills and safety skills while on the water. Every year our list of amazing customers keeps growing. Here are reviews from some of our happy customers.
Our Customer Reviews:
You are an excellent instructor, providing calm, patient and encouraging coaching. I learned a tremendous amount of knowledge and many valuable skills in the three hours we spent together. This was a very encouraging introduction to kayaking. The practical rescue sessions provided me with valuable insights into the capabilities and limitations of my kayak as well as it's high likelihood of swamping and irretrievably sinking in deep water. I enjoyed the experience and I am looking forward to paddling on more occasions this summer. From Peter
Declan is an excellent instructor. He provides clear and calm directions. His enthusiasm is encouraging for a novice participant. My lesson was a great experience to springboard me on to the waters! From Cynthia
Your knowledge and enthusiasm for kayaking are both great. You are motivating and convey a genuine caring for the safety and well being of kayakers. You recognize that people are drawn to the water and want to foster that love, but also encourage people to recognize limits (in skill, attention, strength, etc). You were able to offer correction and feedback constructively and, when appropriate, firmly. You could get the right message across and have it accepted (in this day and age. people are expecting no critique) because it was clear that it was in our best interests. That's an increasingly rare skill in educators in any setting (and not easy) these days. Nice! From Susan
Declan was great. Theory was done at the right pace. Scheduling was flexible and accommodating, due to the weird weather. From Jenn
You're natural as a leader and instructor. You lighten up the mood so we're not overly serious all the time. You use compliments effectively. Effective communication before and during the course. From Abdullah
Honestly, you were awesome. You have a great mix of being serious and adding humour to the course. You were well organized and flexible to the weather conditions, altering the course to deliver the theory while waiting out the rain. I really enjoyed the whole weekend despite the weather conditions. I appreciate all the guidance you gave me to improve my technique. From Amy
I applaud you for your teaching techniques. You bring energy with your enthusiasm. We're all better because you kept on us. I think we all need to be reminded lots because our brains aren't wired that way. Couldn't have been easy for you. I appreciate you putting your heart into this. From Pierre
I learned a lot from you! You give very clear instructions and I have a much greater appreciation for the safety aspects of paddling thanks to your emphasis on this. You’re very good at keeping everyone engaged and encouraging each person to answer questions. The course was fun and challenging and made me want to get out kayaking more. From Laura
What can I say, your passion for kayaking is contagious and inspiring at the same time.
You have provided us with a lot of knowledge in a very short time and proven there is much more there, just need time to access it.You have a fine eye for suggest corrections to paddling techniques and I noticed a big improvement on all my paddling strokes, it's different getting first hand advice vs just watching vidoes. From Dan
I had a wonderful time over the weekend sea kayak course L1, not only was it fun and informative, it was challenging. We had a very engaged group of people with a range of experience and both of you were very much aware of how to accommodate and support ‘newbies’ without neglecting others. From Petra
Your great preparedness with all of the "gear", honest appraisal of what is good/not so good gear, starting and finishing on time each day. Great instruction giving skills where you break strokes and rescues into the components for us to learn and then provide lots of practice/feedback time for them. Mixing in some fun "game" type things was good. It was a challenging day with the wind and waves so thought it went well and stayed focussed in those waves. From Karen
Myself and my two daughters really enjoyed taking the course with Declan this past weekend. Declan was very knowledgeable in all areas of the program. He made it very interesting and applicable to everyday paddling. He was very thorough in the theory section and made sure we all understood everything he was saying. In the practical part he insured that we did all the skills perfectly before moving on to the next section to be covered. I would highly recommend him to others and I look forward to taking paddler 2 level with him. From Bridget
Has deep knowledge of sea kayaking and willing to share with students. Demonstrated techniques well and helped students apply these skills effectively. Communicated upfront for location, weather, especially called students for reminding them wear warm clothes for the rainy day and cold water. When I forgot lifejacket and skirt, he helped me find quickest way to find a set. Stern rudder, which can apply to change direction slightly, was the most helpful skill I learned in this session. It helped me understand how to make course adjustment without losing momentum. Thank you very much for the session, and I hope you can teach me level 2 skills. From Paul