Our Coaches
We choose our coaches at Ontario Sea Kayak Centre with the utmost care. All of our kayak instructors are skilled and passionate paddlers. They are all Paddle Canada certified instructors and have their Wilderness Medical Associates training. They are excellent communicators, they are thoughtful and kind, and most of all they know how to have fun on the water. We know that people learn best when they are relaxed, having a good time and most of all laughing. We strive to create a classroom where you will thrive.
Our Culture
The culture of OSKC is one of acceptance and encouragement. We all started as brand new beginner kayakers and we remember that first foray into kayaking. We share everything we can with our students to help them become independent, skillful kayakers. We’re available every step of the way to answer all of your questions, build all of your skills, and share our wonder of nature from the seat of a kayak.
OSKC Coaches
James Roberts
James started kayaking at 18. Since then his paddling career has taken him all over the world as an expedition leader and senior kayak instructor.
Dympna Hayes
Dympna is co-owner and operator, of Ontario Sea Kayak Centre along with her partner and husband James. She loves sharing her craft with others through her coaching on skills courses and through her guiding while on kayaking trips.
Jeff Arbing
Jeff is the primary instructor/mentor for all new recruits with a large southern Ontario Police Service. He also instructs senior level adult education, mental resiliency/leadership and supervisory courses.
David Johnston
David Johnston has been introducing people to the sport of sea kayaking for the past 20 years. He is a senior instructor trainer with Paddle Canada.
Greg Mason
Greg has been paddling and teaching kayaking on Georgian Bay for around 25 yrs… since he was not but a wee grasshopper.
Ray Boucher
Ray Boucher lives in Wawa Ontario with his wife Patty. Ray has been a school teacher and an x-ray technologist, and enjoys spending his time working and recreating in the outdoors.
Kate Schneider
Other than a brief and grumpy interlude during her undergrad in southern Ohio, Kate has always lived around the Great Lakes. As a kayaking instructor, she brings her love of the Great Lakes environment by introducing students to the joys of calm and dynamic conditions and talking incessantly about rocks, winds, and flora seen around the Georgian Bay. When not kayaking, Kate is an artist and instructor at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto.
Kris Shaw
She enjoys sharing her passion for being outdoors and teaching others how to be safe and comfortable while seeking new adventures and pushing the envelope, just a little.
Her motto – ‘life should fit into a kayak’.
Heather Stewart
I love helping people find their connection to their kayak… Yoga for Paddlers is a great way to find how to move and be one with the boat.
James Hooey
James has been paddling the waters of Georgian Bay and the Great Lakes for over 18 years. In 2009 James began instructing and guiding paddlers out on Lake Huron. If there is one overall thing James loves, it’s bringing new paddlers into the sport and giving them the encouragement and knowledge to follow their own path of adventure
Scott Rosborough
Scott Rosborough has been paddling and teaching for Ontario Sea Kayak Centre for eight years and is one of our best rolling instructors. He is a Paddle Canada Level Two Instructor, A Paddle Canada Rolling Instructor and he has his Level Three Skills.
Kyle Steward
Kyle Steward has been one of our instructors since 2015 and his passion for the sport is infectious. Kyle is a very skilled Greenland roller and kayak instructor.
OSKC Guest Coaches
Marcos Simental Saldaña
Born and raised on the Baja peninsula, Marcos has been working on the ocean since 1998. A talented sea kayaker and fisherman he is our Baja local knowledge and super-guide.
Mathew Sutherland
As a Chef I have had a passion for cooking and for the outdoors that
has lasted for as long as I can remember. More recently been excited to bring memorable
culinary experiences to remote locations.
Karl Vollmer
Karl is a Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Instructor Trainer. He has also been a volunteer member of the Paddle Canada board and skill development committees for years.
Tim Gallaway
Tim began his kayaking career as a guide and ACA instructor at Woods & Water Ecotours in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when he was in college. He cut his rough water teeth on the rocky shores of Lake Superior.
Erik Ogaard
Erik is forever drawn to the water and is truly in his element when paddling and coaching. He is equally passionate about sharing the paddling experience through instruction, coaching, guiding, mentoring and building a healthy paddling community.
James Manke
James is an international Greenland kayak instructor local to Victoria British Columbia. His passion is shared around the world and it has taken him to some amazing places, recently back from Chile where he taught at the very first sea kayak symposium there.
Alec and Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin
Alec and Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin are paddlesport coaches from the Chicago area known for their playful and accessible coaching style. They are the owners of Have Kayaks, Will Travel, a paddlesport coaching business that organizes trips and courses.