Who's Who

This is a page of biographies of the KASK committee and other paddlers who are involved with KASK, writing stories, training, etc.

KASK Committee Members

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WSNZ Liaison - Sandy Winterton

Job: On the spot liaising with Water safety NZ. To keep our heads above water.

Sandy Winterton earned his paddling stripes on the flat waters of East Anglian rivers in the UK and later as a kayak instructor on the Welsh border working in outdoor activity centres. For a few years while living on the River Wye in Herefordshire in the UK, he paddled an open Canadian canoe.

After a break from paddling, he came back into the fold when he purchased a Beachcomber sea kayak. A couple of years of solo and social paddling led to an interest in racing. He upgraded his Beachcomber to an Albatross and various boats followed, growing to a range of kayaks including a multisport boat, a surf ski and an adventure racing double. His main interest now is in training for fitness and races that sometimes include K1s, multisporters, waka ama, surf ski and even ocean rowers. He still likes a quiet morning's kayak fishing and the enjoys the common ground between different codes within paddle sports.

When not on the water, Sandy is the KASK representative on Water Safety New Zealand. He writes articles for KASK's Sea Canoeist magazine, ranging from trip reports to technical articles on wind, wing paddles and techniques for improving paddling speed.

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DoC Liaison & KASK funding - John Gumbley

Job: Tries to make sense of our financial situation, hopefully better than government analysts.

John lives beside the Waikato River near Ngaruawahia, occasionally commutes by kayak the 25 km from his workplace in Hamilton to home. He has messed about in small kayaks for years but having decided that he no longer needed to spend money on children's violins etc. he finally bought his first sea kayak only about 6 years ago. Soon after he was given Evan Pugh's name and then joined the Bay Association of Sea Kayakers. BASK (and Evan) have been great for providing the company and opportunity to see those parts of NZ that can only be really appreciated by kayakers - Great Barrier, D'Urville Island, Coromandel and Hauraki Gulf and quite a few lakes and rivers - Taupo, Waikaremoana and a few South Island lakes too. He has really only scratched the surface and is keen to improve his skill level from that of a novice. Multi-day trips are a treat.

John worked as a geologist and over the past decade or so as an ecologist with the Department of Conservation's Waikato Conservancy. Having drilled or conducted geophysical surveys on many Waikato lakes in the past, he can only now say though that he knows more of what's in the lakes than under them. His main work focus is on wetland restoration (lakes, rivers, swamps and peat bogs) but he has had the absolute privilege of working in the Antarctic, Sub-Antarctic islands and a number of New Zealand's offshore islands.

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KASK Publications & Safety - Paul Caffyn ONZM

Job: The newsletter editor, the most important job on the committee. Collects bad jokes and publishes the worst of them. Writes report for coroners (leaving out the bad jokes) on kayaking accidents. Writes pamphlets, articles and books to help stop kayakers getting into trouble.

Paul is one of the world's most experienced expedition sea kayakers, possibly the most experienced.

Paul began canoeing at the age of nine on the Brisbane River, but only took up serious sea kayaking in 1977. In the following 30 years he has notched up over 48,000 kilometres in his single Greenland style kayaks. His Australian trip is regarded as one of the great small boat voyages of recent history.

Paul's first sea kayak expedition was around Fiordland with co-paddler Max Reynolds. From Jacksons Bay, Paul carried on solo to complete the first kayak circumnavigation of the South Island. This trip was the subject of Paul's first book Obscured by Waves. In 1979 Paul kayaked 1700 miles around the North Island, another first, and completed the trip with a Cook Strait crossing. This trip was the subject of a second book Cresting the Restless Wave. In August 1979, Paul teamed up with Max Reynolds again to cross Foveaux Strait and complete a tough kayak circumnavigation of Stewart Island. Dark Side of the Wave completed Paul's New Zealand trilogy of his kayak travels around New Zealand.

In 1980 Paul teamed up with an English paddler, Nigel Dennis, to complete the first kayak circumnavigation of Britain. This 2,200 mile trip took 85 days.

In December 1981, Paul set out from Queenscliff near Melbourne and spent the next 360 days achieving the first kayak circumnavigation of Australia. This 15,000 kilometre paddle is acknowledged as one of the most remarkable journeys ever undertaken by kayak. Paul had to contend with a tropical cyclone which nearly swept him off a small offshore islet in the Coral Sea, raging surf, tiger sharks which frequently bumped into the kayak in the Gulf of Carpentaria, crocodiles, sea snakes and three sections of sheer limestone cliffs. To overcome the three 160+ kilometre long sections of cliffs, Paul used Nodoz tablets to stay awake and Lomotil to keep his bowels dormant during these overnight paddles. The longest stint along the awesome Zuytdorp Cliffs in Western Australia, took 34 hours of continuous paddling. After 10 years of trying to interest a publisher in a book about the Australian trip, in April 1994 Paul finally self-published his story as The Dreamtime Voyage.

In 1985 Paul completed a 6,500 kilometre, 112 day paddle around the four main islands of Japan.

With co-paddlers, Paul has twice attempted to kayak across the Tasman Sea from Tasmania to New Zealand but has been thwarted on both occasions by the Tasmanian authorities and bad weather.

In August 1991, Paul paddled into Inuvik, in the North-West Territories of Canada, to complete the first solo kayak trip along the entire coastline of Alaska. Commencing from Prince Rupert in British Columbia, this 7,500 kilometre trip took three northern summers to complete. Highlights of this trip were: a herd of walrus swimming around the kayak, a large brown bear ripping open Paul's tent while he was asleep, being charged by a bull musk ox, and meeting the Eskimo villagers who are the descendants of the Inuit people who originally evolved skin kayaks in Arctic waters.

Paul filmed the 1991 trip from Nome to Inuvik, not easy when paddling solo, and Canterbury Television edited the tapes and some Television News footage of Paul training on the West Coast, into a 30 minute documentary.

In September 1997 Paul, and Wellington paddler Conrad Edwards, completed a 900 kilometre circumnavigation of New Caledonia.

1998 - 1,000 kilometre trip along south-west coast of Greenland, from Kangerslussuaq to Narsarsuaq with Conrad Edwards.

1999 - 1,000 kilometre paddle along the west coast of Greenland from Kangamiut to Upernarvik, with Conrad Edwards.

2001 - 2002: 980 kilometre trip from Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, to and around the island of Phuket, in Thailand; with Conrad Edwards.

2007 - kayaking the Angmagssalik region of East Greenland, from Isortoq to Lake Fiord, with Conrad Edwards.

2008 - kayaking the east coast of Greenland from Isortoq around the south to Narsarsuaq on the west coast, with Conrad Edwards.

In the 2012 New Years Honours List Paul was conferred with an ONZM.

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Webmaster - Sandy Ferguson

Job: To put things like this page together and make things for kayaks to put on the DIY page.

Having sailed for years, cruised in an assortment of dinghies including an Olympic class Flying Dutchman and keelers, Sandy built his first kayak for his daughter's 10th birthday and then one for himself. After attending sea kayaking forums since 1989, leading trips, running a kayak building class and continuing to design and build kayaks his conclusions are: - you can make most things, often achieve a higher performance and save a lot of money doing it (probably due to his Scottish heritage - thrift and engineering!).

Sandy is the author of Sea Kayaker's Guide to New Zealand's South Island and Sea Kayaker's Guide to Banks Peninsula; webmaster for KASK and the Canterbury Sea Kayak Network's websites.