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Sam Crowley - sam@seakayakspecialists.com (Click here to see photos of his ender at the 2004 Surf Confluence in Wawa) Background: Sam started paddling in 1991 following the Siren’s call into the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin. He paddled there for two seasons before moving to the San Francisco area for 14 months where he learned to kayak surf and roll in conditions. Leaving a decade long career in computer engineering, he returned to the upper Midwest in quest of a new lifestyle. After some wandering, he spent two seasons guiding for Northern Waters Adventures in Munising with trips primarily to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Grand Island National Recreation Area as well as several to Isle Royale National Park. During this time, Sam worked towards becoming a massage therapist and opened a practice in Marquette. Guiding was good experience but Sam realized to continue expanding his skills and experience (as well as avoid burning out), he needed to instruct and work with paddlers at all levels, not just beginners as well as personally paddle on more extensive trips. This is a seed that started the formation of Sea Kayak Specialists. Certifications:
Paddling Trips:
Favorite Trip: Over three weeks I paddled from Thunder Bay to Wawa Ontario on Lake Superior’s north Shore that is well known for being remote and extremely rugged. Out of the 300 Previous trips included paddling out and back as well as circumnavigating both Isle Royale and Michipicoten on Lake Superior. Despite the 13 mile crossings involved, the conditions were calm the majority of the time. It was on this trip that I felt I came of age as a paddler. My trip planning was validated as I took rest days as well as weather days and still completed on schedule without having to ‘force’ things due to schedule. I did paddle at times despite the conditions but it came only after balancing the risks involved. These risks included being solo, an unsettled forecast and a rugged shoreline known only from a chart. These conditions fused together all my experience, training and known theory in a way to further develop my judgment beyond what I thought was possible. Instructing Philosophy: I am addicted to sea kayaking, I want to see others addicted as well! Sharing the sport is how I view instructing. I was lucky to start out by being around skilled people who loved the sport and wanted to share it as well. Their passion was infectious and they encouraged me to higher levels while being humble about their own ability. The interesting part of sharing the sport is I learn as well. It doesn’t matter if I am working with a person who has never paddled before or an instructor candidate with years of experience, everyone has shared something with me that has helped me to become a better paddler and/or instructor. Progression is a big part of how I instruct. By building a base before advancing to the next level, a student builds skills in increments which helps to make complex skills easier to learn. The trick is in providing the right amount of challenge (not too much or too little) for the people present. Done right, this leaves people feeling excited about the sport and with a greater confidence in their skills. Instructors that have most influenced me: Nigel Dennis from Wales and Gail Green from Bayfield, WI are paddling instructors I have been most inspired by. Nigel is a paddler with a tremendous amount of experience that he brings to the lesson. Gail brings an incredible awareness to the classroom with a personality that engages and challenges everyone. She taught me how to focus on the students while teaching . Hal Zintel, a graduated student who taught several of my engineering classes in university, taught me to make it funny. No matter how complex the problem, Hal would have us laughing. He made learning enjoyable. Future Goals: For years I have focused on attaining higher levels of instructor certification. Given my experience and the place where I live and work, I feel I am at the level of what I can achieve for a reasonable effort and pay back. Now I am looking at building my paddling experience. The past couple of years I have traveled a greater distance to take longer trips in different areas. In ‘03 I traveled to the Pacific Northwest to learn more about tides and reacquaint myself with paddling on a open Pacific shoreline. In ‘04 I traveled to Finland to learn about paddling on international waters. In ‘05 I traveled to the Queen Charlotte Islands (or Haida Gwaiis to it’s First Nation) to travel more extensively along an exposed coastline. It is the experience from these trips that is building my skills and confidence for a trip to Ireland in ‘07. Favorite Jokes: How does a snowboarder introduce themself? Sorry dude!
What did the Buddhist Monk say to the hot dog vendor? Make me one with everything!
A Panda Bear walks into a restaurant and orders a meal. After completing dinner, it pulls out a gun and shoots the place up and starts to walk out. The owner stops him and says, why did you do it. The bear says, that’s what I do, look it up in the dictionary and walks out. The owner clearly puzzled, pulls out a dictionary and it says: Panda Bear - a large mammal. Eats, shoots and leaves.
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miles, I had paddled only 40 miles previously. During this time, I encountered six small craft advisories (winds 25-34 knots) and three of those turned into gales (winds 35-44 knots). Despite these conditions, I completed the trip on the 21st day as scheduled just as the sixth small craft advisory started roiling the lake. It was on the 20th day at noon that I stood on a sheltered landing looking across Michopicoten Bay, a 45 minute paddle from my car, with the 5th small craft advisory painting the open waters and the open shoreline white. A run through the mouth of the Michipicoten River was the crux to finishing the trip but it was not to be that day. It was a good decision as local paddlers described the conditions at the river mouth as being some of the wildest they had ever seen (waves steep enough to take a river kayak and slam it upside down if it was unfortunate enough to be on the wave’s lip).
