Jeff Allen
Rockpool Kayaks Sponsored Athlete & Team Paddler since 2010
Contact details:
E: info@expeditionpaddler.com
T: 0044 (0) 7789286080
W: www.expeditionpaddler.com
To Jeff, expedition sea kayaking is all about freedom, the freedom to explore remote coastlines self supported, carrying all of your essential items with you and supplementing them as you go with fresh fish, food foraged along the shore and occasionally visiting areas that are inhabited so that you can re-supply yourself with stores as they run dry. To some sea kayaking will be regarded as a sport, but to others, it is more than just a sport, it is a way of life and to these individuals the sea kayak is the perfect vehicle to maintain a lifestyle that is free from the trappings of a society governed by the clock.
Jeff Allen first started kayaking as a young cub scout, when he was about 7 or 8 years old, then later on in the sea cadets and then as a young soldier in the British Army, In fact it was whilst serving in Cyprus, with the United Nations that he would see his first real sea kayak, three brand new, shiny Valley Nordkap’s waiting on the beach, all ready to go on Expedition.
Jeff’s time in the army gave him a healthy love of the outdoor way of life and when he left the military in 1987 he moved to Cornwall to study traditional boat building in Falmouth, he still calls Falmouth his home now and he get’s no greater pleasure than to explore his local coastline and to introduce others to both the world of expedition Sea Kayaking and the Cornish coastline.
But his heart lies in more extreme climes, Northern Norway, East Greenland, Alaska, the islands of Japan and South Georgia, places that are hard to reach for your average paddler and it is in these areas that Jeff see’s the benefits of the sea kayak.
Jeff still works with the military, he is an SME (Subject Matter Expert) for the Royal Marines, (Britain’s elite amphibious warfare specialists) in the area of small boat craft and has been involved in the training of military personal and folding kayaks and canoes for the past ten years now and he knows how extremely fit for purpose folding craft can be, especially when looking at the overall logistics of preparing for an expedition.
Jeff has been guiding and coaching professionally for more than 20 years now and established the first commercial sea kayaking business in the south west, presently trading as ‘Expedition Paddler’, he not only introduces people to the world of paddling on the ocean but also trains and assesses for the British Canoeing and International Sea Kayak Guide Associations and this is up to the highest levels of award in both leadership and guiding and personal ability, in fact many coaches and guides now working commercially in Cornwall have been trained or assessed at some time by Jeff.
Jeff also runs a series of expeditions - locally in UK waters, Cornwall, Isles of Scilly, Scotland and Ireland as well as further afield to Northern Norway, Alaska and shortly to Iceland, Faroe Islands & East Greenland and where possible always uses Rockpool Kayaks for these, especially for his own expeditions and the combined sailing/sea kayaking adventures he runs from on board Wild Rover 6, an expedition support yacht, that he also calls home……..
Kayaking Achievements
2004 Circumnavigation of Japan
2005/6 Circumnavigation of South Georgia (Antarctica)
2008 Circumnavigation & Exploration of Scandinavia
2011 Circumnavigation of Ireland (Record 25 days since retaken by Mick O’Meara)
Kayaking Awards
ISKGA Advanced Guide (Trainer & Assessor)
British Canoeing ASKL (5* Trainer & Assessor)