ABOUT THE OWNERS:

MARNA POWELL is an ACA Open Water Coastal Kayak instructor with the Adaptive Paddling Endorsement. Before founding Kayak Zak’s, she was the lead kayak instructor with North Coast Adventures for six years. She has taught both on-water classes and been a speaker at the West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium in Port Townsend, WA, but she is most proud of being able to have offered the very first on-water adaptive class at this national event. Marna was one of four organizers of the Trinity River Freestyle Rodeo under American Whitewater, and chaired the races for HSU’s Humboldt Bay Paddlefest for it’s first four years. She is also an EMT with an interest in wilderness first aid. She says her two claims to fame are “being the person who brought cardboard kayak racing to Humboldt County” and “helmets to local sea kayakers!” Both endeavors initially took a lot of peer pressure and arm-twisting before becoming popular. She often tells her students “I will never be the world’s greatest kayaker, but I may be able to teach you to be that person!” Her passions are promoting kindness to animals, and getting people on the water who never dreamed they might be able to kayak. "If I can kayak then anyone can!"

MICHAEL POWELL is an accomplished whitewater paddler and surf kayaker. He’s also the guy in the blue “NC 17 Competition” in the NC Kayaks ad http://www.novuscomposites.com/competition.htm. Michael is a volunteer instructor with the Crescent City High School Kayak Club, and a volunteer fireman with Orick Volunteer Fire Department. When he has the time he enjoys building wooden sea kayaks.

Employees:

HELEN (AQUA GIRL) WILSON, Program Assistant, Crash-test Dummy, Girl Friday, and All-Around Nice Person. Helen’s enthusiasm for kayaking probably has some deep roots in her background as a junior lifeguard and many years of synchronized swimming. Her favorite classes are the open water rescue and recovery courses. She enjoys being upside-down in her kayak as much as being upright, and has pursued the ancient art of Greenland rolling. We’ve lost count of how many ways Helen can roll her kayak. Helen loves animals and writes a weekly column to find homes for needy pets in the Arcata Eye. She is also on the boards of the Explore North Coast kayak club and Humboldt State Alumni Association. Given all of her talents and accomplishments she is most proud of her son, Alex.

For more on Helen and to help us get her to the Greenland National Kayaking Championships go to www.greenlandorbust.org

Instructors and Assistant Associates:

DICK WOLD is a legend in the industry. His lengthy resume includes: Six-times U.S. Wave Ski Champion, 1993 World Surf Kayak Champion, 4th in the world in 2003 and 9th in 2005, Five-times U.S. Surf Kayak Champion, over 30 whitewater river first decents, he taught kayaking at Humboldt State University for over 20 years, and there is so much more. Dick is the owner and designer of Wold Ski Custom. His surf kayak designs continue to perform and win competitions across the world. We are lucky to have Dick help out each year and teach some surf zone classes for Kayak Zak's participants.

LARRY BUWALDA has actively paddled kayak and canoe for over 30 years. His product knowledge comes in part as a paddlesport retailer at Adventure’s Edge http://www.adventuresedge.com/ . Larry recently received certification as an American Canoe Association Instructor in Essentials of Kayak Touring. He certified as an ACA Moving Water Canoe instructor in 1992. In addition to paddling Larry is involved in organizing local events. He is on the organizing committee for Humboldt Bay Paddlefest, Six Rivers Paddling Club, Banff Mt Film Festival and is on the Board of Explore North Coast paddling club. When asked of his most memorable boating experience he said it was his 17 day tandem canoe trip down the Grand Canyon.

MICHAEL HERNANDO MORRIS found his first forays into kayaking were goal oriented namely fishing, and the kayak proved a versatile vessel in the pursuit of rockfish, ling-cod, salmon, halibut, and so forth. After several years of using a Euro paddle he decided to try something different and carved a Greenland paddle using a $7.00 redwood 2x4 and an old magazine article. The result changed his paddling for good. The Greenland blade immediately felt right and he began to study and learn traditional kayaking technique. This led to his building a couple of traditional skin-on-frame boats and carving many more paddles as well as attending seminars featuring some of the leading North American proponents and practitioners of native kayaking skills. Michael has been learning and refining his technique for some years now and is happy to pass on what knowledge he has gathered and to set others on this path.

Greenland technique is a fluid skill; there is little dogma even among Greenlanders and no “right” way beyond a few fundamentals. Michael is an ACA Basic Coastal Sea-Kayaking instructor. Michael also leads guided bird watching walks at the Arcata Marsh. He is the area’s most accomplished kayaking bird guide. He has been paddling the open coast of northern California since 1994 and has many interesting tales to tell including some great white shark sightings.

GARY HULL is an ACA Advanced Whitewater Instructor who caught the kayaking bug from friend Greg Higgins over ten years ago. He both an avid paddler and a devoted husband and father. He regularly kayaks in the rivers of Southern Oregon and Northern California with his wife, Mary, and their two sons, Craig and Kyle. Gary volunteers his time as the chief instructor for the Del Norte High Whitewater Club. Gary received his ACA instructor certification from Mary DeRiemer in 2001, and works as an alternate instructor at the Otter Bar Lodge in Forks of Salmon. He has taught elementary and high school social studies and math for 20 years and also has an intense passion for tele-skiing in the off-season. Gary and his family live on the middle fork of the Smith River and enjoy boating all year.

SIMEON & MARCIA TAUBER have been kayaking for 5 years. Simeon is certified as an ACA Kayak Instructor. Marcia is the co-founder of Explore North Coast, Humboldt County’s Canoe and Kayak association. Both Simeon and Marcia are on it’s board of directors and on the organizing committee of the HSU Humboldt Bay Paddlefest, a local, annual kayaking event. Marcia has a special interest in adaptive paddling because of her experience as the mother of a son with severe disabilities, who also loves kayaking. When not kayaking, they are co-owners of Simply Macintosh http://www.simplymacintosh.com/ , a computer store in Arcata, California. “It is often challenging for parents who have kids with disabilities to include them in the activities they love doing. It is rewarding that we can share the experience of kayaking with our son, who has disabilities and who is happiest when he’s on the water.”

MICHAEL (PITCH POLE) ZEPPEGNO is an ACA certified Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructor. He is an avid sea kayaker and enjoys paddling in all the various venues that Humboldt County has to offer. In addition to his experience on the water Michael has spent considerable time doing high altitude treks in the Himalayas. He is on the Board of the Explore North Coast Kayak Club. When not kayaking he enjoys gardening with his wife, spending time with his granddaughter, playing with his dogs, and continuing to develop his skills on the trapeze. Most memorable paddling experience: having Larry Buwalda raise his adrenaline level in winter paddles out of Trinidad. He is currently building a cedar strip sea kayak in his shop.