PADDLER 14
PADDLER 14
A chat with … Ray
GOODWIN
MBE
Interview: Peter Tranter Photos: Ray Goodwin, David Bain, Axel Schoevers, Jack Lowe & Ray Mears
We first interviewed Ray over six years ago, in issue 48( https:// paddlerezine. com / aninterview-with-ray-goodwin-mbe /), shortly after he received his MBE for services to canoeing. Before and since that interview, Ray has been a prolific contributor to the Paddler magazine with invaluable coaching advice and accounts of where he has been canoeing across the globe. With those contributions, Ray has helped to inspire so many other paddlers through his books, coaching, talks, and YouTube videos. So, once again, please take it away Ray …
PLEASE REMIND US, AND FOR THOSE WHO WILL NOT KNOW, HOW YOU STARTED IN A VERY SUCCESSFUL PADDLING CAREER.
I first worked as an instructor back in‘ 72 and then later became a teacher. Then, I took a year off to travel and climb. Back in the UK, I experienced real failure and the dashing of a dream. I was very much a climber and had applied to join the British Antarctic Survey. It was a two-and-a-half-year contract. I got an interview but failed to get the post. All of a sudden, I needed a job. I had contacts with an outdoor centre in North Wales( Plas yr Antur), and the boss offered me work as an instructor. Even then, I saw myself as a climber, but most of my colleagues were sea and WW kayakers as well as mountain folk. They got fed up with me taking them out on wet climbs on rainy days: I had been choosing climbs for wet days that had a reputation for being damp, so a bit of rain made no difference in my mind. Anyway, I soon got dragged into kayaking on the sea and rivers. I had a big reputation for swimming down rapids, and it took a while before I started staying in my boat. Eventually, I paddled in the Alps and even made a Grand Canyon trip.