Delmarva Paddlers Retreat continues its commitment to reaching out across borders to people who are making a difference in the paddling community, especially the traditional community.
Here are the special guests for 2026
Pete Kuhn (Minnesota)
Pete enjoys kayaking, whether guiding a group in a fully loaded boat or wearing a tuilik in a skinny Greenland kayak throwing a harpoon for points. Biking and blading would be some of his dry land fun and when the water gets hard, it’s time for snow kiting. Pete is an ACA level 4 kayak instructor, wilderness first responder, and a PASA certified snow kite instructor.
Tim Gallaway (Michigan)
Tim began his kayaking career as a guide and ACA instructor at Woods & Water Ecotours in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when he was in college. He cut his rough water teeth on the rocky shores of Lake Superior and Lake Huron and quickly took to Greenland style paddling. After teaching himself a majority of the traditional rolling list he was bitten by the Greenland Rope Gymnastics bug and is now one of Qajaq USA‘s ropes gurus. In the summer of 2018 Tim traveled to Greenland to compete in the National Qajaq Championships and has a completed vlog series about his travels. In 2021 he completed a personal goal of a paddling expedition along the Michigan shoreline of Lake Superior and Lake Huron and has his sights on bigger expeditions in the next few years.
Chessy Knight (BC Canada)
Chessy fell in love with Greenland rolling a few years ago when she got her Rebel Naja. As she learned many (but by no means all!) of the rolls, she found that her skills in a sea kayak got much better. Taking the Greenlandic rolling skills into dynamic water is a big passion of hers. She can often be found rolling in the whirlpools of Deception Pass... just because it's fun. She started teaching rolling three years ago and has a mission for teaching:
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Rolling isn't just an excellent self-rescue. It's an extraordinary gift from a beautiful culture, and it adds a level of fun to kayaking that everyone should have the chance to experience. No one owns rolling... we are fortunate that the techniques were shared with us, and it's our obligation to share the skills with others who want to learn.
Watching people fall in love with rolling, especially after they get their first roll, is one of the great joys of Chessy's life.
Dubside​
We kind of claim Dubside as one of our own. We saw him in Philly practicing rolls in a wide folder back in 2000. A quiet kind of guy back then, he couldn’t convince Robin to let him come to Delmarva that year. But he’s now been with us since 2001 (yes that’s him in the photo circa 2001). Who knew this mild manner sound man would become Super Roller Man. He’s still Dubside to us though. Visit the website he helps with, Qattaarneq.
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TIPS had him described best so we will just pass on their bio: On instructional DVDs, on the internet and especially in person Dubside makes kayak rolling, traditional Greenland rope gymnastics and kayak yoga look unbelievably easy. His one-of-a-kind persona, infectious enthusiasm and unpretentious demeanor have become an annual feature at numerous padding events and gatherings for many years. He started competing at the Greenland Championships in 2004 and has been a competition judge since 2010. He has also taken his unique folding kayak to Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Greenland
Don't miss
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