Coaches

Meet the Coaching Team

The Anglesey Women’s Sea Kayaking Festival is led by a team of experienced, inspiring female coaches with a passion for helping paddlers grow.

You’ll be supported throughout the weekend by coaches who are not only technically excellent, but also friendly, encouraging and committed to creating a positive, welcoming environment for women at all stages of their sea kayaking journey.

Julie Perren

Julie is the co-organiser of the incredibly successful biennial 'Women's Sea Kayak Festival' based in Salcombe. The WSKF as it is known has influenced the creation of this event and Julie's support has helped make it a reality.

Julie discovered sea kayaking after moving to the South West 20 years ago. Now living in Falmouth, Cornwall she enjoys guiding, coaching around the diverse coastlines of the UK and further afield in Jersey, France, Norway and most recently taking a group to Western Greenland this summer. She also enjoys white water kayaking, canoeing, surf skiing and kayak racing and is a British Canoeing Advanced Sea Kayak Leader, Performance Coach, a Sea Kayak Coach and SK Award Provider.

Julie is a sponsored paddler for Sea Kayak UK and paddles the Echo.

An essential item found in her kayak would be a sketchbook to record the journey which has inspired paintings capturing the energy of the sea!

Perren Design Artworks

perrendesign-artworks.com

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Kelly Marie Henry

Kelly has kayaked throughout her adult life, from early days as a sea kayak guide in the San Juan Islands, to achieving the highest American Canoe Association sea kayaking instructor award, in California’s challenging surf and rock garden environments.

Kelly is a passionate surf kayaker and represented Team USA at the 2017 World Surf Kayak Championships in Northern Ireland. She is also a capable white water kayaker, with Class III-IV river experience in the USA and Europe. Kelly’s expedition experience includes a 6-week sea kayak adventure in Taiwan’s wilderness coastal environment.

Kelly loves sharing her knowledge and experience with students, who appreciate her skill, enthusiasm and focus on active learning.

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Caoimhe Connor

Caoimhe is from Ireland Co. Down where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea. Caoimhe’s passion is all things water from white water tidal races in a sea kayak to rivers in an open canoe.

She is an advanced sea leader and advanced water coach. There is no better way to see the world than from a sea kayak in Caoimhe’s opinion. She has travelled far and wide in her sea kayak, exploring, leading and coaching along the way.

She is looking forward to her first Women’s Sea Kayaking Festival and exploring the coasts of South Devon!!

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Sue Couling

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Helen Bartlett

Helen fell in love with kayaking when she realised it fulfilled her need for exploration, escapism and time outdoors. However, the fact it also meant being active, getting a shot of adrenaline AND meeting amazing people, really sealed the deal!

Kayaking has been a major part of her life for the past 11 years and has taken her all over the UK as well as Sweden, Norway, Slovenia and Nepal. There is nothing Helen loves more than a multi-day expedition, living out of her kayak, wild camping in remote places and immersing herself in nature.

Having coached for a number of years on the side of her day job in marketing, Helen now spends her Summers coaching full-time and enjoys sharing her love of sea kayaking with the wider paddling community.

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Fi Corfe

Fi is a powerhouse of experience and energy on the water, known widely in the sea kayaking community for her adventurous spirit and generous coaching style. She and her husband form a remarkable paddling duo who have completed some of the world’s most demanding journeys — including circumnavigating New Zealand and Tasmania, and crossing the Bass Strait twice, one of the most challenging stretches of open water in the Southern Hemisphere.

Despite this expedition pedigree, Fi is wonderfully approachable. She brings a warm, engaging presence to her coaching, meeting paddlers exactly where they are and helping them build confidence step by step. Fi has a natural ability to make ambitious skills feel achievable, blending humour, encouragement and sharp technical insight.

Whether she’s helping someone find ease in choppy water, guiding a group through tidal features, or sharing stories from her extraordinary journeys, Fi creates an environment where women feel motivated, supported and inspired. She’s a true legend of the sport — and an absolute joy to paddle with.

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