We are Yvonne and Pavlos, the owners of Sea Kayaking Kefalonia.
Below you can find some information
about ourselves as well as the rest of the team.
Yvonne Walser
I was born in Switzerland and I am swiss-greek. I
was raised in Switzerland where I fnished my marketing studies.
I came to Greece in 1994 and before starting 'Sea Kayaking Kefalonia' I worked as a
german language teacher and as a tour guide in Kefalonia as well as outside Greece.
My outdoor activities qualifications include REC (Rescue Emergency Care) Level 2, Tour Leader for Explore company, Red Cross first aid, PADI Open Water Diver, motor boat license. I am also a founding member of the Greek Sea Kayak Club.
My passion is backpack travelling. I have visited countries
like Peru, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, India, Nepal, China, Egypt,
South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Yemen, Chile, Argentina... I like getting deep
into the countries' culture and nature observing people and
animals.
My hobbies include trekking, cycling, reading, etc. I speak
Greek, German, English, Spanish and some Italian and French.
Pavlos Georgilas
I was born in Greece. My studies include a bachelor
in electrical engineering and a master in business administration.
My working experience includes customer facing roles in big
multinational companies like Nestlé, Compaq Computers, Hewlett Packard.
In the past I was a water-polo player in one of Greece's
best teams. Since 1996, kayak (both sea and white
water) is my passion. I am a member of the legendary TEAMadara,
a group of white water kayakers with rich activity in the
greek and not only, rivers.
I am sea kayak instructor certified by the BCU (British Canoe Union). My outdoor activities education and qualifications include: BCU 5 Star Sea Kayak, Level 3 UKCC Coach with Advanced Water Endorsement (a set of qualifications owned by a few top coaches in the world), Professional Lifeguard, REC (Rescue Emergency Care) Level 2, numerous white water courses in Greece and the Alps, Tour Leader for Explore company, PADI Advanced Diver, sailing license, motor boat license. I've also served for 21 months in a rescue boat in the military navy, which enhanced my seamanship.
My other hobbies include sailing, apnea, astronomy (founding member of the Astronomy Club of Thessaloniki), celestial navigation, scuba diving, backpacking, cycling, etc.
My travels have taken me in parts of Asia, Africa, Central and South America. I am also a founding member of the Greek Sea Kayak Club. I speak Greek, English, Italian and some French and German.
Harris Pliatsikas
¡Hola amigos! I was born in Germany and raised in Trikala. As a young student at the Department of Software Engineering of Arta's Tecnological Educational Institute, I was introduced to kayaking by George A. Gazetas, neighbors at the time and as the years went by it became more than a hobby or a job: it became my passion.
Sports and outdoor activities have always been an active part of my life, starting with football at the local clubs of the little league at the age of 9, moving to sea kayaking around the age of 18 and long distance running at the side for a time. I enjoy casual hiking in the woods, cycling around, and nature in general.
I also work as a web designer. My other hobbies include playing some ukulele and observing the natural world from above, taking photos with my drone.
I started working with Yvonne and Pavlos in 2017 as sea kayak guide, making trips around the island.
Qualifications include BCU 3 star, HRC First Aid certified and BCU 4 star Sea Kayak Leaders Trainee.
Carl Minshall
I was born in England, but due to my father’s occupation we travelled and lived in various locations in my childhood days such as Malta, Gibraltar and many areas within the UK. In my teens we moved to Kuwait where I lived for 3 years before returning to Northern Ireland which has been my home since.
My background was Wholesaling alcohol in Northern Ireland (selling drink to the Irish...what a gift!). I still currently work for Jamesons whiskey on a temporary contract over the winter months each year.
In 2011 I took up kayaking as a hobby and joined Belfast Kayak Club and am still a member today. This is where I did most of my training and developing my paddle skills and leading paddles for the club. I have attended Jeff Allens ISKGA incident management course and have my BCU sea kayak leader tidal water (old 4 star), Wilderness responder first aid, FSRT, Coastal navigation, 2-star river and open boating, Paddle sport instructor and RYA powerboat level 2.
I got the opportunity to join the Sea Kayaking Kefalonia team in 2022 and have never looked back since.
In my free time when I’m feeling active, I enjoy a bit of stand-up paddle boarding and walking and exploring around the wonderful island of Kefalonia. I love cooking up some tasty food and enjoying a glass of wine along with it.
Jan Pritchard
Half German half English I grew up living for the school holidays when we'd go camping, hiking, and paddling in the wild places of Europe as a family. After finishing school I travelled by bicycle for a while, savouring the freedom of the open road before committing to a fast track outdoor instructor training programme in Cornwall in the UK. Here I gained qualifications in lifeguarding, rock climbing, hiking, as well as of course sea kayaking. I have since guided on the rivers of France, the coasts of Sardinia and Rhodes, and spent 2 years running kids camps on a beach in Hong Kong.
I love what nature has to offer us, my greatest desire being to simply spend as much time as possible being active in the great outdoors. If I'm not guiding I'm usually off on a wilderness adventure of my own, exploring the wild places I've not yet seen, either by boat, on foot, or on two wheels.
I've since been back to Cornwall to complete my Sea Kayak Leader award but prefer to work here under the greek sun where the water is beautiful and warm!
Allison Carroll
My roots are on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It’s a wild and rugged island in the pacific ocean with snow capped mountains and temperate rainforests surrounding me. While it’s a stunningly beautiful part of the world to grow up in, I’ve always craved a change of scenery. I left home at 18 and have been on the move ever since. When you’re from a rainforest, you don’t let a sunny day go by without getting outside for some much needed vitamin D. This is what ultimately led me to a career in the sea kayaking industry, training with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of B.C. I wanted to be outside as much as I could! The deeply cut and jagged coastline of B.C. is world class for paddling as a way of exploring remote places. I spent about a decade leading multi-day sea kayak trips from the northern end of Vancouver Island to the archipelago of Haida Gwaii, where rain is a constant companion.
In the winters I continued my lifestyle of travel and escaping the rains to dry out in the sun. My path has led to working as a guide on expedition ships in Arctic Norway, Antarctica, Central and South America, Australia and now paddling the Mediterranean.
Along the way I have worked in yoga studios, tree planting camps, photography studios, welding shops, and studying the business of fashion, but paddling always brings me back. My other favourite things to do include mountain biking, wool felting, sewing, and making beaded jewelry. Now, I am currently spreading my roots and moving my life to New Zealand.
The things I have learned through sea kayaking have become a way of life, not just a job. It’s my privilege to share the joys of being active in nature while connecting with the wild world alongside those who seek out similar experiences.
George A. Gazetas
(George has been part of our team for over 10 years. He is running his own company now but he is still around running all the courses and being part of the team on and off).
I was born in Arta and raised in Athens. As a teenager my passion used to be kart racing and I had a tendency towards discovering inner aspects of racing biomechanics and motorsport engineering thus I followed studies in mechanical engineering. I lived part of my life in Khalkis (Euboea) and Corinth and travelled a lot mainly around Greece and abroad as well.
With its minimalistic nature, expedition orientations and potential, sea kayaking became soon a fascinating big part of my life.
I enjoy playing guitar and ukulele, climbing, trekking, cycling, camping in the wilderness, traveling with the motorcycle while listening to loud good music from my earphones…. Plus many more…
I ‘ve been working for years as a white water rafting trip leader and corporate event coordinator and assistant for a variety of outdoor activities and companies and for the summer of 2012 it is more of my pleasure to join Pavlos’ and Yvonne’s team in Kefalonia.
Qualifications include BCU(UKCC) coach level 1, trained Level 2, BCU 4 star leader sea, Long Term Paddler Development (I) Cert., Foundation Safety and Rescue Training Cert., BCU 3 star open canoe, Rescue 3 international swift water rescue technician (I), IRF trip leader class 3, HRC First Aid certified, HFMC - UIAA rock climber and member, Greek Army Special Forces Nurse Cert.
Vincent James Quirke (the real one!)
aka Se
(Se has been part of our team for over 10 years. He is now spending most of his time guiding in places like Antarctica and Ireland but he always finds some time to join and give a hand for part of the season!)
I was born in the south of Ireland. As a kid I spent most summer holidays travelling around Ireland and camping out with my family. I was always excited for these adventures and it probably inspired my decision later on in life to travel to new countries around the world and work in adventure sports.
My studies began with 3D and classical animation. I graduated after 3 years and soon began to train on a one year outdoor sports course, earning qualification as a level 3 proficiency white water paddler, level 1 coach, as well as a level 3 proficiency sea kayaker under the ICU. Through Mountaineering Ireland I gained my single pitch award in trad climbing and coaching as well as a mountain skills award. Over the years I have built on my qualifications with a BCU sea kayak leader award, REC Level 5 Remote wilderness first aid (Red Cross), Coastal Navigation cert, Open boat level 2 skills, Powerboat license and river safety rescue 2.
I have been very fortunate to have been able to travel to and work in some of the most beautiful locations on the planet and just as importantly to have worked with and befriended some of the most amazing people that I know, both work colleagues and clients. My paddle family grows more and more every year as does my knowledge as a result of this.
We are very enthusiastic about running 'Sea Kayaking Kefalonia'.
We are passionate about customer satisfaction and we are expecting
you to come and experience it...