Location: Exmouth, Devon, England

Ian Dovey is an outdoor professional who feels most at home somewhere between a tidal race, a river rapid, or a windswept stretch of coastline. With a background spanning sea kayaking, surf kayaking, whitewater kayaking, canoeing, and whitewater stand-up paddleboarding, Ian has spent years exploring and working across rivers and coastlines throughout the UK and Europe.

Ian works closely with Paddle UK and holds a wide range of UK paddlesport qualifications. He is also a provider of training courses across many of the disciplines within the Paddle UK framework, supporting the development of paddlers, instructors, and leaders at all levels. Alongside this, he works as a technical advisor for watersports centres around the United Kingdom, helping develop staff training and maintain high standards of safety and instruction on the water.

His career has also taken him further afield, including extensive time guiding whitewater kayaking trips in the European Alps. Ian is regularly involved with adventure events company Rat Race, often helping lead and “test-pilot” expedition routes and challenges around the world — which generally means finding the fun, the difficult bits, and occasionally the wrong way down a river before everyone else does.

When he’s not working on the water, Ian can usually be found introducing his young family to the joys of paddling — proof that the next generation is already being recruited into a life of tides, drybags, and slightly damp sandwiches.