A chat with… Dimitri Vandepoele

Interview: Peter Tranter

Photos:
Dimitri & Sylvie Vandepoele,
NORTHSEAKAYAK

A chat with… Dimitri Vandepoele

Any paddler that reads the Paddler will know Dimitri as a regular contributor to the magazine with his excellent safety series involving sea kayaking on the North Sea and his training camps down in Croatia. Whenever exchanging email and messages with Dimitri, he always comes across as not only knowledgable about sea kayaking but also a really relaxed guy to boot. So we thought it’s time to get to know him better, so over to you Dimitri…

Before we start, let our readers know a little about yourself, your family, your background, etc.
I was born and raised in Oostduinkerke, a small coastal village along the Belgian west coast. I met my wife Sylvie almost 23 years ago. She was my first love, and we have stayed together since then. Our marriage brought us a daughter, Bo and a son, Storm.

After secondary school, I worked for a year while taking entrance exams for the police academy. I succeeded, went to the police academy for a year, and became a police inspector. I started in Brussels, and later on, I was a patrolman in Gent, and I ended up doing the same job in my hometown. In the meantime, I passed exams to become a tactical and firearms instructor, which I have been doing for some time now. Five years ago, I did another entrance exam, passed and went back to school for a year. I earned my silver crowns, became chief inspector, and currently work in the same police force in my hometown, where I’m an officer of the watch.

My wife has worked for years in healthcare, specifically in a psycho-geriatric institute. My kids are doing secondary school right now.

I have been practising sports my whole life. When I was young, it was running and mountain biking. There was an interruption when Sylvie and I bought a piece of land. At that point, and for three years and a half, all our time was spent building our house. I’m very proud of that since I did most of the work myself. I had some help from family who worked in construction, but that was it. And in the meantime, we were working full-time.

After we moved into our house, where we still live, we decided it was time to do something on the water. We are living very close to the North Sea, within walking distance. Dinghy sailing and sea kayaking were on our list, and we only had a limited budget. After considering the pros and cons, we decided to go for sea kayaking!

How does kayaking on the ocean give you particular
satisfaction?
Three key words here; nature, adventure and sport! The combination of those three words keeps drawing me to the sea. The moment I leave the beach, everything is left behind. No noise (at least not human), no traffic, no stress, just you and the water. Every trip is an adventure, whether we paddle in our backyard (our part of the North Sea) or elsewhere. We keep things interesting by training a lot of rescue techniques. This also makes the strength of our team. The ocean is different each day, sometimes different by the hour. It never gets boring. And sport, well, I couldn’t live without. You can find me on my mountain bike when I don’t have enough time to go on the water.

You began sea kayaking in 2007 and haven’t stopped since. What made you start?
We found a sea kayak to be more versatile than dinghy sailing. Wind or no wind, we could paddle. We didn’t need a tractor to move a sailing boat over the sandy beach, just a small cart. We liked the idea of a man-powered craft; however, one problem! Neither one of us had ever done watersports, let alone sea kayaking!

Unfortunately, we started with a bad experience. Before buying the boat and equipment, I went to a local kayak club for information. I spoke to two different club members, and both laughed at my idea of paddling on open water. I returned home and briefed Sylvie, who was astonished by their reaction.

We had two choices; walk away and start with another sport or do it ourselves! Guess what we did? Since we had no clue what we were up against, we bought ourselves two sit-on-top sea kayaks; a red and a white DAG Midway. We paddled those for five years. Never regretted that choice as it gave us the chance to start safely.

In that period we learned a lot about the sea, current, weather and surf. With that particular sot-kayak, I made offshore trips I couldn’t imagine when I started. The idea of crossing the North Sea started after I succeeded in a solo, non-stop trip of less than 113 km. I knew I had the physique for it at that point. But there is more to it than just being able to paddle long distances.

What draws you to long, challenging adventure paddles such as the North Sea crossing?
I believe it is written in our DNA to explore and push boundaries. I’m no exception to that. I switched from a sit-on-top kayak to a closed cockpit sea kayak because I wanted to go faster and thus further. I saw (on the Sea Kayak Performance website (which keeps track of all records) that a Belgian team preceded me in 2005. So I wasn’t the first anymore, and I was annoyed by that, haha!

So I started thinking about doing it better. I was determined to do it without external help, so no pilot vessel as they did. I also wanted to do it solo, as no one had ever done that. These decisions are raising the level even more. So I needed to be prepared on a fitness level and a thorough knowledge of tidal streams as they are relentless in that area. I needed to be self-reliant in case of incidents.

And last but not least, I needed to find a mental state where I stayed calm and focused during the crossing. That last needs some explanation. I have met other paddlers that are paddling faster and further than me, but they said they would never dare to embark on such a mission. The feeling of being completely alone, only surrounded by water and no land to see for several hours, can do something with someone’s mind. I needed to have the same mindset as solo sailors, for example. And that isn’t obvious.

Tell us about your NORTHSEAKAYAK coaching setup and how you help others improve.
Now that has been and still is a heck of a ride! It started with just the two of us, Sylvie and myself. We started with posting videos of our backyard adventures on the North Sea many years ago. Sylvie found that we needed a name for our YouTube channel, and NORTHSEAKAYAK was the obvious choice. Written as one word, not separately. We both designed the logo, it took us a full day, and it is something that stands out and is recognizable.

After paddling for years, we noticed that there were other people like ourselves. Like us, they didn’t know where to get their knowledge and were hesitant to go on open water. You must know that we didn’t have some kind of sea kayak training program in Belgium. Theoretically, there was something, but it was far from finished. Not everyone has the time or the money to get classes overseas. So that is where we filled the gap in Belgium. We invented the ‘Training Day’ concept!

One day a year, other kayakers were invited to come over. We shared our knowledge regarding safety to the best of our abilities. Theoretics in the morning, followed by wet training during the afternoon. We even pulled it off to get permission to launch distress flares under the supervision of the waterway police. That was unknown for our country at that moment.

I believe that was the spark that got us launched into coaching. I’m asked about private coaching, which I do in between and on specific demand. But we like to go our own way! We were suddenly asked to coach a couple from Croatia that wanted to start their own kayaking business. They were not aiming at the ‘lost tourist’ but wanted to attract people interested in sea kayaking. We got full authority to do as we wanted for five days in a row.

Together with Boris and Ivka from Spirit of Korkyra, we launched the Sea Kayak Training Camp. It’s small, we only allow ten participants for each SKTC, but it proves to be a success! Every year we have a waiting list of enthusiast kayakers from all over the world that want to join in.

We are often asked what system we use during coaching. The answer is simple; our own! Since we are working with small groups and on specific demand, it is possible to work this way. Our top priorities are only two words; fun and safety! It was difficult initially as I didn’t take a class myself, a logical reaction to how we were treated in that kayak club many years ago.

It took me way more time to get on the same level as some other coaches! But I found strength in that, as a matter of fact, I do know which techniques are working and which are not. I have been testing it all out, not because someone told me. I also coach others by showing what works and what does not and letting them figure some things out independently. I don’t want good followers; I coach people so that I am confident they will look after me in case of an incident. I want them to become self-reliant sea kayakers. And that is a very unique perspective in coaching.

So I must say that I’m very proud, but also down to earth, of the trajectory we did. We started from scratch with no help and no background. We ended up helping others and ensuring they felt welcome and comfortable in our sport.

What kayak and equipment are you using?
I already told you about our first sit-on-top kayaks. We moved to closed cockpit sea kayaks now. After testing (and spending a lot of money on inferior equipment), we ended up with high-end products. We are paddling P&H sea kayaks; currently, the Cetus, Volan and Valkyrie, and Sylvie is paddling a P&H Scorpio. I started with Galasport paddles but use the high-quality VE Paddles right now. Our clothing and apparel are TYPHOON (mostly dry suits and neoprene clothing). For the equally important minor stuff, I would refer you to our Sea Kayak Safety Equipment video on YouTube.

What’s the most enjoyable encounter with wildlife that
you’ve had?
We often see harbour seals, grey seals and porpoises, but I once saw a single bottlenose dolphin, which is rare in our part of the North Sea. I was on the return of an offshore trip and found myself about 12kms away from land when I heard it blowing. Without knowing at first what that was, I looked around, and suddenly it appeared a few times.

When preparing for long periods at sea in challenging conditions – what are the qualities you look for in a fellow sea kayaker?
I like the combination of being serious and being funny in a person. Serious if the situation demands it and funny for the rest. Sea kayaking is not rocket science, and I like to keep things loose. People can probably hear us laughing from miles away if we paddle in a team!

Do you have any favourite conditions for sea kayaking, or are you happy with whatever Mother Nature bowls your way on the day?
Oh, I’m already happy when I arrive at the beach. Calm conditions allow for longer offshore trips where windy and a lot of waves can give opportunities to play or surf.

How have you changed as a person due to your extended paddles?
I have even more respect for the forces of nature. The sea always wins; you must adapt to it and never underestimate it. The ocean is not a swimming pool.

If you could capture just one ‘feel good’ moment in your time on the ocean – which would it be and why?
Haha, that is a hard one; I have feel-good moments when I’m out there almost all the time. If I had to choose, it would be when my kayak is making speed on top of a wave, and I can lose myself during surfing.

After all your years on the ocean, what still scares you on a paddle?
Nothing actually. If you are scared, you should avoid getting in a sea kayak and doing sea kayak things in the first place. I do feel thrilled when stepping out of my comfort zone. If (breaking) waves exceed two metres in height, that feeling sets in. It keeps me alert, however. Don’t get me wrong, I am careful, and I choose my moments when to go and when to decide that the sea is just too rough and dangerous.

One thing that plays like a soft voice in my head is, what if I lose one of my team members? Have I done enough… have they done enough to prevent this?

I’m a paddler and going on vacation; where would you recommend?
Definitely Ile de Brehat in Bretagne, France. There is a strong tidal stream around the island, and there are a lot of features to play in within a short distance. You can play in sheltered areas, as well as in exposed parts.

Is there any issue that stops you from sleeping at night?
Every now and then, work. I have a rather stressful job.

What advice would you give your younger self?
Same as I do now: go your own way, ignore the so-called ‘best helmsman that stands ashore’ At this point in my life, I don’t have regrets. I have done everything I wanted, within my possibilities, of course, with the people I love! And I also would say to myself, see that girl over there? The one with the curly hair and the big green eyes? Marry her! She will be your teammate for the rest of your life!

What’s your favourite day-trip paddle?
If conditions allow for it, which is rare, I like paddling to the Oostdyck Radar Tower. That is about 22 km offshore, right in front of where we live, and there is nothing in between, only water. You can’t see the tower until you paddled for an hour or two depending on the humidity in the air. And if you reach it, you cannot see the land at all. Freedom and priceless!

Do you have an ultimate achievement?
My two solo and unsupported North Sea crossings are on top of my list!

What projects are you currently working on?
I never talk about future projects, not even to the companies we work together with. I already put enough pressure on myself. Nobody knew when I did those two North Sea crossings until it was complete.

I can tell you this, we will keep supporting other like-minded paddlers at our Sea Kayak Training Camp. This counts as an invitation to all the Paddler readers!

Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
Haha, same as the previous question. And also, I have no clue, and I will keep paddling as long as I enjoy it.

What do you do when not kayaking?
I spend time with my family and friends when I’m not at work (I do early, late and night shifts). I like riding my bike. And whilst doing all that, I’m already with my thoughts by the ocean, hahaha!

Quickies…

Who would it be if you could paddle with anyone in the world, dead or alive?
I never met him in person, only shared a few words via mail. I have his books and DVDs, and I probably already met Gordon Brown in person if he hadn’t moved to Canada.

Pick two celebrities to be your parents.
Hahahahaaa, this is funny; I let Sylvie answer that for me: Tom Cruise and Linda Hamilton!

Which one sportsperson has inspired you?
No one as I don’t follow a sport, and I do it myself instead of watching others. I do look forward to the Olympics.

An ideal night out for you is?
Sitting on the beach with no one around but Sylvie, listening to the waves washing in and looking at the sky, hoping to see a shooting star.

What one luxury item would you take with you on a desert island?
Definitely my kayak! And I’ll make sure to hide my equipment in it!

What’s in your fridge right now?
A plate filled with none of your business! Haha! Right now, it’s filled with a lot of Sylvie’s homemade dark chocolate mousse… Which I don’t like to share!

What would you prepare for us if we came to your house for dinner?
Me? Nothing! Sylvie is the kitchen princess. And I must say that we already had some kayakers over for dinner. We always look forward to meeting kayakers we know online, in person!

Who are your kayaking buddies?
That bunch of misfits is called NORTHSEAKAYAK. We are a small team with very different paddlers. It’s a pleasure and honour to paddle with them!

If you could be a wild animal – what would it be?
A harbour seal, as it can sit on the deck of a shocked paddler!

What would you do with £10 million?
Finish our home and garden. Travel more, and give some to my kids. And for the rest, try to keep the same way of life.

Use three words to describe yourself?
Driven, fair, adventurous.

Any final shoutouts?
To my wife Sylvie, I wouldn’t have gotten that far in sea kayaking if it wasn’t for her. She does more than just support me. She gives feedback, helps me make decisions and is the best teammate I could wish for. Besides paddling herself, she makes a good photographer. All those photos and videos on our social media for everybody to see would not be possible if it wasn’t for her.

A big thanks to the people behind the companies we work together with for their trust in me: P&H Sea Kayaks, VE Paddles, TYPHOON, McMurdo, Daniamant and WRSI Safety. We keep a long-term relationship with clear communication and helping each other improve sea kayak products.

Take care of each other on (and off) the water and have fun. And maybe someday we will meet in person and paddle together!

Huge thanks Dimitri for taking your valuable time out for this.