Our
Registered Maine Guide Staff 
National Park Sea Kayak has a team of veteran Sea Kayak Guides. Our professional and experienced staff is often blessed with a high return rate from season to season.National Park Sea Kayak conducts an extensive program each kayak season with emphasis on: emergency procedures, communication, ethics, wildlife, navigation, pre-trip briefing, island use and the like. Our veteran staff with many, many years guiding experience prides itself with the opportunity to hone skills and get ready for the upcoming season. Guide gratuities are always appreciatively accepted. Here is a look at the 2008 Sea Kayak Guides: Robert L. Shaw - Born and raised in Bar Harbor, Robert is proud to be an "island native". Ask him anything about Mount Desert Island, the local environment, or his favorite subject, fishing. He is sure to provide lots of interesting tales. Robert received a BS in Recreation Management and Business Administration in 1984 from the University of Maine. When he is not kayaking or fishing, he enjoys camping, swimming, scuba diving, boating and paddling the Florida Everglades. Robert sits on the Board of Directors of the Bar Harbor Savings & Loan Association. Bob Mensink - With over 30 years of guiding experience, Bob is well known on the Allagash, St. John, and St. Croix rivers as well as here in Acadia. He holds a Master Maine Guide license and is a former Adirondack Guide. A teacher for 12 years, Bob's education includes a BS from Fairleigh Dickinson University of New York and the University of Maine with degrees in Business and Special Education. An accomplished skier, wind surfer and sailor, Bob, now semi-retired, spends the off season with his wife at their home in the northern Adirondacks. Doug Michael - A year-round resident of Mount Desert Island and a native New Englander who was raised on the Atlantic Coast. "Maine offers the best sea kayaking in the world, and MDI offers the best of Maine," says Doug - and he's been a few places, too. Over the past 10 years he has explored, organized and led trips to more than a dozen countries including Canada, India, Nepal, New Zealand, Iceland and Lebanon. When he's not kayaking, Doug and his partner Kim operate Voyageurs Group Travel . He holds degrees from the University of Connecticut and the New York Medical College. He is a member of the MDI Search and Rescue Team and a certified Wilderness First Responder. Doug is passionate about the outdoors and looks forward to sharing the wonders of Acadia's coastal waters with you this summer. Chuck Herrick - Chuck has BS and MS degrees in Elementary Education from Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut. He also has a Sixth year certificate and PhD from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut... Retired from Eastern Connecticut State University where he was a Full Professor and Chairman of the Communications Department, Chuck was a Member of the Governing Body for the United States National Sprint Kayak and Canoe Team for three years, served as Vice-Commodore of the New England Division of the American Canoe Association for three years, Chairman of the Olympic Paddling Committee for the New England Division of the American Canoe Association for three years, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Columbia Canoe Club in Mansfield, Connecticut for five years, Member of the Columbia Canoe Club for approximately fifteen years, and has been a Registered Maine Guide for Recreation and Sea Kayaking since 1992. Chuck enjoys sharing the joys of sea kayaking with a special emphasis on stories and jokes that he actually believes are funny... Michael J. Good - Michael is a biologist/naturalist and President of Down East Nature Tours in Bar Harbor, Maine. He has over 25 years experience studying birds of North America and brings a wealth of knowledge about Neotropical migrants and the avifauna of the Eastern United States. Michael has traveled extensively in the USA, Alaska, Europe, Australia and South America. As a Registered Maine Guide, Michael has been guiding for many years. Fields of expertise include wetland ecology, ornithology and environmental education. He currently holds a BA Earlham College and a MSc from the University of Ultrecht, the Netherlands. Michael is currently building bog bridges somewhere in the northern forest of Maine. Steve Nickl - Steve has BS and MS degrees in Plant Biology with emphasis in Marine Environment from the University of Maine. Among his many certifications are: Certified Lifeguard, Wilderness First Responder, Maine Sea Kayak and Recreational Guide. Steve has paddled extensively in Maine as well as in Washington State, Australia, and New Zealand. Jane Pottgether - Jane has a BS degree in Recreation Management from the University of Maine at Machias. A Master Sea Kayak Guide since 2000 and A.C.A. Certified Kayak Instructor. She has experienced many waters including most of the Maine coast, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior, the Intracoastal waterway of North Carolina, and southern Florida. In the off-season, Jane teaches at Mount Desert Elementary School in Northeast Harbor, Maine. She is working toward a M Ed in Environmental Science Education at the University of Maine. Michelle Wheeler - Michelle graduated from the University of Maine in 2005 with a degree in Sociology and a certificate in Outdoor Education. She has been a certified Maine Guide and Wilderness First Responder since 2002 working in Bar Harbor for 4 full seasons as well as leading trips and teaching kayak skills at the Maine Bound Outdoor Center (University of Maine). She has been kayaking in the Florida Everglades, the Napali coast of Kauai, the Fjordlands of New Zealand, and most recently around the Virgin Islands. When she's not sea kayaking she enjoys whitewater paddling, sailing, hiking, and playing beach volleyball or ultimate frisbee! If you are out kayaking with Michelle on a hot day, don't be surprised if she tries to do a back flip of the bow of your kayak! Theodore Cake - A Bar Harbor native, Ted has bee Sea Kayaking for the past 15 years. After receiving a Computer Electronics Degree and working behind a desk Ted realized shortly that it was not the life for him. As well as Guiding Sea Kayak Trips, Ted enjoys: surfing year 'round (yes, in Maine), mountain biking, kayak rolling, playing guitar and cooking. Ted also enjoys traveling and has visited: Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Costa Rica and lived/worked in New Zealand for a year. Ted also works part-time for a non-profit organization who provides care to adults with mental retardation in Ellsworth, Maine. In order to keep up with the constantly changing outdoor equipment field, Ted additionally works for Cadillac Mountain Sports in Bar Harbor. A true local, Ted's passion is helping others enjoy the great outdoors. The staff of National Sea Kayak Tours includes Reservation Clerks, Shuttle Drivers, and Maine Guides, all of whom are enthusiastic and ready to inform you on other areas of interest you may have... swimming spots, whale watching, hiking & biking, food & drink... Beyond sea kayaking, we are ready to help make your vacation in Acadia a great experience. Just ask us... |
