Nigel Foster (born 17 October 1952) is an English sea kayaker, kayak designer, instructor and author. He is the first and youngest paddler to circle Iceland by kayak.Storry, T., Baillie, M. and Foster, N. (1989). Raging Rivers, Stormy Seas. Dobbs Ferry: Sheridan House Inc
Foster started paddling in Brighton, England when he was 15 in a skin-on-frame kayak. At Burwash Place Outdoor Activity Centre, Burwash, Sussex, England, Foster learned to handle whitewater, sea kayaking and surf kayaking. From 1971 to 1972, he was employed there as a "trainee instructor". He enjoyed the mix of Outdoor Activity instruction and Environmental Studies education and decided to pursue this as a career. He attended a three-year teachers training course at Redland College, Bristol, and gained classroom experience with two years teaching at a school in Buckinghamshire.
In 1977, after his Iceland circumnavigation, Foster was employed by East Sussex County Council to teach as "instructor/teacher" at Burwash Place. Later in 1977, he was promoted to deputy warden.
At the same time he continued his explorations with trips that included the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland and a voyage from the English Channel through France down to the Mediterranean. In 1981, when the center was closed as part of regional cutbacks to education spending, he was redeployed as a schoolteacher, but resigned in summer 1981 to attempt a major kayak expedition – a solo trip from Iqaluit at the SE end of Baffin Island along Frobisher Bay to Resolution Island . He had to cross the of open water in the Hudson Strait to reach Lacy Island , northernmost of the Button Islands and part of the Northern Coast of Labrador.Foster, N. (2009) Stepping Stones: of Ungava and Labrador. Parker CO: Outskirts Press.
The tidal range in this area may exceed while tidal streams may run at more than seven knots. After fighting the tidal streams in the dark near the Button Islands, suffering frostbitten fingers and loss of gear, Foster eventually gave up on this expedition. He was able to catch a ride on an oil tanker that happened to have taken shelter behind Killiniq Island . The trip was described by the editor of the BCU Canoeing Handbook in 1989 as "arguably the most impressive of any sea kayak adventure in the world."BCU Canoeing Handbook, 2nd ed, p249
After his return to England – from 1982 to 1985 – he worked as an instructor at the Plas Menai, National Water Sports Centre, North Wales, primarily instructing kayaking, canoeing, boardsailing, mountaineering, with a little water-skiing, and sailing, gaining the following British Canoe Union (BCU) national qualifications in these fields.Foster, N. (2009) Stepping Stones: of Ungava and Labrador. Parker CO: Outskirts Press.
BCU Level 5 Coach Sea Kayak BCU Level 5 Coach Surf Kayak BCU Level 3 Coach Inland Kayak (also 5 Star Award Inland Kayak) BCU Level 3 Coach Open Canoe (also 5 Star Award Open Canoe)
He also served for many years on the BCU Sea Touring Committee, and the BCU Expeditions Sub-Committee.
In 1985, he left for Iceland for six weeks where he helped an expedition group from Cambridge with logistics and by leading the kayaking component. He returned to start his own kayaking business.BCU Canoeing Handbook, 2nd ed, p249Storry, T., Baillie, M. and Foster, N. (1989). Raging Rivers, Stormy Seas. Dobbs Ferry: Sheridan House Inc, inside rear dust jacket He taught local groups in Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Canada and the United States.
The design label "Foster Rowe" emerged for a while as a collaboration with two other top kayak coaches, (Andy Middleton & Ray Rowe) Canoe Focus magazine, April 1991, Trade News, p 8 with products such as paddling jackets, personal flotation devices (PFDs) and tow-systems designed for leading edge performance.Canoe Focus magazine, October 1991, p 37
Subsequently working alone, the "Nigel Foster" signature paddle blade was released by Nimbus in Canada,Sea Kayaker magazine, News from the Trade, August 2003 and Foster worked in a design/consultant capacity with companies including Liquidlogic, Bending Branches and Extrasport in USA. (e.g., ExtraSport Tow-system).
Late in the summer of 2004, accompanied by Kristin Nelson, he finally completed Baffin Island to Labrador expedition by paddling from Kuujjuaq in Ungava Bay to Nain – a distance of over of uninhabited coastline – in which there were numerous encounters with polar bears.Foster, N. (2009) Stepping Stones: of Ungava and Labrador. Parker CO: Outskirts Press.
In 2008, at the 6th Annual Induction Ceremony, Foster was inducted into the International Halls of Fame: Bicycling, Rowing, Canoeing, Kayaking as a Kayaker.
Since 2007, Foster has been the head of research and development at Point65. In addition to designing products for Point65, he also acts as a spokesperson and assists the company with PR, marketing and special events. Foster presently lives in Seattle, WA with his wife Kristin Nelson.
References
Published works
Storry, T, Ed. (1986) Snowdonia White Water Sea and Surf Appendix 1, 'The Sea Birds of North Wales, by Nigel Foster', pp 146–151, Milnthorpe Cumbria: Cicerone Press, Storry, T., Baillie, M. and Foster, N. (1989). Raging Rivers, Stormy Seas. Dobbs Ferry: Sheridan House Inc, Rowe, R, British Canoe Union et al. (1989) British Canoe Union Canoeing Handbook. second edition, Nottingham : British Canoe Union, Foster, N. (1990) Canoeing: A Beginner's Guide to the Kayak. Arundel: Fernhurst Books, Foster, N. (1997) Nigel Foster's Sea Kayaking. 2nd ed. West Sussex, England: Globe Pequot, Foster, N. (1998). Nigel Foster's Surf Kayaking. Guilford: The Globe Pequot Press, Foster, N. (1999) Guide to Sea Kayaking in Southern Florida. Guilford: Globe Pequot, Foster, N. (2003) Open Canoe Technique: a Complete Guide to Paddling the Open Canoe. Guilford: Globe Pequot, Foster, N. (2006) Kayaking: a Beginner's Guide. Arundel: Wiley, Foster, N. (2009) Stepping Stones: of Ungava and Labrador. Parker CO: Outskirts Press, Foster, N. (2012) Encounters from a Kayak: Native People, Sacred Places and Hungry Polar Bears. Falcon Guides, Foster, N. (2016) On Polar Tides: Paddling and surviving the coast of Northern Labrador. Falcon, Foster, N. (2017) Paddling Southern Florida: A guide to the area's greatest paddling adventures. Falcon Guides, Foster, N. (2017) The Art of Kayaking: Everything you need to know about paddling. Falcon. Foster, N (2021) Heart of Toba: Batak Life beside the World's Largest Caldera Lake. Nigel Kayaks. Foster, N. (2021) Kayak across France: A canal and River Adventure Unlocked. Nigel Kayaks. Foster, N. (2023) Iceland by Kayak: The First Circumnavigation of Iceland by Kayak. Nigel Kayaks. , Foster, N. (2025) Just One More:Guitar, Kayak, Coffee Nigel Kayaks Foster, N. (2025) What Color is Water? decoding what we see Nigel Kayaks. Foster, N. 'Winging It', Sea Kayaker, June 1996 Foster, N. 'Paddle Float Rescue', Sea Kayaker, February 1997 Foster, N. 'Kayaking with Polar Bears', Adventure Kayak Magazine, February 2010 see also http://nigelkayaks.com Magazine Articles
Filmography Nigel Foster Sea Kayaking Series six instructional sea kayaking DVDs produced by Starling Productions, Inc.. Play by play log.
Getting Started Essential Strokes Directional Control Rescues Forward Paddling Rolling and Bracing
Kayak Designs Vyneck – Foster first design in 1977 – an expedition kayak produced in association with Keith Robinson Rumour – Touring kayak built by Current Designs
The "Legend Series" produced by Seaward Kayaks are three expedition-capable sea kayaks designed for easy and fast cruising.
Legend Silhouette sized for the smaller paddler Shadow sized for the larger paddler
The "Whisky Series" produced by Point65 Whisky18 a longer version of the Whisky16 – no longer in production Whisky16 a rough-water playboat
Also built by Point 65 Cappucino a day boat – no longer in production DoubleShot a tandem sea kayak
Sources Connecticut Sea Kayakers: Newsletter, June 1997 Connecticut Sea Kayakers: Newsletter, May 2005 Mats Bengtsson kayaking and kayak techniques: 'A One Day Kayak Course with Kayak Guru Nigel Foster' Sea Kayak Podcasts: 'Nigel Foster – the coach all sea kayak coaches respect. Another great personal tale.' Sweetwaterkayaks: 'Nigel Foster' Point65: 'Nigel Foster joins Point65!' Point65: 'Introducing the Whisky 16 and DoubleShot'
External links http://www.nigelkayaks.com/ http://www.nigelfosterdesigns.com/ http://www.nigelfosterkayaks.com/ – source for data on the DVD https://nigel-kayak.blogspot.com/