Canada
Founder of Sea Kayaker magazine. Author of the foundational Sea Kayaking: A Manual for Long Distance Touring. Sumatra (1969), Chile (1973), Caribbean (1977-78).
John Dowd is the founder of Sea Kayaker magazine and the author of the foundational manual Sea Kayaking: A Manual for Long Distance Touring. His 1969 attempt to retrace the WWII escape route of commandos from Operation Rimau using a Klepper across the South China and Java seas ended with him being run out of Indonesia at gunpoint - but established him as one of the foundational figures of modern expedition kayaking. He paddled from Punta Arenas, Chile to Puerto Montt with Anna Rutherford in 1973 over five months. In 1977-78 he led a Caribbean expedition with Beatrice Dowd, Ken Beard and Stephen Benson/Richard Gillet for 8 months in a Klepper double, sponsored by Guinness.