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Qajaq TC

August 27 - 30, 2026

The first year you attend Qajaq TC you are instantly a part of the crew, and every year following that, you feel like you’re at a family reunion.  This year you can expect plenty of time around the bonfire and on the deck overlooking the lake making new friends and catching up with old ones you haven’t seen in a while. Prepare for some serious belly laughs and good times as you reconnect with paddlers, learn new skills, and enjoy a much needed break from regular day-to-day life.

Registration Opens April 1

Workshops and Clinics

Harpoon making this year!! Spend Friday with Chuck Smith and Jeff Friedle carving a harpoon and norsaq. We will learn to measure and carve a harpoon from a closet rod, and Chuck and Jeff will help us add the fittings for our norsaqs. Norsaq “blanks” will be provided which we can custom carve to fit our hands.

  • All tools will be provided.
  • This class will run all day Friday, and you should plan to spend at least the morning working with Chuck and Jeff. 
  • Cost is $85

“Padding It Out with Pete Kuhn” returns for another year! This workshop will cover how to make adjustments to the inside of a kayak cockpit. We will cover seat and foot peg adjustments/modifications followed by customizing thigh braces with foam, using a cut-a-way kayak to show possible placement of modifications. Materials and shaping techniques will also be discussed and demonstrated. Come learn the how and way of using foam to customize the fit of your kayak and bring your rolls to the next level.

  •  Time is TBD
  • Cost is $50

Rolling and Ropes with Dubside

Dubside

“Dubside” is known internationally as an authority on Greenland rolling and rope gymnastics. He has appeared in Justine Curgenven’s “This is the Sea Four”, Bryan Smith’s “Pacific Horizons”, and magazine articles in “Sea Kayaker”, “Canoe and Kayak”, “Paddler”, and “Adventure Kayak”. He has his own series of instructional DVD’s. Dubside does presentations, demonstrations, and instructional classes for symposiums, clubs, and outfitters throughout North America and Europe, and is a frequent judge and competitor at the annual Greenland National Kayak Championships.

2026 Mentors

Chuck Smith

chuck Smith

Chuck Smith is the owner of Aluu Paddles and has been playing on, in, and under the water since before he was born. He is from the Detroit area, where he has organized and run several group builds of qajaqs, paddles, and assorted gear. He enjoys teaching rolls, rescues, and how to build things. He has taught all sorts of outdoor skills, from sailing to winter camping. He has mentored at QTC, The Gathering, and Delmarva.

Tim Mentor Photo

Tim Gallaway

Tim began using a Greenland Paddle in 2008 and after teaching himself a majority of the traditional rolling list he was bitten by the Greenland Rope Gymnastics bug and is now one of Qajaq USA‘s ropes gurus. In the summer of 2018 Tim traveled to Greenland to compete in the National Qajaq Championships. In 2021 he completed a personal goal of a paddling expedition along the Michigan shoreline of Lake Superior and Lake Huron and has his sights on bigger expeditions in the next few years.

Sharon Bustamante

Sharon Bustamante

Sharon began kayaking 22 years ago. She first attended Qajaq TC in 2004 and has been attending ever since, first as a participant then as a mentor. She directed the on-water instructional experience for a number of years as well. She loves to help beginners work through a progression, beginning on land, that helps them find their roll of the water in a safe and comfortable way. She also likes to help participants develop an efficient forward stroke and become more comfortable with a variety of strokes that are used in real world paddling. She may also be able to troubleshoot issues with rolls you already have so you can move onto new rolls. Sharon is an ACA Level 3 kayak instructor and BCU 3-star paddler.

Pete Kuhn Head Shot

Pete Kuhn

Pete enjoys kayaking, whether guiding a group in a fully loaded boat or wearing a tuilik in a skinny Greenland kayak throwing a harpoon for points. Biking and blading would be some of his dry land fun and when the water gets hard, it’s time for snow kiting. Pete is an ACA level 4 kayak instructor, wilderness first responder, and a PASA certified snow kite instructor.

Gwen Truhn

Gwen Truhn

I have been a paddler my whole life, first in canoes, later in kayaks. I spent time as a kayak guide and ACA instructor on the Hudson River in NY. What really got me interested in Greenland paddling, however, was rolling. I love the way it is like dancing in the water, and I love helping people find the grace and ease in rolling. When I'm upright in my kayak I like to check out beautiful scenery, industrial ruins, and the expanses of water between islands.

Renee Mentor Picture

Renee Dufresne

Renee has been an active paddler and Greenland enthusiast for many years. She formerly served on the Qajaq USA BOD, and has attended every QUSA event nationwide, all of them in one year. She even participated in the Greenland National Championship in 2017. Thats a lot of miles. Despite the high miles on Renee's cars and body, she's still an protector of all things Greenland. Renee prefers to teach beginning rolling... from day one in your Journey. You need a hand roll? She's got that too.

Henry Mentor Photo

Henry Davies

I have paddled almost exclusively with a Greenland paddle since 2001. I enjoy helping people learn and improve their rolls. What I really want to see is everyone become proficient at paddling/maneuvering their qajaq. Qajaqs aren’t just for rolling, they are for hunting. I use mine to hunt for scenery! Nothing is more fun than hugging the cliffs along a Lake Superior shoreline, matching each rock and cove with the maneuvers of your qajaq — except maybe doing it in some wind and waves.

Kam Truhn

Kam Truhn

Kam has a wide range of kayaking interests. A former guide and ACA instructor in NYC, he loves the challenge of big water, long trips, and urban environments. As an aquatic ecologist, he also enjoys lily dipping and looking for cool plants, insects, and algae. Kam teaches paddling and rolling with a mind toward proper form to avoid injury and always loves seeing someone nail a roll they didn't think they'd be able to do.

Doug-Van-Doren

Doug Van Doren

Doug Van Doren has been a practitioner of the “Traditional” (Greenland Inuit influenced) style since he began paddling in the early 90’s. He is one of an early handful of North American paddlers to research, experiment with, and honor the traditional paddling style and equipment and to show its proficiency for padding in any sea condition. He is a regular instructor at symposiums throughout the U. S. well as Canada, Wales, and at the International Symposium in Llanca, Spain.

Tony Pascuzzi

Tony Pascuzzi

Tony began using a Greenland paddle in 2007 after undergoing rotator cuff surgery and never looked back. A few years later he taught himself several rolls and started attending Qajaq USA events, most notably QajaqTC. He has been working with friends and fellow HCKC club members on rolling and sculling since 2015. He loves surfing and playing in rough water as well as sight seeing and exploring by kayak.

Kyle Wills

I've been kayaking my whole life, starting when I was around 6 y/o. I've been active in Indiana kayak clubs since 2020. Namely IYAK - Indiana Kayakers, HCKC - Hoosier Canoe & Kayak Club, and USCA - United States Canoe Association. Kayaking appeals to me both for the fitness aspect, and as a way of leaving my stress on shore for a few hours. I pole vaulted on my school's track team, so learning kayak rolls was a familiar progression of learning body positions and timing.

Dave Nord

David Nord

David (Dave) Nord has been paddling for over 30 years. His love for the traditional paddle started when he made his first one in 2005. He is happiest when bouncing along the waves next to a cliff or dancing around shoreline rocks in one of the Great Lakes. When he is not paddling, Dave is a Professional Land Surveyor, an amateur geologist, and is dreaming about his next paddling trip. He also repairs and refurbishes the used kayaks that show up at he and his wife Susan's "base camp" in Troy, MI. As a Mentor in Training, Dave looks forward to helping paddlers develop skills that will increase their enjoyment of being right side up or upside down in their qajaq.

Alex Hasse

Alex Haase

Alex is a Greenland rolling evangelist, inviting people on the journey of self discovery and exploration that is Greenland rolling. He is an open minded paddler who's pursuits have taken him to both coasts, the Arctic and Antarctic, Greenland (ironically not for rolling), the Great Lakes, and Mexico. However, his soul is most alive surfing, rock gardening, and rolling. As a mentor-in-training, Alex is both here to learn and to facilitate emotionally aware and collaborative learning interactions.

Jeff Johnson

Jeff Johnson

Jeff has been kayaking since 2000, when some friends introduced him to kayaking and using a Greenland paddle. Since then he has been paddling with a Greenland paddle on all his adventures around the Great Lakes. He has built his own paddles and has finished a skin on frame kayak. During the winter you can find him at the local pool, teaching rolls & rescues. Look Jeff up at training camp if you are a beginner to rolling and he can assist you in the finer points of the lay back roll.