Meet the River and Ocean Team:

Sean Morley, Matt Palmariello and Bryant Burkhardt are friends and share the same passion for the sport of kayaking and a love of the outdoors.

Sean Morley

photo courtesy of Tom Reilly

Sean, a kayaker for over 30 years who has represented his country at international level in four different disciplines and set several records in the world of sea kayaking moved to California from the UK in 2006 to be with his now wife Gina, herself a former world surf kayak champion. Sean founded River and Ocean LLC in 2007. Sean is a member of Team Kokatat and Team P&H and an ACA Surf Kayak (Level 3) and Coastal Kayak (Level 4) instructor. He loves sharing his passion for paddle sports with customers.  

Matt Palmariello

 Matt took up kayaking 8 years ago in his home state of New Hampshire, and has enjoyed working around kayaks since his first season on the water. His professional background is in sporting event production, which allows him to travel often and meet many wonderful people. He spends winters in the mountains, working for the US Ski Team, and summers near the water, freelancing on events. Matt now resides in Berkeley, where you can find him riding bikes in his free time.

Bryant Burkhardt

Bryant has been an avid kayaker since his first day on the Pacific a decade ago paddling the swells off Catalina Island in Southern California.  He is an ACA Instructor Trainer in both Whitewater and Coastal Kayaking.  He has headed the UCLA Sea Kayak Program and was the Valley Program Director for California Canoe & Kayak.  In 2006 he captained the U.S. National Kayak Polo Team at the World Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  In 2010 Bryant produced his first paddling DVD entitled Paddle California and now works full time as an instructor and film-maker.

Bryant has paddled to six of the eight channel Islands, including a six day, 180 mile tour of the four northern islands (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Anacapa) and a paddle out and back to Santa Barbara Island from the mainland.  In 2009 he completed a 300 mile solo circumnavigation of Moresby Island in the Queen Charlottes, BC.

We are committed to providing you with the very best instruction and/or guiding service possible. Please contact us to tailor-make a program or itinerey that meets your needs.