Dave Manby (GBR)

As an Advocate, Dave Manby has spent fifty years at the center of the international river running scene, inspiring others to paddle rivers around the world.

While Dave Manby is a well-known international white-water expedition kayaker, he is equally recognized for his role as an advocate of international cooperation in the sport, and for forging links between paddlers in different countries in an era well before the internet.

Dave was the youngest member of the British Everest Canoe Expedition. This expedition drove overland to Nepal and paddled down the Dudh Kosi River, which flows down from Mount Everest. It was filmed for TV by Leo Dickinson, and won over 25 awards worldwide. He continued his pursuits with expeditions in Venezuela, Pakistan, British Columbia, and Iran.

After the death of his close friend and expedition partner Mike Jones on the Braldu River, Dave set up, and for the next 10 years ran, the “MIKE JONES MEMORIAL RALLY”. This became the biggest event of its type, with up to 2000+ paddlers attending, and was the forerunner of similar whitewater festivals around the world.

Dave was brilliant at making local friends wherever he paddled, and he helped develop international whitewater-based tourism. In 1983, he and a team set up ÇORUH RIVER TRIPS, offering 10-day guided paddling trips on the Çoruh river in Eastern Turkey. In 1993, he helped organize the PROJECT R.A.F.T World Rafting Championships on the Çoruh River and entered with a British team of disabled paddlers.  In 2005, he organized and ran the Çoruh River Extreme Race. As a testament to his influence, the town of Yusufeli on the Çoruh now has the first whitewater center in Turkey and one of the youths that Dave taught to paddle is now a coach for the Turkish National Slalom Team.

Dave served as Chair of the BCU Safety Committee in the 1990’s and a delegate at the International White Water Safety Symposiums that developed ideas and designs  that are now accepted as universal safety standards. As Chair of the BCU Expeditions Committee from 1996, he encouraged inclusive trips for women, youth, disabled and challenged groups. He also advised and encouraged many university expeditions. While Dave Manby has spent fifty years at the center of the international river running scene, he has also inspired others to paddle rivers around the world.