My friend Derek Hutchinson, who has died aged 79, was known as "the father of sea kayaking". He wrote the classic book Sea Canoeing and, as a member of the British Canoe Union's expeditions and sea touring committees, led numerous "firsts" including, in 1976, the first unescorted group crossing of the North Sea by sea kayak, gaining recognition in the Guinness Book of Records for the 31-hour journey from Felixstowe to Ostend.

Derek also led the first expedition to paddle Scotland's infamous Corryvreckan whirlpool and, in 1978, an expedition to the Aleutian Islands, filmed for the TV documentary Canoeing Into the Past. His other trips included Alaska's Inland Passage and a circumnavigation of Prince Edward Island.

Born in South Shields, Derek attended Argyle House school in Sunderland and trained as a teacher at New College Durham. He taught craft, design and technology for 25 years at Greenwell school in Gateshead.

Derek became captivated by kayaking after watching a pool demonstration by Alan Byde. During the 1960s and 70s he developed his own skills, eventually becoming a BCU senior coach. Working closely with the national coach Chris Hare, he helped develop the BCU's coaching awards in sea kayaking.

With South Shields Volunteer Life Guard Club, Derek trained one of the first kayak life guard beach rescue units in the UK. Over the years he carried out many successful rescues, including that of three horses stranded by the tide in Marsden Bay, which he managed by tying them to his kayak and towing them to safety round a headland.

A pioneer of kayak design, Derek designed many of the world's leading sea kayaks, including the Baidarka, the first glassfibre kayak to have watertight bulkheads and hatches as standard fittings. It used the type of watertight hatch that Derek first saw on life rafts washed up on South Shields beach at the end of the second world war.

Derek was a popular lecturer on the symposium circuit in the US and his ability to tell a tale was second to none, whether to an audience of hundreds or to a couple of friends; I remember my daughters sitting wide-eyed and open-mouthed as he described an encounter with a bear. He was still delivering on-water masterclasses at the age of 78.

Derek is survived by his partner, Maureen, two sons, Clive and Graham, and a daughter, Fiona. His wife, Helene, predeceased him.