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Northborn
Northborn are the sole importers of Vajda products in the UK. Vajda boats and paddles are internationally renowned as outstanding quality and are designed in conjunction with some of the World's leading athletes. We are also delighted to announce our new partnership with the world-class paddle manufacturer Double Dutch!
We have demo boats & paddles at our base near the Lee Valley Whitewater Centre. They are available to try any time.
Demos: Salto 3 - XS, M, L, Hype - S, L, MM3 - L
Northborn will be at a a number of the National Ranking races all over the UK throughout the year with demo boats for you to try out. Keep up to date on our social media for where we will be with our boats.
Our Mission
As a family we are passionate about canoeing and increasing the accessibility of our incredible sport. We have always paddled Vajda boats as we feel the quality is unbeatable. We want to set up a simple, accessible way to import their products to the UK, giving more paddlers the opportunity to paddle in brilliant boats and have fun meeting new canoeists in the process.
The Gibson's
Jane (Mum), Gary (Dad), Eilidh and Angus
Living in Scotland, as a family we have always loved the outdoors and being active. Family holidays consisted of a campervan chock-a-clock with canoes, bikes, sailing kit and walking gear. We have has been involved in paddling and canoe slalom for many years with a total of more than 100 years of paddling experience between us! In her time Jane was a member of the British and Scottish team and Gary a member of the Scottish team. Now they are passing their knowledge to the next generation and are avid volunteers in the Scottish canoeing scene and created Strathallan Canoe Club.
Unsurprisingly Eilidh and Angus caught the canoeing bug and spent their teen years out on the river and falling in love with the sport of canoe slalom. Both C1 paddlers, Eilidh has been a member of the Junior, U23 and Senior British team and Angus a member of the Junior British team in both C1 and C2. Angus moved to London in 2017 to start his philosophy degree at the University of Hertfordshire and pursue his canoeing ambitions and train at the Lee Valley Whitewater Centre . Upon finishing her Biomedical science degree from the University of Edinburgh in 2018, Eilidh joined Angus in London training.
As a family we have always paddled Vajda boats, as the quality of their boats cannot be beaten. So it seemed appropriate, when the opportunity arose, to build a start-up company to import Vajda boats and equipment. Northborn came into existence in 2019.