I started guiding kayaking tours in La Jolla in 1996 for a company called Aqua Adventures that I eventually owned for over 15 years. I was pretty new to ocean kayaking myself in 1996, but I was smart enough to know what I didn’t know, and so I began studying and training with the best sea kayak guides and instructors in the world in places like San Francisco, Wales, and Scotland. Within a couple of years, I was certified at the highest instructor level with the American Canoe Association and in 2007 I became the first North American (and one of only 5 women worldwide) to hold a Level 5 Sea Kayak Coach certification from British Canoeing. Now I guide sea kayaking groups internationally and train other people how to be sea kayak guides and instructors. One of my favorite classrooms remains La Jolla Shores.
Back in 1996, there were few City regulations and a lot less people in and on the water, so we could spend hours teaching new kayakers the skills they needed to safely explore the open Pacific Ocean. These days, with stricter regulations and many more water users, it’s even more important for the independent kayaker to learn some skills, yet it’s harder to find good instruction in the right environments. We hope to help bridge the gap on this website by providing some useful information to help keep independent kayakers safer out there!