News & Events

The end of an era…

Hello fellow paddlers,

We just finished up our 12th season of kayak expeditions and tours in Loreto and what a great season it was with Baja Kayak Adventure Tours! We saw many whales, lots of wildlife, ate some amazing meals on the beach, enjoyed beautiful sunsets, and most importantly, paddled with some really incredible people!

However, after 12 years of offering tours we have decided wrap up our operations in Baja and close our company. All of us have been moving on to other exciting things in our lives.

Hilary and her partner Elisha have started a farm on Gabriola Island growing Hops for craft breweries, as well as veggies, goats, pigs, and chickens. Joel has been busy scuba diving and is looking to move on to new things and a more stable work life. I have been busy captaining tour vessels on the BC and Alaska coast, and instructing maritime courses for the Department of Transport. I’m also thinking about settling down a little. Sarah and I are getting married in September and are looking to start a family in a few years. With all of these positive things going on, none of us really have the time to give Baja Kayak Adventures all of the energy it needs.

It has been such an amazing ride! It’s very bitter-sweet to decide to move on. I have loved every minute I spent paddling with all of you in Baja. I am so grateful to have had such a fun and dedicated group of customers and friends who have decided to spend their vacations and winters paddling the amazing waters of Baja! It really is the end of an era.

I want to thank all of you who have done trips with us over the past 12 years. But first, I want to announce the winners of our coveted Baja Kayak Adventure Tours Customer Appreciation Awards :

Mike Sheehan    

• Winner of the Golden Tortilla Award for best kayak packing

• Winner of the Wet Feet Award for the most kayak trips per year done by any guest

Ernie Carson

• Winner of the Guest of the Decade Award for the most consecutive years of paddling done by any guest

Trevor Warren

• Winner of the Baja Viking Award for the largest camp breakfast ever cooked by a guest while on trip

Rob Gustke

• Winner of the Brave Teacher Award for organizing more high school class kayak trips in a foreign country then any rational teacher would ever consider

We would also like to specially thank a few of the many people who have helped us over the years:

Peter and Ana Marcus who started Gabriola Cycle and Kayak and got us started on this amazing adventure! Thank you!

Our parents Colin and Pat who helped us, encouraged us, donated generously to the starving kayak guide fund, and Pat (our mom) who managed the booking and office for many years! Thank you both so much! The memories and life skills we gained from this have been unbelievable!

Joel our Mexican Partner who has done so much, not just guiding, but spending so many hours, days, and weeks waiting in lines for the mountain of bureaucratic paperwork and permits needed to operate in Mexico. Muchas Gracias!

Wanda, who so has done such an amazing job this year in taking over our reservations and office from Pat and Hilary! I need to think of a way to afford to keep her on to organize my schedule and appointments