Sea Kayak Guides
It is truly the guides that make the company. It is the guides that turn a good trip into a fantastic trip. Most of our kayak guides have been with Kingfisher for years and it is because of them that we have many guests returning year after year.
- "It actually felt more like being on a trip with friends than with guides. They were of course great guides, cooks, and paddlers, but it was other things that really made the trip special." K.A. from USA
All of our kayak guides are certified with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia. As a company we encourage and support our guides in continually improving their kayaking, interpretive and leadership skills to in turn offer you the best kayaking vacation possible.
Andrew Jones - Level 3 Guide
With over 20 years of paddling on both the east and west coasts of Canada plus the Caribbean, Andrew eagerly shares his passion for kayaking and the wilderness with our guests. As owner of Kingfisher, Andrew's goal is to ensure all clients have a fantastic time on whichever trip they choose. In addition to being on the water as much as possible much of his energy and attention is directed towards the hiring, training and retention of some of the best kayak guides on the coast. Read More +/-
Andrew enthusiastically shares his knowledge of all the wildlife encountered on our trips, from the smallest inter-tidal creatures to the largest whale and how they are all inter-connected. Experience from years of teaching marine mammal and marine invertebrate interpretation at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre are evident in the wildlife interpretative focus of all our tours.
Andrew takes an active roll in the improvement of training and certification of sea kayak guides, operating standards for tour companies and the overall health of the kayak guiding industry. Andrew is a past president of the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia, chaires the SKGABC Operating Standards Committee, sits on the Industry/Government Joint Steering Committee on Guided Adventure Tourism and is a director of the North Island Marine Mammal Stewardship Association.
Andrew is a Certified Level 3 Sea Kayak Guide with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia and a Level 1 Sea Kayak Instructor and Level 4 Sea Kayak Skills with the Paddle Canada.
Don Webster - Level 3 Guide
2010 will be Don's sixth season with Kingfisher. Don was raised in Northern Ontario, and spent his early childhood guiding fishermen to his favourite fishing holes at his families fishing lodge. His love of kayaking started when he answered a ‘kayak for sale’ ad. Its bargain price could perhaps be attributed to its ‘slightly burnt’ condition from a warehouse fire. Nevertheless, it floated, and launched his career. Read More +/-
His career in Adventure Tourism has taken Don international, with twelve seasons of kayak guiding in Alaska, Norway, Antarctica and BC. He has also conducted tourism development in rural Patagonia, acted as a consultant for adventure tourism operations, instructed avalanche courses, and worked as a backcountry cat-skiing guide. He holds a Diploma in Adventure Guiding from University College of the Cariboo, and a Degree in Adventure Tourism Management from Thompson Rivers University.
Don is a Certified Level 3 Guide, Guide Instructor and Guide Examiner with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia, the Program Manager for the Wilderness Leadership Program at Capilano University, a Flatwater Canoe Instructor with the Canadian Recreational Canoeing Association, a Whitewater kayak Instructor for the WKABC, an avalanche technician with the Canadian Avalanche Association, a ski instructor with the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance, and holds a Level 1 ski guide ticket from the Canadian Ski Guides Association.
Angela Bueckert - Level 3 Guide
After completing a three month sea kayak expedition along the pacific coast in 2009, Angela is returning to Kingfisher for another season of guiding with renewed passion and love for the west coast. Angela’s guiding career includes sea kayaking, white water paddling, and ski guiding. She has guided throughout Canada and Asia and is very excited to be guiding for Kingfisher for the summer of 2010. Read More +/-
Angela is a Level 3 Guide with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC, an Advanced River Kayak Instructor with the White Water Kayak Association of B.C., plus is an instuctor and Sport Certificate Coordinator at Thompson Rivers University. Angela took the summer of 2009 of from Kingfisher to sea kayak from Galiano Island, BC to Glacier Bay, Alaska. You can read about her expediton at the Crossing Borders Expedition Blog.
Kate Hives - Level 3 Guide
Vancouver Island born and bred, Kate grew up exploring the Islands brilliant wonders. Before she could even hold a paddle, she was out and about exploring its’ nooks and crannies by sea and by land. After experiencing her first kayak trip at the age of 12, Kate has had a committed love affair with the natural world by way of paddle. Turning her passion into a career, she has worked as an Outdoor Educator and Guide both commercially and in adaptive settings with school students and adults from around the world. Read More +/-
A graduate of Lakehead University, with an Honours BA in Outdoor Recreation Parks and Tourism and a BA in Geography, specializations in Cartography, she has continued to pursue her training. After university Kate worked with Liquid Skills Kayak School on the Ottawa River in Central Canada, the United World College in South East Asia and has developed programs for retail organizations such as MEC and community organization like the YM/YWCA. She is a Level 3 guide with the SKGABC and a Level 1 Instructor with Whitewater Ontario. Kate is currently pursuing an apprenticeship to become an Instructor Trainer with the SKGABC.
A story teller at heart, her nomadic spirit has taken her to the lands of Patagonia, Chile, Europe, Malaysia, and her own native home of Canada in search of new waters. However, Kate is a ‘west coast girl’ and has been returning to the BC coast for the past 8 years guiding paddlers through its western waters. Kate is a truly engaging woman with a spark for life and has a willingness to share and learn with all whom she encounters.
When Kate is not Sea Kayaking she can be found around rivers edges, scouting for big waves and white water, hiking for deep powder in the Canadian Rockies and when there is no water or snow to be found, you can most likely find her walking on a tightrope in a park somewhere.
Sarah Hauser - Level 3 Guide
Sarah has guided select Kingfisher trips over the past five years and has always been a guest favourite. She has been kayak guiding and instructing around Vancouver Island since she completed the Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training program in 1997. Sarah is a certified Level 3 Sea Kayak Guide with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC.
Sarah Richardson - Level 2 Guide
2010 will be Sarah's fourth season with Kingfisher. Sarah grew up on Southern Vancouver Island and spent countless hours as a child playing in the woods surrounding her grandparents’ home in rural Saanich. As a teen, Sarah discovered the freedom and tranquility of the ocean through sailing off the coast of Victoria. These explorations led to a passion for the natural environment that propelled her to pursue both her studies at university and a career in the outdoors. Read More +/-
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria. In addition to her experience as an assistant kayak guide, she has worked on northern Vancouver Island as a whale-watching guide and a fisheries observer. She has also worked as a nature guide in North Vancouver, a forest tenures assistant with the BC Ministry of Forests, a songbird researcher in northern Kentucky, as well as having volunteered with school programs at a Victoria nature centre.
Sarah is a Certified Level 2 Sea Kayak Guide with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia and has completed training endorsed by the Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest as a Marine Mammal Naturalist, as well as training in presentation skills from Interpretation Canada.
Kerry Onno - Level 2 Guide
Kerry is a true local, born and raised in Port Alice on northern Vancouver Island and has been guiding kayak trips in the local waters for eleven years. In 2010 Kerry will be returning for her fourth season with Kingfisher after spending the past few years guiding on other parts of Vancouver Island. In the off season Kerry's time is split between working on the local ski hills and travelling. In addition to kayak guiding in BC Kerry has led kayak trips in New Zealand and this winter is heading to South America.. Read More +/-
Kerry is a graduate of North Island College "Coastal Adventure Tourism" program and a certified Level 2 Sea Kayak Guide with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia.
Ali Hunt - Assistant Overnight Guide
Ali was born and raised on northern Vancouver Island. She developed a love for the ocean and all it has to offer while growing up in a small First Nations reserve called T’sakis. She comes from the Kwakiutl people and a family very rich in culture. As a child she spent countless hours paddling traditional dugout canoes built by her father, including a trip from Port Hardy to Victoria. She discovered the serenity and freedom of kayaking during summer camp where she went on a week long trip around the San Juan Islands. . Read More +/-
In 2009 Ali graduated from the Advanced Wilderness Leadership Certificate program at Capilano University. Ali is a certified Assistant Overnight Guide with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia, swift water rescue technician 1 with Rescue 3 International and a Day Skipper with the International Sail and Power Association.
