Our Team - Sea Kayaking Professionals

We are passionate about the coast, kayak guiding, marine interpretation, and the Kyuquot area.

Your guides are highly experienced professionals. Their commitment to sharing their knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for kayaking, this area, its ecosystems, and nature in general, are an important part of every West Coast Expeditions program. We want your kayaking adventure to be a comfortable, safe, memorable, and relaxing vacation that further connects you with the coast.

"You guys rock! You made me feel welcome and comfortable. I learned a lot in a short time. I truly hope to make a return visit to this very special place. Thank you for sharing it with others!"
- Jenny Cashmore, Vancouver, British Columbia
[ read more of our guests' comments ]

Owners, Kayak Guides and Staff

Our kayaking guides are trained and certified with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC, Paddle Canada, or as appropriate to the specific program. We follow the SKGABC Operating Standards for guide-to-guest ratios, safety equipment, and guide certifications - these standards and associated training have been used worldwide as a model for professional sea kayaking.

David Pinel, owner and lead guide, has been playing in salty water all of his life. More specifically, he has been kayaking, boating, and leading west coast marine adventures since 1985.  He loves messing about in boats! This has included a formative five seasons of fast-response Coast Guard Search & Rescue, and time as both a student and waterfront faculty at Lester B. Pearson United World College near Victoria, BC.  Dave coordinates the North Island College Adventure Tourism Programs (since 2002) and has a passionate interest in coastal ecology and culture. Having guided for West Coast Expeditions since 1995, he has in-depth knowledge of the Kyuquot area and community which he loves sharing with guests - it's his second home! Outside of guiding and college work, he's a professional planner. His 1998 M.Sc. thesis (University of Guelph) and subsequent consulting work have contributed to community and economic development in this remote coastal area. Dave is a SKGABC Guide Trainer and Examiner, and has been a longtime contributor to shaping British Columbia's sea kayak guiding practices. With a commitment to marine stewardship, he also feels honored to be a Lifetime Member of the Georgia Strait Alliance after serving as a Director from 1998 to 2004.  Since the mid 1990's, WCE guests have appreciated Dave's inspirational and intuitive guiding style that weaves together all of the little details.  Together with wife Caroline (see below), they now answer to their son, Morgan, born October 2007, who also enjoys the magic of Spring Island and Kyuquot, and has quickly assumed the role of camp host.

"I call Dave Pinel 'Mr Kyuquot' because nobody else has been leading kayak tours there as long. No other paddler knows the area, its weather, and its people, as well as he does."

- Alex Matthews author of "Sea Kayaking: Rough Waters" and regular contributor to WaveLength Paddling Magazine and Adventure Kayak Magazine

Caroline Fisher loves playing on the water in kayaks, exploring beaches, eating well, and laughing with people.  She has been guiding and working in outdoor education since 1990.  Outside of kayak guiding, she has also been Faculty with the Capilano University Outdoor Recreation Diploma and Wilderness Leadership Program, and more recently with the North Island College Adventure Tourism Programs. Caroline has a Bachelor of Tourism Management degree (Vancouver Island University), consults in community based tourism planning, has worked with strategic planning for the Wilderness Tourism Association, and has been a Director with the Georgia Strait Alliance.  After years of kayak guiding elsewhere, Kyuquot is now her chosen place -- she knows a great thing when she sees it!  A Level 3 Guide with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC for 6 years, Caroline brings lively energy and a keen sense of fun and humour to our WCE family, and to her own family as "Momma" to son Morgan, born October 2007, and camp host/mascot since July 2008!

James McKerricher is a graduate of the Adventure Guide Diploma at Thompson Rivers University and has been leading sea kayak expeditions on Vancouver Island since 2003. He's not just any old run-of-the-mill guide: James offers a passion for gourmet backcountry cooking. Trained in Classical French Cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu (Cuisine Diploma) in Ottawa, James spends his winters travelling the globe for new food inspirations. His last venture had him cooking for 60 cyclists as they travelled from Cairo to Cape Town, a journey that spanned 10 countries and 4 months. He is a certified and experienced Level 3 Guide with the SKGABC, and dreams about menu ideas.

Sandra Borton was born and raised on Vancouver Island and has been on several adventures in the Kyuquot area. She is an active outdoor enthusiast with a long-time passion for the west coast as a kayaker, sailor and once voyager canoeist!  She is a 4th-year Adventure Studies student at Thompson Rivers University and during her degree has focussed on sustainable and adventure tourism business, First Nations and rural community tourism, risk management, and the culture of adventure.  Her academic background and corresponding employment and volunteer experiences support her role with the West Coast Expeditions team, both behind the scenes, and on the front line.  Sandra is also a Students on Ice Antarctica Expedition Alumni and does guest lecturing at TRU about “Tourism and the Environment”, as well talks in her community about climate change issues and youth advocacy opportunities. We're happy that she doesn't drink coffee as she is already high-speed enough, ready to help with anything that comes her way.

Bev Hansen, owner, is a First Nations woman who has a love and respect for the ocean and nature, as taught by her late dad, Michael Hansen and her mom, Hilda Hansen, an elder living in the community. She has diverse talents and a smile that will make you feel welcome in her home territory of the Ka:'yu:'k't'h / Che:k:tles7et'h' (Kyuquot/Checleset) First Nations. Her cultural knowledge about the cedar tree is only a small part of what she brings to you. She has been trained as an Assistant Guide through North Island College's Coastal Adventure Tourism Certificate.  West Coast Expeditions guests feel comfortable with her unassuming, knowledgeable, curious, and helpful nature. She loves being on the water.  Bev has worked for years in First Nations administration, including band management, bookkeeping, and economic development coordination. Recently returned to Kyuquot from years of working for the Hesquiaht First Nation in Hot Spings Cove, Clayoquot Sound, she is thrilled to be pursuing her dreams at home with WCE, and in the off-season by furthering her tourism training at Vancouver Island University.

Yojiro Hiki is an accomplished expedition kayaker and adventurer who has worked with West Coast Expeditions for 3 seasons. We first met Yojiro when he visited our base camp while solo paddling from Alaska to Victoria in 2000 - a 100-day trip! He has also completed a 40-day expedition on the west coast of Scotland, a 25-day expedition on the west coast of Hokkaido, Japan, and a 20-day journey in Gwaii Haanas National Park in the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia. These trips alone total over 3800 km of exposed coastal paddling! Meanwhile, when you meet Yojiro, his gentle and unassuming manner would give you no clues of these accomplishments! WCE guests have enjoyed Yoji's helpful attention to subtle little details that add thoughtful touches to their kayaking adventure.  Yojiro is a certified Level 2 Guide with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC.

Scott Jackson is our 'ologist', currently completing his M.Sc. (University of Victoria), he offers knowledge and perspective across glaciology, geography, geology, climatology, meteorology, marine biology and ecology, and, of course kayakology, including tarpology. Often found roaming in the mountains on snow and glaciers, Scott otherwise returns to sea level each summer as a certified Level 3 Guide with the SKGABC. A graduate of Strathcona Park Lodge's COLT Program, Scott has guided kayaking trips all over Vancouver Island.  Scott is a seasoned and well-respected veteran on the water who is stoked to be guiding in the Kyuquot area and sharing his passionate curiosity about the wet west coast. His skilled instruction will help you find new comforts in a kayak, and new understandings of coastal environments.

Chris Nagle has been paddling and guiding on the BC coast for over 10 years since moving west from Newfoundland. He is elegant and efficient in his kayak, and loves to help others become the same. His passion for sharing wild places and paddling is infectious. With his MBA from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and his Adventure Guide Diploma from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, Chris has been a multi-talented guide and manager for a number of sea kayaking companies.  Chris has been a major contributor to standards and certification in the sea kayaking sector in his role as Executive Director of the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC. Chris is father to 2 beautiful girls. He is a certified Level 3 Guide and Guide Trainer with the SKGABC, and a Paddle Canada Instructor. Chris' soft-spoken manner will help you to feel relaxed and able to absorb what the area has to offer.

Suzanna Ritchie is a teacher, biologist, and Level 2 Guide with the SKGABC, who can otherwise be found leading grizzly bear viewing tours on British Columbia's Central Coast. A graduate of the North Island College's Coastal Adventure Tourism Certificate, she has found her summer calling: encouraging you to get up close and personal with creatures in tide pools found on remote kayak accessible islets. Suze loves to cook, pontificate, paddle, and play - what more could you ask for during your summer vacation!

Greg Shea, the bushy-browed man of many talents, is a Guide Trainer and Examiner with the SKGABC, and Level 2 Instructor with Paddle Canada. A graduate of Strathcona Park Lodge's COLT Program in the early 90's, Greg has guided with an array of companies and taught for years with both North Island College and Capilano University's guide training programs. Greg's range of marine guiding experience is vast: apart from years helping to set the standards in British Columbia's sea kayaking industry, he is an accomplished sailor and has his Limited Masters ticket for skippering commercial vessels - he knows the coast better than most. Having paddled throughout the BC coast, Baja Mexico, and Belize, we've lured him in his early retirement years to guide and instruct whenever possible with West Coast Expeditions. Rarely seen without his camera, he is a professional photographer whose pictures appear in many publications. His hobbies include white water paddling, gardening, construction, and more recently fatherhood with son Mowat and daughter Maese.

Local Partners

We team up with many local and regional resources to deliver all aspects of your experience with West Coast Expeditions. Specifically, some of our primary relationships are:

• Site use permissions and summer student employment through the Ka:'yu:'k't'h' / Che:k:tles7et'h' (Kyuquot/Checleset) First Nations (employed Chantelle Smith in 2007 and Shauna Charleson in 2008 - assisted by younger sister Shania!)
• Weekly traditional salmon dinners and visits in our Base Camp with local Native elder, Chris Jules and family since the early 1990's - part of the WCE family!

• Traditional salmon feast prepared by local native elder, Chris Jules

  Reliable water taxi services from Leo Jack (Voyager Water Taxi), Archie Vincent, and Slam Bang Lodge
• Hiring locally to assist with Spring Island trail and base camp maintenance as site hosts and managers of the Spring Island Forest Recreation Site
• Visits or access to works from local Native artists, including carvers, painters, and weavers: Lucy Paivio, Jesse Gillette, Don Leo, Danny Short, Aaron Jules, Charles Jules, Ritchie Mack, and Margaret Jack.
• Guest transportation and freight aboard the MV Uchuck III
• Guest transportation with Air Nootka
• Cooperative relationships with Chris' B&B, Murphy's Sport Fishing, Kyuquot Beach House, the Kyuquot Inn, Voyager Sportfish, and Miss Charlie's Restaurant, Lodging & Charters
• Purchase of camp supplies, as needed, from the Kyuquot Market general store in Walters Cove
• Support of the Kyuquot Rediscovery Programs for youth since inception in 1999 (financial, logistics, or equipment)
• Support of local fundraising efforts by individuals or groups (for graduation ceremonies, events, student travel, etc.)
• Active participants and contributors to community and industry input for the Kyuquot Sound Coastal Plan in 2003
• Lease of a high-quality and diverse new fleet of kayaks each season from Comox Valley Kayaks in Courtenay.