Scorpion Anchorage is closed currently due to the construction of a new pier. This location is set to reopen summer 2020. During this time, we are happy to announce that we have a special tour that will still give you the option to come sea cave kayaking with us this spring!

When are trips running?

Guided tours will be April 11th and April 18th, 2020 to the sea caves in Channel Islands National Park.

The cost of this trip is $299 per adult and $289 per child under 12 , which includes the ferry transportation and guided kayak tour.

This is a beginner to advanced activity and guests under 12 must ride in a double kayak with an adult.

*All trip dates require minimum numbers and are subject to cancellation due to weather conditions. Call our office for the most up to date information and availability. (805) 884 -9283

Where and when does the boat leave?

The Vanguard is a Chartered Boat ride that will leave Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, CA at 8am. Check-in for this trip will be at 7am. The boat will return to the harbor by 5pm. This is a full day of being on a boat and kayak without stepping foot on the island.

Island Packers – Oxnard: 3600 Harbor Blvd, Oxnard, CA 93035

3550 Harbor Blvd, Oxnard, CA 93035 is the listed address on Island Packers website and will bring you to the same location in the harbor.

After about 1.5 – 2 hour boat ride, the Vanguard will stop along the coast of Santa Cruz Island. Enjoy whale watching and dolphin sightings while crossing the channel! The boat will put kayaks in the water and clients will have to climb down an 8-foot ladder into the kayak supported by the guide. Check out our guide to kayaking in Channel Islands National Park for more insight on if you are best suited for this adventure!

What does the kayaking look like?

Kayaking will be about two to three hours on the water. While kayaking, you may see sea caves, kelp forests, and wildlife. Guides will check the safety of caves based on weather conditions and guide clients through them.

What should you bring?

Layers, layers, layers! Seating inside the boat will comfortably fit about 10 people so plan on spending some time enjoying the fresh air and looking for whales!

Be water ready to kayak – we recommend wearing your bathing suit under your clothes in the morning; however there is a small bathroom on the boat. Most boats require closed toed shoes so an old pair of tennis shoes that can get wet is a great option.

Water bottle that can hold about 1 quart or greater of water.

Sun protection – a hat, sunglasses with a neck strap and sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher) is all recommended.

Bring a lunch and snacks! There will be coffee and tea upon arrival to the boat along with a few small snacks. There is a small snack bar on the boat to purchase snacks with cash only but don’t depend on this for a full meal.

Nearest grocery store is Ralphs (a 10 minute drive from the harbor), which opens at 6am if you would like to purchase food the morning of the adventure.

Other things to bring: towel, day pack, and a change of shoes, a watch, CASH if you plan on buying snacks on the boat along with tipping your guide (it’s customary but always optional), seasickness medication (optional), waterproof camera (optional), and gloves (again, optional and can be helpful to protect against abrasive cave surfaces).

Storage on the boat is limited so please pack efficiently and limit items to 1 backpack/duffel bag per person.

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The weekend felt like a blur as most of our employees were in mandatory or voluntary evacuation zones, leaving town to stay with family or friends all over the state. Yesterday and today, first responders seem to have started to get ahead of the flames and we are hopeful things will continue to improve. Below is a photo we were sent from a friend at the Ventura harbor on Sunday of the smoke plume in Carpinteria – this was extremely disturbing to receive as many of our coworkers and friends live in the area.

The smoke is still bad in Santa Barbara, conditions have improved immensely, however, in Ventura. Here is a link to the most up-to-date evacuation zones and fire perimeter: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1ASoCEnK1yHaI2Of55E92EXF69JdFdIp-&ll=34.3918682033433%2C-119.57075974121096&z=11 

Our office is open today, with three people in it. We are hoping to run an island trip on Thursday, as the air quality has improved immensely in Ventura and on the Channel Islands.

So many businesses and people are organizing incredible donations for the victims and first responders of the Thomas Fire. Here is a link to multiple GoFundMe pages to help specific people: https://www.gofundme.com/cause/southern-ca-fire-relief

We also saw signs cheering on the firefighters and the town of Carpinteria is planning on giving them a special send-off when this is all over. Although we are unsure of the future, we have hopes that this will end soon and our communities will continue to support each other! Thank you to everyone helping, continued thoughts and prayers for families affected.

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A few of our guides and staff were evacuated from their homes in Carpinteria and Summerland last night, luckily the latest news says that no homes burned overnight and we are so thankful. We are currently taking outdoor gear donations at our 32 E Haley Street Location in downtown Santa Barbara – this can be anything big or small. Some people have lost absolutely everything and we want to help.

Visit Ventura came out with some good information that can be found here and Nate put together a consolidated list of resources with updates, maps, air quality info and more (below). As far as our trips, we have canceled today and tomorrow’s tours (Friday and Saturday) due to air quality. Right now, we still plan to run our Sunday Channel Islands tours, but will reassess as needed tomorrow. Continued thoughts and prayers for everyone affected and a huge thank you to everyone working to put these fires out!

Official Updates:

• SB County Updates
• Ventura Fire Dept. Updates
• Cal Fire Updates

Live Interactive Maps: (some updated hourly)

• Smoke 1
• Smoke 2
• NASA Satellite Imagery
• Fire 1
• Fire 2

Air Quality:

• Ventura
• Santa Barbara
• SoCal

Contribute to Relief Efforts:

• United Way
• Red Cross
• Salvation Army
• Yesterday Ed Hat stated that N95 Masks are being distributed at:
• Costco in the Camino Real Marketplace (7095 Market Pl Drive, Goleta),10am
• Franklin Community Center (1136 East Montecito Street, Santa Barbara), 10am
• Albertson’s in Carpinteria (1018 Casitas Pass Road, Carpinteria),10 am
• Montecito (Lower Village, 1400 block of E. Valley Road),1pm

Feel free to send any other info you find to letsgo@sbadventureco.com

Thank you!

———

We woke up this morning to layers of ash on our cars and fires spreading further north. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for Nixle Alerts: you will receive emergency alerts from local agencies, it is a great way to be kept in the loop and eliminate any confusion. Text your zip code to 888-777 to sign up.

Here are two local families that could use some extra help as well. To see more ways to help, scroll further down to yesterday’s information.

https://www.gofundme.com/zell-family-thomas-fire

Friends of Santa Barbara Adventure Company, this couple just lost their new home in Ventura to the fire and could use your help this holiday season.

https://www.gofundme.com/causehannafund

The young father of this family created a research station on Santa Rosa Island. He recently lost his battle with cancer a few months ago and left behind a wife and two young girls. Their house they built together just burned to the ground in Ventura as well.

Update on our trips: Coastal and island trips are canceled today. We are still operating wine country tours. We are evaluating weekend trips tomorrow (Friday) morning.

Again, if you know of an organization or family in need of help, email us at letsgo@sbadventureco.com. Stay safe!

—

As the fire persists, everyone is coming together to find more ways to help the Ventura fire victims. I have been scrolling through news and social media sites to find out more ways to help – we just reached out to a lady named Dianna who is taking donations at her house and has over 100 housing locations available. If you know of someone that needs housing, there are locations available from Oak Park to Ventura – text 805.217.2333 and she will set them up with what they need. She is also taking donations to her address in Camarillo at 2843 McCulloch Street. These can be anything from non-perishable food items, blankets and clothing to toiletries and pet food.

Visit ReadyVenturaCounty.org for information on evacuation plans and more ways to help. Text “UWVC” to 41444 and 100% of the donations will go to those affected by the fires.

For animals affected by the fire, the following organizations are still accepting pets:

1. Humane Society of Ventura County in Ojai 805.64.6505

2. Santa Barbara Fairground 805.687.0766

3. Camp Canine in Santa Barbara 805.962.4790

Continued thoughts for all of the victims! Again, if you know of an organization or family in need of help, email us at letsgo@sbadventureco.com.

—–

This morning I woke up to smoky, red skies and frightening stories of friends evacuating with pets in the night. Our office is about 25 miles north of Ventura, so I knew our warehouse was safe – but we have a special connection to this area and coastline. Many of our staff members live in Ventura, several of our vendors are in Ventura and our guides shuttle in and out of their harbor daily. After seeing the photos and checking on a few friends and relatives, my next thoughts were — what can I do to help? During the Santa Rosa fires, I remember thinking “If I was closer, I could help more” … now I am closer.

When I searched the internet for ways to help; I found nothing. So I reached out to the Ventura Red Cross and Morris Franklin, in the Red Cross Ventura office, sent me some options on different ways to help today. I’m told more requests will come in over the next few days as well. Check back and I will update this list as I get more information. If you know of an organization or family in need of help, email us at letsgo@sbadventureco.com.

This morning, Thomas Fire has spread to approximately 45,500 acres, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee the area. 27,000 of our Ventura neighbors have been evacuated, many still unsure of the status of their homes. At least 150 structures have been destroyed, but that number is expected to grow as the fire persists.

Here are a few ways to help people involved in the Thomas Fire:

1. Make an online donation to your local Red Cross: www.redcross.org

From the menu at the top of the page, select Donate
For the “I Want To Support” choice, choose “Your Local Red Cross”

2. Mail a donation to any of the following addresses:

PACIFIC COAST CHAPTER
2707 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93105

PACIFIC COAST CHAPTER
225 Prado Road
San Luis Obispo, 93401

VENTURA COUNTY CHAPTER
836 Calle Plano
Camarillo, CA 93012

3. Become a Red Cross Volunteer

Visit redcross.org/volunteer to begin the application process
If you or someone you know is seeking shelter, the American Red Cross currently has these available locations:
Ventura Country Fairgrounds, 10 W Habror Boulevard, Ventura, CA 93001
Nordorff High School, 1401 Maricopa Hwy, Ojai, CA 93023
Oxnard College, 4000 S Rose Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033

As for us, we are looking at the weather with Island Packers and evaluating our trips day-to-day. The power is on and off at the office and our staff is reaching out to guides to ensure their safety. An employee from Island Packers is even helping one of our guides, Matt, with evacuating by letting him borrow a trailer for his horses! Here is a photo Fiona took on her way to our Santa Barbara office this morning of the sky looking towards Ventura:

Photo by Fiona Reidy “This morning was a dramatic display, both beautiful and eery. Really thinking about friends and all of those affected just a little bit south of us today.”

Thank you to all the first responders. We will be posting any updates or helpful information we receive here throughout the week. *Updated 12/2/17 9am

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