Ventura county

I just found out I may be assigned to a position at a bank out in Ventura County for the next 3-6 months and was wondering if anyone has advice for outfitters/paddling sources out there.



I will be able to take just minimal gear and no paddle/boat, etc. so need to rent just about everything else.



I know John Peterson from Shaman Kayaks is in Ventura, but am not sure if he does gear/outfitting/trips/lessons type of thing, as he is more of an artisan/builder i think.



Thanks!

Ventura County
There is Channel Islands Kayak Center located at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard. They rent only SOTs and seem to primarily sell SOTs. There is also Paddle Sports of Santa Barbara at Santa Barbara Harbor, which is about 30 miles up the coast. They seem to be a bigger outfitter but also rent only SOTs. Santa Barbara is a great place to paddle. The biggest outfitter in the LA area is Southwind, but they are in Orange County, which is about 90 miles south. Hey, there is some great year round kayaking out here. Check out the California Kayak Friends website. The Channel Islands, which are a short and cheap charter boat ride away, are also pristine and wonderful places to kayak. Good luck!

Two groups to know
Hook up with the California Kayak Friends webpage



www.ckf.org for seakayaking



If you are interested in surf kayaking try



www.scsk.org group is well represented in Ventura.



There are a couple of stores that rent boats in Ventura but I don’t know details.

Paddlesports of Santa Barbara
rents closed deck boats as well as SOT’s. They are the only place close to Ventura County. The next closest two would be Central Coast Kayaks in San Luis Obispo or Southwind in Irvine.



There are a bunch of us that paddle in Santa Barbara, and you might be able to borrow a boat, paddle, pfd, and skirt from one of the regular “Old Farts” of CKF.



You’re right, John P does not do any outfitting or renting. He paddles his own boat with us but that’s about it.