It is our mission to provide outstanding outdoor experiences at outstanding places.
We Guide People
The photo above was taken in 2010 at San Miguel Island. Co-Founder Garrett Kababik is in the distance holding up a sea star while Co-Founder Joel Mulder searches the kelp below on an adventure cruise hosted for REI Adventures aboard the Truth.
We have evolved from a small kayak company on Lower State Street in Santa Barbara to a full service kayak, snorkel, dive, and expedition company operating a fleet of custom boats in one of the most amazing place on earth. Over the past 3 decades we've pioneered trips to remote places, expanded safety standards, cooked and served healthy and delicious food, and provided world class service to tens of thousands of guests.
The CIEx Mission
We are Ocean and Recreation Enthusiasts
We are divers, sea and river kayakers, sailors, cavers, surfers, hunters, farmers, scientists, backpackers, rafters, carpenters, parents, and overall explorers. Our philosophy is to take advantage of every moment we are given on this planet and to take care of our home so we can pass it to future generations better than we found it.
Our 30 year history
CIEx roots date back to 1991 when the first company, Paddle Sports of Santa Barbara, was formed by Mark Olson and he began guiding kayaking trips into the sea caves at Scorpion Ranch before the Park Service took over.
CIEx owners joined the team in the early 2000’s as kayak guides and managers of Paddle Sports. In 2010 the company took on a new name of Channel Islands Outfitters as the popularity of kayaking at Scorpion and the Island grew.
The company lost the 2016 bid at Scorpion Ranch and after a few years off enjoying paradise and rivers, the Sunfish was acquired in 2019 and the next wave of trips began… this time supported by well equipped vessels.
In 2020 Channel Islands Expeditions was formed to expand and acquire the Vision and Truth to the fleet and continue with the 40 years of SCUBA diving traditions along with adding a few fresh multi-day expeditions to the list of offerings.
In 2023 CIEx is the only service provider in the Channel Islands National Park for vessel supported kayaking, trekking, and snorkeling adventures along with offering the first 5 day summer camp for young adventurers.
Since the beginning we have strived to provide safe, informative, and outstanding experiences at our favorite places in the National Park. 32 years late and over 50,000 happy clients later, we continue to push the boundaries of adventure while staying fresh and relevant with risk management, sustainability, and vessel safety.
Look for one of us on your next experience, despite the pull to the office to keep up with the growing workload, we still get out and guide day and overnight trips all year round.
Wilderness Medic Training - April 2023 Hawaii
In April of 2023 the CIEx team gathered at our partner’s forest lodge on the Big Island of Hawaii (www.ahulani.com) for a 5 day Wilderness First Responder course. This was an excellent way to start our season building on decades of learning how to prevent and manage backcountry problems.
This is just another tool for our quiver to provide the safest experiences to the most remote locations.
Executive Team
In retrospect, every decision has lead me here…
I stopped in Santa Barbara on a cross-country road trip in 2001 and found a summer job guiding at the Channel Islands. When I returned to the University of New Hampshire that Fall to finish my last 2 years of undergrad, I enrolled in a semester long class in SCUBA diving where I received my Open Water and a thirst for more underwater experiences.
Diving in the frigid waters of Maine and New Hampshire didn’t deter me, so I signed up the next year for Advanced Research diving, where we had the opportunity to boat dive 3-5 times a week off-shore at the isle of shoals, doing various species counts and setting up lobster treadmills!
After graduating, I returned to SB and the Channel Islands to continue guiding kayaking trips and personally exploring all of the sea caves on the North side of Santa Cruz.
As the recession set in during Winter of 2009, I decided to head thru-hike the Appalachian Trail with my dog Lexi. 2,153 miles in the mountains and forests on the Eastern seaboard left me with only one desire… return to the Channel Islands.
Now almost 20 years after I first visited the volcanic shores of Santa Cruz Island, I’m excited to continue the adventure of learning, leading, and exploring off the Southern California Coast at one of the most amazing places on the planet.
Favorite Job as a College Student – Zamboni Driver
Best Advice from AT Experience – “don’t take anyone’s advice”
Water. It makes up 60% of the human body, covers 71% of the earth, and has shaped 100% of my life. From snowy mountains, streams and rivers, to oceans and estuaries, water has been my recreation, my career, and my calling.
Growing up in the Sierra Nevada’s as a mountain kid, I remember visiting Catalina Island when I was 10 years old and snorkeling in the ocean for the first time, an experience that changed my life. I was hooked.
From building a wooden sea kayak in my college living room for a Baja expedition, to a career as a fisheries biologist, to SCUBA diving around the world, to managing a kayak shop and becoming an American Canoe Association certified kayak instructor, to spending almost a year sailing my sailboat in Mexico, its been all about the water.
As part of the Santa Barbara and Ventura ocean community for almost 20 years, I look forward to sharing my passion for and scientific understanding of our natural world with each and every visitor to these incredible islands.
Favorite song lyric –
“What good is livin’ a life you’ve been given if all you do is stand in one place”
Certifications
PKA (Professional Kook Association)
PKA (Professional Kook Association)
Maritime Experience
If it floats its a boat
Stomping Grounds
Pacific Ocean
Favorite Island and Why
Santa Cruz! Most diverse landscape of all the islands
Favorite Ocean Activity
SCUBA, Freediving.
Take the mic…
It's my privilege to share the Channel Islands and all its amazing biodiversity, history, and wildlife with our guests from all over the world. The bad puns and dad jokes I get a captive audience for are just icing on the cake.
As Executive Director of Save the Mermaids, a CA based non-profit that teaches children and adults about ways to improve ocean heath, Kaia is always sharing her deep base of ocean knowledge with guests and students. Kaia is also a world class equestrian, but you’d never guess that 🙂
Favorite Ocean Animal- Pinipeds
Favorite Land Animal- her Horses
Captains
Captain Alex can usually be found on, in, or under the water. He has had a love of the ocean from a very early age. He developed this love of the water by going on weekly fishing trips in the Santa Barbara Channel with his father and uncles from the age of two. He is a USCG licensed Captain and a certified PADI Rescue Diver. He has captained many scuba diving, kayaking, and whale watching expeditions around the Channel Islands. In addition to recreational tours, he has also captained for Hollywood film crews such as James Cameron and the Travel Channel show Destination Unknown, taking them to film locations on and under the water. He also has experience captaining for NOAA and other research agencies.
Stomping Grounds: Northern Channel Islands and California Coast
Favorite Islands and Why: Anacapa Island. Superb protected marine wildlife viewing above and below the water.
Favorite Ocean Activity: Whale Watching
50 USCG Master, PADI Rescue Diver, STCW Vessel Security, STCW Basic Safety Training
Stomping Grounds: Northern Channel Islands and California Coast
Favorite Islands and Why: Anacapa Island. Superb protected marine wildlife viewing above and below the water.
Favorite Ocean Activity: Whale Watching
50 USCG Master, PADI Rescue Diver, STCW Vessel Security, STCW Basic Safety Training
Captain Alex can usually be found on, in, or under the water. He has had a love of the ocean from a very early age. He developed this love of the water by going on weekly fishing trips in the Santa Barbara Channel with his father and uncles from the age of two. He is a USCG licensed Captain and a certified PADI Rescue Diver. He has captained many scuba diving, kayaking, and whale watching expeditions around the Channel Islands. In addition to recreational tours, he has also captained for Hollywood film crews such as James Cameron and the Travel Channel show Destination Unknown, taking them to film locations on and under the water. He also has experience captaining for NOAA and other research agencies.
Stomping Grounds: Northern Channel Islands and California Coast
Favorite Islands and Why: Anacapa Island. Superb protected marine wildlife viewing above and below the water.
Favorite Ocean Activity: Whale Watching
50 USCG Master, PADI Rescue Diver, STCW Vessel Security, STCW Basic Safety Training
Stomping Grounds: Northern Channel Islands and California Coast
Favorite Islands and Why: Anacapa Island. Superb protected marine wildlife viewing above and below the water.
Favorite Ocean Activity: Whale Watching
50 USCG Master, PADI Rescue Diver, STCW Vessel Security, STCW Basic Safety Training
Crew
Certifications
CPR/AED
CPR/AED
Maritime Experience
Sailing since I was 10. Did a season as a commercial crab fisherman. For the last 5 years I've working on boats boats in the Santa Barbara channel
Stomping Grounds
Newport beach CA
Favorite Island and Why
San Clemente. Beautiful clear waters and lots of fish for me to catch
Favorite Ocean Activity
Fishing, sailing.
Take the mic…
I choose this career to become a boat captain. Along the journey I fell in love with life on the water.
Certifications
WFR, OEC, CPR Former Divemaster
WFR, OEC, CPR Former Divemaster
Maritime Experience
Fisheries Biologist and Deck Hand for VT Dept. of Fish and Wildlife 1993-94: Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines protecting coral reef systems 1995-97: Naturalist and Deck Hand on research vessel for the Norwalk Maritime Center 1997-99: Divemaster, Marine Educator and Deck Hand at Catalina Island Marine Institute 2000-03 and 2006: Kayak guiding Channel Islands Nat’l Park 2008-13, 2016, and 2021 till present.
Stomping Grounds
Sailing as a kid on Long Island Sound off Darien, CT and scuba certified on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia in 1988
Favorite Island and Why
San Miguel for its remoteness, Anacapa and Santa Cruz for their accessibility and familiarity of some of my favorite caves and Catalina for nostalgia and never ending fun!
Favorite Ocean Activity
Kayaking thru seacaves, free diving and of course scuba… lounging and playing guitar on the sundeck after an adventure definitely has its merits as well!
Take the mic…
In my summer off after my sophomore year at UVM, I was a paralegal intern in NYC doing the whole tie thang, commuting to the city by train everyday and working in a cubicle from 9-5. Best thing I learned that summer is that I would never do that again and have been outside for most of my adult life trying to figure out how to get paid doing the things I love to do… outdoor ed, scuba diving, kayaking and skiing. So far it’s been working out and keeping me happy and I’m going to continue as long as I’m able. I get energized when our guests are blown away by the sea caves these islands have to offer and it never gets old for me.
Certifications
Open Water Diver, CPR/Professional Rescue, BRC Greendot Ranger
Open Water Diver, CPR/Professional Rescue, BRC Greendot Ranger
Maritime Experience
Amateur small vessel owner
Stomping Grounds
Thanks to a surf addicted father, I've always been around some ocean or another.. as a teen, I spent several years enjoying that warm sweet Gulf Stream water boogeyboarding and other various watersports on a tiny little sand strip called the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Since then I've planted my roots in Ventura & SB, where I really fell in love with the ocean- specifically, the SB Channel & her illustrious islands as a NPS employee on Santa Cruz Island.
Favorite Island and Why
If you have to make me choose...Santa Rosa. Lots of detritus wash up on her beaches and I like to repurpose the old buoys for some eclectic household decor..while also doing my small part to minimize humanity's footprint by cleaning up these beaches.
Favorite Ocean Activity
Depends on the circumstances- but always the goal is to get in the water and pretend I'm a fish.
Take the mic…
This Channel's history (as well as marine unpredictability) is incredibly rich. I chose this career because I want to share my excitement with other people through activities that take us out of the daily 9-5. To me, that includes singing sea shanties, over sea shanties, stressing over climate forecasts, and the inevitable release ushered by a full immersion of a sea cave, a kelp forest, or the sighting of a nudibranch. This season's goal is to take a personal step deeper, where I hope to witness the bioluminescence during a night dive. I'm not much for telling a good joke- leave that up for my crewmates honor
Certifications
Divemaster, wreck, deep, night, nitrox, dry suit, search and recovery, EFR
Divemaster, wreck, deep, night, nitrox, dry suit, search and recovery, EFR
Maritime Experience
I’ve spent my whole life fishing the west coast rod and reel, and have be consumed by the diving world since my first dive in 2009
Stomping Grounds
My first dive was at Broad Beach in Malibu Ca
Favorite Island and Why
Santa Cruz Galápagos, being able to dive with over 200 hammerhead was absolutely incredible
Favorite Ocean Activity
Freediving and spearfishing
Take the mic…
(insert drop)
