1. Name: Jacob (Jake) Taylor
2. Guide Level: Level 3
3. Years as an SKGABC member:
I challenged the L3 guide exam in Oct 2024 several days after my official immigration to Canada from Hong Kong. So I’ve officially been a member since 2024.
4. Where do you work / paddle and for whom?
When I have time, I help out with Body, Boat, Blade International in Washington, River Culture Kayaking here in BC, and through my personal business Mountain & Sea Sports. For a while, I was delivering training and trips globally. Right now I’m still exploring the rivers, tide races, protected waterways, and exposed coastlines of BC.
5. How did you get into paddling / guiding?
I had a few experiences paddling on lakes and rivers as a teenager where I grew up in Georgia. My first proper experiences with sea kayaking for both recreation and in a guiding capacity were through working at my university’s outdoor recreation program. That was along the coast of Georgia near Tybee Island and the Core Banks of North Carolina.
6. Do you have a side / winter gig or study?
I have my full-time role with OBC, however, I just started teaching skiing on weekends in Whistler with kids. That’s been a lot of fun, and I find a lot of value in further developing my coaching and training skills.
7. Care to share a guiding-related fun fact?
Night paddling when there’s bioluminescent algae is an amazing experience for yourself and those out with you. I’ve been fortunate to have everything line up on paddling trips in Hong Kong, Australia, and the Florida Everglades.
8. What do you like to educate or inspire guests about?
This has changed for me over the years, and I suspect it will continue to do so. Right now there are two areas that I really like to focus on. One is around making deeper connections to the natural world. It’s not so much that they know the names of the different species or understand their function in the ecosystem. I hope that they develop an appreciation for natural places, and that they maintain a spark of curiosity. The other area is that they find enjoyment and value in human powered physical activity.
9. What's a challenging memory or trip you've had as a guide and what did you take from it?
There was an infamous trip to the Core Banks in North Carolina. It was a new guide training for my university’s outdoor program, and I was one of the assistant trainers for our director and graduate assistants. Almost everything that could have gone wrong did from weather, permits, food, planning, an evacuation, etc. The follow up debrief was non-existent, and I was in the odd position of the new guides essentially being my peers at school. My biggest learning from this debacle was the idea around: you can make an easy trip hard, but it’s almost impossible to make a hard trip easy. It doesn’t take much to overcomplicate plans and not anticipate for the challenges.
10. What do you think are the most important qualities of a leader?
This is also something that has gradually shifted for me over the years. I would preface this by saying that the qualities a guide / leader should be striving for will differ depending upon where they are at in their career. Overall, an exemplary leader would be ‘people-centred’ at their core. That means taking time to make connections, being a good communicator, focusing on others needs and readiness, and a belief in the human potential. This includes patience (for oneself too!) and being aware of when to stand firm and when to adapt. I could continue to name off many other important and essential qualities of a leader, but I believe that if a leader is ‘people-centred’ at their core the other skills and traits will emerge.
11. What’s a skill you’ve always wanted to learn and why?
I’ve always thought it would be exciting, and potentially useful, to learn spear fishing. I’ve been out surfing, paddling, and sailing in quite a few different locations and watched people diving down with their spear guns. I figure you may be more likely to catch a bigger fish than with a rod, and having grown up as a competitive swimmer I always found the sensation of moving around in the water exhilarating.
12. What's a favourite memory from an SKGABC Training Course, Exchange or Exam?
At the moment, I only have my Level 3 Guide exam to draw from. It was a fun and challenging experience, as I’d yet to do any paddling in BC prior to the exam. The other guide candidates and examiners were welcoming, and it was a great way for me to make connections in the guiding industry. The strongest memory from the exam was my guiding section with scenarios. It was from Medallion Beach on Vargas Island and heading northwest into the La Croix Group, which I’d only seen on a chart and satellite images. My strategy to thread through the rocks and reefs to provide shelter from the incoming swell worked, and I was able to coordinate a technical landing with an ‘injured’ client.
13. What’s your favourite sea creature and why?
I haven’t thought about this for a while. For many years I always said sea otter. Despite their cuteness, they’re not very nice though. As I’ve gotten more into rock gardening, I’ve been paying more attention to the crustaceans and critters along the rocky shores. It’s such a harsh and challenging environment to live in, and I’ve begun to grow fond of sea urchins. Even still after getting some needles stuck in me. They’re such a strange looking creature, and they’re eating habits correlate with mine: opportunistic omnivore. They’re also pretty tasty to eat too!