Bay Area Rough Water Rodeo

We’re bringing back the Rough Water Rodeo in 2023 as an East Coast meets West Coast extravaganza!

The Cali Collective team is excited to welcome guest coaches Ashley Brown (Wavepaddler), Jeff Atkins (Wavepaddler), and Jeff Laxier (Liquid Fusion Kayaking) at this year’s Rough Water Rodeo in addition to the core Saltwater Crew.

We’ll spend four glorious days adventuring and honing skills in the best venues the Bay Area has to offer. Every day, students will have the opportunity to choose either a spicy intermediate/advanced environment or a more mild, yet complementary, advanced beginner environment based on their comfort, the conditions of the day, and individual goals.

Potential Schedule (Final Based on Conditions):

• Day 1: Surf Zone and/or Performance Surfing
• Day 2: Intro to Rock Gardening and/or Rock Gardening Skills & Safety
• Day 3: Blending Strokes and/or Intermediate Tide Race Play, Rocks and/or Surf
• Day 4: Open Coastal Journey or Grand Surf Safari (Can be adapted as a half day)

This 4-day long-weekend aims to meet your goals and needs at a variety of levels, taking advantage of a strong coaching team to challenge yourself and achieve new breakthroughs.

Whether you’re from out of town and have always wanted to paddle in the Bay Area or you’re a local excited to work with new coaches and fresh techniques, this clinic is designed for you.

Prerequisites: Previous surf zone and rough water experience strongly recommended (Intro to Surf Zone, Intro to Tides & Currents, Intro to Rock Gardening). Students should have good bracing skills and be comfortable with wet exits, as well as self and assisted rescues. A roll is encouraged but NOT required. Students who have successfully completed an ACA L3 skills assessment or higher will get the most out of this event (and probably have the most fun)

Location & Timing: Day 1 will likely take place in Bolinas, Half Moon Bay, or Dillon Beach, with Days 2 and 3 launching from Horseshoe Cove. Day 4, we will adjust location based on the needs of each group and the day’s conditions.

Pricing: $680 for all 4 days (max students 20) (There is no two- day option this year)

Please Note: Cost does not include lodging, meals, or kayak and gear rental. We offer boat and gear rentals for students and can recommend lodging options.

Please make sure you review our cancellation policy before registering.

Lodging: Lodging is not included. We’re happy to help recommend lodging options and also connect participants who are interested in sharing lodging.

Please Note: Cost does not include kayak and gear rental. We offer boat and gear rentals for students.

Questions? Email Laura at laura@cwwcollective.com.

Your Coaches

Jeff Atkins 

Jeff is an ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor, L3 Instructor Trainer Educator, and an L2 Canoe Essentials Instructor Trainer. After a successful career as a Park Ranger, Jeff is now retired from public service, but continues to work as an outdoor industry professional. He loves coaching and leading trips. As an Instructor for the NC Outward Bound School, he leads expeditions around several parts of the USA. Jeff also holds several certifications including Wilderness First Responder, Leave No Trace Master Educator, and Coastal Master Naturalist for SC. Paddlesports is his passion and he loves to spread the “infectious” recreation activity to others. He believes in having fun and helping others to expand their confidence and skills by while learning. “There is nothing like the feeling of seeing a person smile because they just did something they didn’t think they could do.”

Ashley Brown

Ashley Brown is the recipient of the ACA 2019 Excellence in Instruction Award! She lives in Charleston SC, a beautiful place to paddle. She is passionate about teaching kayaking at all levels and challenging people to test their limits while learning and having a ton of fun. She holds the prestigious Level 5 American Canoe Association Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor Certification and is also an ACA L2 Kayak IT, and L4 Coastal Kayak Instructor Trainer, Canoe Instructor, SUP Instructor. She is an Instructor at many symposiums, mostly on the east coast. She loves to travel, learn from her students, and enjoys welcoming guests from all over the world to paddle in beautiful Charleston waterways, especially the “edge of America”, the Atlantic Ocean off Folly Beach. As much as she loves to paddle, Ashley loves to teach. Her dedication to teaching brought her to the College of Charleston, where she has been developing a university-level curriculum in Kayaking and SUP. Ashley serves as an Adjunct Professor of Coastal Kayaking, Instructor Development, and Stand Up Paddleboard in the Health Education and Human Performance Dept.

Amber Champion

Amber Champion has been adventuring since the day she was born, but has been heavily involved with Sea Kayaking since 2015 & Paddleboarding since 2016. She began her sea kayaking career working as a guide on the Great Barrier Reef in the Whitsundays, Australia. From there she decided the recreation was a great way to access remote locations away from big vessels and to find hidden gems that most people wouldn’t know existed. In 2016 she started working for Blue Dog Kayaking ltd. This is where her life of instruction began, she was drawn to the world of teaching when she realized that it gave individuals the potential to paddle away with the skills and abilities to go and explore without a guide. Facilitating learning environments that empowers and builds confidence in individuals became a new passion, and the desire to get more highly trained became a priority. In the past few years Amber has taught at numerous national and international symposiums, gained her Paddle Canada L4 Instructors & L2 Instructor Trainers certification and become the youngest and the only female to hold that certification.

This past year, Amber ran the first ever all women’s L4 skills course for Paddle Canada in history, something she dreamt about since she joined the organization! She is driven to get to the top and offer more opportunities for learning for everyone. When Amber isn’t instructing she spends her time surfing her paddleboard or working as a multi-day sea kayak guide in the Abel Tasman National Park, in New Zealand.

Jeff Laxier

In 1996, Jeff started teaching kayaking.  A lifelong waterman and nature lover – teaching kayaking has become a way for Jeff to share his passion for water and nature with others.  In 2005, Jeff founded Liquid Fusion Kayaking.  Liquid Fusion Kayaking is an instructional kayak company based on the North Coast of California.  From dry and mild to wet and wild, Jeff and his partner Cate Hawthorne instruct and guide sea kayaking, whitewater river kayaking, surf kayaking, rock gardening/rock hopping, and nature history tours.  With 20 plus years of experience teaching multiple disciplines of kayaking, Jeff has honed his instructional skills for all levels and is a master at skill refinement and application and fun.  When not teaching, Jeff is likely to be messing about in kayaks on the sea, running down rivers, or carving waves in the surf.

Jeff is certified by the ACA in Advanced Whitewater Kayaking, Coastal Kayaking, and Surf Kayaking.  He is certified with the British Canoe Union (BCU) as a Level 3 Sea Coach and holds a 4 Star award in both surf kayaking and sea kayaking, and a 3 Star award in Canoeing. He is certified in Wilderness First Aid, CPR, and Lifeguarding.  A former member of the San Diego Mountain Rescue Team and the U.S. Marine Corps, Jeff has a dedication to exhilarating outdoor activities that know no boundaries.

Mary Ann King

Mary Ann exudes pure joy every time she’s on the water. She is a three-time US kayak polo national champion, and—before she fell in love with sea kayaking—represented the US on the Women’s National Kayak Polo Team at the World Games, Canoe Polo World Championships, and Pan American Kayak Polo Championships.  Mary Ann is no stranger to hard work, performance kayaking, and disciplined coaching. She applies her keen sense of observation to provide students with feedback that leads to breakthroughs big and small – all while laughing so hard you forget you’re learning. Mary Ann is an ACA L4 Coastal Kayaking Instructor.

Suzy Matsubara

Suzy loves being on the water whether it’s a mindful paddle through Elkhorn Slough, surfing long and consistent waves in Bolinas, or navigating through rock gardens along Monterey Bay and Big Sur.  She started her kayaking career guiding at Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing about four years ago and tenaciously pursued instructor certification, and is currently certified as an L4 Coastal Kayaking Instructor.

She loves kayaking for fun around Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay.  Her heart is in guiding, coaching, and instructing in the outdoors.  She views kayaking as a spiritual practice, finding great purpose and meaning on the water. During the school year she is an outdoor education teacher for a K-8 school  in Monterey.  In the summer you can find her guiding and instructing at Elkhorn Slough or on the river whitewater rafting or kayaking.

Laura Zulliger

With over 17 years of coaching experience, Laura is an ACA-certified Level 5 Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor – the youngest woman to earn this level of certification – and an L4 Whitewater Kayaking Instructor.

In addition to sea kayaking, she teaches whitewater kayaking, and surf kayaking. As a coach, Laura draws upon this multidisciplinary approach to give students the skills and confidence needed to experience the waves, rocks and swell of California’s energetic coastline as a playground rather than a battleground. To that end, she is grateful for the opportunity to work with paddlers at every stage of their development. She’s the Saltwater Program Director for California Watersport Collective. When she’s not on the water playing in waves and around rocks, she leads marketing and partnerships for an educational travel company. She’s honored to be on the P&H Kayaks Team and serve as a global ambassador for Kokatat in addition to being on the Mega Surf Kayaks team.