Ed Gillet is happily married to his wife, Katie Kampe. In October 1985, Gillet fell in love with her at first sight while kayaking in Sausalito.
Initially, when he met professional rower and future wife Katie Kampe from the Bay Area, and subsequently, when he saw a 20-foot yellow tandem Tofino sea kayak crafted by Mike Neckar, a craftsman of Czech descent.
Kampe moved to San Diego in 1986 to live with Gillet. While he performed group kayak excursions to pay off the Tofino and other equipment for his journey, she operated a modest rowing business close to Shelter Island.
They married at Torrey Pines State Park a few months before his journey, and they also started a new Southwest Kayaks company.
Gillet claimed that his wife, a longtime sailor, and adventurer whose father was an Army colonel with a silver star, gave him the strength and support he needed to succeed.
