Kayaking With Those Who Know

I haven't hit the water in a couple of weeks. Life interferes sometimes, you know how that is, and the weather just hasn't been up to our demanding standards. Well, that's our rationalization, anyway.
Plus I've been nursing a foot injury the last few weeks, suffering from plantar fasciitis in my right foot, but stretching, icing, and an orthotic insert in my shoes has helped quite a bit. Not quite back to normal yet, but at least the sharp pain every time I take a step is gone, so that's a plus. We're hoping to be on the water this weekend, but it looks like a front is moving in on Sunday bringing some high winds. So we'll see.
But a lack of recent paddling doesn't mean there's been a lack of paddling activities.
Last night we attended the "Kayaking With Those Who Know" event at Ocean River Sports.

To begin the event, a representative of the BC Marine Trails Network spoke. This group is spearheading a campaign to protect areas used as kayaking campsites along the many thousands of kilometres of BC coastline. The group will officially open the first four trails of the network this May at the Vancouver Island Paddlefest in Ladysmith.
Then kayak tour operators from other parts of the island took the stage. First, Brian from Ocean River recounted a tour he organized with Pender Island Kayak Adventures last year, a three-day extravaganza including visits to the Fall Fair, a winery, and a hotspring. That's my kind of kayaking! :)
Next up, a rep from Kingfisher Wilderness Adventures showed a slideshow of pictures taken on their tours through Johnstone Straight and the Broughton Archipelago on the east coast of Vancouver Island. This is prime orca country and they had some amazing shots, especially of a run last year when they found themselves surrounded by about a thousand dolphins!
Then Mothership Adventures presented their slideshow. As the name implies, they use a mothership as the base for their kayaking tours, also in the same Johnstone Strait and Broughtons area, but they also have tours up to the Great Bear Rainforest.
Finally, another slide and short film was presented by West Coast Expeditions. They specialize (as you might be able to tell form the name) in kayak tours on the west coast of the island, specifically around Kyuquot, the Bunsby Islands and the Brooks Penninsula. Kyoquot looks like a gorgeous place to paddle. Now I need a second job to afford all these tours!