Kayaking Quadra Island

Summer.
We've heard of this mythical season, seen the occasional glimpse, the teasing hint of it, but it remains elusive. For instance, as Louise and I drove up the east coast of Vancouver Island for a quick getaway last Tuesday to Quadra Island, we encountered cloud, rain and a little sunshine. Often all three at once.
Quadra Island is a short ferry ride from Campbell River. (And I do mean short, only about ten minutes. I've never taken a ferry ride this brief. It took longer to load the ferry than to make the crossing. But I digress.) On arrival in Campbell River...

...we could see band upon band of dark clouds passing by overhead, dumping their load of moisture as they passed. Soon the venerable Powell River Queen arrived and we departed, as a lone seal swam by the ferry to make sure all was ship-shape.

Arriving a few minutes later at Quathiaski Cove on Quadra Island, we headed east across the narrow lower portion of the island to the small village of Heriot Bay, where we did a bit of shopping at Works of H'Art, before heading to the southern tip at Cape Mudge, and our home for the next couple of days, The Tsa-Kwa-Luten Lodge.

Owned and operated by the We Wai Kai First Nation and situated on their ancestral land, the Lodge is located in a stunningly beautiful part on the world. We have a stunning view out over Discovery Passage, with the ocean at our feet, tall trees swaying, and snow-capped mountains in the distance. Well, I imagine we do -- it's still all socked in and raining and we can't see a darn thing.


The lobby of the Lodge is gorgeous and decorated with wonderful First Nations art.


And you've got to love a place that has deer wandering through the parking lot...


The next morning we returned to Heriot Bay and found the Quadra Island Kayaks shop, known locally as the Yak Shack, where we signed up for a six hour tour.

The rain from the day before had ended, and the clouds were slowly burning away with sunny skies expected in the afternoon.

We hoped down to the docks, met our guide Samara from New Zealand, and our fellow paddlers on our tour, George and Lindy from Toronto. With conditions looking to improve, we put away our paddling jackets and hoped for sun. We prepped our kayaks on the dock...

...while a nearby heron went about his business.


And we're off! Louise and I both ended up in Current Design Storms.

We launched in Drew Harbour and paddled to the point of nearby Rebecca Spit, a lovely slender finger of land sticking out into Sutil Channel. From there, a 2km crossing through calm conditions...

...brought us to the Breton Islands, where we found some seals lounging away the morning on a small islet.



From there, we crossed to No Name Island (so named because I can't find a name for it on any map). Although we'd seen a few earlier, here we started seeing a lot of eagles. There were at least a half dozen or so flying around, as well as a couple of turkey vultures. Most of them weren't too interested in posing, but this one sat down for a few moments.


Passing around No Name Island, we pulled into Moulds Bay for lunch. Samara brought out a yummy feast prepared back at the Yak Shack. It was so good that I was distracted and forgot to take a picture of it, but you can see a portion of it in this portrait of a satisfied customer.


Sadly, the sun was not winning its battle against the clouds, and by the time we were ready to shove off again, a breeze had come up and skies looked a little more threatening than when we left. The paddling jackets came out of hiding as we suited up.

We crossed the mouth of Open Bay and we were into some chop. The breeze came up a little more on the water, and Louise was a little leery, but she handled it perfectly, as did some of the others in the group who had very limited kayaking experience.


Another crossing, this time across Hyacinthe Bay, and we were out of the chop and cruising down the coast of Quadra again.


The eagle pointed the way home for us.


We had a great paddle with George and Lindy and Samara was a terrific guide. Everyone we met on Quadra Island seemed like friendly, down to earth, just plain good folk, and this certainly is true of the folks at Quadra Island Kayak. Definitely check them out if kayaking on Quadra Island is in your future.
Of course, after six hours on the water, food was in our future, so we drove the short distance to Rebecca Spit and wolfed down cheeseburgers at The Raving Raven. Yum!


We headed back to the Lodge, and finally the clouds parted, and the view finally appeared. No, it was not still raining and I was not holding up a brochure in front the camera. It really is this beautiful...

....and you never know what you're going to see out your window. Maybe something big...

...like the Silversea Silver Shadow, or something small...

...like a robin resting on your neighbour's balcony.

This morning, sadly our last here, we awoke to picture postcard perfection. Sunlight on the mountain snows...

...an eagle flying past our window...

...and a deer, just below our window.

Nature calls for them too, I guess.

Clearly, someone had a good time!


Trip Length: 13.29 km
YTD: 77.15 km
More pictures are here.

Newbie Kayakers Get the Thrill of a Lifetime

Beach-goers and kaykers got the surprise of a lifetime at Vancouver's Jericho Beach yesterday when a small pod of as many as six transient orcas came in close to shore. (Check out this photo and others at cbc.ca)
Part of the CBC's report featured some quotes from kayakers taking their first lessons:
Kayak students Lisa Bechard and Jack Belleghem also spotted the pod.
"It was amazing, it was incredible, and our kayak instructor said he's been doing this for six years and he has never seen orcas, so today, he said, was pretty remarkable," said Bechard.
The orcas may have been part of pod T49 and came close to shore to hunt area seals.

62 Kayakers Dumped Into The Chicago River

Emergency services scrambled yesterday in Chicago as severe storms rolled into city in the early afternoon and although severe weather warnings were issued, a number of kayaks overturned in the Chicago River. Eventually 62 kayakers, including children, were rescued from the water. Luckily, there were no serious injuries.
Two local kayak tour companies were issued citations for violating restrictions on operating during hazardous conditions.


July 3 Addendum: On the other hand....At least one Chicago kayaking company is suggesting that the incident above, while serious, has been totally overblown by the media, and that Chicago's emergency services may have over-reacted and cited the kayaking companies because they needed someone to blame for having mobilized so many resources. Here's another view of the incident (three views, actually -- here, here, and here) via CASKA.

Canada Day Paddle

Yes, we're 145 years young today, and what better way is their to celebrate than our annual Canada Day paddle down The Gorge?
Louise and I were joined by Robyn and Mark (Gecko Paddler). Normally, they would park at our launching point at the Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club, but since Gorge Road is closed today for the annual Gorge Road Canada Day Picnic, they drove to our house and all four of us rolled our kayaks down the hill to the put-in at the Kayak Club.


Of course, four of us launching at the same time created a bit of a traffic jam on this partly cloudy day.

Mark tried out a new idea of using his feet as pontoons.


It's only fitting that we spotted some Canada Geese on Canada Day.


We headed down The Gorge, passing by the vendor tents set up along the Gorge walkway.


Scooting under the Craigflower Bridge...

...my companions stopped to pose for a moment.


Entering Portage Inlet, we were hoping to see the local swans and find out if they had any babies this year, but they weren't around. They weren't in their nest and we didn't spot them along the shoreline. We did see something vaguely swan-shaped across the Inlet, but it didn't seem to be moving so we weren't sure what it was. We'd get to that mysterious object eventually, and even though the swans weren't around, the herons more than made up for them.


We paddled past purple martin bird houses. Purple martins have specific nesting needs and human encroachment has almost wiped them out, but thanks to bird houses like these, the martins are coming back. However, whatever was camped in this martin nest, it was not a purple martin.


We finally discovered what we thought from a distance was a swan. Not a swan, but it was a large duck, so you can understand our confusion.


Mark ended up stuck on a rock. I told Mark not to feel so bad because I had ended up stuck on rocks twice already today. I just had the good fortune not to do when I was surrounded by people with cameras.


We paddled back to our put-in and Mark and I decided to check the current under Tillicum Bridge. As we coasted in the current towards the bridge, another heron was fishing.




After the paddle, the four of us sampled the sights and sounds of The Gorge Road Picnic, starting with the classic cars.


My first car was a 1971 Plymouth Duster. It did not look like this one.


We took in music, dancing, and, of course, mini-doughnuts...



...along with a few thousand neighbours.
Happy Canada Day, eh?

Trip Length: 9.85 km
YTD: 63.86 km
More pictures are here.

Paddling the Ice Kap

No, I didn't get up North or to Antarctica, to paddle either of the actual ice caps. Instead I got to try out a kayak model called the Ice Kap, from Sterling Kayaks.

At the MEC Paddlefest on Willows Beach, there was a terrific assortment of several models from Sterling Kayaks. Each is a custom job, with the foot pedals set to accommodate the paddler's own leg length, for example. While Marlena went off in the Discovery Island Shuttle that was giving free rides, I got to sit in an Illusion, but even with the footpedals run as far forward as possible, my feet still couldn't reach. That would be no problem if I bought one of their kayaks, explained the designer, Sterling Donaldson. He would put the footpedals closer to the seat for someone as short as me.
What a great experience, to meet the kayak designer and builder! He's got fibreglass under his fingernails and epoxy all over his hands, he complained at one point. But there's no substitute for the hands-on approach when customizing a kayak for someone who wants a day hatch sealed off from the big rear compartment behind the bulkhead.

The foam seats (Joe Greenley Custom seats) are a terrific support... lifting the knees a little and fitting around the butt. I'm guessing that my partner Bernie would find THIS style of seat causes way less pressure on his back and sciatic nerve. The seat back is good support for the pelvis, but low enough to encourage good rolling posture. On each side of the seats is a glassed-in support for foam padding, to customize the fit to the paddler's thighs.

But enough about the Illusion, which I never took on the water, as without footpedals I'd just be like a toddler wearing her daddy's shoes. I got into the Ice Kap! This is the boat that Dubside uses, when he's not commando kayaking with a folding kayak.

The Ice Kap is designed for smaller paddlers. The coaming is low. Low, low, low. As in approaching the waterline. As in half-way up my thighs when I'm seated in the kayak with feet on the pegs. No more rubbing my elbows on the coaming with each stroke! That happens in most kayaks for me, perpetuating the toddler-in-her-daddy's-shoes feeling. As the designer Donaldson pointed out, most shorter people are not only short in the leg, but have short backs as well. It's hard to roll a kayak when the coaming is up at your waist.
John took a photo of me on the water in the Ice Kap. It's pretty clear in the photo that this boat has a lot of rocker. I'm used to the rocker in my rotomolded Necky Eliza, which brings the keel up in the bow and stern and makes for a lot of fun in waves. The Ice Kap has more rocker, enough to bring the bow and stern up much higher out of the water than the Eliza. I expressed some concern about the front deck being so high out of the water, and the stern so high -- wouldn't they catch wind and weathercock? "None of our boats weathercocks," Donaldson insisted.
The Illusion has a similar hull to the Ice Kap, but the coaming rises a little higher at the paddler's thighs and sides. John didn't even consider trying either model. At 6'4", he went for their Grand Illusion that fits the 6'3" designer, but the model on the beach had been padded to fit a thinner paddler. No dice.

Louise tried the Ice Kap as well, just to add another model to her research for her new boat. We compared notes afterward. She's 5'4, I'm 5'1, and in our opinions:
   -The Ice Kap is a sporty, responsive kayak that turns on a dime.
   -It's well suited to people up to about 5'6 (I've met Dubside, and he's about the size of my son who is a lean 5'8".)
   -Very small adults from 4'10" to 5'2" should definitely give this model a try, as it is suited to a paddler with short legs AND a short back.
   -Very light adults should also try this model, as it's recommended for paddlers up to 165 pounds. I'm at the top of the weight class, and definitely felt BIG and MEATY in the Ice Kap.
   -Though I have little or no sense of balance, that was not a problem as the Ice Kap fits the paddler like a fine shoe. The responsive feel was terrific, and allowed me to control the boat with confidence.

Afterwards, John and Louise changed out of their paddling gear while I just wandered around evaporating. One of the pleasures of commando kayaking is that my paddle clothes evaporate dry quickly. Should also give a shout out to John Kimantas, who said hello while promoting his magazine, and Mike Jackson who was there to roll and show his terrific Greenland paddles. The Discovery Island Shuttle came back, and Marlena teetered down the ramp, grabbed her coffee mug in both hands and drank half in a gulp. We piled into the Kiwanis tea house and waited a while for fries etc.

Our verdict: if you're a thin, short man or woman who is wanting an exciting kayak instead of a barge to noodle around in, get down to Ocean River Kayaks and try the Ice Kap in their rental fleet for a kayak suited to riding waves or rolling. If you're not thin, try the Illusion as the coaming is just a little higher instead of pressing on the sides of your thighs.
And if you're a differently-able kayaker (like every member of our paddling group, and plenty members of SISKA and VCKC and the entire crew of the Breaststokers Dragon Boat team), talk to Sterling Kayaks about how to customize a kayak to meet your needs. This designer understands. Other designers talk the talk, and come through as well as they can. Sterling Donaldson not only talks the talk, he walks the walk with one leg and crutches on the beach among his demonstrator models.