April 15 & 17 - Anutz Lake (#17&18)

Bill and I went for two morning paddles on Anutz Lake. We were camped there for four nights and visited Little Hosun Caves and took a day trip to Alert Bay. The lake was windy at times (especially in the afternoon) but we managed to find some low wind windows! The part of Atluck Creek that goes to Nimpkish Lake was neat and it was very lumpy in Nimpkish Lake (hence the turnaround!). We saw loons, mergansers, buffleheads and bald eagles as well as Pacific wrens, robins and varied thrushes on shore. It was a lovely lake to paddle around!

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12 km combined (*+4), YTD 178 km

April 6 - Telegraph Cove/Bay to Margaret Bay (#16)

I led a SISKA relaxed paddle from Telegraph Cove/Bay to Margaret Bay along the Gordon head coastline. We were 12 paddlers and enjoyed a nice shoreline paddle. We had occasional showers and very little wind, though there was a 1ft confused sea which made for lumpy water in places. I noted 10 bird species (https://ebird.org/checklist/S223541672) along the way - the white-winged scoter was the most unusual for me. The beach in Margaret Bay was a bit sloppy so we had lunch in Vantreight Cove. We finished early and 9 of us were able to join up for coffee at Moka House after.

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10 km, YTD 166 km

April 5th - Cadboro Point (#15)

Jennie and I went out for a short morning paddle to check out the kayak she wants to buy - A Norse Isun - and we went out to Cadboro Point and back. We saw Yves and Patti and Julie about to launch out of Maynard Cove and had a nice catch up chat while Jennie tested the kayak out - looks like a nice kayak! We saw a nice selection of the usual birds: yellowlegs, bufflehead, goldeneye, hooded merganser, harlequin duck and glaucous-winged gull.

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6km, YTD 156 km

April 2nd - Discovery Island (#14)

I organized a "Wednesday Group" paddle out to the islands and we (12 of us) had a great day on the water. there was a strong ebb running in the morning so we decided to head south from Cadboro Point to take advantage of the current. The grey section in the track is where we were going over 10 kph! There was a bit of lumpy water in Baynes, but not too bad. There were a lot of black oystercatchers around - I saw over 60 during the paddle! The usual Steller sea lions were on the rock off Seabird Point. We stopped for lunch in Rudlin Bay and then had coffee at Moka House after.

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17 km, YTD 150km

March 13 - Horne Lake (#13)

I went for a solo paddle/peddle in the Hobie on Horne Lake while we were camped there. We basically had the park to ourselves and we had good weather.

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7 km, YTD 133 km

March 2nd - Caddy Bay (#12)

I went for a solo paddle out to check the traps - no luck this time so I brought them both back. Nice conditions!

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3 km, YTD 126 km

March 1 - Caddy Bay Crabbing (#11)

I went out to check the traps and came home with two keepers. Beautiful conditions!

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3 km, YTD 126 km

February 27th - Discovery (#10)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point to join Dan and Paulo for the usual paddle around the islands! Conditions were great - current assist both ways! Though it was calm, it was too cloudy to see Rainier and Baker. Plenty of Steller's sealions on the rocks by Seabird Point. BTW I just noticed that GPS Visualizer creates a graph of altitude and speed. The altitude is not very relevant since I was at sea level throughout!

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16 km, YTD 123 km

February 26th - Gonzales Bay (#9)

I joined 14 others from the "Wednesday Group" for a paddle from Cadboro Bay to Gonzales Bay by way of Trial Island. We had nice conditions throughout except for a bit of a headwind for the lasy km or two. Water was pretty high and currents were generally in our favour. As we started out you could just make out the distant (215 km) silhouette of Mt Rainier and we had nice views of Mt Baker for most of the paddle. The sea lions (California and Stellers ) on the rocks between the trial Islands were noisy. Birding was good too with 14 species seen: https://ebird.org/checklist/S215604242 

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20 km, YTD 107 km

February 23 - Port Renfrew Surfing (#8)

I went solo surfing off the river in PR - the break was in a different location due to a lower tide. Got a couple of nice rides!

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2 km, YTD 87 km

February 22 - San Juan River (#7)

I went for a solo paddle up the San Juan as there seemed to be little surf this morning. You can definitely see the difference in speed up and down river due to the current. Lots of buffleheads, a couple of great blue herons and a belted kingfisher. I see lots of channels to explore in future trips!

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8 km, YTD 85 km

February 21 - Port Renfrew Surfing (#6)

I went for a solo paddle off the San Juan river in Port Renfrew. There were some nice waves and I got a couple of good rides! Saw a common loon!

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4 km, YTD 77 km

Feb 20 - Discovery Island (#5)

I joined Dan and Paulo at the usual spot to paddle around the islands! A little bit of lumpy water here and there. We saw at least 16 Steller's sea lions on the rocks by seabird point.

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15 km, YTD 73 km

Feb 17 - Discovery (#4)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point to join Dan and Paulo for a trip around the islands. Sea conditions were a bit lumpier today. Unfortunately I managed to turn the GPS off for the last bit of the paddle so my track is estimated from there on... The usual birds!

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16 km, YTD 56 km

Feb 12 - Discovery (#3)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point to join Dan and Paulo for a paddle around the islands. Conditions were great - a bit of an ebb to start and almost nothing at the end when we crossed back over Baynes Channel. No wind to speak of.  Saw a nice collection of birds - usual suspects!  https://ebird.org/checklist/S213043751. I paddled by the Wednesday group as I set out from Gyro Park and we saw them again out at the NW corner of Discovery. We saw six nice Steller's sea lions on the rock off Seabird Point. The silhouette of Mt Rainier was visible in the distant south and Mt Baker was clear to the east. You can see we had a nice push from the current on the way south down the east side of the islands.

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15 km, YTD 42 km

2024 paddle stats

This was the smallest number of paddles done in a year (22) as well as the lowest overall distance (233 km) but the average distance per paddle was pretty average! As I begin my 20th year of this paddle blog, I hope I can boost those stats this year!

Year #	Year	# paddles	km total	km per paddle
1	2006	77	1273	16.50
2	2007	66	1098	16.60
3	2008	75	1080	14.40
4	2009	116	1381	11.90
5	2010	124	1214	9.80
6	2011	105	1217	11.60
7	2012	87	1001	11.50
8	2013	92	1063	11.60
9	2014	98	911	9.30
10	2015	120	1025	8.50
11	2016	129	1076	8.30
12	2017	86	728	8.47
13	2018	69	548	7.94
14	2019	57	427	7.49
15	2020	101	905	8.96
16	2021	77	707	9.18
17	2022	33	323	9.79
18	2023	30	329	10.97
19	2024	22	233	10.59
	Totals	1564	16539	10.57

February 9 - Discovery Island (#2)

I paddled out to Cadboro Point to join Dan and Paulo for a paddle around the islands. Conditions were pretty good with a brisk north wind making some lumpy water in Baynes Channel (but otherwise not!). Birding was good with 17 species observed (https://ebird.org/checklist/S212672612). It was pretty cold and I definitely needed to warm my hands up when I got home! By the end I was pretty tired as I am out of shape for paddling! You can see I was slow paddling back!

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15 km, YTD 27km

January 11 - Chatham Islands (#1)

Dan and I paddled out of Killarney on a beautiful, sunny, windless and calm day. We decided since we were both out of shape not to go all the way around Discovery. We managed to get into the Chatham Lagoon as the tide was high. The cactuses on the islets are still hanging in there. Birding was nice and I saw at least 15 species. https://ebird.org/checklist/S208903362 Marbled and Ancient murrelets are always a favourite! A gorgeous day to be out there!

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12 km, YTD 12 km