December 26th - Caboro Bay (#99)

I went for a quick afternoon paddle to test out the CD expedition after I had some repairs (gelcoat and rudder cables) done to it. All good - I thinkit is ready for an expedition next year! The water was a bit lumpy and I had to work a bit against a southerly wind, but it was good to get out. I did a 5 km circuit of the "inner bay" instead of my usual 8 km circuit around the "outer bay". :)

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5 km, YTD 873 km

May 9-12 - Gulf Islands (#s 17-20)

Sarah and I led a group of 7 grade 9 students on a 3 night, four day, camping trip in the gulf islands. We camped on Portland Island, Rum Island and D'Arcy Island, and landed on Moresby and Sidney Islands as well. We had spectacular conditions until the last morning when it was a bit windy and wavy... no capsizes!

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40 km, YTD 196 km

May 8th - Cadboro Bay (#16)

Sarah and I led a practice day for the group of grade 9s we were taking on a 3 night, four day, camping tip in the Gulf Islands. We practiced strokes, paddling and wet exits!

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3 km, YTD 156 km

June 2-6 - Broughtons (#s 37-41)

Together with Beth Anne and Pete, I led a group of seven grade 10 students on a 5 day, 4 night,  paddling trip into the Broughtons. We had excellent conditions with dry weather, light winds  and weak or favourable currents (possibly the best of any of these trips I have done!). We saw plenty of wildlife (humpback whales, Steller sea lions, harbour and Dall's porpoises, Pacific white-sided dolphins as well as plenty of birds including several active bald eagle nests). I also ran into an old friend, Mike D, from Galapagos days, who was working at Orca Lab. We also had a great visit to Alert Bay and the Umista Centre.

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72 km, YTD 392 km

May 31-June5 - Broughtons (#s42-45)

I went on my almost annual trip with our grade 10 experiential program to the Brougtons. We had some great days of paddling - three 17 km days - and a day visiting alert Bay via water taxi as well as a beachbound day due to wind and lumpy waters. On our first day of paddling we saw several humpbacks, a pod of orcas, several groups of Dall's porpoise, Steller sea lions and pacific white-sided dolphins. We had good visits to Village Island and to the Earth Embassy CMT camp. The students were great and it was fun to be leading with Sarah and Beth-Anne again.

Day 1 Telegraph to Compton -  click to enlarge

Day 2 Compton to Village Island and back - click to enlarge

Day 3 - Compton to Hanson and then to Blinkhorn - click to enlarge

Day 5 - Blinkhor to telegraph - click to enlarge

56 km, YTD 467 km

June 3 to 8 - Broughton Archipelago (#s 50 to 55)

Sarah, Jamie and I led a group of 11 students on a multi-day paddling excursion in the Johnstone Strait/Broughton Archipelago area. We had great weather and paddling conditions and wonderful wildlife sightings (Sea Otter, Humpback whale, Dall and harbour porpoise, black bear, mink and many bird species. I enjoyed hearing the Swainson's thrush song again - a call that I associate with west coast summer camping!
Day 1 was from Telegraph Cove to Compton Island, day 2 was a day trip to Village Island, Day 3 was a day trip around Swanson Island, Day 4 was a trip to Hanson Island and the Earth Embassy and to a campsite on the south side of Hanson, Day 5 involved crossing Johnstone strait to Blinkhorn where we too a water taxi ride to visit the Umista centre at Alert Bay, and Day 6 involved paddling back to Telegraph cove. We checked out intertidal and forest life, fish farms, first nations communities and sites and an old fishing resort, Farewell Harbour Resort, that is for sale.

click to enlarge - our whole route

756 km, YTD 486 km

September 20/21 - Portland Island (#s 81 and 82)

Don, Susan and I set out from Amherst on Saturday morning to paddle out to Arbutus point to join a group of SISKA paddlers camping there. We had a nice paddle over and a relaxing afternoon and evening socializing with the other paddlers. I had a good sleep in my Hennessey Hammock and we returned to Amherst just after noon on Sunday. We saw lots of Orange sea cucumbers on the east shore of Portland Island. This was SISKA's first official camping paddle and was a great success - thanks Alan for leading and organizing!

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20 km, YTD 785 km

August 17th to 22 - Nuchatlitz (#67-#72)

Day 1 - Little Espinosa to Ensenada Islet

Pete, George, Dennis and I set off early from Victoria and drove to Little Espinoza inlet to launch for our 6 day/5 night. We made it to the launch site before lunch and were on the water by 12:45. There was a bit of a headwind all the way to Rosa Island. We were out at our campsite near Ensenada Islet by 5:15. On the way out we saw an elephant seal at the mouth of Espinoza Inlet.

Day 1 - click to enlarge

21 km, YTD 617 km

Day 2 - Catala Island

We did a day paddle over to Catala Island. Conditions were good and we had fun exploring amongst the rocky islets and boomers as well as the caves of Catala. After lunch on the spit, we made our way back with some tail wind and tried our hand at fishing - no luck.

Day 2 - - click to enlarge

19 km, YTD 636 km

Day 3 - Tongue Point and Louie Bay

Pete, George and I paddled over to the Tongue Point area to explore Louie Bay and Starfish lagoon. We lined our boats into the lagoon and then did a 20 minute hike to Third Beach on the Nootka trail. The wind and swell were up a bit for the paddle back which made for an interesting, slow paddle! Dennis stayed behind for the day to rest his wrist. There were lots of fishing boats off Ferrer/Tongue Points in the morning.

Day 3 - click to enlarge

19 km, YTD 655 km

Day 4 - Laurie Creek

All four of us went for a paddle along the Nuchatlitz Inlet shore. We checked out the paddle in waterfall between Belmont and Benson points and had a rinse! After that we made our way, under sail, to Laurie Creek where we had a freshwater swim and lunch - what a neat spot! Afternoon winds were against us and slowed us down a bit, but the sea was not big.

Day 4 - click to enlarge

22 km, YTD 677 km

Day 5 - Garden Point

We decided to paddle part way back so as to have less to do on Friday, so we had a leisurely paddle around the islets of the Nuchatlitz group and then lunch on Rosa Island. The fog came in late morning and lifted after lunch where we were paddling, though it was still around the inlet. Garden point was a nice site.

Day 5 - click to enlarge

15 km, YTD 692 km

Day 6 - Garden Point to Little Espinoza

We got up early and were paddling by just after 7 AM. We made it back to the launch site by 9:30 and back in Victoria by 5:30 (including a lunch stop at the Cable House!). Conditions were ideal in the morning as we paddled back. It was early enough that we were paddling in the shade most of the way!

Day 6 - click to enlarge

13 km, YTD 705 km

Summary

This was a wonderful trip with great friends! We also had fantastic weather. I have had very few rain-less trips and this was one! We saw lots of wildlife including many sea otters. Our campsites were great as well. Afternoon winds were the norm as we expected but most mornings were pretty calm.

May 28-June 2 - Broughton Archipelago (#37-42)

I helped lead a group of SMUS grade 10 students for a week's experiential education  adventure in the Broughton Archipelago. I was leading with Beth Anne and Meredith and had a great group of six students along. While on the trip, we had great sightings of black bears (one mother with two cubs feeding on a carcass on the beach and another swimming across the bay at our Compton Island Camp), a humpback whale in Blackfish Sound, a nice visit to the Earth Embassy on Hanson Island, an outstanding morning of intertidal exploration and a visit to the abandoned village of Malalilicula. This trip was the only one I can remember with no rain!

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64 km, YTD 388 km

Cedar to Campbell river overview

Here is an overview map of my Cedar to Campbell River trip which included three of the longest days kayaking I have done!

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Accoding to my GPS, the max speed attained while sailing was 18.7 kph, and during the three long days, we spend 24hours and 35 mins on the water! Average speed was 6.5 kph which is not bad for a fully loaded boat. At roughly 60 strokes a minute, that could work out to be almost 90,000 paddle strokes!
Total trip: 172 km, YTD 610 km.

June 28 - Sandy Island to Campbell River (#46)

Tom split off from Alan and I and went to get picked up in Comox, while Alan and I decided to push our way to Campbell River.  Conditions were quite calm, and there was a light drizzle/rain all day. Today we actually paddled all day except for a short sail for the last km or so. We finished off at the Ken Ford boat ramp, so I guess that is were I need to start my last leg of my around the island trip (Campbell River R to Port Hardy)! We stopped at Kitty Coleman for a lunch break and were met by Monica and Chris in Campbell River at 6 PM. A shower and a pub dinner were much appreciated after three days of rainy and windy weather. However, the SE winds associated with the crummy weather  is what enabled us to cover in 3 days what we had planned for 4 and a half!

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49 km, YTD 610 km

June 27th - French Creek to Sandy Island (#45)

This was a serious sailing day. We made good progress with a steady SE wind behind us (Chrome Island was blowing at 22-24 knots during that time!). We ducked into Deep Bay for a break and fish and chips and then continued on in strong tailwinds to Sandy Island. Sandy is a beautiful spot and the winds died down and the rain did too! PS Denman is quite a long island!

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55 km, YTD 561 km

June 26th - Flat Tpos to French Creek (#44)

This was the first "real day" of our trip and it ended up being a long one. Though it was overcast and drizzly off and on all day, the wind was behind us and we made good use of our Pacific Action Sails. I think this is the most I have ever covered in a day of kayaking! French creek was a safe but not very convenient take out, since the campground was a few hundred metres from the marina. However, dinner at the pub was a bonus. Definitely a bit wet and tired this day. (oh and my air mattress had a slow leak...). You can see that our pace was pretty good all day thanks to a tail wind.

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56 km, YTD 506 km

June 25th - Cedar to Flat Tops (#43)

I paddled from Cedar Boat Launch out to meet up with Alan and Tom to start another leg of my around the Island in bits trips. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain when I was packing the boat at the Cedar boat launch which made for a miserable start!. By the time I had made it to Flat tops, the rain had stopped, and it became a nice evening. I had hoped to take a short cut, but the tide was too low, and I had to detour to the next gap to the south. Fortunately it was not that much of a detour! Gabriola pass had a nice flood which gave me a bit of a push.

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12 km, YTD 450 km

June 8th - Sooke Basin (#37)

Sheila, Neil and I went for a morning paddle around Sooke basin as part of the SISKA campout. There was a stiff westerly that slowed us down quite a bit on the way out, but on the way back I was able to sail at 4-5 knots for much of the way without paddling! In the afternoon I ran a sailing clinic, and we played around in the Sooke River as well as out in the basin. A nice day on the water finished with a great BBQ with club members at Sooke River Campground.

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17 km, YTD 402 km

May 31 to June 4 - Broughtons (#s 39-44)

I went up to the Broughton Archipelago again this year with our school's grade 10 experiential programme - co-leading with Nick and Toni.
Before heading up to Telegraph Cove, I was a bit worried about the weather, especially the heavy rains predicted. As it turns out, we were blessed with pretty good conditions and basically only rain at night (some showers by day).
Our first day was very windy for our water taxi ride to Echo Bay, but we did eventually nmake it after a very slow crossing of Johnstone Strait. Echo Bay was great as usual and we had a nice visit with Yvonne who was looking after Billy Proctor's museum while Billy was away checking out a nearby river after the storm.
Our second day (first paddling day) was spent paddling from Echo Bay to Owl Island, stopping to check out and discuss a fish farm operation north of Midsummer Island. There was a cougar alert for Owl Island that we found out was actually from last summer.
The third day had strong predicted winds, so we did a morning paddle around Owl and spent some time looking at intertidal life and rocks.
The fourth day was spent paddling to Village Island and then on to Mound Island to camp. Village island was as overgrown as ever but we saw some garter snakes sunning themselves on a plank amongst the bear poo piles! I made a detour after lunch to check out an alternate campsite near the Hail Islets and met the group by Berry Island where we checked out the petroglyphs before making camp at mound. I managed to go for a dip at Mound Island and it felt good to get clean(er) after 3 days.
Our fifth day was spent paddling from Mound to Hanson Island where we visited David Garrick at the Earth Embassy and learned about culturally modified trees and first nations use of the land. Our last camp spot was by Weynton Island which we reached after an idyllic afternoon paddle in sunny calm conditions. There was a 17.6 ft high tide at night and a 0.6 ft low tide the next morning, so we saw a huge tidal range.
Our last morning involved a paddle over to the Blinkhorn Peninsular to look at pillow basalts and then on back to telegraph Cove where we started our adventure. Thanks for the great times Nick and Toni!
Here is a link to some photos from the trip:

2012-06-01_broughtons

The overall Route - click to enlarge

paddling day 1 - Echo Bay to Owl - click to enlarge

Paddling day 2 - Owl Island - click to enlarge

paddling day 3 - owl to village to Mound - click to enlarge

paddling day 4 - Mound To Hanson - click to enlarge

Paddling day 5 - Hanson To Blinkhorn to Telegraph Cove

Day 1 - Echo to Owl - 21 km
Day 2 - Owl Island - 9 km
Day 3 - Owl to Village to Mound - 21 km
Day 4 - Mound To Hanson - 12 km
Day 5 - Hanson to Telegraph Cove - 9 km

Trip total: 72 km
year to date: 540 km

September 3rd - James Island (#81)

Monica and I joined 22 others on a SISKA paddle around James Island, led by Michael E. Though there was a bit of a headwind to begin with, this diminished as did the current and we had a great day. It was nice to meet many fellow paddlers again. It was nice that Paul made it over from Mission and Larry from Shawnigan Lake.

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15 km, YTD 941 km

September 2nd - RVYC (#80)

Monica and I went out for a test paddle with Monica in the CD Expedition. Though it is a big boat, she seems to like it. We wanted to do a test paddle before the club paddle on the 3rd. All went well and I checked out the moorings as well.

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2 km, YTD 926 km

August 25-27 - Port Renfrew to Victoria (#s 77-79)

Monica kindly drove George, Pete, Dennis and me to Port Renfrew where the four of us began our 3 day trip back to Victoria. This was the last part of our West coast "expedition" from Port Hardy to Victoria over several trips. The weather and conditions were very much in our favour and we made great progress each day - average speed was well over 7 kph for the trip. Crossing from Cape Calver to Trial island we rarely were travelling at less than 10 kph! The mornings were typically calm and foggy, especially the first two with tail winds picking up in the afternoon. We found great little camping spots near Sandcut creek on the first night and in a small pocket beach near Aldridge Point on the second night. This was the first trip that I had used the Northern Light "Aleut inspired" paddle and it performed very well. I also was able to make good use of my pacific action sail. This was a great trip!

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109 km, YTD 924 km

June 1 to June 5 - Telegraph Cove (#s 38-41)

I went up to Telegraph Cove again this year with our school's Grade 10 experiential programme students and had a great few days of paddling. We went by water taxi to Echo Bay and then paddled our way back to Telegraph Cove. We finished a night early due to 40 knot wind forecasts in Johnstone strait (that never materialized). On the way up in the water taxi we had great sightings of Pacific white-sided dolphins. In echo Bay we had a wonderful visit with Billy proctor and toured his "museum". On our way ti Owl Island we visited a salmon farm to learn a bit about the business. The next day we went to Village Island where we met the other group and also toured the old village site. A visit to the "Earth Embassy" to learn about the traditional use of cedar took up most of the next day. Our last paddling day followed the south coast of Hanson and then ferried over in the current to look at the pillow basalts on the Blinkhorn pennisula. We decided to head back rather than risk being wind bound the next day. We went for a nice hike up to a viewpoint above Bauza Cove the next day.The weather for the trip was excellent - virtually no wind and only some rain during the first night!

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65 km, YTD 466 km