September 24th - Crystal Cove, Tofino (#67)

I went for a short paddle out from Mackenzie Beach while we were camping at Crystal cove Resort. Conditions were nice with very little swell. The Aquaglide inflatable is not the fastest craft! :)

click to enlarge

3 km, YTD 627 km

September 28/29 - Ucluelet and Grice Bay (#s 71 & 72)

I went up to Ucluelet to assist with a kayak fishing outdoor trip run by JF. It was great to do a trip with JF again! We stayed at Surf Junction Campground and spent one day fishing in Ucluelet Harbour and another in Grice Bay. The Ucluelet Harbour day was a bit cool and damp and there were no salmon biting. We managed to hook and land a few mackerel in the afternoon. The next day in Grice Bay was much nicer and we found a nice little bay near the east end that had a school of coho that were interested in cast lures. The students (Kevin, Jacob and Bryce) and JF  managed to hook into eight nice coho in a period of 2 hours around high slack. In addition Jacob was towed around the bay in his kayak by a 17 lb coho for a good fight! I enjoyed the paddling and trying out my trident Angler fishing kayak that has not seen enough use since I got it!

Ucluelet Harbour - click to enlarge

Grice Bay - click to enlarge

29 km, YTD 852 km

December 13/14 - Tofino surf

I was up in Tofio to work, but we made some time to get out surfing at Chesterman’s beach. I surfed the Cape falcon F1 yesterday and the Wold Nova today. I used the greenland paddle both times and was very happy how it worked.

Some video clips:

 

 

September30-Oct 4 - Vargas Island (#93-96)

I co led (with JF) a group of grade 11 students on a paddling trip around Vargas Island. Due to an extra trip back to Tofino from Milties Beach, I ended up paddling 49 km (instead of 32 km). After some heavy rain during our first night we had calm conditions and mostly sunny weather for the rest of the trip. We took a day “off” on “Fingers” beach. Amazing weather for the west coast AND October!

 49 km, 26 NM, YTD 1104 km