September 28th - Rolling at the Guides Exchange, Ucluelet (#72)

Gerhardt and I led a Greenland rolling session for half a dozen participants at the fall SKGABC guides' exchange in Ucluelet. Despite a windy day, we found a nice quiet spot to teach and practice at Little Beach. We spent the morning on rolls and then part po0f the afternoon on Greenland paddle strokes. We also took some time to poke our noses out into the bigger sea conditions outside the bay - long enough to decide it was not a place to take a group! People made good progress, and we managed not to get too rained on. The day finished with a magnificent meal at the Kwisitis feast house. On Sunday the waves were even bigger so surfing was not recommended. Instead,I went for a great little hike along the Wild Pacific Trail. I also got to experience sleeping in a yurt at the Wya campground - very nice!
Gerhardt has posted some nice pics of the exchange here

3 km, YTD 855 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