It's Been a While .... So Double Discovery Day!!

When did I last post???? Some time in the summer of 2016?? Ya ... lots of things have transpired since then. My ticker decided that it didn't want to stay in rhythm so I had that fixed in late November and passed my 6 month anniversary of sorts without any recurrences of A-Fib. So it looks like the surgery corrected the problem (Yea!!) and while I was recuperating I also found another new passion in photography. Specifically I love to shoot (take pictures :-) our avian friends and started a Facebook page of my work which you can see here Mark Byrne Photography  

We did get back onto the water in early April and since then Robyn and I have taken a trip to Surge Narrows on the Easter long weekend with a bunch of friends and Robyn bought me a P&H Aries 155 while I was test riding it! We then teamed up with our tripping friends Lynn, Morley and Gary for a Gulf Islands National Park Reserve trip May 12-21. It's been great to get back onto the water and this past weekend we even figured out how to fish for crab after 4 years of frustration. You know what they say .... "Go big or go home" and so we bought a bigger crab trap!!

July 2, 2017

This past Sunday morning we launched out of Cadboro Bay and dropped our new crab trap in a secret location (hahahaha) and then made our way across Baynes Channel to the Chatham / Discovery Islands. Arriving at a place known to us as the slot, I said "Hey, a dog" but I knew I was looking at the Coastal Wolf that has made its home on the islands since 2012. So cool!

It was great to finally see "Staqeva" watching us paddle by.

To the Songhees First Nations who govern the islands it is known as “Staqeya” (Wolf) and Robyn and I felt blessed to be greeted by him this morning. As we made our way along the shoreline he followed us and then began to howl as if he wanted us to stay.

 

The wolf lay down on a bluff and watched us as we continued on our way and although we felt that it must be lonely all by itself, one thing for sure was that it looked very healthy.

Our goal for the day was to paddle to the Discovery Island Marine Provincial Park located at Rudlin Bay and hope to see the wolf there but we also noticed that the westerly winds were picking up more than predicted with white caps visible beyond Discovery Island. Since the wolf had already seen us (LOL) we decided to head back to Cadboro Bay via the slot and see how our crab trap was doing. 

Robyn enjoying the calm conditions inside the islands

We heard the wolf howling at us as we approached the slot and then we spotted a bald eagle on a nearby beach looking at something. As I drifted closer I spotted a dead lingcod in the shallow water nearby and figured that the eagle must have been trying to figure out how to get the fish out of the water. I managed to scoop the lingcod up with my paddle but the eagle left just before I could retrieve it. 

What is the Bald Eagle looking at?

Eagle dinner!

Everyone knows that eagles have "eagle eyes" (LOL) and sure enough as soon as I threw it on top of a rocky islet it was heading my way. A couple of passes close by and the eagle came in and took my offering towards the tree tops on Greater Chatham Island. Another blessed moment interacting with nature.

Patiently waiting for the lingcod that I managed to scoop up 

We crossed back over Baynes Channel and found our crab trap float and as soon as I started hauling it up I had a feeling something might be inside because it was sure heavy. I think I might have even heard Robyn say "Octopus" in jest! LOL  To our surprise, after 4 years of no luck while kayak crabbing there were an assortment of dungeness and red rock crabs adding up to 11! We sorted through the legal size ones and released 6 including a single female leaving us with 5 nice size crabs to take home for dinner! Since there was still bait in the trap we decided to set it again and would come back the next day to see what an overnight soak would produce.

Oh yea, we got crab legs!!

Not a bad way to spend 4 hours of paddling by seeing a wolf, feeding an eagle and catching crab!

Distance: 7.62 nm (14.11 km)


July 3, 2017

The following morning we were joined by Gary Jacek in his recently purchased Delta 17 and headed out towards the crab trap. The sea conditions were much better than the day before so we decided to paddle to the Discovery Island Marine Provincial Park located at Rudlin Bay and pick up the trap on the way back.

Gary's first sea trial of his new Delta 17

New wolf signs at the park

Although we searched, we didn't spot or hear the wolf on this paddle but enjoyed a relaxing lunch at the park in the amazing warm sunshine. It was only recent that the park was reopened for day use due to family last year who arrived by a powerboat with a dog off leash (prohibited), and venturing out of bounds (prohibited) only to be greeted by the same wolf that we saw the day before. Fearing for their safety they called the Canadian Coast Guard and instead of holding the family accountable for their park violations the BC Government closed the park to all visitors while they could "study" the wolf's activities for the past year. Still ... we are eagerly waiting for the park to be reopened to overnight camping as it is one of the best places to kayak camp so close to home.

Discovery Island Marine Provincial Park ... such a spectacular view

We were assisted by the 3.05 kt flood along Discovery Island and past Chatham Island on our way across Baynes Channel to where our crab trap was. I was thinking of those full crab pots you see on Deadliest Catch that are left to soak for more than 24 hours as I started to haul up ours. It felt heavy but once it came into view the extra weight was nothing but a big piece of bull kelp wrapped around the line and only two small crabs in the pot. The strange thing was that the 3 chicken legs that were in the bait bags were gone except for two small bones. Did the bait get eaten by smaller crabs who escaped the pot or was the trap possibly poached? Either way we know the crab trap works and we look forward to more crab feasts!

So our Monday paddle may not have been as exciting from a wildlife perspective as the day before but it still was a great paddle to one of our favorites places.

Distance: 8.18 nm (15.15 km)

Out Of The Darkness

I can see you!!

Friday paddles .... I'm starting to love them! Last week's paddle was a little different in terms of when we decided to launch. Simply put ... it was DARK!

Fellow SISKA paddler John Minkley put together a plan to head to Discovery Island from Gyro Park (Cadboro Bay) and watch the sun rise on the way there. So our little group of 7 paddlers arrived at the park in the dark, unloaded our gear in the dark and headed out on the water at 7:30am .... in the dark. Don't worry we all had headlamps or lights on our kayaks just in case the sun didn't come up today. :-)


The forecast for that day called for variable 5-15 SE (Haro) 10-20 SW (Juan de Fuca East) with a chance of showers. But Discovery Island is right at the intersection of Haro and Juan de Fuca Straights and depending how you interpreted the information it really could mean anything was coming. Oh yeah ... we were also coming up to a max ebb in Baynes Channel of around 3 kts from a NE direction just after launch. So with all of this information at hand we decided that we wouldn't make a direct SE route to Discovery Island but instead head SW to Cattle Point to see what the wind was doing out in open water. Maybe there would be an option to cross over to the Chain Islands first on our way to Discovery Island.

Somewhere out there is Discovery Island but it is still dark.

I think we were only about 1/4 mile from the beach when we felt the increasing SW wind and then the rain came. By the time we reached Cattle Point our faces were absorbing the stinging sensation one gets when the rain falls horizontally and you are paddling into it. Our group tucked in behind Cattle Point to get out of the wind and we made the decision to follow the shoreline along Willows Beach and through the Oak Bay Marina where we would assess the conditions again.

Thankfully by the time we reached the marina the rain had stopped and the skies started to lighten up a bit and before you knew it, there was the sun! Leaving the marina I looked back at the Chain Islands and could see nothing but pretty big white caps in Plumper Passage. Just over 2 miles away, Baynes Channel was showing the effects of wind against current and even from this distance I could see huge white caps. The weather and currents had helped us make our decision so we just kept on paddling towards Gonzales Point.

Plan "B" ... Paddling towards the Victoria Golf Club and Gonzales Point

By the time we reached Gonzales we were in full sunshine but once we rounded the point we were greeted by fairly strong SW winds. After a quick discussion we decided that we would start heading back towards the marina instead of slogging through the wind. Even though our original paddle plan didn't happen that day we still enjoyed the paddle as it was one of those that gave you a little bit of everything ... even a rainbow!

Heading back towards Cadboro Bay we even saw a rainbow over Oak Bay.

We landed back at Gyro Park Beach, packed up our gear, headed for coffee at Olive Olio's and were all done just after noon. Lots of time in the day to still do whatever we pleased so Kari and I met Robyn at home and we went geocaching along the Lochside Trail. Early morning paddles certainly do have their advantages .... even if they start in the dark!  LOL

2016 Paddle #2 - Cadboro Bay
Distance: 7.24 nm (13.40 km)
YTD: 16.25 nm (30.095 km)

Discovery Geocaching

What did we do on Valentine's Day? We went Geocaching by kayak over to Discovery Island to look for a new cache and to place our (RVTraveller's) latest cache. It was also a good opportunity to do some cache maintenance as well while we were there.

Robyn paddling through the passage between the Chatham's and Discovery Island.

It was an awesome day to head across Baynes Channel and paddle through the Chatham Islands on our way to the BC Parks Marine Provincial Park at Rudlin Bay on Discovery Island. Slightly overcast skies with no wind and a slack tide on the way over made it a nice lazy paddle as we kept our eyes open for the lone wolf that has taken up residence on Discovery. Ready with my GoPro Hero 2, I started to video as we passed the lighthouse in hopes that we would catch a glimpse of her.

The lighthouse on Pandora Hill at Discovery Island.  In 1996 the
lighthouse was automated after having been manned for 110 years

We made a quick stop before reaching Rudlin Bay to locate a geocache that was placed only a few weeks ago. Lots of places where the cache could be hidden but with the GPS we found it fairly easily.

Robyn has the Geocache coordinates for GC5KXCA Paradise View on her Garmin Oregon 550.

A selfie of us taking our selfie because ......

Yes we found Paradise View cache!

We forgot to bring a pen or pencil with us to log the cache and the cache container didn't have one in it so we decided to simply take our selfie and use the picture as evidence that we found the cache.

And then it was time to get down to business to find a location to hide our geocache called Plaque Discovery (GC5MTAA). Although not really difficult, the cache takes you to a couple of plaques dedicated in memory of Captain E.G. Beaumont who donated this beautiful property to the Province of BC.

Now where shall we place Plaques Discovery? Will you find it one day?? 

After finding a nice hidey hole for Plaques Discovery we headed off to find a cache that Robyn adopted a few months back and do a little cache maintenance. I still had my GoPro running in case we came across the wolf but today we didn't get to see her. We did however find lots of evidence of her on the trail out to Commodore Point in the form of scat and where she recently clawed away the moss on the trail.

No camping here, no fires here, no wolf here too! Maybe on our next visit.

Someone is watching us.

Can you see it? We came across this Bushnell HD Trail Cam that has obviously been set up to capture images of the wolf when she passes by it. We got a little closer in hopes that our selfie would be seen by whoever owns the camera. :-)

 We located GCW31H Discover Discovery Island just where we thought it was and it was in great shape. Nice and dry too!

Originally placed in 2006 by another Geocacher, Robyn adopted the cache when the owner was no longer able to take care of it. We are so glad that we could help keep this cache active after 9 years since it was hidden on the island.

So close to home and yet when you come here it seems so far away.

The wolf was here. Fresh paw scrapes showing the claw marks in the moss on the trail

After a quick bite to eat we started to head back towards Cadboro Bay but we came across something on the beach staring at us. Was it the wolf? No it was a totem pole!

Hello?

I wonder what the totem is depicting? 

I'm not sure if this is a First Nations carving but it might be since it is on the north side of Discovery Island which is part of Discovery Island Indian Reserve 3, under the control of the Songhees First Nation. In any case we respected First Nation's law that prohibits landing on the beach. From our vantage point in our kayaks we were able to get close enough to get a good view of the totem.

Robyn practicing in the current in an area which we have nicknamed "Yves' Slough"

We headed back through the "slough" where the ebb current was flowing. It was a chance for Robyn to work on her ferrying skills. This is the place that Robyn and I first took a currents course with Yves of Go Kayak 3 years ago and we now call it Yves' Slough whenever we come through here.

The paddle back across Baynes Channel was just a little bit of a workout in the ebb to finish off another wonderful visit to Discovery Island.

2015 Paddle # 7 - Discovery Island

Distance: 9.50 nm ( 17.59 km)

YTD: 50.37 nm (‪84.01 km)

Baynes Channel, Discovery Island and Birthday Girl

Every once in awhile life just gets in the way of blogging and the past couple of weeks has been a flurry of activity for Robyn and I. Between our activities with the BC Marine Trails Network Association and our other volunteer commitments, this post just sat in the draft box while I found time finish it. So here we go ......

It was supposed to be a stormy day on the west coast with 25-30 knot winds from the SE by noon. But where did it go? Hardly a breath of wind anywhere to be seen. It really didn't matter as this paddle was all about being with a bunch of friends celebrating Reale's birthday and she wanted to go paddling.

Reale can really navigate her kayak both from inside and outside the cockpit. :-)

After a ceremonial dump of the birthday girl in the water by yours truly :-) we assembled on the water off the Gyro Park beach in Cadboro Bay. While waiting for everyone Reale demonstrated her dexterity skills by playing on the top deck of her kayak. She really loves her kayak!

Our group of 12 left Cadboro Bay and headed towards Discovery Island for lunch but first we decided to play in the flood tide race at Baynes Channel that was just off the marker at Cadboro Point. In all the times we have been going over to Discovery Island I have never seen a flood tide race before when the current was only running at around 3 knots. But then again, Baynes Channel always shows a different face every time we cross her no matter what the conditions are. 

Making our way across to the Chatham Islands we gathered in the slough that is a popular current training location. Robyn and I did our first currents course here with Yves of Go Kayak who was also on this paddle with us. Today however there wasn't much water movement but it gave us a chance to relax a bit while we waited for Michel to catch up with the rest of us. It also allowed myself to get out of my kayak and stretch a bit as my hips were giving me grief. That has never happened before but I think I know why.

The "slough" catch area was pretty still today. Still, a beautiful day for a paddle!

Our next stop would be the Discovery Island Marine Park campground for lunch so we headed through the middle of the islands and then along the eastern shoreline of Discovery to the park. There was just a little bit of a swell coming in that allowed some of the group to play a bit in the surge waves near the lighthouse.

Discovery Island in the distance. Not a storm cloud in sight

Arriving at our lunch stop we basked in the early fall sunshine. The weather patterns over the past couple of weeks have started to turn towards the normal wet season after an unbelievable dry summer. There won't be many more days like today as we head towards winter so we better enjoy it.

L to R: Robyn, Jo, Susie, Beverely, Michael, Walter, Michel, Patti

The paddle back to Gyro Park was pretty uneventful in terms of the sea state and weather. Nothing but glorious sunshine and hardly any current activity in Baynes Channel. For me however it was a different story. Just entering the channel I found that I was experiencing excruciating pain in my hips and simply found it difficult sit upright and paddle. I never thought I would have to ask for assistance while paddling but today I gladly accepted the fact that I needed a little tow help. Robyn and Susie were paddling close by so they teamed up to in-line tow me back across the channel to Flower Island. It was just like on our PC3 course but this time it was "No Duff". Thanks girls!

The source of my hip pain? I decided to start my running routine the day before and even though it was only a short 20 minute session I felt soreness when I woke up. Thinking a good paddle would limber me up I was mistaken as my hips muscles became increasingly sore throughout the day. Looking back at it now it might have been a good day to stand down but at the time of launching I felt pretty good. One thing for sure it's time to get back to my daily yoga Yin practice which I need to do anyway to improve my core rotation in the kayak.

Coming up next: Rock Gardening with Rowan and Costain (SKILS)

2014 Paddle # 52 - Baynes Channel / Discovery Island

Distance: 9.60 nm (17.77 km)

YTD: 276.65 nm (512.34 km)