In The Right Place at the Right Time - Tillicum Narrows

On Saturday it was our pleasure to take Salt Spring Island paddler Lisa Stafford on a little tour of the Victoria Inner Harbor which included playing in the Tillicum Narrows. Lisa is in town for a couple of days while her son Lukas is being mentored by James Manke on how to build a skin on frame Greenland rolling kayak. Nice!!

The Tillicum Narrows at -10 knots. About a 4 foot difference in water height today under the bridge

We launched out of Songhees Road near the Delta Victoria Hotel and headed north to Tillicum Narrows where it was ebbing 10.2 knots. Although we could have just worn our wetsuits we optioned to put on our drysuits closer to our destination and then spend an hour or so playing in the rapids. Having been here a couple of weekends ago when it was running at about 7 knots, the feature was quite a bit different today.

Robyn with all her suds in the washing machine. LOL

Lisa's turn playing in Jamie Sharpe's Reflection. 

Lots of suds today

It was a boiling foaming madness with a rock exposed at the bottom of the trough in the center of the feature and a very fast section of rapids running along the north wall. Paddling out of the foamy back eddy on the south side we  played in the turbulence experiencing some unplanned capsizes and some that resulted just from pushing the envelope a bit too far while we tried some interesting ferrying without bracing. Yeah .... that didn't work so well for both Lisa and I. LOL



 

Too much fun ... let's rescue someone now!

It was good times at the rapids supporting one another just in case we might need a hand. BTW ... thanks Lisa for chasing me down  ;-)

Sometimes when you think all is good something happens that brings you back to reality and makes you think "what the heck"!!!! Well we got to experience that today as we noticed a paddler heading towards the narrows from the upstream side. Now we have seen this before and in those cases the paddler turns around and heads back before reaching the waterfall.

This time however this paddler kept coming and we all noticed that he didn't have a PFD or helmet on. Pardon my language but it was one of those WTF moments as he dropped over the waterfall into the trough and although it looked like he was going to make it he capsized right next to the rock right in the middle and then all we saw was his kayak hull and no sight of him.


By that time we were already moving towards him and I thought for a moment that this could possibly be an extraction or hand-of-God scenario as he was somehow trapped in the feature. Thankfully his head popped up out of the water as he managed to wet exit from the kayak. Lisa and I reached him as he was floating towards the back eddy on the north side. Having giving up on the PFD he decided he was going to swim to shore with his kayak and so we escorted him and his kayak into shallow water until he was able to stand up and haul his butt and kayak out of the water.

"Let me see .... if I wear this it might save my life next time I do something that stupid" LOL

It all happened so fast but it seemed like time stood still as the whole scenario played itself out. The first thing I asked him was where was his PFD which he reached down and picked up. At this point he decided that maybe it was a good time to wear it and even though it only took 3 attempts to get it on he finally did. He was pretty apologetic for what happened and noted that "maybe he used up one of his 9 lives today" and thanked us for assisting him. Robyn tracked down his other gear floating nearby and had a little wisdom discussion with him before he set off towards the inner harbor.

One of the new Sterlings Kayaks Progession's in stock

That was enough excitement for the day for us so we paddled down to the Ocean River Sports dock and got out of drysuits before heading into the store to check out the new Sterlings Kayaks Progression. We think Lisa just might have her eye on the lime green one that is begging for her to test paddle. LOL

Robyn and Lisa checking out the menu

We finished the afternoon off with lunch at Barb's Fish & Chips located at Fisherman's Wharf before heading back across the harbour to the put in location. OK, that was a pretty good tour of our wonderful waterway that makes up the inner harbour of Victoria. Rescuing a kayaker ...... priceless. Tip please!!!!

2015 Paddle #23 - Tillicum Narrows Rescue
Distance: 5.5 nm (10.18 km)
YTD: 189.40 nm (‪350.77 km)

The Ups And Downs Of Practice

Heading into the final week before we take our Paddle Canada Level 3 course we were back on the water last weekend working on a few skills that up to now have been going pretty good. On Saturday we needed to find an alternative practice area as the beach at Cadboro Bay was closed due to an outflow contamination issue from last week's rainstorm.

Checking the tides for other options we chose Ardwell Bay in Sidney and were on the water later in the afternoon when the tide was higher. With the incoming tide the bay had a lot of seaweed on the surface but at least it was easy to access the beach and a place we could get wet.

Our motto "If you don't perform well at least look great doing it" Robyn looking great!

  

Maybe it was a combination of a big walk in the morning, shopping at the Ocean River Event of Adventures or the heat from an unusual hot September day but one thing for sure .... we were sooo off today! I won't go too much into want went wrong but the short video clip below sums it all up.

On Sunday we thought maybe a change of scenery would do the trick so we chose Willows Beach in Oak Bay as our training area. We arrived early before the sun worshipers started to claim their piece of sand real estate for the day and focused on some self rescue skills. Having never launched at Willows Beach before we were pleasantly surprised about the ease of finding a parking spot and felt the access to the water was much better than our regular training area at Cadboro Bay.

Yup ... the whole beach pretty well much to our self

One thing that we didn't expect was how clear and cold the water was compared to Cadboro Bay which is due to the water movement through Baynes Channel. This was a good thing as it probably better suits the conditions that we will be paddling in at the Deer Group for the course. We spent more time on our rolls which were much better than the day before and over all we were IN the water more than out of the water.

We also did a few scramble or cowboy rescues just to mix things up.

Only one more weekend to work on skills and a bunch of homework to complete before we leave next week on our next adventure. Naturally we are excited about the course but the anxiety and unknowns of being assessed are starting to creep in. If anything, it should make for a great blog post!

2014 Paddle # 40 & 41 Practice Time (Again!)

Distance: Zippo! nm (Nada! km)
YTD: 235.02 nm (435.25 km)

BCMTN Musgrave Point

This past weekend we attended the BC Marine Trails Network sign posting event at Musgrave Point on Saltspring Island.

The rear hatches loaded. The front hatches were the same ... almost empty.

But first ... over the past couple of years we have refined our kayak camping gear and the loading of our Delta 15.5's. On this trip we found that we had at least 50% of unused space in each kayak! This extra space will come in handy when we head out on a 10 day trip next month. Maybe we could lease out the space to the other kayakers in our group! LOL

Now you know why we call them our mini vans!




Launching out of Sidney (Amherst Beach) at 2:30 pm on Friday we made it to the Musgrave Point camping area around 6:00 pm and we were more than a little sun baked from the fantastic summer weather that has settled onto the south coast. Although we have paddled past the Musgrave Point camping area before we had never come ashore to see what amenities were available. Though there is a little hike up a bank, once you reach the designated camping location there is enough room for several tents, a brand new picnic table and the 20 year old outhouse which has been totally refurbished by the Saltspring Island Kayaking Club. Nice!

Robyn tries to unwind from the paddle and set up before we start to make dinner.

Plenty of space to store the kayaks overnight on the beach.

By the time we cooked dinner and socialized a bit it was just after 9:00 pm and we were ready for bed. The next morning we were up bright and early (7:30 ish), had a quick breakfast and packed up our gear to get ready for the flotilla that was expected to arrive around 10:30 am. Sure enough the 70+ paddlers from all over the island and the mainland descended on our location right on time.

Here comes the group from Cowichan Bay

Michael Pardy was in charge of assembling the flotilla so that we would look some what organized for the media pictures as we paddled ashore for the event .

Michael Pardy rallies the paddlers on hand.

It couldn't have been a better day in terms of the weather and conditions for the paddlers to make the crossing to Musgrave Point for this historic event.

Lots of familiar faces at the sign posting. It was great to see everyone again.

The BCMTN President, Stephanie Meinke (Nanaimo Paddlers) thanked everyone for attending such a special event in the history of the organization and the paddling community. Robyn tried to steal the spotlight as she took a little side trip off her chair. LOL

Paul Grey (Nanaimo Paddlers, Cowichan Kayak & Canoe Club) and Secretary, Alan Thomson (RCABC and VCKC) bolted the first BCMTN sign in place while Treasurer, Robyn (SISKA, Nanaimo Paddlers) and Reed Clarke did the honors of christening the sign with sea water. How fitting!

After the event, Robyn, Reed and I headed to Portland Island 8.30 nm's away. The paddle down to the south end of Saltspring Island was into a pretty good head wind but as we rounded the corner we were greeted with calm conditions and just a little ebb current to assist us towards our destination.

A quick pit stop at the end southern end of Saltspring Island to stretch the legs.

Arriving at Arbutus Point we had the whole campsite to ourselves other than the semi resident UVIC bird watching team that we meet back in April. It turns out that they will be on the island until August recording the activities of the Song Sparrow.

Aaaah! Camp is set up ... time for some wine and beer!

While relaxing, four hikers came to the point and I thought I recognized one of them. After they explored the point and stated to make their way back up the trail I asked the last person in their group. "Are you Russell Henry?" Sure enough it was Russell! What the heck??? This young man had just completed the record breaking solo circumnavigation of Vancouver Island and here he was back out on the water again. Actually he came by motorboat and was giving some family members a tour around the island by foot. We chatted for a few minutes and he shared a few tidbits of his latest adventure. Note to self ..... get picture with famous person next time!

Looking southeast with great marine conditions and nothing but blue skies.

Views like this keep us coming back to one of our favorite campsites. It's strange that we seem to always have the campground to ourselves.

Mt. Baker above South Pender Island.

One of the resident bandits came to visit us as we lounged in the sun. He had other plans .... ZZZZZZzzzzzz before he would start his nocturnal habits of checking out the camp for leftovers. He was actually pretty good and didn't bother us a bit.

Another Portland Island sunset ..... we never get tired of them :-)

Lots of paddling on this trip but it is good preparation for our big trip in July. Thanks for stopping by to read our adventures.

2014 Paddle #18, 18, 20 BCMTN Musgrave Point
Distance: 24.36 nm (45.11 km)
YTD: 105.27 nm (194.96 km)

Discovery Island Just A Different Way

It just wasn't supposed to be a typical kayak camping trip. Different kayaks, a different route and certainly different paddling conditions to assess our decision making and paddling skills to date. Our destination was the Discovery Island Marine Park was familiar but for this trip we decided to use our P&H Delphins and launch from the Oak Bay Marina. Our reasoning was simple. After using our Delta 15.5 Expeditions as our tripping kayaks for the past couple of years, we needed to test our Delphins as tripping kayaks in preparation for our upcoming Paddle Canada Level 2 & 3 certifications.  

After completing a pre-pack of the Delphins earlier in the week we confirmed that our camping kit and supplies would all fit in the kayaks. One thing for sure is that a Delphin is more like a VW Beetle compared to what we call the Delta's .... our mini vans because they haul so much gear. Every nook and cranny in the Delphins were used and other than our Watershed Ocoee bags which were attached to the decks everything else made its way into the hatches.

Final suit up begins as the fully loaded P&H Delphins are ready for the trip.

For quite some time I had been curious how a fully loaded Delphin might perform and on this trip the conditions that they would be tested in were perfect for assessing that. The marine forecast was for clear skies with winds SW 15-20 late in the day and monitoring the conditions throughout the day there was a window of opportunity for us to at least launch and test the Delphin's stability. Making it to Discovery Island would only happen if the conditions were right.

As in all of our planning, I build a series of  'Go, No Go' decision points as the paddle progresses and today this would be put to the greatest test to date. Leaving the sheltered marina we headed out towards the Chain Islands which were the mid point to Discovery Island. Passing Mary Todd Island we entered Mayor Channel into a SW 3 foot chop with cresting tops coming from our starboard side. This combined with an increasing flood from the same direction got my attention really fast as we made our way to Great Chain Island. For the first time in our paddling adventures I was about to call a 'No Go' and return to the launch point.

But .... assessing the conditions ahead of us in Plumper Passage there was no evidence of whitecaps so WE made the decision to press on to the last of the Chain Islets. Other than a really good wind assisted flood which was coming directly from behind us we literally surfed our way across the passage to Discovery Island doing just over 5 knots! Our original plan when reaching Discovery was to turn right and paddle around Commodore Point into the BC Marine Park Campground in Rudlin Bay but the point was awash with breaking whitecaps. Another 'No Go' decision as we opted to surf our way into the shallows between the Chatham and Discovery Islands.

Making our way around the east side of  Discovery Island the winds were calm and the water was absolutely flat but as we approached the lighthouse at Sea Bird Point I knew that would all change really fast. And it did! Making the turn directly into the 20 kt SW winds with flood the last 10 minutes of paddling would be our greatest physical test to date. The fact that we had to paddle through a kelp bed didn't help but we pressed on and entered the confined shelter bay of the marine park and we were a bit surprised to find the campground completely empty. I really wished that I had the GoPro on for this crossing as it would have made for some great pictures and video.

The sea state off Commodore Point just after our landing. The picture doesn't do justice of how windy it was when we arrived.

After setting up camp it was getting close to 8:00 pm as we prepared a dinner of fish tacos and the wind didn't let up. In fact it howled all night and I for one was thankful that I brought my earplugs as I didn't hear a peep until 7:00 am the next morning.

Robyn ... One happy camper that we made it safely to the campsite. Time for dinner!

The next day we woke to brilliant sunshine and with just a slight breeze and we were expecting that we would have guests arriving throughout the day. The Ocean River Discovery Shuttle  and the South Island Sea Kayaking Association (SISKA) were sure to be coming to the island today so just after breakfast we headed out for a walk to the lighthouse with a slight detour to find a nearby Geocache.

Robyn retrieves our supplies from the food cache for breakfast. No wind in the mornings.

The Discovery Island Lighthouse is now deserted having been fully automated in 1996

Established in 1886 the Discovery Island lighthouse was manned for 110 years before being automated in 1996. The buildings have been left to deteriorate and there is evidence of vandalism in most of the buildings. This lighthouse facility would make a fabulous museum instead of letting it disappear from BC's maritime history.

A view from the lighthouse of the kelp bed that we paddled through the night before in heavy seas.

Just after we arrived back at camp the Ocean River Discovery Shuttle came into the bay with a full load of customers. To our surprise the tour actually paddled around the island and not just in bay. What a great day to paddle around the island for these lucky tourists!

The Ocean River Discovery Shuttle with a full load of kayaks and passengers

Not long after the SISKA paddlers also arrived and we spent some time talking with our fellow club members. Suddenly our quiet little campsite became very busy for a few hours.

The SISKA paddlers land on the beach for their lunch break.

A popular place to visit today

And then it was quiet again.

After everyone left we went for a walk to Commodore Point via the inner island trail which we have never done before. Such a beautiful trail and we kept a close eye out for the wolf which we never did see.

Arriving at the point we noticed a lot of activity heading our way from the Chain Islands. To our surprise the Island Iron 18 km outrigger race was taking place today and we had front row seats as they passed by us.

The Ocean River Paddling Club chases down the competition from False Creek

The outriggers pass our camp and round Sea Bird Point with a freighter nearby.

On the way back to camp we noticed a plaque on a rock face obscured by blackberry vines. It was erected in 1972 by the Boy Scouts of Canada in memory of Captain E.G. Beaumont who lived on the island from 1918 to 1967. After he died he passed on his share of the island to the Province of BC who in turn made it a park in 1972.

A nice honor from the Boy Scouts of Canada

Lots of eagles rode the wind currents around the camp

Saturday afternoon the winds returned and we took shelter in the tent not long after the sun set around 9:00 pm. The forecast for Sunday was much the same as Saturday with light winds in the morning. Waking up at around 5:30 am we had breakfast and decided to take advantage of the slack tide so we were on the water by 8:30 am heading back to Oak Bay.

While loading up the kayaks we finally heard the Discovery Island wolf howling just beyond the campsite. This was the first time that we had ever heard a wolf and it was amazing as well as very eerie. You just had a sense that it was being made by a very large animal.

The paddle back to the Oak Bay Marina was as expected with very little current running through the Chain Islands. We actually decided that we prefer our usual route from 10 Mile Point to Discovery Island for a number of reasons. Still it was a great weekend of further exploring our paddling and decision making abilities.

Almost back at the marina, Robyn pauses with the Olympic mountains and Victoria Golf Club in the background.

2014 Paddle #15 &16  Discovery Island
Distance: 7.39 nm(13.68 km)
YTD: 77.82 nm (145.04 km)

Gearing Up With Ocean River Sports

You know that spring is just around the corner when Brian Henry's Ocean River Sports Gear Up Sale is on. For over 30 years this popular event has been a great opportunity for paddlers and outdoor enthusiasts to take advantage of discounted pricing on their equipment needs for the spring and summer.

One of our favorite places to visit while downtown. Great staff make it fun to just stop by and say Hi.

The rain as predicted started to fall just as I arrived to get in line with all of the other "keeners" looking to score a bargain. Did I need anything to add to our personal "Gearhead" inventory? Heck no, but ya just never know when one might need another kayak to add to the fleet at home. 

Normally the doors to the sale open up right at 10:00am but Brian, always thinking about the customer decided to open the doors early to get the shoppers out of the elements. When was the last time you experienced something like this? 

Like always, there was lots of regular staff in red t-shirts on hand to assist the shoppers as well as a number of volunteers helping out in non retail areas. There were some great deals on products from Kokatat, Icebreaker Merino, Werner Paddles, NRS, North Water and Astral to name a few.

Even ensuring that crossing a sometimes busy Store Street to the parking lot was looked after with a crossing guard. Every year the parking lot transforms into the showroom for kayaks, surf skis, stand up paddle-boards, canoes and any products that need larger display areas. 

Just about every human powered watercraft was on display just across the street.

This year some of the manufacturers represented were Stellar Kayaks, Kayak (Boréal Design) Distribution, Delta Kayaks, Sterling Kayaks, Necky Kayaks, Current Designs Hobie Kayaks and Starboard SUP's. Whether you are a seasoned paddler or just wanting to get into the pastime, there was a good assortment of fiberglass / Kevlar, thermoform and rotomold products to check out. 

Those who know me including Robyn who was out of town, probably want to know what I bought right? Well let me tell you this ...... I think it might be a first for me to have walked out of Ocean River Sports without buying anything. Oh yeah, I was tempted. Besides .... the sale continues tomorrow and Robyn might want to go back with me. ;-)