Gecko Goes Blue

When I first started kayaking coming up to 5 years ago, I never would have thought where it would take us and what I would be doing with it now. Some of you who know me well enough might have guessed pretty close but I can honestly say that I didn't see it coming.

The Gecko Paddler blog has been primarily our personal kayaking journal right from day one back on September 12, 2011 and my goodness we have done a lot since then. Looking back it makes me wonder how the heck we found the time and money to make it all happen. No regrets at all .. none! But now ... it's time to give back.

This past weekend I was asked to be the head instructor for a Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Skills Level 1 course for Blue Dog Kayaking based at the Mill Bay Marina. Blue Dog Kayaking is owned by David Nichols and I received my Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Skills Level 3 and Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Instructor Level 1 certifications over the past 18 months from him.

So this blog post really isn't about another one of our adventures but really is about 3 people who decided to start or enhance their own sea kayak journey like Robyn and I did a few years ago.

Talk about a small world .... Sandra and Kevin live on the mainland and decided to take a Paddle Canada course with Blue Dog Kayaking while visiting her parents nearby. Where did they find out about Blue Dog Kayaking? None other than the Gecko Paddler blog so they were really thrilled to have "the" Gecko Paddler as their instructor for the weekend. LOL  The only kayaking experience they had up to this weekend has been using Delta Kayaks 10's a few times.  

Katelyn is a SISKA member who just joined the club after having relocated from the interior where she has done some lake paddling and kayak camping. Her goal this weekend was to work through the Level 1 skills to prepare herself for a Level 2 course with Blue Dog Kayaking at the end of June.

Tagging along for the weekend was Robyn who also is Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Skills Level 3 certified and she fulfilled the role of demonstrating some of the in the water rescues with me. She also partnered up with Katelyn which allowed our students to do more instead of sitting back and watching.

The Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Skills Level 1 course is jam packed with lots of different paddle strokes and rescues that need to be completed on day 1. Day 2 is really about using the skills learned on day 1 while planning and going on a day paddle. Being my first full hands on course I needed to keep a close watch on our timeline to ensure that we would complete the skills requirements. Time management was key and I prepared well in advance the week before by having my flip chart, waivers and schedule ready to go for 9:00am on Saturday.

Sandra, Katelyn myself and Kevin ... time to get to work

Checking out different types of paddles. I think Kevin likes the twig one. LOL

Saturday morning was all about paddle strokes with an emphasis on the forward paddle stroke.

Coming back to the dock for lunch Sandra uses her newly learned draw stroke.

It was really amazing to see the paddle strokes skills progression during the morning. From the time our group left the dock until we returned for lunch it was like night and day. For me that is the reward I seek because during this short period of time they learned to purposely maneuver their kayaks in a manner that they were dictating what the kayak was doing instead of the kayak dictating where it wanted to go. And the smiles .... Oh my!!!

During lunch it was time for me to present short Seamanship, Weather and Navigation lectures that would prepare them for Sunday. Once again my preparation paid off as I didn't need to write on the flip chart while speaking and I found the students to be like sponges soaking it all in.

Utilizing time well ... lectures while having lunch.

After lunch it was time to get wet and for Sandra and Kevin they would get to experience their first wet exit which probably is the #1 apprehension of most new kayakers.

Time to get wet. Nervous .... heck no!!!

Kevin went first and Sandra preformed the Assisted Rescue with him.

Then it was Sandra's turn!

See! Big smile!! Not so bad huh??

I demonstrated a paddle float Self Rescue

Kevin completing a Bow Rescue on my kayak

Being a relatively small paddler Katelyn performed an Assisted Rescue on Kevin and
worked through the expected issues of helping a larger paddler.

Kevin back in the kayak. It's not about strength but more about technique and Katelyn figured it out nicely!

Sunday morning they were back at it at 9:00am and started working on their day trip planning. This involved getting the latest weather report via VHF, internet (since we had connectivity) and I also introduced a few apps that I like to gather information from. Then it was onto looking at the local chart, discussing tides and currents, how weather interacts with the water to create the sea state and then look at a float plan for the day. Lots to cover before we headed out but the lesson was that this is something that needs to be done every time before taking to the water.

Using the chart we could determine where we were going, how long it should take us and when we
should be returning. And ... how the weather, tides and currents might impact the paddle or change during the day. 

Big smiles on day #2.... Like!!

Just a slight breeze with an incoming tide allowed for a leisurely pace to our destination. 

Before stopping for lunch we did a little boat management. This is a skill helpful in performing rescues.

And communicating from a distance. 

During lunch I talked about Leave No Trace, the environment and a little bit about the history of the areas we paddle in.

We also covered off contact towing without ropes and towing using tow release systems

These students were F.A.T. - Flexible, Accessible and Trainable which made my job easy.
Congratulations to the newest Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Level 1 certified paddlers.
Thanks Dave at Blue Dog Kayaking for letting me join your team of instructors!
A big thanks to my wife Robyn for being the scenario / support paddler ... loved having you along

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

The past three weeks have been a bit of whirlwind of activity so this post is a summary of what we have been up to. I have no idea how we manage to work full time and still find the energy and time to play but somehow it just works out.

On February 28th and March 6th we explored a location that wasn't on our radar as a place to paddle and in fact we have never paddled there before until the past few weekends. So close to home but for some reason we just didn't think there was much to see or do there .....WRONG!!!!


February 28th

Beecher Bay... The first paddle was more of an exploring tour with Kari, Dave & Ali (Blue Dog Kayaking) and Kevin & Cindy. One of the goals and reason why we decided to paddle in the bay was to find a geocache that has only been found once before.

Male Surf Scoter

Launching from Cheanuh Marina ($4 launch fee per kayak) we followed the shoreline and were amazed at the abundance of life above and below the waterline which included numerous species of birds, sea anemones and even a small octopus that Kari spotted while the two of us were exploring the Village Islands.

Just below the waterline ... an octopus!! At the bottom center there is the head and one of the eyes.

Arriving at the small bay where the geocache was hidden, I located it and got the 2nd to find honors. Sweet!! After lunch our group practiced some rolling and rescue skills on the way back to the the marina and it gave Robyn the chance to test ride a different kayak. The day before the Robyn, Kari and I visited Dave in Shawnigan Lake and arranged to swap her P&H Delphin 15.5 for a Wilderness Systems Zephyr 15.5. This paddle confirmed the deal for both of them.

Lunch stop after finding the geocache. Robyn and Dave completed the kayak swap deal here.

Robyn paddling her Wilderness Systems Zephyr 15.5 home.

2016 Paddle #6 - Beecher Bay
Distance: 5.36 nm (9.92 km)
YTD: 44.64 nm (82.66 km)



March 6th

Our second Beecher Bay paddle was more of an endurance run as Robyn, Kari, Dave, Kevin, Kerry, Ryan and I launched out of the marina again but our goal this time was to circumnavigate Bentinck Island near Race Rocks some 5 nm in the distance. Along the way we did a little rock gardening, rolling in a couple of surge channels and had lunch on a rocky islet in the middle of Eemdyk Passage.

Lunch selfie in Eemdyck Passage

After lunch we completed our circumnavigation of Bentinck Island and got a ride on the wind assisted ebb back towards Beecher Bay.

To our surprise the it was a bit of a slog paddling back into the bay as the SE winds were being funneled out to sea through the low valley between Pedder Bay and Beecher Bay.

Closer to the marina it was rolling, bracing fun with Dave and Kevin experiencing "head freeze" over and over again. We were all surprised that the water was so cold in this sheltered bay.

2016 Paddle #7 - Beecher Bay to Bentinck Island
Distance: 11.13 nm (20.61  km)
YTD: 55.77 nm (102.97 km)


March 7th

The following day I teamed up with Dave (Blue Dog Kayaking) on a Paddle Canada Basic Kayak / Level 1 course officially teaching for the first time. Up to this point I had been doing a bit of one on one skills development with people since receiving my Paddle Canada Sea Kayaking Level 1 Instructor rating last year.

It was a busy day with the on water activities taking place at the Mill Bay Marina and then heading to the Ladysmith pool in the evening to conduct the rescue portion of the training. Dave was kind enough to allow me to take the lead for the pool session and I came away from the day excited about being an instructor and look forward to what the future may hold for Gecko Paddler ;-)

I'm in the water talking a student (in Robyn's old kayak) through an assisted rescue.

March 12th & 13th

And finally ... last weekend Robyn and I joined Yves & Patti of Go Kayak for a kayak surf course in Tofino, BC. This has been something on our bucket list to do for the past couple of years and we finally managed to schedule it in.

A tasting flight of beers. I liked the Kelp Stout the best!

Staying in Tofino at Mears Vista Inn we were in walking distance to a number of really good eating locations (Shelter Restaurant and Jack's Pub) but the first thing we did was drive to the Tofino Brewing Co to sample and purchase some of there unique craft beers. And yes .... I bought the glass and shirt too!!

Gene, Robyn, Gecko Paddler, Ross, Doug and Patti 

Yves working with my broaching skills

Day 1 of the course was supposed to be held at Chesterman's Beach but the conditions weren't favorable to work on our broaching skills. So our small group consisting of Robyn, Doug, Gene, Ross and myself headed over to McKenzie Beach.












I have to admit that never really having much surf landing experience, learning how to broach or side surf was tougher than I thought. In my case I simply was trying to over power the waves by being overly aggressive with my low bracing instead of "feeling" the wave under my paddle. It was also good opportunity to work on my rolling which I was happy about. However, rolling only works when you have enough water under your kayak. LOL

Going for a ride. Extreme edging! LOL

Yeah ... I did this quite a bit that first day but I found out quickly how to read the waves better and by the end of the day managed to ride a few waves properly. BTW ... if you have the opportunity to take a Go Kayak surf course JUST DO IT!!!  It was such a great training session even though I felt it through my shoulders on Sunday and Monday.

Next up on our agenda ..... we are heading to Portland Island for the Easter weekend. Time to relax a bit me thinks!!

Developing Our Skills with Paddle Canada (Part 1)

Flashback to our first time in a kayak - September 2011. Notice the upside down paddle ... we need skills huh? :-) LOL

Neither Robyn or I could have imagined when we started kayaking where our skills development would be after 3 years. Like most paddlers in our area we started out by taking a Paddle Canada Introduction to Sea Kayaking course to learn a little bit how to use our equipment and how to get out of the kayak if we ended upside down.

Since then, our garage has been constantly evolving with kayak gear upgrades and we have spent a lot of time "in" the water as we upgraded our skills certifications through Paddle Canada. This past year especially our focus has been to  reach our personal goals which we were both able to do in April.

Sea Kayak Instructor Level 1 - April 16th-19th

Working with Robyn (and others) through her skills development over the past year, I realized that becoming an instructor was one of my goals that I wanted to accomplish so I signed up for an Instructor Level 1 course with Blue Dog Kayaking (Dave Nichols) / Horizons Adventures (Rick Wise) at the Mill Bay Marina.

Rick Wise in the blue kayak with Dave Nichols in the yellow and black kayak. A couple of great instructors!

I have taken courses with Dave in the past and have really enjoyed his teaching style and he recently established Blue Dog Kayaking at the marina. Rick came all the way from Ontario to put on this course and be a mentor for Dave who also is working towards his Paddle Canada Level 1 Instructor Trainer certification.

What a great classroom setting at the Mill Bay Bistro

My fellow group of students consisted of Jay Raichura who owns Pender Island Kayak Adventures, Jesse Pictou who is a guide at Tofino Sea Kayaking Company, Rick Powley and Rob Wyness both fellow Nanaimo Paddlers and Ryan Aldred who will be working at Blue Dog Kayaking this summer.

The morning sessions consisted of lectures that were presented by our instructors as well as lectures that we students had prepared before the course and a few that we had to talk about on the fly so to speak. After lunch we headed onto the water to demonstrate our paddling skills which included Level 2 or better paddle strokes and both self and assisted rescues. It was during the afternoon sessions that we started to refine our teaching styles using the acronym I.D.E.A.S. which stands for Introduction of the skill being taught, Demonstration of how the skill should be done, Explanation of how the skill is done, Activity by the students and Summary of the skill that was just taught and performed by the student.

Before the course began we all chose paddle stroke lesson plans that we had to develop as well as lectures. I decided that I wanted to teach the forward paddle stroke and my lecture would be about trip planning. At the start of the course we also were given other paddle stroke or rescues lessons as well as lectures to prepare for homework in the evenings. Our day wasn't completed until we adjourned to Dave's place for dinner and also reviewed our paddle strokes which were videoed during day. I think we were all humbled to see some of the errors that needed to be "tweaked" during the assessment portion of the course.

It was interesting to observe what each of us brought to the course in terms of the hard and soft skills. From my perspective there was quite a diversity but the thing that I really noticed was how Jesse and Jay were very relaxed in communicating their lessons or lectures. I suspected that it was because of their "guiding" background. While the rest of us said too many words, too fast (LOL), Jesse and Jay seemed in their element "working" the audience.

Our students are welcomed to their one day simulated Level 1 course.

For the last day of the course Dave arranged to have actual students join us so that we could teach an abbreviated one day Level 1 course to them. Some of the students (such as Robyn and Kevin and Cindy Searle) have a few years of kayaking experience but there were a few who arrived who had never even been in a kayak before. Sharply at 9:00am, the instructor candidate group put the course plan (which we developed the evening before) into action starting with introductions followed by the course outlineand a couple of short lectures on weather and seamanship. We then made our way down to the beach to discuss the equipment features of the kayaks, paddles and safety gear before heading onto the water.

Getting to know the gear on the beach.

Paddle stroke lessons underway with Rick Powley leading the group

The morning on-water session was dedicated to teaching paddle strokes before we moved onto getting our students wet after lunch. For the afternoon session our students were taught wet exits as well as a number of assisted and self rescues. The instructor candidates then had the opportunity to work on the just-in-case rescues such as 'Hand of God' with the students.

Helping student Cindy Searle complete an assisted rescue

Dave's wife Ali joined us for the afternoon session and I had the opportunity to work with her one-on -one and introduced her to some of the paddle strokes that we taught in the morning session. It wasn't long before she was completing 360 turns using a combination of forward and reverse sweeps. We even completed a couple of assisted rescues together to finish off the day. I think this was one of my highlights of the course, to be able to work with Ali and have her accomplish so much in such a short time.

Our group of instructors, instructor candidates and students then finished the day off with dinner at the Mill Bay Bistro before heading home. Rick and Dave met with the rest of the class on Monday morning while I had to be back at work due to customer delivery commitments that I was required for.

The end of a great course. Dinner at the Mill Bay Bistro

After a fantastic 4 days of instruction by Dave and Rick (thanks guys!) and working with the other instructor hopefuls it was a great sense of relief to find out that I and the rest of our class were rewarded with our Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Instructor Level 1 certifications.

The newest Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Level 1 Instructors
Left to Right - Ryan Aldred, Rob Wyness, Mark Byrne, Jay Raichura, Rick Powley and Jesse Pictou

No rest for the weary ..... Robyn's Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Level 3 course began 3 days later and I got to tag along ;-)

Catching Up

Since our last post back in March, both Robyn and I have been burning the candle at both ends so to speak trying to balance our work and play schedules. Simply put ... life kinda got very hectic through the month of April as we prepared for our Paddle Canada assessments at the end of the month. 

Something had to give during that time and unfortunately I couldn't find the time to write about a few of the training paddles that we managed to squeeze in before our personal challenges took place. The thought of not writing about our paddles weighed heavily on me as the posts have been our personal journal to date. Now that we have completed our assessments, it's time to get back to writing about our adventures. 

To catch up on our activities over the past month I have decided to post the track of each paddle with a brief description. My Paddle Canada Sea Kayaking Level 1 Instructor and Robyn's Paddle Canada Sea Kayaking Level 3 assessments will be a full post that should be completed by this coming weekend.

Gordon Head
On March 28th we joined Gary and Jane Jacek on a paddle from Telegraph Bay along the Gordon Head shoreline exploring some of the rock gardens and exposed sea caves. We had a nice lunch on the beach before heading back to the put in as Robyn worked on her forward paddle strokes, edging and rolling.

2015 Paddle #11 - Gordon Head
Distance: 5.89 nm (10.90 km)
YTD: 90.83 nm (‪159.43 km)


Pedder Bay

We spent the Easter weekend at Pedder Bay RV Resort and paddled with Kevin and Cindy Searle. Kevin would also be taking his PC Level 3 at the same time as Robyn so it was a good opportunity for both of them to work on refining a number of skills. Cindy also completed a few self rescues for the first time and spent a fair amount of time underwater (planned) completing rolls and reentry rolls. Boy that girl can hold her breath long underwater!! 

2015 Paddle #12 - Pedder Bay
Distance: 2.58 nm (4.77 km)
YTD: 93.41 nm (‪164.20 km)


Gabriola & Dodd Narrows

On April 12th we joined Dave Nichols (Blue Dog Kayaking), Susie Marsh, Reale Emond and Kevin Searle for a paddle to Gabriola Pass to play in the currents. It was a great opportunity for Robyn and Kevin to practice their skills (and rolls) in the currents for Paddle Canada Level 3 conditions. Both of them did an amazing job and on the way back our group decided to make a run through Dodd Narrows on the ebb flow. A long day on the water but the current work was well worth it.

2015 Paddle #13 - Gabriola & Dodd Narrows Passes
Distance: 12.42 nm (23.00 km)
YTD: 105.83 nm (‪171.53 km)


Whiffen Spit to Cabin Point

While I was attending my PC Instructor assessment, Robyn joined the Nanaimo Paddlers on April 18th for a day trip from Whiffen Spit to Cabin Point. As she told me, it was an interesting day especially around Cabin Point in the tide race when a couple of assisted rescues were performed and towing was required. What better timing with her PC Level 3 course coming up the following weekend! :-)

2015 Paddle #14 - Cabin Point
Distance: 9.92 nm (18.37 km)
YTD: 115.75 nm (‪189.90 km)

Practice Time For Robyn

Ever since we got back from our Paddle Canada Level 3 / 2 course in the fall Robyn has been working very hard to get ready for her Level 3 Assessment in April. In fact her skills advancement has been amazing to watch in the pool over the winter and now it's time to transfer those skills to the ocean.

A couple weeks ago Robyn asked me what she should work on and I said "Let's work on paddle strokes". So off we went to Cadboro Bay just to work on edging and paddle strokes with a focus on core rotation. For this paddle I put the GoPro on her kayak so we could analyse the session later at home. This is just a sample of her paddling for the day. :-)

2015 Paddle # 6 - Cadboro Bay

Distance: 3.85 nm ( 7.13 km)

YTD: 40.87 nm (‪66.42 km)

Rockin It Out At East Sooke

On Saturday Robyn and I met up with Dave Nichols, Gerhard Raven, Kevin and Cindy Searle for a day of play in the rocks around East Sooke Regional Park. Robyn and I have hiked the terrestrial trail before and I have played on the marine trail a couple of times but for Robyn, this was her first excursion to a favorite play zone for many kayakers.

Launching on the exposed side of Whiffen Spit at high tide with just a bit of a swell

Only 45 minutes from Victoria, we launched off Whiffen Spit at around 10:00am just after high tide and headed across Sooke Inlet towards Company Point with no real plan other than to explore some of the rock features and steep walled crevices as the tide started to recede. My last trip out here was with SKILS on a rock gardening course and I was eager to get back and push myself a bit more in some of the dynamic water around the features.

From L to R: Gerhardt, Dave, myself and Kevin

As I mentioned, this was Robyn's first trip here and I was interested in seeing how her recent training in the pool would help in this type of ocean environment. Our group of paddlers started exploring every nook and cranny as we made our way out towards Possession Point. I found that my own confidence had increased from my last visit here as I wasn't so hesitant to paddle through a feature and I really focused on using combinations of paddle strokes to navigate in, around and sometimes on or over features. When we arrived at the slot I followed Dave and Gerhardt through only to look back and see Robyn right behind me as well as Cindy!

Robyn exiting the slot ... see the smile on her face?? Priceless!

It looked liked the confidence that Robyn had developed during our pool sessions was still with her out here on the salt chuck which I was sure would happen. It was good for her to paddle in the tighter confinements like the slot as she soon found out that she would need to use her bow, draw and stern rudder strokes more efficiently. For her first trip here she did very well and I think her skill improvements surprised a couple of the other paddlers.

Dave and Gerhardt squeeze through

We continued our shoreline exploration into Iron Bay where we stopped for lunch. After a quick rest we headed back onto the water and I used this opportunity to swim out to my kayak and scramble back in. This is something that we have been doing in our pool sessions instead of launching from the pool deck. Part of our reasoning is mentally getting over the ‘I don't want to get wet’ mindset and it has proven to be effective for us.

Kevin, Cindy, myself, Dave and Gerhardt contemplate life at lunch .... it was great to be back on the water.

We paddled back to the slot and with the tide receding so was the water that was surging between the rocky walls. Those of you who have been there know about the pinnacle of rock that is exposed on the east end of the slot as the tide gets lower and it was now starting to break the surface. Feeling good about paddling today I decided to make one last run through at a pretty good pace but I soon found myself running out of navigating space and ended up pinning my bow and stern resulting in me taking a swim. At first I was a little concerned as I tried to pry myself back up but there simply wasn't any room to recover. Once I was out of my cockpit I realized that it wasn't so bad and in fact it was far better being away from my kayak in the event a big swell came in. Robyn said later that she heard me banging around in the slot and the next thing she saw was that I was in the water. No problem as Gerhardt was kind enough to head into the slot and tow me and my kayak out so that I could scramble back in on the outside. One thing to note, this was the first time that I was using neoprene pogies rock gardening and I soon found out when I was trying to right myself in the slot that my hand positioning on the paddle was limited. In fact it almost felt like I was wearing handcuffs and soon as I was able to get back into the kayak the pogies came off. Lesson learned .... keep your hands free in tight rock gardens.

For the HD version of the above video click the YouTube link

Just before heading back across the Sooke Inlet we stopped for a short rolling session. One by one we banged off a few rolls and even though it is the winter, the water really wasn't as cold as our brains were trying to convince us otherwise. In reality, the actual time spent in the water is very minimal when completing a roll. By the time you realize that it is a little cold you are already out of the water. So with just a tiny bit of encouragement Robyn nailed her first ocean roll in a long while. With a little bit more encouragement she then performed her first ever reentry roll in the ocean. It seems that the pool sessions have definitely paid off and Robyn is on the right track to completing her Conditional Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Skills Level 3 requirements. I was so happy for her and once again she continues to amaze me with her kayaking skills.
        

Next Up: We are heading to Ucluelet this coming weekend with 20 other paddlers for a little west coast kayaking. Surfs up!

2015 Paddle # 2 - East Sooke Rock Gardening

Distance: 5.78 nm (10.70 km)

YTD: 14.90 nm (‪27.59 km)