Going Back In Time - Thetis Island Memories

This past Sunday was a bit like going back in time for Robyn and I as we joined the SISKA Energizer Paddle from Chemainus to Thetis Island. It was only a few weeks back that we did a similar trip with the Nanaimo Paddlers around the neighbouring Penelakut Island. Of course we also spent a lot of time on Thetis Island when her parents used to have places there.

Normally SISKA paddles are not held this far away from the waters of Victoria and this one was also longer in distance than most as well. Led by our Paddle Leader (Reale Emond) who like Robyn and I and others on the paddle, she is also is a member of the Nanaimo Paddlers so it kinda was like an inter-club paddle.

After a few days of stormy April weather the folks at Environment Canada sure nailed a good day for this outing. It doesn't get much better than 5 to 15 variable with a mix of sun and cloud. Come to think of it, Robyn and I haven't missed a paddle yet due to the weather exceeding the paddle guidelines. We must have weather karma or something.  :-)

Hard to believe that Saturday was a mix of wind and hail storms around Vancouver Island. Sunday was perfect!

Our group of 16 gathered at the Kinsman Park beach in Chemainus and prepared for 15.5 nm day ahead of us. There were such an assortment of kayaks being used this day from the usual touring kayaks (Current Designs, Delta, Wilderness, Pilgrim and others), a few greenland Tahe's and a couple of rotomold plastics like a Wilderness and my P&H Delphin 155.

I really debated taking the Delphin on such a long trip as I thought it might not be as comfortable as my Delta Expedition 15.5. Keeping in mind that I will be using the Delphin a lot over the next month in bigger conditions, I decided to see how it would impact my body.

Departing right on time at 10:00am the group made the 6 km (3.24 nm) crossing of Stuart Channel. Nearing Alarm Rock, Robyn and I decided to sprint ahead of the group so that we could get some pictures of them rounding the marker buoy.

Chemainus in the distance, the group reaches Alarm Rock and heads towards Telegraph Harbour

 
We paddled through Telegraph Harbour just after a Tofino Air deHavilland Beaver took off past us. I had a little smile on my face as she flew by as I had just been putting the finishing touches on some Beaver windshields that I made this past week at work. :-)

The group made our way through "The Cut" between Thetis and Penelakut Island. One of the paddlers asked the question about the cut being dredged . It was first dredge open for boats to pass through in 1905. Before that the two islands were joined by an extensive mudflat which can still be seen at low tide. Robyn and I also took the time to once again view her dad's former residence that is situated right on the cut. We both have very fond memories of times spent on Thetis Island and it was such a pleasure taking part in this different way of touring the island.

After a brief rest stop on the east side of the cut we headed north along the eastern shore of the island but we caught sight of a fellow rushing down to his kayak. While the rest of the group slowly paddled on, I made my way over to meet him since he looked like he wanted to join us. It turned out that his name was Andy Lamb and he and his wife operate the Cedar Beach Ocean Lodge B&B and he just wanted to pass on some business cards. Andy also took the time to describe his scuba diving expeditions and proudly showed me his book Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. I probably could have spent a lot more time with Andy and who knows maybe one day we might just check out his B&B but, I had to play catch up with the rest of the group.

Our planned lunch stop was to the north located in North Cove so we played around in the changing seascape as we made our way there. Heading into the cove Robyn and I witnessed something that we have only seen once before in our lifetime. There were a number of eagles soaring on the thermals and we got to witness a couple mating in mid air clinging to each other by their talons while the spiraled down towards the water. Only with a few feet to spare they released each other and flew back up into the thermal. As I mentioned, we have only seen this once before and it was in this exact same location several years ago while we were Geocaching on Thetis Island. Now if that doesn't stir the memories nothing will!

Lunch stop on the beach at North Cove and home to Adam and Marg Hunter one of the longest residents on the island. 

A view of the resting kayaks from the Geocache that Robyn and I found on the breakwater.

During the lunch stop Robyn and I took the opportunity to locate a Geocache on the nearby breakwater and get some great pictures of the area including the old Adam Hunter Homestead and our kayaks on the beach. Soon after it was time to head south along the sloping western shores of the island which are quite different from the exposed eastern side.

Gradual sloping shoreline along the western side of the island.

We paddle our way past Don and Gwen Hunter's place which Robyn and I have memories of Don blasting off his oxygen acetylene cannon on New Year's. This was also the location where the old Canadian Pacific 737 was prepared before being sunk off shore as an artificial reef. If you look in between kilometer 20 and 21 of our track you can see the location and even better still, when you zoom in on Google Maps the airplane is still shown being dismantled on their beach!

737 on the Hunter's beach before becoming an artificial reef.

It was time to start heading back across Stuart Channel so we made our way to False Reef and then towards the freighter Bellemar located about a 1.5 km from our launch location. I think a few of us were starting to feel the effects of a long day on the water as we landed on the beach at around 16:30. It was a fantastic day of memories with many friends that we have grown to know well this past year and meet new ones as well!

Delphin report: Well it performed as expected in terms of maneuverability. Me on the other hand ... considering that I did a couple of high speed runs during the day I felt pretty good. I have to admit that it isn't the best kayak for touring with but that isn't what we bought it for as it is meant for rock gardening and surfing. Speaking of which ..... we are heading to Ucluelet on Friday morning to do such a thing with a group of Nanaimo Paddlers. Ya Dude ...... we are getting stoked for that!

p.s. Robyn is just unpacking our new Spot Satellite GPS Messenger which will let our family and friends know where we are and that we are OK when out on the water. Cool thing is that we can also send the message to our Facebook account too!!  Yeah, yeah ..... I know. More Gearhead stuff!!  LOL

Type to ya after Ucluelet

2013 Paddle # 19 SISKA Thetis Island

Distance:  28.56 km  (15.42 nm)

YTD: 201.06 km (108.56 nm)

A Break In The Stormy Weather

This past Saturday Robyn and I joined the SISKA Energizer paddle that was destined for Portland Island but mother nature had other plans for our group. The predicted storm warning that was posted for all of the marine areas around southern Vancouver Island came ashore in fury around 4am. The wind was blowing so hard that it actually woke me up around that time on Saturday morning and I thought for sure that our kayaking session would be cancelled.

We received an update from our Paddle Leader (Sheila) around 8:00am and it looked like there was a window of opportunity to take to the water before the next system came ashore later in the day. So we joined 10 other SISKA kayakers at the launch point in Sidney for the 11:00am departure time with the clouds starting to break up and winds decreasing.

The updated Environment Canada forecast called for SW 25 diminishing to SW 15 late in the morning and we saw this developing as we prepared to launch. Heading north along the shoreline we crossed Roberts Bay into Tsehum Harbour and SW winds there were kinda chunky.

The group heads out on what looks to be a promising day.

This would be an indication of the winds that we could at least expect heading to Portland Island. Sheila gathered the kayakers together on the lee side of Curteis Point and the decision was made that we would not be making an attempt for Portland Island. The reasoning was quite simple as we would be fully exposed to the SW winds in Shute Passage which could make the return crossing a bit of a challenge and quite possibly exceed our Energizer guidelines of  acceptable light to moderate winds with light to moderate chop sea state.

Instead it was decided as a group to play around some of the small islands and islets that offer somewhat sheltered conditions just NE of our location. The group paddled through Fernie and Iroquois Passes and then we started our clockwise circumnavigation of Coal Island.

This route around Coal Island was a first for Robyn and I so that was a bit of a treat for us. As we made our way around the east side of the island near Charmer Point we were once again in the direct path of the SW wind and choppy seas. The group hugged the shoreline as we slogged our way down to Killer Whale Point and across John Passage to our lunch stop on Goudge Island out of the direct wind.

Lunch stop on Goudge Island , the spectators look on at the ad-hoc rolling clinic

Michael Egilson tries out Gary Jacek's Tahe in a series of hand rolls.

The lunch stop allowed some of the kayakers to get in a few rolls before it was time to do a little exploring of the islets in the area.

Tony Playfair and Heather Jones passing the small cabin on Harlock Islet. It's almost like something out of movie set.
One of our favourites to come and see when we are in the area.

More paddle or Rum Runner discussion .... The pub won!

After a consensus of the group it was decided to pass on another hour of paddling and head to the Rum Runner Pub for a debrief and hoist a few beverages. Remember that next system that was heading our way? Well she started to come ashore as we finished our drinks and snacks on the sundeck of the pub. Great timing all day I think!

2013 Paddle # 18 SISKA Portland Island - Plan B

Distance:  13.64 km  (7.36 nm)

YTD: 172.5 km (93.14 nm)

Hopping Around Pedder Bay

Our exclusive decks at Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina

We spent this extended Easter long weekend out at Pedder Bay RV Resort with our good friends Dave & Kelly Reaville. But this time we bought the "good seats" RV sites with the decks overlooking the marina out towards Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific. The weatherman also went all out to provide early summer like conditions of blue skies, no wind and temperatures reaching 20 C. Man it just couldn't have been better.

As the sun started to set the portable campfires came out along with a flat screen TV for the sports bar.

Dave & Kelly explore the rock gardens

On Friday morning we took Dave & Kelly out on a little paddle to see if we could catch a glimpse of the Race Rocks lighthouse but there was a pretty good fog bank blocking our view. The constant drone of the Trial Island and Race Rocks fog horns kept up for much of the day as the first day of the really warm weather started to take hold on the west coast. With the cool evening temperatures and the warming trend it was the perfect conditions for mid August fog conditions that is common here.

A good roll

After dropping our crab trap we stopped for a little lunch in one of our favorite bays and I worked on some rolling techniques in the Delphin. The gang thought it was really funny when I was half way through a double roll that my head hit bottom which in turn stopped me inverted in the water. Although it didn't hurt it surprised me that momentum of my first roll had pushed me closer to shore resulting in the unintended grounding. It even got better when I let go of my paddle and it came up on the other side of the kayak.

A grounding roll resulting in no paddle.

Then I had to complete an "other side" load and drive of the knees to complete my first hand roll. There was no way that I was going to pull the "holy s*@t" handle and bail out of the kayak to add to the ribbing I knew I was going to get anyway.  LOL

We headed back to base camp (the deck) and spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening basking in the sun. I think there were several naps during that time as we all started on our first sun burns of the year. LOL

Sightseeing Tour with Dave & Kelly Reaville

2013 Paddle # 14 Pedder Bay Sightseeing
Distance: 9.11 km  (4.91 nm)


Saturday was pretty much a repeat of Friday with Robyn and I completing a quick paddle to check out the crab trap (nothin .... again). We fitted Robyn in the Delphin to let her get used to it in more of an open water environment and she pretty much made it clear it was "her" kayak. I have to admit ... she does look good in it.

Enough said ... it's hers!

With the warmer weather there was an amazing amount of wildlife present in the bay. The resident swans would nest down in the early evening just below our decks and there were a good number of eagles around too. We saw a family of river otters on several occasions as well the resident marina seals looking for handouts from the fishermen.

Saturday afternoon was even more lazy time on the deck as we watched HNC and the Ford Men's World Curling Championships around the fire.

Saturday Crab trap check

2013 Paddle # 15 Pedder Bay Crabbing
Distance: 4.62 km  (2.5 nm)

Peak 6.42 knots of ebb running through Race Passage but man .... what a view!!!

On Sunday morning Robyn and I decided to take on a circumnavigation around Bentinck Island and get a view of Race Rocks while doing a little currents training. The predicted currents for the morning were for 6.42 knots of ebb at 09:56 and as we made our way to the south side of the island (right on time) it was running pretty good. With the calm sea state and no wind we could hear the rips roaring at Race Rocks as we rode the currents, tiny whirlpools and boils from Cudlip Point to George Point. Our track speed along this route came in at an estimated 12 km/h or 6.47 knots and it allowed us work on our bracing and rudder turns.

Resting in a back eddy getting ready to take on Eemdyck Passage

We paddled our way back into Eemdyck Passage and this is when the workout really began. Robyn had never been in these type of conditions where a burst of pure power was required as we paddled from one back eddy to another through the many islets. I only need to remind her a couple of times to "dig hard" when we got into the main current flow and man she did a fabulous job of taking control of the water. I only wish that I had mounted the GoPro as the footage would have been great to review after our training session.

I was really pleased with the Delphin's performance in the currents. As many of the reviews stated it transitioned from back eddy to the main current flow without any "grabbing" and seemed to just slide on top of the oncoming flow. From a stability standpoint it was rock solid and at no time did I feel that the water was taking control of me. In fact the fit of the Delphin made it feel like it was part of me and it reacted  just as I expected it to when I used my legs through the edging process. Yes .... it was one sweet ride in the conditions we were practicing in today.

We checked our crab trap again (nothin) and headed back to camp to spend more time on the deck and watched Canada whoop Scotland in curling at the worlds.

                                                                               

Bentinck Island Currents Training

2013 Paddle # 16 Bentinck Island
Distance: 13.74 km  (7.42 nm)


Monday we woke to our last glorious morning before we had to pack up and head home. One last trip out to the crab trap for Robyn and I before breakfast and once again ..... nothin. We are now convinced there really isn't any crab in Pedder Bay anymore. LOL

Monday morning crab trap haul out

2013 Paddle # 17 Pedder Bay Crab Haul (not)

Distance:  4.65 km  (2.51 nm)

YTD: 158.86 km (87.93 nm)

The New Arrival - Delphin 155

Remember honey when we said we only needed one kayak?? Well, I think we did good going 1 year, 4 months before buying this sweet ride.

I first tried a P&H Delphin 155 at last years MEC Paddlefest and at that time of my kayaking experience I found it to be quite a handful in terms of stability. Sure it turned on a dime compared to my Delta 15.5 Expedition but I just wasn't prepared for where the edge was on the Delphin. Still .... It was the kayak that I really wanted to try and get a hold of since it is being used by many of kayakers that I admire here on the west coast.

They say that patience is a virtue. Sure, we could have just bought a brand new Delphin but I was waiting for that perfect combination of great price and good condition for a used one. Well ... patience paid off big time as I found this Delphin on the WCP Buy & Sell forum at a great price. After a few emails with the owner (Ken Bueckert), Robyn and I headed to Campbell River on Saturday after our Penelakut Island paddle to check it out.

Ken had told me that the kayak had only been used 3 times only in the lake and so we were eager to see what it would look like in person. Sure enough it wasn't just in good condition but in excellent near new condition. It even had the unopened P&H instructions and warranty registration papers in the day hatch. SOLD!!!  We loaded our new ride (notice how I said "our") between our Delta's and headed back to Victoria to finish off a long day.

On Sunday afternoon we took the Delphin to Cadboro Bay christen her in the ocean for the first time. One of the local beach walking dogs tried to take a pee on her bow just before we put in too! We took that as being a good luck sign.

Ready to see what the P&H Delphin 155 would feel like.

Finding the edge. Man this kayak turns on a dime!

Robyn's turn to see what the Delphin feels like.

She loves it!! There goes "MY" Delphin ........ back to the forums to find another one.  LOL

We are both looking forward to playing with Delphin over the summer months. I think it will help us take those next steps in our kayaking adventure as we start crossing items off our kayak bucket list. Next up is an extended Easter long weekend out at Pedder Bay RV Resort and the weather forecast is looking pretty special! ;-)

2013 Paddle # 13 Cadboro Bay

Distance: 3 km  (1.62 nm)
YTD: 130.74 km (70.59 nm)

Coming Back Home - Through The Cut

Last Saturday, Robyn and I joined 9 other Nanaimo Paddlers for a trip from Chemainus to Penelakut Island. This paddle was a bit of a home coming for Robyn as her parents once had property on nearby Thetis Island located on the cut between the two islands. Both of us have fond memories of the islands but back then Penelakut was known as Kuper Island.

The weather and wind forecast was perfect for the 6 km (3.23 nm) crossing and we could sure feel and see Spring making its way onto the south coast.

Heading out from the Kinsmen  Park in Chemainus

As we approached Hudson Island the BC Ferry MV Kuper came into view. I don't know how many times we used this means of getting to Thetis Island in the past but today was our first by kayak. It seemed so long of a crossing way back then but now we realize how fast our kayaks can also make the crossing in about 40 minutes.

Robyn in her Delta Expedition 15.5 and Ross Turner in his Delta Expedition 17 with the MV Kuper in the background

Heading through Telegraph Harbour we made our way towards the cut. The cut actually is a very narrow and shallow channel with very little tidal influence. At low tide, a massive mud plain is exposed and during extreme low tides the cut sometimes cannot be navigated through.

The house with the white roof in the center of the picture used to belong to Robyn's dad. Lots of great memories!

Exiting the cut we headed over to Penelakut Spit for a rest stop and it was another one of the magical places to visit. Penelakut Island is a Hul'qumi'num-speaking First Nation of about 300 individuals and permission to visit the nearby Tent Island can be arranged by contacting the band office and sending a donation of kind all on the honor system.

Rest stop on Penelakut Spit

We made our way south along the eastern shoreline of Penelakut and landed near the tombolo on Tent Island for our lunch stop. Here the group was out of the increasing SE wind and in the full Spring sunshine.

Lunch at Tent Island tombolo. We have to come back here one day and spend the night.

After lunch the group split up into two as some of the paddlers wanted to circumnavigate Tent Island and some like Robyn and I chose to head back to Chemainus. For us we needed to watch our time as we had another scheduled stop that day in Campbell River so we paddled back with 3 others. The main core of paddlers arrived back at the put in location just as we were about to pull out of the parking lot.

Since we were almost half way to Campbell River, we made arrangements to pick up our new addition to our kayak fleet. We knew it was going to be a long day but since it was Saturday we thought let's Get 'Er Done!

For the past couple of months I have been keeping an eye out for a used Delphin 155 and one came up on WestCoastPaddler and it was such an amazing price that we had to take advantage of it. The best part is that the kayak had only been used in a lake 3 times and seeing it in person for the first time it simply was in near new mint condition. Sweet!!!!





Kayak Instructor Ken Bueckert of Campbell River made the deal possible for us and the rest is history as we loaded her on the modified Yakima rack with the new "J" rack. It was along day as we pulled into our driveway just after 10:30pm

The next day was Sunday ..... yes we played in the Delphin. But that's another blog post :-)

2013 Paddle # 12 Penelakut Island

Distance: 22.89 km  (12.36 nm)
YTD: 127.74 km (68.97 nm)

Arrrrgh! Roll, Roll, Roll The Other Way!

Robyn and I spent Sunday evening in the Crystal Pool with other SISKA paddlers working on our rolls. Since my strong side roll is feeling pretty good and reliable most of the time, I decided to focus on the opposite side during this training session. 

With the help of Robyn and Gary Jacek, I got myself into the set up position. After that, it was all downhill from there as I soon realized that the left side of my body is nowhere near as powerful as my dominant right side. Now, most of you are probably saying that rolls are not supposed to be all muscle power but more pure flow technique and I couldn't agree more. But ..... if you are going to miss the technique portion then the muscle power can help big time. Well in my case ... my opposite side was lacking in both departments tonight. After a several more attempts (same result) I simply ran out of steam and decided that was enough of that for my first attempt to master the OFF SIDE!  LOL 

My left hand  paddle blade is supposed to be on the surface of the water not scraping the pool bottom.

We spent the rest of the session working on Robyn's rolls and she is starting to make progress to the point that she can complete a roll without the assistance of a paddle float. For her it is just about putting all the pieces together to make the roll technically fluid. As I explained to her, there will come a time that the little "light bulb" will come on all by itself and the rolls will become natural.

But it all takes time and I'm back to square one on the opposite side. :-)

2013 Paddle # 11 - Crystal Pool Rolling Session
Distance: Zippo
YTD: 104.85 km

Going The Distance

This past Sunday Robyn and I joined up with 6 other Nanaimo Paddlers for a little (LOL) paddle around Satellite Channel that runs between Saltspring Island and the Saanich Peninsula. 

The freighter with Saltspring Island in the background, Portland Island
above the 3 kayaks on the left and Saanich Peninsula just above me.

Launching from Cherry Point we headed towards Saltspring Island passing one of the freighters at anchor waiting to head to Vancouver. Seeing these mighty ships from a distance really doesn't give you a true perspective to the size of them but once you are at an arms length away their size is staggering.

Making our way across to Saltspring Island

  

The water height marking on the freighter will give you an idea just how big it is. The top mark is 15.6 meters and the water line reads just over the 5 meter mark. So that's over 10 meters alone or almost 33 feet by the markings and then add another 30 feet or so above that. In simpler terms, almost as high as a 6 story building. Using my Marine Traffic App on my iPhone, this ship (Rapallo) is a bulk carrier under Malta registry and is listed as being 220 meters long by 30 meters wide coming in at mere 75,123 tons. Can you imagine seeing this bow coming at you doing 17.6 knots through the fog???  Holy Doodles!!

Arriving at Saltspring's Cape Keppel, we made our way with the ebb flow along to Isabella Islet which is a no access ecological preserve. Although it was enticing to have a break on the exposed tombolo at Isabella we chose to head across to a beach nearby on Saltspring. Our next stop on was Russell Island which is part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (GINPR). During the "official" lunch break Robyn and I put our latest "gear head" items to use.

Made by a Australian company called Helinox, we spotted these chairs at MEC Victoria and Capital Island a couple of months back. The one thing we really missed last year while kayak camping was a chair that was awesome to sit in while reading or snoozing. At a mere 29 oz and all collapsible into the bag that I am displaying these are by far the best thing we have seen on the market. Set up time .... less than 1 minute!! They aren't cheap though coming in at around $95 but it sure beats sitting on a wobbly stump.

Reale, Joanne, me, Sheldon and Deb check out the
information sign at the old pioneer buildings

After lunch a few of us went for a little hike in our drysuits to visit the pioneer buildings on the other side of the island. Home to the summer care takers now, this was once the home of Hawaiian, or Kanaka settlers to the area. In 1997 the last private owners of the island sold it to the Pacific Marine Heritage Legacy which now has become part of the GINPR.

Beverley and Joan worked the beach for clams while we were on our hike.

Our little picnic area and shell beach on Russell Island was the perfect place to fuel up our bodies for the remainder of the paddle. And Boy .... what a paddle we had to left to do!

Leaving Russell Island the weather and water conditions were absolutely perfect for a high speed 3.5 km run across to Portland Island. Crossing one of the busiest ferry routes to and from Swartz Bay, Joanne monitored the marine traffic channel on her VHF so that we could hear which ferries were coming our way. The last thing we wanted was to get caught out in the middle of the crossing with a Spirit or Coastal class ferry bearing down on us. I managed to check my watch before we started the crossing and we reached the navigational marker on Portland Island in 26 minutes for about a 7 km per hour run or around 3.77 knots.

Robyn and I camped on Portland Island twice last year and it would have been so easy to just head to Arbutus Point and set up camp, but we didn't have our camping gear with us except our new chairs. :-) We paddled past Shell Beach and then started our final push towards our Cherry Point put in location 14 km away.

The group talking about the ferry crossings ahead of us. Our put in location is straight ahead 14 km in the distance.

Once again we had two more major ferry crossing ahead of us and we carefully listened and monitored our watches for departing and arriving ferries. The one thing about Swartz Bay is that there is no real published routes of ships as it all depends on schedules, weather etc. As a kayaker you really need to be aware in these areas but using common sense and your VHF radio it really shouldn't be an issue.

Crossing over to Piers Island we were getting close to the 4pm departure heading towards Tsawwassen and sure enough from the berth that the Spirit class was occupying it would be heading our direction. The group put it into high gear again and we made the crossing over to the Saanich Peninsula with lots of time to spare as I turned around and watched the ferry  lean through the turn at Arbutus Island.

I have to admit that the next 8 km of paddling was a test of our endurance and the ability to keep focus on paddle strokes to conserve energy but maintain a good pace. Being out in the middle of a long crossing gives you no reference points of speed and it felt like the put in location wasn't getting any closer at times. But sure enough I soon picked out the parking lot and our cars gradually went from just a line of something on the beach to individual vehicles. We sure are lucky that we didn't have to battle any head winds on the way back!

We landed at the put in 17:50 which meant that it was almost a full 8 hour day of paddling with a few rest stops. Another distance covered milestone for us at 30.71 km not including the hike around Russell Island.
Yes, I think the whole group felt pretty exhausted but rewarding to each of us. Thanks Nanaimo Paddlers for a great day on the water!

2013 Paddle # 10 - Cherry Point
Distance: 30.71 km

YTD: 104.85 km