Campbell River Paddlers Club

10/02/2012 Course-Ripple Rock Squadron

2012-02-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

Check this out for navigation courses and vhf courses.

ROC(M)DSC Course-Ripple Rock Squadron:

'via Blog this'

Some adrenalin kayaking for the gloomy winter months

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmHByYdKlOU

1/1/12 2011 Season Celebration.

2012-01-01T12:10:00.000-08:00

Another good year for our paddling club. Lots of wonderful events happened regardless of the slow start.

Paddlers will paddle.

High light social event of the year was our club barbecue with Justine Curgenven, adventurer and film maker.
Great food, beach side barbecue and wonderful guest speaker Justine. Every one loved her. It was the most attended function the club has ever had. Seems like we like to party.

Early on at least 6 of our club people went to Paddlefest which is always a lot of fun. Just go to play boats and gear even if you have 2 allready. Always look for that third boat.

Hanging out with the paddling stars,at another Greenland course barbecue with Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson hosted by Monica and Trevor from Comox. Lots of tall stories.

One of our club went to Lake Samanish and helped out with Greenland week and spent some quality time with well known Dubside and Maliqualk the Greenland champion roller. You cannot find better paddlers to hang out with and hope somthing rubs off.

A couple of our club members attended the 10th year of STICKS on the South Sound in Washington.
This was a 3 day weekend of skin on frame boats and greenland paddling. Doing morning Yoga with renown paddler Helen Wilson and spending a little time with Dubside was lots of fun

Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson world renown instructors did a one day courses here and 4 of our club members attended. We love Cheri and Turner never lets us down. Its our 3 year doing their courses.

We participated in a number (?) how many of wednesday night paddles, where we get to meet new people and share ideas and paddles.

We also did a number of day trips and I think the best one was the hottest day of summer and we swam in Newton lake after paddling there from Small Inlet.

We had quite a few skills nights in the estuary and at least 3 new people honed there paddling skills and wet exits to the point of being comfortable enough to go on a wind /current paddle on Johnstone Strait.

If I think of what I missed I will add it but I think this shows all in all it was another great year on the water with new friend and old friends.

life is good.

27/12/2011- SURGE NARROWS

2011-12-29T18:49:00.000-08:00

December 27, 2011

Fellow Club Members Brent A and John G and I were joined by Courtenay paddlers Jonathon and Dylan.

The day was mostly mild and overcast that turned a little wet by late afternoon.

We caught the 09:30 ferry to Quadra...the late Turn at 12:28 allowed us to get into Surge Narrows to play in the tail-end of the Ebb. The days Max (Flood) Current was +6.4 at 13:08.

Here is a photo of me Surfing the 'Feature' about 45 minutes to an hour after the turn. The Current is doing approx. 2 maybe 3knots at the time of this shot. I wanted to show the membership that the front-end of the Flood produces easy conditions that one can actually Surf with little consequences. It's a HOOT!

This shot shows Brent surfing at, or near Max Current (+6.4 knots), Dylan is the one in the Orange 'yak, Jonathon in the all Yellow boat, and John G in the Yellow on White kayak. They are resting and waiting in the Back Eddy for their turn. At this Current speed, one requires considerable paddling skills.

The Club trip into Surge Narrows slated for May 12-13 weekend already has 13 sign-ups...there is room for 20 at Discovery Island Lodge...better jump on the remaining 7 spots.

NOTE: we are not looking to be in the Narrows beyond anyones capablilities.

ta ta,

Ken B

28/12/11 Riverite wins kayaking Greenland gold

2011-12-28T14:55:00.000-08:00

Riverite wins kayaking Greenland gold:

'via Blog this'

Bumped into this article I think an interview with Ken B although I am not sure. I will check it out..

19/12/11 Sea kayak Rescues | CackleTV

2011-12-19T14:22:00.000-08:00

Sea kayak Rescues | CackleTV:

'via Blog this'

Purchased this DVD for us through the club. Realistic rescues in different kinds of water. Check out the clip.
Hope to have a club social and get smart session 30 minutes. Its great entertainment and useful.

Cackle TV is owned by our buddy Justine who just had tea with the Queen.

18/12/2011 - pre-Christmas Paddle

2011-12-19T11:02:00.000-08:00

Beach in front of Clay's cabin (Moulds Bay)

December 18, 2011

Weather forecast was for light winds and mostly sun for Sunday...so Brent and I planned to do a day-trip, Jonathon from Courtenay joined us.

We caught the 8:30am ferry to Quadra Island, made our customary stop at the Coffee Shop on Quadra, then proceeded to Rebecca Spit (Drew Harbour) to launch.

This was a 'Skills' day...worked on our Forward Strokes, all the Steering Strokes, and Edging, etc.

Spare for a few crossings, we pretty much stuck to the shoreline.

Rebecca Spit-Heriot Bay-Hyacinthe Bay-across the mouth of Open Bay-Moulds Bay (Clay's cabin)-Breton Islands-cross back into Rebecca Spit...All tolled, we paddled approx. 9 nautical miles.

Sunny day...approx. 8c...light breeze to approx. 10kts of NW wind.

A great day!

Ken B

11/12/11 Brent in Surge Narrows

2011-12-15T09:50:00.000-08:00

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Brent and I went into Surge Narrows. The current and tide conditions were right, the forecast was for a wonderful sunny day. I surfed the Feature on the up-swing to max, and filmed Brent at max (+5.3 knots).

re/ the video below...Quadra Island is on the left...Maurelle Island is on the right...and you'll be looking straight up Okisollo Channel towards the Octopus Islands.

What a day!

BTW...that rattling sound is the bow lifting toggle on front of Brent's boat banging against the hull.

I am exploring a possibility of leading a Club trip into Surge Narrows, in more benign conditions of course...hopefully next spring...for paddlers with a minimum of Level 1 Skills...stay tuned.

Ken B

06/12/11 Pool night skills

2011-12-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

A bunch of the boys and one girl were whooping it up at the pool last night.

I not sure of the count but it was nine or over.

Grant and Dillon new to the pool in white water boats.

Al doing a unbelievable move. the paddle is not on the bottom. Its harder than a balance brace as he has the weight of the paddle added against him not assisting him.

Tom doing a forward pry learned from Turner

29/11/11 Qajaq Rolls: Rolling with Sticks progress

2011-11-29T21:11:00.000-08:00

Qajaq Rolls: Rolling with Sticks progress:

'via Blog this'

Got really lucky the other day making a positive comment on Christophers site and he sent me a copy of his book. That was very cool. I use his site and stick diagrams plus text to go over the key points when I am rolling.

29/11/11 KayakPaddling.net - Animated Sea Kayak Paddling School & Instruction

2011-11-29T07:55:00.000-08:00

KayakPaddling.net - Animated Sea Kayak Paddling School & Instruction:

'via Blog this'

22/11/11 Winter pool practice

2011-11-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

07/11/11 Campbell River, British Columbia

2011-11-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

Campbell River, British Columbia

Tides trial

05/11/11 Murmuration on Vimeo

2011-11-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

Murmuration on Vimeo:

'via Blog this'

Cool stuff to look at

05/11/11Tea with the Queen | CackleTV

2011-11-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

Tea with the Queen | CackleTV:

'via Blog this'

Looks like we invited Justine just at the right time. Her fee is probably going to go up now:)

3/11/11 Pool Kayak Polo

2011-11-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

Some of our group along with others having a great time at the pool. John G, Clay, Tom, Mike P and Ken B.

24/10/11Toms new IceKap

2011-10-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

Couple of photos of my new playboat made by Sterlings Kayaks in Washington. I rolled it in Blaine last weekend and going to roll it tomorrow in Deep Cove on the North Shore. Life is good.

It is a custom cut Ice Kap modelled after Dubsides. The original IceKap hull is made with the bow and stern the same for the first 3 feet and then its chopped to fit your size. Sterling is a very talented cool guy,

22/10/11 Echi Ito video -Very cool mix of art / design and the roll

2011-10-22T09:59:00.001-07:00

Eichi Ito video one of a must see. Ken and I met him at Southsound last year. This is a work worth looking at. I would call it nothing short of amazing.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2078835784647

04/10/11 surge narrows surfing ‹ Explore Latitudes

2011-10-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

Check out these great shots of Brent and Paul at Surge Narrows. These two shots do not enlarge as I copy pasted them from George Garbara's photography site. Check out the site for a real enjoyable moment.

surge narrows surfing ‹ Explore Latitudes:

Great high def shots of Brent and Paul at Surge Narrows by adventurer photographer George Garbara. The water in these shots shows very well. The close up facial features tell a story as well. The other paddlers is Albert Keller I believe.

Practise makes perfect.

28/09/11 John Gubbels riding the wave on Campbell river

2011-09-28T23:45:00.000-07:00

28/09/11 John Gubbels, Clay and Garry playing on Campbell river,

2011-09-28T23:34:00.000-07:00

02/09/11 Bligh Island Marine Park

2011-09-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

Bligh Island Marine Park Sept 2-5

Launched at Couger Creek campgound. Host on site. Parking is $10 a night or $40 per week. Parking was right next to host.

Left Couger Creek about 11am. Flat calm down Tlupana Inlet and crossing Hanna Channel. Spotted huge schools of pilchards, apparently unfazed by our paddling right next to them.

Soon after passing the light at San Carlos Point, the calm turned into a ripple and in 10 minutes it was a brisk head wind and 2 foot nasty chop. We found a protected spot behind a small island and took a break. With the load in the canoe, the odd larger wave was just making it to the gunnel. I re-arranged the load to move the heavier items aft and make the bow more bouyant.

Setting out again, the bow was now popping up over the waves instead of plowing into them, much safer. Very slow progress heading straght into the wind and waves. Was able to take a break behind a peninsula accross from Villaverde Islands. Rounding the point, wind and waves settled down a bit. Calmed right down as we approached Verdia Island.Pilchards everywhere. Huge schools, 100 meters long. Then a group of sea lions appeared. Loud, we must have interfered with their hunting, or he was warning us to stay away from his harem, but he let us know!

The scenery here is incredible. Half a dozen larger islands and hundreds of tiny islands and rocks surrounded us. The campsite is on a narrow neck with a small beach on both sides. Pit toilet. Fire pit and kitchen counter set up in a common area and tent sites scattered all about. Very pleasant. A couple was there when we arrived, but left early Saturday morning. We had it to ourselves.We got into a routine of getting up at 5:30. Paddle from about 7 am to noon or so and getting off the water when the wind and waves pick up. Some evenings calmed down, others not.

Our plan for Sunday was Resolution Cove. That got scuttled as soon as we tried crossing Ewin Inlet. At 7 am the wind was howling south, out to sea, and the swell was north, causing a real mess. We backed into the sheltered water behind Spouter Island and started making other plans.

Lots of places to explore. Found a floating lodge already closed. Around 11: 30 we found ourselves between Spouter and Clotchman Islands. Shall we take the scenic route outside Clotchman or head straight back before the wind starts. Neither, a humpback whale shot straight up just 100 meters away. Then another. Spectacular! Hundreds of pilchards were evident in the spray as they came out of the water. This went on for about 40 minutes, us just drifting. When they surfaced to breath, it was a roar, a lot of air moving in and out.

Managed to snap a lot of pictures, almost all of them turned out to be sky or water. Arlene even mentioned 'that huge tail was in the same spot 3 times, how could you miss it'. Elated, we took the short way back to camp.

That evening, the weather report indicated that the first of the seasonal storm from Alaska would be in the Queen Charlottes. Monday morning the report said the system was allready over northern Vancouver Island. We decided to pack up and leave while we still could. Left about 9 am, later than we wanted. Calm paddle all the way, getting rough in the last 20 minutes. Took one short break in Three Cove Bay, otherwise a steady paddle all the way.

We would certainly do this trip again. The scenery rivals any other area we have paddled in, including the Broken Group. Being serenaded to sleep by sea lions and the humpback whales turned a good holiday into an incredible experiance we will never forget.

Fred and Arlene

22/09/11 Pool skills night

2011-09-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

Twice this week went to the pool to keep our kayak slot ( let them know were still comming ) the weather was cool to go to the estuary. Practising with my camera underwater and managed to get one good shot of Al.

I still need to learn to edit the video. This shot has a long underwater wait.

20/09/11 Duck race Mirror photos

2011-09-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Em and M-L with the pressure on at the 2011 duck race. Photo courtesy of the Mirror front page 20/09/11

11/09/11 more add ons Little Bear Bay

2011-09-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

11/09/11 Add ons to Little Bear Bay day paddle

2011-09-19T16:37:00.001-07:00

11/09/11 Little Bear Bay add on

2011-09-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

E m is now doing videos.. check these out. tom practise inserting video on blogger draft new trial ed.

18/09/11 Rotary Duck Race.

2011-09-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Sun turned up for a great day on the river. You had to be there to know the feeling of 6000 ducks floating down the river at you. 15 paddlers that I recall showed up with all maner of duck capture hardward and lots of enthusiasm. The pictures tell all. Some I will load here and the rest in Picassa album on the right of the screen.

I believe everyone had a hoot today and enjoyed a really nice buffet treat meal at Mudslingers afterwards.
More stories to follow? Send me the pics for Picassa or post. A big thanks to Christine and Emily for organising all the paddlers. Barry Peters was very pleased how it all went. Some how I ended up with 3 nets that I am now told are club equipment.. One is pink handled.

Asssisting Paddlers in the duck rescue were Emily, Christine, Christine P, Gerry,Joan, Barb,Sandy,Ken V,Tom,Clay,DaveK,Fred,Arlene,Marie-Louise and Mike P. Who did I forget?

Many of my pics no show from water on the lens. Got some of you.

He wanted freedom

Our leader?

Serious ducker

The reward.

Iguana Team

2011-09-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

Iguana Team

13/09/11 Estuary Skills Night

2011-09-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

Quiet night on the estuary.. Borrowed Ken Bs very slim Tahee.

11/09/11 Little Bear Bay.

2011-09-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

A good day on Johnstone Strait just north of Chatum Point. It was a sunscreen, shirts off lunch day. Left with a storm warning in red on the radio but very few signs of it until a little north and abrest of Blind Channel. The wind picked up a little at that point. While we lunched at a point across from Edith Point we had a visit from a sea lion.

A little wind at our back helped us on the way home and we ran into some confused water getting near Little Bear Bay. It appeared to be a number of eddies which were turning against the wind causing short pointed waves and a few small whirl pools.

Enough to raise the bar and to give us some current / chop experience and practise. I have seen this many times in that area so knew our group would be fine going through it.

The wind also as this point decide to blow from the S.E. and large raised smooth pools started forming in the middle of the confusion. Very hard to figure out but that is Johnstone Strait. I tried a few layback skulls in the confused water to see how I would make out with Nick as my back up. Lots of fun.

Our group was keen, and practiced at wind paddling and had many skills nights in, so we enjoyed the experience of adding a little chop to the mess. Lots of smiles and holy .....s

Paddlers were Nick,Lynda,Emily,Marie-Louise and Tom.

more to follow plus pic.

10/09/11 McIvor lake hangout day

2011-09-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

A great day at the lake. Unbelievable warm water and day. We left for a little paddle and ended up at the dam with Ken, DaveK, Tom and Emily. On the way back we met up with Nick and Lynda and ran into M-L as well.

We all had a great time back at the launch point getting wet practicing our moves. Got some pics of Nick completing 3 rolls. Practise makes perfect. Thanks to Ken B for putting this day together.

Ken showing Emily some moves

2nd roll

3rd roll

Emily putting an edge on

Leisurly pace

Skiers blowin by

Dave K looking cool

tom do descrips

09/08/11 Estuary Skills Night

2011-09-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

Warm night at the estuary everyone gettting wet. Ted, Tom, Linda and Nick had a good practise. Linda is progressing well with her lay back rolls. She is looking competent at being rescue boat for rollers to move in and providing a bow assist. Warmest night so far this year I believe. We were in the water for 2.5 hours. I have ordered a new boat called an Icekap from Seattle. Its a play / rolling boat. Go to our Picassa link on the right side bar to see these a little bigger.

Nick in rescue action

Lynda getting back in

Big smile

Pumping out.

03/09/11 Discovery passage passage

2011-09-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

September 3rd,2011 Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
153 participants launched their man powered boats to cross the Discovery Passage from Campbell River to Cape Mudge native village and back. Rowing boats, canoes, kayaks and dragon boats with paddlers of all ages from 8 years old kayaker (under watchful eyes of his parents in canoe) to gray hair old timers, all under the watch of Coast Guard boats with blue sky above and on the calm seas.
Arriving closer to Cape Mudge shore paddlers were guided by a native war canoe to the landing area. Welcoming ceremony by our Native neighbors followed and after that the paddlers enjoyed prepared refreshment and chit-chat with our neighbors.
On the way back paddlers encountered some current, but all made it safely back in high spirits. Another successful, already traditional annual crossing. From our club I noticed Christine, Ted, Margo, Nick and Linda and have noticed many paddlers from previous annual Passage crossing.
Great thanks to Geoff Goodship and all his helpers for organizing this event. The fact, that number of participants is growing every year shows, how much people enjoy this.
Some photos to follow, Emily

5th Annual Passage of Passage

2011-09-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

31/08/11 Dubsides IceKap Kayak

2011-08-31T06:28:00.000-07:00

Went down to Lake Samanish and the Kayak Academy and tried out this IceKap. It is a very cool boat at 33 pounds, nimble, and easy to roll. I am pretty sure I am going to get one. It has a foam seat that is not attached and also has a filled in cockpit with lots of thigh contact. Its made by Sterlings Kayaks in Seattle. I met Sterling Donaldson earlier this year and paddled his Illusion which is also a very fine kayak. Hard to choose which one

Gluing foam

2011-08-29T10:56:00.001-07:00

Having a coffee break and found this.

21/08/11 Boat Show with Cheri and Turner

2011-08-21T07:38:00.001-07:00

Pictures and post to follow

Some detective work here again.
Looks like a great day for a kayak demo. Sandy sent these pictures from the shoreline. Appears to be Ken B snapping the whip at the end of the dock. Cheri always looks good and Turner Wilson has his moments. Looks like our club member Paul out there as well. By the kayak Black/Yellowstripe I believe Brent our photo star from Justines DVD on rolling with C@T was out there doing his stuff.

More real info to come..?

20/18/11 McIvor Lake Waterfest

2011-08-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

Tom doing some detective work. Looks like Ken V did the set up work here at McIvor. He was helped out by members Emily, Ken V, Sandy, BC Debbie and ...... Looks like we borrowed Ken Bs instructor camp for Paddle Canada. His pro tent and table make it almost like home. Appears from the pic that Ken V brought along his boat for a conversation piece on gear show and tell. The guy in the red shirt must have scared the booth manners right out of their. Wheres the picture of our booth people/manners.

Christine was close by with lots of boats to try out. Fun girl. Help send some info.

20/08/11 Greenland Paddle Course with Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson

2011-08-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

Successful day for all of us. Turner Wilson twice now has gave me a push along the road to lookin good.

He has taken care of his own looking good by being a very cool instructor and partnering up with the absolutely fabulous Cheri Perry.

We all love her. She includes everyone personally in what she is doing.

Turners attention to fine detail and having you follow progressive steps to a roll make him a great instructor to work with.

Together as a team they make a day paddling with them not to be missed.

I am looking at where to sign up for next year. This was not a club function but it shows what some of us are up too.

Club members taking part in the course were Ken, Nick,Dave,Brent,Ken,Doug,Penny, and Tom. I am going to add some more footage of Cheri.

Ken B sure helped out with extra fine boats.

more to do

More to follow.

19/08/11 Justine Curgenven Social night.

2011-08-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable night. What a package... Sybills Andrews cottage, backyard barbecue, club members, Justine, Turner and Cheri. This great barbecue / social / and adventure talk with Justine was organised by chef extraordinaire Ken B. I think the pictures say it all. Ken did a fabulous job of all the background work before hand and the follow through strokes during the evening. What a guy. He made us all look good through the evening with introductions / presentations/ even CRP togues for Justine,and C@T . He also included Monica and Trevor as special guests who are accommodating them all at their lovely home in Comox.Justine was the highlight we expected. She captured all our hearts with her engaging ways. . Real men do not write letters so I wont. You had to be there to feel it I think were on the map ....

picture captions to do

Cheri

Justine

18/08/11 Estuary Skills night

2011-08-18T22:47:00.000-07:00

1st part of a roll.

Another great night play at the estuary
with John G. Ted, Marie-Louise and Tom. I got my camera repaired. They gave me a new one. Pretty nice. The tide was high so we paddled the main river side channel to warm up. Life is good.

teds new sof

ted and the mountains

ted mystified that he made it

John G in intructor mode

Heres how we do it

Marie-Louise taking it in.

the side channel

M-L

JG cutting me off

17/08/11 Wednesday night paddle Estuary

2011-08-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

High wind warning convinced Emily to cancel her idea of paddling from Holmes Point to Kye Bay and Little River, so last minute decision was to hide from the wind in the Estuary.

Participants: Darwin, Barb and Emily.

Warm evening with sun in Estuary channels and calm waters of full tide provided for relaxing paddle. At the end, Darwin performed three consecutive rolls without a hitch. Nice work Darwin.

Darwin

Barb

Wallace Island

2011-08-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

TENT ISLAND

Hi Paddlers,

Lynda and I did a weekend trip, launching at Chemainus and setting up camp on beautiful Tent Island. Great swimming and evening sun. The next day it was over to Wallace Island to check out campsites at Shivers Point and Cabin Bay. On the return we encountered 10 - 15 knot southeast winds crossing Houstoun Passage. Thanks to Christine's advice on paddling in windy conditions, amazingly Lynda kept up with the group and had great fun in the swell and waves.

Nick

It was a fun summer's trip

20/08/11 McIvor Lake Waterfest Announcement

2011-08-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

WaterFest

Saturday, August 20th

10:00 to 16:00 (approx)

McIver Lake (beach)

Club calling for volunteers to man our booth. This is usually a fun time especially if we get two to three members at a time at the booth.

I believe our main man Ken V is the heads up guy for this year. Lets help him out.

13/08/11 Registration for Disco Passage Passage.

2011-08-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

We have been doing this for a number of years now and its always fun. Remember
this caution. The current is not definite. If you are in the middle of the current window you should be fine. If you are one of the last to cross because of what ever reason you might be paddling hard. I stayed back to help some slower paddlers and ended up paddling hard to make it.

The 5^th Annual Discovery Passage Passage is scheduled for Saturday Sept 3^rd.

Once again over 100 paddlers will glide across the Passage to the beautiful beach at Cape Mudge Village reenacting an important part of the history of this area. A welcoming committee from Cape Mudge Village awaits. Don’t miss this unique Campbell River Event

The rules are simple: no motors or sails, no entry fee, no prizes. You must wear an approved life vest and follow Coast Guard safety regulations. The event is free but for safety reasons you need to register. Our website is out of date but it works fine to register. Go to http://www.incampbellriver.net/index.html and follow the registration link. You can also register by phone at 250 923 8482. Several safety boats will be on hand. If the weather is unsuitable the event will be postponed. Boaters are reminded they travel at their own risk.

You need you there at 9 am so that you are in the water with all gear ready for a 9:30 sharp start. The tide waits for no one. This is a great adventure to the end of summer. If you have done this before invite a friend to the experience.

11/08/11 Estuary skills night

2011-08-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable night. all the ducks in a row. Al worked with us for the first time in awhile and handed out some valuable little pointers that we needed.

You have to work with Al to know how valuable a paddling man he is and how well he observes and uses different methods to make things happen.

Al, Tom, Nick and John G. paddlers. Will not be long before Nick gets a consistent roll.

John G worked on his boat strokes as hes been in his riverboat to long.

These nights are invaluable to the participants. great workout. life is good.

Fun to note to being a keen guy. John G saw me at the Hilchey intersection heading to the water. remembered it was thursday and went home got his boat and was not far behind us at the estuary. Thats fun to have that kind of enthusiasm around.

11/08/11 Live it! Love it! Foundation | Empowering Through Adventure

2011-08-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

jumpin off bridges from Live It! Love It! on Vimeo.

Just had to share the energy in this clip. Jeff Scott is a familly friend who is rebuilding from a spinal injury and doing something about it.

I am volunteering in Whistler for 4 days in late Aug. to help this great idea for 20 similar young people. He has won a grant from the Keg to sponser an adventure camp at Whistler. He and his girl Izzy dreamed it all up. She is a well know Whistler snow boarder.

This clip will make you feel younger just watching it.

tom practising embedding vide0

10/08/11Wed night paddle Painters north

2011-08-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sandy for getting taking us out on a evening paddle along the shoreline north of the river.
The forcasted wind did not show and it was another warm night. Lots of people out on the estuary. Ken B had a group of paddlers out on a tour plus many others around.

Interesting to note that while paddling on a ebb we passed through too many to count eddys which evened out the current effect to make it almost not a current paddle along that area of the shoreline close in.

I tried out my new dry suit and was choking most of the paddle to stretch out the neck gasket. Everyone was happy I could not talk much. Darwin called it a girls color suit...

Emily took some pictures of the stone seal on the rocks in front of Painters.The seal that does not move.

Happy paddlers along were Sandy, Black Creek Debbie, Pat, Emily,Barb and Darwin and Tom.

Emilys pictures, our pro photographer. Captions to follow.

Might has right.

Pat,Sandy,Barb,Darwin and BC Debbie

Pat in cruise mode

toms new dry suit

Towards Gowland and Steep Is.

Emilys taking a bow in her new hat

Towards the narrows

Crusing girls

Sitting still for Emily to photo.

06/08/11 Small inlet.Day trip pictures

2011-08-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

Christines friend Gene

Some more pictues of our paddle to Small Inlet taken by our pro Emily.

Tom cooling off

Dave lookin good

Add caption

Chained islands from Orchard Bay

the horizontal line is the midden at Orchard Bay

Departing Orchard Bay

08/11/11Sun, Sea & Mountains

2011-08-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

Sun, Sea & Mountains

Turner and Cheri from Justines blog

07/08/11 Estuary skills night

2011-08-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

Ken and I had another warm great night at the estuary. Ken trying out some modifications to his new boat and a trial run for his deck mount camera. We also paddled the main river side channel while filming. Should be fun to see it. Met a new paddler at the spit and did our club membership spiel with her. She paddles an Eliza just like M-Ls

07/08/11 Small Inlet Test Blog

2011-08-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

We had a most enjoyable summers day. Thanks Christine for organising a great trip! How were you able to guarantee the sunshine so far in advance? We have been trying all of July with very little success.

Lynda and I would like to thank all of you for letting us join your club and the all the tips and advice you have given us. We appreciate it.

06/08/11 Small Inlet Day paddle report

2011-08-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

One of the best kayak days this summer for our group. Lots of happy paddlers turned out for this Quadra day paddle. Caught the 8:30 ferry and were in the water just after 10:00. Our super organised Christine gave us a talk about Granite Bay history and a chart of the area with native sites marked on it. We stopped by the always beautiful and mysterious Shell Island. Bit of a northwest to buck around the point but good experience for some and a little workout for others. Easy and leisurely scattered about paddle along Small inlet to the Newton lake take out. Little hike up to the lake stopping to look at the plantlife along the way. Christine knows all of them.

Refreshing swim and lunch on the sunwarmed rocks. Real summer time stuff. Bit of a grunt back against the wind from the nw and around into Orchard Bay. Again a little experience for the newer paddlers. Walked about Orchard Bay which has a huge midden across the entire front of it. Nice to be in the lee and out of the wind in the Bay.

Returned with the sun and wind at our backs to the launch and on the 6:00 ferry. Note to self take a left just after the bridge close to the bay.
Keen welcomed paddlers along were Christine,Gene,Barb and Darwin, Marie-Louise,Nick and Linda, Emily,Ken V, Dave and Tom.

The park area link

Pictures that Nick sent along. I believe he is going to try to post some himself. When he does I will delete these ones.

Marie-Louise and Linda

Christine and Gene

tom

tom/ emily/kenv/ marie-louise/linda/darwin and barb.

marie-louise / tom

christine

linda

And some more that Emily sent along

05/08/11 Skills night at the Estuary 05/08/11

2011-08-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Warm night again, cooling off quickly though. Good night with tom,darwin and barb. practise makes for good moves.

02/08/11 Small inlet info

2011-08-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

Reflections of Chief Harry Assu

The picture of his boat the BCP 45 on the 5 dollar bill was taken in Kainish Bay close by.

Museum pictures Granite Bay

‪Exploring the Royston Wrecks‬‏ - YouTube

2011-07-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

‪Exploring the Royston Wrecks‬‏ - YouTube: "http://youtu.be/nD5eWS63SEA"

28/07/2011 Skills night at the Estuary

2011-07-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Pretty quiet skills night. I did an hour of practise and then Katherine came by on a warmup paddle so I paddled the estuary with her for an hour. Just missed the rain and had a successful evening working on some new rolls. Lots of activity on the estuary. Saw Ken B down there doing a Parks and Rec estuary paddle.He had a good turnout of paddlers.

27/07/11 Wed night paddle Royston Wrecks

2011-07-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Warm, beautiful evening, calm seas and lots of smiles.

Where is the trip report and pictures???

Big turnout of paddlers.

Cruised the wrecks and then paddled over to the light at Goose spit. Little stretch there and then back.
Had a little tailgate party on the return enjoyed by all. Hope to see some pictures here.

Paddlers along Joan and Gerry,Barb, Pat, Emily,Linda and Nick,Dave,Ted and Tom. Ted and Darwin practised some rolls back at the launch.

Barb has a new boat with a little more volume for packing our treats along. Joan and Gerry are new re-members from Victoria.

Thanks to Barb and Darwin who organised this night for us.

Justine Curvengen

2011-07-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is an insane canoe clip done by Justine. It lets you know what is out there now.
Fred and Arlene.. I want to see you try some to this stuff on skills night.

Cheri, Turner and Justine 23/07/11

2011-07-24T11:39:00.001-07:00

As a bonus to our greenland paddling course we had a wonderful saturday evening with Cheri Perry and Turner and added bonus of Justine who was doing some filming with them. Monica and Trevor were the gracious host to our evening. Trevor comming up with an unbelievable deep fried Turkey. Ken Bs wifes cheese cake was raved about. Lots of armchair strokes and rolls accomplished.

Remember Justine is going to be speaking to our club soon. Very easy girl to talk too. Come out and enjoy.

21/07/11 Skills night at the Estuary

2011-07-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

Good night at the estuary, sun shining warm and a good spot by the walking bridge out of the wind.
Paddlers Ted,Tom,Darwin and Marie-Louise had a good practice skills paddle. Everybody working on a different skill and all looking good. Practice makes the difference. Some of us wetter types wanted a warm up by paddling up the side river channel and returning on the main river. Fred and Arlene the mainstay canoers of our group joined us for awhile and then they toured the river. Linda and Nick and John G joined us later for a tailgate discussion afterwards. Another warm night was the bonus along with a bigger bonus of Lindas chocolate chip cookies.

Ken Bs new baby..

2011-07-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

Tiderace kayak link

We checked out Kens new ecite today with a crossing over to Quadra and back. Cool boat, warm beautiful day.

Sunday night did some strokes at the estuary with Torben and Nick. Nick got a succession of rolls in. Practise makes perfect. It was a bonus to dry out after 2 hours in the water with a warming sun... still at 8:00.

Tom practise post

Kayak Demo Days » OutdoorAddictions.ca | Campbell River's Newest Bike Shop!

2011-07-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

Kayak Demo Days » OutdoorAddictions.ca | Campbell River's Newest Bike Shop!

Check this out for comming Aug demo days. Great way to figure out what boat you like.

Heres hoping it will be summer.

Cackle TV | Sea Kayaking and Adventure Film from Justine Curgenven.

2011-07-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

Cackle TV | Sea Kayaking and Adventure Film from Justine Curgenven.

This some background stuff on Justine. You will remember her

brightly colored kayak when you see it. She is the filmer, director, producer and all behind This is The Sea DVDs that we have watched.
This is the kayaker that Ken B is setting up for an evening with us in August.

YouTube - ‪The Amazing Makeover of the Campbell River Estuary‬‏

2011-07-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

YouTube - ‪The Amazing Makeover of the Campbell River Estuary

A little history for paddlers to talk about when in this areal‬‏

07/06/11‬‏ Skills night at the Estuary

2011-07-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

YouTube - ‪Campbell River Estuary From Above

Thursday night play..
Had a great skills night with Nick, Linda, Marie-Louise, Ken B. and myself. Kept out of the wind for the most part.
Later in the evening paddled the main river side channel and also around Baike Is. A really enjoyable night.
Bonus seeing some eagles at the nest, a deer, and a beaver pulling a stick. Ran into Emily out walking her dog and she took some pictures. I will post them when she sends them. Fun night. I borrowed Kens‬‏ new Tahee and had to be pried out of it at the end of the evening.

Nick

Lynda

Tom

Marie-Louise

Tom

life is good, a fun group.

CRP Photos

2011-07-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

CRP Photos from our website. Practise blog attachments

tom to delete

South Sound Traditional Inuit Kayak Symposium

2011-07-05T22:08:00.000-07:00

South Sound Traditional Inuit Kayak Symposium

Ken B and I spent the weekend here June 10 to 12.

One of the courses I took was Skin on frame introductory. We did a lot of stuff with the gear.
While learning to empty them we sure found out what the air bags were for.

I enjoyed it immensely. We had 4 lessons during the 3 days.

All for an unbelieveable price.

Cheri Perry & Turner Wilson . . . k a y a k w a y s . n e t !

2011-07-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

Cheri Perry & Turner Wilson . . . k a y a k w a y s . n e t !

Hey everyone, just letting you know that Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson will be back on Vancouver Island this summer!
Check them out at http://www.kayakways.net
They will be teaching full day Greenland Skills Workshops July 23 in the Comox Valley, and Aug. 20 in Campbell river. Private rolling lessons also available.
This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in traditional paddling skills, or anyone who wants to learn to roll or improve their roll.
For more info reply to this post, or email me direct at tmgr@telus.net
To sign up, contact Comox Valley Kayaks at 250-334-2628

Posted by tom /copied from West Coast Paddler.

Trip report CRP Lighthouse Date??

2011-07-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

Lighthouse trip

Taking a guess here that these are Als pictures as his Pilgrams fordeck is in one of the pictures.

Paddlers from looking at the picture are Al, Emily, The hat and sof says Dan, The two hats in the background are Barb and Darwin. I am guessing Mike is the paddler beside John G.This trip was obviously a beautiful evening and unusually warm.

Taking a break at Cape Mudge

Als boat and paddle, Chris, Dan,Mike, and Barb

Trip report 07/07/07 practise

2011-07-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

Mound Island trip year?

CRP paddle a few years ago in this location. Heres a few pictures. link to album.. practise

Check out the Location tab bottom right.. Figure out how to lay a track on it.

2011-06-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

06/29/2011 Tom Post Practise

2011-06-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

WHEN YOU ARE IN THE EDIT PORTION OF THE POST THE PICTURE WILL BE IN HTML
IGNORE THIS HTML VERSION OF A PICTURE ::: Its just a picture and will show up when you publish the post

To start a newpost

To make a trip report post or any other post use the new post tab and a new post editor box appears.
Using the title bar just above helps organise it all. A short description and date helps.
Using the preview button

Using the Preview button located in the tan nav bar lets you see what you have done.Selecting it again in the preview returns you here.

Publish Post
If your happy with your post at this point then post it by selecting Publish Post.
After the publish it can still be edited by selecting the pencil edit link and this window will show up again.

Inserting a picture.
There are many ways to insert a picture and the basics are to choose from after you select the picture link in the above nav bar. The Add Image page gives you a few choices of where to add a picture from.

Choose a layout.
is the simplest job to do simply selecting one of the 4 justifications.

Add image from your computer works pretty easyily if you know where your stuff is and you can just use the (Add another image if you wish more than one.

Adding one from the web is a little more involved but can be easier once learned.
I am learning that process now.

Practise post 6/27/11

2011-06-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Clay one morning which I took on a trip to Mound Island.. I down loaded the picture from my web album to my desktop on As computer and then uploaded from the blog post. One has to ignore the html which comes instead of the picture.The html is a bracketed set of instructions. I just start the story under it. Using the title bar organises stuff

06/06/2011 Phillips Creek Trip Plan

2011-06-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

Heres the last trip plan but no trip pictures or post has been received. Send me a report
and one click and its here. Life is good. KenV was the leader. Good example of a well planned trip.
Heard that Barb and Darwin went along with Ken.

The next event on the CRP calendar is a weekend trip to Phillips Creek in Strathcona Park.

Those participating will meet at the Karst Creek Boat Launch on Buttle Lake and be ready to leave by 10h00 11 June 2011. We will paddle across Buttle Lake to the Phillips Creek Marine Campsite and setup. From there we will day paddle towards Myra Falls. Plan for Sunday is to walk part way up the Marble Meadows trail.

Karst Creek Boat Launch (marked with sign) is located on Westmin road approximately (guesstimate) 40km South of the junction with Hwy 28. You should allow an hour driving time from Campbell River Bridge.

Phillips Creek Marine Campsite is located on the West side of Buttle Lake at the mouth of Phillips Creek. There are four large campsites equipped with tent pads and picnic tables. There is room on the delta for more tents. The site has an outhouse. Phillips Creek is a reliable source of cold clear water. During summer there is a user fee of $10.00 per person (I think this starts 15 June but I'm not sure)

Crossing of Buttle Lake is about 2 kilometers. There is often a strong wind in the afternoon that kicks up waves that will wash the decks of your kayak. Its usually calm in the morning and the evening.

Alternate campsite is Wolf River.

This trip is intended to be a shakedown camping cruise for summer tripping. Test out your gear and if you've forgotten something its not too difficult to pack up and go home.

If you just want to come out for the day feel free to do so.

Strathcona Park:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/strath/

Map

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/strath/strath_01.pdf

Owing to steepness of terrain there are no radio or cellular communicatons.

05/18/2011 Wed night Willow Point Paddle

2011-05-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

This is a practise post moving pictures in the post can be done.

Emily took these pictures on a wednesday night paddle at Willow Point.

This is new member Linda in the forsea with old old Ted with his newly built SOF in the middleand Ken V in the backsea.

We must thank Sandy for getting us out on this great evening. Recognising kayaks I see Barb and Darwin as well. Did we have a beach fire?

/?/05/11 Day trip report Breton Islands

2011-05-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

Pictures from Emily of a great trip that Quadra Dave led over to the Bretons. More to come. I need more info.

04/05/11 Wednesday night Estuary paddle

2011-05-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

Participants: Ted, Neil, Pat A., Emily T.

Launched at 6 p.m. in the Estuary under clouded skies with rain threatening.We spent almost two hours on the water. High tide allowed us to explore every nook and crannies there . Seals popping their heads to check on us and lonely swan came around as well. By then it was getting dark and the rain did not come. Pleasant paddle in good company.

by Emily T.

Estuary skills night 04/09/11

2009-09-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

Campbell River Paddlers:

'via Blog this'

April 25 2009 East side of Quadra Island -

2009-04-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

East side of Quadra Island (Breton Islands, Hoskyn Channel, Crescent Channel)

Approx. 6 - 7 nm (11-12km) paddled

Members participating:

Bernie and Kathy F., Ken V. B., Tom H., Al D. (soon to join), Ken B.

Report done by:

Ken B.

Ferry Dock on Quadra to Valdez Road turn off - 19km

From Heriot Bay, turn off onto Hyacinthe Bay Rd...which turns into Village Bay Rd

Right where the road turns into gravel (just past Granite Bay Rd turn off) is Valdez Rd.

Allow 20-30 minutes for one-way drive.

Launch is great at high tide...lower tides exposes large rocks to walk over.

Group rendezvous'd at the Quadra Island Ferry for the 08:30 sailing...skies were sunny with a slight (brisk) NW wind blowing.

A mandatory stop at the Coffee Shop on Quadra to get our coffees and baked goods and we were on our way to the Valdez Road launch.

In the water by 10:30 and headed North behind the Breton Islands...once into Hoskyn Channel we had a slight headwind (NW) while we cut across the mouth of Village Bay, but nothing serious, maybe 4" to 6" chop, the sunny skies had everyone's spirit's high.

With all the visiting (chatting) and verbal assaults (ribbing), the outbound trip to Crescent Channel (Bold Island) seemed to buzz by. For the record...poor Bernie took a bit of a beating (verbally) from the Group, with Tom getting his fair share of attention. Good thing these two fellows have good senses of humour.

Shortly before noon we got into the South end of Crescent Channel, and broke for lunch. We chose a nice little pocket beach about half way in that was sheltered from the breeze but basking in sunlight. Tom was heart-broken...Kathy didn't bring any Chocolate Chip Cookies that she usually packs, this proved to be near fatal later on.

Upon packing up and readying for the return paddle, my drysuit zipper packed it in and was unable to wear it further...good thing I brought back-up clothing (there's a message there).

Once we got out of the North end of Crescent Channel...we had the breeze slightly behind us (mostly from the side) as we turned South for the return trip, but once we got past the mouth of Village Bay (12" chop) the wind was at our backs and we mostly let the breeze sail us back to the Bretons.

By the time we approached the Bretons, it was clear Tom was running out of gas, it would appear he was counting on Kathy's Cookies at lunch for an energy boost...(also a message here, when paddling with Tom, bring chocolate chip cookies!) ;-)

Once inside the calm Breton's...Tom and Al practiced some braces and rolling...without a drysuit, I was a spectator with the rest of the Group.

Tom and Al displayed some fabulous skills.

We got back to our launch site by 14:00, and pulled out loaded up by 15:00...caught the 4pm (16:00) ferry back to CR.

A wonderful day for the first trip of the year, with wonderful people.

Lunch in Crescent Channel

Oyster Beach in Crescent Channel

Ken V., Kathy, Tom, Al, Bernie

Al and Tom Scull Bracing

Al and Tom Rolling

Telegraph Cove August 15 08

2008-10-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Fellow Paddlers,

Tom had emailed an invitation to all of you for a Club Paddle to Robson Bight...your gonna kick yourself for not coming!

Telegraph Cove-Robson Bight
August 15-16-17, 2008

Trip by: Tom H., Brent A., Ken B.
Guests: Cheri Perry, Turner Wilson

Reported by: Ken B

During the Greenland Paddling Course Aug. 9th in Comox…Instructors Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson from Connecticut found out Tom, Brent, and I were heading to Robson Bight the next weekend…they made room in their busy schedule to join us for the first day.
Its’ the first time to the B.C. West Coast for them…they wanted to experience as much as they could before leaving B.C. Sunday.

Cheri and Turner had been spending the week on the East side of Quadra Island being filmed by adventure film maker Bryan Smith, so it was close for them to hook up with us in Campbell River for the drive north.

Friday, Aug. 15
We met Cheri and Turner in downtown Campbell River as they drove off the Quadra Island Ferry at 18:00…and after a quick pit-stop, they followed us north for the approx. 2hour drive to Telegraph Cove.
We had reserved a couple of camp sites in Telegraph Cove and arrived just before dusk.
After setting up camp we enjoyed a wonderful smorgasbord of fine food and wines and, of course, entertaining conversation.
A late night was had by all.

Saturday, Aug. 16
Up by 06:00 to break camp and get to the launch right in Telegraph Cove.
We were in the water by 08:30…flat calm, not a whisper of wind…and light fog.
The group hugged the shoreline all the while chatting and working on Greenland strokes and steering.
45 minutes out we spot a Whale-Watching Boat stopped just down the Strait ahead of us…good sign!
Better yet…it had turned and was slowly heading back towards us.
We made a 90deg turn and headed straight out into the Strait a few hundred yards…then just waited.
What happened next is almost not to be believed…
If I hadn’t been there…I would not believe it!
A Pod of Killer Whales coming down the Strait turned their focus on us…for 2+ hours, they swam among us, around us, under us, away from us then back…we seen Spy Hopping, Tail Slapping, and even a Cow nursing her Calf.
At times you could have touched them with a paddle they were so close.
Tom H. even rolled upside down (with goggles on) twice to try and get an underwater view)…once as three whales went right underneath him.
I’ve had Killer Whale encounters before…but nothing like this.
By the time it got close to noon, the whales had moved on…and we took a shore-break on Blinkhorn Peninsula…a mere 2knm from Telegraph Cove.
Cheri and Turner were due back to Denman Island that night… we said our goodbyes…they headed back to Telegraph Cove to depart, the three of us headed south.
Cheri and Turner had never seen an Orca live…they were thrilled…Tom, Brent, and I were thrilled for them…heck, we were thrilled for ourselves too.

Tom H. and I had spotted a Pocket-Beach last year we wanted to camp on this year…to our delight, it was vacant…just as we beached, the fog lifted and the sun lit up our beach.
We didn’t have to hit the water for the rest of the day…we had 4 multiple-Orca Drive-By’s, right in our beach…twice, they rubbed on our little beach literally a few yards in front of us.
Unfortunately…we didn’t get any warning on arrivals…so photos were hard to pull off on short notice.
WHAT A DAY!

Sunday, Aug. 17
Uneventful day…again the weather was slightly foggy and no wind.
We monitored the VHF channel used by the Whale-Watching boats…nothing was in the area.
The fog was gone by 11:00 and we had clear skies for our leisurely paddle back.

Footnotes:
- Tom H. has been making this trip for 10 years…though he and I paddled with a Grey Whale here last year, and he has seen Killer Whales every year…he’s never seen Killer Whales like this.
- There is no way we will divulge our Pocket-Beach location.
- We’re betting Cheri and Turner will be back…;-)

Heriot Bay to the Breton Islands - May 17, 2008

2008-05-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the unseasonably cold weather this spring our paddling has got off to a late start this year. Prompted by Ken B. and joined by Tom, Ken V. and me, we finally got out on our first paddle on Saturday, May 17th. After catching the 8:30 am ferry to Quadra Island, we put the boats in the water next to the government dock at Heriot Bay. It was definitely a sunscreen day...gorgeous...and the water was just the way I like it....flat calm.

We were a bit concerned that the wind might come up in the afternoon so we cut the bays and headed up to the north side of Open Bay. The tide was out so the shore was very interesting. There were lots of exposed starfish.

Ken B. was trying out his new kayak for the first time so he had to make some adjustments in the seat.

I was interested in looking at the rock formations in the area. Along the shore, exposed limestones of the Quatsino Formation are crinkled into tight folds outlined by hard chert bands. The softer bands in many places have weathered away leaving very interesting caves and holes.

We continued our paddle over to the Breton Islands. There were lots of ducks and gulls on the small islands we passed on the way. We got out of our boats on the north side of the large island. Tom wanted to check out the campsites. There are a number up in the trees but the land isn't very flat.

On the way back we stopped in at Clay's cabin to have our lunch and visit with Clay and his friends. Continuing on we checked out more of the rock formations. Ken B. found a cave that fit his boat. He was very careful to make sure he didn't get any scratches on his nice new boat.

Fortunately the wind never did come up so we had easy paddle back to the dock. The tide was in by the time we got back so we had a much easier time getting our gear and boats back up to the vehicles. All in all....a great first trip for the season.

Quatsino Sound (West Coast - N. Vanc. Island)

2008-01-08T18:57:00.001-08:00

July 2007

Trip by Brent A. and Ken B.

Reported by Ken B.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Pulled out of Campbell River at 08:00 for the 2 ½hr drive north to Pt. Hardy.

After some breakfast/lunch and refuelling in Pt. Hardy we were on our way west to first the village of Holberg…then onto Winter Harbour.

The day was over-cast and mostly rainy.

All toll, it took approx. 4 1/2hrs for us to get to Winter Harbour.

The road gravel road from Pt. Hardy to Holberg is generally as good as a gravel road can get…however, the road from Holberg to Winter Harbour had some very rough sections.

Not a destination to drive a ‘Pampered City Car’.

After a brief walk about in Winter Harbour, we launched our kayaks from the Native Campground just north of the village…we pushed off at approx. 15:00.

We had timed our excursion to catch the flood tide from Winter Harbour into the

Ahwhichaolto Inlet.

The head of Winter Harbour is something to see…lower tide levels exposes vast delta land/fields of what first appears to be grass (more like broccoli) with channels.

The entrance to Ahwhichaolto Inlet was narrow with a number of tight bends…an unexpected delight to play in with the flood tide going swiftly with us.

The Inlet was very interesting….especially seeing that other than an outline on the map, it is not charted.

There was evidence of a couple of old logging camps…some old rusted steam donkeys and pilings for an old dump.

We timed our exit at high-tide slack…we were bac

k at the truck at approx. 18:30

We seen 1 motor boat all day…we had the area to ourselves.

Day 1 paddling- 14 kn mile round-trip / overcast, intermittent rain, little to no wind.

We drove back to Holberg, had dinner and some libations at the Pub in Holberg, and hung our hats at the WFP Guest House.

CR to Pt. Hardy- 2 ½ to 3 hrs (paved Hwy)

Pt. Hardy to Holberg- 45-60min. (gravel road)

Holberg to Winter Harbour- 30-45min. (gravel road…very rough in spots)

Friday, July 20

On the road by 09:00 for the drive from Holberg to Koprino Harbour.

We parked and launched from the WFP log dump…we planned to take advantage of the flood tide…low slack was at 11:15…we were in the water by 11:00.

We paddled out of the West side of the Harbour and directly across Quatsino Sound to the South side and mucked about the Koskimo Islands.

The trip up the South side of the Sound was generally unspectacular; we stopped at Mahatta River, but otherwise flew up the Sound taking advantage of the flood.

At the head of the Sound is Drake Island…an Island that looks like a pair of lungs on the map…we made contact on the South-West tip and practically circumnavigated it.

A delightful Island to explore by shoreline…highlighted by Pamphlet Cove on it’s North side. We hit it at high tide, which allowed us full access. Old homesteads are still evident…legend has it that there was once a Brothel here!

Our host lived directly across from Pamphlet Cove on the North shore…at the most Westerly point of Quatsino (village)…we were beached by 18:00

Our host caught a (5-6lb) salmon off his beach and made us dinner that evening…and yes, I did pack some good wine!...Ah yes…as Tom H. would say…life is good!

Day 2 paddling- 20 kn miles / overcast, rain (very heavy at times), no wind at all.

Holberg to Koprino Harbour- 45-60min (gravel logging road)

Saturday, July 21

08:30 our host had breakfast on the table…by 10:30 we were in the water heading East along the shoreline viewing all the resident homes on the beach that makes up the Village of Quatsino.

After passing the Village we made a bee-line to the South shore and doddled our way to

Quatsino Narrows to catch the low slack at 12:30.

Once through the Narrows we made a hard right into Varney Bay for our trek up the Marble River to the Marble River Canyon.

Going in near/around a low tide results in low water levels…so low you have to get out and walk your boat up a fairly long stretch of river. Slippery large rocks!...make sure you have proper footwear.

The effort was rewarded…Wow what an experience!

The trip back was fun…and exhausting…I had slightly miscalculated the amount time needed for the Canyon, hence, we were well ahead of schedule…we would have to wait, or hit Quatsino Narrows bucking a flood tide.

We studied the map closely, then thought what the hay, let’s have a go!...the tide wasn’t that big…we figured at worse it would be about a 3-5kn current…the worst thing that could happen is we get spit back into Rupert Inlet (where Varney Bay was).

By hugging the East side, taking advantage of eddies, and sprinting up/through current spots we made it with little problems.

Once through the Narrows we went to the North side then into explore Hecate Cove.

On exiting the Cove we came across a Kayaking Lodge and stopped to have a chat with the owner…coffee and cookies were offered, we couldn’t say no.

We were back at our Quatsino host’s home by 18:00…we were greeted by another wonderful dinner.

Day 3 paddling- 20 kn miles / overcast and sunny, little rain, little to no wind.

Sunday, July 22

08:00 host had us at the table for breakfast again.

A very brisk South-East wind delayed our departure…but, we decided to get on with it and were in the water by 10:30…we wanted to take advantage of an ebb tide that went slack at 12:30.

An approx. 15-20 kn head-wind and 2-3ft waves only lasted 30min, then died to barely a breeze.

The paddle West down the North side of Quatsino Sound proved more entertaining the South side…and fish were jumping all around us…we’re talking 4-7 lb salmon!

The trip was highlighted by some interesting rock formations, steep bluffs, and a little nook-cove where we stopped for a rest.

By the time we turned the corner into the East end of Koprino Harbour the tide was in full flood mode.

This allowed us to access areas of the Harbour that would normally blocked, or be high and dry on lower tide levels.

We were back at the truck by 13:00 and on our way home by 14:00.

Day 4 paddling- 12 kn miles / overcast, little to no rain, windy at the start.

We arrived back in CR by 18:30.

Footnotes:

The paddle into Ahwhichaolto Inlet was worth the trip in itself.

We paddled almost 70 kn miles in the 4 days…a walk in the park for Brent…darn near killed me!

Though it rained a lot…the fact that most of the trip offered up little to no wind was magical.

Though Bears are reportedly sighted everywhere in this area…we seen none while paddling, but did see some on the drive out. No whales spotted. Lots of seals and lots of fish.

Other than 1 breakfast and our shoreline lunches…we didn’t have to cook a meal thanks to our host in Quatsino…what an unexpected bonus.

Sept 14, 2007 Willow Point

2007-09-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Trip by: Ted and Terri Chalaturnyk
Reported by: Terri Chalaturnyk

We loaded the kayaks on the car at dawn. The plan was to get do a little work and then be out paddling later that morning. The day rushed past and by 4 pm we realized it was a quick splash or nothing, so we headed down to the Ken Ford boat ramp at Willow Point and pushed off. It was beautiful - lots of sun and a calm, quiet ocean.

The highlights were the large seal with his head and tail arched way up into the air trying to perch on a small rock, the cormorants all in a row on a log and just being there paddling through the kelp and enjoying the ocean.

We were only out for an hour but it was a quiet oasis in our day. I went back to work with a smile and a great attitude! Kayaking - THE best stress management technique going!

Sept. 11, 2007 Holmer's Point / Kye Bay / Little River

2007-09-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

Trip by: Emily T
Reported by: Emily T
Trip date: Sept. 11, 2007

I launched @ 5:45 p.m. at Holmer's Point and headed north alone.
Kye Bay was beautiful, pleasant evening full of sun. Lots of birds everywhere, resting, not feeding, the tide was up. Seals popping their heads up from the water watching me coming and diving on my approach.
With some NW headwind I made it up to the point at Kim Beach Park, where the sea became a bit rough around the point.
Saw ferry coming from Powell River to Little River, so I decided to go there, to Little River. Paddled about 2/3 of the open bay to Little River when I decided to turn around. There was strong north head wind blowing, causing white caps & over a foot waves coming at me under a sharp angle so, with not much experience I did not push my luck.
Had wind in my back on return & good push from the waves until I passed the point again & entered more sheltered waters under the bluff.
Arrived back to the launch around 7 p.m. & was back home in CR at 8 p.m.
Like Tom says: Life is good...
wish you were there,
Cheers Emily T.

August 2007 Robson Bight Trip report: THAR she bloooowws!

2007-08-30T19:43:00.001-07:00

Trip by Tom H. and Ken B.
Reported by Ken B.

Telegraph Cove-Kaikash Creek
Friday, August 24, 2007

We pulled out of town around 4pm to make the approx 2hr drive to Telegraph Cove.
Upon arrival we checked into Dockside 29, a condo building in the Cove...part of the Marina/RV/Home Development.
We walked over to the adjacent Kayak Shop to chat with the operators to clear launching the next morning...we found out there was a wedding taking place at Kaikash Creek Campground (our planned destination) on the weekend and approx. 40+ people had been shuttling in via water taxi during the day...this news seemed to agitate Tom greatly..."High impact camping!"..."Way too many people in one group!"..."Blah Blah Blah"..."Yeta Yeta Yeta".
We enjoyed a pleasant meal at the local cove restaurant then took a walk around the new building lots/housing that are being developed south of the Cove.
Tom felt we may have to find another camping spot...however, I felt that if life deals you lemon...make lemonade!...we did hear that the groom's last name was Stewart...I proposed we pose as friends of the Stewart family and crash the wedding, specifically the meal and the usual post nuptial festivities.
Tom softened and took a 'Wait-and-See' attitude.

Saturday, August 25
We packed up the boats and pushed off at 9:30am under cloudy skies with showers...but little to no wind.
Johnstone Strait was misty with fog patches, but it was a nice paddle with no winds, the showers had stopped, and very little boat traffic...a magical setting.
With limited visibility we stayed well off-shore to maximize our chance of seeing and intercepting whales while we headed East towards Robson Bight...but other than me losing my beloved kayaking hat, there was no excitement.
We pulled into Kaikash Creek campground around noon and found a very nice camp spot north of the Creek and well away from the obvious wedding group epicentre (central gathering area) on the southern point of the campground...Tom was somewhat satisfied.
After setting up camp and a bite of lunch we were back on the water by 2pm heading East towards Robson Bight.
We paddled for about a half hour, hugging outside the kelp line that was between 10 and 25 ft off the shoreline...then we both heard a 'Blow' right behind us...startled, we turned but couldn't see any dorsal fins...then I see this huge image go right under the bow of Tom's boat!
Damn!...it's a Humpback!...a 20-25 footer, swimming about 6 to 10ft under the water...right outside the kelp line where we were.
This gentle giant slumbered along hugging the kelp line, surfacing every 5 minutes or so for a breath, and seemingly unbothered by Tom and I following. We tagged along for about a half hour then decided to break off...Wow! what a treat, paddling with a Humpback whale!

Right after breaking away from the Humpback Tom spies some Orcas' coming out of Blackfish Sound that are headed diagonal across the Strait towards us...we make a beeline straight out into the Strait to intercept.
A huge Bull (8ft dorsal fin easy) and a couple of large Cows...we got to within 100 yds of the Bull and 50 yds from the Cows when they went by...the Cows seemed to turn towards us to have a closer look before heading off with the Bull.
After all this excitement Tom and I decided to take a beach break, and back-tracked to a small beach we had passed earlier.
The beach had a camp set up with a young Scottish couple and their 7 yr old daughter, they had been there 10 days.
They offered coffee, we accepted, and we proceeded to hear wondrous stories for the next 2 hours...3 times they had Orcas rub right in front of them on this little beach...we also heard other kayak stories...last summer they (including their daughter) made a 5 1/2 month kayak trek from Vancouver to Alaska...this among other stories of global destinations. A Scottish 'Hippie' couple who work planting trees in Scotland all winter so they can paddle all spring-summer.
Tom and I pushed off again just after 5pm to doddle our way back to camp, and right away we see activity up the Strait right in front of our campground...all the kayaks out on the water...'Blow' sprays everywhere.
It's a large pod of Orca heading East along the shoreline right at us!
Tom and I spread out putting 100ft between us...the Orca went right thru us!...around us!...must have been around two dozen whales!
What a day!

We made it back to camp at around 6pm, passing and chatting with the Bride (in a kayak) on the way in...she invited us to the festivities.
While enjoying pre-dinner hors d'oeuvres (brie and camembert cheeses, cognac pate, breton crackers) and wine (German riesling and Italian valpolicella) we were joined by our camp neighbours, a couple from Seattle, then by the Scottish family we visited earlier who paddle up to see us.
Tom took the Scottish couple's daughter down the beach to introduce her to the other kids who were with the wedding party...followed by the rest of us when he didn't see them for 30 min.
We were all welcomed by the large group and encouraged to stay for dinner!...didn't have to ask us twice!
Turns out I grew up with the Groom's older brother (who was not present) in Prince George!
Also turns out Tom didn't have such a problem with the 'Large Group High Impact Camping' once he was fed...Souvlaki Chicken and Beef, Greek Salad, and Rice...he also 'Seagulled' desert from the Seattle couple's guide who made pineapple upside down cake...enjoyed with some of my Spanish Sherry and Portuguese Vintage Port...;-)
Tom was heard saying "Life is Good" over and over...

July 4, 2007 Estuary Paddle

2007-07-05T00:40:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful evening for a paddle in the estuary. Seven members showed up for the paddle...Heather, Emily, Debbie, Mark, Ken V., Tom and Sandy. The tide was coming in and was at 2.8 m at 6:30 so we were able to go under the bridge and paddle around Baikie Island. It's nice to see that the restoration of the vegetation along the shores of Baikie Slough have been very successful. We weren't able to go up the side channel out of the slough but were able to go up the side channel on the north side of the river.

In our travels we passed a couple of eagles at very close quarters. One was in a tree that we passed under on our way up the side channel. We were all amazed at how large it was.

It was a lovely evening....... a perfect way to cool off after a hot day. Tom must have been very hot because every so often there would be a splash and Tom would surface after practising one of his rolls.