I think I have been smiling almost constantly for the last couple of weeks. It was so wonderful to take some time out of editing and regular ‘life’ to escape to the ocean with 2 great friends.

It’s been 4 years since Shawna Franklin, Leon Somme & I paddled around the Queen Charlotte islands together and over 2 years since I saw them, but  it soon felt like yesterday. They are such fun and happy people to spend time with, aswell as talented and safe paddlers.

Their friend Seth kindly picked me up from Comox and drove us both up to Port Hardy where we met up with Shawna & Leon, who had just put in a tough 30 mile day to get there on time to meet us. Fittingly, they were already in the pub devouring burgers and beer when we arrived and we were very happy to join them! After a ‘rest’ day of shopping & eating (all of us), plus doing laundry and checking up on their seakayak school that they’ve deserted for 44 days! (S + L), we set off from civilization and headed north and west on the water, breathing in big happy gulps of the fresh wild air.

I knew the West coast of Vancouver island can be a very challenging place to paddle, with large swells, lots of boomers, surf landing and strong winds but I hadn’t done much research into the specifics of the trip ahead as I’d been busy editing. So I was excited when Seth told me that paddling around Cape Scott and the Brooks range were usually the 2 cruxes of a trip down the West coast. Cape Scott forms the NW tip of the island and juts out into the powerful ocean, and the Brooks range invades 5 miles into the swirling seas, creating it’s own weather systems. How amazing to paddle around both of them in a 10-day kayaking trip. And a little intimidating.

In reality, we had amazing weather for my time on the water & neither crux posed much problem on the day. There was a small localised tidal race at Cape Scott and the biggest challenge rounding the Brooks was negotiating paddling round (or through) the many thick kelp beds at low tide.

The wind was against us probably half of the days, but it wasn’t that strong most of the time. It never prevented us from paddling, although it did slow us down quite  a bit one day! The swell didn’t rise above a metre and was often a mere ripple on the surface. It was just enough to provide some fun surfing near the shore and between rocks, without ever being worrying. It meant we could land on lots of beaches which are more regularly guarded by smashing waves and search earnestly for Japanese glass balls. Unfortunately, I suspect other people have had the same idea but got there first as we didn’t find any! And Shawna certainly looked very thoroughly!

Seth left us by Winter Harbor after 5 days and headed back in to Coal Harbor – seeing wolves on the beach on his last day (happily from his kayak)! We headed south, stopping at some glorious sandy crescent beaches, each one framed by rugged mountains and lapped playfully by clear blue sea. Even sand in my sleeping bag, clothes, glasses and everything else couldn’t dampen my mood at spending time traveling through this gorgeous landscape.

We saw quite a few black bears on the beaches – one on the same beach as us at the same time, some whales (although not as many as when I was in Haida Gwaii), lots of cute sea otters, quite a few majestic eagles and a few sealions. The life in the rock pools was incredible, so many shells, crabs, anemones and little fish.

I’m writing this at Vancouver airport, just before boarding a flight home to the UK. I’ve had a great time on Vancouver island. Even the filming and editing for our rolling DVD with Cheri & Turner was fun in a strange hard-working kind of way. That was at least in part because we had a lovely time staying with Monica & Trevor Russell and enjoyed great food, sitting outside in their garden every evening, relaxing pleasantly after grafting hard. I’m now looking forward to being home for a while and seeing my sweetie!

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