The High Seas

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Many of the good things in life come in threes. We were hoping kayaking Vancouver Island would not prove an exception. The first trip was mainly a wildlife trip, the second scenery, and the third, an adventure. In fact, a bit more than we had bargained. We woke in the morning and checked the weather forecast and, once again, the winds were predicted as gale force. What we couldn’t figure out was where. Using the direct observation method of weather prediction, our wind meter detected . . . nothing. No wind, no rain, and no clouds. So using this simple science, we decided to head out for our three day paddle, unsure of what we would find out on the open seas.

This first challenge would require parking in Tofino, British Columbia. It’s your standard resort town, with overpriced lodging, tours, and food, most of which we avoided. The local kayaking shop where we purchased our nautical chart offered to let us launch from their site, and luckily a parking spot opened up right in front. We brought the boats and gear down to the water, and I went back to figure out the best place to park from the mayor. Yes, this went all the way to the Tofino mayoral office, as on July 11th, overnight parking is only allowed in a special lot, which also opens on July 11th. Since we would be out on the water, I would obviously be unable to move our car. So the extremely helpful staff at Tofino Kayaking phoned the city clerk, and then mayor. They directed me to a street where parking would not be enforced, I parked the car, and we were off.

Once on the water, all felt right. The tidal currents helping us along, we made quick work of the inner channels and could soon see the horizon. Not quite the open ocean, but the waves seemed big enough. We reached the first beach on Vargas Island, and stopped for lunch. A group was just leaving the beach and made launching look easy, but landing with breaking waves can be more difficult. While kayaks excel at pushing through waves, they have difficulty with waves breaking behind them. Especially with us at the controls. Our first attempts were less than successful. With a little too much bravado, I went first and promptly learned that my wetsuit does an excellent job of keeping me warm. Sara managed to hold on a little longer, but learned the same lesson. Just a little wet, but no worse for it, I decided to use the time and my already sopping wet condition to my advantage by practicing. Paddling out: easy. Paddling in: also easy, when staying behind the wave instead of in front. After lunch, the true test would begin.

We both successfully made the trip through the surf, and looking around could see far too much whitewater. Carefully picking our way through the rocks and reefs, we made the true open ocean and saw the cause for all the breaking waves - much larger waves, of course. While scanning the Marine Radio channels, I came across the US broadcast, which explained that the gale force winds describe were 60 to 200 miles offshore. While knowing that in advance might have made us feel better, it shouldn’t. Those winds were now causing us to tighten our paddling grip, as we went up and over waves that seemed to reach 10 feet or higher. Even with perfect weather, the ocean has surprises. Regardless, we were beginning to get used to our new companions, carefully avoiding any and all areas with breaking waves. The tightened grip had the benefit of increasing our paddling speed, and literally before we knew where we were, we reached our destination. Blenden Island might normally provide fertile kayaking grounds, but the waves made our destination exceedingly quiet. Well, other than the nearby breaking waves.

After our somewhat harrowing journey, the afternoon called for peace and quiet. Since the trip took so little time, we decided that the afternoon might provide a good time for checking out our primary destination, Cleland Island. A short mile and a half away, Cleland provide a safe breeding ground for several species of seabirds, including Glaucous-winged Gull, Black Oystercatcher, Storm-petrels, Tufted Puffin, Rhinoceros Auklet, and Cassin’s Auklet. However, the conditions that make it safe for the birds, make it less so for those of us in small boats. In fact, the waves were significantly bigger than our previous trip, 15 feet or higher. Both of us were a little unnerved, but carried on. This was what we came for, right? Well, at the birds were at least holding up their part of the bargain. Especially brilliant were the Tufted Puffins, the clowns of the bird world. We only got to see them in flight, though seeing them on the water would have been next to impossible, even from 40 or 50 feet, with the size of the waves. And fixing our binoculars on them, even from 10 feet, would have required great skill, with the bobbing and tossing that required our constant attention. Once near the island, the waves were no better and landing is prohibited anyway, so we didn’t stick around long. Heading back was even worse, though we were more accustomed to the size and strength of the waves, as we couldn’t see what was coming. Carefully paddling brought us back to camp safely, and we were wondering whether our sense of adventure had overtaken our common sense.

The next morning, we woke and packed up, hoping to make another trip to the island before continuing to the north side of Vargas Island. Now, at this point, for all we knew, 15-foot waves were normal, and storms would bring much worse. But as we paddled around the corner, something was missing. The waves of yesterday were gone! Now, 5-foot waves were the worst the ocean offered. Now, from a distance we could see that the birds were already out and the winds were causing a little too much ocean spray (not nearly as refreshing as the drink), so we turned around. But, having read that the south side of Vargas is the prettiest, and with Cleland our main destination, sticking around and making another trip to the island seemed like more fun. So, back to Blenden, for yet another nap.

Naps had become part of our day, as the Dramamine taken for the motion sickness acts equally well as a sleeping pill. Getting up was becoming more difficult, but after some effort we woke and ate dinner, another area of kayaking we were enjoying. When we go backpacking, every ounce counts so heavy foods are always left behind in favor of freeze-dried specialties. While often tasty, we miss fresh food like fruits, vegetables, and cheese. We had paddling around quite a bit with both fully loaded and empty kayaks, and could barely tell the difference, so fresh food has become the norm. Tonight, we would dine on spaghetti with garlic-tomato sauce and broccoli. Yum! We had also experimented a bit: fresh fruit and vegetables get thumbs up, while cheddar cheese gets a big thumbs down.

After dinner, wetsuits were zipped up, sprayskirts velcroed, and paddles assembled for another trip to the island. The ten hours between our previous visit were kind to the ocean, with the waves hardly reaching 3 or 4 feet. The first batch of birds viewed contained two puffins along with dozens of auklets. The rest of the night would be equally entertaining, with both of us agreeing that we made the right decision. After the success of the night, but with no Storm-petrel sighting, we vowed to rise before the break of dawn, as Storm-petrels only come back at night, leaving early in the morning.

The best laid plans sometimes go awry, and our 4 am wake-up call proved too early. Back to sleep, for a still early 5 am rise. We packed quickly, and raced back to Tofino, hitting the tidal currents just right so they did most of the final moving for us. We quickly unloaded the boats, parked illegally while loading, and sped off by 10:30. We were told that we were parking illegally once but as I’ve mentioned, parking here is a pain. We preferred a little verbal abuse to the physical abuse of hauling the boats three blocks to the closest parking spot.

Due to the high price of goods we left town quickly, before succumbing to the smells of local eateries. We stopped an hour later, and ended up with a rather expensive and sadly low quality meal anyway, but were full (though Sara might argue that point), to catch the ferry to Vancouver and the mainland. The signs along the way let us know that our ferry was only 70% full with 10 km to drive, and we made it with time to spare. The price was a bit steeper than expected due to an oversized vehicle, the kayaks adding two feet to our height, but as we reach Vancouver, the $90 felt well spent. While we will likely have to sweat out our excess salt over the next few weeks and our fingers will take some recovery time, ocean kayaking appeals to us and will likely play a role in future adventures. Signing off!

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