Mike Jackson's Paddling Journal

Mike, Roscoe, Dennis, George, Mark, Tony, Gary and I headed east out from Amherst. The weather was magnificent and there were some great currents around Dock Island. We had a leisurely lunch on Forrest Island. After lunch we paddled on over to Domville/Sheep Islands and out to Reay Islet. There was a great low tide – dozens of big gumboot chitons on Reay. Interesting outhouse on Sheep!…

 (8.8 nm, 16.2 km, YTD 291 km)

Photos from today:

Ben, Beth Anne, Craig, Stacey and I too the grade 11 outdoor leaders (17 of them) for their test paddle day today. We set out from the Beach at Cadboro Bay and worked on strokes and rescues. All went well and the group of students were great.

(2.5 nm, 4.7 km, 275 km)

I ran a CRCA flatwater course today for the VCKC. We held the course at Beaver lake. The day started off cool, but it was nice and sunny throughout and my four “students”(Brian, Dianne, Debbie and Chris) fared well. It is suprising to realise that this was paddle # 19 for the year.

(2.2 nm, 4 km, YTD 270 km)

   Shots of the GPS track…

Gordin and I set out from Island View Beach and paddled out to Sallas rocks and then over to Sidney and up to Hamley Point. Right as we arrived at Hamley Point, Hans, John and Heike came round the point from the other direction and we all had lunch together on the beach by Hamley. We then paddled together (Heike and I switched Nigel Foster boats) to the southwest corner of Sidney Island where the two groups went their separate ways. Gordin and I continued back via James Island and practiced some self  and assisted rescues. I need to work on my roll…. The NF Shadow continued to impress me as a comfortable, fast and manoeuverable boat…

 (11.4 miles, 21 km, YTD 266 km)

 Photos of the day:

I took the NF Shadow for a test paddle by myself this afternoon out of Smuggler’s cove. I had it loaded for day paddling as a comparison and wanted to see how the boat performed in waves. It was fast, a little bit twitchy compared to my Gulfstream, but still paddled well in some decent waves in Baynes channel. I had no problem rolling it with my Greenland paddle, but had some trouble using my AT carbon paddle. I probably need to refine my technique! All in all, I am liking the Shadow and will try to paddle it tomorrow to Sidney Island.

 ( 4.7 nm, 8.7 km, YTD: 245 km)

Heike, Kent, George, Doug, Ian, Nancy and I set out from Cadboro Bay to paddle around Ten Mile Point towards Gordon Head. The wind and weather cooperated quite nicely until we were on our our way back around Ten mile point. The wind had picked up and it was quite a slog to make our way back to Flower Island. I was paddling a demo Nigel Foster Shadow for the day. I loaded it as if for camping and it performed well.

Today’s track:  10 miles, 18.5 km, YTD: 236 km

Gordin and I managed to sneak out for a couple of hours of "professional development" today and paddled out to and around Chatham Island from Smugglers Cove. Gordin and I both managed to capsize, unintentionally, while practicing sculls on video. I may have to post a clip or two later!  (Distance: 5.0 nm 9.25 km, YTD: 218 km)

Bill, Tony, Roscoe, Doug, John, Heike and I Set out from Weir’s Beach and had a nice paddle around to The Bedfords via Bentinck Island and Whirl Bay. The seas were calm and the currents weak, so the paddling was pleasant. We lunched in a nice little protected cove behind a narrow slot.

Our Track:  (12.3 nm, 23 km, YTD 209 km)

 Photos of the day…

Finally back on the water again after quite a long break. I missed the paddle on March 3rd as I had to pack and prepare for what was a wonderful trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands.

Today, Bill, Doug, Tony, Karen, Hans and I left Moses Point on a falling tide and had a very nice and uneventful paddle to Fulford Harbour and back. There were some very nice houses on the coast of Saltspring Island! The wind was forecast to be quite strong and there was an 80% chance of rain, so a sunny clam day was a nice surprise.

Our track:   12.7 nautical miles, 23.4 km (YTD: 186 km)

Photos from today: