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passenger ferry service and trails make Newcastle Island accessible even without a kayak. Newcastle Island may be the focus for trips in the harbour, but it’s not the only place to paddle. Jesse Island, a private island in Departure Bay, has bold sandstone cliffs to explore with the bonus of the only paddle-through sea cave in the Gulf Islands and great scuba diving. The main residents are two dogs that watch over the property, loudly proclaiming their dominance to anyone who passes by. Caught unawares, their barks could send you out of your sprayskirt. It’s hard to tell if they’re as vicious as they sound, but it’s probably best left untested. It’s a shame—the owners have no foreshore rights, so anyone should have beach access, but the dogs make that impossible. If you continue north along the shoreline past Departure Bay, you round more headlands and more beaches, like Piper’s Lagoon with its long gravel beach and rocky headland protected as a city park, and Neck Point, a more recent park addition in Nanaimo. The waters around both headlands are favourite places for sea lions to feed. Usually a head or two will surface at some point during a trip past here. Between the two parks is Shack Island, named for the humble cottages that dot the island. They sit much as they have for decades, their presence on the Crown land due to squatters’ rights, something that precludes any improvements. If seeing this picturesque island doesn’t make you want to pick up a paintbrush and paint, nothing will. If you head east out of Departure Bay (towards the mainland) you’ll reach a small cluster of rocky islands. These are all part of Hudson Rock Ecological Reserve, created to protect a population of pelagic cormorants that, sadly, has spiraled in decline. In 1987, 142 nests were counted; in 2000, just three were found. It’s a fate shared across the Gulf Islands and Strait of Georgia. Is it due to human encroachment? Possibly. Is it from the resurgence in the number of predatory bald eagles? Probably. You can pass by and look for evidence yourself, but you can’t stop to investigate because access is by permit only. The other residents of the islands—mostly nesting murres and Five Finger Island sunning seals—don’t need permission. A little farther afield on an eastbound trip is Five Finger Island. Much larger than the nearby Hudson Rocks, it was named for its appearance as a fisted hand with each of the five knolls appearing as a knuckle. Perhaps from some angle it’s true, though I’ve never seen it. It’s safe to stop here on the island’s rough beach to explore the rocks, though have a light foot. It has its residents too. On a calm day with lots of time on your hands, you may want to head even farther east. Sitting alone out in the Strait of Georgia between Five Finger Island and Gabriola Island is Snake Island. It’s one of those illusionary islands that never seems to get nearer as you paddle, right up until the moment you arrive. It is 3.1 km northeast from McKay Point, so be sure of your weather before you start out. Things can get hairy on the open water in the Strait of Georgia, and there’s nowhere to hide once you’re out there. A beach on the south side of Snake Island offers a good kayak haul-out. Land only when it’s well past nesting season. After that you can stroll the bluffs or marvel at the wonderfully fretted sandstone overhangs on the island’s west side. You can also kayak south from Nanaimo Harbour, but most paddlers don’t head in that direction. It will bring you into Northumberland Channel, a potentially busy industrial area with log booms and tugs on the Gabriola Island side of the channel and a pulp mill (Harmac), a fuel depot (Canadian Occidental Petroleum), a ferry terminal (BC Ferries’ Duke Point terminal for service to Tsawwassen) and a deep-sea port. But it has its charm. There are the magnificent cliffs of Gabriola to enjoy as a backdrop, and if you arrive here in winter (the beginning of December is probably best), you’ll likely see dozens, possibly hundreds, of sea lions on the log booms outside Harmac. Head a little farther south and you’re into fast moving Dodd Narrows and the world of the inner Gulf Islands. But that’s a different story. You can avoid all the industry of Duke Point by heading down the west side of Jack Point. Jack Point is a peninsula with Northumberland Channel to the east and the Nanaimo River estuary to the west. The west side is an extensively drying mudflat, and sure enough some boater is likely to miss the channel and run aground here every year. The headland at the point is a city park (Biggs Point Park), and the area is as scenic from the water as it is from the trail that rounds the headland. There are even pocket beaches for lunch. Other day-trip options abound in this area. Just north of Nanaimo you can launch from Lantzville or Nanoose to visit the incredible Ballenas-Winchelsea archipelago, where wildlife and exotic wildflowers flourish in the unlikely setting of sparse windswept rocks. To the south there is Gabriola and the De Courcy group, where history and kayaks collide in the provincial park at Pirates Cove, infamous for the mysterious Brother XII’s cult. And that’s just the start of the kayaking possibilities from Nanaimo. To tell about them all, well, I’d have to write a book about it, wouldn’t I? John Kimantas is a Nanaimo-based writer and author of the series of BC kayaking guides The Wild Coast (Whitecap Books). His experiences include circumnavigating Vancouver Island and a 92-day trip up the BC coast’s Inside Passage and back down the Outside Passage. His list now includes kayaking every major channel and passage on the BC coast outside Howe Sound and the Queen Charlottes. 26 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE SUMMER 2007
Out the Door and Turn Left by Jenni Gehlbach Between the three of us, we had decades of experience planning kayaking expeditions in remote and sometimes dangerous areas. We were experts in interpreting the charts of obscure places, and in finding kayak crannies in which to stuff essential sources of comfort or safety in rough places. And we had spent plenty over the years chartering floatplanes and water taxis to access wild places in limited vacation time, but this was going to be different. For various reasons Nick and I and our friend Jinny had only six days for a trip, so we decided to explore our Gulf Islands neighbourhood. We would just exit our Gabriola home, put the boats in the water and turn left, heading southeast. Jinny and I longed to paddle our kayaks, but Nick needed the flexibility to quickly visit spots off our route for his research, so he decided to take Polly Esther, our gently powered, 12 foot folding plastic Portabote—the poor man’s mothership. What a delight it was to start late, chucking lumpy cookware and bulky water containers into Polly Esther, just packing personal gear and survival packs into our kayaks. Never was a kayaking expedition’s launch so laid back. Leaving False Narrows at low tide, we skirted the clam beds with dozens of elegant heron fishing in the shallows. A cluster of masts in Pirates Cove enticingly caught the light, but we were headed for Blackberry Point on Valdes Island. At the north end of Valdes, hidden from view, is Coalminers’ Bay (its name is a bit of a mystery); the easy landing on a tiny shell beach makes it a perfect picnic spot with fine oyster pickings and warmish, clear water for swimming. Refreshed by a quick dip, we paddled past the log booms to visit the spectacular cliffs of eroded sandstone—a photographer’s dream of sculptured honeycombing in warm tawny creams. Its variety is amazing, with large smooth caverns, intricate mazes of tiny hollows, spherical concretions, protuberances, dramatic erosion-chiseled friezes and elegant curves. Gulls perch in hollows and ledges are upholstered with lichens and succulents. A group of seals slid into the water as we passed. CHANGES Sunshine Kayaking A beautiful 40 min. ferry ride from Vancouver to the Gateway of the Sunshine Coast Molly’s Lane, Gibsons, BC Tel: 604-886-9760 www.sunshinekayaking.com SUMMER 2007 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 27
Page 1 and 2: PADDLING THE PACIFIC COAST SUMMER 2
Page 3 and 4: SUMMER 2007 WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE 3
Page 5 and 6: 6 Editorial 8 Your Thoughts 14 Kaya
Page 7 and 8: kayak to kayak communication VHF ra
Page 11 and 12: Kayaks and Clams window to catch a
Page 13 and 14: the rounded, lighter colored shells
Page 15 and 16: tually had a high tolerance for len
Page 17 and 18: which grew from a seed which sprout
Page 19 and 20: Jim says straight-faced. Barely hea
Page 21 and 22: les and Toronto, we seemed to be st
Page 23 and 24: comes with living at the mercy of o
Page 25: NANAIMO AN AMAZING KAYAKING DESTINA
Page 29 and 30: We wanted to explore Porlier Pass,
Page 31 and 32: that paddlers must stay as close to
Page 33 and 34: That first evening the four of us t
Page 35 and 36: were squeezed between the rising an
Page 37 and 38: ehavior is unusual, so local knowle
Page 39 and 40: The Rancho remained intact for half
Page 43 and 44: “We know our stuff” getti
Page 45 and 46: Portable Performance Long Haul Fold
Page 47 and 48: Your Mothership Repair Specialists
Page 49 and 50: KAYAK with COMFORT Yoga
Page 51 and 52: GETTING IN AND OUT OF A KAYAK—fro
Page 53 and 54: compressing it, you force air into
Page 55 and 56: the more lively and dart-like its f
Page 57 and 58: will be sponsored by the Port Towns
Page 61 and 62: events July 6-8 9th Annual Howe Sou
Page 63 and 64: WAVELENGTH BOOKSTORE The Broken Isl
Page 65 and 66: ook reviews by Diana Mumford A Padd
Page 67 and 68: KEVLAR SEAWARD VISION GREAT DEAL on
Page 69 and 70: TOURS - MEXICO BAJA - LORETO - SEA
Page 72: in conclusion Kayaking with Iceberg

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