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Summer 2011: it’s made for going around in circles
Setting the speed record for
circumnavigating Vancouver Island may
be for the elite, but enough other circle
adventures are set for 2011 to keep paddlers
occupied in everything from competitive
hauls to free-spirited fun runs.
Back again is the Alert Bay 360, set this
year for July 31 to coincide with the BC
Day long weekend. It will feature a race
around Malcolm Island (off Port McNeill
on northern Vancouver Island). Plus the
community gets involved with a Big House
celebration, seafood buffet and First
Nations cultural dance performances.
The only catch: registration is being
limited to 200 participants this year.
Registration will take place online soon at
www.alertbay360.com.
Back for its 11th year is the Round
Bowen Island Challenge. Well situated for
Vancouver and Greater Seattle paddlers, the
race is set for Sunday, June 26 and features
a tough 35-kilometer slog around the Howe
Sound island north of Vancouver. Visit
roundbowenchallenge.com.
Bound to entail less competition, the
Gabriola 360 Fun Race takes place for
its second year on Sunday, Aug. 21. The
first year race organizers Silva Bay Kayak
Adventures attracted 26 participants. Visit
www.silvabayakaking.com.
For more summer events, visit
www.coastandkayak.com/events.html
Clayoquot at risk – again
With plans already in the works for open
pit mining of the iconic Catface Range in
Clayoquot Sound, a new threat is being
faced by Flores Island as logging company
Iisaak is looking to build roads into an area
it signed an agreement in 1999 to preserve
from logging. The Wilderness Committee
is launching an email petition to halt the
logging. Visit wildernesscommittee.org to
add your voice.
Meanwhile, Coast&Kayak columnist
Dan Lewis and partner Bonny Glambeck
will be touring British Columbia coastal
communities this spring with a presentation
called ‘Secrets of Clayoquot Sound’.
Bonny Glambeck photo
The Catface Range from Dick and Jane
Beach. See page 30.
The seasoned naturalists and expedition
paddlers will share stories about their
adventures at home in Clayoquot Sound
backed by wildlife and landscape shots
from some of BC’s leading outdoor
photographers.
The show will cover the natural beauty
and splendor of the Clayoquot Sound
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the ecology
of the region’s ancient rainforests and
threats to that ecology including fish farms,
logging and the open-pit mine proposal.
For dates and details visit the Friends of
Clayoquot Sound website at www.focs.ca.
My Arctic Tern 14 is the
most versatile and most fun
of eleven boats I own.
Ginni Callahan, Kayaking Guide
FOLDING KAYAKS THAT TRAVEL THE WORLD
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Ginni says ‘Fourteen’ feels like she weighs nothing at all!
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6 COAST&KAYAK MAGAZINE SPRING 2011