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Kayaking trip goes splashingly
  
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Following guide through archipelago a great introduction to sport
By Paul Galinski | reporter@prpeak.com
Awakening at 4 am to what sounded like a monsoon did not bode well for the prospects of the day’s long-awaited Copeland Islands kayaking adventure.
However, a reawakening three hours later provided acceptable atmospheric conditions for exploring the coastline in the vicinity of Lund, so waterproof garments, a hat and sunscreen were thrown in the back of the car and the vehicle was pointed toward the beginning/end of Highway 101.
Arriving in Lund, a gaggle of would-be paddlers gathered on a deck overlooking the harbour, waiting for a representative of Terracentric Coastal Adventures to arrive and initiate a kayak tour for seven into the Copeland Islands, which dot the coastline on the aquatic highway into Desolation Sound. The Copeland Islands have been a provincial marine park since 1971 and provide a protected reserve for a cluster of forested islets that teem with abundant sea life and birds.
Tour guide Tsimka Martin, a fairly recent émigré from Tofino, arrived and spirited the group to where the kayaks were located. Watertight skirts that looked like kilts-gone-wrong were distributed to the paddlers so that Malaspina Strait would stay out of the vessels’ bottoms. The skirts were hardly a fashion statement, but were welcome parts of the kit when waves were encountered later on. The finishing couturier touch was the personal floatation device, essential if the dreaded rollover was to occur.
Once all the paddlers were equipped, Martin showed the dynamics of how to get in and out of a kayak, plus how to use the paddles. When the primer was concluded, the fleet of colourful vessels was carried to the Lund boat launch and the plastic navy gingerly shoved off. Caution was the order of the day because some of the paddlers were inexperienced and took a while to adjust their equilibrium to the ocean’s fluidity.
With bums below the waterline, kayaking is about as close as one can get to being a submariner without actually sinking. It was evident from the first few strokes, that this sport is an up-close-and-personal aquatic experience.
Martin set a slow pace, hugging the shoreline away from Lund and past Finn Bay. The paddlers kept to the shoreline along the Malaspina Peninsula until the Copeland Islands were in close proximity.
The flotilla was summoned by Martin, who pointed out there was significant marine traffic through Thulin Passage, the body of water between the Copeland Islands and the Malaspina Peninsula. With such a busy thoroughfare, the kayakers were urged to paddle in a line-abreast formation to enhance the prospects of being spotted by mariners piloting considerably larger vessels back and forth from Desolation Sound.
Having survived the game of chicken on the aquatic freeway, the paddlers, buoyed with confidence, were led on a slalom course through the Copelands. In one particularly momentous instant, while the kayakers were hugging the shore by a paddle’s length, a feasting pair of bald eagles was spotted, dining on some kind of bird sashimi on the beach. The eagles were just as startled as the paddlers. One flew into a nearby tree and the other just headed farther down the beach.
Judy Moody, a paddler from Lake Arrowhead, California, two hours east of Los Angeles, called happening upon the eagles “magnificent.”
One of the local paddlers agreed, saying that crossing paths with the pair of bald eagles was thrilling. She added that most people in the world never get to see something like that, and it’s one of the reasons she and her husband want to pinch themselves on a regular basis and say, “We get to live here.”
Passing the beach and rounding the island, the flotilla passed through a narrow channel. Martin looked at her watch and determined that it was lunchtime. A decision was made on which islet to land and a course was set past some anchored sailboats into a protected inlet. The paddlers slowly pulled up on the shore so as not to scratch the bottoms of the kayaks on the rocks. After more than a couple of hours on a thin seat, wobbling out of the vessel and setting foot in the shallow water was a welcome adjustment.
So far, so good. Nobody had gone swimming inadvertently. However, even with the rubber skirt, paddling is a wet experience. Arms are dampened by the proximity of the water, and dampness somehow manages to find its way under that butt-ugly skirt. One tandem kayak has also made the voyage and the paddler in front has discovered that the paddler in the rear is not too adept, and regularly cascades water from his paddle onto her back and arms.
With all ashore, it’s time to explore the islet. The paddlers finally gaggle at the picnic area to devour the sumptuous feast set by Martin. The quality of the meal, which had been crammed into a soft cooler in the waterproof compartment of one kayak, was unexpected. With a variety of meats, cheeses, fruit and a potato salad that every male had a least two helpings of, everyone had a sufficient reserve of nutritional fuel to assist in paddling back to Lund.
Judy and her husband Bryan then donned snorkelling gear to explore the sea life in the little cove. This was Judy’s first real experience snorkelling and one she thoroughly enjoyed.
The locals larked on the beach and in tidal pools, bonding with tiny rock crabs and sea stars. One crab became an instant movie star after one of the tour participants cornered it, filming with a waterproof video camera.
Martin finally signalled that it was time to get underway so the paddlers suited up and headed back out into channel. The kayaking experience on the way up emboldened the neophytes and the flotilla made its way back toward Lund with confidence.
Once ashore and after the kayaks were stored with the gear returned, Martin said she leads six tours a week.
“The guided tour is a good way to explore kayaking,” she said.
“Often, tour participants want to be close to nature. You’re propelling yourself. There are no fossil fuels involved and you can go really close to the shore. You can get a lot closer to a lot of marine life.”
Going into the Copelands provides the opportunity to experience a variety of different sights and sounds in a compact area, she added.
A guided tour, however, does not qualify the neophyte as a kayaking expert. “This is just to see if you really like kayaking,” Martin said. “If you really take to it you can take a lesson, learn the required techniques and then go out without a guide.”
Bryan said he and Judy are thinking of adding kayaking as a new hobby and are talking about planning something for next summer back up this way.
“It was a great day and we’re very happy we planned his outing,” Judy said.
However, a reawakening three hours later provided acceptable atmospheric conditions for exploring the coastline in the vicinity of Lund, so waterproof garments, a hat and sunscreen were thrown in the back of the car and the vehicle was pointed toward the beginning/end of Highway 101.
Arriving in Lund, a gaggle of would-be paddlers gathered on a deck overlooking the harbour, waiting for a representative of Terracentric Coastal Adventures to arrive and initiate a kayak tour for seven into the Copeland Islands, which dot the coastline on the aquatic highway into Desolation Sound. The Copeland Islands have been a provincial marine park since 1971 and provide a protected reserve for a cluster of forested islets that teem with abundant sea life and birds.
Tour guide Tsimka Martin, a fairly recent émigré from Tofino, arrived and spirited the group to where the kayaks were located. Watertight skirts that looked like kilts-gone-wrong were distributed to the paddlers so that Malaspina Strait would stay out of the vessels’ bottoms. The skirts were hardly a fashion statement, but were welcome parts of the kit when waves were encountered later on. The finishing couturier touch was the personal floatation device, essential if the dreaded rollover was to occur.
Once all the paddlers were equipped, Martin showed the dynamics of how to get in and out of a kayak, plus how to use the paddles. When the primer was concluded, the fleet of colourful vessels was carried to the Lund boat launch and the plastic navy gingerly shoved off. Caution was the order of the day because some of the paddlers were inexperienced and took a while to adjust their equilibrium to the ocean’s fluidity.
With bums below the waterline, kayaking is about as close as one can get to being a submariner without actually sinking. It was evident from the first few strokes, that this sport is an up-close-and-personal aquatic experience.
Martin set a slow pace, hugging the shoreline away from Lund and past Finn Bay. The paddlers kept to the shoreline along the Malaspina Peninsula until the Copeland Islands were in close proximity.
The flotilla was summoned by Martin, who pointed out there was significant marine traffic through Thulin Passage, the body of water between the Copeland Islands and the Malaspina Peninsula. With such a busy thoroughfare, the kayakers were urged to paddle in a line-abreast formation to enhance the prospects of being spotted by mariners piloting considerably larger vessels back and forth from Desolation Sound.
Having survived the game of chicken on the aquatic freeway, the paddlers, buoyed with confidence, were led on a slalom course through the Copelands. In one particularly momentous instant, while the kayakers were hugging the shore by a paddle’s length, a feasting pair of bald eagles was spotted, dining on some kind of bird sashimi on the beach. The eagles were just as startled as the paddlers. One flew into a nearby tree and the other just headed farther down the beach.
Judy Moody, a paddler from Lake Arrowhead, California, two hours east of Los Angeles, called happening upon the eagles “magnificent.”
One of the local paddlers agreed, saying that crossing paths with the pair of bald eagles was thrilling. She added that most people in the world never get to see something like that, and it’s one of the reasons she and her husband want to pinch themselves on a regular basis and say, “We get to live here.”
Passing the beach and rounding the island, the flotilla passed through a narrow channel. Martin looked at her watch and determined that it was lunchtime. A decision was made on which islet to land and a course was set past some anchored sailboats into a protected inlet. The paddlers slowly pulled up on the shore so as not to scratch the bottoms of the kayaks on the rocks. After more than a couple of hours on a thin seat, wobbling out of the vessel and setting foot in the shallow water was a welcome adjustment.
So far, so good. Nobody had gone swimming inadvertently. However, even with the rubber skirt, paddling is a wet experience. Arms are dampened by the proximity of the water, and dampness somehow manages to find its way under that butt-ugly skirt. One tandem kayak has also made the voyage and the paddler in front has discovered that the paddler in the rear is not too adept, and regularly cascades water from his paddle onto her back and arms.
With all ashore, it’s time to explore the islet. The paddlers finally gaggle at the picnic area to devour the sumptuous feast set by Martin. The quality of the meal, which had been crammed into a soft cooler in the waterproof compartment of one kayak, was unexpected. With a variety of meats, cheeses, fruit and a potato salad that every male had a least two helpings of, everyone had a sufficient reserve of nutritional fuel to assist in paddling back to Lund.
Judy and her husband Bryan then donned snorkelling gear to explore the sea life in the little cove. This was Judy’s first real experience snorkelling and one she thoroughly enjoyed.
The locals larked on the beach and in tidal pools, bonding with tiny rock crabs and sea stars. One crab became an instant movie star after one of the tour participants cornered it, filming with a waterproof video camera.
Martin finally signalled that it was time to get underway so the paddlers suited up and headed back out into channel. The kayaking experience on the way up emboldened the neophytes and the flotilla made its way back toward Lund with confidence.
Once ashore and after the kayaks were stored with the gear returned, Martin said she leads six tours a week.
“The guided tour is a good way to explore kayaking,” she said.
“Often, tour participants want to be close to nature. You’re propelling yourself. There are no fossil fuels involved and you can go really close to the shore. You can get a lot closer to a lot of marine life.”
Going into the Copelands provides the opportunity to experience a variety of different sights and sounds in a compact area, she added.
A guided tour, however, does not qualify the neophyte as a kayaking expert. “This is just to see if you really like kayaking,” Martin said. “If you really take to it you can take a lesson, learn the required techniques and then go out without a guide.”
Bryan said he and Judy are thinking of adding kayaking as a new hobby and are talking about planning something for next summer back up this way.
“It was a great day and we’re very happy we planned his outing,” Judy said.
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