I was born (a long time ago), raised, and lived most of my life on Vancouver island. My connection to this place is strong where on my mother’s side the family goes back to time immemorial.
I began a transition from hiking to paddling about 35 years ago. As I moved toward my mid-40’s, a kayak didn’t need to be carried and the quality and quantity of the liquor improved substantially. After a few years I bought a Nimbus Telkwa HV and laid a couple of extra layers of glass along the keel. I have camped out of that boat about 1000 nights since and it is clear that the boat is likely to last longer than me.
About 30 years ago i joined the Nanaimo Paddlers where I learned my approach to being safe on the coast. At that time, group camping in remote areas was popular, many people were still in canoes and there was less emphasis on hard skills. Groups from that club were inclusive and trips needed to be planned and executed to involve a lot of people who were often well on in years and not skilled in challenging water. I learned that we knew it was time to go home when Molly ran out of scotch. For many years I organized groups of 6-12 people to most areas of the BC outer coast. Someone needed to learn the soft skills to keep folks safe and I enjoyed doing that.
When kayaking changed about 20-25 years ago to the emphasis on hard skills and managing more challenging conditions, that bus left the depot without me.
I have been fortunate to paddle all of the outer coast of BC south of Prince Rupert and Cape Knox and north of Tofino except for about 15 nm on Graham Island. The past 20 years I focused mainly on the central and north coast and the channels and races north of Campbell River. Until the last few years, my trips always included a diverse group. Camping remains my primary focus.
I was able to retire 23 years ago and this left time for paddling and my other pastime, walking Caminos in Spain and France. Retiring to these endeavours was a marked improvement to practising law which was my vocation.
These days I still plan a three week trip
each year although I now limit myself to the central coast. I think that area is the easiest place to paddle with
low risk and still be in the wilds. But
hope springs eternal, so maybe one more run from Rupert down to Hardy on the
outside is still possible.
