Kayaking Saved My Life

For The Gearheads

I get a lot of questions about the gear that I used on my trip, so I thought I’d post a list of the stuff I used.   I’m sure I’ll forget some items, but this is the most comprehensive list I can come up with.

 Consumer Reports Disclaimer: This is gear that I use and believe in.  I’ve received no compensation or sponsorship from any of the product manufacturers or suppliers.  Though, I am not opposed to sponsorships in the future (hint), I will continue to mention only products that I use and believe in.

Transportation

Kayak - NDK Explorer (Rope Skeg)

Paddle – Werner Ikelos, 210 Bent Shaft (Primary and Spare)

Drysuit – Kokotat GFER

PFD - Kokotat MissFit

Spray Skirt – Snapdragon Ocean Tour EXP

Miscellaneous – Northwater Under Deck Bag and Paddle Drawers 

Safety

ICOM M 88 VHF

Spot Personal Locator Beacon

Orion 12 Gauge Flare Pistol (with 6 shells)

Orion/ SOLAS Parachute Flare

Adventure Medical Fundamentals First Aid Kit (plus a second kit with bandages, moleskin, Ibuprophin and other routine needs)

Kokotat Storm Cag

Boat Repair Kit _ In addition to the usual duct tape, denso tape, protecto wrap and epoxy putty; I added glass cloth, glass tape and West Systems epoxy resin.  I added an extra skeg rope and bungee too.

Northwater Tow Belt

Bedroom

Tent – North Face Mountain 25

Footprint – a sheet of Tyvek cut to dimensions

Sleeping Bag – Marmot Hydrogen Long

Sleeping Pad - Thermarest Prolite Regular

 

Kitchen

Stove - Jetboil (spare burner assembly tucked in cup)

4 canisters of fuel.  I overestimated and carried twice as much as I needed.  I hated loading and unloading those extra canisters. Lesson learned.

Lexan Bowl, Cup and Spoon from GSI 

Food

Breakfast: Oatmeal with raisins, walnut and powdered milk. 

Lunch and Snacks on the Water: Trail mix. I made my own with almonds, cashews; cranberries and dark chocolate M&Ms. This lasted the first 14 days.  I used what I could find to replenish Port McNeil offered a good variety of GORP making supplies.  Tofino offered much more pedestrian raisins, peanuts and chocolate chips.  I kept a 16 oz Nalgene bottle in my underdeck bag and drank my GORP as needed.  

Dinner – Knor Noodle or Rice sides with tuna, chicken or grated Parmesan cheese mixed in.  My favorites were Noodles Parmesan, Alfredo, Thai Noodles and Stroganoff.  Cajun Red Beans ands Rice got old.  It needs more seasoning. 

Off Water Snacks – Dried Fruit Unsweetened dried mango from the Pike Street Market in Seattle was my favorite. 

I estimate my total calorie intake at over 4000 a day, and I lost 20lbs on the trip.

 

Finding My Rhythm

I’ve talked with a number of expedition paddlers, and they all seem to agree. No matter what kind of shape you’re in, early in a trip you feel like crap.  Then you paddle into your fitness.  That matches my experience on my previous trips.  Around day two or three you reach a point where the aches, bruises and blisters bother you.  If you keep going you feel better and by the end of the trip, you’re not ready for it to end.  Though I had never before this trip paddled more than two weeks at a shot, I expected that this trip would be the same. 

Bridge Between North and South Pender Island

I was a fit person.  Cycling about 100 miles a week gave me good aerobic conditioning, but my work responsibilities made me a weekend paddler.  Long days of paddling day after day would be asking my muscles for more than they were used to.   I knew I would need to ease into my expedition. My next couple days in the Gulf Islands and the Southeast Coast of Vancouver gave me the perfect opportunity to begin to paddle into expedition fitness.  Skies were clear. The seas were manageable and the winds, though brisk by afternoon, were a pleasant balance to the warm sunny days.  Campsites were spaced to allow reasonable paddling distances. 

Sea Cave Near Newcastle Park

Saturday July 3, I paddled a reasonable 23NM to Wallace Island and saw my first wildlife, a harbor seal.  I made camp at Chivers Point.  Sunday, July 4, the current wasn’t right to paddle through Dodd Narrows, so I chose to paddle against the reduced current of False Narrows.  I landed at Newcastle Provincial Park after paddling 21NM for the day.  The park was quite civilized with a camp store and other amenities.  This gave me a chance to buy a cap to replace the one I forgot in my car, and an ice cream too.  I even had a two-loonie shower.  That is the coin shower at the park took Canadian one-dollar coins (loonie), and I splurged.  I did say I was easing into my trip.

Camp on Southy Island

The next morning, the howling winds and forecast of a gale kept me in my tent late.  When I finally woke up, things didn’t seam so bad, so I packed up and headed out into the wind.   The 15 to 20 knot headwind drained my energy, so I made camp on Southy Island, more a rock than an island really, but it was home for the night.   At 12NM, I didn’t make the mileage that I hoped, but that would change.  The area south of Comox offered few landings and no campsites, so my day tomorrow would be 38NM. 

I set up my tent on a rocky outcrop using stones to anchor the stake loops.  I pulled out my VHF to listen to the weather forecast.  About halfway through the report, the sound stopped - nothing.  The radio appeared to work all displays and lights responding to switches and knobs, but no sound came out.  One of the speaker wires had corroded through.  That would not do.  I needed those weather forecasts and I needed to monitor the heavy East Coast shipping traffic that would be sharing the water, and they don’t share nice.

I called my friend Rich.  Rich is a good guy with the gift of gab.  He had been following my progress, so I decided to ask him to call ahead to try to locate a replacement radio.  He was glad to help.  He’d call me back tomorrow to let me know what he found.

Ferries and Other Ships Can Sneak Up On You.  - A VHF Helps

July 6, Headwinds and distance made for a long day.  I pulled onto Sandy Island after nearly 13 hours of paddling.  Out of energy, it was all I could do to tend to my boat, set up camp and drag my bones into my sleeping bag.  I called my wife and I checked messages.  Rich had called.  He had found a VHF in Courtney about 6 miles from where I camped.  Tomorrow would be a rest day – well a rest day with a little paddle to pick up a new radio.

 

Beginnings

After one false start in loading gear into my kayak, I shoved off North Beach on Orcas Island and pointed my bow toward Canada.  The seas were less than 3’ with a 10 knot breeze out of the Northwest.  The clear blue sky added to my sense of anticipation.  It felt good to be paddling.  My destination was Pender Island where I would clear Canadian Customs, and begin my great adventure.

 

Earlier in the day, I met Mike DuPas at the Body Boat Blade shop.    A friend of Shawna and Leon, Mike agreed to drop me off and shuttle my car to safe parking. He helped me carry my boat and gear to the water’s edge.  We chatted about kayaking and my trip plans as I started to push the many small dry bags into the ends of my Explorer.  After a while, the conversation lapsed, and Mike, sensing my eagerness to get on the water, said goodbye. 

I watched my car pull away, my last teather to my civilized routine breaking, and resumed packing.  Things didn’t quite fit as well as I wanted, so I emptied the stern compartment.  I threw away an old chart case that held the charts I would need on the West Coast of Vancouver.  I lined the bottom of the compartment with the 11 x 17 chart sections trusting that the lamination would keep them dry enough to be readable after two or more weeks of damp.   The second packing attempt worked and every bit of food, water and gear fit. 

I paddled to the North end of Waldron Island, then the plan was to head for the Southeast tip of Saturna Island.  That would make my 4NM crossing of Boundary Passage as short as possible, but my late start, the building ebb and the light shipping traffic induced me to cut the corner and paddle strait for South Pender.  This turned out to be a good choice.  I was in Canada.  I pulled into Bedwell Harbor on South Pender.  Clearing customs was a simple phone call.  My first day of paddling had been an easy one at 15 NM.

  Looking Back at Orcas Island from Boundary Passage

My campsite for the night was at the base of Mount Norman.  I carried my gear to my campsite. I carried my boat well above the high tide line securing it with my tow belt.  After setting up camp, I cooked my noodle dinner and pulled out my charts and tide tables to plan my next day.  This would be my routine for as far as I dared look into the future.  Unload my kayak; cary gear, set up camp, eat and do my planning for the next day.  Reverse the order in the morning, and wash rinse repeat.  Summer daylight gave me time for a hike to the top the mountain.  The view and my sense of awe at the trip before me took my breath away as I looked back toward Orcas Island. 

Above High Tide Line

View From Mount Norman

 

July 26, 2011

I can’t believe it.  One year ago, I was camping at Calvin Falls, two thirds of the way into my Vancouver Circumnavigation.  Even more unbelievable is the fact that I have not updated this damn blog about the trip.  I’ve done a number of presentations on my trip at clubs and symposiums, but some of my friends have not been able to attend.  For these friends and to give myself some closure, I’m going to go through my journals and update my blog entries on the trip.  My mission is to finish these posts by August 5, the anniversary of my completion

Calvin Falls

Michael Was Here