After a hearty breakfast at The Restaurant in Bamfield, we headed down to meet Dane at GPO Charters. He got us set up with awesome kayaks that are actually made on the island and we set about stowing our gear and water. They recommend 3 liters per person per day so we filled our camelbacks, dromedary bag, nalgenes, and rented a large water container. A 30 minute boat ride across the rough channel brought us to Effingham Island where we unloaded and I got my first real taste of the sea kayak. First off, these particular boats have a ton of storage and are super stable for which I was super glad since I really didn’t want to flip over. Secondly, the rudder system was awesome, so easy to bring up and down and to help steer the boat. Steve had picked out our course of paddling so we could see some of the islands before we headed to our first campsite so we headed around Effingham and to a nice beach on Cooper. We hunted for shells and had a snack before we did our first scary section. We knew that the first day would be tough, late start and the wind and waves pick up in the afternoon. Our plan was to go into the wind, cut between Batley and Wouwer and then out to the opening of Coaster Channel for a short bit to then turn and use the wind/waves to our advantage and make for Benson Island. Here is where I admit I’m writing this after I’m safely home on the couch and the level of terror has subsided! If I had written about this crossing right after I would have said that giant walls of water were crashing down on me and I was going to die. The waves were high enough that I couldn’t see over them and the wind was whipping around. My lizard brain took over and said “you must only go perpendicular to the waves or you will flip over and die”. Not one to argue, that is what I did with much hyperventilating and squeaks of terror. Of course the Island we were aiming for was not conveniently placed for me to reach it by only paddling perpendicular. Steve was concerned I’d just keep going out to the open ocean! Eventually I over came my initial terror and started making course corrections. We aborted the initial plan and cut back between Batley and the small island beside it. This allowed Hillary and I to catch our breath and high five for not dying. Steve took this time to snap a couple,of pictures of seals lounging in the kelp. Next up was still to cross the Coaster Channel to our campsite on Clark. Again, huge waves, high winds and speaks of terror but we made it over to the shelter of Benson Island. Even though the maps say there is a campsite on Benson, it is closed due to cultural significance for the indigenous people of the area.

We camped on Clarke which has one of most scenic and most popular campsites. Several other groups were already there but we found room for our tents and claimed a log for a kitchen. As we enjoyed some meat and cheese snacks we realized we had forgotten to pack any wine, which we felt was a huge failing on our part! After dinner and the adrenaline let down, we headed to bed before the sun had even set.

The next morning we had a leisurely start and finally got the boats launched around 11:00 am. It’s pretty typical for there to be clouds in the morning and evening but sunny at mid-day. We made our way over to Turret Island and spent time exploring the low tide regions. Lunch was PB&J on a small rocky beach before we headed around the southern tip of the Island. This was a more exposed area but thanks to the terror of yesterday, it didn’t feel too bad and fewer speaks of terror were uttered. The tide had continued to go out so we needed up portaging our kayaks between Turret and Trickett as we made our way back to Clarke for another night.

We decided that evening we needed to move camp the next day for several reasons, we needed to be closer to our pick up location and the campsite was getting pretty crowded with louder groups. Having now learned our lesson of calm water in the mornings we stuck to the plan of an early departure. This also gave us an idea of how long it would take us to break camp and pack the kayaks for our final morning. While we won’t break any speed records we did manage to get our while the water was still calm! We headed out between Clarke and Owen, around Lovett and Trickett to our new camp on Willis. This one we had all to ourselves! The beach was on a lovely deep bay and the campsites were more in the woods, giving the place a fairytale quality. We set up camp and then Steve and I headed out to explore the Tiny Group and Hillary stayed behind to explore the Island. The bay between Turtle, Dodd, and Chalk must offer a good anchorage for boats as there were five of them there when we paddled through. As we approached the Tiny Group we noticed low clouds and a fog bank moving in. The pictures didn’t come out as vibrant but this small group of rock was really fun to paddle around. We headed back to rejoin with Hillary and she showed us a huge cedar tree she had found. The evening was spent relaxing in the quiet, drinking horrible coffee, and reading.

 

Our final morning was foggy trending to rain as we broke camp and made our way across to the bay between Jarvis and Jaques Islands. Super calm water and quiet conditions. As we approached the mouth of the bay we hear something odd and then Steve realizes it is the sound of whales blowing! I think it was a mother and young as one fin was much smaller than the other. They swam up the coast and past us, very cool! We came this way so we could cut between the islands and see the remains of old fish traps in the inner bay. Unfortunately this way is only open during the highest tides so we had another portage across. The bay was not the prettiest one but the fish traps were cool to see, large circles of rocks won’t a small opening that could all have been under water at high tide. From here it was a short easy paddle over to Gibralter where Dane was set to pick us up at noon.

Back in Bamfield it was time for food that didn’t come from a bag, an adult beverage, and laundry! This little town is a great spot to start and finish a trip!