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Day 6, 8/7/01
Weather: Altimeter dropped another 150 ft over night. Mostly sunny am. nearly completely clear by afternoon.
Paddle: 8 to10 miles in one 3.5 hour stretch.
From the entrance of the bay we sit watching wave break on the reef. The waves have moderated quite a bit from yesterday but the breakers are still dramatic. There is supposed to be an opening through which we may pass to the ocean. After a couple minutes I identify one section at which I have not seen any waves break. Not too far on either side, though no rocks are visible, the occasional larger wave will stand up and then crest over in a beautiful roller.
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We make it through easily and are out in the ocean. The paddling is very pleasant - 3 ft swells, little wind, clear and beautiful. Joseph sees a coho in the water and gets out his fishing tackle. Several porpoises surface lazily around us.
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We paddle north, staying well of shore to avoid reefs with breakers. North of Jurassic Pt we look for an opening in the reefs so we can land and take a break from the boats. The breakers look continuous so we decide to keep going. Here the swells are 8 to10 ft and we easily loose each other.
Eventually we come to a large deep water channel and cross to the inside of the reefs and islands. I paddle along the east side of some low rocky islands looking at the wave washed shoreline. Birds are plentiful on the island and their sounds fill the air. There is now a light NW wind.
This may be the best day of paddling that I have had.
We round one low, grassy island, cross a calm lagoon with plentiful life, and land on the edge of a white shell beach. The beach fronts a smaller lagoon. Several seals in the lagoon watch us intently. Latter I put my wet suit back on and go into the water to see how close the seals will come to me. When they raise their heads up I tread faster and raise my head up just like them. When they dive I watch underwater to see if they are coming in closer. When I see a seal while paddling I am always looking in the water hoping to catch sight of them swimming. For some reason seeing them underwater is very appealing. I never do. Nor do I see them underwater today.
The beach rises for 8 ft then has extensive flats, where we camp. All our wet gear is spread out and soon dry.
I am sitting on the flats as I write this. In front of me the lagoon with curious seals and gentle waves. Beyond that a line of rocks and breaking waves. I could not imagine a more spectacular camping site. I set a GPS way point and label it "PARADS". It must be miserable in a storm.
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Day 7, 8/8/01
Weather: Light N wind. Not a cloud
Paddle: Day paddle, surf play.
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The weather is glorious. And the sun is strong. By nine we have the tarp up for shade and are much more comfortable for it.
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Late morning we head over to the mainland to get water. Joseph takes us to a beautiful sandy pocket beach where they camped on their previous trip. From there we head south along an expansive white sandy beach. The slope is very gradual and the sand runs a long way out. At 150 ft off shore we are in only 7ft of water or so. The breaking waves are typically 2 to 3ft, some to 4ft. We have come here to practice our surf landings.
I take a ride in. I have never done this before and am nervous, unsure what to expect. The boat accelerates and tracks straight. The wave breaks behind me and pushes me in. It was very easy, I think I slipped in on some smaller waves. Joseph and Wendy both take rides and are dumped by bigger waves.
I take maybe 15 trips in. At first I take any wave, then I start looking for the larger ones. On the smaller waves I can stay out in front often with out broaching. When I do broach it is a graceful turn and I have plenty of time to lean into the wave with a high brace. The very largest waves burry my bow. When this happens I just lean back and wait for the broach. These waves will burry me in their froth and carry me most of the way in.
On the way out my kayak punches through the breaking waves. Most are just waist high but a few break over the boat and punch me in my chest. My instinct is to hold the paddle high above my head but I soon realize that this puts my arms in a vulnerable position. After that I train myself to hold my arms down, pointing the paddle along the deck in large waves.
Through all this I never capsize. I'm feeling a lot more connected to my boat.
Joseph and I head south to catch up to Wendy and Marie, who have gone on to get water from a stream. That beach has smaller surf and we take some pictures of each other.
I wash up in the stream. I like living outdoors when the weather is so kind.
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As I'm brushing my teeth that evening I see some odd vertical thing in the kelp in front of our camp. I dismiss it, but keep watching. A orca surfaces in an open stretch out in the bay. There are three and they seem to be hunting through the kelp. They make their way out of the bay. At the exit there is suddenly a lot of commotion. Either there is a playful pup with them or they have found something to eat. They show up again, later, after the sun has set. I see several seals in the kelp also watching the whales. Brigget says that resident populations eat fish, not seals, while transient populations do eat seals. She tells a story of some researchers. They were out studying the transient population when a seal jumped into their boat. The whales where right behind.