Rowing from Cape Scott to Vancouver, Canada

         Solo open water canoeing is risky for several reasons. Firstly, the canoe, being a monohull with a high center a gravity, is innately unstable . Secondly, it is an open shell and so is very good at catching and holding water that may enter it from large waves. Thirdly, a solo canoeist cannot generate very much power and thus is very much at the mercy of wind and tide. Four years ago I took up rowing both for fitness and travel. By adapting my 17.5 foot Kevlar canoe with a sliding seat row rig and outfitting it with 9 foot oars, it became more suitable for solo open water travel. The oars provided vastly superior stability and power for the canoe and a new world of coastal exploring became possible. Since then I have spent some part of each summer rowing up and down the coast of British Columbia from Vancouver to Kitimat.
          This past July I planned a row trip from Port Hardy, on Vancouver Island to Vancouver traveling down the west side of the island. Here follows a few photos and descriptions of that trip.

             Diana took this photo of me leaving the government dock at Port Hardy. Stowed in the canoe are 3 weeks worth of supplies and one eager rower.




                                                            These are definetely what you would call ideal conditions. Warm, sunny, calm and the tide in my favour. A great start! I passed a few fishermen and a solo kayaker earlier but now I shared this setting with the eagles and seals for the rest of the day.

            




     This is the reason why this ocean is called the "Pacific".

   
     







           Two days of rowing got me to Cape Scott, the most northerly point of Vancouver Island. I made a nice camp on a sandy beach leaving early the next morning hoping to row my usual 35 kms.

            As I rounded the final headland it became apparent that the water was just too rough for an open boat. I made a new camp on that headland where I could watch the condition of the water. I completed a total of 2 kms. that day. This next photo shows the rough water I needed to negotiate as well as a few sea lions that were surfing in the rollers. Beyond the sea lions there is only water... all the way to Japan.

          For 2 days I waited for the wind to subside  but the strong winds kept me on land. I explored the Cape and actually ended up getting a couple of visitors.

     These island black-tailed deer don't see many people up here. This tiny deer is full grown.

    
       Rather than wait an indeterminate length of time for quieter water or risking the conditions presented. I decided to row down the east side of Vancouver Island in more protected waters. I reasoned that really what I wanted to do was just enjoy a row....not necessarily in any particular environment. So after 2 nights at Cape Scott I turned back southeastwards. As this next photo illustrates conditions were still challenging.  I had to stay well out from the breakers.

           It was not surprising to learn that the north end of Vancouver Island has hundreds of power generating wind turbines!
           After 5 days of rowing I basically returned to where I had started, just outside of the harbour at Port Hardy. Here, I was once again stopped by strong winds from the south and needed to camp for 2 nights in this small shell beach cove on an island.

              I was able to contact Diana on a cellphone,which I carried, to let her know of my new plans. The wind finally eased enough for me to head south again and I made good time with the tide accompanied by orcas, dolphins and eagles.

              There is a particular pebble beach where orcas gather to scratch themselves along the eastern Vancouver Island shoreline referred to as Robson's Bight. The shallows in this bight somehow have the right conditions to keep the local pods of these killer whales coming back continually. A significant tourist business has developed here to show these magnificent beings to curious eco-tourists from all over the world. The tours usually depart from Telegraph Cove. I met a group of about 30 kayakers doing exactly that.  A "spotter", camped high on a bluff over Johnstone Strait, is employed to watch for the killer whales and let the tours know where they are headed.

   
           The water temperature steadily warmed as I traveled south. My daily swim got longer, progressing from mere milliseconds to even minutes in length.

             This is a pair of Western Sandpipers doing some beachcombing while, of course, staying camouflaged.

           This particular channel had me fretting for a few hours as there were a lot of 3 foot waves. The wind was pushing me in the right direction but I needed to slant my way across the inlet. It took me pretty much the entire length of this photo to maneuver my way across those waves. The channel stops against a steep cliff and I needed to make a couple of pulls in the back swells of that cliff amidst a couple of 4 footers. That sure got my attention! I am just now reaching calmer water and wanted to remember my passage.

                                                                                         







       I made a camp here on Thormanby Island for 3 nights enjoying the divine weather. It was a  beautiful location to hang out. There was a trail network on the island left over from an earlier time when the island was logged. Nowadays Thormanby is popular as a boating destination due to it's beautiful sand beaches and warm swimming. I was actually camped here in a provincial park.





 After 500 kms. and 16 days I arrived in Vancouver with a renewed sense of the beauty of the natural world. Super Natural British Columbia, indeed!                          



   My final photo is of a bald eagle drying it's wings in the sun.