June 5th-7th

June 5th--From Peel Island, we headed for Cluxewe Campground. That was the plan for the day, but the wind had other ideas. Having started around 9:30am to meet an slowing, out-going tide, the water started looking a bit rough around 1:00pm. We spied a white something-or-other on this small island on our right, and we headed that direction to get out of the wind and maybe have some lunch. On the way towards the white spot, we visited with a couple of rafts of sea otters. Maybe 40-50 otters between the two rafts with many others milling about. Their curiousity turned to wariness and they moved off to an area outside the kelp beds. Our second siting of rafting otters that day. 

[After a rain]

The white spot was a beach of worn out clam shells and was a First Nations camp with a phone number to call if you wanted to camp, which we did as the skies grew darker. Peter eventually got through to someone and their response was, "Sure, enjoy." I was already unpacking the boats before he was able to say "good-by." The camp had a small cabin in the middle of being finished and a ramada cover made from huge logs and Alaska-milled 2x material. The metal roofing was still on the ground and worn-out tarps provided a little respite once the rains showed up. We set camp and hung tarps under the ramada to channel off what was sure to be water coming through. A couple of weather cells skirted by us, but we one eventually hit it's mark it was a direct hit. It rained hard for several hours, as the wind driving it settled into a lull. So much for the fire that I had built.

[Deer Island]

[Fort Rupert on the far shore]

June 6th-Saturday--Because we were further south, the tide changes from the Port Hardy table reading. Add onto that another day, so another 50 or so minutes. We planned our departure for around noontime. This gave us a bit of time to let things dry out a bit from the night's rain. Peter was having some wardrobe malfunctions with his Otter pack bag, and we got off the shore about 12:30 at slack tide. There was a little northerly wind pushing an incoming tide. All the forces were going our direction. We paddled for the Vancouver Island shore south of the Port Hardy Airport. As the shore got closer the wind waves crept larger and larger to where we were surfing on some of the backside of some of the waves. Peter was having a time with his Otter (see The Dancing Otter Project on FB). It kept wanting to weathercock, which is point it's bow into the wind. The problem being was that we wanted it going the other way. So, every few strokes, he would have to backpaddle a couple of strokes to keep the bow going the direction we wanted to go. We skirted the shore for several miles until we saw a beach with some sand to land the boats safely. 

[We are protected this side of the kelp, but it is rough on the outside]

The wind was beating us down with some waves crashing over the boats sideways. This was what sprayskirts were made for! I am so glad that I watched a bunch of YouTubes and read even more books on seakayaking. I remembered the drawings of a kayaker leaning into the wave vividly as a sharp, steep wave approached from the left. Keep your hips loose and balance into the wave as it lifted it me and over the 4-5-foot crest. I worked hard to stay close to Peter and keep him in rescue distance, and have to say there was enough panic in my voice when I called back to him to make sure he was still there. Enough so that when I started turning my head to look for him on the port or starboard side, he would call out that he was still there. There wasn't much in the way of conversation with the wind howling and the crash of the waves on the rocks behind us on the shore. 

We made our way through the field of rocks to the sandy shore. I hadn't realized until that point that I really had to go pee! With both boats on the shore, Peter went to look for a tree house that someone had built years ago, and that he and his boys had spent the night seven years ago. As the tide was rising still, one person had to stay to mind the boats and bring them up on shore a bit as the tide came up. He found his treehouse in a more delapidated state than it was when he last saw it. Some modifications had been made, but questionable engineering at best. When he returned, I took off for the point to see what the conditions looked like on the other side. There were sufficient kelp beds to muffle the wind waves, but we would have to get around the point first. 

[Boats lashed together to stablize with incoming tide]

[path of me checking out conditions]

We got back into the boats, which wasn't the most graceful entrance. As I was trying to get my spray skirt attached in the incoming surf while dodging barely submerged rocks and being blown back onto the shore, I got a couple of buckets of water dumped into the cockpit. Conditions did not permit the pumping out of the unwanted water that sloshed about in the rough water as we paddled out and around the point. The conditions did not ever get to a stage where I was able to stop long enough to remove the water, so I sat with the sloshing water all the way to Cluxewe Resort. 

We stay close to shore staying amidst the bull kelp, as it smoothed out the increasing sharp waves that had had time to build from the mainland over to Vancouver Island. As we approached the red roofs of the resort, we could se the waves crashing on the shore. We had one more point to round before we would be in the area of the resort, where I had hoped that the waves would be diminished enough to provide for an easy landing. Such is hope that drives us forward, but it was not to be. The wind waves were strong and substantial as I drove the Tesla onto the smoothest beachfront I could find. I popped the sprayskirt, but the beach was too steep to get out. I yelled for the guy up the beach for a bit of help, and between waves he grabbed the bow handle and pulled me in a bit and held the boat so I could get out without rolling into the surf. So ever grateful. Once I had my boat pulled up enough so that it wouldn't slide back into the surf, Peter made his approach, got out without falling in, and we got his boat up on shore as the waves were hitting him in the back. It would have made a great picture if we weren't so busy.

With my PFD still on, I made for the office with the hopes that it would still be open. I was cold and shivering, but the kind lady at the desk said that we could have site 46. And, if we didn't get our stuff secured before 7:00pm, we could pay in the morning. As we approached the beach, Peter and I were talking about renting a cabin if they had any. No luck there, but the campsite is probably better anyways. 

[Camp 46]

Working to unload the boats and get them into the campground warmed me up some, but that 12-minute hot shower was devine. Peter had showered first, so he had dinner ready by the time I returned. We ate, putzed around a bit with the strewn out gear, and hit the mat throwing an Advil in as my head hit the dry bag with my warm clothes as a pillow. 

We had paddled 11.25 nm (nautical miles) in some very rough water. A good day by any measure. 

June 7th

I was still sore all over this morning. I know this because I am sure that it takes every muscle in my body to activate in order to get off the floor of the tent. The water 40-feet from our campsite was a still and smooth as glass with hardly a ripple at the edges of the shore, which were a churning mess just yesterday. I searched through Peter's Otter to find out where he hid my coffee as I was heating some water--a small attempt to keep the food from the critters large and small. Coffee made, I took my tablet and went to the laundrymat where they keep it heated with my tablet in hand to try and get some writing published. I was able to find someone's Starlink open and used it probably before they were awake.

June 3rd's account published, I headed back to make some breakfast and I finally found the freeze dried stuff that Trish had given my mother who then passed it onto me. I love my oatmeal, but even it gets old after a few days. We had green chile potato scramble. Two pouches because even though they state that each pouch was two servings, I think I ate more than that when I was two years old. It was good, though!

Breakfast chores done, I started in on the kayak. What a mess! It still had sea water with sand, seaweed, bits of shells and driftwood pieces. It took about 40 pans of water to get the insides and outside cleared of debris. The skies turning dark, we set up the tarps and moved the picnic table under them. Lunch, nap, blog, dinner, and plan for tomorrow. 

June 4th

Yesterday was a long day after a fitful sleep interupted several times. We arrived in Bear Cove, near the ferry dock in Port Hardy, about 6pm, which is what our shuttle driver, Nick, figured we'd be pulling in at. We had Nick drive us over to get water. Something unnecessary, but it saved us a few steps carrying the water back a couple of containers at a time. We paid him for a service which he had not tried to offer before, and we were grateful. We really weren't sure how were were going to get from Victoria to Port Hardy, and his service was the key.  After that, I felt very much alone. There is not a lot going on a Bear Cove. We got busy packing the boats, and we were underway around 7pm with more stuff than would fit inside the boats. 

Winds were light with a slight, intermittent mist. The only waves were from boats passing on the far side of the cove that makes Port Hardy. It was the perfect 2-hour paddle to get some of the travel and excitment out of our systems. As a good omin, we were entertained by a sea otter pounding a clam on it's chest as we made our way across the open water of a small cove housing a fish farm. Peel Island is about 4 nm (nautical miles) from Bear Cove, and even with this short run, it was a welcome sight when we paddled onto the beach of broken clam shells around 9:00pm. 

[Let the paddling begin]

It took us couple of hours to get the tents set up and boats situatated high above the high-tide line. I took a sponge bath with a few drops of Dr. Bronners in a couple of cups of water and called it a night. Peter was already settled down in his hammock tent strung between two root balls pushed up high onto the beach from a long-ago storm. I was having trouble falling asleep probably from the too-late coffee and my left arm aching to wear I could not find a comfortable position to be in. I took an Advil and was laying there waiting for it to take effect when I hear Peter cussing and mumbling about something. He is camped far enough from my tent that I thought he was just having a dream of some sort, so I let him have his dream. Yet, he didn't stop. I called out to him to see if he was alright. I didn't really understand what he said, but how he said it made me get up and see what was going on. His hammock tent had turned bottoms up and he was tangled inside trying to get out without damaging the tent. Cue inappropriate comments from me. We re-jiggered the tent set up and went back to bed with the promise that there would be no plan for the next day. (sorry, no pics)

[Arriving at Peel Island]

[Tools to clear the camp provided by BCMT]

[Camp after some machete work]

[View from camp]

This morning, it was clear that we were going to take a down day. The weather forecast rain on and off most of the day and there was enough wind on the water to take advantage of a day to reset and get things better organized. We set up tarps to protect us from the wind and rain. I think I was napping by 9am. The first nap of the day. 

At 4pm, I am rousing from my 3rd or 4th nap. I've lost count. It's been a good day. The sun is coming out as the tide is rising on the beach of clam shells. 

June 3rd

Yesterday's trip from Florence to Port Angeles went well. Our plan to strap 2x2s to the roof rails of the rental car went fine. Boats were soild when we arrived at Port Angeles. 

We used large zip ties through holes drilled into the cross members that we had brought with us to attach them to the car rails. Then we used paracord to lash each end to the rails to keep the boards from sliding fore and aft. The boats were attached with cam straps after we put some foam pool noodles onto the boards attached with zip ties. It worked well enough that we stashed the boards behind some outdoor benches at the ferry terminal in Port Angeles with the hopes that they'll still be there in a month.

Just like Pam and my past van life, Peter and I searched and searched for an acceptable spot to bed down for the night. We ended up with a spot at the marina, but was kindly woken up at 1:45am with the news that we were on private property and could not stay there. Marine Drive is the place for vagrants like us, and we didn't want to hang out with vagrants like us. We settled for the parking spot in front of the ferry office, only to be woken up again at around 2:30 by the local yuts on their skateboards. 

Figuring that no one would question our being ignorant of the rules (or anything else for that matter), we drove the SUV over to near the loading area to unload the equipment and boats. What a great idea! I won't say who had it, so as not to get Peter in any trouble.

The Last Equipment Run Through

10am Sunday, we scheduled to meet and go through everything we were bringing. Peter and I methodically went piece-by-piece through our gear. Starting with what we were planning on wearing in the cockpit and what went on the deck. Our PFD was a reveal unto itself. There is a lot of gear in a PFD! Duplicates were set aside in a pile to be put back in the storage boxes, non-functioning stuff went into a trash pile, and at-one-time-great-ideas were shuffled off to go with the next trip.

Laying it all out

Then the boats were loaded trying to imagine the balance of boat. Heavy stuff at the bottom for ballast. I put more weight in the rear to help keep the nose out of the waves. Peter put more weight in the front to combat the natural tendency for his boat to weathercock or turn into the wind. 

After loading boat, this is what fit. 

It all fit. I had to break up my sleeping gear into smaller dry bags to get the distribution right. Even with expected water bags and probably too much food, it works.

Stuff that goes on me or on the deck.

We went at it steady for four and a half hours, and we are all packed and ready to load up tomorrow night. We plan to leave Tuesday morning in time to be at car rental place when they open.

Peter's Insta360 mount

Tips for Following Along on Our Grand Paddle

 

I think I have figured out a way for everyone interested to follow our journey without having to be inundated with emails and messages every day. Whenever you are asking yourself what Peter and Jay are up to and where they are in their journey, you can just click on this link below, and it will show a map of our past and current positions on a map. 

https://share.garmin.com/PnJsGrandPaddle

The Tracks are our daily progress--don't look for any speed records here--and they are shown under the icon with two boot tracks. The path will be shown in the color blue. 

The Courses are shown in black. These courses are just very rough estimates of possible routes we might take. Please don't expect us to follow this line, except in the general direction of going south. 

There is currently no password on the link, and I really hope that it can stay that way. While I don't expect to be stopping all the time while we are paddling, there is a way that you can send Peter and I short messages. We will do our best to answer them. 

The Latest Plan for Inside Passage

There have been more than a few iterations of the general plan since Peter and I started talking about this last Fall. Here's the latest and most likely the plan that we will be following. 

June 2nd-Denise will drive me and Peter to Eugene to get a rental car. We'll put home-made crossbars onto the car's rails (the rental must have rails). At some local park or parking lot, we'll fabricate the crossbars onto the rental, then strapping the kayaks onto the vehicle. Oh, and pack the rest of the car with all the stuff we'll be toting along. We're almost sure it'll all fit into the holds of the boats.

From Eugene, Peter and I will drive to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsyla of Washington to take the ferry over to Victoria on Vancouver Island, B.C. We'll probably just sleep in the car as best we can, as trying to find a hotel room that will accommodate 17-19ft boats is damn near an impossibility.

On the 3rd, we take the ferry across to Victoria. I think the ferry leaves early, like 0830. It'll take us several trips between the boats and stuff to get it all on the ferry. Tricky. Nathan will pick us up in his mini-van at the ferry and take us the 8-9 hour ride to Port Hardy, which is on the NE corner of Vancouver Island. Where in Port Hardy is a question still.

From wherever Nathan drops us off, we pack the boats and head out to a camp spot nearby (<5 miles).

The first few days we'll listen to our bodies (cough) and keep the mileage on the lower end of our 10-20 mile expected target. On day four, we'll reassess those unrealistic targets.

Keeping Vancouver Island on our right, we paddle, camp, eat, wonder, rinse and repeat for about 30 days.

When we hit Victoria again, we pack the boats onto the ferry for Port Angeles.  Depending on how we manage our realistic or unrealistic targets, we may continue paddling from there to a Washington State Park near DesMoines, Washington.  

At our ending point, wherever it may be, I am hoping to sell the Tesla (kayak). It will sell easier up in Puget Sound than it will in Florence. From there--again, wherever there is--we rent another car, somehow affix crossbars to the rails (rental car must have rails), load at least one boat, and drive back to Eugene. With luck and sufficient coaxing, we can get someone to pick us up for the ride back to Florence. Trip complete. 

It's Just a Paddle

 I started kayaking around 8 or 9 years old on a swim team outing on the Sacramento River, up near Redding, California. These were Fold-a-boat knock-offs that were made by one of the parents. He had made enough of these plywood and canvas boats to fill a pick-up truck bed up to the ceiling of the shell. The paddles for these ingenious kayaks were made from a closet rod with paddle blades made from pieces of plywood fitted and bolted into slots at the ends of the closet rod and secured with a couple of bolts each. They worked great as we paddled around the edges of the river. They were so popular that we had to take turns with one of the parents being the timer, so everyone got a turn on the river. 

Over the years, my kayaks were mostly "Tupperware" varieties of different shapes and sizes with the paddles being purchased new from the lower end of the cost spectrum. The used paddles were often the prizes being slightly higher quality and accompanying a used kayak purchase. The really good ones allowed you to offset or feather the blades. Fancy!

On one of our first trips together this last Fall after we had made the decision to do the journey together, Peter brought a "practice" Greenland paddle with him. What the practice was about was that he had made the paddle from a Douglas Fir 2x4 to practice making a paddle. I loved the shape--long and narrow--but was it heavy! I flailed about clumsily using it like one would use a "Euro" style paddle, because it would take several YouTube videos before I realized that paddling using the Greenland style paddle is done completely differently than using the "Euro" style paddle. I put "Euro" in quotes because up until the introduction of the Greenland paddle, it was only known to me as a "kayak"
paddle. 

I'm not sure which came first Peter telling me about Brian Shultz and Cape Falcon Kayak or my telling Peter that I found this set of plans on the interwebs and he told me about his conversations with Brian. Either way, I ended up following Brian's lead in building a Greenland kayak paddle. https://cape-falcon-kayak.thinkific.com/collections/greenland-paddle-building 

Peter smuggled over a Doug Fir 2x4 one day that he said would be perfect to build a paddle. Clean, straight, and so pretty that it seemed like he was showing his latest shipment of Cocaine from Canada. (Just to be clear, Peter is not involved in the Cocaine trade and it wouldn't come from Canada anyway.) The two paddles on the left are Peter's "practice" paddle and his broken paddle. I don't think I've gotten the story yet on how he broke it, but it impressed upon me the need to build at least two.

Armed with my $12 set of plans from Brian Schultz' web page and having watched his videos several times, I set out to carve me a paddle. 

At my friend Steven's workshop, he helped me shave a bit off the length and width of the paddle blank. When we tried to use the bandsaw, it was clear that I didn't have the skills to cut such an unwieldy piece of wood using that tool. I used a jigsaw instead. Like Brian said in one of his videos, the quality of tools helps tremendously! It was a joy using some of Steven's nice tools.

The act of focusing on shape while carving, scraping, and sanding was very therapeutic. I was able to work for hours at a time, which for me is usually an effort. I didn't track hours or costs in building these paddles. On purpose. It didn't matter. The Western Red Cedar blanks were $41 each, but they were perfect. I'm glad that Peter picked them out for me, as I would have fussed and fussed over the choices. 

Lots of shavings were produced in carving the three paddles. The fir shavings went to pathways in Steven's yard and the cedar shavings went to making bee homes, which were a project Steven had underway. 

I used Rubio Monocoat, which was suggested by Brian in his videos, to put the final finish onto the paddles. I did all three paddles at the same time, and they came out great! Now, they just have to sit for a week before I can use them. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5iVbqo3SRcMCSNucA

 Link to entire photo album