Not s***, there I was - sea kayaking!

It was early this September, and I realized - a month earlier - that I'd been living in the Pacific North West (Bellingham, WA to be specific) for almost a year, and had barely seen any of it. So I packed up my tent and my kayak and I headed up to the Great White North. That's Canada, btw. After a few days exploring the stellar rock
climbing at Squamish, north of Vancouver, I took the ferry over to the "Sunshine Coast." That's a bit further north, and there are no roads accessing the area - though, once you get there, there's plenty!

I camped and paddled a bit around the Sechelt Inlet, conveniently near the town of Sechelt. Nice and calm, with a number of seals and a very busy floatplane scene. Apparently, further up this inlet, the tidal race at the narrows is so great that kayakers come from far away just to surf the standing waves. I didn't see any of that, though it sounds like something I'd have been all over in my whitewater days.

The Pacific Ocean, however, is just across the isthmus from the Sechelt Inlet. Or, rather, the Strait of Georgia is - which is mostly protected by the vast bulk of Vancouver Island. Regardless, it's a bit more interesting, and just a ways up the coast is the hard-to-access Smuggler Cove Provincial Marine Park. It looked pretty good on the map, so I headed up there.

And it looks pretty good from the road, when you can glimpse the sea through the forest. Islands and rocky, rugged coastlines. My problem, however, was that I couldn't find a place to launch my boat! The marinas I saw seemed to cater to powerboats, and there didn't seem to be any public access to the water. Finally, I took a chance and followed a sign to a kayak rental place.

The shop was located in a fairly secluded cove, and as an adjunct to a private resort. I felt a bit presumptuous in that I didn't want to rent a kayak, but the bored woman - Jody - who worked there could NOT have been any more friendly! Of course, I could launch there!! Here, let me loan you a chart! Here are some fabulous places to go!

We talked for quite a while and she gave me the skinny on the whole area and the tides and currents and weather, offered to be my emergency contact, admired my boat, and pointed out the deer that had snuck up next to me.

And then, no sh**, I was sea kayaking! And it was good. I was paddling my 18'6" x 20" S&G North Bay - a discontinued CLC Greenland style kayak. It's fast and twitchy and mostly fun. The weather was moderate - overcast and cool, but not cold or rainy. Approaching high tide, with flat water. Excellent conditions!
I had on a farmer john wetsuit under a semi-dry top, and, of course, I had a life jacket, pump, paddle float, cell-phone, whistle, etc.

I paddled south out of the bight, and saw my first Harbor Seal about a minute later. A bit after that, another seal and I mutually scared the bejeebers out of one another when it unsuspectingly surfaced about 3 feet away from my drifting boat. Guess I've seen "Jaws" too many times - there was plenty of startled cursing, on my part, after the darn big splash on his part.

I was following the rocky shoreline towards Secret Cove - an area of private marinas and docks, accessed by a single small channel - and a couple of much smaller passages available only at high tide. I bypassed the channel, however, and made for the uninhabited portion of the coast.

And then the sun came out! Glorious! But now I was hot! So I paddled into a slightly protected bit of shore, and clambered out of the boat for the first of many wardrobe adjustments. I was much happier without the neoprene, but I kept the top and got back in the boat. I started wending my way through the numbers of rock outcrops and islets near the shore, and I saw more
Harbor Seals, both in the water, and basking on the rocks. I tried to avoid stressing the seals, but I must admit that I did surprise a couple as I rounded one bit of rock.

Another mile and I encountered some other paddlers - 3 guys in plastic boats, going the other way. We said hello, and I saw the naked envy in their eyes as they espied the glory that is a wooden kayak. I gloated, silently.

And then I was in Smuggler's Cove. It's a quite sheltered little inlet, with draws going every which way. There's a cabin there, and it's apparently a popular anchorage for sailboats. There were 4 or 5 there, and one was literally going around in circles (for at least ten minutes!) as he, presumably, was trying to find the exact right spot to drop his anchor. I sat and watched for a while, contemplating kayaking's relative simplicity. I gloated silently, etc.

The cove was pretty, tree lined and rocky, but too crowded, so I paddled out and headed SSE around the point and into the channel. That's the big channel between the mainland and Thormanby Island. Back at the shop, Jody had mentioned how rough it could get, and it was. The current was going one way, the wind the other, all being forced through this strait. It was a
long straight shot up the channel to my destination - the name of which eludes me, but which consisted of a group of small islands off the distant point at the end of the channel.

Soon I was wishing heartily that I had my wetsuit back on - just in case. The chop was rough and the waves were unpredictable - and the rebound off the cliffs alongside made it more so. Nevertheless, I didn't feel particularly challenged, just more cautious. As soon as I found a sheltered spot, I pulled in and changed back into my farmer john and put on my neoprene cap.
It was very hot, but I knew how cold the water was . . . .

That accomplished, I made it to the islands I was heading for. This area was more exposed, and a bit barren in comparison. I started to wend my way amongst the rocks, but paused to look at the rocks again. Seals! Lots of them. But different. I was about 60 yards away when I realized these were much bigger than the cute little harbor seals I had been encountering. Then my
eye was drawn to a rock about 50 yards away, which turned out to be the - very interested - beachmaster of this group of Steller Sea Lions.
At least I think "beachmaster" is the term. Anyway, it was a big, seemingly agitated, male. My first, btw. But I had heard stories about them and kayakers. Not good stories. So I backpaddled quietly away.

After that, I turned to retrace my steps. The tide had changed direction while I was puttering around, and the trip back down the channel was smooth and fast, with both the wind and current helping me. But, man, was I ever sweating! As soon as I rounded the point next to Smuggler Cove, I pulled onto shore to remove my wetsuit once again.
Relieved to have avoided dying of either hypothermia or of heat stroke, I paddled along the calm, protected shore, basking in the sun and taking in the amazing scenery.
I had time left before I was scheduled return, so I decided to explore Secret Cove on the way back. One can paddle quite a ways in there, and I spent an hour or so examining interesting boats docked or moored in the area. Not particularly adventurous, but amusing. Almost out of time, I paddled to the very north end of the cove. Here was a small exit - flooded at high tide - now a narrow isthmus, about 40 yards wide. I got out, portaged across, and re-entered the main body of water - just a few hundred yards from the cove where I started.

Jody was still at the rental shop when I returned and was as accomodating as ever. She insisted that I use their hose and shop vac to clean my boat. Then, enthused about them, she made me sit in a bunch of the different boats that they had there. I offered to let her paddle mine, but she thought it was too narrow for her. We talked some more, then I loaded up and headed
back to camp - pretty darn satisfied with sea kayaking!

Dave

Addendum:
* It's NOT a good idea to go kayaking alone.
* Check it all out by searching for "Secret cove rd, BC" on googlemaps or
* google earth.
*The helpful kayak shop there was called Halfmoon Sea Kayaks.