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Sea Kayak Trips Bulletin Board
Quadra Island Trip Observations
Posted By: Byron Lawrence
Date: Wednesday, 29 September 1999, at 11:15 a.m.
My S.O and myself recently spent five days and four nights paddling with the "Coastal Spirits" group out of Quadra Island (northern Vancouver Island). I had found them on the internet and the price seemed excellent. To make a somewhat long story short, we loved the scenery and area, but would not use "Coastal Spirits" again for the following reasons:
(1) The trips were advertised as suitable for beginners. On the first and fourth days of the trip, we had to paddle nearly ten miles. On the second day we did nearly six miles, during which we did a very high wind/wave passage that was fairly intense for this intermediate paddler.
(2) There was no pre-trip orientation re: safety, emergencies, etc. During the day, the leader was typically separated from the group and had the only pump and paddle float among four boats.
This lack of safety equipment was especially alarming on the day when we had to make a fairly serious, high wind/wave crossing between some islands. During this crossing, the "leader" was having trouble with an unfamiliar kayak the group became quite scattered.
(3) The food was mediocre at best. On the fourth day, we were offered bread, cheese and coffee for breakfast. For lunch we were offered the same thing. (We later discovered that there was considerably more fruit, salami, etc., but the leader had not bothered to offer any to us.) This is not the type of "fuel" I need/expect when paddling ten miles.
(4) When I needed a band-aid for some barnacle cuts which were becoming inflamed, the leader rummaged around in his small, fist-sized med. kit and found that he could spare only 1, non-waterproof band-aid and a bit of betadine.
The "leader" for this trip was the owner of the business, so it can't be chalked up to an inexperience.
Caveat Paddleur...
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