Family, Friends, Long and Short Term Acquaintances:
Some of you may know...perhaps you were there when it all began, that Lorna and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on August 22.
Some time prior to this, we had been thinking of what to do as a way of celebrating. This called for something special...going out for dinner as we had on 24 previous occasions
just wasn't going to cut it so we decided to melt the Visa and go for broke.
Our first inclination was to go on a cruise...fly to Anchorage and take a cruise down the inside passage to Vancouver. Well for someone who spends a fare bit of time riding BC Ferries...and given the fact that neither Lorna or I wear dentures...we opted for something a little less mundane and for something that would test the spirit of our fading youth.
The answer was a mothership kayaking adventure to the wilds of the Queen Charlotte Strait near the north end of Vancouver Island. Without a doubt, this was the most memorable and exhilarating trip we have ever taken. A 10+++. An absolute must if you like the sea.
With the comfort of our mothership the Songhee which was a 95 foot wooden heritage boat complete with wonderful cozy little state bunks...duvets and feather pillows...we spent 5 fabulous days kayaking with our fearless guide. Each day was a picture post card of new sights and sounds. After a gourmet breakfast cooked by two very capable young chefs accompanying our tour, we set off in our kayaks to explore a wilderness coastline which I have run out of superlatives to describe.
Our little group of 8 paddled in an out of bays and inlets...experiencing 6 foot swells to mill pond conditions..bright sun to drizzle and mist. The marine life was spectacular and there is no way in words to convey the feeling of sitting virtually on top of the water and watching a 30 foot Minke whale rise and dive a few meters off the bow of the kayak.
Sure hope our pictures turn out. Next came the white sided porpoise. What a site to see 50 or so bow surfing off our
mothership. Four to five deep in the water at times ...what symmetry.
Generally our day consisted of 4-5 hours of kayaking...and on a few days a radio call to our mothership anchored in a nearby inlet sent the power skiff with the chef and the fixings for our shore lunch....gourmet of course.
At 3 or 4 in the afternoon, we would rendezvous with the
mothership, climb aboard and here comes the best part..have a cocktail in the outdoor deck hot tub. Luxury in the wilds. Can you stand it?
This was all followed by a gourmet dinner of course...fresh crab, shrimp and a fine array of wonderful food...food to die for.On our last day, we boated it down to the top end of Johnstone Strait and again got into the kayaks to look for Orcas. And no we were not disappointed as we did observe a small pod cruising near the shore.
Next came a close encounter with a black bear. Actually we were on the water about 20 feet off shore and watched the bear grub for crabs under boulders on the beach The ocean was absolutely still and there was no wind so we probably looked like a piece of
driftwood to him but we respected his/her power by keeping a distance.
We also had the privilege of visiting the Jane Goodall of whales...a lady named Alexandra Morton...a world authority on the language and behaviour of killer whales. While we looked over the strait from her cliff side studio, her hydrophone came to life with the sound of some approaching whales so she jumped into her boat and raced off to identify the family. There are 100 or so resident killer whales on this part of the coast and she has identified and named every single one.
Anyway, what an experience and we would do it again in a minute. We won't wait another 25 years that's for sure. May see a couple of kayaks on our car in the near future! If you want to see the tour site, do a web search for Spirit of the West Adventures...
Thanks for letting us share our experience with you.
Wayne and Lorna
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