The Winchelseas

Since Eli and I arrived in Lantzville (just up island from Nanaimo), the winds at the Sebastion launch have mostly been from the north and strong enough that we did not venture out to the Winchelsea Islands on our own - just paddling into Nannoose Bay or else east along the shore. As neophyte kayakers, we are conservative. Today was relatively calm with moderate winds expected to develop from the east.

With such favorable conditions we launched at Sebastion at 9:10 AM and paddled west to the Benwaldun launch where Brian, Anna, and Dave joined us - with Dave as our leader. After waiting for another paddler, who never showed, we set out. It was indeed calm at this point (10:15 AM) and we paddled to South Winchelsea where we stopped to stretch our legs, stepping carefully among the bright purple starfish exposed by the low tide. We then continued our trip, rejecting Maude Island as a lunch stop and paddling on to 'seal bone' beach on Southey Island. There we had lunch, watched by an eagle perched in a tree high above.

During our trip, we skirted various small islands, seeing many seals sunning themselves. Although we tried to give them plenty of room, many waddled into the sea.

The afternoon wind picked up from the east, but was still quite moderate. We made our way back to Sebastion with the others accompanying us, landing at 2:35 PM. Dave, Brian, and Anna then headed west to their original launch site.

It was a great day on the water, starting with grey weather then giving way to sunny breaks. Kayaking, like the canoing I did when young, transports me into the moment and the rest of my life fades away - very restorative.

Richard
2007.09.26

September in Nanaimo

Now that we are more or less settled into our part time school routine, we can better define our other activities.

We only brought one bicycle from Idaho, having two stolen here (from a locked storage area in our rented condo) last year. Our housing is not in such a sketchy area this year and it is looking like we might have reason to want two bicycles. So I picked up a used one at Arrowsmith Bikes, which I may be able to sell when we leave, if that seems wise.

The weather lately has been beautiful, but the marine forecast has featured small craft warnings for three days running, so the kayak has received no exercise. Sunday looks good for the Malaspina sea kayak outing, however. Low tide will occur at about 11 AM, shortly after launch, most likely. Ron and Dana have signed up also. We plan to use the school's kayaks, but our own pfds and booties. The brochure lists Departure Bay as the site, but that could change.

We've done one mild hike to the ridge behind Westwood Lake (1 1/2 hour round trip). Then we did a long hike from our current neighborhood to the Entwhistle Viewpoint and back. At one point along the way, we encountered a lady feeding five deer in her yard. The houses in that area were quite close to relatively wild property. We may try Mt. Benson tomorrow. That typically takes 4-plus hours round trip. Eli is off hiking with her Friday hiking group today (Cable Bay Trail?).

Tonight we'll go to dinner at Phoenecia with the group from my department at Malaspina. Last week we had Indian fare - a bit spicy for me (even the mild stuff). The belly dancing was also spicy, so I didn't complain.

Richard
2007.09.07