[Sam North]

HI

My name is Sam North. I am an Australian paddler, and I am coming to Canada with my 20 yr old son, Ben. Ben has just left full-time army service and he wants to travel before going to university next year. I happen to have some long service leave, so he has agreed to travel with me before he gets too busy –  and I get too old.

We will be travelling for 4 months, most of which will be me tagging along with Ben to fulfil his dream to ride some of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route – Canada to Colorado. In return, he has said he will come with me to fulfil one of my dreams and do a sea kayak trip in British Columbia.

We fly into Vancouver on Thursday 7th July and the rough plan is to begin our holiday with a week to two week paddle, starting either 11th or 18th July and we are putting a shout out to any SKABC members who might like to join us.

]I spoke to George Prevost last weekend and George recommended trips from both Telegraph Point (to Broughton Archipelago) and from Port Hardy (out to Islands). Both sounded fantastic. However, Ben and I are on a budget and getting to the north of Vancouver Island will not be possible if my homework is correct and there is no public transport past Campbell River.

At the moment, the easiest option for Ben and I is to catch the ferry from Vancouver and bus to Campbell River, then ferry to Quadra Island to hire boats and paddle out of there. However, we aren’t fixed on where we paddle – our restriction being our need to hire boats and get to the start point.

If you have time for an extended paddle (2 one-week trips OR 1 two-week paddle) in mid to late July with a couple of Australians, then reply to this post and we can arrange a Zoom meet to introduce ourselves and discuss options.

By way of background, I am 58 years old and have been paddling for 40 years – flat water, white water, and sea. Ben has youth on his side and I would consider him an intermediate paddler. I am aiming to do a trip graded 2C to low 3C (no surf landings).

Sam North

Deniliquin, Australia

Topic

[George Prevost]

Hi Sam,

Most members’ contact information is included in a members list that is available once you’ve logged in to our website.  Click on the “For Members” header and then select “Member list” from the dropdown menu.  Yours is there!

George

[Sam North]

Hi Susan

thank you for your offer. I had a look at the map and then did some calculations to see if we could paddle over to see you – it looked possible. There is still a fair bit of planning to do before Ben and I settle on something (the clock is ticking though), so it would be good to stay in touch. Even if we can’t get to Halfmoon Bay in July, we will be back in late October to fly out on 7th November.

I just checked the calendar and see that 7 Nov is the Monday – I had thought I would try and get to a monthly SKABC club night, but looks like that might be too difficult.

I am not sure of posting contact details here – let me know how to share email addresses and I will flick you through my email.

regards

Sam

[Sam North]

Hi Clark

thank you very much for your very generous offer.

George Prevost had mentioned the Gulf Islands as good paddling but busy in summer, so I leaned more on what he said were his favourite places. However, as I said in my post, we are not fixed on anywhere in particular, as logistics will greatly determine what we end up doing

I think a Zoom meeting would be great. I am at home this weekend – midday here is 7 pm the day before in BC, so if Saturday 7 pm your time works (noon Sunday in Aus), then we could try for that.

I am still working out this forum – how do we exchange email addresses without sharing them with the rest of the world?

regards

Sam

[Clark Perry-Bater]

G’day Sam and Ben! My name is Clark. I won’t be able to paddle with you, as I injured my right shoulder on a SKABC paddle last fall. Since I’m not able to do any extended paddling right now, you and Ben would be welcome to borrow my and my wife’s Kevlar ocean kayaks (17.5 and 16.5 foot lengths) if you want to paddle anywhere around Vancouver or the Gulf Islands (you can get to the islands on a ferry without a vehicle by wheeling them by hand loaded with your gear on wheels that I can provide). The Gulf Islands aren’t as wild and challenging as the destinations you mentioned, but I have enjoyed many week-long trips through the archipelago (Saltspring, Penders, Saturna, Galiano, Mayne and smaller islands.) If you’re interested, we can do a Zoom call and I can show you the kayaks.
Bye for now, Clark

[Susan Servos-Sept]

Hi, Sam. I can’t do a big kayak at that time, but want to invite you and your son to visit us on the Sunshine Coast (Halfmoon Bay), BC if you are in our area. Not sure if  your dates match up with what we have going on here, but we could always see, if you are interested. Have spent some time in Australia ourselves (a year long teacher exchange and 5 months another time, just  exploring) and Aussies were sooooo good to us. Time to return the good deeds.

We are 68 and 72 years old. Active, outdoors people with a strong interest in nature.

Susie

[Author]

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