[Maureen Benzon]

btw. Kayaks DO get stolen in Vancouver. Mostly from cars tops (even if locked on) and one club members lost 2 from her town house complex, so don’t get too complacent. However, I do leave mine unattended on the beach at Deep Cove and other venues, but I make sure to take my expensive paddles and electronics with me…

I think you will be quite safe at twin islands. I have seen people leave kayaks tied to the dock, or pull them up onto the dock, but never carry them up to the camp sites. Be careful where you leave it. Someone put their kayak on the dock under the walkway, and when they got up in the morning the rising tide had caused it to be completely crushed.

 

 

[Former Member]

Stephen, if a Canadian did steal the boat, they would likely leave a note of apology. 8-).  We haven’t met yet but you already made me laugh and simultaneously established a small amount of skepticism about your character. Haha!

[Former Member]

Hi Phil,

Oh don’t worry, Canadians would never steal your boat.    By the way, what date were you planning to leave your kayak tied up to the dock overnight at Twin Islands?    😉

[Former Member]

Has anyone camped at Twin Islands and *not* hauled their kayak up into the main camp area, instead leaving it tied up at the dock? That curved, narrow ramp up from the dock is not friendly for getting a tandem up the hill if you’ve got an old shoulder injury and don’t want to lift your kayak up above the ramp railings to get it around the corner 8-).

Anyone have issues with kayak theft? Do I sound like someone from NYC asking if my kayak is going to get stolen, or does that happen around here?

[Former Member]

I want to thank everyone for all of the informative replies. Lots to learn which is both exciting and humbling!

I bought CHS Chart 1 and a chart for Indian Arm, starting my paper chart journey. Then, based on some info from Nick I also looked into OpenCPD, went down that rabbit hole, and found this comment on OpenCPD: “Note: O-Charts carries affordable official licensed Canadian charts now”. Further down that rabbit hole, and Euro 20 later, I had a full set of charts for the West coast of Canada installed in OpenCPD. They don’t meet “carriage requirements” but seem pretty good for exploring/planning/etc. Just wanted to share in case this is news for any of you. If anyone wants to learn more about this, let me know. Here’s a PNG from a screen grab.

[Quirine Schuyff]

Destination from Jericho will be determined by weather, water and group dynamics. I am open to relative beginners but you MUST:

-Be able to handle a kayak in turns and moving forward and be able to do a wet exit.

-Have all required safety gear and an appropriate style kayak. (or canoe)

-Come dressed appropriately for weather AND water. Depending on weather I may wear my drysuit. If you do not have one then you must carry a full change of warm clothes in a dry bag which will be accessible on the water.  For wearing on the water:

A thin synthetic or fleece layer(s) on the bottom and synthetic layers on top with a wind breaking jacket. Water worthy shoes. A sunhat. Gloves. Sunglasses. (we may travel directly INTO the sun) .

Other suggested items: A headlamp and/or other light source. A snack. Water. Camera. Chocolate for the organizer.

Return time will depend on group but I will aim for 8:30 latest return time. Please allow some leeway for unexpected circumstances.

Please email me with details: quisch@gmail.com

NAME
EMAIL
PHONE
SKILL LEVEL
BOAT: MAKE,SIZE,COLOUR
EMERGENCY CONTACT: NAME/PHONE
CAR: MAKE, MODEL, COLOUR, LICENSE

[Nick Heath]

There have been some developments on this site.

1) the ‘No trespassing’ signs were apparently removed in late 2018, but not by the land owner. It is reported that a local outfitter/guide removed them in irritation and continues to use the site, as do many others.

2) the landowner, Island Timberlands, appears to acknowledge that the site has high recreational value and through their public/community relations arm they are making inquiries about how it might be managed in future, given that they have been unsuccessful in stopping camping there so far and presumably don’t want the added expense of posting a caretaker/security guard either.

3) BC Marine Trails would prefer to not be involved directly because this is private land and the previous organization to BCMT went down this same route with MacMillan Bloedel, became the leasee and then ended up being burned when the site was sold and changed hands.

4) an organization could step forward – maybe a new one for “Friends of Blackberry Pt” or similar or maybe one of more paddling or boat clubs, preferably from nearby – to enter a partnership with the landowner –  sign a lease, buy insurance , indemnify Island Timberlands, so they don’t bear the risk of things going bad. repair the toilet  and maybe collect fees from users to cover their costs/hire a summer assistant etc.

5) if #4 happened, SKABC might be approached to support it, although we are quite distant for providing regular volunteer support. I’m sure several members would make use of it.

6) all this depends on the Lyackson FN accepting this arrangement- their current position is that this is (or is near) a sacred cultural site and there should be no camping here. It is also part of their land claim.

I’m bringing this up to keep SKABC members advised. It would be excellent to get public use of this site, but I’d rather see a long-term rather than a short-term solution.  I also consider that the majority of interest lies with boating and paddling clubs in southern Vancouver Island rather than the  Metro Vancouver area..

[Kapila Jayaweera]

Maureen and I am organizing overnight camping trip from Whytecliff Park to Keats Island Saturday July 20th.

Please refer to SKABC trip list page for more information.

https://www.skabc.org/events-2/whytecliff-park-to-keats-island-overnight-trip-3c/

Thanks

Kapila

kapila_j@hotmail.com

[Former Member]

No worries got it

 

[Former Member]

Hi, do you know the model?

thanks

[Maureen Benzon]

and a quick addition to Ellen’s rule 10. (Please correct me if I am wrong)

If you are travelling across current, it is preferable to keep your boat pointing at a right angle to the opposite shore. This will be the quickest route across even if you are pushed by the current, and your track is not perpendicular, so make sure you start the crossing at the appropriate place, or you might overshoot your destination. Attempting to adjust for the current, may keep you in the danger zone for longer. Crossing a shipping channel is not the place to practice paddling to a range, or transit, which I recently heard referred to as parallax

🙂

 

[Maureen Benzon]

You asked if kayakers listen.

Yes if I have before crossing Johnstone straight, or crossing to the Deserter group North of Port Hardy, or approaching Victoria. Otherwise no. I prefer to paddle with my radio off, and only switch it on when I need to listen or communicate.

If you are crossing a major channel, Coast Guard do not mind if you contact them and they will advise of shipping movements, but be sure to state that it is not an emergency, and that you contact them again once you have crossed safely. They will move you to a secondary channel, and you may need to wait while they deal with more pressing communications.

Daniel, I love the threads you start. They usually get a good conversation going.

Keep safe, but get out and explore.

[Rosalind Scarnell]

This boat has been sold

[Nick Heath]

Ellen’s info is perfect, and what I’m about to write will be inferior. Sorry about that.

Ship movements are monitored and controlled by Vessel Traffic Services – there are  2 main centres – Victoria and Pr Rupert, but they operate using remotely-controlled local transmitters using various frequencies, which are not so easy to determine. For the Vancouver area Ch 12, is the one to listen to, and in the Gulf Is it is Ch 11. You can listen in to help to decide when a big vessel might be coming by, but then you would need some idea of that vessel’s speed and heading,  which are not given. Also those vessels which are not required to call in (but might also be big and/or fast) will be missing entirely, so it is doubtful how valuable this would be to us kayakers.  That said, I have called VTS on a hand-held radio a couple of times, to find out in poor visibility what ship movements were known in that area and also to warn them that kayakers were about to  attempting a crossing, where there might be a possibility of collision (although wipe-out would be the more correct term, since the ship’s crew would never known that it hit us).  VTS seemed quite willing to transmit a warning about potential traffic conflicts even involving paddlers, but I would not do this routinely for fear of being considered a nuisance. It is best to not make those kind of hazardous crossings!  Still, it can be useful to know that no BC Ferry is due down a particular channel for another 2 hours or whatever, so it can help with the timing of some channel crossings.

Having access to AIS info on a mobile phone app might be more useful overall, however!

[Former Member]

Additional note for people who do not own a kayak, there is rentals next to the launch point at Brechin Boat Ramp. Details here:

https://www.coastalexpression.com/rentals

[Author]

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