Editorial: At Least No One Died

December 1999 - January 2000

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by Alan Wilson

Cover photo: Kayak Hatch by Sue Handel

I have a confession to make I'm not a great cook. So as I was preparing for my first kayaking expedition years ago, I was terrified when the term 'self-catered' was explained.

'You mean I'll be cooking for 9 other people?!'

On 'self-catered' trips, everyone gets a few meal assignments, a breakfast, lunch and dinner depending on the length of the trip usually not all on the same day. Often there's no coordination of meal planning, unless clients know one another in advance or shop together at the point of departure, so you can wind up with several burrito meals in a row, or whatever food fad is in (eg. wraps!). This is usually the result of inexperienced paddlers (like me) trying to think of meals that are easy to pack and easy to make. But because kayaks can carry so much more than backpacks, variety and quality appear as paddlers gain experience.

As it turned out on that first trip, the menu was a great topic of conversation, and cooking was the focus for our socializing. While the paddling in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) was fantastic, probably 80% of the trip was great people and great food. And at least no one died from my meals. (How far wrong can you go with vegetarian chili?)

Since those times I've encountered many kayak touring companies which offer fully catered and often gourmet meals, and I've gained great admiration for the superb beach cooks I've met. One of the best is Brenda Gaertner, who used to write our Paddle Meals column, wedging that responsibility into her over-busy lawyer's life which has since consumed her.

I've had many memorable meals with Brenda, and some great exploits. Twice we hosted a Thanksgiving Dinner fundraiser at Blackberry Point in the Gulf Islands and spent long hours tending turkeys hung from tripods over roaring fires, producing dinners for 50 paddlers, with all the trimmings.

Maybe that's why I now eat nutloaf these days instead of turkey on Thanksgiving and Christmas!

After Brenda's life became just too hectic to carry on with the column, nutritionist Deborah Leach took over. She has continued Brenda's high standards, and gone on to introduce us to many other people's recipes. Deb, who returned to her professional life this fall after a year traveling the world, kindly agreed to help us with this issue, and her contribution makes this a real keeper. We would also like Deb to take a bow, as her column was rated the highest in our Readers' Survey last spring!

I need to point out that there are a lot of references in this issue to harvesting food from the sea both plant and animal. In most situations, we don't advocate this. We urge you instead to provision at home and bring more than enough to survive comfortably, come what may.

On the other hand, if you do find yourself paddling in an area of abundance, if you have the appropriate licenses and you are certain your small 'take' won't deplete your surroundings, then augmenting your meal with local fare is a reasonable thing to do.

Be sure you avoid intruding on any commercial shellfish operation and if you are in First Nations territory, ask permission before taking anything. You also have to know about the dangers of 'red tide' and be aware of any depleted species.

One of the advantages of a catered kayak trip is that all of these concerns are covered for you by the operators, who often have agreements with locals, including First Nations, and are experienced in producing fabulous food.

Whether you cook for yourself or sign up for a gourmet trip, we hope you enjoy this issue and have many happy Paddle Meals ahead.

Alan Wilson

In a wonderful break in the middle of preparing this issue on Kayak Cookery, Laurie and I had a weekend honeymoon at Sooke Harbour House, on Vancouver Island, described by a Toronto Star reviewer as 'the best restaurant in Canada'. They have an amazing kitchen garden with 400 varieties of herbs, greens, vegetables, edible flowers and trees. Cooks harvest whatever is in season and add local seafood. Recently the Sooke Harbour House was also given the Thumbs Up by the Georgia Strait Alliance for serving wild salmon instead of farmed. Check out their website: www.sookeharbourhouse.com and watch for a review in our next issue.