Editorial: Basics and Beyond

April-May 2001

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by Alan Wilson

Cover photo: Alan at Hopetown Passage in the Broughton Archipeligo by Laurie MacBride

BEGINNER? EXPERIENCED?

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced paddler, you can learn at lot at the paddling events this spring and summer. Beginners can be initiated into the sport, while experienced paddlers can advance their skills with experts before heading out on fresh, new adventures.

What follows are outlines of three events which Laurie and I will be attending in the months ahead. We look forward to meeting you. (We'll be the ones selling Georgia Strait Alliance raffle tickets, with a sea kayak as first prize!)

The first and foremost event is the 16th annual Coast Kayak Symposium on Thetis Island held the May long weekend (this year May 18-21). Organized by Mercia Sixta and the Pacific International Kayak Association (PIKA), the Symposium features great paddling, expert instruction, pool and ocean sessions, good food, good friendship, and good fun.

This non-commercial event draws paddlers from across the US and Canada as well as Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, etc. Half the participants last year were from the US.

Held on a long weekend, it's an ideal learning opportunity. Registration includes accommodation, meals, on-water and on-shore instruction, and even a charter ferry to and from Vancouver, which is a treat all on its own. Warning: the Symposium sells out, so don't delay registering.

Given the ideal paddling environment around Thetis Island which is situated in the lee of Vancouver Island, it's little surprise that another paddling event has recently taken root close by. The Vancouver Island PaddleFest, now in its third year, is located at Ladysmith, near Thetis and about an hour's drive north of Victoria. The town of 6,000 boasts waters which are said to be the warmest north of San Francisco.

It was to this lovely spot a few years ago that Seaward Kayaks came, leaving the Okanagan in favour of the coast, helping to inspire the PaddleFest. Ironically, the Okanagan is now the scene of its own Paddle Festival.

Seaward's arrival in Ladysmith, coupled with the energy of tour operators Bud and Sheryl Bell of SeaLegs Kayaking, a host of other good people in town and the paddling industry as a whole have made for a successful event.

Busy beach scene at WaveLength’s 1997 Ocean Kayak Festival. (Royal Roads University, Victoria)

Entry to the Paddlefest is free and the Tradeshow component makes this a wonderful opportunity to try out all sorts of kayaks and gear at one time and decide what's best for you. Instruction is done on the waters of the bay.

The third great Festival in BC is the Okanagan Paddle Festival, located in BC's interior, at Peachland (about 4 hours east by car from Vancouver). Wendell Phillips and the good folks in Peachland (renowned for guess what!) put on a wonderful, highly organized event. It's similar to Ladysmith's in its blend of instruction and tradeshow, but with a distinctly different physical environment-semi-arid, sagebrush hills, lots of vineyards and orchards. And Okanagan Lake is where I learned to swim, paddle, row and sail when I was a boy, while visiting relatives on summer holidays. It's a great place.

Wendell is a devotee of skin kayaks and a master at Greenland rolling. He's arranged Greenland demos and talks this year. We'll also be there with a slideshow, like last year.


There are also LOTS of other paddling events this spring and summer so please check our Calendar on page 44. We hope you'll seek out some of these events and learn all you can.

WE'VE MOVED!

After ten years at the old office, we moved down the island to the south end of Gabriola. Our first weeks in February featured sunshine and lunches on the deck of our new place. And thank goodness, because we were exhausted after weeks of packing up our two houses and offices. Many thanks to Diane, Art and Jamie, Ted, Goody, Howard and Mike for helping.

To top it all off, the weekend before moving we attended the Vancouver Outdoor Adventure Show (maybe not the best timing) and spoke to thousands of you! Then the big move... from which we're still unpacking.

It's a minor miracle that this issue is on schedule given the transition. The only casualty so far has been my column, 'Mothership Meanderings' which will reappear next time. If you notice other shortcomings, just blame it on the move. (I'll have a new excuse next time.)
Safe and happy paddling!