Into the night

From the Fall 2010 issue of Coast&Kayak Magazine. Read the entire magazine online.

Drifting in the dark listening to wolves howl or viewing the unforgettable universe of bioluminescence: it opens up a whole new world for paddlers who are willing to take the chance

By Dan Lewis

Wolves began howling as we kayaked home from a dinner date with friends who live up the inlet. It was close to midnight, and the waxing gibbous moon had the scene lit up like a film shoot. Bonny and I had stopped to talk quietly when we heard them start. We sat drifting for a while with the ebb current, lost in the primeval sound of wolves communicating over a large wilderness landscape. When they had finished, we heard an owl puncture the silence in response. Thrilled, we turned our kayaks and paddled on home.

 I’ve been night paddling since the third day I owned a kayak. I’d paddled from downtown Vancouver to the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. As I paddled back late that afternoon, I realized I would never make it home before dark. So I kept on paddling, staying close to shore, and made my one crossing at the narrowest point, sprinting frantically after scoping and listening a long time to be sure no boats were coming.

I learned a lot from that adventure and now I prepare for night paddling every time I leave shore, no matter how confident I am of returning before sunset. The key thing is to have a flashlight, on your body in case you are ever separated from the kayak (example: while hiking in the woods). I carry a very small waterproof flashlight in my lifejacket, which I test and have ready whenever I’m paddling after dark.

Night paddling opens up a whole new world for the kayaker who dares. Is it safe? Absolutely not, but neither is driving. If you are smart the risks can be managed in a way that is acceptable. The big issues are finding your way in the dark and not getting run over by other boats.

But the joys of night paddling are many. It can be so quiet, and there are fewer motorboats to worry about. Seeing a starry summer sky reflected on still waters, then piercing the surface with your paddle to reveal another universe of bioluminescent stars swirling around your blade as you pull it through the water – few will ever forget such an experience.

Sea kayaking at night opens your senses in a way that day paddling cannot. Everything familiar seems foreign. Smells can overwhelm – from the sulfuric stench of a mudflat exposed at low tide to the rich earthy aroma wafting down from an old-growth rainforest.

Encounters with wildlife can be thrilling. My heart still practically leaps out of my chest when I spook a blue heron fishing along shore in the dark. My heart pounds as they ponderously flap away, screeching like I imagine pterodactyls must have sounded way back when. River otters come up to eat crabs they’ve caught, floating on the surface making a delicate crunching noise not unlike humans at a crab bar.

Some of the scariest paddling I’ve ever done has been on the open coast at night. During an expedition down the Washington Coast in November one year, we were trying to make it to an archaeological dig at Ozette. Headwinds delayed our progress, and it was pitch black at suppertime when we arrived.

Our friends were staying with the archaeologists, and we could see the lights in their cabin, so we headed in toward the light. We could hear surf crashing all around us in the dark, but what choice did we have? In the morning we woke to see the low tide exposing a ledge of rocks covered in boulders. A canoe run to the village had been cleared through the boulders centuries earlier, and by heading for the light we had come right in on the correct line! I’ve made a point since then of getting off the water before dark when paddling open coast.

If you want to enter the world of kayaking at night, my advice is to wait until you are an experienced paddler, familiar with the gear and kayaking in general. Pick a location without wind, waves, current, surf, fog, or traffic. Preferably choose a place you paddle a lot, so you are very familiar with the topography. Choose paddling partners with similar or greater skill levels. Stay close together and maintain audio and visual contact – glow sticks are handy. Counting off can be helpful with a larger group, but inevitably someone forgets their number and the rest of the group has to chime in – “Dave, you’re number four!”

There are many reasons to find yourself paddling in the dark, whether a bold adventure in a controlled setting, a scary misadventure, or an expedient attempt to catch favourable conditions with an alpine-style pre-dawn start. If you feel called by the night spirits, proceed cautiously and you may find you’ve opened up another world of paddling opportunities.

Dan Lewis and Bonny Glambeck operate Rainforest Kayak Adventures out of Clayoquot Sound.