Expedition Kayaks Save The Day.

I haven’t posted much recently, as it has been fairly mundane since returning from the Clayoquot Sound trip and the weather being, well ……….. Wintery.

What a day it was on Wednesday though.

After months of waiting and no news of the new Cetus, I gave up on it, and reverted to plan B.

A phone call to Expedition Kayaks in NSW was like a breath of fresh air. Literally, within the hour, a Valley Etain 17.5 had been selected, the shipping arranged and the payment made by Electronic Funds Transfer.

Thanks go to Mark, for his advice and for making the whole process painless and enjoyable.

There is nothing wrong with my current kayak, the Scorpio LV, has provided superb service, but I really prefer the feel of a fiberglass hull.

The Etain has great looks, with its traditional British lines. I haven’t paddled one, but all the reviews are of the same voice, it is vice free and a good all round craft. A friend has paddled one and rated it highly.

So more, much more, with pictures, in a week or two.

Wild Pacific Trail, Ucluelet, BC

Whilst in Ucluelet we had a few days spare, either side of our Clayoquot Sound trip, and we were able to take advantage of the beautiful Wild Pacific Trail.

The trail runs along the Pacific Coast from the lighthouse at Amphitrite Point , north to the start of Long Beach. Passing only a kilometre from our accommodation, we walked both north and south on different days.

With spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, there are look outs that are worth stopping at.  Towards the north of the town there are a number of loops in the trail, providing vantage points, specifically designed for artists to aid their work. We saw seals playing in the ocean from one of these vantage points.

The walking is easy as the trail is well maintained. It follows along the cliffs, but within the rain forest, as there are few accessible beaches on this part of the coast, but the views are magnificent

We walked another part of the trail on Flores Island, in Clayoquot Sound, from Cow Bay to White Sand Cove.  This area is different as most of the walking is on beaches, only entering the rainforest at headlands. Designed to aid shipwrecked sailors find settlements, the walk runs along the west coast of Vancouver Island.

My Thoughts On The Nimbus Telkwa Kayak.

It is always good to try other kayaks, so this post is my view of the kayak I used in Clayoquot Sound. This is in no way intended as an in depth review, more my personal observation, I'll leave a proper critic to more qualified kayakers.

The kayaks provided by Majestic Ocean Kayaking were excellent, in very good condition and designed for the task. One appeared to be brand new.

Both Marty and I used Nimbus Telkwa's and Gilly used the slightly smaller Nimbus Solander.

The Telkwa was designed to be a fully fledged ocean touring kayak, capable of doing unsupported trips of at least a couple of weeks duration, and it has a huge capacity. I have to hand it to the Canadian's when they go kayak camping they don't skimp on taking the comforts of home.  So a number of their kayaks have enough volume to hold what you want to take, rather than what you can cut down and survive with.  We met Brad and Chuck at Ahous Beach and they had a good set up, using a Current Design Solstice and an extended, home made CLC 17 foot kayak, they were out for a long weekend and appeared to be camping in style. 

Dimensions
Length        Beam        Depth       Weight (lbs.)         Cockpit size
18' 3"           24.375"     14"             53 Glass            32.625" x 17.625"

Storage Volume
Total volume (litres) Bow Hatch     Cockpit       Stern Hatch
         410                  80                195                   135



The Telkwa handled well, was very stable and quite fast. Fully loaded it was not too difficult to get up to cruising speed, once there, it was easy to maintain the pace. In rougher waters it was vice free and we enjoyed some nice surfing. Edging was difficult and even leaning the body over the side did little to tilt the hull. That said stability was rock solid and even in some unpleasant, choppy seas the Telkwa never caused concern.

The rudder worked well, even with the sliding foot rests that hire craft have.  Surprisingly, there is quite a lot of rocker in the hull, but the kayak tracked and manoeuvred well, both fully and partially loaded, but only with the rudder deployed. The Telkwa did not track terribly well without the rudder and this is probably due to the amount of rocker in the hull.

Summary: Designed as a load carrier for extended trips and for this purpose it's superb.   With its huge volume you can take the kitchen sink. After the low volume Scorpio, the Telkwa opened my eyes to comfortable kayak/camping. It doesn't have any vices and handled very well.  With water temperatures of 6 degrees, swimming was not an option and the Telkwa never caused me any concerns. I certainly will paddle one again, if I am lucky enough to return to Canada.

"I can't believe it isn't butter.......... or rather summer".

Back in Fremantle, and we've had a week of winter weather; rain and strong winds. However,  the weather forecast for Friday was looking good, so instead of heading to the upper reaches of the Swan River with our normal Friday paddle group, Graham and I headed for Woodman Point and out into the ocean towards Carnac Island. 

We were joined by Lance and Alan, friends of Graham's, to make it a quartet. 

 We really couldn't believe our luck, such perfect weather at this time of the year, was it really winter? The sun was shining, there was a light easterly breeze helping us towards Carnac Island, and there was no boat traffic.  We had Cockburn Sound to ourselves.

Searching For Sea Lions At Carnac Island

Graham, Lance & Alan

Cormorants Watching Us, Carnac Island


                                                                                                                                                                                                             

From Carnac we continued south to Garden Island, in perfect conditions for a lunch stop.

Garden Island on a winter's day, it was as if we had the island to ourselves.

A flat calm greeted us after lunch as we paddled back to Woodman Point and our biggest problem was whether we were using enough sun screen ........ A perfect winter's day paddle.

Legendary Noodle Restaurant, Vancouver.

This restaurant is easy to miss. Situated on Denman Street, near the Comox Street intersection, it has a very small frontage.

We’d been there on a previous trip, but I just couldn’t remember it, that was until we walked through the door and it all came flooding back.  

How on earth could I have forgotten?  The noodles are made on the premises, in fact in front of you, as the kitchen is only a glass screen away, and are “legendary”.

   Noodle Making On The Premises.

Beef brisket soup is my favourite and I had a real dilemma in changing my normal order to the cold noodles and prawns, but they too are now on the list of “must have again”. The soup reminds me of the Japanese Ramen soups, served in a big bowl, it is full of flavour  without having chilli or being overpowered with spices.

The restaurant has a friendly, busy atmosphere and the staff are attentive. Very reasonably priced meals, which make Perth prices look ridiculously expensive. This is a restaurant we will be visiting again, when we're back in Vancouver.

Images Of Clayoquot Sound.

                                                                                                             

  

                    

       

                

 

 

                                                                                

Majestic Ocean Kayaking, Ucluelet, Vancouver Island.

Majestic Ocean Kayaking

Thanks go to Tracy and Ted, the proprietors of Majestic Ocean Kayaking, for their hospitality during our stay in Ukee, at their luxury Bed & Breakfast. The stay in the Emily Carr room is one we will always remember. We really enjoyed the breakfasts every morning, but rarely finished everything, there was just so much.

A big thank you as well on the kayaking side, as they provided first class equipment and an exceptional guide in Bill Rickson for our trip into the Sound. We're looking forward to our next trip with you.

Bed & Breakfast On Inlet At Ucluelet

Sincere thanks go to:

   The Team: Guide Bill, Gilly and Marty.

Guide Bill Rickson, of Majestic Ocean Kayaking, is a professional. He knows the waters of Clayoquot Sound well and took us to some incredible places, one's that we would never have found on our own. Our meals were of a gourmet standard and whilst they were prepared by the staff at MOK, Bill's presentation was first class.  Special mention has to go to his coffee which both Marty and I really appreciated. Our thanks go to Bill for his attention to detail and for guiding us safely, on a fun trip, one that we will remember for years to come.

Marty Thedroff from Saskatchewan, in central Canada, not a well know sea kayaking area.  For someone who only manages to paddle once a year, he is a very capable and reliable paddling companion.  Marty fitted into the team effortlessly, and it was like paddling with an old friend, rather than a new acquaintance. Thanks Marty, I hope we have the chance to paddle with you again, somewhere.

To Gilly for sharing the dream and being a major part of it.  Without whom the trip would not have been as memorable.  Thanks for being there.