Kayaking Victoria B.C

Arbutus Point 11pm Vancouver City-lights illuminate the sky

16km
2007: 54.6km

My first overnight kayak trip in Canada is in the bag. I went with Matt, Greg and David from Swartz Bay to Portland Island. We took off from the government dock beside the ferries and paddled between Knapp and Pym islands and to the Shell Beach campsite. We decided to go to Arbutus Point and set up camp there. It was avery nice paddle up to Arbutus Point with swells from the ferries making it a little more interesting, adding life to the ocean.


Greg enjoys some fine paddling 

We arrived at Arbutus Point around 8pm and quickly set up camp and made a nice collective dinner. The Arbutus Point campsite has a lot of Racoons, we watched them hunting crabs in the tidal zone, one little critter got a crab the size of his head and struggled to eat it alive. Paying no attention to the pinches from the crabs arms.


David at Shell Beach cam 

Matt glides along in his Kodiak 

The next day we hiked the island, to Kanaka Bluff  and to the Princess Bay campsite via the center island trail we then took the seaside trail back to Arbutus Point. We had a nice lunch and then we packed our stuff and took off. The paddle back was very nice. The sun shining and a light breeze to cool us down. There was some choppy water just before the Princess Bay campsite as the tide was coming in over the shallows.
On our way back over Shute passage we could feel the current running. The Buoy in the middle of the channel was struggling against its chain and the water running fast around it. A very nice trip – and Portland Island is amazing such a nice place so close to Victoria.


David, Matt and Greg getting dinner ready 

Kanaka Bluff views towards Saanich Peninsula 

Three generations Oskar my son, me and my father Gunnar on the right. 

Thetis lake on a sunny afternoon. The kids got to paddle the kayaks( with a tow rope attached) and we messed about in the Canoe. My father, his wife and my sister were visiting us in Victoria and came to the lake for some good times.

Isabella, small girl in a big kayak.  

Óðinn, Ísabella and Daði enjoying the day. 

Distance: 5.6km

Went for a paddle with Sjonni from Gyro Park last week, we headed towards Cattle Point and then back. Sjonni is getting good fast, and when he comes back in August we should be able to do an over nighter. We´re planning on camping at Portland Island, cant wait.

Distance: 6km 

I went with Sjonni, sometimes known as Jon Franklin or Burt and in later years my brother, out to Thetis Lake. Nice day warm weather and warmish water.

A small traffic accident! 

More pics if you click more 

Distance: 7km 

Went out from Telegraph Bay in perfect weather, sun, warm and dead calm. Did some wet stuff in the Bay and then we went north. Stopped at Finnerty Cove for a while. Fun to see Finnerty cove from this angle, we often go there with the kids, beach combing and for a picknick. I have also photographed the cabin a lot, such a nice place.


Finnert Cove last winter

Unbeliviable waterfront homes in this part of Victoria, what a nice place to live!
Saw some purple Starfish on the rocks along the way, wish I´d had my SLR and a polarizer, you just cant get good photos through the water with the Pentax. I have to get a pelican case for my 5D so I can do some nice shots from the kayak.

Distance: 8km 

Another wet day, this time we went to Cadboro Bay. Paddled around and messed about. Rolled for the first time in the Pacific ocean. Great fun and good times.
Played around with the video option on the Pentax WP, works fine for funny little tidbits and recording the day. Lots of green stuff floating around, some kind of algae, coloured our gear and boats. Hope its not because of waist disposal, saw an outlet but I think its just for storm water.

Nice waterfront, not bad for a morning exercise on the kayak. 

Resting our weary feet, looking at all the nice houses and dreaming.

 

The mandatory rolling photos - first roll first roll in the Pacific, I need a new trick. 

Thats us, good thing I have been studying photography, that waterspot was intentional and not done in Photoshop. It was a hard task! 

Distance: 6km 

Isol and I went paddling on Thetis Lake, sunshine and warm temperatures.
We did some wet stuff and Isol worked on her roll. We want to have her roll bomb proof this summer and its going there allready.
Very nice day on the water.
At last our kayak season has begun, school is finished for Isol and classes are done at my school. I am supposed to be working on my portfolio, I guess I´ll have the theme as "kayaking".
Hopefully we´ll get plenty of oppurtunities to paddle this summer.

Went with Matt a friend from WAP kayaking on Thetis Lake, it was a wet day to say the least. Raining like mad the whole time and we also decided to practice some wet moves.
Matt wanted to learn how to roll so I showed him the moves, he got it in 30 minutes, pretty good.
We paddled to the pit stop island on the upper lake and had some snacks before we headed back home. When we arrived at the put in, Matt did 2 succesful rolls.

The ocean washing over the rocks


Byron watching the sun go down


Great sea views 

Had a great hike with Byron a classmate from Western along the coastal trail in East Sooke Regional Park. Its a beutiful place as most places are here on Vancouver Island, I just love the Island. -

These are photos from a 4 day trip in the East fjords of Iceland. It was quite an exciting trip and I am working on the story, but uploaded the photos now for archiving. But your pointer on the more link for more!

Distance: 22km
Distance 2006: 41km

The Galloping Goose Trail is a great trail; it goes from Victoria to beyond Sooke and totals at 55 km. We decided to do the trail in bits so last Saturday we went to the Sooke Potholes parked the car and rode to the end of the trail. All in all it was 11km one-way. The trail at this location is all uphill so the ride was harder at first but easier on the return. We were glad to reach Leechtown, a ghost town at the end of the trail although the town was a bit of a letdown as there is not much to see. The woods have swallowed the town and all that remains are small ruins on the forest floor covered with moss and nearly invisible. We had lunch there before we rode back to the car.
The kids loved the trip; Oskar was very tough cycling all the way and never letting up on his pedals. Isabella echoed our remarks about being tired, although she just sat in her seat the whole time, fussing and dropping her soother every 100 meters.
We are looking forward to riding the rest of the trail and hopefully it is all as beautiful as this last part.

Here is a Slideshow from the ride

I guess I am turning into a canoe guy; I haven’t touched the kayak in 2 weeks. Well blame the kids, they want to come along and have some fun and then it’s the canoe.
We went to our beloved Thetis Lake and paddled around it. We took a lunch break on a little Island on the upper lake. It was a beautiful day, the summer still lingering on refusing to give in to fall. There were some swimmers doing a long distance swim, all clad in wetsuits a sign of the seasons changing I guess.
We tried switching positions, me in the front and Isol steering in the back. It makes sense to have the more powerful paddler in front as the engine and Isol did a great job at steering the canoe for the first time. The kids loved the whole thing, the lunch of course being the highlight. Oskar tried out his wetsuit, swam and dunked his head in. He said it was warmer and a good garment but worried about his looks, wondering if a big guy like him should wear bibs. We assured him that he looked cool, kind of like a diver. That sold him on the wetsuit completely, nothing as cool as a diver, right?

Click more for more photos 

We went to Thetis Lake after Oskar’s and Isabella’s birthday party and fooled around with the Canoe. Everybody got to try it out and Oskar and his cousin Odinn got to try their hands at paddling. They were both kind of irritated as something was always trying to pull the paddle out of their hands or so they said. It was of no use telling them it was just the water and they should pull the paddle up quicker; no it was probably a shark or a big turtle!
This last week has been busy, everybody starting their schools and so our excursions must be done on the weekends. Unfortunately some guy hundreds of years ago decided that weekends should be 2 days and work 5 days. He should have had it the other way around.
We got Oskar a wetsuit for his birthday and hopefully we can go on the water all through the winter, it apparently doesn’t snow a lot in Victoria, just rains and that works fine for paddling.

More photos if you click on the more link(duh) 

Distance: 8km
Distance 2006:19km

Down to Shelbourne and via Arbutus to Cadboro Bay. 

Distance: 11km
Distance 2006: 11km

Went for a short trip down to Cadboro Bay and out to the point via Tudor Avenue. Oscar was on the Bike trailer and Isabella in a child seat.