Pirates Cove to Nanaimo, June 9th 2015.

The forecast was for 20 knot winds from the northwest, decreasing in the afternoon. I could have sat on a beach and waited for better weather. Then what would I do? A day's worth of paddling in half a day? I have reservations at a campground but probably cannot get there in this wind. I decided to launch at 6:00 AM and work my way north at a slow rate, looking for places to camp. I thought that the Dodd Narrows with a 5 knot current would give me a boost, but it did not. First I had to work hard for 2 hours just to get into the narrows. Then the current was only enough to add 1 mile per hour to my slow speed of 2 MPH. Finally at the north end of the narrows I found what I had hoped for all along: A rip current with noisy fast water. But it only lasted 100 yards and petered out.

I also found another R2AK boat at the end of Dodd Narrows! John of Team John had gone through the narrows just ahead of me (I'm surprised I didn't see him). His boat was a kayak shaped thing with an outrigger, a dagger board and a sail. I asked him about tacking north against this wind, and he said "no, that is a hassle". Personally, paddling into the wind is a BIG HASSLE and I would love to be able to make progress another way. I have a Pacific Action sail, but it only works downwind. John had stopped after Dodd Narrows for a break and invited me to coffee. I declined and paddled slowly north against the wind.

I crossed over to Gabriola Island and tried to eddy hop north. This was made difficult by huge rafts of logs tied directly to the shore. When I finally made it past these, I was able to get close to shore out of the wind. The shore was made of beautiful rocks carved by wind and waves. As I rounded the island the wind waves got larger and larger. It looked easier offshore. Since it was still so early, I decided to bite the bullet and paddle slowly into the wind to cross over north of the town of Nanaimo. Getting away from the shore of Gabriola, the wind waves were smaller and this made the wind seem diminished. But it seemed to get stronger until I was crawling along. Two ferries went by in front of me so I figured I was safe from them for a while. Then in a glance to my left I saw a third ferry, heading almost directly towards me! I turned towards and parallel to the ferry's path, but this still seemed too close so I turned my course farther away. This put me on a course going straight down wind. As I passed by the ferry, probably within 40 yards, I almost caught a wave for a surfing ride. The tail of my kayak raised up behind me. At that moment, I think the pilot of the ferry saw me for the first time. The RPM of the ferry engine suddenly decreased and the boat turned farther away from me. It is a good thing I did my own evasive maneuvers.

I turned back to my course and finally made it to shore. I landed, tried to take a nap and wait for the wind to die down, which it did not. I could have camped there but it was still early so I got back in the water and slogged on into the wind. Another crossing, another nice beach, another attempt at a nap. The wind was still strong, but it was only noon so I kept slogging north. Whenever I was near shore I scoped out the possibilities for camping. This far south Vancouver Island is very developed and there are few places where I could camp without being seen. I had a reservation at a provincial park, but was not going to make it there. Finally on a secluded beach I stopped for the evening at 5:00 PM. There is a pile of logs at the top of the beach and no place to camp. I found a gap in the brush at the shoreline and under the canopy the ground was clear and I found a place to set up my tent above the high tide. When the tide came up the logs banged together in an alarming way. I could feel some of the bangs coming up through the ground. I pulled the kayak up higher on the logs until the bow was in the woods.