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Gecko Paddler: August 2014
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Sunday, August 31, 2014. Bunsby's 2014 (Part 3 July 18th - 21st). Welcome back to the last installment of our Bunsby 2014 blog! There's lots to tell you about so let's get started. A dramatic change in the weather from the day before. Looks like rain is coming. This should keep us dry and there's plenty of space for the group to huddle together. Somewhere in the distance is the village of Kyuquot. Navigating would be done 'old school' today. Arriving at Kyuquot - the First Nations village came into view ...
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Gecko Paddler: July 2015
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Friday, July 31, 2015. God's Pocket - 7 Days plus 1 (Part 2). Day 2 - July 12, 2015. The 5:00am headache woke me up with a bit of a jolt. just great! Robyn and I pulled on our rain gear and neoprene boots (must have) and headed to the kitchen to fire up the Jetboil. Gearing up ready to explore Balaclava Island. Heading north into Browning Passage as the flood was just beginning. So close . close enough for me. My first encounter with a humpback whale. Darkness envelops me as I explore the cave. After our...
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Gecko Paddler: May 2015
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Wednesday, May 20, 2015. Developing Our Skills with Paddle Canada (Part 1). Flashback to our first time in a kayak - September 2011. Notice the upside down paddle . we need skills huh? Since then, our garage has been constantly evolving with kayak gear upgrades and we have spent a lot of time "in" the water as we upgraded our skills certifications through Paddle Canada. This past year especially our focus has been to reach our personal goals which we were both able to do in April. I have taken courses wi...
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Gecko Paddler: Double Day - James Island & Butchart Gardens Fireworks by Robyn Byrne
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Sunday, August 2, 2015. Double Day - James Island and Butchart Gardens Fireworks by Robyn Byrne. Earlier this year Mark and I committed the August 1st long weekend to helping our friend Gary lead a SISKA. Paddle to see the Butchart Gardens. Fireworks so it was a stay-at-home weekend for a change. We decided to kick it off by doing a bit of fishing and crabbing yesterday morning. Getting ready to launch off Lochside Drive with the Anacortes ferry arriving into Sidney BC. By this time we were ready for lun...
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Gecko Paddler: God's Pocket - 7 Days plus 1 (Part 3)
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Wednesday, August 5, 2015. God's Pocket - 7 Days plus 1 (Part 3). Day 3 - Monday July 13, 2015. The easy way to wash breakfast dishes. We decided to head back towards camp taking our time to explore the forest while being protected from the rain by the canopy of the trees. Although we could hear the rain, very little made it's way to the forest floor other than the large droplets that fell from the canopy boughs high above us. Harvested many years ago, a stump of a very large cedar looks out of place.
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Gecko Paddler: April 2014
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Sunday, April 27, 2014. 2014 West Coast Paddler Unofficial Camp Out. It wasn't an official event. Just a bunch of kayakers who follow the forums on West Coast Paddler. And get together once a year for a camp out. We met up with Gary Jacek at the Swartz Bay Government Dock at 14:30 last Thursday afternoon and loaded the provisions into our trusty rides for the crossing to Portland Island. The marine forecast? Under sail with Gary doing 2.2 knots with full left rudder. Our original plan was to pass the nor...
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Gecko Paddler: November 2014
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Sunday, November 16, 2014. Last Saturday I went on a SKILS. Rock Gardening course with coaches Rowan Gloag and Costain Leonard of The Hurricane Riders (THR). The rest of our group was made up of keeners like myself who probably were drawn to the course by the opportunity to learn from a couple of the best dynamic water paddlers around here. Al, Lisa and Micah (self-appointed guinea pig for the day . . . I'm not kidding) LOL. Costain talks us through the objectives for the day. A well prepared plan! For t...
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Gecko Paddler: March 2015
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Sunday, March 29, 2015. BCMTN Site Assessments - Discovery Islands Group. The weekend of March 7th and 8th Robyn and I joined other members of the BC Marine Trails Network Board of Directors on a site assessment expedition into the Discovery Islands Group located northeast of Campbell River. My three girls for the campout . lucky me! Moulds Bay with Breton Islands in the distance. Our put-in location was at Moulds Bay just north of Heriot Bay which put us in close proximity to a number of the sites that ...
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Gecko Paddler: December 2014
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Tuesday, December 30, 2014. Gabriola Passage. Paddling Away 2014. It was a perfect way to send out 2014, paddling with friends in perfect conditions to play in Gabriola Passage. No wind, lots of sun and even with the temperature hovering around 0C it didn't matter. December on the west coast can be amazing and it today was one of those days. Leaving Cedar BC we head towards the gap between Mudge and Link Islands 1.5 nm away than can be seen on the left. Gerhardt Raven using a greenland paddle. Thankfully...
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Gecko Paddler: January 2015
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Monday, January 19, 2015. Rockin It Out At East Sooke. On Saturday Robyn and I met up with Dave Nichols, Gerhard Raven, Kevin and Cindy Searle for a day of play in the rocks around East Sooke Regional Park. Robyn and I have hiked the terrestrial trail before and I have played on the marine trail a couple of times but for Robyn, this was her first excursion to a favorite play zone for many kayakers. Launching on the exposed side of Whiffen Spit at high tide with just a bit of a swell. 8221; My pool experi...
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