#7 Gulf Island Hopping

This wish was the last one to be completed of the 'fun list for the weekend' Kerry and I made. He had spent a lot of time on Mayne Island and was always telling me about it, but he never managed to take me. So I was determined to explore this wonderful group of islands just south of Vancouver Island. What better way to do this than during a kayaking trip with my parents? Yes they may be in and close to their sixties, but they have paddled the globe and they are seriously a lot of fun and the best campers in the universe (no kidding). There is no record of how far or how fast we paddled. This trip was actually a really good lesson for me in letting go a bit more, taking days as they come, because truly you have no other choice when you're out there on the water. It couldn't have been more 'Kerry' than any other trip I have been on these past few years. He was the master of just seeing where things take you.

So off we went, a few days before what would have been his 36th birthday. We took the ferry to Salt Spring, camped at Ruckle Park, then took the ferry to North Pender the next day where we traded my car for a single and a double kayak.

Matilda Junior making the trip to Salt Spring. 

My new tent shooting rainbows at Ruckle Park on Salt Spring. 

The first day we didn't have to paddle too far, it was a quick jaunt from North to South Pender where we camped at Beaumont Park, once again overlooking the ocean. Unfortunately the weather gods were not on our side so the next day we camped at Beaumont Park again, after paddling around a bit and rounding some nasty corners on South and North Pender with massive waves that (almost) got me peeing my pants. On the plus side, we witnessed a pod of killer whales from about 100 metres away playing and messing about in the ocean. A sight that put the cherry on top of this trip, even before there was a cake.

My wonderful parents paddling into the morning fog.

Breakfast at Beaumont Park, South Pender. 

Camping with my mom means camping in style, with appies and wine. 

We had chatted to some sailors who recommended taking a different route to Saturna, where I really really (yes really) wanted to get to, still not sure why. So after two nights on South Pender we paddled back towards North Pender, rounded the tip there and embarked on my first ever open water crossing. The waves were fairly big (my parents would probably say 'which waves?') so I had to keep paddling until we made it across fully. All the while I'm thinking to myself that this was probably not what Kerry had in mind when he put Gulf Island hopping on our list of fun things to do on the weekend. But man would he be proud. I made it across in one piece and without peeing my pants. We stopped at Thomson Park, a day-use area on Saturna, where we had lunch on the dock while watching seals and otters play in the water. 

Thomson Park dock, Saturna. 

With a lot of effort and determination we eventually make it to Narvaez Bay, about which I had read so many things. Tjerk and I did temporarily switch kayaks as the 'old folk' were a lot faster in the double than poor little me in the single. My mom and I weren't as convinced that my steering skills would suffice to navigate the big guy, but they did and we made it to beautiful Narvaez Bay, just in time for - how can you guess - wine and appies with a sunset. The next day we had an attempt at paddling around the southern tip of Saturna towards Tumbo and Cabbage Island but massive ways, my tremendous fear of capsizing and giant container ships forced us to turn back. This part of the trip was by far the scariest, as those container ships are most definitely not my friend and at one point my arms actually went numb with fear. But oh well, we made it through and eventually back to our lunch spot from the day before at Thomson Park, where we may or may not have camped slightly illegally for the night. But man, what a beautiful sunset did we get the day before Kerry's birthday.

Paddling as hard as I can to get away from that damn container ship...

Swinging with happiness after escaping the big waves. 

We get up stupid early to try not to get caught at our impromptu campsite and paddle to the harbour of Saturna, where we manage to score some coffee and may or may not have illegally acquired drinking water. (We ran out the day before, went to a general store where we purchased food and alcohol but failed to remember the water). It turns out to be a beautiful day and we paddle from Saturna to Samuel to Mayne before crossing back to North Pender. Seeing Kerry's beloved arbutus trees all along the Mayne Island shore fills my heart with so much love, yet sadness at the same time. He would have loved this trip, but I remind myself that he is always here. Not just in my heart, but also in my parents' hearts. Especially Tjerk asks a lot about him, wanting to know who Kerry was, what kind of music he liked and such seemingly trivial things. I'm sure he knows this, but it meant so much to me that he still wanted to get to know Kerry even though he's been gone for over three years now. After we eventually say goodbye to our trustworthy kayaks we drove to Shingle Bay, on North Pender, where we set up camp for our last night. And what a night it turned out to be. Once the sun started to set, the sky turned iridescent, very much like Kerry. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, some deer passed right in front of me on the beach. A friendly reminder that there are always better days (yes, I'm sneaking in some The Head and The Heart lyrics in here).