| Vancouver Island Solo Expedition Updates: |
| On Wednesday August 15th, my solo sea kayaking expedition around Vancouver Island, aiming for a new speed record, was successfully completed. The expedition was a success and I shattered the old record of 28 days. The final time was 23 days and 10 hours, shaving roughly 4 and a half days off the previous best time ever. Full updates on the way shortly. Check back often durung today and the next several days for more reports on photos. More updates, fianl three days, added at 8:10 PM Wednesday August 22nd. |
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| Celebrating with some red wine at Nordstrum Creek on the outer tip of the Brooks Peninsula. This is THE place I most wanted to camp at during the expedition. I was pretty happy to be here...arrived during the third straight day of Gale Warnings! |
| First off, although this has been a "Solo Paddle" around Vancouver Island, it certainly has NOT been a solo EFFORT! I want to thank everyone who has made this trip possible. and there were alot of you! Nigel Dennis of Sea Kayaking UK for sending over one of his incredible sea kayaks. They were my first choice of craft from day one for this expedition. Very strong and tough, these expedition proven designs have been on countless expeditions all around the world and I was impresed with the way the kayak handled whatever conditions were thrown at. Very seaworthy kayaks, great handling in the surf and good speed. Thank you Nigel for taking a chance of me, a paddler you'd never met before, anbd sending me one of your beautifully built sea kayaks! Kokatat has been a huge help in providing a rather large box full of gear for the expedition. Everything from base clothing to quick dry causua wear, an awesome Guide PFD, the most comfortable PFD I've ever had! The Touring Anorak semi-drytop was essential in keeping me comfortable on the water in the adverse conditions as were the matching Gore Tex pants. The Kokatat gear performed flawlessly and I was honoured to have the support of Kokatat with me for this expedition. The Wild Coast. sewries of guidebooks and marine atlases by John Kimantas. Thank you John for believing in and providing the full set of your incredibly detailed guidebooks and the very fFIRST set of your marine atlases, hot off the presses! It was an honour to use them in what was most likely the first ever sea kayak trip around Vancouver Island without the use of nautical charts! Thank you also for all your help in logistics, planning and putting up with me as I crashed at your house, both before and after the expedition. Comox Valley Kayaks. Thank you goes out to Don at Comox Valley Kayaks for all the help in making the expedition come together. From loaning me your personal kayak, the Greenlander Race, to train in, to great derals on last minute items and to the offer of swapping kayaks for the second attempt...putting me into the faster Greenlander Race over the Greenlander Pro used in the first attmpt. Both are exceptional kayaks but the Race just has that extra little twist of speed. I hope you don't mind the new scratches on it...I think I put a couple on her at least! A big thank you to Carey Lockwood for all of your help in running me around the Island to get ready for the expedition, particularly in between the first and the second attempts. Thank you to Jelena Lepesic for all your help before the expedition and to Doug and Sue for putting me up for a couple nights before the initial launch. I don't have their contact info but when you read this Jelena, please thank them for me! Linda Kehoe...you have been a big help leading up to the expedition. I can never say enough to thank you and Bryan for your help. More thanks go out to Diane Hogan for your support and encouragement on so many levels. Thank you so much! Margie in Banff...thanks for the water filter. It kept me healty out there. Getting giardia back in Saskatchewan in 2004 was enough for me! Thank you to all my training partners up in Kamloops....Darryl, Chris, the other Chris, Wally, Derek and everyone else! James Kelly in Kelowna for your help and encouragement. Last but not least. Thank you to everyone I met along the way and the contirbutions and moral support & encouragement you gave me. A big thanks to the Zandee family for the accomadations in Sooke! A HUGE thank you must also go out to Keirron Tastagh and Jeff Norville. It was your trip in the tandem kayak that got me thinking about taking on this expedition in the first place. So yeah...it's your fault I'm so tired and sore right now!! Hahaha. And finally. Thank you to Leon Sommes. A paddler I've never met before but hope to one day. It was your time of 28 days that we were all thinking about trying to beat. That 28 day solo mark you set....it is amazing how many people I met along the way that mentioned you by name and the record you held for soloing around the Island! Good job Leon! Thanks for providing the motivation to get out there and push myself hard! So like I mentioned, though it was a solo paddle. It certainly was NOT a solo effort! For those of you not mentioned in this brief report, please forgive me as I am still very tired as I type this out and the entire experience is still a bit of a blur in my mind right now., it all having gone by so fast. |
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| New condensed Trip Report coming soon! Check back shortly. Thank you for your patience. |