90 VANMAG.COM MAY 2017
MAJESTIC OCEAN KAYAKING: DOUG LUDWIG; SECHART LODGE: LADY ROSE MARINE SERVICES;KAYAKERS IN UCLUELET: MAJESTIC OCEAN KAYAKINGPlay THE DESTINATION
Majestic Ocean Kayaking Sechart Lodgeserves as the perfect backdrop for our
waterfront digs for the night. Over a flask
of v ictor y whisk y (day one, still a live!), we
lazily admire the killer sunset pouring
over the rocky west side of the island.
That night, we meet our only
neighbours for the trip: solo kayaker
Martin and two older gents who
are completing the journey for the
umpteenth time. The crew makes for
a fun evening of s’mores and tall tales
spun around the fire. Even though it’s a
national park, fishing is permitted with
a licence and we jealously listen to their
stories of crabs, sea urchins and fish
caught for fresh seafood feasts.
Overnight, the soothing sound of
gentle rain pattering against the tent’s
fly lulls me to sleep, but by morning the
weather shifts. At 9 a.m. our friends from
the night before are already pushing their
kaya ks into the ocean, gest uring w ildly at
the clouds darkening overhead while we
blearily roll out of our sleeping bags. We
scramble to pack up—our idyllic paradise
has gone very Deadliest Catch, and we
have the longest crossing ahead.The Broken Group is a cluster of more
than 90 islands nestled in the calm
waters of Barkley Sound in Pacific Rim
National Park. For beginner paddlers, it
doesn’t get any better—pristine waters,
white-sand beaches and an oasis of
stillness in the notoriously rough Pacific
Ocean, all accessible for a long-weekend
getaway from Vancouver.
However, the secluded location
(the islands can be reached only by boat
from Por t A lberni, Ucluelet or Torquar t
Bay) and the lack of drinking water,
electricity and shelter mean it’s a trip
that requires preparation.
Lured by the promise of Robinson
Crusoe-like adventures on deserted
beaches, our group of seven novice
kayakers sets its sights on a self-guided
tour through this remote archipelago.
What the hell do we even bring? I
wonder, mentally trying to squeeze in
food and water, plus everything from
toques and mitts to bikinis and flip-flops.
Dad-chic cargo pants with zip-off legs
help carve out more room for snacks.
But drinking water, bug spray, first aid
kits, fire starter, headlamps, tents,
sleeping bags and pads, layers of clothing
(and a surprising amount of chocolate)
are the real necessities.
We set out from Sechart Lodge, the
quaint bed and breakfast where our
water taxi dropped us an hour earlier,
about a kilometre north of the Pacific
Rim National Park Boundary in Sechart
Channel. We have barely cleared the
launch and I spot seal heads bobbing
two metres from the bow of the double
kayak I share with my husband. Suddenly
everyone in our group of paddlers is
screaming out wildlife sightings like
excitable kids on a first trip to the zoo:
sea urchin and starfish in the shallows;
mussels and crabs hanging off exposed
rocks; bald eagles flying overhead. I scan
the horizon for the big guns (sea lions visit
in late summer and early fall, while grey
and humpback whales cruise the coast
from Febr uar y to October), but no dice.
We take a meandering route through
the Tiny Group—an island cluster in
the middle of Broken Group, about 10
kilometres from Sechart Lodge—nestled
in shallow water so clear and turquoise
that it looks like a tropica l Thai lagoon.
With the sun beating down on our backs,
it’s hard to believe we’re still in Canada.
But appearances can be deceiving, and
shocked shrieks confirm our locale when
we brave the ocean for a freezing dip.
Stopping for a snack break on dry
land, my husband opens the main hatch
between us. “That’s strange,” he says. “I
think we’ve sprung a leak.” Sure enough,
an alarming amount of water is lapping
around our dry bags. But it’s fresh water,
not salt. A review of our supplies quickly
reveals we’ve lost nearly four litres of
drinking water due to a slow leak in one
container. It’s not quite the doomsday
scenario that it could have been, since
we’ve overestimated supply. (The best
advice I can offer: always be prepared. It’s
better to come back with extra water than
struggle to find any on the islands.)
Designated campsites exist on
seven Broken Group Islands: Hand,
Turret, Gibraltar, Willis, Dodd, Clarke
and Gilbert. Our plan is to island-hop
in a clockwise direction over three
n i g h t s , s t a r t i n g a t C l a r k e a n d e n d i n g
at Gibraltar.
Our hull makes a satisfying scrape as
it beaches nose-first on Clarke Island—a
destination well worth the 15-kilometre
paddle. This vast white-sand strip
stretches end to end across the island andKayakers in Ucluelet