On this very day, we are only 44 days away from this trip setting off! I've been pretty silent on the website here lately, but mostly that is due to my greatest nemesis: Calculus. But putting integrals aside for a minute, it's time for me to give a little update on where this trip is at!
The above video I made a couple of weeks back when I went for a kayak surf trip out in Ucluelet. I got mostly just beat up by some really dumpy waves, but excellent surf landing practice in some big swell. Side bar, if you're heading out west, give that amazing little west coast town a little love. Tofino is a huge name, yet Ukee has everything to offer and more—from rugged coastline, sandy beaches, to the first catch and release aquarium on the coast for those more than regular rainy days. Plus free parking!
Ok, back on track. As the video above says, my plan is to use Instagram and this website to keep everyone up to date. The plan is to keep it real! I think one of the things I was most curious about when I started doing longer trips was how the mental battle goes. I'm used to being in the bush for extensive periods of time, but I will be alone for the trip. Something I am not quite used to. I think it will be an interesting reflection on what happens as the days go on. Will I find a Wilson? I'm sure there's enough beach debris for me to find a friendly face to bring along. Although my first thought is just to name my camera rather than a ball. You really can't beat the pop culture reasoning to name it Wilson.
On a more serious outlook on how I plan to manage it, I will take advantage of a busy mind. Most of you who know me might know that talking isn't my issue. Staying completely silent I find far more challenging. For better or for worse, I have a very active mind that wakes with the alarm and doesn't tend to settle until my head hits the pillow. This has led me to have a trend of being constantly busy. I do my best to nearly account for every free minute I have and hope to use every single one in the name of productivity. As someone I recently spoke to about it mentioned, "I don't think that's sustainable." And right they are. So this will be a great place for me to practice taking the elusive chill pill. Yes, I do realize I've taken on a big trip in paddling around Vancouver Island, which sounds nothing like a break, but really I've taken on a 30-day trip, with hopes of making it around Vancouver Island. I'd love to push my time until I finish the oblong oval of paddling, but work calls. Once my season starts, this trip unfortunately has to end.
So what will I be up to? Paddling will dominate the majority of the days, of course. I have to cover roughly 21 nautical miles per day on average to achieve the full trip. For those of you who aren't fluent in mariner speak, it's roughly 39km per day. So for the sake of easy math, we can round that to 40km. Now a very realistic speed for me to keep is roughly 6.5 km/hr on a dead flat day with no current. That has me paddling about 6.2 hours per day. With the first report from Environment Canada coming through at 4:30 am, I could see my boat floating at sunrise and accomplishing my 21 Nm by noon. Those are the days I'm going to make up a little time. A rest day or a weather day is bound to happen eventually, so making up time when I can would be amazing! Now don't get me wrong, that won't be easy, but I am fortunate enough to understand weather and currents at a higher level and will use that to my advantage. The plan is to paddle when conditions are advantageous and to rest when they are opposing my goals. With this being an El Niño weather year, I'm really hoping for some NW winds to get me through some of those longer days on the west coast. Unfortunately, they are also my adversary going up the east coast. May is often a point of transition; the dream would be to have a nice heavy rainy start with strong SE winds, convincing me to start down on the SE coast and blow past the east coast riding wind waves, cozy in a dry suit. So if you want to help me out, pray for rain in the last week of April. In the end, I will control what I can control. Unfortunately, that doesn't include the weather so I'll just have to roll with the punches and see how it turns out. And what will I do when I'm not paddling? Well, all the things I wish I was doing on a guided trip. Sometimes I forget how much work just the "guiding" adds to these trips. A list might look like:
Fishing (lots of it)
Knot tying (why knot?)
Shelter building (and deconstructing)
Land exploring
Reading
Lots of stretching
Fire cooking
But really that's just what I can pull out of thin air around this keyboard. I'm sure some ideas will hit me straight in the forehead with some natural inspiration! I'll be sure to keep you all up to date on the shenanigans if they take place. But maybe I will find some inner peace staring at the ocean. Who knows? Best to come in with no expectations.
I'm sure from start to finish I will be in one way or another a different person. And if you do pass by me on the water, please feel free to come for a chat! Just don't be surprised if I talk your ear off about all the adventures Wilson and I got up to!
For today, how about we leave it there.
Thanks for reading and following along, and as always, spread the message!