Vancouver Island is a great place to live and visit, especially in summer when the days are long and the sun is shining. We’re highlighting some of our favourite summertime activities — things we think everyone should try to fit in before fall comes around again.
The kayaks slipped into the still ocean before the sun rose over Cadboro Bay. Darkness dropped away as we glided away from the beach.
Pink clouds streaked the pre-dawn sky. Then the sun began to rise, painting the water in gold, awakening seabirds and a great blue heron that grunted in protest.
The memory of that early-morning paddle has stayed with me for years. And it’s one I try to relive every summer.
In fact, it doesn’t feel like summer until I’m bobbing past rocky outcroppings, searching for seals and starfish, and listening to eagles trill and oyster catchers shriek.
In Greater Victoria, there are lots of options for paddlers with all levels of experience to get out on the water.
Else-Jean Fredericksen, owner and manager of Pacifica Paddle Sports in Brentwood Bay, rents single and double kayaks, paddleboards and canoes. She also has a mega-paddleboard that fits six adults or eight children.
Brentwood Bay has peaceful, calm and easy paddling conditions, she said. “We are very beginner friendly. We welcome people without experience. We call it our salt-water lake.”
Paddlers can explore Tod Inlet and Saanich Inlet, where there are plenty of seals, starfish and thousands of moon jellyfish. Eagles fly overhead and purple martins flock to the nesting boxes at the end of Tod Inlet.
“One of our favourite routes is to go across Brentwood Bay, past the seal rocks and into Tod Inlet. It’s easily accomplished even by beginner paddlers,” said Fredericksen, a kayak guide and instructor. “It’s a relaxed two-hour paddle. People are all smiles when they come back.”
On a hot summer day, it’s nice to just sit on a paddleboard and dangle your feet in the water or go for a swim.
Fredericksen has had many amazing moments on the water, but paddling through the bioluminescence at night in the calm, dark inlet is magical, she said. “The stars are shining above us and the water is sparkling below. Everything is peaceful but every paddle stroke causes more sparkles in the water around me. People feel like they’re living in a Disney movie.”
Pacifica Paddle Sports runs bioluminescence tours every Thursday and Friday through the end of September. The tours start after sunset and are booked up pretty far in advance, said Fredericksen. The company also has multi-day rentals out of their location at the Canoe Cove Marina in Swartz Bay.
James Dawson, manager of Ocean River’s Oak Bay Paddle Shack, is passionate about paddling and excited about introducing more residents to the sport.
“We have a very special place here and I would like to share it with more locals,” Dawson said on a windless morning as sunlight shimmered on the water off Oak Bay Marina. “It’s amazing that we don’t see more locals paddling, but I think the reason is they are just a bit nervous. So we’re here to make them more comfortable.”
The paddle shack has six single kayaks, six tandem kayaks, two surf skis and two paddleboards. Dawson is bringing in boats from France, Estonia, Sri Lanka and Portugal.
“We’re becoming kind of a kayaking boutique and it’s going to transition into our rental fleet so people get to paddle an interesting new kayak,” he said.
Tours go out in the morning before the wind comes up. The guides are certified and teach Paddle Canada courses at this location and Ocean River’s other location downtown.
On days when there’s little current and no wind until the afternoon, Dawson said, they’ll go all the way to Gonzales Point and hang out there.
”There’s a couple of little islands that have great seaweed and you often will see crabs and lots of starfish. Then we come back and go through Harris Island and Emily Islet. We can also paddle through the Chain Islets, which is a huge treat,” said Dawson. “This time of year, they are always packed with seals. It’s pupping season right now and the chance of seeing seals is quite high.”
In spring and fall, most boats paddle toward Cadboro Bay.
Sea lions and elephant seals frequent the area in the spring. This year, two trips were fortunate enough to see whales, said Dawson.
“Once you’re a couple of hundred metres off the [coast] here, you feel like you’re in the Gulf Islands. You feel like you’re in a completely different place,” he said.
The paddle shack does special requests for people with different paddling experiences. For example, if someone wants to paddle out to Discovery Island but isn’t comfortable doing it on their own, they can hire a guide for a full-day trip. The same goes for the Trial Islands.
The company has also done team-building exercises with schools and businesses from its downtown location, where there are 40 boats.
Safety is key, said Dawson. The guides will tell people if and when it’s safe to paddle and they often cancel if conditions aren’t right.
“We have to read people’s comfort levels. We like to put people in tandems because they are so beamy and comfortable. They are safe anywhere we put them. I’ve only seen two capsizes in six years and both meant to do it.”
The Oak Bay Paddle Shack also has an easy-access dock. That means the crew can take people in wheelchairs and help them into a boat. It’s also a lot safer for people who are nervous about getting into a kayak from dockside
“I can’t say enough about this area. Yesterday, the marina was full of seals and this is kind of the hub to the bird sanctuary. I warn people not to stand in the parking lot too long because they’ll probably get pooped on.”
It’s important to book ahead, said Dawson. People can drop in but it’s much better to book ahead, especially on a weekend.“We’re quite often sold out.”
Dawson is pretty excited about the two surf skis he’s just brought in from Portugal.
“That is a real focus of mine. In Victoria we see so many cyclists and so many people running, all lower-body workouts. Surf skis are a whole-body workout. You actually will push and pull with your legs as you are paddling. They are very popular in South Africa, Florida, California and Hawaii.”
The paddle shack is planning a demo day in mid-August so people can try a number of different boats.
