Quadra Island Trip Report

 Quadra Island Trip Report – June 11-13, 2024.

 

13 of our members met on Quadra Island for 3 days of paddling. Most of the group camped at We Wai Kai Campground at Rebecca Spit near Heriot Bay eriot Heriot with some staying at the High Point Resort in Quathiaski Cove.

 

June 11

 

On the first evening (June 11) we met for a pot luck barbecue at the High Point Resort hosted by Bruce and Carolynn. Everyone enjoyed the amazing food and socializing with their fellow paddlers. One highlight of the evening was musical entertainment provided by Peter and Jim with a special guest appearance by Doug – aka Elvis.

 

 

June 12

The next morning, with calm winds and sunny skies, we met at the Heriot Bay Tru-Valu parking lot. After 30 minutes of driving, we arrived at the Main Lakes Provincial Park. This chain of interconnected lakes forms the largest freshwater waterway in the Gulf and Discovery Islands. Main Lake, Village Bay Lake and Mine Lake are connected by narrow, shallow marshes navigable by canoes, kayaks and dinghies only.   

We launched our kayaks at the south end of Village Bay Lake.

 

 For the first 2 km of paddling, we saw many small a-frame type cottages lining both sides of the channel. Most of these cottages are owned by people living in Campbell River. At the 3 km mark of the trip, we entered the Provincial Park and paddled through a narrow lily pad-filled channel connecting Village Bay Lake to Mine Lake.

 

We then turned north and paddled in the channel connecting Mine and Main Lakes. After about 1-1/2 km we stopped for lunch at one of the designated camping sites in the park. It was a beautiful site overlooking Main Lake with a nice sandy beach and even had a couple of picnic tables. 

 

Some of the group continued west for about 3 more kilometres to explore Main Lake and took the narrow channel into Little Main Lakes. 

 

The rest of the group decided to head from the lunch stop back to the launch site on Village Bay Lake.

 

The distance paddled was:

1.Village Bay Lake launch site to the Lunch stop Return = 8 km (4 hours on the water) and

2. Village Bay Lake launch site to Little Main Lake Return = 11.3 km (5.45 hours on the water).

 

That evening we met at Linda and Doug’s campsite at the We Wai Kai Campground for a Potluck Barbecue and Marshmallow roast. It was fun to sit around the campfire and to share stories of the day’s paddling trip. Directly behind their campsite was an incredibly large sasquatch statue made from driftwood.   

 

 

June 13

The last day was another sunny day with calm winds. After meeting at the Tru Valu parking lot in Heriot Bay, we drove for 30 minutes to Granite Bay at the north end of Quadra Island. Our destination for the day’s paddle was Small Inlet Marine Provincial Park. This park, established in 1996, offers a great paddling experience in well-protected waters.

We headed in a northwesterly direction from the Kanish Bay boat launch 

 

and spent time exploring the main inlet into the Marine Park.

 

For lunch we stopped at the end of the channel after paddling for about 9 km and took in the beautiful scenery.

 

After lunch we re-traced our route, 

 

and on the way back met up with one of the members of the Quadra Island Adventure Club who was also enjoying paddling in the park.

We were on the water for 5 – 5-1/2 hours and paddled 15 – 16 km.

 

The group enjoyed the sunny weather and light winds on this year’s trip to Quadra Island.

 

Photos were contributed by Linda, Ron, Gilly and Jim. Thank you to Harvey for the GPS Maps.

 

Thanks to Bruce and Linda for organizing the social activities.

 

Thanks to everyone who joined us on this trip:

Linda and Doug, Gilly and Peter, Harvey, Ron, Bruce and Carolynn, Ena, Jo and Linda and Pam and Jim.

 

 

Reported completed by Jim Swanson

May 28 Meet and Greet Barbecue at Linda and Doug Watson's

 

With the weather forecast calling for rains all day, it was decided to cancel the paddle at Westwood Lake. Close to 30 PGOSA Paddlers’ members attended the Meet and Greet Barbecue which was held at Linda and Doug Watson’s backyard in Parksville. The event began with everyone introducing themselves.

 

Donna Roy then led the group in a session on Warmup Exercises for Kayakers. She referred to her handout which focusses on Yoga exercises for getting our shoulders ready for a day of paddling.

 

The group then looked at Safety Equipment for kayakers including Mandatory and Recommended Safety Gear for kayakers. Safety gear carried by our Trip Leaders and Sweeps includes a First Aid Kit, Walkie Talkies and a Marine Radio.

 

The Trip Leaders/Sweeps have a Trip Safety Manual which provides valuable information on such things as preparing to lead a trip, how to keep a group organized while on the water, communications with a whistle and/or paddle when leading a trip and wind speeds for safe trips.

 

Rhonda Johnson, one of our members and a certified Paddle Canada Instructor, spoke about the importance of knowing how to do self and assisted rescues while kayaking. She and her partner are willing to do a refresher session for our members on these two rescue techniques. Information on the session will be sent out to all members in the near future.

 

Members were reminded of the online resources found on the group’s Blog/Website – pgosapaddlers.blogspot.com. The Friends of PGOSA have a number of kayak-related local and regional merchants that offer a discount to PGOSA members who show their current membership card when making purchases.

The Blog also has a number of Kayaking Online Resources which are broken into the following categories: Marine Weather and Tides, Trip Planning, Paddling Forums and Resources, Fitness and Safety Tips and Kayaking Courses.

 

Those in attendance then enjoyed the Barbecue provided by the Paddlers’ Social Committee. The Meet and Greet event was an enjoyable way for members to find out about the many activities planned for this year and to meet their fellow paddlers.