Kayaks, paddleboarding and the art of the possible

 

Circle Saltspring Island by kayak and paddleboard in one day? No problem, according to this trio, who did the 71-km journey in about 12 and a half hours on Aug. 5. Left to right are Andre Gerard, Alison Wood and Margo Lillie, shown as they head past Ruckle Park. All photos by John Denniston, who tracked them around the island for the day. 

“Can’t be done,” the man on the beach said when we told him our friends were planning to kayak around Saltspring Island in one day. A fit-looking middle-ager, he was visiting his mom on the island for a few days. He and his wife, younger and also fit, are enthusiastic cyclists, but were entertaining themselves with some kayaking during their visit. Exhausting, slow and hot, they concluded after a particularly strenuous 20-kilometre session. It would be impossible to do the whole 71-kilometre trip in a day, the man said, “but I wish them luck.”

He hadn’t, of course, met Andre Gerard, 68, his wife Margo Lillie, 67, and their friend Alison Wood, 52. Before Andre and Margo moved permanently to Saltspring Island from Vancouver a year ago, they regularly began their days either climbing the North Shore’s arduous Grouse Grind or kayaking out of Jericho Beach. They’ve always hiked, the steeper and longer the better, although knee issues have temporarily slowed Margo down.

Their friend Alison, who with her husband operates the Mount Seymour Ski Resort in North Vancouver, is a former competitive sailor and triathlete whose paddleboarding skills have taken her to a world championship in Fiji. She’s also co-founder of Ocean Ambassadors Canada, which teaches kids about plastic pollution and paddleboarding.

Besides higher levels of fitness than most people half their age, the trio had a secret weapon. Margo (aka Dr. Lillie, a long-time whale researcher at the University of B.C.) used her research skills to pinpoint the day, the winds and the tides most likely to ensure the venture’s success.

The gods cooperated. Aug. 5 dawned pink and calm with a slight cloud cover, and the water was glass-smooth as the three set out from Bader’s Beach  shortly after 6 a.m. Twelve hours and 38 minutes later, including about an hour’s worth of breaks, they arrived back at their starting point.

They slipped in quietly, almost unnoticed by the supper-and-sunset beach crowd. But when someone asked where they’d left from, and the response was: “Right here, about 12 hours ago,” there was  astonishment.  “That's impossible!” one young woman said.

Kayaks above their heads, Margo and Andre arrive at Bader's Beach to begin their adventure. Their starting point was about halfway down the west side of Saltspring Island, and they travelled south from there. 

One advantage of the beach for boaters is being able to drive out at low tide to make launching easier. 

Andre and Margo unload the kayaks. Food, water and other gear  waits in the foreground.

Perfectly balanced, barefoot and carrying her own supplies, Alison brings her surfboard to the launching spot.

While the kayaks make their first contact with the water. . .

Alison is already aboard and paddling.

A salute to the shore-watchers as the adventurers take off  shortly after 6 a.m. In the distance is the Crofton pulp mill on Vancouver Island. 

The rising sun casts a warm glow on the shore behind the trio as they begin the first leg of the journey.

Andre leads the way into Beddis Beach for a picnic at about 1 p.m. At this point, the group has done the south part of the island and is heading back up north. They took four breaks, totalling about an hour.

By the time they reach Fernwood at about 4 p.m., heading for the island's northern tip, they're ready for a diversion and a cooling-off. With effort, Andre tips the very-balanced Alison into the water.

The game then is to splash Andre with enough water to ensure he's equally soaked. 

By about 6 p.m. -- 12 hours after they began -- the three show up at Vesuvius on the island's west side. 

John and I had to drive fast to get from Vesuvius to Bader's Beach to watch them come in just before 7 p.m. Here they are, with the Vesuvius ferry to Crofton in the distance. 

 The three slip into Bader's Beach almost unnoticed by the party-goers around them. 

Home again! Now it's just a matter of loading up all that equipment.

But first, some bubbly. I join the athletic threesome while Andre gets the cork to pop out.  

Andre pours ...

...and, a toast to a successful day. Who said it couldn't be done?

The 71.05-km route around the island, all carefully laid out in advance.