January 17, 2015: Gettin' Stoked In Tofino :)

How lucky for me that, at the last minute, my good friend Holly invited me to join her and her friends from Nanaimo to go to Tofino this weekend! I immediately jumped at the opportunity especially because the plan was to go surfing, which I am trying to practice more and more, despite how difficult it is and the fact I have to go at it a little gingerly given my history of kneecap dislocation (bleh!). I know I won't ever be an amazing surfer but for me it's about getting in the water to learn more about the waves and the ocean, move my body (paddle, paddle, paddle!), play with friends...and even, occasionally, catching a wave!

We had an awesome time surfing much of Saturday only quitting when some of us started to feel the cold. Lucky for me I had bought a nice, cozy wet suit and booties last year and I was so snug and warm I could've stayed in the water all day! Of course, I also had to stop because you can only paddle and crash around in the waves for so long before you start to feel the exhaustion set in. As well, when I was at a surf camp in Colombia in December I'd tweaked my shoulder and it was still not 100% so I decided it would be wise to quite before I re-injured it.

After our fun surf session I was exhausted but the post-surf exhaustion is one of the best feelings ever...especially if it's followed by a delicious lunch at Tacofino :)

My surfing buddies for the weekend

Getting ready to hit the water...stretching and practicing pop ups is important!

Playing in the wash

View from a surfboard :)

Catching some waves!

Wash rolling in

Popping up

January 11, 2015: Volunteering on Surfrider Foundation Vancouver Island's monthly beach clean at China Beach, southern Vancouver Island :)

This morning, rather than the driving along the southwest coast of Vancouver Island to scan for whales and other marine mammals, my friend and I decided to volunteer on one of the monthly beach cleans organised by the Vancouver Island Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Every month the chapter holds a beach clean at one of the beaches along the Vancouver Island coast and today we were helping collect garbage around China Beach Provincial Park, on the west coast of southern Vancouver Island, about a two hour drive from Victoria.   

The event was well organised and fun and even included snacks! Everybody who volunteered for this month's beach clean met at the China Beach Park parking lot where Surfrider coordinators distributed gloves and re-usable bags for us (I was impressed they kept the plastic bag use to a minimum!)  to use for collecting the garbage. Once we had our gloves on and bags in hand we headed down the beach and the roughly 40-50 of us spread out in all directions to pick up as much garbage we could find. 

Interestingly, individually it didn't feel like there was much garbage to collect, but when we combined it together in a pile at the end of the beach clean, about an hour later, we had collected quite a pile of garbage and it was great to see that we played a small part in helping get it off the beach. This was definitely a fine example of a time when "many hands make for light work"!  

Trees towering over an outhouse at China Beach Provincial Park

It was a gorgeous day, but definitely not a surfing day, at
China Beach Provincial Park

Surfrider volunteers scouring for garbage at China Beach Provincial Park

There was lots of styrofoam on the beach

Surfrider volunteers heading back to sort the garbage picked up during the beach clean at China Beach Provincial Park

Surfrider volunteers heading back to sort the garbage picked up during the beach clean at China Beach Provincial Park

Surfrider volunteers heading back to sort the garbage picked up during the beach clean at China Beach Provincial Park

How to dress right for a beach clean! Don't forget your smile :) (Yes, I know...very cheezy, ha ha!)

Surfrider volunteers sorting the garbage picked up during the beach clean at China Beach Provincial Park

Surfrider volunteers sorting the garbage picked up during the beach clean at China Beach Provincial Park

This is why we hate balloons....bad, bad plastic pollution ending up in beaches everywhere!

A Bald Eagle (Halieaeetus leucocephalus), one of our coastal residents who must live with our plastic waste

January 7, 2015: Sheringham Stellers

Early this morning my friend called to offer me to join her on a drive up the west coast of Vancouver Island to Sheringham Lighthouse to scan for marine mammals, especially killer whales (Orcinus orca), cruising through the strait of Juan De Fuca. The first time she took me to visit the Sheringham Lighthouse and scan for whales was June 15 last year, when shortly after we arrived, we observed members of L pod of the southern resident killer whales swimming less than 100 m past the point! It was awesome...and now that I knew about this great land based spotting location I was keen to have a similar experience again today!

We drove along Highway 14, which is part of the Pacific Marine Circle Route, on the winding road that runs past Sooke along the west coast of Vancouver Island to Sheringham Point Lighthouse and beyond to Port Renfrew. We spent nearly an hour searching for marine mammals in the strait. Despite putting in a good amount of effort scanning the waters with naked eye and binoculars, we were not fortunate enough to observe killer whales again. We weren't too disappointed though because both of us have observed marine mammals in the area for 2+ decades and we knew they will be back another day. 

Although we didn't observe any killer whales we did see what appeared to be humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) blows way across the strait which were nicely highlighted by the low afternoon sun shining across the strait. As well, a fun group of three Steller sea lions (Eumatopias jubatus) swam by the lighthouse and we also some gulls and a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Even when there aren't killer whales here there are usually a few other species around to enjoy while exploring the west coast of Vancouver Island :)

Steller sea lions (Eumatopias jubatus)

Steller sea lions (Eumatopias jubatus)

Steller sea lions (Eumatopias jubatus)

Glaucous-Winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) in winter plumage

Glaucous-Winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) in winter plumage

Glaucous-Winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) in winter plumage

January 1, 2015: New Year's Eve Hangover Solution...start 2015 with a paddle in the sunshine!

The best way to recover from a late night New Year's Eve bonfire party? A refreshing winter afternoon paddle, of course! 

I feel so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place and this year I feel like my fortune has doubled because I purchased my first home, a condominium, in the harbour in Victoria with good friends as neighbours. One of the perks of the building I am now living in? Kayak storage and access to a dock to launch from in front of the building. Of course, I knew this meant I would have to get my own kayak soon so bought one in December...and have only paddled in it a few times to date :) 

To celebrate the start of the new year I decided it would be fun to organise a New Year's day paddle inviting the rest of the residents in the building to get outside and recover from their New Year's Eve party hangovers in the sun and fresh air. We met early in the afternoon, set up and launched our boats and then went for a lovely paddle around the Victoria Harbour heading first under the Johnson Street Bridge, paddled along the west side of the harbour towards the mouth of the harbour (where seals are known to haul out on the small islands and killer whales occasionally hunt!), crossed over to the Ogden Point breakwater where many other Victoria residents were enjoying a beautiful, sunny New Year's day. 

The day was so sunny and the water so calm it was tempting to turn out of the harbour and continue paddling out onto the Victoria waterfront and the Strait of Juan De Fuca but, as much as today felt like it could be a summer day, we remembered the sun would begin it's descent by late afternoon so turned back toward the inner harbour. We paddled home traveling along the east side of the harbour passing the Canadian Navy Reserve at HMCS Malahat and Victoria's Fisherman's Wharf,with it's eclectic mix  of fishing vessels, float homes and floating fish and chips and ice cream shops. 

After the paddle We hoped to grab a New Year's Day sundowner beer at the neighborhood pub next door but, of course, the pub was closed for the holiday...and likely to recover from the New Year's Eve celebrating the night before! We were not entirely disappointed though as most of us were still tired and recovering from last night despite the afternoon of fresh air and sunshine!  What a wonderful way to start 2015!

Paddling towards the mouth of Victoria Harbour