Day 6 to Day 8: Oak Harbour to Blind Island State Park

15th May 2023

14th May: Day 8 
Bowman Bay to Blind Island State Park
Distance 32.1 km 

After the serenading by King Frog we got up and broke down our camp; coffee getting belt fed; water getting topped up; the scramble down to the beach dodging hog weed with all of our kit and kayaks. On the water for 08:00. Our skipper’s adaptive steering snapped in our first ten minutes of paddling, back to the beach come up with a plan! You will be surprised what you can achieve and fix with a camp stove aluminium wind guard and cable ties. It’s a temporary fix for the moment!

Dr Barry and Cayle fixing Cayle’s steering system, Day 7

Back on the water to loosen up! Paddling through forest of kelp – their snake-like tendrils reaching towards the sky through emerald green hues. We stopped at an old lighthouse before our crossing – as I was looking at the bright orange of a sea anemone I saw this little octopus hiding in a crevice and it took me back to my youth playing in the tide pools. Time for a big and very busy crossing – it looks like rush hour traffic with fishing boats screaming past in all directions! We stopped for lunch at James island – the rumour is that the island is overrun with smart little racoons that will tear up your boat to snuggle into your food! We enjoyed our lunch under the trees just taking in the beauty! We made some good time so we decided to push on and our objective was Blind Island State Park which is just a little island in a bay! The only problem is we had to rely on the tide to help us along! When you do long crossings your mind tends to wander and mine gets fixated on the minute details. How the air bubbles dance on the face of your paddle as you bring it up through the water for another stroke. Then you get the long blink – just that extra second with your eyes closed but then mother nature surprises you with a massive salmon jumping out of the water about five meters away from your kayak; a couple of pods of porpoise! We got to our destination so tonight we are sleeping on an island. The team is fed and now it’s time for stories, jokes and some dinner!!

13th May: Day 7
Oak Harbour to Bowman Bay 
Distance 35.1 kms
You get a smile on your face when you hear certain noises: a cooker getting fired up for boiling water and – this makes me chuckle every time I hear it – people deflating their air mattresses because you know they are still on top of them!! 
Up and moving –  it is 8 little worker ants scurrying around sorting out drybags, packing away sleeping bags,  packing kit bags, then the 200 meter walk to the launch point! Kit down, straps ready then six guys on a kayak climbing over driftwood and boulders. All kayaks lined up, the silence whilst packing, organizing your thoughts whilst you pack everything in its place! 
The crescent moon bathing us in a little bit of light, the shadows dancing over the water. 
Final brief comms check and start the day with a hug – good days, paddling brothers, on the water. Steve escorted us out of the harbour – what a nice touch!! As we turned to the headlands the sun started to break through, what a sight to behold! This golden staircase appearing on the water through snowcapped mountains; misty outcrops of ragged coastlines – we took a couple of minutes just taking in this beauty! We got lost in the moment just being! Feeling that kinship with explorers and kayakers past and present! Experiencing the new dawn surrounded by your family! The V as your bow cuts through the water; the tiny ripples moving outwards, the sunshine glinting on the water like a constellation! We are churning through the kilometers today making good time! Little known fact: we couldn’t see any strawberries at strawberry point but we did see eagles bathing in the sun perched high in the trees! 
The team is all feeling strong – our skipper is feeling better; we made that amount of time and kilometres up; we changed our route; we are going to run Deception Pass this afternoon! Quick break on a beach; wait for the tide and flow, we have to get this right – there is no room for error on this one!! 
Well we got this right! We breezed through underneath the bridge in record time, stopping off for a photo opportunity this marks the first week of kayaking!! What an achievement the team worked hard and is filled with excitement for what is around the corner! 
We spotted our first otter of the trip!!! We landed at our campsite – we have showers no hose pipes for us tonight!!! Our little site was next to a pond – we got serenaded the whole night by King Frog and his 100 sons! It took some getting use to! 

12th May: Day 6
No kayaking for us today, we had a day of sunshine spent doing kayak admin: sorting emails, talking to locals, sponsors and dishing out roles and responsibilities. 
The amount of support we received is astonishing. Steve has kept us fed and watered; Debby, the custodian of the campsite, running us to the laundromat to get our washing done because we kinda smell bad! Debby was so welcoming she made our stay so much better – always laughing and making sure we don’t want or need anything!! 
Two older ladies approached us and asked how we’re getting on and what we’re doing so we shared our story with them. One of them asked what our plans for lunch were – we had none and she didn’t like that idea and said “see that fast food place? I used to own it and I know the owner – what you boys need to do is just go there and I will sort out the rest!” What a gem of a person! And never try and say no to someone’s granny because you are fighting a losing battle!! A lot of local knowledge of the water was passed on by a random cyclist, avid kayakers are following us accompanied by pastries and more food!! Andre Hurley from Washington Water Trails – this wouldn’t be possible without you, all the campsites you signposted for us made our sunrises and sunsets! 

With Susan Conrad in Oak Harbour, Day 6

Susan Conrad drove 45 minutes to check in with us; once again all of us were just in awe of this amazing human being and uber kayaker! She offered to help us with our rations for our resupplies into Canada and Alaska – we jumped at the chance! She drove two of us over Deception Point for a route recce! This knowledge is priceless! We met one of her friends, Becky, also an uber kayaker! Spending time with these two ladies, the zest for life and adventure and the sparkle they have in their eyes when they talk about past trips – it fuels the fire in me to do more!! 
I think hosepipe showers should be a thing from now on! 
Quick brief navigation and route discussed, in bed early, we have a 03:30 wake up call – we need to catch the tide!!!