We left late Monday afternoon from Chemainus and did a short paddle to Tent Island for the night. It is a beautiful spot and we had the entire island to ourselves. I love kayaking - it's simple and as basic as it can be. And of course when you kayak with Teresa you can be assured of great meals.
Tuesday morning we woke to a few sprinkles of rain but a lot of wind so we decided to have a leisurely morning and see what the day held. By late morning the skies cleared and we decided to head to Wallace Island. Stopped at a sunny white sand beach on the north east end of Salt Spring Island and had a late lunch and basked in the sun. A short paddle took us to Chivers Point on Wallace Island where we set up camp and then jumped back into the boats for a paddle around the island. We stopped at the south end of the island to leave some of Jean-Luc's ashes. This was the spot where we stood on January 3rd and where I took the last photo of Jean-Luc. Wallace Island is also the first place that Jean-Luc and I kayaked to with a group of friends on a May long weekend years ago. It was a tough but very special moment for me thinking back to January 3rd - never imagining for a moment that three days later I would lose Jean-Luc. Thank you Teresa for being there to share it with me and giving me a much needed hug.
Wednesday we set off from Wallace heading north past the Secretary Islands and then through the cut which separates Thetis from Kuper Islands. Ran into a neighbour from the marina in the bay on Thetis Island - he offered a beer stop but as he had no boarding ladder and a high free board getting on board would be tricky. We passed and found a nice beach for lunch. Continued down the west side of Kuper past a Cormorant rookery in the sandstone cliffs and spent the the night on Tent Island again. Tried to go for a swim but only made it up to my hips before I chickened out. Maybe early June is a bit too soon for swimming in the ocean.
Teresa needed to be back to catch a noon ferry so we set off earlier this morning for the short paddle back to Chemainus. It was a lovely trip - good weather, food, wine, paddling and great company. Thanks T.