I've been dreaming of doing a solo overnight paddle board trip for a while now. And after finding the right board for the job, the Red Paddle Voyager I knew I was heading in the right direction. An overnight paddle takes quite a bit of prep work, especially when paddling solo on the ocean given everything that could go wrong. So after buying some more equipment that can pack down small and fit into my dry bags I was ready for an adventure......once the weather cooperated and my schedule allowed.
June on the BC Coast can be hit or miss, and this year it was a miss. Either raining or when it was sunny the wing was ripping pretty good. So I started my adventure later than planned and hit the road mid July. My early morning started with finishing packing up all the last minute items, making a good americano and saying bye to my family. I wanted to catch the early ferry from Comox to Powell River which I thought was at 7, so I was there 40 min before and wondering where everyone was when I pulled up. Turns out I needed to do more planning as the ferry wasn't till 9:30. So I went back home and came back to the ferry in time to catch it. The scenic ferry ride taked just over an hour to get to Powell River, Once I arrived I made a quick stop at the hardware store to but some more bungee tie downs which really came in handy for multiple things. With everything ready and feeling self succient I headed to Lund where I would put the board in the water and head out. Pulling into Lund I scored the last parking spot which was great otherwise I'de be packing all the gear down quite a ways. Once I got loaded up and covered in sunscreen I was ready to go.
Paddling out of the harbour I noticed that paddling with a fully loaded board is a bit different than just paddling normally. But being fully loaded down did help out with the boards tracking. Even with knowing how popular it is to get into Desolation Sound & Copeland Islands Marine Parks I was not ready for all the wakes coming off these yachts. They kick off some serious waves and so I started zig zagging to hit the waves head on at first till I got comfortable with them. That day it was literally a highway of Yachts and Sail Boats. After making my way past the first island in the Copelands I ducked in behind some small islands to avoid the wakes and have a nice paddle on glassy waters. Stopping on my board to slam some water and have a quick snack you really start to take in just how special this place is.
After finding the first island with designated campsites on it I decided to keep going a short distance to the next and furthest island in the chain and see if there were any available sites there. To my luck the one half of the further island was completely available which was great. The other half had a couple large groups on it which felt good to have my space but help if I needed it, which thankfully I didn't.
A quick haul of my gear up from my private beach up to my tent platform I started setting up camp. Those extra bungees I bought earlier that day came in handy for securing my tent to the platform as there isn't anywhere to use tent pegs so its a bit of a different setup if your not familiar with it. After a bite to eat I went to explore the island by foot, then on my board finding some pretty cool little coves and amazing scenery.
Still feeling pretty hungry I made some "gourmet" dinner in my Jetboil and relaxed taking in the views and watching the local seals catch their dinner. With the wind still pretty light I went out for a sunset paddle around the smaller islands close to camp before heading off to bed for the night.
Waking up the next day feeling good I made some oatmeal and a couple strong coffees before packing up camp and heading back to Lund. For the paddle back I decided to go on the outside of the islands, more in the Straight hoping for less boating traffic which there definately was. The outside had even more little bays and felt quite different than the inside so I'd recommend that route one way if you ever go. Pulling into the harbour I was stoked to have finished my first solo trip and have a quick shower too!
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