Words & Photos from Allegra N. & Bryson H.
Day 1 (Bryson)
On our first day of our experiential, we met in the Christine Duke Amphitheatre and walked to Derby to get suited up for a day of paddling. Our group got to paddle board first, so we each got a wetsuit and other gear like gloves and boots to stay warm for the day as it was a wet one. We took the school bus to Cadboro Bay and unloaded the truck full of boards and paddles and learned the basics of paddle boarding. We set out onto the water to practice new skills near the shore, and after a few falls, we were ready to test our skills and maneuver ourselves around one of the anchored boats. We paddled and even swam for a while and then decided to head back to the beach for lunch. On our way back, it started to pour after the morning of light rain and our leaders Sarah and Mully let us all eat in the back of the truck to keep us and our lunches dry and warm. We were all getting a little cold as we were soaked from swimming and Mully kindly made us all hot chocolate.
Once we had finished eating, the sky had cleared up and the sun started to come out, much to our good fortune. We didn’t want to waste any more time with the nice weather and we quickly put our gear back on and waited at Gyro Park while others reorganized. We paddled in the opposite direction that we had in the morning and followed the coastline. We navigated ourselves through shallow water and maneuvered ourselves around rocks and other landforms, and by the end of the day we had all mastered it. We even practiced a few simple rescues and tried to see how many people we could fit on one board, which was seven. On our journey back to the beach we saw a seal pop its head out of the water and lots of Canadian Geese. Once we were on land we loaded all of our gear into the truck which we later cleaned and sorted back at Derby. Overall our day was very fun and we all enjoyed learning new skills on a paddle board and spending time on the water.
Day 2 (Allegra)
During our second day of paddling, we switched activities with the other group and went out sea kayaking for the day. We started off the morning the same by meeting at Derby and getting our gear ready for the day, however we didn’t need wetsuits this time and we wore fleece layers under our blue waterproof suits. With kayaking there is less of a chance of falling in, and most of us decided to risk it and not wear wetsuits. Once we got off the bus we walked to the beach again and helped unload kayaks and paddles and set up gear. It took us longer this time to get onto the water as there was more preparation involved with packing extra layers and lunch in the dry storage spaces in our boats. Our leaders Pete and Sara told us we’d be having a picnic lunch, meaning that we wouldn’t return to the beach and instead stop at another one to eat. We learnt how to properly attach our skirts to the kayak to stay dry and pull the “oh crap strap” if we managed to fall.
We paddled into the harbour of the yacht club to practice sweeping strokes to turn in our kayaks and found our fellow classmates learning to paddle board there. After some quick practicing we set out for a lunch spot, weaving through rocks and dodging shallow areas following our leaders. It was challenging and very funny when one of us got lodged on a rock that we didn’t see before. It was windy and we all got pretty cold when we stopped moving to eat our lunch at a park with a boat launch near Uplands Park. Pete taught us to play his original game to help us warm up and it was lots of fun, even though it wasn’t the most effective.
On our way back to Cadboro Bay we saw a few seals and even more geese than the day before. We started to regret not wearing wetsuits when Alex’s boat tipped over and her fleeces soaked, making for an uncomfortable paddle back. We practiced towing other boats before resigning for the day, and later reloading the trucks. A few of us snuck in a quick swim in the ocean before we left to go to Derby to wash all our gear, which was super fun and definitely the highlight of the day for me. Everyone in our experiential group had lots of fun paddling over the two days, and I can confidently say that we’re all excited for next time.