This past weekend I was off to Saysutshun (Newcastle) Island to meet up with TRAK owners from across North America for a kayaking skills camp!
Day 1 – Arrival
I opted to leave the car at home and took the Hullo ferry from downtown Vancouver to Nanaimo. This was my first time taking the Hullo and it was pretty easy bringing my kayak and massive IKEA bag of camping equipment on board.
As Saysutshun Island is only a short distance from Nanaimo, I was determined to skip the small passenger ferry and kayak over. Knowing it would be chilly in the evenings, I packed all the “bonus” items including an extra sleeping bag and a cot. My fingers were crossed that I could fit everything in my kayak. I met up with Jason, one of the TRAK Pilots, assembled the TRAK, and we paddled over to Saysutshun together. And yes, everything fit!
When I arrived at Saysutshun Island, I set up camp and was reunited with Doug and Wes from my Dominica trip! It was so cool to see eachother again!
Throughout the day, TRAK owners and kayak enthusiasts from across North America arrived. The furthest attendee was Mark, an experienced kayaker and surfer from Florida who was picking up his TRAK for the first time. It was a mixed group of novice to experienced kayakers, all ages and walks of life. Right out the gate, everyone was so friendly and so passionate about paddling – I knew the weekend was going to be a good time.
That evening, the TRAK team asked us to identify the specific skills we wanted to focus on for the weekend. They had several TRAK Pilots and experienced instructors who would help us reach our goals.
My specific goals for the weekend:
- Improve my forward stroke*
- Learn to tie my kayak to a dock correctly
- Practice and improve bracing and edging
- Learn to roll**
*Improving my forward stroke is always an objective of mine. I bought my first kayak a few years ago and just started paddling without any coaching, so I’m still trying to correct bad habits that I formed before I completed the Paddle Canada Level 1 course.
**Learn to roll – now this was a stretch goal! You don’t have to know how to roll as long as you can self-rescue, but it sure would be helpful (and look badass). I’d never attempted this before and knew it would be pushing me outside my comfort zone, but I was super keen to try.
I was really excited for the next few days.
Day 2 – Edging & “Bracing to Failure”
We started our morning with a hot breakfast and a debrief on the plan for the morning ahead. We’d be split into three groups to address the goals we identified last night. I think this was a great approach given that the group had varying levels of experience and different goals.
My group got on the water and took turns showing our instructors, Dave and Martin, our current paddling techniques so they could offer guidance on where we could improve.
We focused on forward propulsion, corrective sweeps, and edging, and then applied all the techniques together to complete “figure 8” loops. Before this session, my turns were SO wide, learning to pivot on the spot more effectively, and edging instead of relying just on my stroke to turn the boat, will be incredibly helpful in my day-to-day paddling.
After lunch we had a group check-in on how we were progressing and reviewed the game plan. We’d be spending the afternoon bracing – both high and low braces, and “bracing to failure” i.e. trying out our new skills so hard that we eventually fail and get wet! We’d also learn the t-rescue, a progression towards rolling.
I was excited about the t-rescue, it was completely new to me. It’s a form of rescue where you stay in your kayak and with the help of a buddy kayak, turn yourself right side up again. It’s a great progression to rolling as you get more familiar with being upside underwater and practicing your “hip flex”. We started off with some less intimidating exercises, before fully flipping upside down.
I was nervous! It took me a hot minute to get ready to try but with my group cheering me on and giving me such positive encouragement, I knew I had to full send it and give it a go. It was actually super fun – I don’t think any of us wanted to get off the water for dinner, despite how tired we were.
Late afternoon, we had an opening ceremony from Dave Bodaly, a Snuneymuxw First Nations photographer, genealogist, weaver and Saysutshun Island cultural tour guide. It was really special to have him there and to learn more about First Nations culture, particularly with Monday being the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
After dinner, we had a group campfire, sharing stories of our kayaking adventures.
Day 3 – Let’s Roll
We started our day with breakfast and another debrief on the day ahead. Our plan was to spend the morning doing a “boat rodeo” – disassemble and re-assemble our kayaks, get in the water and practice a “mass capsize” event. The goal was to get everyone rescued back in their boats with the water pumped out and spray skirts on as quickly as possible.
I felt like I’d really nailed down the assembly process these days so decided to time myself during the rodeo – I’ve got it down to 15 min!
The mass capsize was fun, I went for the cowboy self-rescue technique and practiced an assisted rescue with another team member. It was really good to practice the assisted rescue as it had been a while!
After lunch, it was the main event – let’s learn to roll! Most paddlers were off to circumnavigate Saysutshun Island, while a smaller group of us had one-on-one time with instructors, Dave and Gabriel, learning to roll. At this point in the weekend, I was feeling super comfortable with the instructors and generally being upside down underwater so I was stoked to give it a try!
Dave showed us the C-to-C rolling technique and Gabriel showed us the storm roll. I opted to try the C-to-C and while I gave it my best attempt, just couldn’t get it there without assistance. Dave was super patient with me and the whole afternoon was just a blast!
Shout out to Yasmany who was also new to rolling and nailed the storm technique! Hell yeah!
That evening, we had a session on knot tying. I struggled LOL but eventually learned the Bowline Knot which will be helpful for tying my kayak to a dock – another goal achieved!
Throughout the weekend, TRAK Program Director, Hans, offered 15 minute “navigational nuggets” on some great topics including tides, currents, and dead reckoning. This will definitely be a focus area for me next year.
Day 4 – Departure
Unfortunately, it was pack-up and back to reality day. After packing up camp and saying goodbye to everyone, Doug and I grabbed the Hullo ferry back to Vancouver where he went on to Seattle and I got settled back in at home.
It was a weekend I didn’t want to end – it truly felt like summer camp for adults! There is nothing more fun than playing around on the water with a great group of people. We were essentially a group of 30 strangers, united by our shared passion for paddling and learning. TRAK and everyone that participated in the weekend, fostered an incredibly supportive and encouraging environment – it was a beautiful reflection of the kayaking community at large. While it was sad saying goodbye, the silver lining is knowing I’ll see many of the community members again – either meeting up locally for a paddle, on the upcoming trip to Baja, or at next year’s owners gathering. Shout out to all incredible attendees and organizers for such a fun weekend! I’m leaving with a whole new level of skills and hit list of new goals to tackle next year.
