Seachart Lodge

We were met on the dock by a barefoot Kerry, who we would later learn is a woman of amazing energy. She likes to dress in white jeans and t-shirt that, unbelievably, remain pristine in the wilderness, despite all the work she does.

The Lodge is situated somewhere near the mouth of the channel and is run by Kerry and her husband Hank, whose primary duty (indeed only duty that we witnessed) is to drive the boat that we would be using later in the week.

We were only one group of several that Kerry had as guests, and she laid out the house rules for the Lodge:
. dining room is available all night for tea and coffee, fruit, bread, etc.
. party there if you want as it won't disturb other guests.
. two lounges - one with a piano, and one with a fridge. Use both.
. games like Scrabble, cards, etc. are available for your pleasure.
. stay on the floor which has your room.
. rooms have no locks on doors and each room has a sink.
. we share toilets and showers, which are down this hallway.

I was reminded of a conversation I had earlier in the week with a friend.

"I'm off kayaking for a week", I said, "but it's going to be really hard so I think I'll take a day off in the middle."

"Excellent!" said my friend. "You can spend the day getting a pedicure and massage."

It's not that type of lodge.

Then Kerry went on to give out the room assignments. Cal's group was given specific room numbers. We rushed off to claim our rooms but Cal said, "No no no. This is how the rooms are going to be divided up. Since there are 6 of you and these two rooms each have 3 beds, you'll be split into two groups of three. John and Brenda get one room with a Queen bed. Lana and Suzanne share one room with two twins, and I get a room by myself."

"That's hardly fair", said Teddy under her breath.

Then we were invited into the deliciously smelling dining and told to help ourselves to lunch. It was a soup kid of day, and there was a thick and tasty homemade beef vegetable soup and all the fixings for sandwiches: ham, beef, cheese, pita bread, other breads, cucumbers, pickles, etc. We ate our fill, unpacked our bags and met with Cal (Fearless Leader) and Lana (Assistant Guide)for our introductory kayak lesson.

The brightly coloured kayaks waited for us on the grass. As did the mozquitoes and little biting pirhannas called blackflies Cal explained about the rudder and how to adjust its pedals, how to wear and adjust the spray skirt, same with the PFD, and other fine points of kayaking. I eyed the kayaks and noted that, as promised, the double kayaks do have large openings. That meant I might be spared the bruises I got during my first kayaking experience and Kayak Lesson #2.
We were each assigned a boat and tested it out, adjusting the pedals, getting comfortable and to my great relief I was able to slip in and out of it without sounding like a cork being pulled from a wine bottle.

Once we were familiar with everything and had loaded our dry bags, we carried the kayaks down a small slope to the water. Getting in and out on flat, stable grass is a piece of cake. And surprisingly it wasn't much harder on the water. Either Cal or Lana would sit on the bow and stablize the kayak while we novices made our first ungraceful entry inside.

With a little help, we soon all had our spray skirts securely fastened off we went for our first paddle.

God, but it was great.

I loved it from the first paddle stroke. Loved it.

This first day, both Cal and Lana were in single kayaks so they could easily manouever around us and offer help and assistance if needed. We used 3 doubles and 5 singles. I was in a double with Teddy in front, Judy and Gail were in a double, Lynda and Sue were sharing. John and Brenda were each in singles since they are white water kayakers and so had more experience than the rest of us, except for Lynda. Suzanne, having kayaked twice before, was also less of a novice and got a single.

Cal led us through the Pinkertons where he gave us some instruction on sweeping paddle strokes and then we just followed him around on the calm waters. It was a gray day with a little drizzle but our legs were kept warm even when there was a bit of water in the cockpit because it's completely sealed. The comfort level was quite high despite the cool day and the misty air. Towards the end of our paddle (3 nautical miles today) it rained and except for poor visibility when your glasses are full of raindrops, it was still pretty good. The water was smooth and we knew we had hot showers waiting for us at the lodge.

But we sure felt sorry for the poor suckers who were camping.

Cal kept us out until about 5:30 so we hustled to shower before dinner and by 7:30 p.m. I was casting anxious glances at my watch wondering when it would be okay for me to head to bed. I wasn't the only one.

I was asleep by 8:50 that night.

And sometime on that Monday, my headaches went away.