Looking For Waves? Point Your Compass And Go.
Exploring the rugged coast of Vancouver Island in search of the perfect, empty wave.
You’ve gotta work for it.
Within a 48 hour period, we had spent a grand total of 15 hours driving different forms of (what felt like) endless asphalt and gravel roads.
This is the lifestyle of a weekend warrior. “What is a weekend warrior?” You may wonder. Well, I believe it’s the kind of person who works a full time job and every waking hour not spent, either at that job or sleeping, is dedicated to pursuing adventure.
Well, when you only have two days (the weekend) to get out and pursue adventure, you’re damn sure it’s going to be in pursuit of only the most worthy of causes.
The journey may have been long but my partner, Calley and I made the most of the long trip by discussing our nuanced political beliefs, love of road trips, and excitement for discovering new coastal waters. On Saturday morning around 5am, we woke to passing forestry and logging trucks rattling themselves to bits while they drove 80km/h down the gruelling gravel roads. We had pulled over for the night and slept on the shoulder of what turned out to be a busy logging access road.
We were quick to wake and drive the remaining 50+ km backroad.
Somewhat Blue and Sunny Skies.
When graced with such nice weather in Canadian February, I spring right into action.
Sunshine, check.
Surfboards, check.
Coffee in our bellies, check.
Nothing beats having an entire wild destination to yourself and a couple good friends.
After a quick iPhone photo shoot (yes, I know how iconic I look) we grabbed our backpacks, wetsuits, surfboards, and made our way to the beach. Normally I like to think of myself as a pretty capable hiker, but something about carrying a blue tupperware full of surfing and photography gear made this 2,500m walk to the beach extra tiring. I was still rocking my holiday belly I guess…
But holy smokes I wasn’t ready for what Vancouver Island had in store for us.
We got down to the beach where we found Mikaela doing her best work to collect driftwood and get a fire started. The smoke plumes rising from the damp firewood made her pretty easy to find. I looked out into the waves and there was matt, already out for an hour before we got there catching every single clean set all to himself.
Matt Lehman collecting every set coming his way. No crowds here.
Off-shore Vancouver Island Closeouts.
I wouldn’t say the waves were astonishingly big or perfect. The winds were mostly off-shore, and there were quite a few close out sets, but Canadian surfing isn’t always about the most perfect waves. The ocean here is cold, rugged and dark. These aren’t exactly the kinds of words you hope to read about when scouring the world for your next surf trip. But our frigid Canadian waters offer a very different experience because of these conditions and I’ll be honest, when the winds, swell, and weather do line up, it can feel like magic.
These waves were rolling in all morning long. No crowds and no people for tens of km’s. Just us.
The fog and clouds danced and mingled with the sunshine all morning, making for some rather interesting lighting conditions.
My stick of choice for this trip. I’ve got quite the story with this little piece of styrofoam and fibreglass. I’ll have to share at a later date. Stay tuned for that one.
Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes this is what February in Canada can look like…
The girls attempting to get their fire going.
The natural textures and patterns of the wild.
After hanging out shooting some photos and drooling over the beauty of the rugged scenery, I got out there with Matt on my Redz 5’7 Twin-Bro Fish that I picked up while travelling in Indonesia. I spent the morning photographing mesmerizing, miniature barrelling waves, so by the time I got out to catch a few the conditions had started to shift and the sea was getting more choppy.
You don’t always score perfection, but that’s part of the game. Sure it sucks when you make a drive like this, spend $300 in gas, and get skunked with mediocre conditions. But really I’m psyched I captured the photos that I did because these will live with me forever. A digital capture beloved memories.
Great surfing is never guaranteed, but the images are forever. Now get out there and go work for it.
Calley meditating amongst the sand and trees before leaving for the night. A day well spent.