Left. PD day. Morning fog. Slept in. Cooked pancakes. Moved campsites (van top). Sunny SUP at Long Beach (still awaiting the ‘grand opening’ of the washrooms from Lot 3). Looked small from the beach, but Shaggy said there were some bigger sets rolling through (and he was right – there were some bombs courtesy of the SW 2’ @ 17 seconds, but the varied size made positioning tricky at times). Took more on the head then rode. TheLaw (Mark) and LittleLaw (Mercer) were out too. Saw Ethan drop in a nice left and shared a party wave with Ethan (both witnessed by Mr and Mrs Shaggy). Also took more than a few on the head on the inside (that inside sandbar can seem impenetrable at times). Lunch. Gelatos. Look-sees at SC/NC & LB. Sunset dinner atop the rocks at Green Point. Fun day!
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S2: Long Beach – SUP (2018 May 19)
HiperNut(s). Fog all day. Slept in. Word was Lot 5 was open if you skirted the washroom construction (thanks to TheLaw). Rain upon arrival at the beach took the edge off the pre-session stoke but the on water conditions were fun and Ethan and I challenged each other to hit the lip at the crab pot up at Tinnies. More fun than work today. Although smaller (as Shaggy warned) there were still some bombs rolling through (some ridden and some taken on the head). Joined M&M at Incinerator Rock and TheLaw (Mark) let me take his HyperNut (7’4”x 30” x 3.9” x 106 litres) for a test drive – finally a human-sized one, not the uber-micro-BWD-signature model. First impressions: paddling out it wandered more, punched through the white water well, and was slightly more work overall; riding in it was looser on the steep face AND looser on the reform and inside mush – fun board – feels way different (smoother) than it looks (blunt) – a future consideration for sure. Thanks Mark! Ethan joked that that would be a good name for the BWD crew – “Hyper Nuts”. Ice creams and errands in town. Cozy bar seats warmed by the kitchen heat at Kuma. Sundown beach exploring at Green Point (spotted a couple of rock fish in a tidal pool and a mini-Mercer-sized-barrel).
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S3 - South Chesterman – SUP (2018 May 20)
Lipfest. Morning fog. Slept in (teenagers need their sleep). Quick look-see at Long Beach then off to check out Rosie Bay on low tide. Busy day at ‘the grotto’ (cove at the south end of South Chesterman) – counted over 70 on the water. Strange why people pack in there when there is so much open further up the beach. Teasing wind and part sun at South Chesterman. One downed kite rescued by SUP. Fun little clean knee to waist-high sets. SUP hit the lip contest with Ethan (best scoring wave took the cash prize of $20). Ethan won with a score of 8.5 out of 10 (although the self-judging was a little suspect). Kite loops with trainer. Share plates at Wolf in the Fog. Sunset on the beach and campfire at Green Point. Another day well spent!
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S4 - Cox Bay – surf + SUP (2018 May 21)
Fins. Swell continued to diminish (as forecast) so we followed Shaggy’s lead and headed off to Cox Bay after breaking camp and a quick look-see at Long Beach, which worked for Ethan as he wanted to surf today (and was looking for size). Put a new set of fins in Ethan’s board (faster and looser) and paddled out to find smooth rolling sets with gentle peaks.
Although they had some size the round swell was better for SUP (five to six stokes needed to catch some) than surf (most of Ethan’s rides were foam piles). Sun was nice and onshore wind backed (nice too). Easy to get out for Cox Bay (low slack tide - long walk out to the water). Some competition for waves (other than just Ethan), but still lots to be had. Nice to see Ethan improving on the surfboard too! Tacofino on the beach, then home. Departure Bay was almost as crowded as South Chesterman. Sunset ferry.
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