Kayaking Vancouver Island

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Totem poles and the remains of a long house still stand in Mamalilaculla, a deserted native village on an island in Elliott Passage.
Totem poles and the remains of a long house still stand in Mamalilaculla, a deserted native village on an island in Elliott Passage.
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Kayakers enjoy the beauty of British Columbia at their own pace.
Kayakers enjoy the beauty of British Columbia at their own pace.
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Sea anemones are among the beauties to be found off the British Columbian coastline.
Sea anemones are among the beauties to be found off the British Columbian coastline.
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Bruce Freeman is the co-owner of Pacific Rim Expeditions.
Bruce Freeman is the co-owner of Pacific Rim Expeditions.
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Folding boats are seaworthy and lighter than ordinary kayaks.
Folding boats are seaworthy and lighter than ordinary kayaks.

At least one hundred years ago, Native American canoes were traveling among the islands of the Queen Charlotte and Johnstone Straits off the northeast corner of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Today, the rugged beauty of the waterscape there remains almost untouched, and small craft still ply through the channels…but now many of the boats are made of brightly colored vinyl, and brand–not family–names are emblazoned on their sides.

If you’re in that neighborhood some summer and happen to see a group of five of these boats paddling along, with a blond, bearded man sitting in the stern of the leading vessel, you can be pretty sure that the fellow is Bruce Freeman, co-owner and -operator of Pacific Rim Expeditions. Bruce is out doing what the Native Americans did: looking for wildlife to shoot. But, unlike the old-time Native Americans, he’s scouting up suitable photographic subjects.

Bruce and his wife Gail manage their commercial venture from a base in Bellingham, Washington, and the area around the Straits is their favorite splashing ground. Every summer, they lead groups of ten (or so) on kayaking adventures about the Gilford Island cluster at the mouth of Knight Inlet (east of Queen Charlotte), the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington, or the Prince William Sound in Alaska.

The two of them are particularly fond of the Gilford area because of its wild creatures: seals, dolphins, eagles, ravens, and–more rarely seen–orcas or minke whales. Bruce admits, too, that he’s fascinated by the “spookiness” of the place, the feeling that the ghost of the local Kwakiutl Native American culture lingers on. Time and again, he and Gail find themselves drawn back to a deserted native village, Mamalilaculla, on an island in Elliott Passage, where totem poles and the remains of a long house (communal dwelling or council hall) still stand amid decaying homes built by missionaries at the turn of the century. To Bruce’s mind, it’s a happy circumstance that the shallow flats fronting the beach keep big boats–and gobs of rubbernecks–at bay, yet allow a few visiting kayaks to slip quietly in to shore.

If you were to sign up for one of Bruce’s expeditions, you might paddle to that intriguing abandoned island. Then again, you could spend much of your time venturing into the woods of other desolate isles that dot the waterways, singing or whistling (on Gail’s advice) in order not to startle any bears that happen to be nibbling on berries. When you’re not feeling that energetic, you could laze on the shore, watching clouds drift by snowcapped mountains, or keeping a lookout for dolphins, seals, and whales.

  • Published on Jul 1, 1983
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