November Skookumchuck Surfing!

By Stephen Wright

After 10 years of kayaking, I finally made it to the legendary Skookumchuck Narrows this past week! I’ve been wanting to paddle on the tidal rapids there in BC for a long time, and let me tell you: It is AMAZING. Everything about this trip is unique: from the ferry ride out of Vancouver, to the little cabins at Strongwater, to the salt water, to the 2-mile hike-in, and the constantly-changing waves. I was honored to have been able to travel and paddle with Team JK paddlers Jud Kaiser, Ruth Gordon, and James Roddick, as well as Drew, Emily, the Yurt, John Fulbright, and many others. Temperatures were fairly mild for November (tempered by the ocean nearby)–most days were in the upper 40’s or low 50’s, but sun was rare. It was a wet cold, but very comfortable paddling weather. This trip served as a great testing ground for my brand new NRS gear, including a SWEET Drysuit! I’m also grateful to Charles Albright for loaning me a surf boat to enjoy the wave when it was totally green–what a blast!

Here’s some fun facts for ya:
-The "river" is actually a narrow channel dividing a bay from the ocean.
-Skookumchuck is closest to the small town of Egmont, BC and your closest good-sized grocery store is in Sechelt–about an hour’s drive away.
-With the changing of the ocean tides the rapids will actually flow in different directions!
-The waves form at "flood" flows and are constantly changing while we surf them–going from flatwater to lots of foam, to tall and gree and back again in a matter of 4 hours or so.
-It’s a 5K hike or bike-in to the waves through a beautiful coastal rainforest.
-We saw starfish and sea-lions eating salmon every day.
-The water temperature only changes about 2 degrees C throughout the year.

ANYWAY, enjoy the photos, which were shot by The Yurt and I. I’ll have a video up in a few days as well!
Live from Reno, NV,
Stephen Wright