Sea kayak

The dark bulk of heavily treed Discovery Island loomed on our right, while, on the left, in the far distance, the faint outline of Mt. Baker's snow-capped peak faded just as the lights along the Olympic peninsula brought the US coast to life. Only our paddles dipping into the water and our quiet conversation disturbed the twilight silence.

The wind was calm, and the sea was soft as silk. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect night. The crescent moon was shining dimly in a cloudless and darkening sky, serving up just what we'd ordered. In fact, the darker the better. The crabs were on the boil back on Discovery Island's beach. The telescope and high-powered binoculars were set up ready for viewing.

Our sea and sky adventure started earlier in the afternoon with a kayaking demonstration lesson in the garden of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. For most of the group this was a quick review, but I was a real greenhorn to this type of water exploration. We learned how to get in and out of a kayak without tipping it. We were shown how to handle the paddle, what to do if we turned upside down - this was getting scary - but apparently, not to worry. Kayaks are hard to tip - they're much more stable than a canoe.

Rescue and roll techniques were explained, and our seasoned kayakers would be on hand in the rare event we'd get into trouble. Beginners like me could choose a double kayak with an experienced guide in the back seat. All I needed to do was sit back and enjoy. Then we practiced donning our life jackets and over them our spray skirts - a funny shaped garment hung by suspenders - that fitted the kayak opening. Its purpose was to keep us dry.

While digesting the "how-to's" of kayaking, we were treated to a gourmet seafood dinner in the hotel's dining room, where we met our amateur astronomer guides for the evening, Richard Harvey and Peter Sydney-Schlatter, members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. They provided a quick lesson in "all you ever wanted to know about the night sky". I had lots of questions - like how do you find all the things you are looking for in the vastness of the sky. Richard explained that the sky was divided into 88 areas so that frames of reference could be established among astronomers, kind of like dividing the world into latitude and longitude. Apparently, with practice, you learn where to train your telescope and what you'd find in each of those areas.

We were all familiar with the Big Dipper - so easy to spot - and the names of the other constellations in the night sky. Tonight we'd be viewing clusters of stars millions of light years away, their locations designated by the constellations. All the clusters were catalogued and called by numbers, but popular names like the Cigar Galaxy or the Whirlpool, based on their shape, sounded like a fun way to recognize them. We asked about seeing the planets, but Peter said that they were all clustered near the sun this month, so not visible in a night sky.

Surfeit with salad and seafood, you'd hardly think we'd be interested in eating again. But, earlier in the day, Joel, our hotel guide, dropped a crab net out in the bay, anticipating our late night hunger brought on by the fresh night air and the energy expended on paddling the kayaks. There were bets all around as to how many crabs we'd find in the nets. The prize on offer was a Spanish coffee in the "Snug", the hotel's waterfront pub, to end the evening. Guesses ranged from 0 to 10 - my number. Everyone laughed. Our boat crew explained that they'd never caught that many crab in this spot, that quite often the net was empty except for a stray piece of seaweed.

Our ride to Discovery Island Provincial Marine Park

We climbed aboard the open, flat-bottomed boat at the hotel's dock that was to take us to Discovery Island Provincial Marine Park. This undeveloped treed island lies two nautical miles east of Victoria, BC. The northern part of the park and some nearby small islands are private Indian Reserve lands. These spots are closed to visitors. The beach where we were scheduled to land was open to all boaters.

Seated on the boat's benches, with sleek yellow kayaks in racks high on the side of the boat, we circled the crab buoy as the excitement mounted. Amid much shouted advice, one of the crew made a few unsuccessful attempts with a long handled hook to grab the crab buoy. Finally, it was snagged. As 60 feet of line was pulled aboard, everyone craned forward to count the crabs in the net at the end. And we were not disappointed. Ten large Dungeness crabs crowded the net. A feast was in store for everyone and, for me, Spanish coffee.

We arrived at Discovery Island, and our boat glided effortlessly onto the gravelly beach. The gangplank was lowered, and we went ashore, ready for kayaking. The crew lowered the kayaks from their rafts and placed them parallel to the beach, making it easy to climb in without getting our feet wet.

The evening sky reflected bands of orange light as we glided over the waters around the island in quiet companionship, exploring nearby inlets and watching bald eagles soar on their last rounds of the night. Back on the beach Richard and Peter were busy setting up the 8 inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope and high powered binoculars. Crabs were put on the boil in water seasoned with carrot, celery, sage and garlic.

Crescent moon Photo by Jean Godin, courtesy Oak Bay Beach Hotel

An hour's sojourn and a dark sky later, kayaks safely stowed aboard the boat, our astronomers searched the night sky. It took a bit of practice to know how to look through the telescope and see objects clearly. Richard told us to look "off center" of the object on view, and it would be clearer. The crescent moon came into focus. Its craters showed clearly in a white, white background. The rest of the moon was there, too, lightly lit by leftover sunshine.

With Richard and Peter's help we spotted clusters, groups of stars within our galaxy. We learned that there were two kinds of star clusters: an open cluster that circles within the disc of our galaxy and usually contains between 200 to 1000 stars. These clusters are comparatively new compared to globular clusters that formed when our galaxy first started its life 10 to 12 billion years ago. This type of cluster moves perpendicular to the disc of our galaxy.

The telescope was then trained on the Beehive cluster, its stars a fuzzy haze of glow. No wonder. It's 522 light years away and approximately 700,000 million years old. (A light year is the distance light travels in a year - 9.46 trillion kilometres. By comparison we are 8 minutes, 19 seconds from the sun.)

There was more to see. It was hard to imagine that the globular cluster I was viewing, called Hercules, was 2700 light years distant and about 100 light years in diameter. We marveled at double stars, two stars closely orbiting around each other bound by mutual gravitational fields. Richard and Peter found two double double stars. These are double stars, each holding another star orbiting around them.

Crab feast

By flashlight we picked our way between the logs strewn on the beach from the telescope to the propane stove (fires are not allowed) with its pot of fresh, steamy hot Dungeness crab for a rare feast. We ended our beach idyll sipping hot chocolate and munching immense chewy cookies. There were oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip, but the chocolate chocolate-chip was a favourite.

The tranquil night closed in. It was 11pm and time to store our gear and head back to the hotel where we gathered in the "Snug" for a final drink, and, for me, that Spanish coffee. A warm bed waited. Star clusters, double stars, and double double stars danced before my eyes in the darkness. Tired, I fell asleep, kayaking among the stars.

Essential Information
The Oak Bay Crescent Moon Kayaking adventure, dinner and added amenities is $149 Canadian per person, based on double occupancy (price does not include accommodation). There is a two night minimum stay with this package. A discount on the trip and rooms booked together is available along with other package deals (whale watching, dinner cruises and more).

Contact the hotel for full details and to put together your own package at 250-721-2739 or 1-800-668-7758; fax 250-385-8020 (9am-5pm).
Website: www.oakbaybeachhotel.bc.ca

©2002 by Barbara Ballard. Reproduction of this work in whole or in part, including images, and reproduction in electronic media, without documented permission from the author is prohibited. Crescent moon photo by Jean Godin, courtesy Oak Bay Beach Hotel.

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our North America Insiders page.