Paddling Vancouver Island's Coast

BC Coastal Recreation Kayaking and Small Boat Atlas - Volume One

Sep 15, 2007

Using his knowledge of the E Vancouver Is and S British Columbia coasts, John Kimantas has created a terrific resource for paddlers interested in traveling these shores.

John Kimantas has produced the definitive chart book for paddlers of East Vancouver Island and the South coast of British Columbia. Meant to accompany his exhaustive guidebook of this largely untamed region, The Wild Coast 3, this atlas can stand alone as a must have tool of the adventurous paddler. John Kimantas is well known for kayaking the rugged coasts of British Columbia and the BC Atlas demonstrates his experience borne from thousands of kilometers of travel in the Province.

Atlas Formatting - This atlas is composed of a series of colorful, easy to read charts that extend from Race Rocks along Juan de Fuca Strait in the south of the Province to Desolation Sound on the mainland extending to the North Island Straits of Vancouver Island. Charts are presented in a large 11 by 14 inch (28 by 35 centimeter) format using a spiral binding that lies flat when folded back on itself after removing its vinyl cover. In this configuration, the atlas is an idea size to strap under the bungies of your cockpit combing. Pages are printed on a water resistant paper, but paddlers would be well served to use this guide with a waterproof chart case like the Ortlieb Chart Case XL. This slight accommodation will greatly improve the lifespan of your atlas.

Symbols and Local Knowledge - Kimantas lists the basics what you should know before leaving on a Vancouver Island paddling adventure. Weather forecast zones, formation of local winds, running tidal currents, VHF radio use, and movements of other ships to name a few. Based on personal experience, John has labeled each chart with useful symbols to denote items that will interest a passing kayaker. Paddlers will find the charted locations for campsites, anchorages, wharfs, wildlife viewing areas, heritage sites, and navigation aids informative and valuable in trip planning.

A Visual Experience - It should be noted that the BC Coastal Recreation Kayaking and Small Boat Atlas isn't only a collection of dryly presented nautical charts. These navigation aides are loaded with striking photographs of the British Columbia coast representative of each area. It is a joy to just leaf through the atlas and imagine a trip along these shores. Land ownership is color-coded, speeds of prevailing tidal currents are shown, and a distance scale is provided on most pages. The publisher could easily provide a small plastic scale with each atlas making the publication even more suitable for use by a boater.

Purchasing the Guide - BC Coastal Recreation Kayaking and Small Boat Atlas - Volume One: BC's South Coast & East Vancouver Island (ISBN 1552858642) is available from Whitecap Books of North Vancouver, British Columbia for $40 CDN.

The beauty of the this first volume of the BC Coastal Atlas is that it encourages us all to dream of paddling the waters of southern British Columbia and ultimately providing the final push to actually making the trip of a lifetime. John Kimantas has obviously made many of these in his own lifespan along the BC coast.

The copyright of the article Paddling Vancouver Island's Coast in Paddle Boats is owned by Alan Sorum. Permission to republish Paddling Vancouver Island's Coast in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.