Day 10

On the water at 10 am this morning and conditions were partially foggy as we paddled past the entrance to the town of Tofino. Meares Island, a huge wilderness, dominates the tiny town of Tofino with mountain peeks rising nearly 800 meters above the sea. The island is larger than Hong Kong or Bermuda but inhabited by only 200 Clayoquot Native American Indians.

We stopped briefly at the north end of Long Beach, part of the Pacific Rim National Park, and then surfed the northwest wind waves 5 miles across the bay to Long Beach's south end. We surfed up to the Wickaninnish Restaurant and decided to go up for a beer. One tasty beer led to two, and we indulged in a delicious seafood platter and a Caesar salad as well. We sat out on the sunny deck that looked down to our kayaks, north up Long Beach, and west to the Pacific Ocean. We toasted to our excellent adventure, the good weather and progress we had made, and we're fabulously happy as we savored every sip of Rainforest Ale and bite of food; what a treat after 9 days of tuna, rice, and coos-coos!

Al and I checked out the Pacific Rim Interpretive Center, next to the restaurant, and I bought a hat and a few postcards before we headed down to our kayaks. The northwest wind had picked up substantially, so it was a jostling 3.5-mile paddle around the point and across Florencia Bay to Florencia Island. We landed precariously through a narrow opening in the rocky shore and I immediately reached for my jacket to escape the chill of the evening wind. It wasn't behind my cockpit, where I always stow it, and realized that I had left it out to dry on a rock below the restaurant; shit! I hate to lose gear and my waterproof, breathable jacket was worth a paddle back! I landed at the beach 40 minutes later, didn't find my jacket on the rock, and checked with the restaurant who hadn't seen it either. I left a message on Al's voicemail, letting him know that I was waiting until the cleaning crew showed up at the Interpretive Center, to see if someone had possibly turned it in there. The crew was to be there by 9 pm, and I informed Al that I would be back on Florencia Island by 10 pm.

Al was growing increasingly worried, and at 9:20 pm decided to call the Canadian Coast Guard. Luckily he retrieved my message, and was further relieved upon seeing my headlamp as I crossed Florencia Bay around 9:40 pm; never did find my jacket! 20.3 miles today, plus 7 extra for me due to forgetfulness!