Ladysmith - Kayaking, Boom Boats, Log Booms

Yesterday (2017-07-18) was a kayaking day. I launched into Ladysmith harbour and decided to explore in and around the Woods Islands that lie opposite the city. The pictures in this post are a bit of a departure from my usual scenic landscape photos. That's because, beyond scenic seascapes and landscapes, I find it hard to resist boats. Especially working boats. Lucky for me, the harbour was abuzz with boom boat activity. I reckon, on my trip this morning, there were close to twenty such boats working the many booms that seem to encircle Woods Islands.

I've always thought I'd like to operate a boat like this...

Boom boat pushing logs about near Ladysmith sawmill...

Boom boat seemingly rearing up...

Boom boat: different colour; different company...

A tugboat working a log boom along the shore of Woods Islands

Boom boat working the passage between Woods and Vancouver Islands...

Note the preponderance of log booms along my route...

Newcastle Island Raccoons

I'm lucky to live just a few minutes from the Brechin boat ramp. Launching the kayaks from this ramp puts me just minutes from Newcastle Island. On this day (2017-06-28), Sabrina and I paddled along the shore of the island keeping an eye out for the inevitable wildlife that comes to dine on the shellfish the low tide leaves bare. It's an "all you eat buffet for raccoons".

Raccoon stays ahead of the kayak...

Eventually this raccoon got tired of us, and found a tree branch to climb away on...

Oyster Catcher having a low tide meal...

Seagull every bit as greedy as the island raccoons...

The beach was pockmarked where the raccoons had dug for oysters, mussels and clams...

He's giving us a little snarl as the kayaking scraping against a nearby barnacle-encrusted rock disturbs his repast...

Long Beach - Chesterman Beach

Sabrina's recent visit seemed like as good an excuse as any to spend a few days in Pacific Rim National Park. As part of this outing, we spent a few hours wandering about on Chesterman Beach (2017-06-28).

Frank Island off Chesterman Beach. Sometimes black and white photographs also look good, I reckon.

At low tide, Chesterman Beach presents a vast, sandy beach...

Human ingenuity uses available materials (drift logs) to create a useful bench...

The rock-water interface often teems with sea life...

Saltwater pools with sea life - in this case, sea anemone...