>For those who haven't experienced BC Ferries "Discovery Passage" ferry, do >try it. They're very kayak friendly. They have a large rolling boat rack so >you can leave the wheelies at home and pack more single malt. They have a >special dock that sets up on the end of the rack so that they can "wet >launch" or retrieve you at sea (this is by special arrangement and the >captain's permission). The ferry has hot, coin operated showered, and cold, >cash-operated beer. I totally agree. We paddled Bella Bella last year, met about a dozen other kayakers who happened to be on the same ferry, and the staff even prepared a delicious eat-all-you-want salmon barbeque for the passengers on the rear deck of the ferry! They showed movies to help pass the time (it's around a 10 hour ride, if I remember correctly), and provided games, etc. Plus, we took the night ferry back from Bella Bella (a nice way to save time, incidentally -- we just rolled out our pads & sleeping bags and slept like babies all night), and the ferry captain was willing to do a "wet pickup" at around 9:30 pm. I still can hardly believe they stopped to pick up a bunch of grubby kayakers bobbing in the water in near total darkness (except for our headlamps and the rear ferry lights). In the US, I'm sure they'd be so paranoid about potential lawsuits that they'd never consider it. The ferry handlers told us they actually enjoyed (!) picking up/dropping off kayakers to break the monotony (tho they aren't always willing, depending on the weather and their schedule). Evan *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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