[Paddlewise] A nice paddle with Doug Lloyd - Natalie's narrative

Subtitle: Texan been seein' BC


Sub-sub title: Munchkin and Wizard set out to Sea





As you all may have read already, I had the privilege of getting to paddle
with Doug Lloyd in his home setting of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada a
few weeks back.  He was a lot faster in posting his trip report, but I was
awaiting the photographic evidence, so with that in hand, and still with
plenty of word power left to describe the trip, following is my report.  If
you'd like to see the photographs and additional comments, please go to my Web
page report at: www.tamug.tamu.edu/paddler/paddlinBC.





As Doug has related, I had contacted him some time ago about the potential for
paddling in conjunction with my professional conference.  As the date drew
closer and the moment of meeting and paddling was upon us, I was having some
real self-doubts.  Had I put myself at the mercy of some super paddling ego
who would delight in trashing a fool tourist at sea; would I be perceived as
some kind of paddling groupie, wanting to hit on the famous Doug Lloyd, wreck
his relationship with his wife, etc., etc?  The voice on the phone mail
messages was good humored, not a hint of a negative.  Thankfully when live
voice contact was made, it was Yvonne who answered the phone at the other end,
so woman-to-woman, I could ask if it was REALLY OK to go out paddling with
Doug.  A chuckle and "oh, yes" at the other end.   Then the Meister himself,
and final arrangements.  We were on!





Of course my vision of Doug had to do with someone the build of Arnold
Schwarzenegger, and for these far north parts, surely a full black beard.  The
phone conversation slightly revised that to medium height, light brown hair.
That was at least closer.  I'm not going near any further physical
description, but let it suffice to say Doug is still a giant in my mind.





Part of my motivation in meeting Doug was to get a look at his gear.  I was
not disappointed.  First off, the red van that I knew was the family decision
on spending the money we all tried to advise him on last year.  Who could miss
that vehicle, with the two sea kayaks atop it, in the hotel district of
Victoria?  Sure, it was reassuring as we got ready to paddle, to see that Doug
had the flare gun already loaded, with three backup flares, and he assured me
he could shoot it "even if my hands are freezing cold and numb".  Eek, does
this mean we'll have Doug Lloyd-style mega-adventure complete with Coast Guard
rescue?  





THE NORDKAPP was of intense interest to me.  You should know that Doug teaches
woodworking, in addition to his full time job, and he is quite a craftsman.
THE NORDKAPP looked from the outside like it had just come off the showroom
floor.  And in an approved color combination, yellow deck and white hull, just
like my Falcon at home.  On its back deck, a small flag to add to visibility
to motor traffic in the harbor.  I had been watching the float planes landing
and taking off in the harbor and knew avoidance would be the key to safety
there as Doug guided me on the approved path for sea kayakers out of the
harbor.  Whale watching zodiacs were out there too, and the inner harbor
ferry, and car ferries from more distant harbors.





It was late afternoon as we headed out to sea, so shadows were lengthening,
and my camera had to be pushed to get photos at all.  As Doug related, my
mouth got a bit un-hinged by my excitement at being there and the beauty of
the place and the water.  It's crystal clear, and turns black with the depths
as you move away from shore.  In the distance across the Strait of Juan de
Fuca are the mountains of the Olympic peninsula, in their blue and purple
early evening hues.  The skies were clear and blue, the temperatures
invigorating (certainly so by Gulf Coast Texas standards!).  It hardly gets
better than this.





The stiff breeze that pushed us out of the harbor laid down as we paddled on,
above bull kelp forests and by harbor seal haul-outs.  A pair of wood ducks
winged past us, honking complaints about the intrusion on their part of the
shoreline.  Multistory highrises of the harbor gave way to more sparse
settlement on the rocky shores.  The sun slipped lower on the horizon.





Our end destination was a small set of islands.    Doug decided he'd test out
how well healed he was, or how much he could still do since a non-kayak
related injury a few months back.  Sounds to me like he went a bit too far.  I
am not going to add on to the story that I paddled too hard - he really did
have a pre-existing condition!  The photos include one of his beautifully
executed deep braces.  Had to razz him about clunking the stern of his boat.
What you should know is that on further inspection, I noticed he has
reinforced the stern of that boat with a brass keel strip, so of course he
wasn't overly concerned about hitting there, or dragging the boat across a
pebble beach!





OK, so I was really jazzed by the paddling opportunity and it got me to
jabbering.  Doug Lloyd is a really nice person and a superb paddler.  The
setting was beautiful and it was a rare opportunity for me to paddle with
someone who has paddled so well and so close to "the edge".  I was surprised I
was the first out-of-town Paddlewiser to meet Doug.  If you're ever in
Victoria, for heaven's sake, follow the yellow brick road and get to meet the
Wizard in person.  And thank you, Doug, for a wonderful paddle and the
opportunity to meet you in my favorite medium - on the water!





Natalie Wiest


Galveston TX USA






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