Canada Portfolio
canada
about this series
Oh Canada! I first went to Tofino in 2005, which is the unofficial surf capitol of Canada. It's located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, and is one of the few spots on this massive island where you can easily access the coast. On this trip, I got the chance to visit Nootka Island (by seaplane) and stay at Tatchu Surf Adventures Eco-Lodge. All I can say is WOW. Here I forged a life-long friendship with owner/operator Clay Hunting (and his gorgeous girlfriend Silvi), which led to a lot of exploration in the northern parts of the island. If Clay hadn't have been with me, I might have died on more than one occasion, and he also almost killed me on a couple of others.
A few years later Clay and I made a huge discovery. Google Earth had just been launched, and Clay, myself, and friend Terry Gibson spent three grueling days camping in driving rain trying to reach a point break we had spotted in the satellite photos. After three days of trying every method we could think of to get to the point, we gave up. The roads all ended in impenetrable forest, and our attempts to hoof it were fruitless. A we drove away from the point and tried to think of alternatives, we managed to book a helicopter trip and I just threw down my credit card. Best decision I ever made. Within hours we had been deposited on the beach we had been trying for three days to reach.
We camped for five days and saw glimpses of what is one of the best waves in BC. We returned the following January with Raph Bruhwiler, Keith Malloy, and a few other hardy souls, and the rest is history. To read about the trip in Surfing Magazine, click here.