Subject: Indian Arm Overnighter Paddle - Saturday, April 24th to Sunday, April 25th

DESCRIPTION: It's that time of year again and the weather is going to be great! Time to give those rusty muscles a workout, and prepare for greater adventures for the season - or maybe this is your first time doing an overnight trip. Why not start off with a nice easy paddle up Indian Arm for an overnight trip?

Along the way you will be rewarded with the sights and sounds of a somewhat bustling inland waterway engulfed by mountains, sky and sea. There is also the opportunity to see stunning waterfalls, an amazing cave, and -likely- an abundance of seals up close sunning on the mud flats at the mouth of the Indian River.

Easy access to kayak rentals in Deep Cove, or you can use one of the several kayaks I have available.
DISTANCE: 17km (One way)
ELEVATION GAIN: Dependent on the tide!
TIME NEEDED: 2 Days, 1 night
BOOK RATING: Medium-Rare

MEETING TIME AND LOCATION: Saturday, April 24th 09:00 Location TBD (Either or both of Deep Cove and Belcarra)
LATEST RETURN TIME: Sunday April 25th 21:00
AFTER HIKE PLANS: Unpack, then sleep!
MAXIMUM # of Paddlers: 8
STRICT SIGN-UP DEADLINE: Friday 18:00
PLEASE INDICATE: To those wishing to sign up, please answer ALL of the following (An "I'm in" only response will mean "You're Out!" :

1) Do you need a ride? From where?

2) Does your kayak need a ride?

3) Can you offer a ride? If so, what are convenient points you are willing to pick up from and how many?

4) If you can offer a ride, how many kayaks are you willing to carry for others?

5) Will you be wishing to use one of my kayaks? I have 3 available, 2 of which are suitable for persons under 5' 4" (163 cm) 120 lbs (54 Kg) and one which is full-size.

6) Email AND Phone number(s) to contact you at, how late it is acceptable to call.

ORGANIZER: Brad Scott

BRING: Headlamp! Water, food, overnight gear and tent. (I can share my stove, possibly my pots, will share my 4 person tent with a hygienic person), money for your driver (if you are a passenger)
COSTS: Fuel for driver, kayak rental costs (48 hour rental)

I can't come on this trip,unfortunately, but you mention a cave? Where? I've paddled those waters numerous times and never seen one there?

Only two days notice?

Sounds like alot of fun , count me in !

For some reason I didn't get an alert when these messages were posted.

Waverider, I'm going to PM you.

The cave is on the west side, I can't remember exactly where, but definitely before the halfway point. I'll look at my GPS tracks and get back to you on it.

ah crap for some reason I thought it was for May 24 th weekend, I am out. sorry.

Cancelled due to weather.

I don't think it would be prudent in the forecast 50 km/h winds.

What? That's not fair! We're only getting 10-15! I can (and usually do) sneeze harder than that!

Just aim to the stern, and it should offer you some pretty good propulsion!

Just wondering, what weather reporting resource are you using?

*****

I use www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/ and I get the METARS/TAFS from here:

http://www.flightplanning.navcanada.ca: ... peDoc=html

I use TAFS from both CYVR and CYXX to help get a better image of what the weather might be doing.

What do you like to use?

I was curious because I did not find the same forecast for 50km winds that you claim -- even on the sites that you specified.

*****

Yeah, the TAF for CYXX was calling for 22+ knot winds. And the weatheroffice one was also listing 50km (near the water) specifically for the afternoon of the 24th. I don't think the Vancouver one mentioned it, but the Pitt Meadows page did.

Seems strange that the most wind that I've seen forecast this weekend on any site is 26 km per hour with the exception of Howe Sound which is calling for 15 - 20 knots this morning diminishing to light winds this evening (marine forecast from Environment Canada). Considering that Indian Arm is one of the most sheltered waterways in the entire region, it's highly unlikely that there would be winds anywhere near what you've stated.

When I'm paddling, I generally use the Environment Canada marine forecasts -- they're usually pretty accurate.

*****

Thanks for the link to the Marine Weather. I'll look into that. At 18:05 last night is when I checked the forecasts; while I knew that Indian Arm is sheltered, there is the potential, especially in the summer, to have strong inflow winds (southerlies). If strong winds are forecast at this time of year, it is quite possible that it will be a southerly, and may be the makings of a storm. (In this area southerlies and easterlies are usually indicative of worsening conditions - with the potential of it being a storm). With inexperienced paddlers, compounded by the rain forecast which would have made things very miserable, I opted to err on the side of caution.

As we say in aviation: "It's better to be on the ground wishing you were flying, than flying wishing you were on the ground." My decision was made first out of safety concerns -especially for the group involved, and secondly out of the interest of comfort. If the day turns out bright sunny blue and dead calm, I'll be disappointed, but confident that I made the right decision based on the information I had.

All the same, if you deem the conditions to be more than you want to handle, canceling the trip is the right thing to do and I don't think anyone here will fault you for that.