Dan_Millsip
Paddler
Just thought I would pass on a bit of info about walking your kayak on the Duke Point ferry from Nanaimo. I purchased my ticket from the pedestrian ticket operator and was told to take me kayak through the wooden gate at the end of the parking lot. No problem I think, that's very convenient and seems easy enough. I decide to stick around the parking lot with Mark and yak a bit more about the terrific time that we had at the Ladysmith Paddlefest. Around the bay comes my ferry -- time to go. So off I go through the wooden gate at the end of the parking lot -- but guess what? This isn't kayak friendly at all! Here's where the route from the wooden gate leads:
After contemplating doing the long walk back to the car entrance to the ferry, I decided to brave the stairs and proceeded to bounce from one step to the next all the way to the bottom. Fortunately, it was without incident and all was fine at the bottom (although I did provide some entertainment for the foot passengers waiting in the building above and to the left the stairs).
It turned out to be not too big a deal for my cart but if you're planning on taking the Duke Point ferry and don't have a very sturdy kayak cart, you might want to consider going through the vehicle gates.
*****
After contemplating doing the long walk back to the car entrance to the ferry, I decided to brave the stairs and proceeded to bounce from one step to the next all the way to the bottom. Fortunately, it was without incident and all was fine at the bottom (although I did provide some entertainment for the foot passengers waiting in the building above and to the left the stairs).
It turned out to be not too big a deal for my cart but if you're planning on taking the Duke Point ferry and don't have a very sturdy kayak cart, you might want to consider going through the vehicle gates.
*****
