We paddled out to Wallace Island on a calm day, so we went right through the middle of Trincomali channel, but on the way back 2 days later, the winds were stronger from the southeast so we did a crossing of the channel right to the bluffs of Galiano island, then followed the line of cliffs for 15 km all the way to Montague Harbour. This was a more challenging paddle with headwinds and currents to battle for the whole distance.
The cliffs rise 70 to 100 m above the water for almost the whole distance. There are sandstone layers in the cliffs and the action of waves at high tide, winds, and runoff have sculpted the sandstone layers.
Large sandstone boulders that have fallen from the cliffs at the high tide level stand as other-worldly sculptures.
The whole shoreline has interesting sandstone formations, including some caves. Most are very hard to get to so we just watched them from our kayaks. In this rock formation, swallows have constructed their nests in the overhang.
With only a point-and-shoot camera and rolling seas, we settled for a few shots from the kayak, but we would love to paddle this coast on calm seas, using a telephoto lens on a DSLR next time.
On one section of the cliffs is a large colony of pelegaic cormorants. The guano streaks mark the area below the well-used nests in the rock. This is the Trincomali Nature Sanctuary and the only access is by boat to the bottom of the cliffs. Cormorants were busy flying to the nests and back out, bringing in food or nesting material.
The winds died down at the end of a 4.5 hour paddle, closer to Montague Harbour.
The best access to Trincomali Channel from this side of Galiano Island is at Montague Harbour Provincial Park, due south in this photo, following the bluffs to Shell Beach. . .
We hope to return to Galiano Island to paddle the same shoreline on a calm day from Montague Harbour to Retreat Cove using a 2 vehicle system.
Fighting the current adds to the challenge so we use the Tide Tables and remember this rule:
- on a rising tide, expect the current to run north, with the strongest current about 3 hours after low tide;
- on a falling tide, expect the current to run south, with the strongest current about 3 hours after high tide.
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