17 replies to this topic

[aastra]

I did the kayak rental thing on the Gorge this week. That has to be one of the neatest urban kayaking environments anywhere.

That scrap yard is incredibly noisy.

Dockside Green and Vic West in general will look very nice when it's all finally built out.

The church on Hillside/Gorge near Government has a very appealing silhouette. Made me wish it wasn't all alone over there. Some junior residential highrises would be a good fit in that area.

The Selkirk itself needs some slightly taller buildings.

Anyway, a very pleasant paddling experience.

[G-Man]

Hey you missed a mini meet on Friday!

[aastra]

I'm still here, but I leave tomorrow.

[VicHockeyFan]

Ya, as I've always said, the Gorge is a gem... did you get past the reversing falls?

[aastra]

No, they explicitly told us not to go under the Tillicum Road Bridge, so we didn't. Even though the water was dead calm when we got to it.

Here's a great article:

http://www.nwsource....y.cfm?st=376889

Edited by aastra, 27 May 2023 - 10:50 AM.

[Scaper]

I have done this...and gone through the falls.

[Bluster]

Lots of great planning going on around the Gorge in order to coordinate efforts across jurisdictional boundaries in efforts to improve the habitat and balance the needs of the watershed with recreational activities. Gorge Waterway Initiative is a community driven stewardship initiative that has been actively working to provide a more collaborative approach to preserving our most valuable and poorly treated waterway. I live along the Gorge, paddle regularly throughout it and have been involved in the GWI since its inception. If you are interested I can provide you with more info...

[baz]

Can you get to the inlet from the downtown area , under the johnstone street bridge?
i was planning to take my little fishing boat for its first ocean experience through there!!

[Mike K.]

Absolutely. But the only thing you'll have to watch out for is the Tillicum Street bridge if you want to keep going further north. If the tide is rising, you won't have a problem getting through, but if its falling you won't have a chance. Lots of folks get stuck on one side of the bridge because they don't prepare for the tide.

You're referring to travelling up the Gorge, right?

[Scaper]

[baz]

Thats what im thinking,
Where will i find out about the times of the tide?
As for the people who have kayaked up there, whats the genral time frame for going up an back to the inner harbour??

[G-Man]

I have never done it either but I sure would love to. The Gorge is just one of many underutilized treasures in this city.

[Icebergalley]

Just picking up on some interesting threads...

Lots happening on the Gorge waterway year round...

Have a peek at some of the paddling and rowing clubs there...

As well, links to tide and current reporting sites and more importantly the Victoria Harbour Traffic management scheme...

and pay attention to the industrial users - they move big barges often.. It will be interesting to see big boats being taken up on Point Hope Shipyard's new marine railway and round table..

Have fun out there, but watch out for the rowers and the dragon boats and the outrigger canoes and other performance craft... in one part of a Vibrant Victoria..

http://farm1.static.... ... 6cb3_o.jpg


1. http://www.orspaddlingclub.com

2. http://www.vckc.ca

3. http://www.gorowandpaddle.org

4. James Bay Rowing[/url]

[ressen]

We once rowed a canoe down Colquitz creek from the Panama flats out on Interurban rd. all the way to the inner harbour. We had to lay on our backs and push on the underside of a bridge near tillicum mall with our feet, to get the canoe down into the water to make it under the bridge as the water level was so high that year.

[baz]

i still have'nt took the boat down yet, im going to wait for summer and make a right good day of it,
I went up to sproat lake at the end of last year, took the whole family including the inlaws. we done shuttle runs to a secluded side of the lake there and camped for a few days in complete peace.
i cant wait for this rain to go away...

[Holden West]

I remember at one point (around 1980) you used to be able to rent small outboard-equipped Zodiac boats at a place near Ships Point. I did this with my Uncle and we were tearing around the Inner Harbour for an hour or so. Uncles are cool; they always let you do crap your parents would freak about.

[Icebergalley]

The Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club did their annual clean-up of part of the Gorge Waterway last week:

Paddlers clean up Gorge Waterway

Photo's are with the article at this

http://www.saanichne... ... 4359&more=



Wendy Clapp/News contributor
Maureen Young (left), David Whitehead, Patti Stevens and Lauri Flahr cart back the trash from the Gorge.


By Amy Dove
News staff
May 02 2007


Club offers volunteers to collect trash



The coves and cervices of the Gorge are an urban archaeologist’s dream.

Mingled in the sea grass and rocky outcrops is a cross section of society’s trash. Plastic bags, shopping carts, syringes, Bic lighters, broken bottles and the odd shoe or three line the high tide mark.

It’s a reality members of the Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club know well. Everything from floating trash to dead bodies has been found in the waterway, prompting the club to set aside one day a year to clean it up. Now in its fourth year, the reasoning behind the Gorge Appreciation Day is simple.

“If you use it, clean it,” said Sylvia Nolan, a four-year member of the club. “(The Gorge) is for everyone to use – we should all look after it.”

By 10 a.m. last Saturday many club members were scouring the shoreline on foot, while others boarded the club’s four voyager canoes. It takes about 30 minutes and six paddles to move the large boat upstream to the Portage Inlet. The team makes its way past herons, swans, geese and a seal before hitting the trash on the shore.

The first beach has enough small tiles to renovate a bathroom. Shards of glass, plastics and other garbage litter the rocks below private property.

No more than 500 metres of beach fills a garbage bag. The larger items, foam and a bike wheel, over take the middle of the canoe. The morning run isn’t enough time to clean everything, noted Keith Larusson.

“We could have spent days there,” he said, adding the cleanup is the least they can do in return for a wonderful spot to boat.

A quick paddle away, another cove is littered with a giant sheet of plastic. It’s not until it is moved that a decaying dog is found near the water.

With the boat loaded, and undoubtedly smelling a little fouler, the paddlers head back to the club house. Passing by another team, friendly calls comparing the loot are overheard by people walking their dog along the Gorge.

On shore, the four canoes are unloaded and the trash collected in a bin. The Capital Regional District pays for the landfill dumping fees and Ron’s Disposal donates the bins every year.

The load varies from year to year. Last year was big for computer parts, said organizer Don Munroe, while this year one canoe came back with three shopping carts.

Whatever the load, the need is clear and the club has no plans on hanging up their paddles on this project anytime soon.

mailto:news@saanichnews.com


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© Copyright 2007 Saanich News

[Victoria Watcher]

Solo Kayaking from Victoria to Alaska

After paddling 1,700 kilometres up the Pacific coastline, I realized making mistakes made me human, happy and humble

https://www.cbc.ca/n...n-kayaking-solo

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 27 May 2023 - 10:42 AM.