Cortes Kayaks bioluminescence tours have been setting out from Mansons Lagoon every Friday and Saturday for the past month.

There were about a dozen people in our group, which was mostly composed of off islanders from Vancouver, Victoria or the Cowichan Valley.  The only experienced kayakers were our guides, Jolaine Boucher and Maria Francis. However most of the group had some experience and the only rookie was me. 

“How can you live on Cortes Island for twelve years and not go out in a kayak?” asked an astonished Boucher.

This is her fifth season as a guide and she has not lost her enthusiasm. 

It was in her voice as she paddled amongst the bioluminescent  phytoplankton and marine vegetation, along the west bank of Mansons Lagoon. A milk-like bioluminescent trail followed every stroke. 

Or the awestruck words coming through the darkness, “Did you see that shooting star?” 

Boucher was our principal guide, who we followed.  

Francis kept up the rear, where she assisted the group, and ensured that everyone stayed close together. Our trip from Mansons Landing to the mouth of Gorge Harbour was punctuated by periodic regrouping, as Boucher ensured all of her flock kept together. This is Francis’ first season as a guide, and I suspect she will soon be leading groups on her own.

Our session began with an introductory lesson of everything from a ‘bum drop,’ as you are entering the kayak’s cockpit, to how to hold a paddle. 

“Never stand up in a kayak,” explained Boucher. “98% of all flips occur when you are entering or leaving the kayak.”

The only thing I found difficult was sitting in the kayak with my legs sticking out in front of me. I blamed this on my 71-year-old body’s loss of flexibility. While it is more efficient to paddle sitting erect, I could only do this for short distances. Googling this later, I read, “the muscles used to maintain erect posture are out of tone.” I slouched back in my seat throughout most of the trip. 

Once you know where to place your hands, paddling seems to come naturally. I sometimes found myself silently chanting “stroke … stroke  … stroke” as if it were a mantra. You very quickly learn to steer the kayak with the foot pedals.

As we paddled around Kitten and Cat Islets, Boucher told us there were seals in the area. That’s why some of the fish were jumping. The seals were timid creatures, but also curious about us humans. If you are lucky, you may turn around to see one following behind us. 

It was getting dark by the time we reached the entrance to Gorge Harbour. Boucher paddled close to the steep cliff on the west side and shone her light on the pictographs above. Local historian Jeanette Taylor wrote that the red ochre paint was made from earth ‘mixed with chewed salmon eggs to create a smooth oily paint that can last from a century to up to 1,300 years, depending upon the site.’ This refers to the most recent layer of paint, not the age of the pictograph.

One of the figures shows a man close to a whale. According to Lynne Jordan, former curator of the Cortes Island Museum, the ancient Salish inhabitants of Cortes used to herd whales onto the beach at Smelt Bay. They took advantage of the giant creatures’ sonar. After a lookout sounded the alert, a long line of canoes paddled out in front of the whales.

“At a given signal, the natives would all start dropping [clam] shells from their canoes. Whales coming up would get that signal in front of them and it would tell them there was a solid wall … If they could beach one whale then, as the tide receded, they could kill at their leisure.”

A set of markings is believed to be a tally dating back to an era when the Haida canoes raided Cortes Island. The Klahoose are said to have taken up a defensive position on the heights and hurled boulders down on the invaders. Depending on who is telling the story, each marking is said to represent a dead Haida or his canoe. 

Boucher directed our attention to what appears to be a depiction of a stick man wearing a headdress.

After we turned back for Mansons, Boucher asked, “Does anyone not see the bioluminescence?”

At that point I wasn’t sure, but as we pressed on it became obvious that shimmering lights coming off our paddles were not simply wakes. By that time most of the other kayaks were dim shapes whose most visible feature was a red or green light hanging from the bow. The exception was Boucher, whose reflective red vest served as a navigation guide. 

We regrouped again at the channel leading between Kitten and Cat Islets, then Boucher led us out through the boats anchored in Mansons Bay, around the Spit and into the Lagoon.  

This last leg, through the lagoon, was the most spectacular part of the trip. The bioluminescence was more pronounced. It followed our paddle strokes like the tails of comets. The photo I stole from Cortes Kayaks website does not do it justice, but photographing with one hand while I paddle with the other is beyond my skill level. 

There were also increasing references to shooting stars. Looking up, I saw a large L shape descending from the heavens. This was the first time I actually saw a comet’s second tail, though they all possess “a plasma tail made of ionized gas, and a dust tail made of small solid particles.”  

An owl called out from the forest close to the waterfall at the head of the lagoon.

We returned to our launch site just as the moon rose above the trees, shortly before 11 PM.

Then, after thanking Jolaine Boucher and Maria Francis for a wonderful experience, we returned to our homes.

Top photo credit: Just prior to regrouping, two single and a double seated kayak paddle by Cat and Kitten Islets – Photo by Roy L Hales

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