Cribby Cruises Canada.

Well, actually, that title is a downright lie. The size of Canada is beyond reach of European comprehension, so here are some absurd facts to help you get a grip. Hudson Bay, their equivalent to Poole Harbour, is three times as big as Britain. You can surf and wave sail on their great lakes, the biggest being a third of the size of our whole country. Their rivers aren't only teeming with huge salmon, BLUE WHALES SWIM IN THEM!!! It takes more than a week non-stop driving to travel from coast to coast, and you cross five time zones. The only thing we've got over them is double their population, hence they only have a bald 7.5 people per square mile compared with our somewhat hairier 625 per sq mile.

So please forgive us for not 'covering' Canada in this article - it can't be done in one life-time. We thought we'd be slightly more realistic setting our sights on west coast British Columbia - but even that is four times the size of the UK! It's Canada's fourth largest province; a wild western state where half ton grizzly bears eat people alive, cougars leap fifteen feet up trees with children in their jaws and killer whales show their teeth to surfers. This wilderness contains 10% of the trees on the entire North American continent, covering the mountains with the carpet density of blades of grass covering the rolling fields of England. The old growth forests have been left untouched by man for 10,000 years and native traditions date back even further.

So how far did we get in our five weeks of travelling? Well, despite pushing right to the mountainous boundaries of Vancouver, east five hundred miles to the Kootenay mountains and west to Vancouver Island, covering more ground then the whole of England, down into caves and canyons and up to snowy mountain tops and glaciers, it would be exaggeration to claim knowledge of anywhere beyond the tiny pin point named Vancouver on a world map. Canada is a VERY big place.

Windsurfing
So, enough of the travellers' tales. What's the windsurfing like? Well, it's windy, for a start. Rather like the North American west coast, the winds around Vancouver are consistent throughout the summer as hot air inland rises, inviting the cold sea air to rush onshore, funnelling between mountains and through valleys, reaching up to thirty knots on lakes all over British Columbia. In the Spring the territories get buffeted by Pacific storms although "until the oysters are blowing off the rocks, you can't say it's howling!" claims local Greg Reynolds. Unfortunately spring temperatures are cooler than Britain and with 360cm of annual rainfall and Arctic winter blizzards freezing and snapping trees like tooth-picks, it's no wonder Canadians migrate south to Baja or west to 'nearby' Hawaii. Except for a hardened few, the windsurfing scene in this part of the world is a summer-only affair. But when it happens it comes together in a big way, with large surf communities congregating summer-long at two main spots; Squamish, an inlet/river mouth just north of Vancouver, and Nitinak Lake on Vancouver Island, both of which have wind literally every day.

Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island can have good wave-sailing, epic slalom sailing, great surfing and superb snow-boarding. It's the one place we'll always look forward to returning to in Canada. There's a great feeling here in the wilderness (not park or forest), where the immense natural habitat sometimes drowns you with overwhelming awe.

Drinking from rivers and lakes as you swim or sail, washing in waterfalls as they cascade across the beach, diving into icy glacier water which bites your skin for breakfast. Camping amongst old growth trees towering eighty mighty metres skyward, squashing any sign of ego, on the shores of lakes which make Grafham Water look like a drop in the ocean. Following trails over, under and through fallen trees the size of space rockets, with surf board under arm, destined to ride perfect empty waves. Fresh salmon cooked on the open fire daily. These are some of the simple fortunes on this treasure island.

Nitinak Lake
Never before have we come across such a windsurfing community. Whole windsurfing families move in for the summer, setting up camp and sculpting Swiss Family Robinson homes from driftwood, to even include saunas! What a way to spend your summer; with the whole family, kids of seven windsurfing, grandpa duck-gybing, everyone sharing kit, collecting water daily from the river just a ten minute stroll away through deep ferns and mossy forest, where black bears and cougars lurk waiting for stray small children. Ah yes, that's the only draw-back .... Small problem ..... Nothing to worry about!

The fact that there's no liquor store or fresh produce closer than a two hour 4x4 dirt track journey to the nearest town, can be perceived either positively or negatively. Termites might be high in protein but don't really compare to carrots or corn on the cob, (despite being crunchy).

Every day during our stay the winds blew for the hundred or so semi permanent residents, who stay between a weekend and a whole summer. Weekend figures usually double and on the "Wired" Nitinak weekend, (a competition with exhibition and tuition), there were a thousand people camped out in the forest, most of whom were windsurfing. Unfortunately as Nitinak has become ever so popular, there could be changes in the future which might rupture the wholly natural feeling which prevails nowadays. This could include a camping fee for instance which would necessitate better facilities (currently just two out- houses). Good or bad, it's only speculation and even if McDonalds came to town (E.T.A. 2997), Nitinak will remain one of the most natural settings for windsurfing. On the other side of the lake a small camping ground with no facilities has been established. There is a windsurfing shop now established and growing fast at Nitinak, probably to include rental kit for 1998. Contact Ricky at Excel Watersports on f ax 250 381 7825 or tel 250 472 8667.

Winds are usually between fifteen to twenty knots but have often topped thirty, making chop-hopping okay, especially on the far side of the lake. It doesn't really feel like lake-sailing, since the winds are solid and steady from shore to shore. The most fun we had was cruising miles upwind alone beside mountainous forests with salmon jumping everywhere. Sailing is possible in shorts but not recommended should anything go wrong, as the water is cold enough to necessitate at least a shorty.

Typical of the outback, windsurfing kit here is like a historical sail through time. Early square tailed short boards and fully unbattened sails still rip with sailors, attached by umbilical-cord like harness lines and wearing diving wetsuits and trainers. The American eighties is also relived as fluorescent wetsuits, hockey crash-helmets and full face sun-glasses ride the first camber induced sails, rigged with the belly of a bath tub, on boards with at least six fins. Right through Monofilm sails (which sailors have obviously been right through on many occasions), to the latest state of the art kit (which is, ironically, square tailed short boards and no-cambered sails out there ripping once again....)

In Victoria, British Columbia's capital, on the south of the island, good jumping can be found in conditions which can resemble the Gorge. As the tide ebbs through the San Juan Straights, wind against tide causes good, steep, sometimes head high chop. Park at the end of Cook Street, or head an hour further west where the narrowing Straits funnel the wind, at Gordens Beach, ten minutes past Sooke. Sailing in these Straits which separate Canada and America, killer whales are often sighted, improving your waterstarting dramatically. Winds don't usually pick up until mid afternoon but then increase, peaking at around seven in the evening.

Wave-Sailing
Despite epic surfing conditions throughout autumn, the winds don't start blowing until spring so it's rare that these two vital ingredients ever come together in any kind of balanced meal. If and when they do, Jordans River can get huge, giving awesome down-the-line riding, most likely in February though, when you need serious insulation. Although Canada's coastline is the longest in the world, most of it being frozen solid kinda cuts down on the number of hot sailing spots...

In the summer the famous surfing spot of Long Beach at Tofino can sometimes pick up enough north-westerly wind for wave sailing. Further north the unexplored and unaccessible Cape Scott must have incredible potential, as does much of this remote west coast. Otherwise the best one can hope for is airtime in the San Juan Straits.

The Mainland

Squamish is the native name for "big winds". Needless to say this is another equally popular windsurfing location with its own share of surrealist character. Located a few hours north of Vancouver, this place is frequented by the city folk and the locals, with as many as two hundred sailors at its busiest.

Tucked away miles from the open ocean, Squamish is the meeting of sea and river. Literally surrounded by mountains, some with shining glaciers churned with black rock like a zebra pate, and forests tumbling into the sea. Scenically, like everywhere we sailed in Canada, Squamish is beautiful, but didn't quite have the complete naturalists wonderland of Nitinak, nor such strong winds. It's rarely windier than twenty knots, attracting mostly slalom boards, yet again with the historic variety of thirty years of windsurfing, right up to the latest state of the art boards by local shaper Roberts. If there are no clouds on the mountains looking north from Vancouver, or if Pemberton's weather is warmer than Vancouver's, it's almost definitely windy in Squamish as the southerly winds get sucked north. Fortunately there's an accurate wind line to check out all the latest conditions, updated hourly at the windsurfing club at the launch site. Tel 926-WIND or 892-2235.

The sea state has an incredible variety, from pancake flat to choppier then a Chinese takeaway. In between these two extremes is really good chop hopping, especially downwind towards the port on the far side. The water here has two temperatures; one in the more open sea which is freezing, and one at the river mouth which is even more freezing, despite the surrounding sunny weather. However in the event of injury or the wind dropping, so long as the rescue boat is still on duty, there is an anti-hypothermic service here included in your entry fee which is $10 (£5) per person per day...

Beware of the wind quickly dropping or swinging 180 degrees, strong currents, floating logs, branches and of low water exposing a sand bar and underwater obstacles like spear-headed, drowned trees...

Vancouver
Have you ever met anyone who visited Vancouver and not enjoyed it? Probably not. As far as our extensive travelling experiences go, Vancouver is one of the finest cities on the planet, situated in such an outstanding area of natural beauty, that the dark side of pollution and grey matter seem insignificant, compared to the pleasures of being deep in these social, cultural whirlpools where anything goes, blending exotic, colonial, oriental, western and natural spices so fluidly together in a congenial soup. With an enormous Asian influence of what seems at least half the population, especially since Hong Kong's recent emigration, Chinatown proved to us that travelling huge distances across the globe is no longer necessary to experience all the flavours of the east. Even France seems closer to home here than it ever will be in England! Forget 'around the world in eighty days' - you can do it in around eighty minutes here in festive Vancouver.

Snow Boarding
Twenty minutes from downtown Vancouver you can be snow boarding! The surrounding mountains offer some of the best conditions in the world including Whistler and Mount Baker (in North America), both within a couple of hours from the city. The season slogs through an ambitious winter with the slopes opening in early November, until the end of sunny June

The Bear Necessities of Life
Driving on dirt roads usually means they're logging roads. Expect trucks the size of hill-sides, carrying hill-sides of trees with the momentum of an earthquake, thundering almost out of control around blind corners. Pull off the road and make yourself as small as possible because they have the legal right of way. The road to Nitinak is two vibrating hours of corrugated logging road.

Don't sing 'if you go down to the woods today you"ll surely get a surprise" in this part of the world. During our trip a couple of English folk's outdoor lunch had a role reversal where they became the "teddy bear's picnic" - eaten alive! The difference between Winnie The Pooh and grizzly bears is about nine feet and half a ton. The only similarity is pooh; in the first case a name and in the other the state of your underwear. Bears have been known to ambush humans and with one swipe of their paw they'll take your head off. Yet the Ministry of Forestry's advice if attacked is firstly fight back - if that doesn't work, playing dead (probably not difficult, if you've just lost a fight with a grizzly), and failing that, fighting back again! As if....

Both grizzlies and black bears are highly dangerous and preventing an attack is far easier than fighting one off. Make as much noise as possible whilst walking as until provoked, they're actually quite timid. Don't wear aftershaves, perfumes, or carry strong smelling foods with you. If you meet one don't look it in the eyes and, get this, don't run for your life! Bears can run twice as fast as humans in any terrain, especially forests! Take heed of all warnings and advice!

Not to mention cougars, otherwise known as mountain lions, who actually hunt humans. For these ten feet long cats, who can leap fifteen feet high off the ground, dropping like man-eating hats onto passers-by comes naturally. If they could talk they'd probably solve Canada's missing persons problem. Never walk alone.

We all know killer whales are misrepresented by their brutal name. However, believing this when drifting alone on your surf board, miles from safety, takes some mindful trickery. We met a chap who watched six foot of killer whale fin cruise past two hundred metres away, then swerve and head towards him! Frozen in shock, he figured he was fishfood. Still travelling faster than a submarine, the Orca rose out of the sea with its gaping jaws revealing a pink cave of spears right in front of him!!!!!!!....... But then, just when the hapless surfer had reached the "Our Father, who..." stage, the aquatic prankster sniggered and dived back beneath the surfer, perhaps because for the first time ever it had actually seen a mouth open even wider then its own...

Life is rarely dull in these parts...