The Tidal Race Tour

For the last 6 months I had been planning a filming trip to some of British Columbia's biggest tidal races with a crew of young, up and coming sea paddlers out of Portland, Oregon.  I was setting my goals really high for this trip.  Aiming to produce some of the most impressive sea kayaking footage ever seen before with a unique blend of cameras and venues.  When May 13th arrived and all 7 of us were converging on Skookumchuck Narrows as a starting point, I could not have been any more stoked to see a giant high pressure system engulfing the Pacific Northwest.  Everything was coming together.  The team of Oregonians had mad it across the border safely, Lise-Anne and Steve Rogers joined the trip for additional camera support, the current speeds were growing all week, and the weather forecast pointed to sun, sun, and more sun.  These sort of trips take a lot of work to put together, but all the effort paid off.  The photos and film we came away with are truly some of the most stunning images I have seen.  I'm going to let some of the pictures tell the story for now and hopefully it will have everyone salivating for this segment in the film!

The ferry in Howe Sound heading for the Sunshine Coast just North of Vancouver, BC.

photo by Steve Rogers

The team less Lise-Anne and Steve.  From right to left...Bryan Smith, Nick Jacob, Paul Kuthe, Richard Davis, and Dave White.

photo by Steve Rogers

Nick Jacob taking in the scenery.

photo by Steve Rogers

Nick Jacob sliding onto the glassy wave at Skooks.

photo by Steve Rogers

Dave White carving it up on the top wave at Skooks.

photo by Steve Rogers

Lise-Anne Beyries taking to the long boat quite well.  My wife, soul mate, and ultimate partner.  This film would not happen without her help and support!

photo by Steve Rogers

The newest member of our family and water tribe.  Chuya...finding some space in my pile of gear.

photo by Steve Rogers

Lise-Anne and I getting the young guns of Portland to share their story.

photo by Steve Rogers

Setting up the boat mount camera system

photo by Steve Rogers


Paul Kuthe was absolutely ripping it up at Skooks...here he is getting his carve on.

photo by Steve Rogers

He also was not afraid to drop into the froth on Day 2 when the wave got quite a bit bigger.

photo by Steve Rogers

Nick was not too shy at Skooks either...I was glad to be the guy filming this time!

photo by Steve Rogers

So fun to be paddling with sea paddlers who have this much skill.  A clear example of how talented an in control these guys were on the wave.  We went for 4, but I think 3 was the most we got onto the top wave at Skookumchuck.

photo by Steve Rogers

Special thanks to Laurie and Tom at High Tide Water Taxi for giving us just enough boat time to capture some incredible new angles at Skookumchuck.

photo by Steve Rogers

From Skooks we headed North to Quadra Island via three ferries.  The first in the series at 6:30am.

photo by Steve Rogers

Lise-Anne and Paul checking out the water off Quadra...don't think I have ever seen water this clear before.

photo by Steve Rogers

The inter tidal life was mind blowing.  With so many tidal races around Quadra all the critters are very well fed.

photo by Steve Rogers

The seaweed was glowing.

photo by Steve Rogers

The plush set-up at Discovery Islands Lodge that we based out of for 4 days.

photo by Steve Rogers

Richard Davis carving it up on one of the best waves I have ever seen for a sea kayak.  Just a random wave below one of the bigger races.

photo by Steve Rogers

Nick Jacob on that same wave.  It started as a perfect glassy wave with shoulders on both sides and eventually got steep with a solid foam pile.

photo by Steve Rogers

Paul Kuthe sliding of the right side of it once the current speed was getting close to 10 knots

photo by Steve Rogers

Paul just about to get engulfed by the break.

photo by Steve Rogers

The weather was still absolutely stunning 5 days into the trip.

photo by Steve Rogers

The guys waiting for the big wave of the trip to settle down to a manageable level.

photo by Steve Rogers

While I would not quite consider this a friendly level, the young guns showed me how it was done.  Paul Kuthe dropping into a huge wave.

photo by Steve Rogers

Dave White carving out of the pile.

photo by Steve Rogers

Nick Jacob starting to feel the wave in it's ultimate zone

photo by Steve Rogers

I was lucky enough to talk Lise-Anne into running video for a few surfs on quite possibly the best wave I have ever surfed in a long boat.

photo by Steve Rogers

Soooooooo smooth and fast...paradise.

photo by Steve Rogers

On the final day Ralph from Discovery Islands Lodge helped us with a bit of filming and then offered to take a few of us back.  Lise-Anne, Steve and I took the ride home, while the young guns paddles two hours back to the lodge.  

photo by Steve Rogers

This trip was everything I could have ever imagined.  These pictures are just the beginning.  The film will showcase all the paddlers, venues, and adventure.