Gourmet kayaking

By C. Mason Stearns

Isn't kayaking just an especially damp form of camping? To me, for whom a one-man tent is a special sort of claustrophobic hell, a kayaker's love of synthetic fibres and trail mix has always been suspicious. So when I read about a weekend trip of “Gourmet Kayaking” through British Columbia's Gulf Islands, I was understandably skeptical. Gourmet kayaking? That's like a black-tie tractor pull, I thought.

But then I noticed who was behind the trip. A West Coast outfit called Edible British Columbia, which organizes foodie events around the province, had partnered up with Blue Planet Kayaking. I took a longer look.

Edible B.C., owned and operated by Vancouver's Eric Pateman since the spring of 2005, has quickly built a reputation for their top-notch tours of the city's farmer's markets. They've also just opened an eponymous retail store specializing in local artisanal products. If anyone can successfully apply an epicurean patina to a tippy boat trip, I decided, it's these folks. So it was that I found myself, some time later, barefoot on a Vancouver Island beach, stuffing my clothing (and precautionary whisky flask) in a strangely shaped waterproof bag and donning a dubious nylon bib.

"When do we eat?" I asked.

Thankfully, I didn't wait long. On day one, we lunched on a niçoise salad of lightly smoked albacore, free-range eggs and organic potatoes, daubed with black truffle aïoli. Dinner was a smashing success of steamed local sablefish, slightly seared and finished with the merest suggestion of horseradish cream sauce. Organic snap peas lent crunch. (Where did they find space for all this stuff? And where was the trail mix?) Bottles of rosé from Joie in the Okanagan Valley and pinot noir from Blue Grouse Vineyards in Victoria appeared and were quickly dispatched. After dinner and some civilized campfire socializing, I retired to my tent feeling sated, dry and decidedly equable. I never once felt the need to break out my emergency Scotch.

Palatable paddling

The next morning, we awoke to aromas of locally roasted coffee and Cowichan Valley bacon. After an easy day of paddling, we returned to camp, where our guides treated us to wild spring salmon, fingerling potatoes and chanterelle mushroom sauté. A delicate citrus gastrique added brightness and paired beautifully with pinot gris from Alderlea (another standout Victoria winery). I asked about the idea behind the trip: Wasn't gourmet kayaking kind of a crazy idea? "Camping doesn't have to mean canned food," our guide replied. "With a little effort, we can combine the best parts of living in this part of the world: the beautiful environment and the great food."

The next morning, we headed for home. As our group clambered into our boats and slipped silently off the beach into the water, a stillness descended on us. The sea was glass smooth, hemmed in by the gentle curves of the Gulf Islands. As we paddled placidly along, I thought to myself, Maybe there's something to this. Maybe kayakers have figured out something that the rest of us haven't. Kayakers are not a bad people, I realized. We are merely misunderstood.

(C. Mason Stearns is a Vancouver restaurateur and avid indoorsman.)

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