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mission accomplished! SOLO Circumnavigation of Vancouver Island July 6th - August 7th 2009 A solo circumnavigation of Vancouver Island has been completed by Mark Towery, in an effort to raise money for the Kondanani Children's Village. We will have a DVD ready soon of pictures and videos from the Vancouver Island circumnavigation. Contact us with your name and address if you would like us to send you one. More pictures and stories will be posted soon.
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Day 1 - 7/6/09 - Departure
Day 2 - 7/7/09 - DeCourcy Island
Click on dates below to see a map of where I ended each day.
Day 3 - 7/8/09 - Newcastle Island (located in the harbor of Nanaimo)... Thank you to the employees of Nanaimo Port Authority! They were extremely nice and helpful! While there I got to enjoy a hot shower and a sandwich. If I knew what lie ahead I would have never been so angry with the racoons.
Day 4 - 7/9/09 - Qualicum Bay ... my first night on the big island.
Day 5 - 7/10/09 - Seal Bay ... Got stung by a bee right on my bottom. Swelled up, very uncomfortable to paddle all day.
Day 7 - 7/12/09 - Little Bear Bay ... Met some very nice people (Kelly, Carol and kids). Good day all in all.
Day 8 - 7/13/09 - Kelsey Bay ...Long day, 13 hours in my boat, paddled 41 miles. It was cold and windy. I could not find a place to camp as it was getting dark and I was very tired. This was a very, very hard and frustrating day.
Day 9 - 7/14/09 - Robson Bight / Kaikash Creek ... God is definately watching over me! As I was paddling this morning a mama and baby whale came by me. It was absolutely amazing! Yesterdays trials are behind me now and I can focus on the task at hand. Saw a lot more whales throughout the day, got to see them play. This is what I've waited my whole life for... it is an incredible sight!
Day 10 - 7/15/09 - Port McNeill ...Took a shower! It was great. Also talked to the coast guard - they are awesome!
Day 11 - 7/16/09 - Port Hardy ... Saw a bear as I was leaving the beach this morning. Thankfully they did not disturb me or my food last night.
Day 13 - 7/18/08 - Cape Scott / Nels Bight
Day 15 - 7/20/09 - Brooks Bay / Lawn Point ...The trip through Quatsino Sound was pretty much the worst day of my life. Scariest day of the whole trip. I had my finger on the 911 rescue button. Gale force winds...all boats heading to shore. Some fisherman were leaning out of their boat trying to rescue me. I denied them as I thought I would be ok, I later realized they were trying to save my life. When I reached Lawn Point I saw that there was no easy way in. I sat in the waves for a while... tired, frustrated and praying most of all. When I finally decided it was all or nothing I paddled in and God awarded me with the most beautiful remote beach....pictures coming soon.
Day 16 - 7/21/09 - Guilliams Bay / Brooks Peninsula
Day 17 - 7/22/09 - Battle Bay ...Very rough day around Brooks Peninsula. I met some very nice campers and was congratulated on my success. No one could believe I was brave enough to tackle the peninsula solo...on such a day. It was rough, but I made it! The next morning Gary, Liz and their friends fed me an enormous breakfast and it was the best meal of my life! Thank you!
Day 18 - 7/23/09 - Rugged Point / Kyoquot Sound
Day 19 - 7/24/09 - Catala Island
Day 20 - 7/25/09 - Tahsis Inlet / Santiago Creek ...I was down to only a couple bottles of water and worried all day as I did not find any rivers or lakes. Although it has been this way the whole trip, today was exceptional as I was kayaking thru cliffs and no sign of life. At last I saw a tiny campground sign and pulled over. After hiking for a while I came upon a river and screamed. I was so excited that I had found fresh water...I could replenish, restock and bath! God definately tested me today and rewarded me with the most glorious gift of all....LIFE!
Day 21 - 7/26/09 - Escalante Island
Day 22 - 7/27/09 - Clayoquot Sound / Maquinna Provincial Marine Park ... Found a cool sea cave and timed the waves to enter, however it was more than I expected. My boat slammed up against the rocks, I lost my charts, hat, sunglasses and thought for sure my boat was demolished. I rolled up and regained control and tried to regroup. I fought the waves to get out, tipped again and luckily got back up...somehow got both my sandles back, my charts and hat. Sunglasses were lost...3rd pair on this trip.
Day 23 - 7/28/09 - Tofino ... Capsized twice today. Both times my sandles, charts and hat were lost once again. I managed to not only save my head from sharp rocks, my life, but I found both my sandles (once again) and my charts. Lost the hat. Even though it added 15 miles to my day I had to get to Tofino to restock. I could not spend any more time at sea with no clouds, hat or sunglasses. Tofino was awesome! I found a hostel to stay in and it was incredible to sleep in a bed. I also had a hamburger and it was the best one ever! Great end to a very scary day.
Day 24 - 7/29/09 - Wya Point ... The ranger came by and told me I couldn't stay here without a special pass. However since it was getting late he let me stay. He was also super nice and phoned ahead to let other rangers know that I was coming through their land. He told me no fires and to be careful of cougars. The ranger had to put a cougar down last week because he was dangerously stalking people. As I've found out...many people on this island have lived and died because of cougar attacks.
Day 25 - 7/30/09 - Gilbert Island ... Lots of wolves on the Broken Islands. They swim from island to island.
Day 26 - 7/31/09 - Broken Islands....I'm taking a day off and relaxing. I explored the islands and have had a wonderful day!
Day 27 - 8/1/09 - Klanawa River / Pacific Rim National Park
Day 28 - 8/2/09 - Walbran Creek / Pacific Rim National Park
Day 29 - 8/3/09 - Sombrio Point / Juan De Fuca Provicial Park
Day 30 - 8/4/09 - Sooke / Muir Point - ....Another long, bad day...a few of them actually. 2 days ago I got rolled by a wave and lost a sandel (might as well lose both), all my maps & charts, my cockpit cover, my rope and my VHF Radio. My GPS is rusted out and not working. I am traveling by God's will now. I paddled almost 40 miles today and luckily found a beach to camp on. Everything is residential so hopefully I'll be ok through the night. My skag on the kayak is all jammed up with rocks so the high winds of Juan de Fuca Straight have wanted to carry me away from the island. I am struggling at this point and just want to come home. As soon as I see San Juan Island I will know I'm homebound, however I do have a very big crossing...with no radio it will be scary to say the least. Please pray for me.
Day 31 - 8/5/09 - Discover Island
Day 32 - 8/6/09 - Posey Island / Roche Harbor ...Final day! Tomorrow I will head into Roche Harbor and check back into Customs while I wait for my sweetie to pick me up. I am so excited to be home! This has been an amazing adventure and I thank you all for your support and prayers. More detailed stories, pictures and videos coming soon!
Finish date: Friday August 7, 2009
Average time to unpack boat, set up camp...break down camp and pack boat - 6 hours per day
Average miles kayaked per day: 30
Finding a fresh water source when I'm down to nothing....absolutely priceless!
Thank you for your support & prayers! They were much appreciated and helped tremendously! God bless!
Welcome! Our mission with these adventures and this website is to help raise money for those in much greater need than ourselves.
We are proud to announce Cross International as our chosen charity! Cross International delivers food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor. Donations for the Vancouver Island trip this summer are going to greatly benefit the Kondanani Children's Village in Blantyre, Malawi. These children are in need of our help! Click here for more info: Kondanani Children's Village
Click here to see us on Cross International's Special Events page. We are also on their blog. Also, check out our blog at Harmony of Hearts.org, a program of Cross International |
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A big THANK YOU to the following websites for supporting our event. We really appreciate their help! www.canadianchristianity.com (Vancouver Island Events for July 2009) - see more about the Christian Info Society under Sponsors. www.christianmediaalliance.com (under Healthy Christians in Media)
www.ksbj.org/events (Community event calendar, charity & outreach section)
If there is any website that we have missed, please contact us and we will add you. Decals and stickers for Kayaking for Christ provided by Stylin' Works. Thanks Alan! www.stylinworks.com
Thank you to Good News Northwest for publishing our event in the June 2009 issue. You can check it out by clicking here - June 2009 Archive Issue Thank you to the Lake Spokane Outpost for publishing Mark's Vancouver Island event! You can check it out by clicking here - July 22, 2009 Issue
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www.lakespokaneoutpost.com
This is an e-mail we received from the founder of the Kondanani Children's Village, Annie
Thank you cards from the children of Kondanani
" To a very brave and precious young man,
Hi Mark, we just love and appreciate you so much. You can just imagine some of the boys here, around 11, they want to be like Mark, "Mammy we can do that also", and get money for you. really sweet.
I got your journal from Jim and enjoyed it very much, sorry but sometimes I had to laugh, you had a great habit of loosing things, I imagined you with one shoe and a very red face without a hat, sweating in de hot sun, but at the same time cry because it was hard work and yet you were prepared to do it for the extension of the Kingdom of God. We have a song in Dutch, "Everything done out of love for our Father, that keeps it's value and will be forever."
Your trip has eternal value, many people do things, but you did it for Jesus and because of that it has eternal value.
A Very big thank you from all of us at Kondanani.
Love Annie Chikhwaza. "