cafés and tourist shops are packed with people from all over the world during July and August, with oceanfront cottages renting well into the four-figures per night. The harbour bustles with char- ter fishing boats, floatplanes, and whale watching vessels. The following day, we cruised back into town and stopped at


the funky Surf Sisters store where tanned, tattooed and pierced surf divas were booking 90-minute introductory lessons. We de- cided Cam and Maddie were too young for actual lessons this trip, but they immersed themselves in surf culture all the same by begging us to buy all the coolest surf brands. My wife and I pulled on clammy wet neoprene suits, hoods,


gloves, and booties. Next to us was a family of four from Calgary— two young teenage girls, plus a mom and dad—all with perfect white teeth. You just knew that they’d make it look easy. We con- voyed down to Cox Bay under moody, misty morning skies. From the start, our cheery, dreadlocked instructor was shout-


ing orders on how to “pop up” from a prone position in order to stand on the 11-foot longboard and ride the wave. I was still practicing those pop ups on the imaginary board that


we had traced out in the wet sand when the instructor called to us to get our boards and start padding into the surf. Actually, the term “surf” was a misnomer. In summer, the fearsome North Pa- cific usually slumbers. Indeed, I’d seen bigger boat wake on Lake Okanagan than the swells lapping up on the beach. Would this be a proper test of my surfing soul? One gentle swell after another—none was greater than two feet


high—rolled under me and frothed while I paddled and popped so that I was standing tall—or at least kneeling tall. Getting to my feet proved impossible, but with very little effort I began to enjoy just bobbing up and down on the swells. All that soul stuff about the ocean being like amniotic fluid, well, I was buying into it. It was bliss.


Alas, the peaceful vibe was broken by our kids who started to


heckle us from the beach. Cameron yelled, “Get on your feet, Dad, like those girls over there!” On the next wave over, the Calgary teens were, just as I surmised, naturals—riding the tanker boards through the froth like Kelly Slater and shrieking with delight. We all spent hours on various floating toys—my kids opted for


boogie boards on which they surfed without standing up; giggling and screaming on wave after unceasing wave. Though the kids didn’t take lessons on this trip, they showed that their natural agility and sense of balance let them take to surfing—in its vari- ous forms—much easier than adults do. Indeed, one of our neigh- bours at the campsite borrowed our board for his 10-year-old twins, one of whom hopped on board and was instantly getting consistent rides on the shore-break. It’s important to note, though, that the real surfing takes place


well offshore, where much larger waves curl and break. We watched the distant figures slashing their way down the faces of monster waves, but felt no less proud of our own surfing. Though some might call it glorified boogie boarding, real surfers will tell you, it’s a soul thing. For six straight days after we arrived, the sun shone on our


little crescent of the Pacific Rim. The instructions for the picnic table canopy dried, but we never did try to read them. Instead, we’d pilgrimage to nearby Long Beach, where men and women, boys and girls of all ages dragged huge foam-covered behemoth beginner boards across the sand toward the sea with religious determination. We drove back home with Jack Johnson in the CD player, sand


in our hair, sunburnt noses, and the Pacific surf ringing in our ears. Could the North Shore of Hawaii be next? B.C. adventure writer Steven Threndyle has crossed off “Surfing in North Pacific, with family” from his life list.


TOFINO SURF SHOPS SURF SISTER


625 Campbell Street // 877-724-7873 info@surfsister.com


$75 per person for a two-hour lesson.* Private family lessons can be arranged for $375. Kids must be six years or older.


WESTSIDE SURF SCHOOL 1180 Pacific Rim Hwy // 250-725-2404 westsidesurfschool.com


$75 per person for a two-hour lesson.* Maximum ratio of five surfers to one in- structor. All-day lessons available for $150.


PACIFIC SURF SCHOOL 430 Campbell Street // 250-725-2155 www.pacificsurfschool.com


$95 per person for a three-hour lesson.* Many options for private groups, and one-on-one lessons.


*All lessons include board and wetsuit.


FAMILY CAMPING 13


PHOTOS: STEVEN THRENDYLE


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