shortly after Middle Island, is one of the river’s mar- quee features, Tarp and Play. It’s impossible to miss this sweet wave with its convenient and cooperative service eddy, an anomaly in this river with few useful eddies. “It’s a beautiful low-angled wave with a foam pile on top. It doesn’t get any better and it’s pretty safe,” McCulloch says.
More excitement awaits downstream at Spectator
Wave, a fast, steep feature on the right bank. While sowing your oats on this wave, be cognizant of what lies around the next bend, the menacing River-Wide Hole. At this point in the Puntledge’s fascinating hydrography, the river rushes down a huge ramp that extends two-thirds the river’s width, ending in a head- high re-circulating wave.
“Many people have been spanked there,” McCulloch says, adding that you can avoid the feature by running tight to the right bank.
All this whitewater fun comes at a price, at least from the perspective of BC Hydro. Vollmers has extracted a promise from the power folks to have a weekend release on the Puntledge some time in the spring of 2005, enabling Vollmers to organize an event to showcase the goods this river has to offer.
dirtbag, and spend some money.
Steve Watson, BC Hydro’s community relations point man on Vancouver Island, admits the boss is more interested is generating power and making money than creating whitewater paddling features. “Water that goes through this reach of the river is lost revenue. We estimate it to be roughly $20,000 per day,” Watson says. It will be up to Vollmers and other island paddlers to demonstrate that whitewater enthusiasts do indeed contribute to the economy. In other words, get out of your van, dirtbag, and spend some money in Courtenay.
Whether or not BC Hydro and paddling activists can iron out a cozy relationship remains to be seen. In the meantime, despite having a dam and two fish hatcheries on its watercourse, the Puntledge remains Vancouver Island’s premier easily accessible play river. You just have to be there on the right day.
Andrew Findlay is a Vancouver Island freelance journal- ist, outdoor junkie and all around underachieving bum.
2004 Spring 23 Get out of your van,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52