Surfing in Tofino - West Coast Wave Riding

Trees rolling by, climbing elevation, stunning mountain lakes, epic scenery and winding rolling roads; this surely isn't your typical trip to the local surf spot. It is for us though on this adventure - our drive was nothing short of scenic as we made way in three vans cross island to the largest surfing destination in Canada. Students just finished the first portion of lectures with Sid Koop for Camp and Youth Ministry and were anxious after another good time in the classroom to get outside and make use of the sunny weather. 

Taking pictures inside of trees that towered over our heads at Cathedral Grove.

On our trip we stopped at a few unique tourist sites along the way. One of them being Cathedral Grove an amazing old growth forest sight with trees towering hundreds of feet above us. It surely had an incredible capacity to make us feel really small amongst these giants of trees.  

We arrived the first evening and spent some time exploring Tofino and the famous long beach. During our trip we had the privilege to stay at a church in Uculet which was a fantastic experience, the church had a wonderful 'home-like' feel and we had a great time hanging out and playing games together. You could see even from the previous sailing trip how much closer and comfortable everyone has come as a group; we had such a blast being with each other. 

Looking out over the vast ocean enjoying time reflecting on God's goodness

We spent time at rocky beach in Uculet the first morning, Andrew shared more about our theme together this year. Our theme is Stirred and being near the ocean with all the kinetic energy and force behind each wave was an excellent example of what being stirred up looks like, and how each wave was moved by a force that was greater than itself. We then continued on after lunch to Cox Bay where we met our surf instructors and got on our wetsuits for the first time. Some were more successful with their first attempts than others, there was even one or two wetsuits that ended up on backwards at first.

Enthusiastic to-be surfers in their wetsuits ready to hit the waves

Before we attempted entering the ocean our surf instructor Eddy taught us about the various currents and dangers we could face while out in the water. He explained specifically what to look for at the beach we were at, but also equipped us with some basic knowledge to take to any other beaches we might end up at in the future. After teaching us about tides and currents Eddy taught us some basic surf theory and how to approach riding waves with a board.

Our instructor Eddy showing us proper technique for the 'pop-up'

We then stormed the water and had our own go at something that seemed so simple in movies. Some surprised by the difficulty at first, our group rose to the challenge and gave it everything they had. Across the board everyone went out in the water and did an excellent job.

We had an incredible two days of surfing with optimal conditions for this time of year. One of the instructors Ally said he hadn't seen waves this nice here in over 2 months - it truly was a blessing to get such good conditions on both of our days out. Everyone learned and progressed so quickly, it was encouraging to see everyone having so much fun together and trying over and over again to improve. Instead of hearing more from me, as I already have a biased of loving surfing myself, I thought it would be fun to hear from some of the students and what they thought of their first experience. 

"The trip to Tofino was an awesome opportunity for growth in a new adventure environment! As a first time surfer, I was initially a little skeptical about getting out on the waves, but after the first afternoon, I was pretty much sold on the idea of selling all of my material possession and moving to Tofino for the rest of my life. The trip was a great chance for us to relax and hang out together at the beaches, in the vans, and back at the church; I loved having the time to get to know everyone a little better. It was so cool to be able to enjoy the glory of God in such spectacular surroundings; everything from the crazy Tofino surf to the huge first-growth trees at Cathedral grove spoke of the power and majesty of our Creator!" 

~Sylvie

We had a blast together in another ocean themed adventure. Its safe to say many of the students have caught the surfing bug and are definitely eager to try it again. They just finished their lectures for Old Testament Literature with Don Taylor which was another exciting course. They completed a whole 45 minute film during the past 2 weeks as well for one of their assignments. We will be sharing that and many other stories from the classroom next week thursday. For now there are more photos that didn't make it into the gallery available at http://bit.ly/Kaleo2014photos.


Untill next time,
Levi

Nic shooting some film for their Old Testament Video project.